“I can’t,” she said. “I can’t move.”
“I know this is hard,” I said, “but I need you to be strong for me. They left a scalpel on the floor. Can you come get it before they come back in here?”
Rosie didn’t respond, but I heard tiny footsteps coming toward me. Her hand came into my view and she snatched it up and ran back behind me.
"Can you put it in my hands?" I asked.
Cold metal touched my skin. I gripped the scalpel the best I could, but I didn't have much strength left in me.
The door opened and Amber and Dean waltzed in. Their gaze went to my pile of vomit on the floor.
“Ewww! Seriously, so gross,” Amber said.
“I’m sorry my bile isn’t to your liking,” I said. “I did it just for you.”
Amber glared at me. “You know …”
Amber didn’t have time to finish the thought. Loud popping sounds came from the hallway, followed by shouting. One voice I recognized immediately.
Dante.
Dean shut the door and held his body against it. “Get the chair!”
Amber ran to me, pulled out a knife, and cut the ties holding my legs to the chair. She shoved my body off, and I fell to the floor. Amber placed the chair under the door handle. It wouldn’t hold very long, so I didn’t know why they tried.
That thought vanished from my mind when I saw Amber coming at me with a knife. They wanted to kill me before Dante could rescue me. Fighting through the stab wounds, I scrambled to get away from her, using my legs to push myself back.
When she was right in front of me, I threw my legs into her, my feet hitting her right in the groin. I wasn’t aiming for that spot, but when my feet landed, I thought to myself, How convenient. The effect would have been better, though, if she were a he.
Amber stumbled backward before she started forward again. She lunged at me that time, her knife flying toward my face. I moved at the last second, barely avoiding the knife plunging into my eye. When the knife collided with the ground, she lost her grip, and it bounced away from her. She reached out for it, but I wrapped my legs around her waist and twisted her away.
Amber's fist barreled toward my face, but I maneuvered out of the way at the last second, making her punch the ground. I smiled inwardly when I remembered that same moment over a year ago when she punched the tile instead of my face. She yelped out in pain the same way she had back then, too, making my inward smile turn to the outside.
She tried to push my legs from around her waist, but I held on tight. She put her hands around my neck and squeezed. “Just die! Why won’t you just die?”
“You’ll never … kill me … Amber.” I struggled for breath. Closing my eyes, I rammed my head into hers, knocking her away so her grip loosened. “I’m smarter.” I twisted my waist and threw her body to the side, making her hands leave my neck. “And stronger.”
I used the moment wriggle my arms along my legs until my bound hands were in front of me instead of behind. Amber flung herself at me. I threw up my arms and jammed the scalpel into her neck. Her eyes widened in shock as blood rushed out, pouring down on me.
Forcing myself to stay in place, I kept a hold on the scalpel, watching and waiting for Amber's life to fade. I hated killing. It wasn’t something a sane person could get used to. But if I didn't kill Amber, she'd sure as hell kill me.
Amber finally fell to the ground, her body going limp. I wanted to drop the scalpel, scamper away from the body, but Dean was still at the door, trying to hold off the others from getting in.
Rosie's round, tear-filled eyes stared at me. “Oh, Emmie.”
“I’m okay, Rosie,” I said. “I’m going to be fine. Dante’s here. They can’t hurt us anymore.”
Rosie nodded, but her eyes told me she was still worried.
I searched Amber’s pockets until I found the key to the handcuffs. Bending my wrist, I tried to get the key in, but I couldn't get the angle right. Rosie gently took the keys from my shaking hands.
Moments later, my hands were free. I threw my arms around Rosie’s neck. “Thank you for being so strong.”
“It’s easy when I have someone like you to look up to. You’re practically my hero.” Rosie gasped. “Don’t tell Santiago I said that.”
I let out a small laugh. “I won’t.” I picked up Amber’s knife and cut the ties off Thunder Thighs and Skinny.
“Thank you,” I said to Thunder Thighs. She replied with a grunt.
