by H. T. Night
The four of us went over all the details when we were in the yard the afternoon before.
As far as all of were concerned, the plan was a go tomorrow morning.
The following morning was showtime. Our goal wasn’t to kill anybody in our escape, but if it meant one of them or one of us, it would be one of them.
Before the four of us knew it, the escape was on.
Fulton County wasn’t smart enough to replace the guards that would be missing that day. The complacency of this place would get the best of them in the end.
We had one guard to deal with. And simply, we just let Kevin distract him by acting the way Kevin usually acted. Within seconds, I pulled the gun from the guard’s holster while Kevin was in mid-episode.
Now, it was seriously on. I had a firearm. Kevin knocked out the lone guard with his tray during his fit, hitting him directly on his temple.
It was complete chaos in the cafeteria as Bruce, Richard, Kevin and I held everyone hostage. I grabbed the guard’s Fulton-issued wristwatch so I could know exactly when to expect Cassandra’s arrival outside in the yard. I tossed his keys to Bruce so he could get into the guards’ room.
The wing was then immediately locked down from the inside by Bruce. Having been there the longest, he knew where all the controls in the guard room were and how they worked. It only took him a few minutes to have the area sealed off without setting off any alarms. He grabbed the spare jackets for us.
Richard and Kevin held a camouflage-painted nectarine in each hand, making it easy to keep the other inmates seated calmly on the floor below the buffet line. Bruce had painted the fruit the night before to look like grenades and the two of them had fully convinced the others they’d blow them up at the bat of an eyelid.
I kept my eyes on the exercise yard door and the sky around Fulton. We waited until eight-thirty came and… nothing. I started to feel nervous about our escape vehicle arriving before anyone found out we had taken command of the cafeteria. I refused to let the others see me sweat… It was crucial that I maintained a calm demeanor and kept the others at ease for as long as I could. Three more minutes passed and then, I heard chopper blades cutting the air as the helicopter sped toward the hospital.
“Right on time!” I called out to the other three as smiles spread across their faces. Richard and Kevin left the fake grenades on a nearby table and started to put on the jackets and gun belts taken from the guard room. Bruce threw me one of the jackets and I pulled it on quickly, along with a tactical belt and pistol. I drew the weapon and ensured it was loaded. I also checked the belt for additional magazines.
“Bruce, we need more ammo!” I shouted. Immediately, he headed back to the guard room to retrieve more loaded mags. He gave everyone two more, which we stuffed into our jacket pockets.
Standing by the door to the exercise yard, I watched as Cassandra brought the chopper around and hovered over the clearest part of the yard. She brought the helicopter to a steady hover about four feet off the ground, likely not wanting to make a full landing and risk the engine powering down. It was our cue to make a run for it.
“All right, guys, let’s go!” I shouted.
Kevin threw his two remaining nectarine grenades at the group huddled on the ground and watched them all cringe in fear as they burst open and splattered upon the floor. I swore one of the patients pissed himself when one of the nectarines covered him in juice. As he ran past me out the door, Kevin was laughing like a hyena.
I was the last man out the door. What I saw at the end of the ramp in the yard made my stomach fall. The chopper had attracted the attention of three guards from the adjacent wing and they had made a mad dash for the yard. One had Kevin in his grip while Bruce and Richard were running madly for the chopper. They were being chased by the other guard. I saw Bruce pushing Richard in through the open helicopter door as Cassandra shouted instructions wildly at them. The guard dropped to one knee, drew his firearm and fired, hitting Bruce in the back of his leg. With his last bit of strength, Bruce gave Richard one last push, then fell to the ground. Remarkably, he then stood up on one leg and dove into the chopper. Bruce was in.
Below me, at the end of the ramp, Kevin was grappling with the two other guards. One pushed past him and headed straight for me. Before I could pull my gun, I heard another shot and the guard fell dead at my feet. When I looked up, I saw Richard. He was seated at the edge of the seat in the chopper, lowering his gun. He motioned for me to hurry.
I lowered my eyes to the end of the ramp again. Kevin had the guard in a headlock from behind. I ran toward them to punch the guard and hopefully daze him long enough for both of us to make it to the aircraft. Just before I reached him, Kevin lowered his head to the guard’s neck and bit through the man’s jugular vein. Blood spurted everywhere and Kevin roared inhumanly. He dropped the dying man at his feet, grabbed me by the arm and we ran for the helicopter.
I suddenly felt as if I were waking from a terrible nightmare. My feet felt instantly fluid and strong, and I pumped them hard across the yard and jumped up into the chopper’s cabin. I pulled Kevin in by the arm and slammed the door shut. Immediately, the helicopter rose and in seconds, we had left Fulton behind.
