The Alliance (The Alliance #1)

Chapter 5

Nonstop running. It feels as if I've been running for years. Running to pull the fire alarm, running to escape the dome, running to escape three maniacs.

Run Mia, run.

Tami is panting next to me, with Archer close to my left. The three people are getting closer and closer, shouting loudly. I can now hear their breath, right behind me.

"Faster!" Archer yells, and I push myself to speed up even more, and Tami does the same. Archer is behind us now. "Keep going!" He yells, and I yell, trying to find my last spark of energy.

I find it.

I run my fastest, with Tami on my tail. I look back and see Archer far behind us. I see him glance back at the three people, and suddenly, he stops as fast as he can and goes on his hands and knees. The people behind him are going too fast, they can't stop. Two of them trip over him, flying to the ground. The other, a male, slows down, avoiding the crash. Archer flies back up, and sprints towards us, his head down. He runs so fast he catches up with us again. The male who didn't crash is still too close, the other two slowly inching up.

"I got you now, you little bastard!" A male yells. I look behind me and see him holding a rope. His eyes are on Archer. He swings the rope.

"Archer!" I scream, and he quick gives me a glance. But it's too late. The rope is wrapped around his stomach, and he grunts and gets thrown back, his body slamming into the ground. Tami and I must've slowed down, cause one of the males grabs my arms, holding me tight. The female has Tami. I glance at Archer, who is sitting on the ground, grabbing his stomach. I can only imagine how much that hurt. But his eyes are like fire, a tint of orange in those blue eyes.

Yes, he's hurt. But he's angry.

I suddenly feel my hands being tied behind my back tight by rope. It stings immediately. The same thing happens to Tami and Archer. The male throws him on his feet.

"What do we have here? Some track stars?" The male holding Archer asks. He's tall, with dark brown hair and black eyes. All three of them are maybe in their early twenties.

"Track beginners, I'd say," the female says. Her dirty blonde hair is cut short though, shorter than both of the males. The male holding me laughs. He's shorter, but his black hair is too his shoulders. His grip is strong, making my arms go numb.

"What do you think, Max. Should we bring them over to our home?" The male holding me asks. Max smiles, shaking Archer violently.

"Ah, yes. I'd like to learn some of this kids moves. The stop and drop you did was very nice," Max says.

"I got some more up my sleeve," Archer says, and he elbows Max right in the stomach. He moans and grabs his stomach, but then starts to laugh. "Funny! I know that one too!" And he elbows Archer right back. He closes his eyes and leans over.

"Hey Lucas, she got any moves?" Max asks. Lucas looks at me. "I don't know, do you sweetie?" I shake my head no, fighting back tears.

"How bout yours, Lexi?" Lucas asks. Lexi shakes her head. "Doubt it."

"What do you want from us?" I blurt out. Max smiles at me.

"Company, that's all. Let's go."

Lucas grabs my side and pulls me. I follow, not daring to say another word. I glance at Tami, who is pale and shaking. I then look at Archer, his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed. We walk all the way to a shed. They live out here?

"Who are you people?" I ask.

"People who got kicked out of the Alliance," Archer answers.

"Smart boy," Max says, and he opens the shed and drags him in. We all follow.

Kicked out of the Alliance?

They take our two bags from us and throw it to the ground. Lucas sits me down on a dirty couch. Tami and Archer sit on another couch across from me.

"This isn't how you should treat your company," I say. Max smiles and sits right next to me. His leg touches mine, and I freeze.

"I think you have the wrong word here, sweetie. You see, you treat guest the way they want to be treated. Company, well, company is really just for us. Company doesn't have to be happy, the ones who have it do," Max says, his breath hitting the side of my face. My heart beats fast.

"Precisely," Lucas says, sitting by Tami. I see her eyes watering.

"Now, what happened here?" Lexi asks, taking a seat by Archer and pointing her finger to his gash. Archer moves his head away, but Lexi grabs his chin and pulls him back to her. The same situation that happened with him and Evelyn.

"You should answer back when I'm talking to you. Or it won't end well."

"Was it gonna end up well anyways?" Archer talks back, and Lexi spits right on his face and pushes him away. He wipes his face on his shoulder, looking more angry than ever.

"Looks like the company isn't making you happy. You should just let us get going," I say.

"The company isn't leaving until they make us happy," Lucas snaps.

"What the hell do you want from us then, a comedy show?" Archer spits out.

"Sure, why not. But also on where you three were headed." Lexi says.

"The Alliance." Tami finally speaks up.

"And she speaks!" Lucas shouts. Tami looks down immediately, her face growing red.

"You know, I think we should bring you back to your domes instead," Max says.

"It's my fault their here. Just take me back, let them go," Archer says. Lexi grips his arm hard. "Yeah, I'll teach him a lesson alright."

"No." I say simply. "We're going to the Alliance, and thats that. Not if you'll excuse me.." I try to stand up but Max's arm shoves me back down.

"On one condition," Max says. "We get to keep both of those bags."

I'm about to speak until Archer speaks up. "Deal."

I nod, but my stomach is growling and my throat is on fire. Though we all stand up, and they don't try to sit us back down.

"And you go with your arms tied. Have a safe journey," Lexi snarls. My arms are already sore from having them behind my back. But Lucas opens the door for us, and we are finally free.

"We need water," I say.

"I know," is all Archer says.

"We're going to be okay, right?" Tami asks. I want to believe we are, but we are still hours away. I already feel weak.

"Let's start moving," Archer says, not answering Tami. I wouldn't want to either. But if Archer didn't say anything but how we're going to be fine, I'm worried. Real worried.

hey guys!! So, I hope your enjoying the story so far! I WOULD ❤️ IF YOU COMMENTED AND GAVE ME FEEDBACK!!! 😄 it really helps me a lot! I hope you keep reading, love you guys!💕

-Grace✍