Set in Stone: The Rose Secret

Chapter 14: Jump 🏃🏼‍♀️

The lady grabbed my wrist, tugging it towards the exit. "We don't have time to spare, hurry!" She pleaded. We trailed behind her, blank confused looks upon our faces. "Who are you"?, I yelled. The lady hesitated, looked my way and raised an eyebrow with a bitter grin. She paused a while more, as if she was listening to something. "He is here"!, She stuttered.

We neared the door we had come out of, but I noticed that the light that we turned on earlier, was off. The faint light of the flashlight caught dust particles which made a bluster of white cloud. I could hardly see. The lady shoved on the door. It opened wide which left the grass fields to yonder beyond us.

The rain had ended. The sky was seeping with smoky clouds that were emptied of water. The lady hustled us, leading us back towards Antonia's farm. We halted at the brim of railroad tracks. "A train is coming", Liannetta yelled, grabbing the shirt collar of Sasha who had not payed attention to the oncoming train. The train skimmed Sasha's head, whisking her hair in thousands of different directions.

"That was close." The lady whispered, her eyes meeting Sasha's fear filled eyes. "Can you just tell us what's happening!", Sasha cried. "Jump" the lady yelled suddenly leaping towards the train. She seemed to fly through the air clinging to the side of the train. "Are you crazy"? I yelled. "Behind you" the lady yelled, her voice seemed to fade as the train sped away. Our heads twirled not noticing a hooded figure on a motorbike who was charging our way, a rifle in hand.

"Oh hell no" Liannetta hissed. The hooded figure pushed harder on their gas pedal, vigorously firing bullets. "Jump" I yelled leaping onto the speeding train. My hands quickly caught hold of a railing, I held my body close to the train. The hooded figure suddenly had become parallel to the train and was off roading towards us. He had a creepy gas mask under his dark hoodie. His faced locked in my direction, I started to climb the railing to the top of the train. I steadied myself, running along the train as fast as I could.

Bullets pierced along the sky, I dove for cover. My ears ringing from the boisterous hum of bullets. I crawled to the end of the train cart, bracing myself, ready to lunge to the next cart. I took a chance at jumping, the train carts whizzing past my feet below. I found my eyes closed shut, and when they opened, I was falling head first, in a spiral off the train. The ground was feet below. "Ahhhhhhh", I let a bloodcurdling scream, every inch of my body paralyzed and in shock. Suddenly a hand grabbed my left leg. I dangled like a tooth hanging by a thread. "Got you" the strange lady yelled hoisting me back onto the train. She reassuringly put a hand on my shoulder, my three (two and a half) friends stood behind her.

The sound of the motorbike suddenly stopped. We all sighed hoping they had given up. I peered my head over the edge, the bike sliced into crumbs from a railroad sign. Then a black figure arose onto a cart three down from mine. "Guys, he still lives", Antonia yells, her ear gushing with blood. The lady, surprisingly, ran towards the figure, lunging into air, as so did the hoodie guy. Their fists interlocking in each others punches. The lady crashed on top of The Hood (shall I call him). She buried her fists into his chest, then charged towards us after giving "The Hood" a blow to the head. "Ruuuuun", she urged leading the girls to the front of the train carts. The first cart, a red one labelled Madagascar is the one she stopped at.

"Jump at the bridge ahead" the lady screamed, her hands pointing at a cement bridge. Jump? Was she crazy? I looked back, the figure had caught up with us! Limping, "The Hood" took out a hand gun.

Time seemed to slow, my brain contemplating if I should face height or gunpoint. Height was risky but a shooter had less odds of survival. I plunged into the murky waters of Dejenary bridge, the very bridge my Aunt, Auburn had crashed and died off of.

The water cupped my body as it sucked me into the strong current. I grabbed a twig that grew from the river banks and held tightly. Antonia, Sasha, Liannetta and the strange lady, drifted my way. I extended my arm to grab one of them. Like a chain we attached to each other. The person on the end of the link, Sasha used us as a ladder to reach the bank. Then the second end of the link did the same and so on. Soon I found myself choking out the water that had seeped into my airway. As we all sprawled across the eroded banks, it again started to rain.

I was wet, muddy, cold and had blisters peeling from every inch on my body. "I am done with this town", Liannetta sighed as she slammed her fists into the firm ground.

The lady was the first to stand. Her hair knotted and speckled in mud, her red lips smeared around her lips and her dark mascara drifting down her cheeks. "Are you all right" she spoke, in a weary tone. Now in the light, I could pick out some things from the lady. She looked like she was in her mid forties and had a wicked scar down her right cheek.

"We are all living physically, maybe not mentally!" Antonia noted. "Alright we should get out of here, I will explain everything!" The lady mentioned. "For starters my name is Marla Pierce" she announced venturing along the bank side. "Tell us" Sasha urged. Crossing her arms in frustration. "I am getting there.", Marla said strolling along the forest side.