Ride or Die {Book 1} ✔️

Chapter 24: We'll Work Something Out

Sometimes, I wonder just how stupid I could actually be. I mean, literally, when can I learn to keep my big mouth shut? Sitting in the dark small bathroom, my hands tied roughly behind my back, I couldn't even get my voice out through my dry throat. Screaming and yelling had done me no good it seemed and it would still do me no good to waste time doing that. Instead, I sat quietly in silence, thinking back to how I had ended up in this position.

- - - -

"Carl?" I squeaked, the color already draining from my face. Jordan didn't bother responding to my slow moment, rather taking more interest in where the cab had parked. This was it, this was the time for me to escape. Glancing nervously over at Evan, he was looking out the window as well. Curiosity beat me to the planning of our escape and I looked out the window to see what they were seeing.

It was a medium sized building with an old, nearly ancient, atmosphere radiating off of it from its formation. The paint was dull, what used to be a shiny white was now a dull sickening grey with small bumps all over it. A chimney as high as twelve feet was in the middle of the roof, as broken down as the other parts of the building. Around the body of the building there was windows with a bright light shining on the outside, allowing me to see inside. There wasn't anything but a perfectly white wall with painting of art on them. Surrounding the small building was a garden of red roses but it didn't help the gloomy atmosphere the building seemed to create unknowingly.

If I wasn't mistaken, I had seen the building in textbooks at my old high school, in the World History book. Back in the 18th century, Chicago was a small community at first. However all the hard work the people had put into building it was thrown down the drain when a great fire burned everything to the ground. It was known as the Great Chicago Fire, wiping out everything expect for two main towers. This was one of those towers, a historic sight that had stayed strong through it all and still surviving.

What were we doing here? I was positive this was not a school trip for the study of ancient fires. Jordan looked between me and Evan.

"I wouldn't try anything if I was you."

"Shut up." I scowled back, already knowing the dangers that I was about to face.

Rolling her eyes, Jordan tapped the window with a certain beat that I could easily memorize. I heard the sounds of the doors unlocking and Evan slipped out the cab, followed by Jordan. But I found myself unable to move from my position, staring out the open door at the feet waiting on me to climb out. I couldn't.

I knew who was waiting for me. Carl. What was he going to do to me now that I was back in his hands? Was I going to die? Frozen in fear, cold drops of sweat was trickling down my spine as my body went icy. I was scared out of my pants, I didn't want to meet him again, I didn't want to be near him ever again. So instead of following, I stayed put, biting tightly on my bottom lips as my arms wrapped around myself, unconsciously trying to bring comfort.

Hearing some mumbled voices, it didn't surprise me to see Evan crawling back into the backseat, popping himself down next to me. Both of us didn't speak, not a word, and it began to make my nerves jump, my stomach already twisting anxiously. 

"We'll work something out." Evan stated, obviously referring to our escape.

"What if..." I struggled to speak again, a larger lump forming in my tight throat. "What if... he tries to..."

His hand found mines and squeezed reassuringly for one hot second before he let go. "I won't let anything happen to you."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This time, when Evan crawled out the cab seat, I went after him, slowly getting out and stretching my aching legs. Jordan was already at the door of the water tower, looking over her shoulder at us. We could run, right now. But I wondered how fast we would get. With all these people outside, walking down the sidewalk in groups of ten or clumped up together like grapes. Getting through them and finding a hiding spot might not work well, especially if she has people waiting to attack if we followed through with something sneaky. At least that's what I would have done.

Evan was near the door when I finally decided to just go along with Jordan until we had the perfect chance to get away. Inside, Jordan lead us to the back of the room where a brown door stood, she opened it and walked down some stairs. The air was filled with the stench of vomit and urine, causing me to wrinkle my nose in disgust. At the bottom of the stairs, I saw Jordan's hand reach up to the ceiling and a clicking sound rung before the lights flashed on.

Forced to blink furiously to adjust my eyesight, I nearly staggered back when the sounds of screams and yelling assaulted my ears.

"Shut up, stupid bastards!" Jordan projected her voice over the loud ruckus and they obeyed almost instantly, the air now ringing with an eerie silence. My eyes stopped flashing black spots and I looked around. Boxes and other storage materials was cramped up around us but as you moved forward it cleared out and on each side was a cell. In each of the cells there were about five people ranging from young to old, from nearly healthy to sickening, to every comparing variables. They had no space and they looked as if they were treated harshly for a very long time.

Hollow eyes that bugged out with a frightened look of terror, dirty skin that hasn't been washed in probably three months, thin and fragile looking bodies telling me they hadn't been feed in days. They all pushed forward in their cells, looking down the aisle at Evan, Jordan, and I, making me feel very uncomfortable.

My eyes went through the cells, making eye contact with a selected few until I came to the last cell, that held only one person.

My mother.