Dean still held the door. I always knew he was strong, but that just proved it. I shuffled over to him, gritting my teeth through the unbearable pain, and tapped him on the shoulder. He glanced at me for a split second, but then fully snapped his head toward me when he realized it was me standing there. And I was holding a knife.
“Back away from the door,” I said. When he didn’t more, I pressed the tip of the knife into his side. “If you want to live, back away from the door.” For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t move. But then he looked at Amber lying on the floor.
He backed away from the door and it burst open, the chair sliding away. Dante rushed in, his eyes going wide when they landed on me.
Santiago pushed past him and ran at Rosie. Picking her up in his arms, he twirled her around. When he put her back down, he examined her body, his eyes going wide when he saw her broken arm.
“What happened?” Santiago asked her.
Rosie smiled. “I jumped out of the jeep when they kidnapped me.”
Santiago shook his head but smiled. “That’s my little sister.” He hugged her. “I’m proud of you. You’re stronger than I am.”
Maya, Mom, and Sean stood behind Dante.
Mom pulled me into her arms. “What did they do to you?”
“Exactly what it looks like,” I said. “How did you get in here?”
“We don’t have time to talk,” Dante said. “Austin’s still somewhere in the building. We need to get to him before he does something crazy. I heard some of the guards saying he snapped.”
The pain radiating from my face and stomach proved that fact. “He did.” Mom still held onto me. “Mom, I’m okay.”
She pulled back and looked down, her eyes stopping when she saw my bloody legs. “What happened?”
“A screwdriver,” I said.
Mom, Dante, Maya, Sean, and Santiago all gasped at the same time.
“Who did that to you?” Dante asked. He pointed a gun at Dean who had dropped to the floor, screaming over his dead daughter.
My gaze traveled to Amber. Dante held out a gun to Thunder Thighs. It must have been Dean’s because Dante was still holding his and I assumed he would have taken any weapons from Dean. Thunder Thighs took it and pointed it at Dean.
Dante paused near me and put his hand on my arm. “I’m glad you’re alive.”
“Me too.” I put my arm around Mom’s shoulder for some support. Maya came to my other side to help me out. Walking with a stab wound in each leg wasn’t easy.
When we went out into the hall, there were a bunch of dead guards on the ground. Mom and Maya made sure to maneuver around them so I wouldn’t trip on any. Thunder Thighs walked ahead of us, stepping on the bodies that were in her path. If I wasn’t in so much pain, and it wasn’t such an odd thing to do, I might have laughed.
Dante and Santiago stayed in front, checking the halls before we turned. Thunder Thighs still had her gun pointed at Dean, who walked next to her. Rosie and Skinny stayed right behind Dante and Santiago, scampering to keep up.
Sean kept at the rear of the pack, walking with a slight limp. Whatever injury he received during the explosion still bothered him. It made me wonder if it would be permanent.
The hallways were eerily silent, making my hair stand on end. Silence in Headquarters wasn’t a good thing.
I turned to Mom. “Where is everybody?”
She shrugged. “We’re not entirely sure. It wasn’t too packed to begin with. We killed anyone we came across, but there was less than we thought there would be.�
�
There were a couple of dead guards in each hallway we went down.
“They’re probably out fighting,” Maya said.
“That’s if Austin didn’t scare them all away with his madness,” Sean said from behind us.
We stepped into an open area filled with desks. There were computers at each station and monitors lined the walls. It looked like the main security area. But there wasn’t a single soul in the room.
“This is weird,” Mom said.
“Why?” Dante asked.
“This place is usually buzzing,” Mom said. “I’ve never seen it empty. Ever.”
We glanced around at all the screens, but they were filled with static. Santiago, Sean, and Dante walked around all the stations, looking for anything that might tell us what had happened.
Mom and Maya helped me sit down in one of the chairs. Maya removed the bag she had slung around her back and pulled out some gauze and medical tape. Placing a piece of gauze over the wound on my right leg, she wound the tape around a few times to hold it in place. She repeated the process on my other leg.