Chapter Fifteen
I left Richard and Kevin to recover, and soon sat beside Cassandra in the cockpit. She was yelling orders to Kevin. “The first aid kit is strapped under your seat. Grab it and clean up his leg. Use an ice pack to help stop the bleeding and keep pressure on the wound. I have a friend who can come take care of it when we get where we are going.” She turned her attention to me and smiled brightly.
“You did so great, babe!” she cried when she saw me. I plucked the headset from the dashboard and fastened my seatbelt.
“You did pretty great yourself,” I replied. “So, where are we headed?”
“There’s an old limestone mine about a hundred miles southeast of here. It’s deep in the woods and the mine has been converted into an underground parking facility. There’s very little road access, all private. The mine’s a place my dad uses to store his planes and boats when he goes up to the cabin.”
“Sounds awesome.”
“It is. There’re some food, water and other supplies down there, so you can hide out for as long as it takes to come up with a plan.”
“Great.” I smiled at Cassandra. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to rest in the back for a little. That took a lot more out of me than I expected.”
“Sure thing. I need to concentrate on keeping this thing in the air.”
“Good idea.”
I went back into the rear cabin where Richard and Kevin had already fallen asleep. I stretched out in one of the posh leather seats, reclined it all the way back and quickly fell asleep.
I didn’t know what happened next, but suddenly, the helicopter was falling out of the sky. Every flying instrument seemed to have alarms beeping and everyone was screaming and shouting. I couldn’t make out what was being said or who was saying what.
When we hit the ground, I felt like I’d been thrown off a cliff and then had a boulder hurled on top of me. The wind was knocked right out of my lungs and soon, all I could see was black.
I woke up several hours later. I was lying on my back, still inside the wrecked helicopter. It was surprising the thing hadn’t blown up on impact. We had probably been low on fuel.
I looked toward the cockpit and Cassandra was nowhere to be found. I looked around for Richard, Bruce and Kevin, but I couldn’t see them in the wreckage. The stink of smoke filled my nostrils.
I groaned and closed my eyes again.
Then I heard a noise and opened my eyes to look up. Standing over me was Kevin. He had a strange look on his face, which was still covered with the guard’s blood... or at least, I hoped it was the guard’s blood.
I tried to speak, but no words came out and I ended up in a fit of coughs. The cabin was filled with smoke, making it difficult to breathe. Kevin leaned over me and unbuckled my seat belt. “Come on. W
e have to get you outta here,” he said.
My vision blurred again and I was sent swimming back into another sea of black...
The End
Fang returns in:
Blood Pact
Chronicles of the American Vampire #2
by H.T. Night
Coming soon!
~~~~~
Also available:
Werewolf Love Story
Immortal Warriors #1
by H.T. Night
Available now!
Amazon Kindle * Amazon UK * Paperback
~~~~~
If you enjoyed this book, please help me spread the word by leaving a review. Thank you!
~~~~~
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Other Books by H.T. Night
IMMORTAL WARRIORS
Book 1: Werewolf Love Story
Book 2: The Rise of Kyro
Book 3: Loving Maya
Book 4: Werewolf Without a Cause
Book 5: Angel Love Story
Book 6: Werewolf Lost
Book 7: Vampire Love Story
Book 8: The Werewolf Whisperer
Book 9: Forever and Always
Book 10: Vampires vs. Werewolves
Book 11: One Love
Book 12: Hero Rising
Book 13: Vampire Reign
Book 14: Vampire Iscariot
Book 15: Vampire Castle
Book 16: Divine Blood
Book 17: Sons of Josiah
Book 18: Love Conquers All
HEART OF A WITCH SERIES
Book 1: Witch to Choose
Book 2: A Witch’s Magic
Book 3: Witch Love Story
Book 4: Witch World
LOVE STORIES
Book 1: The Fourth Sunrise
Book 2: Romeo & Juliet: A Vampire and Werewolf Love Story
Book 3: In the Name of Love
Book 4: Getting Yours
DIARY OF A BOY GENIUS
Book 1: Nerd Power
Book 2: Nerd Games
Book 3: Nerd Love
VAMPIRE NATION SERIES
Book 1: Vampire Nation
Book 2: Enemy of the Nation
DEADLY DREAM SERIES
Book 1: Controlled Chaos
Book 2: Massacred Revealed
ANTHONY MOON SERIES
Book 1: The Fire Warrior
WITH SCOTT NICHOLSON AND J.R. RAIN
Bad Blood: A Vampire Thriller
POETRY
Everlasting Love: Poems
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About the Author:
H.T. Night is the #1 bestselling author of the Immortal Warriors and Diary of a Boy Genius series of books. He lives in southern California, where he’s hard at work on his next novel.
Please visit him at www.htnight.com
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