Page 29 of Deranged and Obsessed Omnibus: Vol 1

The guards were immediately on edge, the air around them crackling with energy. They got out of their seats and shouted out to one another.

“Everyone, secure the scene,” one barked, his hand hovering near his holster.

“Make sure none of them even think about moving while we sort this out,” another guard yelled and headed toward the back of the bus to check on the prisoners. I moved slowly, my chains rattling only slightly as I got into a better position. My focus was sharp and locked on every movement they made.

My pulse was calm, steady. I knew this was it. This wasn’t my plan, but I took gifts when they landed in my fucking lap.

This was the crack in their defenses I’d been waiting for.

I rose unhurriedly, and when the guard nearest to me saw the action, that’s when I acted.

The other prisoners were also using this to their advantage, yelling and cursing, knowing chaos would make shit really hit the fan.

I moved swiftly, using the chaos to my benefit. The chains were inconvenient, but I used them to my advantage as well.

“Come here, motherfucker,” I said under my breath. I dislocated my thumb, holding in my grimace at the pain. Itwisted my hand, now that I had more room, and slipped my left wrist free.

The pain was nothing compared to the reality that I’d soon be free. I lifted my hands and showed the guard I was uncuffed. His eyes widened, and he fumbled with getting his gun free, but he was sloppy from his fear.

In the confusion, I lunged at him, slamming my elbow into his throat so hard he stumbled back and crashed into the seat across from me. He crumpled, gasping for air, his gun falling from his grasp and clattering to the floor.

The other prisoners saw what I was doing and took it upon themselves to jump in on the action attacking the driver and other guards. But I focused on the incapacitated guard. I knocked him down and snatched the keys from his belt before he knew what the fuck was going on.

And then gunshots erupted, the sound deafening in the enclosed space. I ducked, moving fast, using the fallen guard as a shield as I shuffled backward to the emergency exit. The guard I held in front of me was dead, his blood oozing from his mouth and over my hands.

Now sticky and slippery fingers, I unlocked the chains around my ankles and then worked the lock on the door open. Kicking it hard with my booted foot, it opened. I threw the body forward, taking out the guard coming at me from outside as if he were nothing but a bowling pin.

I had the gun in my hand and was at the ready.

I was precise. Deadly. I looked back, fired three shots, and took out a third guard.

Blood pooled on the grimy bus floor and covered the walls and windows. Everything seemed to be at a standstill. The other prisoners stared at me wide-eyed, a mix of horror and awe etched onto their faces.

They knew who I was and what I was capable of.

But they meant nothing to me. They were irrelevant. They were shit on the bottom of my boot.

I jumped from the bus, landing hard on the uneven ground, adrenaline surging through my veins. The fresh air hit me like welcoming arms, and I inhaled it deeply.

Fuck. Freedom was exhilarating.

Without looking back, I headed for the cover of the forest, adrenaline was like an intense drug running through my veins that propelled me forward. I tore through the underbrush, my boots crunching over fallen leaves and forest debris. But the only thing I could focus on was that each step I took had me farther from the road and closer to freedom.

I knew they called in help as soon as that tire popped. Who knew how long backup would take to arrive. There would be choppers in the sky and dogs tearing through the forest searching for us—me.

I needed to disappear until things calmed down and it was safe enough for me to make my next move. And I didn’t stop until the tree line opened.

I’d been moving through the fucking forest for what seemed like hours, and by now, the sky was darkening, and the scent of impending rain filled the air. I was fucking tired, and my whole body ached now that adrenaline wasn’t fueling my entire system.

When I got to the tree line, I stayed at the edge, keeping hidden in the shadows as I scanned the area in front of me. In the distance, I spied a small town.

It was the kind of town that probably held a shitload of secrets, and because it was small and intimate, those secrets stayed buried from outsiders. Lights were flickering on as night descended, and that’s what I needed.

Total darkness.

I heard helicopters in the distance this entire time, those fuckers trying in vain to find me. But I kept to the thickest pointsof the forest. I hadn’t heard dogs, but I knew they were here, so I crossed the several creeks I came across and used the water to hide my scent.

For long minutes, I stood there and took everything in. I stayed hidden, my breaths slow and even, my mind already calculating my next actions. I moved then, following the tree line of the forest’s edge until I came to a weathered cabin on the outskirts of town.

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