“This isn’t much,” Maya said, “but it’ll have to do for now. Samantha can fix you up when we get out of here.”
A throat cleared to the left of me and I looked up to see Austin. Joshua, President Coleman, and Brandon stood next to him, along with several other security guards, some from Kingsland. They circled the entire area.
None of us heard them coming.
Austin smiled. “I’m glad to see we’re all together now.” He stepped toward me. Dante pointed an arrow at him, but then several guns trained on Dante. “What is that thing, Dante? Whatever it is, put it down.”
“No,” Dante said.
Santiago raised his shotgun, Maya lifted her sword, and Mom, Sean, and Thunder Thighs all pointed their guns at Austin. Rosie and Skinny squatted down next to me, out of the line of fire.
“Fine, we’ll play it your way,” Austin said. “But the minute any of you move to attack, you’ll all be dead.”
“That’s a risk we’re willing to take,” Santiago said.
Austin waltzed over to me, not acknowledging all the weapons that moved with him. He lifted my chin to look at him. “Any last words, Emmie?”
“Last words before what?” I asked.
I had Amber’s knife in my hand, hiding behind my back. I didn’t want to use it, but I wouldn’t hesitate if it came down to it. What I really wanted, though, was my handgun. Dante, Santiago, and Maya had all brought the weapons they were trained with from their home cities.
Austin tsked. “You keep saying I’m arrogant but look at you. You’re full of yourself.”
“Well, if these are my last words, I would rather you talk.” I stared into his eyes, forcing myself to not look away. “Why? That’s all I want to know. Why?”
Austin took a couple of steps back. “My whole life I was in the shadows. No one noticed me. People loved my dad, but they never looked at me like I was good enough to be his son. Do you know what that’s like?” His mouth turned up a little, more of a smirk than a real smile. “I guess you would. You had a mother who didn’t want you. And a father that wanted to kill you.”
“That’s not …” Mom started.
Austin held his hand up to silence her. “This isn’t a time for arguing. I’m just stating simple facts.” He bent down in front of me. “Emmie, you and I together, I think we could change the world. We understand each other. We’re the same. Unwanted children with bright ambitions. We’ve been overlooked. Let’s make a stand. Let’s show them they were wrong.”
His words confused me. He went from wanting to kill me to wanting to be my partner? His expression didn’t give much away, so I couldn’t figure it out.
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “You hate me.”
“No, I don’t.” Austin gently rubbed my cheek. I flinched at his cold touch. What was wrong with him?
“How did you become so evil?” I asked, trying to ignore his hand on my face.
Austin’s twisted smile sent shivers through me. “Well, as my dad used to say, some people are just born that way.” His finger trailed down my face and neck. “No matter what you do or how hard you try to teach them to be good, the evil is just too strong.”
Removing his hand from me, he rubbed his forehead. “It consumed me. I tried to fight it. I tried to be good, but it ate away at me.” He looked at his hands and arms. “It crept around inside of me, moving around.” He pointed to his head. “It started here and then moved down. My dad tried to get me help, but nothing worked.” He examined his arm closely and then held it out to me. “Can you see it, Emmie? Can you see the evil? It’s right there, under the skin, calling my name.”
“Austin, are you okay?” I asked.
Austin tilted his head in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I be?” He leaned in like he wanted to kiss me, but I pulled back.
I glanced at Dante, who wore the same confused expression I did. As I looked around the room, everyone was wearing that expression. Except for Joshua. I couldn’t be certain, but it almost looked like he’d winked at me when my gaze went past him.
Austin lost his bearings for a second and almost fell over. He shook his head, trying to focus himself.
When he looked at me, he blinked rapidly. He leaned in and out, swaying as he did. “Emmie, you and I …” His words were slurred. “Me … you … conquer …” He stared at his hands. "The evil has taken over."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of black soaring at me. I stood, dropping Amber's knife behind me, reached out my hand, caught my handgun, and pointed it at Austin. I didn't see who had thrown the gun.
