by Paula Cox
There’s a loud bang that vibrates over my head and I feel myself falling fast towards the ground. A weight is next to me, holding me down in place as I catch myself with the strength of my bare shoulder. I open my eyes in complete shock, expecting to see heaven around me, or at least a gun pointed at my head.
But there’s only Maddie and a large, rotted wood plank. She’s holding it high over her head with both hands around the ends as if she’s ready to strike again. She shouts at me, “Move, Miss Springer!”
I roll to my side just in time as the guard attempts to stand back up. Maddie, again, nails him directly on the head with the board, causing him to collapse in a heap, his arms and legs sprawled out like a star on the ground. I see a large pool off blood forming behind his head, and I instantly back away from the puddle seeping slowly towards me.
Maddie runs towards me, hugging me tightly. I kiss her forehead and thank her over and over again in a soft whisper. But the man above us’ voice is getting louder and footsteps are getting closer. He’s distracted, on the phone again. We listen as he says, “The warehouse is what? On fire! Fuck! Cal Ross and Jager Harris will never forget the day I take them down for this!”
I turn towards Maddie. “We have to go. We have to get out of here now.” She nods, shaking her head as her eyes dart around the darkened room as the man’s voice grows more and more hostile. “I need you to promise me something first, though, okay?”
“What? Anything. I’ll do anything,” she replies desperately.
“When I say ‘run,’ you run. You don’t look back. Not for me, not for Erin, not for your dad. You run as fast and as far as you can go and you don’t stop until you are safe.”
“But what about—”
“No, Maddie! You have to promise me that you understand what I am saying to you. You and your dad are the most important people in my life, and I am not about to let you or him die trying to get out of here. So I need you to be brave and listen to every single word I say.”
“Okay. Okay. Okay.” She is crying again as she pulls me in for a long hug around my neck. I push her back and brush away the tears from her stained and dirty face.
“Good girl. Now we have to find a way out of here – fast. I have an idea, but I need you to do something for me first. When I say ‘scream,’ you need to scream as loud as possible. It has to be louder than me breaking that window so the man upstairs doesn’t hear it and think we’re running.”
I walk quickly over towards the pole I was holding onto. It’s just heavy enough to break through the glass with a whack or two, I figure. Maddie’s screams should be enough to mask the muffled sound through the boards and make him think that his guard is doing his job.
“Ready? On three.” I turn to ask her, the pole in position in my hand like a large baseball bat. “One… two…three!”
She screams as loud as she can as I punch the pole into the glass. The blocks don’t shatter but move on their plaster. I kick at the soft spot, watching a few of the bricks fall to the ground. The sun blasts in, the mid-afternoon light shining the way for Maddie and me. Maddie turns to me, distracted from her job.
“What’s going on down there?” The man upstairs is alarmed by the Maddie’s sudden stop. She screams again, but he’s even more agitated now than before. “Theo? What the hell are you doing? Bring the fucking girl upstairs now so we can get this over with!”
Maddie is screaming for Erin, playing her part. I kick at the blocks one more time, freeing just enough space for Maddie and us to crawl through. I pull on her shoulder and whisper over her screams, “This is your time, Maddie. You’re going to get low and run far away from this place. Go! Now!”
She looks at me, wide-eyed and terrified. Her mouth is still open, still screaming her “Help”s and “No”s. And I know this isn’t going to be easy. I push her towards the window and pick her up from the waist. The motion motivates her as she climbs through the hole and begins to run.
Now I know my time is even more limited. I could run out with Maddie, but I can’t do that. I, instead, run towards Erin and lift her limp body up off of the ground. Her weight falls into me as I try not to stumble backwards. She stirs a bit, her head twisting back towards her shoulders and into me. I hear her whisper something. Maybe it’s “Help” or “Look.” But her lips are too dry, her voice too weak, and I don’t have time to try to make it out. All I can focus on is getting her to that window before the man upstairs comes for me next.
I pull her body up towards the window and then manage to hoist her a bit above my head. It’s just enough for me to hitch her upper half on the ground outside and then push her legs through. As I throw her last leg out, I hear the sound of the man rushing down the stairs in a loud clamor. He turns the corner and spots his man instantly.
He then turns to see me reaching to grab hold of something outside for support. But I’m coming up with twigs and dirt. I jump one more time, desperate for help. I scream out, but the man pulls me back down towards the ground, my head hitting the cement floor with a stinging bang. I’m paralyzed as I watch him look around the room for the other two. He screams out in a rage when he realizes his worst fears.
The man turns his attention back to me. His black hood pulled over his head paints shadows over his tan, withered face, but I can still make out the tattoos on his body as he lifts his fist towards me. I roll just out of miss and shoot my hand up, catching his chest as he tries to fall on top of me. With all of my might, I push him off as he tumbles into the body of his fellow Coyote.
