Project HALO

Chapter 18

"Who are you?" I ask. My throat is sore from all the screaming.

They look like a male and a female, but I don't know. They're both of a small stature, the guy somewhere around 5'7'' and the female maybe at 5'3''. Their bodies are athletic. Even though they're pointing a gun at me, they don't strike me as threatening. Just a gut feeling. Probably a stupid one.

"Do we bring them both?" The guy asks and lowers his gun. He sounds young.

The woman nods.

"Where?" I demand.

"Are you okay?" The guy asks without answering my question and climbs into the van. The woman remains outside and turns her head from every little sound. She seems nervous, but why? Even if they crashed into us, it's not like they did it on purpose... Right?

I hesitate and eye the man up and down, following his steps toward Mikey with caution. "I guess. What's it to you?"

"Good. I'll be back for you in a sec," he says. Dark bangs fall into his face and he slicks them back with a tattooed hand. A purple bandana is tied over his face, his hazel-brown eyes the only visible facial feature. He leans over Mikey and unlocks his handcuffs.

"What are you doing?" I ask and lurch forward only to be held back by my own chains. "Hey! Don't touch him!"

"Relax," he says and groans as he tries to lift Mikey over his shoulder. Mikey must be double this guy's height, so it doesn't quite work. Eventually the guy has to half-drag and half-carry him to get him to the door, where the woman helps lift Mikey outside.

"Where are you taking him?" I twist my hands in every direction to slip out of the handcuffs, but it only makes the steel dig deeper into my gaping wounds. Blood runs down next to me, dripping onto the floor. I ignore the biting pain and keep pulling and pulling, screaming after them when they walk out of sight. "ANSWER ME!"

What if they drive away with Mikey? A rock the size of the moon grows in the pit of my stomach. It feels like hours have passed since they left and my throat is sore from screaming, but I continue. I will scream until I can't.

I snap my mouth shut when the guy comes back into sight, tilting his head at me.

"I thought you said you were okay." His voice is muted through the bandana. "Obviously not."

A strange combination of joy and dread goes through me when he walks toward me. Mostly dread. But as long as he brings me to Mikey, I won't complain.

"Can you please stay calm so I can unlock you?" His gaze is intense, but there is a glint of something playful in them, something too lighthearted for this situation. He's probably a lunatic. Seems I'm surrounded by them lately.

"If you take me to Mikey," I say through a tight jaw. He nods and bends down, a key ring jingling from his hand.

"Jesus Christ," he exclaims and pauses his movement, his eyes bulging at the sight of blood. As if he thought a car crash would leave us unharmed. "Are you crazy?"

"It's your fault," I hiss. "You guys crashed into us, remember? And you pointed a gun at me. Pretty sure you're the crazy one."

"Well, I... Aight, good point." He unlocks my cuffs. "Now come on. Let's not bicker and argue over who crashed into who."

I rise to my feet. My wrists ache, but they look a lot worse than how they feel. At least wounds like these can heal. Deep cuts seem to divide my wrists from the rest of my arms, with both fresh and congealed blood gathered around the wounds. I try to pat the excess off on my pants, but the rough denim feels like stabbing tiny needles into them.