Until Time Stands Still

by Scott, Lona

  “We can’t leave them here.” Bryant said.

  Graham sighed. “We can’t go off mission every time one of you yahoos sees a pretty girl.”

  “Come on boss man.” Hollister said. “You know it’s the right thing to do.”

  “We’ll get our girl and come back for the others.” He said.

  “And her too.” Bryant said, motioning to the woman.

  Graham sighed. “Fine. She’s your responsibility.” He raised his hand and began the bidding.

  Mykel came in through the back. There were only two men standing sentry, and he serviced them quickly and quietly. He slipped into the back of the warehouse while Johnny took up a sniper position. He could hear the furious bidding going on in the front. The guys were keeping the bidding for the women competitive, while he picked the lock on the door that housed the women. They could read several heat signatures in that area of the warehouse.

  He slipped inside and turned on the lights. He was shocked at the conditions the women were in. Several of them looked emaciated and beaten. “Isabelle?” He hissed. “Where are you?”

  “Here.” She said, standing and putting her hand through the bars.

  He ran to her. “Are you ok?”

  She nodded. “I knew you would come for me.” She said, relieved to see him.

  “I’ll always rescue you baby, because I love you.” He said, grabbing her hand. “But I swear woman, if you ever kick me in the balls and run away from me again, I’ll let you walk. No matter how it tears out my heart, I won’t chase after you every time you get mad at me and pitch a fit like that. If you want to be with me, you’ll have to come back on your own. Understand?”

  “I’m still mad at you for lying to me.” She said. “You should have told me.”

  “I’m sorry. Really. We can talk about all of that later. I need to get you out of here now.”

  “Are you here for all of us?” One of the other girls asked.

  “We have to leave you all in here for now, until the area is secured. Then we can come back and get you out. Hold tight ok?”

  He took a pair of cutters out of his bag and cut the lock on her cage.

  When the cage was open, she rushed out and threw her arms around him. He crushed her body to his and kissed her thoroughly. The other ladies cheered. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. He handed her his sidearm.

  “Take this. If you see anyone other than my guys, shoot to kill.” He said.

  She shook her head and tried to give the gun back. “I can’t shoot someone.”

  “Look. I hate to say it, but we are really outnumbered, and you may not have a choice if you want to get out of here alive.” He placed the gun firmly in her hands and showed her where the safety was. “Flip this, point, aim, squeeze, repeat. Got it?”

  She nodded. “Why do people keep trying to kill me?”

  “This one’s on you baby. I told you not to leave the base without me.” He said. “I was only trying to protect you.”

  “I would have been fine if those guys hadn’t found me. I told them to leave me alone.” She insisted.

  He sighed. “Now is not the time to get all prideful. Let’s go.”

  He lead her over to the door.

  “White Dove secure.” He told the others. “Are we a go?”

  “Stand by.” Bryant said.

  In the front, Graham signalled to raise the price by over a thousand dollars. There was a hush over the crowd.

  Bryant raised another hundred.

  Graham raised his eyebrow and the bidding war began, much to the crowds amusement.

  “I won’t let him take you, sweetheart.” Bryant winked at his raven haired beauty. “You don’t want a man all scared up like that. Some woman probably did that to him in retaliation.” He sneered.

  She stared at Graham in amusement. “He probably deserved it.” She said, haughtily. “I would have done worse.”

  The crowed howled with laughter.

  Graham pretended offense, and raised the price on her another two hundred, glaring at her.

  Bryant snorted. “Eighteen hundred.” He shouted, walking toward the front of the crowd to stand right in front of her. The other girls finally looked up from the floor to watch the bidding war.

  “Two thousand.” Graham said loudly, stepping up next him. “I’m taking this sweet thing home to teach her some proper respect for a man.” He growled.

  The crowd cheered. She glared at him, “No woman will respect a man with that kind of attitude.” She hissed.

  “Twenty five hundred.” Bryant said. “What’s your name, pretty lady?”

  “Not so fast buddy.” She said. “When you win me in the auction, you’ll earn the right to know my name.” She said, flipping her hair out of her face.

  Bryant laughed good-naturedly. “As you wish.”

  “Twenty six.” Graham said. “And I don’t care what your name is.”

  “Twenty eight.” Bryant said, turning to glare at Graham. “You’re an ass.”

  “Twenty nine.” Graham said. “I’ve got bigger stones than you.”

  “Three thousand!” Bryant growled. “I’ve got what it takes to please a lady all night long, unlike you…who doesn’t care at all if a woman enjoys it.”

  “You bastard!” Graham clocked Bryant square in the jaw. The man spun and threw himself at Graham, taking them both to the ground.

