Page 114 of Auctioned to the Convicts
Nose bloody and one eye barely able to see, Vaughn pulled himself up, looking for Hannah.
Three men lay sprawled out on the ground. One man had Ky’Li in a headlock, while another was punching his mid-section.
Vaughn grabbed a branch and struck the man holding Ky’Li. The man’s hold faltered. Ky’Li reached back and flipped him over his head into the man that had been punching him.
The bastard kicked Vaughn in the kidneys, making him go down. Ren came flying over him, tackling whoever had blindsided him. As Vaughn twisted on the ground, he caught a glimpse of Hannah escaping into the water treatment plant. The door clicked shut. Another blow caught Vaughn in the jaw as he rose.
A man sailed past Vaughn, crashing into Ren and his adversary. All three went down in a tangle of limbs.
“Hannah!” Ky’Li called out, breathing heavily as he spun around searching for her.
“Inside,” Vaughn replied as a man struck him hard from behind.
Ky’Li grabbed the man and tossed him against a tree, knocking him out, or killing him. Vaughn couldn’t be sure, and frankly, he didn’t care. He only cared about saving Hannah.
Another click of the door. Ky’Li disappeared into the water treatment facility.
There were bodies everywhere. Vaughn quickly counted. Eight, including the man Ren still fought. Shit, one had gone after Hannah.
The last man standing delivered a solid kick to Ren’s ribs. Vaughn delivered a punch to the man’s kidneys, instantly felling him, then hauled Ren up by his shirt and headed inside.
“Which way?” Ren asked.
“You tell me. You know this place. Which way would she go?”
They had entered into the middle of three levels. Control and water testing labs were at the top, the water treatment system spanned both middle and lower levels, with a maze of access tunnels on the lower level.
Dread filled Vaughn, knowing how long it could take them to find her, and they had no idea if the man had entered right after and caught her or was searching for her. Hannah and her pursuer could be anywhere.
“Shit, Vaughn. How the hell would I know? She’s strung out, not thinking clearly. I’ll go toward the combines. You’ll just get lost down there.” Ren headed to the lower level.
Vaughn shot up to the top level, which consisted of one long hallway and six offices and labs. After finding each door locked, Vaughn raced down to the second level, cursing every precious second that ticked by without even a sense of where she was, or if the last animal had caught her. Vaughn prayed Ky’Li would at least find the man, keep him from touching Hannah.
As Vaughn entered a section with three huge turbines, the lights flicked on automatically. He’d never hear anyone over the noise in this place.
The floor looked pristine. No dirt or sign that anyone had been through. He raced down the stairwell, the fear rolling through him almost crippling now. If anything happened to her. . .
No, he couldn’t think about that. He needed to focus.
A scream echoed, seemingly from all directions. Hannah!
Vaughn took off, praying he was heading in the right direction. He found a man’s body between the two rapid mix tanks. He felt for a pulse, found it, along with a bloody knife nearby.
“Get away!” Hannah screamed.
Vaughn raced in her direction. Hannah, shaking and terrified, was holding her pendant up and outstretched toward Ren, with her finger on the trigger. Ren was half bent over, grabbing at his eyes.
“Can’t see!” Ren yelled between grunts of pain.
“Sha’vi, please, I won’t hurt you.”
Clutching his side, with blooding pooling at his feet, Ky’Li held a hand out toward her, but Hannah backed away, wedging herself between a series of vertical pipes that separated this section of the plant from where the toxic water poured into vats for filtration.
The pipes weren’t wide enough for man, even a skinny one, to fit through, but Hannah was smaller. If she squeezed through the rest of the way, the men would have to take the long way around to the water intake area. By the time they caught up to her, it could be too late.
The walkways around the intake vats were narrow. If she fell in and swallowed any of the toxic water, they’d never get her to the med-center in time. The nanites on him were useless against the toxins in the water.
“Hannah,” Vaughn said holding his palms up, so she’d see he meant no harm.
