CHAPTER 17 (One-hundred days inside.)
I get a surprising message on my tablet when I wake up the next morning. I've been given another free day. I rarely ever get two free days in a row. The sleuth of texts that follow up that notification let me know that my friends are off as well.
Since I didn't make plans to snoop around with Zack I tell my friends that I was given a day off from my community service. We text a little more and then agree to meet at breakfast to discuss our plans for the day. While my suspicions are rising as to why I keep getting free days I don’t question it too much. I mean, to work or have a day off…is it really a question?
I quickly throw on a pair of purple scrubs and take a look in the mirror. Leaning in closer I check out my eyes. They are brown but not the same brown that I was born with; the contacts have altered them to look a little darker. I don't know if it's the contacts or what, but I look a lot older than sixteen. I know that inside I feel older too. I've been through a lot of things that a sixteen year old should not have to endure. I sigh and throw my wild curls into a loose bun, grab my satchel and head out, determined not to have a pity party.
Surprisingly Claire meets me outside of the cafeteria. She looks nervous and her purple eyes are darting back and forth through the crowd looking for someone. I realize that someone is me when she comes running up.
"Hey!" She looks tense.
"Morning." I say with a half-smile.
Claire is literally radiating anxiety. "Um, what's going on?"
I raise my eyebrow in question. "What do you mean?"
"Alec seems a bit perturbed this morning. I wasn't sure if y'all had a fight or something last night." She looks behind her checking to make sure nobody is listening.
"What makes you think we got in a fight? Maybe he's just having a rough morning." I'm surprised by her question.
"Yeah, that could be it." She bites on her lower lip. "But, I saw something this morning. I mean, something I probably shouldn't have seen."
I stare at her for a second expecting her to carry on but I guess she needs a little prodding. "Well, what did you see?"
She looks around to make sure nobodies within earshot then leans in close to whisper. "I was practicing my invisible skills this morning and ran into Alec and Zack in the hall."
I gasp. Crap-ola!
Claire looks at me suspiciously then continues. "They were arguing pretty heatedly. I heard your name brought up. I couldn't hear everything they were saying because I had to turn visible again. I swear I thought that Alec was going to take a swing at Zack and I knew that I had to interrupt them. I ran to the next hall so I didn't just appear out of thin air in front of them and by the time I returned Alec was gone. Zack was standing in the hallway looking all smug with himself. He gave me a horrible stare that made me feel icky all over so I rushed by him as fast as possible."
She looks at me expecting me to say something. I just stand there staring at her with a blank look. My brain is running through the possible things they may have discussed. Does Zack know about Alec's abilities? Does Alec know about my snooping around with Zack?
"What did Alec say when you found him?" I finally ask.
"Nothing really. He's just been sitting at the table looking all agitated. I asked him what was up but he didn't seem to want to talk. I didn't tell him that I saw him and Zack. I just wanted to find you first." She looks worried.
"Well, I'm sure it's fine. Let’s go in and see what's up." It's easier for me to say than to actually do. Everything in my being doesn't want to go into the possible thunder storm that all of my lying and sneaking around has potentially caused. I walk in behind Claire. Instead of going directly to the table I make my way to the cafeteria line. I grab a bowl of cereal, no milk and a glass of orange juice then head to the table.
Alec avoids eye contact with me until I sit down. He looks up at me and in that instant I wish he would have continued to dodge my gaze. His blue eyes are as dark as a midnight sky. They still take me back a bit seeing as how they were a bold emerald green when I first met him. I break eye contact first and feign interest in my food. My stomach doesn't feel hungry; in fact it feels a little sick. Probably sick with worry. I pick at the cereal with my fingers and eat anyhow.
Everyone remains uncomfortably silent while I finish my breakfast. The tension in the air is so thick you could cut it with a knife. I want to say something and start defending myself but I know I should wait for Alec to bring it up first.
"So, are you all ready to go?" Connor asks uncomfortably.
I look to Alec who is still appraising me with an intense, slightly angry stare. I dodge it quickly and say, "Sure." We leave the cafeteria silently. Once we are out in the hall Connor takes all of our tablets. I assume that means that we are headed to the cave.
The journey to our secret spot is agonizing due to the silence. I twiddle my thumbs and have to consistently try to tell myself to stop fidgeting. It makes me look guilty. Alec glances at me through his peripheral vision every once in a while. I tense up each time wondering when he's going to lay me out.
