Page 230 of On a Fault Line

Everything I’ve been experiencing has been reality. I was just being made to think I’m not in my right mind.

When I’m within reach, I bend forward to snatch the plastic card for the taking, just as Rex’s eyes open in a bloodshot stare.

His hand gets my ankle first, tugging me down to the floor.

Then the entire place goes…

Pitch.

Black.

45

PENNY

My arms and legs flail in the darkness, as I try to wrestle my way from Rex’s hold. But he has me gripped.

I wiggle and kick and punch anything I can connect with.

“Let me go!” I bellow.

But it’s useless.

The ogre presses my back onto the tiled floor, and my hair slides along the surface, soaking up his blood from where his head hit the ground.

Adrenaline rushes through me, sobering me up enough to recall Collins and my self-defense lessons. I think of the blindfold and the whole purpose of those practice activities. I think of the words he shared on how to get out of the hold if someone was lying on top of me.

And then I apply them all.

Rex grunts as I maneuver my way in the darkness and roll out of his grip. Taking his head, I slam it against the tiles, hoping he blacks out long enough for me to get the hell out of here.

As he lies there unconscious, I rip the keycard from his body and dash down the hall in the direction I think makes the most sense.

I’ve spent nearly a year here.

I know this place well.

I just need to trust the instincts that I’m already in tune with and stop overthinking things.

When I get to the end of the hall, in the pitch blackness, I slam my body into the door. Taking the keycard, I swipe it against the box.

Nothing.

Dammit!

Of course it wouldn’t work. The electricity to the generator was probably cut.

I’m an idiot.

A stupid, pathetic girl.

But I can’t stay here waiting for Rex to get up and look for me. And I can’t take the chance that the three Mark Tanners are real and not some figment of my imagination. I refuse to be a sitting duck. So I sneak my back along the perimeter, staying alert with my fighting fists level with my face.

When I find a door handle to a patient room, I open it softly and sneak inside. Then using only the light from the stars and moon seeping in through the windows, I go about barricading the room with furniture and anything that I can get my hands on.

It’s not much, but at least I have the illusion of being safe.

When I push the last piece into place, I see a shadow move from the attached bathroom.

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