Hearts are never Broken {Pricefield} #wattys2016

The Bigger They Are

Rachel reaches into Chloe's pocket while I look out for Jefferson. She takes the knife out and flips open the blade.

"Here's the plan," Chloe begins as Rachel starts cutting the ropes binding her wrists.

"Rachel and I hide, he has this weird thing for you Max, so you have to stay."

The rope snaps and Chloe quickly takes the knife from Rachel's still bound hands and starts cutting the restraints around her ankles.

"We'll flank him and take him out. Go for his shoulder, stick your thumb in and he'll suffer," Chloe explains fast, as she moves on to free Rachel. Once Rachel's hands are free, Chloe hands her the knife and moves over to me.

"I can only make them a little looser, you have to keep him busy but try to stick your thumb in his wound."

She loosens up my restraints and squats in front of me.

"I forgot that you were an expert on kidnap experiences," I joke.

She laughs lightly and takes my face in her hands.

"Can I?" she asks, staring deep into my eyes. I raise an eyebrow and she looks at my lips.

I know what she wants, one last kiss just in case. I press my lips against hers without a warning or any hesitation and lose myself in the softness of her tender lips, as if it frees me from these bindings, free from this room. We rest our heads against each other after we part our lips.

"I love you," Chloe whispers in the short space between our lips as she opens her eyes and stares at me with love and desire. I take in the colour of her eyes, a bright blue full of hope, yet a lust for revenge.

"I love you too," I whisper back. She plants a kiss on my forehead and gives me a smile warmer than the sun as she signals Rachel to follow her. They disappear into the shadows, leaving me in a cutting silence.

His haunting footsteps break that silence, and then he's standing right in front of me. Perfect timing. At least, I hope so. Those scars have made him look as distorted as he truly is. As his eyes wander from side to side, I know that my moment is now. Our only chance of escape.

"Where's your friends, Max?" he asks, his already stern expression turning into a bitter shadow of human emotion as he hysterically looks around the room searching for the escaped.

"You're crazier than I thought," I say, snickering, "I'm the only person here."
"Don't play games with me! Rachel and Chloe, they were both here," he says with hatred, in a twisted voice, "what did you do?!"

I shrug my shoulders, as if I know nothing. He wraps his hands around my throat, shaking me like a ragdoll.

"Where are they?!"

"I thought you wanted them to leave me," I say with a smile.

His grip around my neck starts tightening, like sandpaper his hands burn into my throat. I break free from my restraints and try to stick my thumb in his wound but he's sewn it shut, he groans in pain as I try to work my way past the little threads that were hastily sown into his skin.
I claw at his hands as he pushes his thumbs harder and harder to my airpipe.

Fuck, where are they? What's taking them so long? I can feel his hands pressing so tight on my neck, squeezing the life from my body. I'm running out of oxygen. Fear runs over me like a train, as I begin to doubt that I'm going to make it out of this place alive. Then, I see blue spots, my vision is slowly leaving me to become darkness and I accept it. Blue. The colour of her hair.

Suddenly, my airway is open and I desperately gasp for air as I heavily cough to let more oxygen fill my lungs. Jefferson is knocked off of me with a left hook to the jaw. Before he can recuperate, Rachel wraps her arms around his neck and knees him hard in his back. I swear I hear something pop. But then he swings around with crazy momentum, landing a punch that knocks her to the ground.

"You're going to regret that!" Chloe cries as she launches herself onto Jefferson who dodges her attack by rolling to the right.

Rachel is lying there with a black eye, struggling to get back on her feet.

In fury, the blue-haired punk slams her fist into Jefferson's injured shoulder. His body sinks, but he balances himself. Chloe forcefully throws another punch, but he catches it, elbowing her in the gut. Winded, she falls, her knees scraping the cold tile floor. He grins wickedly, just as Rachel jumps up and rushes at him with Chloe's knife.

Swinging it, she slices him across his chest, which actually scares him for a fleeting moment. She swings again, but he jabs her in the wrist, knocking the knife away. He pushes her against the couch on which she lands to the corner with her bruised side. She grips her hip in pain and tries to stand but immediately falls back onto the couch trying to regain strenght.

I look to the tray with the needle that is filled with the drug that could knock him out for hours and leave him motionless, captured in his own body. I've regained my ability to breathe, and with my legs still bound I crawl towards the silver tray. Chloe dodges an attack from the enraged teacher and keeps her eyes on him trying to predict his next move. Finally, I lift Jefferson's syringe and yell Rachel's name as Jefferson and Chloe circle each other, both ready to strike.

"Catch!"

Without a flaw she grabs the syringe out of the air, leaping onto Jefferson's back and emptying the substance into his neck without hesitation.

"Night night, Jefferfuck," she says as he collapses to the floor and we all take a deep breath.

It's over, we survived.