Page 47 of Angel Condemned

When the elevator dipped, I blanched, squeezing her arm. “No, we need to go up, to the landing deck.” Was she leading us into a trap?

“There are too many that will spot you.” She patted my hand. “We go into below ground. There is a water ship that will take you out to the ocean. From there, you can flag down help. If you’re caught, I never saw or spoke with you.”

“Understood.” I let go of her arm. My nerves felt like they were buzz-sawed along the edges, making them brittle.

“Jody, what’s going on?” My dad looked even paler than the last time I’d seen him. His clothes hung on him now and my heart broke.

“I’m so sorry, Dad. This is all my fault.” My throat constricted. “I-I came here because the Roulex lied to me that they could get you the help you needed.”

His dark eyes held unshed tears. “What did you do?”

“I made a mistake.” With my gut clenching, I quickly gave him the highlights so he would at least know the danger we faced.

The elevator opened to a dark tunnel.

“Follow the path to the water. Use Orljk’s hand to access the controls. I must go now.” The Roulex waved us out of the elevator.

“Come with us,” I offered.

“I can’t.” She smiled briefly. “It’ll raise too much suspicion.”

“But they’ll know you helped us. They’ll kill you.” I held out my trembling hand to her. She deserved to be free of this place just like the rest of us.

“Then I’ve fulfilled my purpose.” She shooed me away. “Go. Save yourself and your father. I’ll hold the others off as long as I can.”

“What is your name? I’m Jody and this is my father, Ben.”

“Amora.” She looked over her shoulder briefly, her reptilian eyes full of concern and worry as she faced me. “Now go. Hurry.”

I took my dad’s hand and we ran down the dimly lit hallway to an enclosed boat. It looked like a cross between a submarine and a spaceship.

Quickly, I placed the severed hand on the panel and the door buzzed open.

“Get inside.”

Axton.I turned back the way we came. Shouts echoed from above. They’d found out about Amora. My stomach clenched and I took a step back in the direction we’d come from.

“Jody.” My father grabbed my arm. “Come with me. We can’t stay here. They will kill both of us.”

He was right. But how could I leave Axton? My heart felt like it was being ripped in two. If I didn’t go now, the Roulex would capture both me and my father. I couldn’t leave him alone because I’d never know if he got away and he looked so weak.

I had to go with him. I had to leave Axton behind.

Before I could change my mind, I slapped Orljk’s hand to the panel and started up the boat. It had an automatic pilot setup and I turned it on, because there was no way I could drive anything right now. We dipped under the water, surging through the waves.

No, no, no!

I sank to my knees, sobbing. My father rubbed my back and whispered words of encouragement that didn’t help ease the pain pressing in on my chest.

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