When we reach the drop off I consider asking Connor to help me down. I can't imagine jumping into Alec's arms. I wonder if he could be mad enough to let me fall on 'accident.' I brush that thought off as absurdly ridiculous. Alec loves me and even if he hated me, he wouldn't be the kind of guy to let someone get hurt.
Connor and Claire make their way down the drop off first. Connor jumps down, not bothering with the ladder and Claire drops into his arms. He gives her a peck on the lips when he sets her down.
My heart starts racing as Alec jumps down. Connor and Claire have started heading down the next tunnel leaving Alec and me alone. He turns around and gestures his arms up to me. I can't see his facial expression because he's set his flashlight on the ground facing up towards me. I take a deep breath and allow myself to drop into his arm. He catches me. He hesitates for a second as he slowly sets me down. His hands remain planted on my hips as my feet touch the concrete. I look into his eyes and see a mix of emotions running wild. My heart is hammering fast and the butterflies that I always get around him are running rampant in my stomach. He leans forward only a fraction of an inch. I imagine he would have kissed me had it been any other circumstance. The fact that he slowly comes to some unknown realization and turns away from me hits my heart hard. It feels like a knife cutting right through it.
He grabs his flashlight and heads down the tunnel behind Connor and Claire.
I follow reluctantly, feeling horrible. Whatever went on between Zack and Alec must have been bad. By the look in Alec's eyes and the silent treatment he's giving me, I assume it was catastrophic.
A thought occurs to me. I work so hard to keep people's thoughts out of my mind that I haven't thought to listen in on what's going on in Alec's head. I feel a little torn about invading his privacy but I figure I can't do much worse than I've already done to him.
"I’M SO MAD AT HER. HOW COULD SHE DO THIS?" Alec's inner voice says in a near holler. I cringe at the sound of it. I didn’t know you could yell in your head.
Usually people's inner voices are rather calm but he seems really worked up. I listen hard to find out what he's mad about but he just keeps saying the same thing over and over. Sometimes he rephrases it in a different manner but never does he think about the reasons why he's actually mad.
At the next drop Alec stays behind me so that Connor has to help me down. That really tops the cake; he’s mad enough that he doesn't want to touch me. I just wish I knew exactly what he’s so mad about. Is it the sneaking around with Zack or lying to him? Or maybe a little of both? I mean either one of those things would be enough to make me mad but would it make me as angry as Alec seems to be? I don't know.
When we get into the cave Connor and Claire head directly to the later cave. Alec moves to follow them but I grab his arm and turn him towards me. He looks surprised at first but then his stare turns into an angry glare.
"What is
wrong with you?" I throw my hands on my hips and stomp my foot. I can't believe I just stomped my foot!
Alec seems like he is going to ignore me but then he says, "Actually the question here should be what is up with you?"
I look at him appraisingly. "What do you mean?"
He laughs. "Oh, let me rephrase that for you Willow." I don't like the way he says my name. He continues. "What is up with you and Zack?"
Crappy-crappington! "What do you mean what is up with Zack and me?" I know it's a stupid mechanism to counter his question with another question but I want to know what he's heard. I open my mind but all I hear are the same phrases over and over again. He's mad at me and he can't believe I've done this. Done what?
"Don't play coy with me Willow. You know exactly what I'm referring to!" He puts both of his hands on his hips. I note that his hands are facing outwards. I remember learning in an elective psychology class that hands facing backwards on your hips represent someone taking a normal posture. Hands facing forward show aggression or anger, neither of which are a good thing.
I open my mouth to try and say something witty or to possibly counter with yet another question but I decide against it. I take a deep breath and tell myself that I need to be honest with him. I should have been honest with him from the very beginning. "I'm sorry Alec. He told me not to tell you. I know I shouldn't have listened to him but I thought that perhaps he would be able to help us."
A strange look flashes across Alec's eyes. He says, "What do you mean? How could Zack help us?"
"I don't know how but he knew about me. I didn't tell him about all of you though. He said that he could help me investigate to try and figure out how we got these powers." I say quickly.
His eyebrow shoots up. "How we got these powers? You just said that you didn't tell him about us."
Oh touché! I consider it quickly and then realize that I don't owe anything to Zack by keeping his powers a secret. "Zack has a power too. He can compel people."
Alec seems to be processing the information when he asks, "Like make people do his bidding? Like those old vampire movies?"