I leap up, using the wall for support. The metal pole rolls towards me, and I have just seconds to pick it up before he comes running at me again. This time, he gets me by the waist, but my hand is free to smack his back with the metal rod as hard as I can. He stumbles back, taking me with him again as we freefall into the floor. My legs hitch around his as I land another hit to his head, this time managing to cut and bruise his eye. It shuts on itself almost instantly, blinding him.
I know this is my chance to run, and I don’t miss a beat. I take the pole and hurry back up towards the window. This time, I grab onto Erin’s leg and yank myself out. My body scrapes against the glass of the window, ripping into my outfit and skin. But I don’t scream or cry, I just move. All I can do is move, and I don’t have much time to do even that.
There’s a click and a loud shot. The man’s gun goes off, missing me by mere inches. My ears ring as I try not to panic. But he fires again; this time the bullet flies through the opening of the window, grazing my shoulder. I spring back from the force, falling towards Erin. I can feel the warm, red goo runs from my arm as I scream this time, hoping someone, anyone, will hear me.
“Get back here, you little bitch!” the man is calling as he fires off a third shot. Through the opening in the window, I see him spot me as he grins. Despite his bad eye, he knows he can hit either Erin or I with one, easily made shot. I stammer back, pulling Erin with me. My hands grasp onto the grass and ground, desperately trying to move out of the way of the window.
I hit something hard with my back and head, falling towards the side. The object vibrates as it screams out, “Don’t you fucking move, Addison! We’ve got this entire place surrounded.”
I look up behind me to see Cal and two men from the Mustangs standing completely still and strong on the lawn outside of what looks like a repair shop. Cal’s small black handgun is pointed into the window. I cry out towards him sobbing as he steps in front of me and uses his body to shield Erin and I.
He repeats his order towards Addison again, but he doesn’t budge. Cal shouts, “We’ve got your clubhouse, your warehouse, and now you. Mountain’s already surrendered. Are you going to let this go on so we have to kill you, or are you planning on coming out nice and quiet?”
There’s a long pause, neither man saying a word. I try not to even breathe. But then I hear the small clamor of a gun falling to the ground. The man next to Cal runs straight towards the window, his gun still held in the air. I watch as he pulls the man
out and uses ties to bind his arms behind his back.
When the man is safely secured, Cal turns around, still on his knees. He looks at me, studying my body covered in dirt, blood, and cuts. But he doesn’t care. His hands move around the bruises of my face and head, gingerly touching each and every one of them. And then, his mouth barely open, he whispers, “You’re alive. You’re alive. You’re alive.”
I try to reply, but all I can exclaim softly is “Cal!”
He pulls me into his arms, cradling me towards his chest as he leans down and kisses me. Every bit of pain and sorrow I am feeling melts away in one perfect moment when our lips meet. I’m here. He’s here. And we’re together. Finally together.
Chapter 33: The Rush
CAL
“Cal!” Jager is whispering loudly at me from his spot at the bushes trying desperately to usher me back in. But I can’t leave Ace out there alone. And that scream – I know that scream. It’s Maddie’s and I am not about to stop until I know she is safe and sound. I take a few more low steps when I hear Jager tell himself, “That asshole is going to get me killed. Damnit!”
There’s a rustling of bushes and Jager runs by my side. We make our way to where Ace is laying flat on his stomach. Wherever that sound came from wasn’t a gun after all despite the three of us both reacting like we were under attack. Ace gives us the thumbs up sign as we get down low next to him.
“Something’s going on with that window.” Ace points out towards the glass block window we identified earlier. “From here, it looks like it is caving in or something. Maybe the girls are trying to escape.”
I reply back quickly, in an anxious panic, “Or maybe they’re getting killed? Did you hear that scream? That was Maddie’s. She wouldn’t scream like that unless something bad was going down.”
Jager looks back out towards the window and then again to us, “Whatever the fuck is going on, I don’t want to be lying here in a field doing nothing when they spot us. Ace, I want you to sneak around towards the front. Cal and I’ve got that window. We meet in the middle inside when it’s all over with. Got it?”
Ace and I reply a solid yes and Ace begins to slowly kneel, his eyes focused like lasers on the burnt out remains of the repair shop. The unknown is sometimes worse than the known, and all we’ve got here is the knowledge that Maddie is inside, screaming her heart out. Even Ace looks shaky about this deal.
Once Ace is out of our sight and securely around the side of the building, Jager takes the lead by crawling with his gun in his hand towards the building. We’re not even ten feet from our spot when we hear another crash and the clear blocks of the glass window fall in a small topple. I hold my breath as I wait. Second pass, then minutes. We are unable to move, unable to speak.
Then I see it. There’s an arm, a head of messy curls, and the frightened eyes of my girl. My daughter. She gets out of the window and looks back momentarily before running off towards where we stand. Her head darts behind her shoulders as she waits for someone to notice her. But instead of running towards the bad guys, I’m there waiting for her, my arms outstretched.
She shoots past me, totally focused on getting out of whatever hell she was in, until I whisper her name. The small girl stops dead in her tracks before turning once more. When she sees me, her body begins to shake and she falls to her bare knees. Every part of her collapses in exhaustion as I hear her cry out the one word I’ve been longing to hear since I found out she was taken: “Daddy.” She mutters it over again until I scoop her up in my arms, nesting her head against my shoulder.
