The Night Shadow
Page 13
I took the fight to the ground. It didn’t matter how many people were on me. It doesn’t make a difference. I would prefer to fight in three to one odds anyhow. You can only do so much, and I was trained. They were not. I easily snagged ankles, snapping them like a brittle pretzel underneath the fingers of an unforgiving three year old. I must have gone through a dozen ankles when the last flash of lighting paralyzed my entire body and I stopped. I couldn’t even say anything, I could just breathe…barely… and look through the bodies of the men and see my ship, Dixie. She stood there gleaming in the morning light that had made its way into the top of the cavern that I could see clearly now was cut out like a volcano. The opening was big enough for Dixie to slip through and take me home.
I felt the emotion flood through me again, starting at the calves and slowly rising into the bottom pit of my stomach. Two of them were lying on my back keeping my chest pinned to the floor, while three others firmly held my feet. I could feel nothing but defeat. And this was worse than any pain I had known before. As the room lit up with more light from the suns I could see at least thirty men laying either dead or crawling on their hands and knees. I had done damage, but not well enough. I could not see Chuck or Boe anywhere. I know I had told them to leave me and get out, but I still felt abandoned. I hope that boy makes it out and frees his people. I also hope they are at least going to kill me and not throw me in a cell. I couldn’t handle being put into a cell, I would rather face death.
I could feel my foot twitch, the life was slowly starting to creep back into my limbs. The adrenalin was rising again. I started to laugh. And then I felt nothing. No pressure, no one on my back at all. I rolled over to my back and looked up and saw Mason walk in the room ordering them all away from me. Mason looked around the room with a slightly astonished and sarcastic smile on his face. He started clapping his hands in a sarcastic matter as if to applaud my show. He didn’t carry himself the same any more. He had arrogance about him, which is something I wanted to remove from him immediately. “Lock him up; let him suffer through his pains for the day. No food or water. Kill him in the morning…put him in the cell facing his ship. Make sure he looks at it. I want him to feel the pain he has caused me. That will teach him to die when I want him to,” Mason barked out to his little group of henchmen. What little group of henchmen he had left.
My heart sank immediately. “By the way, Will. She is fueled and ready to go as promised. I am a man of my word.” He laughed hysterically. “Who in the hell do you think you are you foolish boy. Do you have any idea who in the hell I am? This is my world! I created it this way and I can do with it what I see fit. You thought you could run in here and be all patriotic and just change things? I am what you call a leader…Untouchable…I ran one of the largest corporations on earth single handedly…” “Belver?” I hoarsely whispered up to him. “But your dead.” Silence filled the air and a small group near me started laughing. “Dead is an earth thing my friend…clearly I’m alive and doing quite well for myself might I add.” Belver’s laughter was so maniacal it made me sick. He was so proud of himself. “How did you beat the cancer?” I asked him clearly he wanted to tell the story before he offed me…so I might as well die with closure. “Ah yes, you see. It was quite brilliant. We showed up here looking for diamonds and instead found…you know what Will. Don’t concern yourself with any more of my affairs. I would be more concerned as to what awaits you when I get back from my meeting in a few hours.” Belver’s laughter struck up again as he exited the caves.
I was so tired I couldn’t even muster out a smart ass reply. I couldn’t even open my mouth. The taste of blood…a mixture of a battery and salty syrup ran down my throat if I even tried to grunt. Three of the men started walking over to me laughing. If they think they are locking me behind a closed door they are sadly mistaken. The anger swelled up inside of me and gave me that last oomph I needed to move. I grabbed the stick that was lying to the guy on my right and swung at an ankle, only to have a forty pound rock slammed on my left knee, crushing it instantly. The tears welled up and blinded my vision. I felt that one. I felt as if a semi-truck had slowly parked on my knee, bending it into an unnatural position. The pressure on my knee was immense and unbearable.
I was blacking out and coming to at the same time. The pain I was feeling in my entire body immediately set in. It was excruciating to say the least. The throbbing and aching never stopped. The light would flash in and out as I could feel myself being drug into the same cell that Chuck was in.
The closer I got to the cell, the more fear rose inside of me. I can’t do it. This was the worse feeling ever. The door slammed behind me and there I was, back at seventeen, lonely, cold and betrayed. Well, the knee cap being shattered was pretty bad and pulled a pretty close second I must say. I am pretty sure if I had a cookie right now…yeah…no, it wouldn’t help at all. I will never make it home. My ship lay glistening in the sunshine like a sexy supermodel no more than fifty feet in front of my cage. She seemed to be mocking me. All of this way and I give up. So close yet so far away. The hours seemed to fly by as I watched the suns disappear on the other side of the opening.
People took turns coming by my cell and either laughing at me or spitting on me. I no longer cared. It was just a countdown to the end of my life anyways. Not that I had a watch on or anything. All of the things I have taken for granted seemed ridiculous at this point. All of the unnecessary fights, the nights of getting stupid drunk and ending up in jail. Pointless moments that I had wasted away, pissed into the wind if you will. I fell asleep after four hours of staring at the ship.
TWICK.
The sound immediately has awoken me from my painful slumber. Finally my hour had come, all of this for nothing. I couldn’t see anything in the night, my eyes were swollen shut. I could no longer move my limbs; it was as if every arm weighed three hundred pounds. I heard footsteps all around me and my heart began to race out of control. I couldn’t believe that this was what it was like to die alone. My biggest fear was finally becoming a reality. The hurt and pain wouldn’t stop. At least this was the end. No more wondering if I was going home or not, this is definitely the “not” part. I will not go out embarrassing myself or my country. I gathered all the energy left in my body and muttered through swollen shut lips… “You gotta hit a man when he aint lookin’ huh. Do your worst.”
I could still feel the blood rushing out of my mouth and nose and slowly draining into the back of my throat. Just to try and spit it on the ground hurt so bad. “What are you in for ol’ timer?” a soft voice broke through the painful silence. I could feel the tears welling up behind my eyes. I felt Boe’s wet nose touch my cheek and could feel the broad shoulders of Cory as he lifted me onto his back. Gerald was in the back ground whispering for them to hurry. “We got you, Will; everything is going to be ok.” I could hear Chuck whisper into my ear as we made our way down a passageway going deeper into the mountain. The air grew colder and I could tell Cory was leading the way. We weren’t going out, we were going in deeper.