I had never really thought about it that way but, "Yeah, I guess like that."
He scratches his head and I notice that his body language doesn't seem as rigid. "So did he help you?"
"Well, he got me these contacts." I point to my eyes and then cringe at Alec's expression. I forgot that I lied to him about that too. I take a long exasperated breath. This is the exact reason why lying is bad!
When Alec doesn't say anything I add, "We also broke into Dr. Hasting's office." Alec seems to look interested in that tad bit of knowledge. "Actually, Dr. Hasting's is Zack's dad." Alec seems surprised by that too. "We nearly got caught but I managed to grab that list before we left."
"Did you guys figure out what the immunizations have to do with this?" He asks.
"He doesn't know I took it so no, we didn't figure out anything. My best guess is that maybe it could have caused our powers."
"Then why hasn't everyone exhibited powers yet?" He ponders.
"I don't know that yet. I mean honestly, they could have squat to do with our powers but I figured it was a start."
"Okay, so I get that you and Zack were trying to do 'research,' but why did you lie to me?" Alec puts his hands back up on his hips.
"I don't know. Zack told me I couldn't tell you and I...." I feel frustrated tears come to my eyes as I realize how damaging my lies were to our relationship. I blink them away and look back at Alec. "There is no excuse for my lying to you. I shouldn't have done it. I'm so sorry Alec. If I had the power to go back in time I would tell him No!" I take a shaky breath and add sincerely, "I understand that you are mad, probably even livid at me. I understand as well that I've broken our trust. If you feel like we need to break up I would not hold it against you in any way." This time I can't blink my tears away. They start flowing over.
Alec seems to struggle against some sort of invisible barrier as he takes a single step towards me. He doesn't say anything but looks tortured. I open my mind to hear what he's thinking. "I’M SO MAD…AATT…HHEERR.” My eyes open wide at the way his thoughts sound. It's like each syllable is a struggle for him to think, or like he's thinking that thought but is also in a way trying to fight against it.
I blink a few times as I listen to his thoughts repeat the same struggling inner dialogue. Something clicks and I realize instantly what's going on here. "What did Zack tell you?" I ask boldly.
He seems to be surprised by my change in demeanor. "What do you mean?"
"What exactly did he say to you? Claire overheard you both fighting. I want to know what he said." I stand up tall and stare him down.
Alec looks puzzled and then thoughtful. He seems to be pondering it. I tune into his thought process. "WHAT DID ZACK SAY? I CAN’T REMEMBER. I KNOW WE TALKED. WHAT WAS IT? I’M SO MAD AT HER, HOW COULD SHE DO THIS? WHAT?” Alec rubs his temples.
I was right in my conclusion. I take a step towards Alec. I put both of my hands on his arms and then look deeply into his eyes. "He compelled you." I say simply.
"What? No." He says with very little conviction.
"Yes, he did. I've been listening to your thoughts and over and over again you've been saying that you are so mad at me and how could I do this? What exactly were you mad about?" I ask. "Did you know I had lied to you?"
He thinks about it and then takes a step back from me. "No, I don't think I knew. I mean, you just told me but..."
I step back towards him not letting him off the hook. I hold my hands to each side of his face and make him stare at me. "He compelled you Alec. He told you to be mad at me." I say it with force in hopes that he will listen to me.
"HE HAD TO HAVE! I’M GOING TO KILL HIM. I’M…SO…MA…NO!” Alec cuts his own line of thinking off at the pass. He grimaces and jerks away from me again. "That bastard! I'm going to kill him!"
"Not if I get to him first! He had absolutely no right!" I'm feeling utterly furious. I don't know Zack's motive but it doesn't matter, I'm pissed!
Alec seems to calm down a bit. He looks remorseful. "I TREATED HER SO HORRIBLY.”
"No!" I say. He looks confused at my having heard his thoughts. I continue. "You did not treat me horribly. Sure you were mad at me but Alec, I deserve this! I don't know why exactly Zack compelled you to be mad at me but you really honestly did have the right be mad at me. I lied to you and went behind your back. That is completely unacceptable! I'm so sorry!"
"Willow." He whispers.
A loud clapping erupts behind me followed by a sinister laugh that echoes against the cave walls. I turn to see Zack standing near the entrance to the second cave. He's clapping brashly. "Bravo! Bravo!" Alec takes me by the hips and moves me behind him. I stare over his shoulder grateful for the protection.
