The Uprising

CHAPTER 14

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The sky darken and the pale moonlight pour through the window, as my body lay almost lifeless in the corner of the room. The emotional numbness takes over, and I refused to move. Lia's cold dead body was an arm's length away from my position. There is a small pool of blood forming at the back of her head. The sight made me nauseous, so much so that I had to close my eyes tightly to get my mind to pretend that she wasn't there.

Pretending turned out to be a major challenge. I wished on every star that all of this was just a horrific nightmare; even the stars are hiding from the gruesomeness of the night. If I were the stars, I wouldn't want to shine down on such a cruel place either.

A streak of lightning illuminates the sky followed by the ear-shattering rattle of thunder that shook the building. Rain was coming. The smell of wet dirt fills the room, clouding my senses. Tiny droplets of rain patter against the window. On a normal day, I would have found the sent intoxicating and even relaxing. Today was far from being anywhere close to normal.

"Jemi!" I heard someone call. "Jemima where are you?!" I feeble got up and cried out for help. At this point, I didn't care who it was. The need to leave this room was my top priority.

The door flew off its hinges and the sound echoes through the halls. Dash barges in pointing his gun all over the place. He finally sees that there wasn't any danger there, however, he didn't drop his guard. I never thought there was a time I would be happy to see one of them.

With teary eyes and a blurry vision, my feet shuffled towards him. I completely broke down—the last time I saw him was the first time we met. Even though we weren't familiar with each other, I allowed myself to hug him. He listened to me talk about everything that happened at Lia's house and what Wade did to her.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked between my sniffles.

"Jordon was busy so I got assigned to follow you"

Creepy but in this case useful.

"Thank you"

"It's okay Jemi I'm getting you out of here."

When I let him go, he winces. I completely forgot about his wound.

The corridors were dark and gloomy. Ceiling lights flickered on and off every ten seconds which didn't help my anxiety. A rat scurried across the corridor and I nearly gave Dash a heart attack with my shrieking.

"Do you think we could have carried Lia's body?"

"No, why would you be best friends with a Westside member in the first place?"

"How was I supposed to know she was a Westside member, is there a book on who belongs to the Three Rings and who belongs to Westside?"

Dash sighs in annoyance but doesn't answer. I wondered if he knew Lia, after all, they are enemies. The main key to war is to know your enemy. It wouldn't be surprised if he knew her

Heavy footsteps matchs towards us, Dash was ready. As soon as the figure came into his field of vision he pulls the trigger. My heart was pumping in my ears, I didn't look at the body. The sound already told me that whoever it was has died. We moved swiftly down the stairs and then on to the final corridor. Muffled voices came from the front door, he pointed to the receptionist's desk, and I hurriedly got under it without question.

He kicked the double doors, four men at the door tries to grab him but he mercilessly used the gun to knock one of them to the ground. He shoots the other two and slams the last one's head into the ground until the tile broke. The floor was a mess with blood.

"Let's move," he orders.

We ran out into the stormy night. Dash didn't head for the gate, instead, he went to the building next to the one we had escaped from. My mouth opens to question him about his choice but the wind carries my words somewhere other than his ears. When we get into the building, it envelops me into a thick warmness that I didn't know I needed until now.

"Why didn't we leave?" I enquire between chattering teeth.

"Only you can leave," he told me vaguely.

"What do you mean?"

His eyes lands everywhere else except on me. A thought flowed through my mind and fear came with it. He wasn't just heard to rescue me, he was going to spy on them.

"Dash tell me the truth"

"The team will be here in an hour I'll be fine until they get here but Jordon is waiting for you. "

A sacrifice. That is what it was. If he stays behind, he knows he will die. We both know it. I have seen how Wade killed Lia, he was merciless. He didn't even hesitate. I didn't care what Dash said but I wasn't leaving him behind.

"No," I state firmly.

"Jemima listen, you haven't known me for long but you need to trust me"

"Trust you to get yourself killed then your blood will be on my hands! I don't want that kind of guilt. My best friend was just murdered!"

A headache was staring to bloom in my temple. The rubbing didn't help, working on my breathing didn't help. This was nightmare and I wanted badly to wake up.

"You are too important right now and your purpose in this whole mess just got bigger," I raise an inconspicuous brow at him and waited for him to continue. "Do you remember when Daniel saved you?"

"It's pretty hard to forget since I almost died," I admit.

"The gas was a toxin created by Wade. It attacks the respiratory system."

"And causes death?"

"Yes and the serum that Daniel gave you was unique. Its components are unknown because it was also made by Wade."

"So basically Daniel injected me with an unknown substance."

Fantastic, something else to add to my long list of things to worry about.

"Daniel sent a team to raid one of Westside's warehouse. That's where we've found the toxin and a single vile of its antidote before the explosion." I can see where this is going. If I should take a wild guess then it would entail Wade spreading this toxin on the island because he's just that psychotic.

"You have our only chance of remaking the serum. Wade will release the toxin again but we don't know when."

There we go.

"How does Wade even know how to make such a toxin?"

The sound of thunder diffuses through the building. Car alarms went off in a distance. My anxiety grew every second. Dash notices my discomfort and took my hand in his.

"Before he became a politician and the leader of Westsyde, he was a simple apothecary"