The moment my gun landed in my hands, Santiago stepped forward, keeping his shotgun aimed at Austin. Maya came between me and Santiago, holding her sword, pointing it at Austin. Dante rushed between me and Santiago, his arrow cocked and ready to fire at Austin's heart.
Us four revolutionaries created a circle around Austin. A power surged within me, blocking out the pain from all my wounds. I embraced it, using the strength to finally end the war. The war that had done too much damage and ripped families apart.
The four of us stood tall and strong, united as one. There was no doubt, no fear to be seen.
I lifted my chin ever so slightly. "It's over, Austin. Tell your troops to back down."
"You're outnumbered!" Austin raged. Veins popped from his face and neck, his eyes holding a crazy fury I'd never seen before.
"So are you," I said, my voice even and calm. "You either surrender, or you'll be dead. Your choice."
Austin's chest heaved. Letting out a war cry, he lunged at me, his fingers like claws wanting to rip me apart. I didn't want to hurt Austin. He'd betrayed me, but he was still an Oliver. A family I held close to my heart.
I think the other revolutionaries could feel my hesitancy. They understood. But they weren't connected to the Oliver's like me.
Austin's eyes bulged. Right before he got to me, he fell to the floor, an arrow sticking out of his neck, a sword in his side, and a shotgun blast on his back.
The four of us swept around, backed into each other for a mere second, and then charged. A few of the Kingsland guards who had been standing with Austin and President Coleman, turned on them, apparently their alliance with us.
It ended as quickly as it started. The second the last Infinity Corp guard fell, Joshua lunged toward a table, pressed a button, and began to yell. "Stand down! This is Joshua Randall and I order all the Infinity Corp troops to stand down. Retreat to Headquarters."
"Do you think that will work?" Santiago asked him.
Joshua shrugged. "It's worth a try. They think I'm allied with Austin."
My eyes turned to Austin. “What happened to him there at the end? He was acting so odd.” My legs buckled beneath me, so I reached out and grabbed a chair, rolled it toward me, and sat down.
“I drugged him.” Joshua bent down in front of me, his eyes full of sorrow. “I’m so sorry
, Emmie. I didn’t know they’d torture you like this.” He swore. “Although, I guess I should have. I always underestimated their evilness. Especially Amber.” He looked at my legs. “What the hell did she do to you?”
“It doesn’t matter.” I stared at him, not sure what to think. “What happened? I thought you betrayed us. Again?”
“Why would you think that?” Dante asked. He glanced over at Brandon's body, regret and pain on his face. It made me wonder if Dante had been the one to kill him. Or if he was just sad to see someone he once considered a friend dead. Maybe both.
I looked at Dante. “What? He handed me over to Austin and Amber. He left me alone with them. He told me that he was working with Austin.”
Dante scratched his head. “Okay, now I’m confused. He’s the one who told us where you were.”
“Well, we had already started in the tunnel,” Maya said. “We heard your communicator and knew something was wrong. Someone told us they spotted the four of you go into the medical building, so we went to check it out and noticed the open hatch on the floor.”
“Thank goodness Joshua contacted us.” Santiago whistled. “Those tunnels were confusing as all get out. I don’t think we would have found Headquarters in time if it wasn’t for him.”
I turned back to Joshua. “What are they talking about?”
Sighing, he sat down on the floor next to my chair. “I figured the only way we’d get out of here alive is if we had help. I figured Austin would want you dead and I didn’t think the four of us could do it on our own. But I needed a way to be alone so I could contact Dante and the others. That meant letting Austin think I was still working with him.” He eyed my face and then my legs. “If I’d known they’d do all this to you, though, I wouldn’t have left. I figured I’d be back in enough time to stop them from going too far.”
“I don’t mean this in a bad way, Emmie,” Dante said, “but I’m glad Joshua did what he did. If he hadn’t of left, we would have never made it here in time. You, Rachel, Angela, and Rosie would all be dead.”
Rise (New Haven Book 3) Page 26