I glare at Zack. My insides feel like they are on fire and my heart starts hammering in my chest. How did he know we were here? Better yet, how did he find this place?
"That was such an impassioned plea Willow! I nearly yelled out that I forgive you for poor Alec." He sets his gaze on Alec. "She's a firecracker. I would think you might be a little too good for her. That whole gentleman thing you've got going on doesn't seem to mesh with her bad girl persona if you know what I mean buddy." He says laughing again. Zack seems far too comfortable in his own skin. Almost like he could take the world on his shoulders if he deemed fit.
I watch Alec's fists clench up and his muscles on his forearms tense. "I'm not your buddy and don't you dare talk about her that way." Alec starts walking forward but I pull his arm back.
"No Alec, leave him alone. He's dangerous." I whisper the last part hoping Zack didn’t catch on. That was a very sensible thing for me to say especially when I really wanted to see Zack's face pummeled in. "What are you doing here anyhow Zack?" I ask vehemently.
"Well I heard this is where all the cool kids hang." Even though he is across the room I can still see that trademark sly
smile of his. I want to slap it off his lips.
I start stomping his way but Alec keeps his arms taut, not allowing me through. "Willow, why don't you get out of here? I can deal with Zack."
"No way!" I say.
Alec spins around and tries to convince me with his eyes to leave, but I don't succumb. Knowing that I'm not going anywhere, he turns back and yells, "What do you want Zack?"
Zack holds his hands out, "Well I wanted to invite you to the party. Come on in." He gestures for us to join him. Neither of us move so Zack adds, "Hurry up now, your friends are waiting."
Connor and Claire! I forgot they were in there. A sick feeling knots in my stomach. Alec must have the same feeling because he turns and whispers in my ear, "Run Willow. Go get help." I look back up at him and slightly shake my head. I couldn't leave! Not now.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Zack yells catching on to what Alec is trying to get me to do. We turn to see him shaking his finger at us. "You’re both invited to this party. He looks behind my back and I turn to see a large, bouncer worthy man blocking the tunnel that leads to our freedom. "Come on!" He yells more impatiently this time.
Alec grabs my hand and we slowly make our way towards Zack.
"Ah, lovebirds. It's sickening, really." He turns and leads us down the narrow tunnel, leading us to the other cave.
I crawl through it. I have to take several breaths as my chest starts constricting. The walls seem to be closing in on me and my heart skips a beat. I feel the dizziness wash over me as a panic attack starts. Alec squeezes my hand ever so slightly and a warm feeling succumbs me. The panic subsides. I wonder for a second if it was just my knowing that I'm not alone or if it is Alec's healing ability that made it go away.
I don't have time to ponder it much when we step out into the cave. The sun is shining brightly on the pool of water. This cave feels more warm and humid than the inner cave does. I wonder how much hotter it must be outside if the small amount of sunlight in this cave can heat it even though it's still several hundred feet below ground.
"Ah, our guests have arrived." I look up to see Dr. Hastings staring at us. Next to him on the floor are Connor and Claire. Another man stands next to them. He's holding a gun to Claire's head.
"What's going on?" I direct my question towards Zack who has come to stand next to me. My heartbeat picks up seeing that cold steel barrel pointed at my best friends head.
He looks at me with an amused expression. "We are just cleaning up some loose ends here."
"Over here." The man with the gun waives at Alec. "You sit."
I look to Alec. We silently agree that now is not the time to fight.
We start moving forward but Zack puts his hand on my shoulder stopping me. "Not you sugar." My blood boils! It must have set Alec off as well because he lunges at him. I get knocked over by them and I watch the fight from my place on the ground.
Alec pulls his hand back and takes a swing for Zack's face. I inwardly cheer as it makes contact with his jaw. Zack recovers quickly and punches Alec in the eye. Alec tackles Zack and they both go plummeting into the water. I hadn't realized how close they were to the edge.
Dr. Hastings walks over to the man with the gun and takes it from him so that the man can go and retrieve his son. Or Alec, whichever one came first. The man splashes into the water and pulls Alec out by the back of his shirt. Alec is still swinging but the man outweighs him by nearly double. He pulls him out of the water with minimal struggle and pushes Alec to the ground next to Connor.
