Arcanum Hominem (#1)

Chapter 63

I wouldn't die here.

Another blow to my stomach. It was better than it being my face. Blow after blow came, with no speaking in between. It was as if he didn't even care to get answers out of me. He just wanted to use me as his personal punching bag. The pain consumed me, and soon, I became numb to it. I could feel that my cheeks were bruised and swollen, my eyes could barely stay open, and my lip was definitely split. 

"Alright, that's enough! The boss wants answers, and we can't get that if she's dead." The smaller guard stopped the bigger one mid-swing, making him grunt. I was trying my best to hold my head up as blood dripping from my mouth and face. My breathing was so ragged, I didn't recognize any of the sounds I was making. I was in pain, but I couldn't even describe how much I was feeling. Darkness swam on the edges of my vision, threatening to consume me, but I pushed back, not wanting to pass out. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing me succumb to the blows. The smaller guard replaced the big one, and I glared at him, or at least I tried to. I wasn't sure what it looked like to him, but I was sure I looked like death. 

He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing left his lips. An explosion rocked the room, blowing the guards backward and me to the side on the floor. I landed hard on my left shoulder, screaming when a loud pop filled the air, searing pain spreading through my shoulder. It was dislocated. I closed my eyes as dust flew up in the air, and I tucked my chin to try and protect my face. It wasn't doing much, but there also wasn't much that I could do strapped to the chair like this. Guns firing filled the air, and shouts and screams alike joined in. I heard footsteps shuffling around the room, and they got closer to me. I continued to squeeze my eyes shut harder, hoping whoever was there wouldn't harm me. I wasn't sure how much more pain my body could handle. Fingers grabbed my hand, and there was a tugging on the zip ties. A snap sounded, and my hands were free. 

My eyes flew open, and I stretched out my good arm, trying to get the circulation flowing through it again. I pushed myself up from the ground with my good hand, hissing in pain as my left arm hung limp at my side and slowly got to my feet. I looked around quickly, trying to find who helped me, but no one was there. There was a large hole in the middle of the wall, and I could see outside from where I was standing. 

Freedom. 

I rushed toward the hole, not looking back once. It was dark outside, and I ran through the large field, not knowing where I was going, but I knew I needed to get out of there. Fighting was happening all around me, but no one paid attention to me, which was great. Breathing was hard to do because of the many blows I took to my chest, so it made running a challenge, but I pushed through. I just needed to make it out of here and then figure out where to go after. I ran like my life depended on it because it did, and I didn't stop for the next ten minutes. I kept pushing through the pain, through my shortness of breath. I needed to make it somewhere safe. I needed to make it. 

Nothing about where I was looked familiar, and I tried my best not to freak out. I was already disoriented, the pain from my injuries coming at me full force, and my vision was starting to blur. That wasn't good. I finally stopped running when I reached the edge of greenery and wheezed as I tried to catch my breath. I should've continued working out because I had no endurance whatsoever. After almost hacking up a lung, I looked around to see where I could go. I couldn't ask anyone for help because they would call the authorities as soon as they saw me, and I didn't want to explain why I looked like I was used as someone's punching bag. I needed to get to the warehouse. I began walking through the greenery, the trees blocking out the little light I had, and I blindly walked through it. Branches scratched at my arms and face, and I whacked everything that was in my way with my good arm. The darkness really wasn't helping me stay up. I wanted to sleep even more. Let the darkness consume me, trap me in its grip. 

I pushed forward until I reached the side of a road. Cars were sparse on this road, and there was only a bus stop ahead on the other side of the road, in the middle of nowhere. I groaned as I looked down the long stretch of road, seeing nothing but trees for miles. How was I going to make it? I was going to pass out at any second. I squinted as a truck slowed to the side of the road on the other side, and my eyes widened when I saw that the back part was an open area with hay stacked on top of each other. I could hitch a ride.

Wasting no more time, I jogged the best I could to the truck and used my good arm to climb up the back. It was a struggle, but I made it, and I collapsed as soon as I reached the hay.

Birds chirping filled my ears, and I winced as something bit my ear. I swatted at whatever it was, opening my eyes to see the sun shining down on me. I groaned, pain everywhere on my body, in my bones, in my soul. It was everywhere. Why did it feel worse than before? I hissed as I sat up, still unable to move my left arm. If I knew how to pop an arm back in place, I would've done it already. But I didn't know how to, and I was pretty sure I was doing more damage to my shoulder just having it hanging there like that. 

I looked around to see that I was still on the back of the truck, but it was parked now. I was at a gas station next to a busy road. I quickly hopped from the truck and kept my head down as I walked away from the truck. I needed something to hide my face and bruises on my body. Spotting a store, I quickly went in and grabbed the first sweater that I saw, putting it on. There were face masks in another aisle, so I grabbed that as well, putting one on my face, and left the store before the clerk could notice what I did. In the store, I was able to see what city I was in, and I happened to be in the same city that the warehouse was located. I knew where the warehouse was located, but it was going to be at least a two-hour walk for me. I couldn't risk taking any transportation for anyone to see me and report me to the authorities.