Game of Patience

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

She felt the alarm, even as she was turning the keys in the car. It was so loud she was pretty sure no amount of sleeping pills would keep anyone awake through that.

She saw their angry faces in the headlights. She tried reversing but had to brake quickly before hitting a tree. Driving looked easier than it was. She moved the stick and tried going forward. Everyone jumped out of her way, but she still needed to maneuver the car out from the trees. She was trying to calm herself down, she needed to concentrate, but so much was relying on her being able to drive away from this.

Mark opened the driver's side door and pulled her out, she tried to hold onto the wheel, but he was so much stronger. She pushed at his arms but he pulled her up higher so she couldn't kick off anything with her feet. She tried to kick him, but she hit muscle.

She felt the cold blade against her skin and she stopped. Her legs dangled in the air.

"That's what I thought." Mark snarled.

She bit down on his arm and he screamed and released her. She grabbed the blade that he dropped and pointed it at him. Then she remembered that he wasn't alone. She turned in time to move out of the way of the other two diving at her.

"I'm driving out of here, one way or another." Her voice trembled as she flicked between the men.

She needed to get back to the car, no one had bothered removing and pocketing the keys yet. She still had a chance to make it out. Mark jumped on her from behind and she jabbed the blade into the first bit of flesh it came in contact with.

Mark screamed as she pulled the blade out of the palm of his hand, blood seeped freely from the wound.

"I'll get you for that you little bitch!"

"Grab her Mark!" Spencer cried.

She looked at the other two, they were circling her, but not really making any attempt to get to her. They weren't fighter, Mark was the muscles and he had just been injured by a teenager. They weren't ready to meet the same fate.

She jumped into the car and watched as the others closed in on her. She pushed the pedal down and turned sharply. She broke out from the trees. She threw the blade out of the window. She wished she could keep it, but it had her fingerprints on it and Mark's blood on. She doubted that the criminals would find it, but she hoped the team would. They would know where she had been and who with.

She drove along the bumpy country road, going way too fast. A loud thud came as the car was thrown to one side, she fought with the wheel and every instinct in her body to regain control over the car. She slowed down a bit. If she hit another bump like that, she wasn't sure she could make it out of that again. She was lucky the first time and she doubted her luck would hold out.

She heard a car beeping in the distance. She checked the mirrors and saw a car speeding behind her. She swore, how could she have been so stupid. The car she was driving wasn't the van she was kidnapped in. The van was currently behind her with a very pissed off Spencer driving.

She pushed the pedal down further and gained speed. It was terrifying and hard to control, she pretended that this was a game and if she came off the road she would restart instead of possibly killing herself in the crash.

She checked her mirror again, she was losing them, but she wouldn't be able to outrun them for good, all she could do now was out smart them.

Bright lights could be seen in the distance. At first it was just numbers, then she could see some kind of roof. Simon was telling the truth, follow the road and there was a petrol station.

The car skidded across the tarmac as she tried to kill her speed. She didn't care about good parking, she stopped where she could and got out. She ran past the pumps and into the shop. The bell dinged and the guy behind the counter looked up at her.

She ran up to him.

"I have no time to explain, have you got a pen and paper?"

The guy handed over a pad he had been scribbling over with a black pen. She quickly wrote down a number.

"When I leave here, hide."

"What?"

"Please, there is no time to explain. Three guys are coming after me. When I leave, hide. Then when they've left call this number." She pointed to what she wrote. "Ask for Phillips. Tell them Brooke was here. Don't take no as an answer. Follow his instructions."

She went to run out the door, but paused.

"Where's the best CCTV spot outside?"

"We have them everywhere."

"Send them the CCTV when we are gone. Go hide out back."

The guy scurried into the back. Brooke felt bad, he looked young, too young to be here alone. Though she hoped no one else was coming any time soon.

She saw the car come up to the entrance, she ran round the back of the building and pretended to look for a phone.

She saw Andrew appear round the side of the wall. He was alone.

"What did you think you were doing?"

"Looking for a phone, it turns out this place doesn't have one and I couldn't find anyone inside." She tried to sound a lot calmer than she was. She wanted nothing more than to cry out, scream and fight.

"You're a lot of trouble." She heard Spencer behind her. "Put your hands on your head." He yelled.

She looked up at the camera, it was well hidden on the building. She gave it a faint smile so Phillips would know that she was okay. She hoped he would figure things out quickly. That the criminals would take her back to the cabin or would have left some clue behind as to where else they might take her.

"Turn around slowly."

"What are you going to do? We are out in public."

"Well I'm sure I can make up a story about a teenage delinquent. Now turn around."

She turned slowly and kept her hands on her head.

"You can let me go. Get a headstart on running away before they come to find you. Because either way, they will come for you."

"Shut up and get in the car."

She looked around her. They had her surrounded and were slowly walking towards her, no matter what she tried, the chance of getting past them was slim. But there was a chance.

She darted one way and then the other. She felt Andrew's arm brush past her, but she had made it out. She sprinted as fast as she could away from the petrol station. Hopefully the guy will call for help soon. She might be able to hold them off for a bit.

She risked a glance behind her and saw Mark following her. He was heavy, built for strength, not speed.

Andrew, on the other hand, was catching up with Brooke. She hadn't expected any of them to be fast runners. She thought that was the only upper hand she had. Andrew tackled her to the floor. She tried to kick out, to find some grip somewhere, a way to wiggle out of his hold. She tried to claw at his face but she couldn't find it, she was running out of fight.

She felt something sharp go into her arm, the warmth spread through her body. Andrew got off of her and she wanted to move, she begged her body to move. She wanted to cry, to scream. She wanted to do anything other than being forced to sleep. She tried to grip onto the world, force her brain to work, to stay awake.

She saw Spencer's leg move, she felt the pressure as he kicked her hip. Brooke wanted to hold onto the pain, to use it. But she felt fog enter her mind. She saw their lips moving, but she heard no sound. She couldn't fight it anymore. The last thing she saw was Mark picking up her limp body. She felt nothing but calmness.