Page 36 of Killer (Project)

“You first,” I said, waiting for her foot to boost her up. She looked at me with apprehension as if I was going to turn on her at any second.

“Do you trust me? I just want to protect you… If you want to live, then we need to leave.” I stared at her intently as she nodded her head yes.

Within a second, she was placing her foot in my hand so I could boost her up. I watched as her hands gripped the sides of the open space and pulled her body forward. Once she was all the way in, I could hear her getting to her feet as she stepped on the metal of the shaft.

“Hurry, I hear someone coming,” I heard her whisper. I looked to Richard next.

“Go on, you can pull me up,” he ordered me. Something inside of me said to push him up into the shaft first, but I listened to him, knowing he could very well already have a plan in place. I wouldn’t lie and say that getting Maggie out of here wasn’t my first priority because it was. She had endured enough of this place. So, I listened to him and pushed up through the small space, just barely making it. Shoving off the side of the opening, I jumped off to the side landing on my feet like a cat.

“Come on.” I extended my hand down to him. Voices could be heard above us, and I could smell the anxiety rolling off Maggie in waves and each one that hit me grew larger and larger. The elevator started vibrating, coming to life, the lights turning off and on, and then it was moving upwards. I gripped Maggie into my side holding us both as I looked down at Richard.

I could tell by the look on his face, he wasn’t going. “Here, take this. Get to the second floor and use this for the doors. Once outside, run,” he ordered. “And take care of her, please,” he whispered.

“Dad… No…” Maggie cried out. The elevator stopped, and I could hear the doors being pried open. Remorse crossed his face.

“You’re one of them, Maggie. You’re one of the healed ones.” I blinked, praying I hadn’t just heard what he said. He had to be wrong. He had to be lying.

“Your lying, Dad.” Maggie shook her head in disbelief.

I watched as his face fell, and the next moment, the doors behind him were opening. “Be strong, baby,” he mouthed as the guards grabbed him.

I gripped Maggie tightly, not wanting her to get away. I could tell Richard wasn’t going to make it but knew better than to say something right now. How was I to tell the woman I loved that this was the last time she would see her father.

“No, you can’t let them take him.” Maggie fought against my hold, her voice hysterical. I looked down at her, knowing there was nothing I could. With a tight grip, I held her to my chest as I grabbed the chain above us. I needed to get us out of here.

Channeling all my rage, anger, and pain, I pulled us up the chain. My body went into overdrive. I could feel Maggie’s tension and feel her slipping from me in every sense. She was crumbling, falling inward upon herself.

“He’s gone, they got him,” I gritted out, moving faster up the wall. I could hear them moving below us. They would be swarming us at any time.

“Stop right there,” someone ordered below us. I didn’t bother to turn around. I had one mission, one thing that I needed to do and that was get us out of here in one piece.

“He has a gun.” Maggie shuttered against my chest, gripping me like a lifeline.

“Stop or I’ll shoot,” the man below yelled. His voice bounced off the walls telling me he was growing closer with every passing second. That was my signal to push harder. I looked up, estimating if I could make it. The exit had to be another ten feet up. I could do it. I had to do it. There were no other options.

I heard the gun cocking, the pull of the trigger, and the wiz of the dart. I swayed to the left to move out of the way but was a fraction off, Maggie’s weight causing me to have to readjust. I could feel the prick of the dart against my skin. I smiled smugly—as if that was going to stop me. They had to be dumb to think that one dart would take me down.

I allowed a loud roar to escape my lips letting them know that they had forced the beast inside of me out. My fist slammed into the shaft as I pulled us up the rest of the distance. Once at the entrance to the second floor, I threw Maggie over my shoulder and pried the doors open, all while hearing the roar of the elevator below us coming up.

Pushing Maggie inside, I sighed in relief the second our feet met the tiled floor. We weren’t out of danger, but we were so close, I could taste it.

“Where do we go?” Maggie asked, fear in her voice. There was a red sign above us blinking the wordExit. I pointed to it and we took off down the hall. There were stairs to the right, commotion to the left, and the elevator less than ten feet away on the verge of opening.

“Go… Go… GO…” I gripped her hand slamming the door to the stairs open and all but dragging her behind me as I moved as fast as I could. Before we were halfway down the first flight of stairs, Maggie’s legs were giving out. Not wanting her to slow us down anymore, I picked her up once again, throwing her over my shoulder as I moved even faster down the remaining steps of the stairs. Once we hit the first-floor landing, I spotted another exit sign hanging over a door. I felt my feet moving toward it of their own accord, and finally, we pushed through it as we were welcomed by fresh air and sunlight.

Spots formed before my eyes as my legs started to grow weak. The dart they shot me with was starting to take effect. Stomping sounded behind us, and I knew it was too early to give up. We had to keep moving.

“We are almost free,” I called out to her, jogging from the building into a nearby bush. The place was surrounded by forest giving us one option. Turning around would send me back toward the building, and going straight would send me into the city where they expected me to go.

Maggie was weightless against my shoulder as I slipped her off for a moment, taking a second to breathe. I gripped her by the cheeks, bringing her face to my own.

“They got me with a dart. I have to get you somewhere safe before it takes me out.” She nodded at me in reply, her face covered in a mask of sweat, and she looked as if she were ready to vomit. I understood what she was feeling all too well.

Wrapping an arm around my waist, she steadied me. We hobbled to what I assumed was the east, but I was unsure. The dart they had gotten me with was certainly taking effect. My eyes started to drift closed, my steps off kilter.

“Killer,” she whispered into my ear. My eyes drifted closed again, and then popped open right away. There was a plane close by. Maybe the brotherhood had finally found us. Happiness radiated through me from the idea of getting Maggie to safety and everything being okay.

“Where are you going?” Maggie asked. I was following the sound of the plane, not allowing the one chance at escape to get away from us.

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