Transfusion

Chapter 3

 My heart jack-hammered inside me, never slowing as another masked man chased me into a darkened area. My first instinct against these men, who were larger and stronger than me, was to run. That seemed to work so far, my small size and endurance had allowed me to escape my pursuer for now, but I knew there would be more of them ahead of me.

I shouldn't be back here, it's too dark, I could barely see five feet in front me. My head screamed that it was dangerous, but the maze had blocked me in, there was no where else to turn, unless I wanted to back track. I slowed to a walk, carefully watching for any sign of movement.

Suddenly, trunk like arms emerged from an alcove in front me, and reached toward my midsection, tackling me to the ground. I think I let out a screech. A ball of pain and fear rolled through me, radiating from my body. At least he wasn't carrying a gun. I fell backward landing on my back across the cement flooring and my head cracked against the ground. the weight of my attacker trapped me, and the bubble of terror inside my stomach threatened to engulf everything. This couldn't happen. I fought through the feelings, willing myself to calm down and let muscle memory take over. Thank god, self defense lessons and karate was nothing new to me.

Struggling, as he tried to keep his hold on my body, I freed myself enough to elbow him in the neck, causing him to pull back in pain, and I kicked him as hard as I could between the legs, where I knew it would hurt.

Standing up on shaky legs, I was ready for him when he lunged at me, and ducked out of the way as he misjudged his balance and fell forward. Thinking quickly, I spotted a wrench on the side of a shelf and grabbed it. Before he had time to get back up, I clocked him on the side of his head as hard as I could, and then I continued running. He might be passed out or he might be dead, I didn't really care.

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Luck might be on my side, because I made it to the center of the giant ass warehouse, more or less unscathed. The lights are the brightest here, and I almost had to squint. I hid behind a couple of particularly large boxes and surveyed the scene. In front of me was a glass room, and inside, lay 10 tables lined up neatly. Only 4 have packages on them- the rest were empty, probably due to the recruits who got there before me.

The room in question seemed to have no entrance, but that was no longer a problem, as the walls of the room were made up of glass panes, and they had already been broken through on multiple sides, leaving gaping holes and glass shards littering the ground. 

There was a bigger problem though, more men swarmed around the room, patrolling it like bees around a hive. I tightened my grip on the wrench still in my hand, with trepidation.

Another recruit made a run for the packages; it seemed like suicide to me, but who was I to judge, maybe the kid knew hand to hand combat. Turned out, it would have been useless anyway; before they even reached the glass room, one of the men pulled out a gun and shot them right through the head, in between the eyes. Blood sprayed the ground, and the recruit collapsed.

Now that I look, there was a lot of blood stains on the ground, but no sign of any bodies. I continued to stall, trying, and failing to think of anything that could get me out of this intact. Before the blood of the dead teen had even cooled, another recruit was willing to risk it, trying her luck. This one appeared to have a gun of her own, probably having yanked it off her attacker. How she managed to kill or steal something off a person armed with a gun was beyond me, but admiration flowed through me as I watched her face off with the guards.

Struck, I realized this was the perfect opportunity to go in; she could be my distraction. When the guards noticed that the girl had a gun, they headed toward her, seeing her as a threat. Stealthily, I moved behind them, and ran for the glass room, stepping across the broken glass. Continuing to stay low to the ground, I reached the first table and snatched up a package, holding it close to my chest. Now all that's left to do was escape.

I was so preoccupied, I didn't hear the click of a gun coming from behind me, pointed level to my head.

The man pulled the trigger without hesitation.

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.

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Everything froze. Literally. Men in black halted in mid step, and the world hung in silence.

Sweat dripped down my face from the effort, and I willed my heart to slow, and to stay focused knowing any second, the spell could be broken and I'd end up with a bullet  in my head. Already, my hold was slipping and I forced myself to make my body move. My progress was so slow I felt as if I was forcing myself through a wall of caramel. My arms and legs moved as though they were filled with weights. The air molecules were actively working to keep me still, but I had to push through or face the world of pain that I knew was coming my way.

In seconds, the moment ended and everything came crashing back, the eerie silence punctured by the sounds of gunshots and yells of people around me. The bullet meant for my head flew past me, only grazing my the side of my face. The shooter was stunned into inaction as he stared at me.

Without another thought, I sprinted out of there as if the room itself were on fire. Not looking back, I ran through the maze, taking a left, a right, and then another left. Zig zagging until I wasn't even sure whether I had been running around in a circle or not. No one was there to stop me, probably preoccupied by the people still in the center of the building.

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As if by some miracle, a door loomed right in front of me, and I don't think I've ever felt so relieved. Rushing out of the building, I took gulping breaths of the frosty night air. Making sure the package was still clutched in my hand,  I finally let my guard down. I'd done it. Adrenaline was still rushing through my system so I couldn't feel the graze of the bullet wound on my face but I could feel the wetness of blood on my cheek. 

So preoccupied with trying to open the package, I didn't even notice when someone came up behind me and jammed a needle into the side of my neck.

As I went under, the truth of what happened earlier, struck me. If I hadn't been able to stop time, I would have been dead by now.