When she has settled down, I ask her, “Maddie, where is Michelle? Was she with you? Were you alone down there?”
Maddie pulls away and points back at the window. Jager and I both watch as we see a figure, limp and unmoving being thrust up towards the ground. I place Maddie down and begin to run towards the window. My heart drops into my stomach as I think of Michelle lying like that, completely lifeless and alone outside of a burnt down repair shop.
But before I can get anywhere near her, Jager is yelling at me, telling me to stop. Ace comes running from the inside of the garage, waving his arms towards us. “It’s clear! It’s clear! There’s no one inside.” He whispers loudly as he waits for us to follow.
I, again, run towards the body on the ground, uncaring about what else is going around me. But I’m stopped by the sound of gunfire. One round. Two rounds. I see a pair of hands roll out as I back up away from the shop’s wall. A woman, her long hair caked in blood and dust emerges and rolls out of the way over the body of her friend. She backs up straight into my legs as I spy Addison inside, firing directly at her.
Jager is by my side almost immediately, his gun pointed straight at Addison’s head. We begin to scream our commands as I try not to focus on Michelle panting and clenching to the leg of my pants. Even I can’t catch my breath. Because in this moment I realize that it’s done. My girls were safe and with me.
Jager takes over guarding Addison while Maddie goes off with Ace and Michelle’s roommate to wait for the doc to arrive with the cars. But I stay with Michelle, holding onto her as tightly as I can, not wanting to let go until it’s absolutely necessary. She keeps her eyes on me, not even daring to look away. To her, I’m a dream, a savior, a wish come true. To me, she’s hope that tomorrow will be better.
When the doc arrives, I place her in their car, her calling out my name and reaching for me. I run back towards her as she lies flat in the back of the van and kiss her palm. She feels the curve of my jaw as I speak softly, “I’ll be back. I’m not letting you go anywhere without me, you hear?”
While the doc looks at her, I head off towards Maddie. She’s busy chatting with Ace about Michelle managing to rescue them and how she picked locks just like the boys taught her when she was in preschool. When she sees me, she runs back into my arms, holding on me so tightly I feel as though I am about to burst.
“Dad, when can we go home?” She looks up at me, hopeful but hesitant. She knows the answer before I can even say it.
“You can’t go back Maddie. Not after today. The Coyotes may want to retaliate and Jager is going to hold Addison in the basement while they figure out what to do with him for all this mess.” She looks down at the ground, a few tears filling the corner of her eyes. I kneel down next to her as I explain, “I’m going to call Grandma and have her take you for a little bit, until everything settles down. And as soon as it is clear to go, I’ll bring you back to Michelle’s place.”
“But I want to be with you…and Michelle. Can’t we be together? Won’t you protect me there, too?”
My heart is breaking for this girl who has experienced so much loss and grief in her lifetime. How do you explain to a child that her fairytale life can’t come true – at least not yet.
She interrupts my thoughts, “Dad, I know you and Michelle like each other. I can totally tell. If you really like her, just tell her. I know she likes you, too.”
I brush a bit of hair from her eyes as I correct her, “It doesn’t work like that, Maddie.”
“Yeah it does. She likes you. You like her. And you make it work. Please, Dad, just try.”
I sigh and kiss her forehead and cheeks. My little girl has always been wiser for her age and smarter than most of the people I know. How can she understand matters of the heart when even I can’t work it out? I take her hand and lead her back to Ace. She gets inside of the car and the two drive off towards the highway.
I feel a tap as a soft, tired voice asks, “Where is she going? Is she going to be okay?”
Michelle is standing behind me, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and waist. She’s bandaged up and the doctor has removed most of her clothing. Even tattered and torn, she is more beautiful than ever.
I pull her into me as I reassure her, “She’s going to be fine. They’re going to a safe house outside of town with her grandmother. I’ll check on her later tonight, but I think she’s going to be okay. But what about you?” I stand back a few f
eet, looking her square in the eye. There is so much hurt washing over those pale eyes that I find myself lost in them again.
“I’m – I’m... “ She gives up, her strength fading with each word. “I don’t know what I am. I just want to get home. Can I do that? Can you bring me home?” She adds gingerly, “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
When the next car arrives we take it, heading out towards Michelle’s bungalow in the suburbs. As we round past the perfectly trimmed shrubbery and landscaped yards, I watch as Michelle leans back and closes her eyes. The setting sun illuminates her pale skin as she takes in the safety and comfort of her surroundings. This is her space, her home. She is out of motorcycle world.
Her hands shake as she unlocks the door to her house, and I reach over her to steady her hands. I whisper into her ear as I guide the key towards the side, “It’s okay. There’s nothing behind the door.”
“I’m not afraid of what is behind the door.” Michelle replies shakily. She takes a step inside and spins towards me before I can enter. “I don’t know about this.”