Zack rubs his jaw as he climbs out of the water. He's soaking wet and his shoes make a squeaking sound as he walks. I expect him to go after Alec again but he does something even more dangerous. He walks to my side and throws his arm around my shoulder. The cold water dripping off of him seeps into my clothes and I shiver. Alec tries to jump up but the sound of the safety being removed from the gun makes him rethink his next move. The man must have grabbed it back from Dr. Hastings because he now points it directly at Alec's temple.
I stand frozen underneath Zack's arm. Worry for Alec and my friends paralyzes me. I must look scared because Alec ignores the gun pointing at him and tries to stand up again. A gunshot rings out. It echoes dangerously through the cave as Alec falls to the ground.
"No!" I yell out. I unfreeze in that second. I stomp with all my might onto Zack's left foot and elbow him as hard as I can in his stomach. I take satisfaction in hearing the air whoosh out of Zack's lungs.
I don't take time to savor the slight victory though. I run to Alec and slide down in front of him. His head is slumped forward and I worry at first that he may be unconscious or worse yet, dead. I look around trying to find where he was hit. The blood is seeping out of his right shoulder. His eyes look glassy and disoriented. My heart is beating so frantically that I can feel it in my throat. I have to blink away the tears that are blurring my vision. He can't die!
The man aims his gun towards Connor and Claire when they try to come help me. "Move away." The man orders to me.
I ignore him and start ripping at Alec's shirt. The bleeding has soaked through.
"Let her be." Dr. Hastings chimes.
I find the bullet hole. I'm guessing the bullet exited his body by the size of the wound. In movies and on television that always seems to be a good sign. Alec grunts in pain so I try to lay him back on the ground. I imagine that Alec's healing abilities would probably heal this size of a wound in a few minutes. I can't stand the pained expression on his face though so I decide not to wait on his inner healing abilities.
I've never tried to heal anyone before so I don't know if I can, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. I pull him up into my arms and then I press both of my hands on each side of his shoulder over the entry and exit wounds. I focus with all that I can on healing him. I feel a type of energy going out of my hands. A slight tingling sensation reaches all the way up my arm. I don't know if what I'm doing is helping until Alec takes a deep breath. I pull my hands back and examine the wound. It's closed up completely. I let out my own sigh of relief and my heart starts steadying out.
Alec sits up next to me slowly. He still seems sore, which makes sense; what, with having just been shot and all. He leans his forehead against mine and says, "Thank you," in a breathy whisper.
A few tears escape my eyes as I realize he's going to be okay. I'd never been so scared in my life than when I heard that gunshot ring out.
"Remarkable." Dr. Hastings breaks the silence. "Is there anything you can't do Willow?"
I glare up at Dr. Hastings who seems to be eyeing me like he would a multi-million dollar experiment. "Apparently not. You should let us go now before I bring down the wrath of my powers on you." I stand up and try to look menacing hoping that my cheesy fake out line will work.
He eyes me appraisingly and then smiles. "I don't believe you have that type of power yet my dear."
Urgh! What is it with these Hastings men and their use of not-so-endearing terms?
"Anyhow. I'm not done with you yet." He looks down at his tablet. "Oh, we better get going. We have a lot to do."
"Yep, time to go sugar." Zack says with venom in his voice. I don't move and a second later he grabs a handful of my curly hair and pulls me by it. I yelp as I feel my hair pulling at my scalp. Tears spring to my eyes and I hastily jump up.
Alec tries to help me but the man puts the gun against his temple. He says in a low terrifying voice, "This time I'm going in for the kill. I recommend you don't move."
Alec looks so torn so I say, "I'm okay."
Zack throws his arm around my shoulder again but squeezes me uncomfortably tight against him. He's making sure there is no room for an elbowing of any sort. I wouldn't have done it anyhow. I don't want to do anything that would make Alec tempt the man with the gun again.
"Let's get on with it." Dr. Hastings says rather bored. He waves his hand over his shoulder as if shooing us off and then exits the cave.
"Yep, I've grown bored with this
party. I recommend you stay as far from the exit as you can." He says to my friends. He turns and looks at me, "Shall we?" He doesn't wait for a response. He grabs my arm tightly and starts pulling me towards the exit.
I plant my feet into the ground and try to hold my place but he just drags me a long. "Let me go!" I scream looking back at my friends.
