Page 8 of Pushed

Before he could finish what he was saying, the door behind us split open, crashing into the wall.

Two men loomed in the doorway, shoulder to shoulder, eyes gleaming with a deadly stare. The guy on the left was tall and thin, with his hair buzzed short, squared on the top like he had once been a soldier.

But the look in his eyes was all I needed to know he was far from some war hero. The black orbs reflected nothing; no life, no emotions, no soul.

Oh shit. . .

The other man beside him was a little shorter. He looked older with deep wrinkles framing the corners of his mouth and hair that was a perfect mix of brown and gray.

“What the fuck is going on? Who the hell is this? Where the hell did she come from?” the older man asked, pointing in my direction. “You alright, Machi?”

The man he called Machi held me still, keeping his eyes fixed on mine, not even acknowledging the question. “Well? Where are they?”

“They're gone, both girls are gone. I think they took off through the woods behind McCarther's place.” The taller man stepped in first, his lip twitching as he spoke. “We can go after them if we leave now, before they get too far.”

Cocking his head over his shoulder, Machi's deep black hair splashed across his forehead as a single bead of red sweat trickled down over his temple. “Doesn't matter, let them go, they're not worth the trouble.”

“What about her?” The tall man licked his lips, eyeing me like a piece of meat. “You want me to take care of her? I can, I wouldn't mind being the one to bring her in.”

“You don't fucking touch her.” Peeling me off the wall, he walked me forward, holding my body out like a fresh catch. “We still have something to bring back, so let's go.”

Bring back? Is he talking about me?

Where is he taking me?

“What about him?” Pointing to the lifeless body on the floor, the man nodded his head. “Want us to clean it up?”

“Fuck that, leave him to rot. Let someone else clean up that waste of life.” Bending down, he snatched his jacket off the floor and tucked it under his arm.

Machi shoved me forward as he walked with firm, demanding steps, never looking back at the body on the floor, as if that man never existed to begin with. He didn't think twice about what he had done, it didn't seem to phase him at all that he had just taken the life of another.

And he didn't think twice about taking me with him.

What kind of monster is this man?

The empty gaze in his eyes told me he was pure evil, that life meant nothing to him, that stealing was easy and mindless. He was a cold-hearted killer; a killer I stumbled upon, a killer who now had me firmly in his grasp.

His body pressed against mine as he kept me pinned against his hard chest. “This is your lucky day, I have a solution to our little problem.” Slipping his hand into my hair, he curled his fingers into the roots and yanked my head back. I sensed his eyes as they looked me over, running up and down my body. “You're not going to like it, but it will do one thing. . .” Pausing, his mouth traced the shell of my ear as he whispered. “It will keep you alive.”

Shivering to his words, a single tear rolled down my cheek, slipping over my mouth. My lip singed with heat, sizzling from the pepper spray still lingering on my skin. Wiping my lips with the back of my hand, I took in a deep breath, but it did nothing to stop me from crying.

I was trapped, I was captured in the hands of death, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Fear—true fear—was something people rarely ever experienced. You can feel afraid, you can feel your nerves come to life  and your stomach knot up like twisted rope, you can break out in a cold sweat and think you're about to faint; but none of that isfear.

Fear is when you can't breathe because you don't remember how to, fear is when you can't think because your brain has shutdown and won't let you truly observe what is happening around you.

Fear is feeling every nerve explode throughout your body as the uncertainty of what might lie ahead could literally mean life or death.

I felt nothing but fear right then.

And I tasted it with a mouth full of shame that my curiosity had brought me into the hands of that man.

Nothing would ever be the same.

Stepping out onto the dark street, Machi walked me towards a dark green car with windows that were blacker than night itself.

Oh my God. . . It's the same car from before.

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