Page 62 of Toy

15

Mason

Pain throbbed in my head,deep and hot, like someone had their hand inside my skull and was squeezing my brain as hard as they could.

I did my best to peel my eyes open, breathing slow and deep as I attempted to figure out why my head felt like it was trapped in a vise. Try as I might to access my memories, I couldn’t remember or make sense of anything. I had no idea where I was or what had happened to me.

With a grunt, I forced myself to open my eyes wider, trying to dispel the fog from my vision and my mind. A fire crackled somewhere near me, casting warmth and light on the surrounding area. The glowing embers moved in rhythm with the flames below, swaying and dipping in the breeze. Thick curls of gray smoke billowed upward.

I knew where I was now. Amiens. February 2011. I’d just been thrown out of my car after an explosion, and the world was on fire around me. I was on fire.

My mind whirled as my head lolled backward. I couldn’t move my arms properly. I must’ve been paralyzed when I was thrown clear of the destroyed vehicle. “Help,” I muttered, my eyes drooping shut again.

“Goodbye, Jolie,” I heard someone say, voice crisp and elegant.

Jolie?

My eyes snapped open. With a jolt, my brain regained proper function. This wasn’t Amiens. This wasn’t 2011. This was now, in a remote Costa Rican valley, and I wasn’t on fire. Someone else was.

My head jerked up. I squinted at the fire ahead of me. Blood pounded in my ears as I caught sight of Jolie standing on a platform in the center of the flames. Her face was contorted with fear, and her arms were tied to a stake behind her. The flames hadn’t yet reached her feet as they licked their way up the pyre, but they would soon.

Adrenaline rushed through my blood. I tried to jump up, but my hands were restrained behind me with thick rope. Fuck.

Two men sat on either side of me, eyes gleaming with malevolent fascination as they watched the fire grow. One of them had taken the gun I used on Danny earlier. It was resting right on his lap, only inches away. If I could just grab it…

Gritting my teeth, I twisted my left hand at an angle and then jerked it in the opposite direction. There was a sickly crack as my thumb dislocated, making just enough space for my hand to slip out of the rope. The initial surge of pain quickly ebbed away, dulled by flooding adrenaline, and I yanked my left hand out of my bonds. Once it was unfettered, I reached behind myself and freed my right hand too.

It wouldn’t be easy for me to shoot one-handed, but with my left hand mostly out of order now, I would have to do my best.

In one swift movement, I jabbed my elbow into the solar plexus of the distracted guard to my right. He let out a surprised grunt and keeled forward. I grabbed my gun as it slid off his lap and shot him right in the back of the head, followed by the guard on my left. Then, with a guttural roar, I leapt up and dashed toward the fire.

“What the hell?” I heard Jacob shout from somewhere to the left of the pyre. “Stop him, you fucking idiots!”

Several men rushed at me as women and children scattered in every direction. None of them slowed me down. I dodged and weaved through the innocent people and put bullets in the guilty ones, and I drew closer to the fire with each fallen body.

I suppose I should be grateful that none of the men had guns on them down here, because it made my job a hell of a lot easier. It was a pitfall of their presumption and arrogance—they obviously assumed no one would ever find them out here in this isolated place, and without the threat of intruders, they had no need for weapons or security in the little village. As for the women and children, they were kept under control via fear. No bullets required.

No doubt the men had guns and other weapons stashed up at the mansion, though. Hordes of them were now dashing out of the village and back up the torch-lined road that led toward it. Jacob Chastain was among them, looking furious.

I was going to kill every last one of those men tonight, but they’d have to wait. Right now, Jolie was my only priority.

When I reached the pyre, I surged forward and leapt into the flames without hesitation. Fire usually made me uneasy—I guess waking up in agony covered from head to toe with scars before discovering that my family had been burned alive had something to do with it—but I wasn’t thinking of myself when I made the jump. All I could think about was Jolie, petrified and screaming on that platform by the stake.

I stepped onto the platform and wrapped my arms around her, shielding her body from the fire as it roared upward, building in intensity with every passing second.

Dense clouds of black smoke billowed their way through the thick, hazy air, and hot tendrils swirled up into my lungs until I felt like my insides were aflame. I could feel my shoes starting to melt as the fire caught on my lower legs, but I pushed aside the pain and concentrated on the ropes around Jolie’s wrists.

“Mason…” Jolie coughed and spluttered as I ripped the final rope away. “You’re on fire.”

“It’s okay,” I muttered. I was already covered in burn scars anyway. A few more wouldn’t make a difference. “I’ve got you. Just close your eyes.”

I threw her over my shoulder and jumped back down, holding her as high above the flames as I could. When I reached safety, I set her down and threw myself onto the ground to beat out the flames still licking up my body.

“There!”

It wasn’t Jolie who called out. It was a young dark-haired woman in the square, eyes wide and one arm outstretched. She was standing amongst a group of cowering girls who hadn’t managed to run away from the turmoil yet.

My right leg was still partially on fire, but I ignored it and whirled around on the stony ground. One of the cult men hadn’t fled the scene like the other fucking cowards, and he was charging toward me, brandishing a thick log. I’d dropped my gun before jumping into the fire a moment ago, so I couldn’t shoot him.

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