The man with the gun is backing up but continues to have his gun trained on them. When he reaches us he turns it on me. "Move and she's dead." The man calls to Alec who has already gotten to his feet. "Sit!" The man demands pressing the gun into my temple. I can feel the cold steel and it sends prickling goose bumps cascading down my arms.
"Willow." Alec calls.
"Alec!" I yell as Zack pulls me into the tunnel. I fight him but it's no use. I hadn't realized how strong Zack was. He drags me through the tunnel. I feel the cold earth slicing at my body but I refuse to make this easy on him. I kick and scream. The man with the gun crawls through the tunnel backwards, ready to shoot anyone who tries to follow.
When we are all out on the other side, Zack calls into the tunnel again. "I really recommend that if you are near this tunnel that you get as far away from it as possible!"
The bouncer looking guy who blocked our exit to the first cave is standing near us now. In his hand is a stick of dynamite. He lights the long cord and realization strikes me cold. They are going to trap my friends! "Get back!" I yell into the tunnel. "They have explosives!"
Zack pulls me away from the tunnel towards the main cave's exit. The man throws the dynamite into the tunnel and we all hastily retreat. A minute passes before a deafening explosion rings out and the ground shakes. I nearly lose my balance but Zack rights me back up and continues dragging me out of the cave. My entire body goes numb and my heart drops! My friends were in there! I have no way of knowing if they are dead or alive. They have no escape, that’s if they’re even alive.
Think, think, think! I have to make my brain work if I have any hope of surviving this. As of now it’s three against one and those odds are surely not in my favor. I think about all the abilities I have exhibited over the past few weeks. My only guess is I must have all the powers of my friends combined. I try and make a list in my head.
Hearing inner thoughts (my original power)
Healing (Alec)
Compulsion (Zack…shiver)
Invisibility (Claire)
Changing molecular structure…if that’s what you call it (Connor)
If my theory is correct and I do in fact have all these powers, I may just make it out unscathed. As to my friends…I just don’t know. One thought that crosses my mind is about Connor. If he is able to change his molecular structure maybe he will be able to walk through the wreckage caused by the explosion and get help. A spark of hope ignites within me…a very tiny spark, but nonetheless a spark.
I’m brought back to the present as Zack pulls my arm again jerking me around yet another corner. I should have been paying attention to where we were going because now I have no idea how we got where we are. The tunnel has become smaller and Dr. Hastings and the other man have turned into a narrow walkway that's offset to the side. It’s so small one might not see it if they didn’t know what they were looking for.
Zack shoves me in first and follows right behind me, never letting go of my arm. I’m sure that I could try and use Connor’s ability right now to move straight through Zack’s grip but I should probably save it for a time when I wouldn’t get immediately caught. Plus, then they would know more than they already do about me. At this point that is probably the only power Zack doesn’t know about and knowledge of that is definitely on my side.
We round a few small turns and come to a door. There is a single bulb light flickering haphazardly above us. Dr. Hastings walks up to the door and punches in a code. It’s nine digits in length…too long for most to memorize…and it’s an odd number. I hate odd numbers. My photographic memory steps in as the numbers become ingrained in my brain: 4-2-6-8-4-9-0-1-2. Who knows, that may come in handy later.
A small beep sounds and the door releases. Zack pushes me into the room after the other two had gone before me. A light turns on illuminating Dr. Hasting’s lab. I can tell this is where Zack had taken me in the past because the layout is identical. The only difference is the bed that is fixed in one of the corners…that wasn’t there before. A small feeling of panic escapes my lips as I see the restraints they are probably going to be using. Large leather belts with multiple belt holes reinforced by large silver rings. They look impenetrable…well at least for normal people. An IV pole stands to the side of the bed with a clear solution hanging from a bag. On the other side is a heart monitor and some other machine I have yet to identify. It all looks so wrong, it scares me to death. I begin shaking and my feet won’t move. I feel myself slowly sinking to the ground, shaking and sweating.
“Oh no you don’t,” Zack says forcefully. “You can do that over there if you want.”
I shake my head and feel a scream of panic rising from my lungs. I dig my heels in the ground realizing that if they get me where they want me, I might never leave here alive. I begin scratching frantically and pulling at anything I can from the counters throwing it on the ground. I scream and flail my arms trying desperately to get Zack to let me go.
“Stop Willow…relax a little would you!” I feel a sting in my neck and my eyes open wide in surprise. Then the world around me grows dim as I slip slowly away into nothingness.
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