  The whole room erupted in cheers. Bets were taken on who would win, and the girls were temporarily forgotten.

  “Go Mykel.” Johnny said, waiting to signal him for the time when the crowd and the bandits were all watching the fight.

  Mykel opened the door. “Stay down.” He hissed.

  She nodded. “I know.”

  Mykel crept forward out of the room with Isabelle behind him. They got about ten feet before someone spotted them.

  “Hey! He’s stealing a girl!” Someone shouted, and pointed to him. Immediately, Mykel pulled Isabelle behind a line of crates out of the line of fire. Graham and Bryant stopped fighting and pulled their weapons and began shooting. Johnny covered them from the rafters. Most of the crowd scattered, headed for the main exit. The three girls in the front of the room huddled behind the crates they were standing on. Bryant knelt over the woman he had bid on, trying to cover her as he returned fire. Johnny had taken out the large black man who was the ring leader, while most of the others were gathered behind a wall of crates.

  Mykel and Isabelle knelt on the ground behind their crates.

  “Isabelle…look at me.” He grabbed her shoulders and forced her chin up. “I need to know you’ve got my back. I need you to shoot if you see anyone trying to aim for me. Got it?”

  “Yeah.” She swallowed. “How are we going to get out of this?”

  “We are going to take them all out. Then I’m taking you home.”

  “I’m so sorry, Mykel.” She sobbed. “I’m sorry you keep having to rescue me.”

  “No. No.” He shook his head. “Don’t fall apart on me, sweetheart. I need you to keep it together right now.”

  She nodded and wiped her eyes.

  Mykel peeked between some pallets and took a shot at the nearest shooter who fell like a ton of bricks on top of one of the others. “Shoot Isy! Now” He commanded.

  Terrified she took aim and pulled the trigger at the big red haired man that she had previously elbowed. Of all of the men, he was the one who she was most afraid of. She hit him in the stomach and he fell, his shot at Mykel going wide. She ducked back down as one of the men turned in their direction and emptied a clip where her head had been. She was shaking like a leaf, and nearly hyperventilating.

  “Good girl. When he stops, do it again and take him out.” Mykel yelled in between return fire. “Just remember to count your rounds.”

  “Rounds?”

  “Bullets. You need to know how many you have left.”

  “Got it.”

  She waited until Mykel fired and took aim at a dark haired man coming in
their direction. She hit him in the leg and again in the chest, screaming as she did so. The adrenaline flowed into her system and she took another shot at a second man and ducked her head again. Mykel glanced at her when she screamed, assuming she had been hit, but she was in full on warrior woman mode. He laughed. She was his woman all right.

  "Marry me.”

  “What?”

  “Isabelle, my love, will you marry me?”

  “Is now really the time for this? Right now?” She said, shocked.

  “Yeah, I think it is. I've wanted to ask you but there's always been another day, a better moment, and I've been putting it off thinking that next time will be the perfect time to ask. But now, honestly, there probably isn't going to be a next time, so it has to be now.”

  “But why now?” She asked. “We’re kind of in the middle of trying not to die.”

  “Because if we're going to die here, I want to die next to you knowing that you're mine.” He popped his head up and took another shot and turned back to her. “If we get out of this alive then I swear to God Isy, I'll give you everything. We can buy a house and settle down, get a dog, have kids. I’ll give you whatever you want. In whatever time you want. I’ll live in your world, if you want, if it means you’ll stay a part of mine, because you are my world.” He fired three more shots and took out one of the men who had been creeping up on Isabelle’s side. “But if we don't make it past today, I want to die knowing that the life we miss out on together is one that would last forever. Even if we lose, if we fail and the World goes up in smoke and everything we've ever known ceases to exist... I'll still be happy that my last few days were spent with you."

  She stared at him, dumbfounded, her heart beating in her chest. “I’ve never heard anyone say anything so beaut…” She never finished her sentence. A shot rang out, and in horror, he watched as she pitched forward and slumped toward the ground. He caught her by one arm, dragging her body close, shielding her as he took shot after shot, screaming his rage. The gun began to dry fire, and he dropped it, not caring now, if he got shot.

  “Isy…Come on baby. Stay with me.” He choked out, putting his hand over the wound at her shoulder. She was bleeding so badly he knew that the bullet had hit close to her heart. She was already pale. “Stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake.” He chanted the mantra, rocking her.

  “Johnny! Get your ass over here! Isy’s been shot!” He screamed.

  “I’m pinned down!” Johnny hollered back. He had dropped down from the rafters and taken cover behind the card table that had been tipped on its side.

  “FUCK!” Mykel looked down at Isy, who was unconscious, and pale. She looked dead already. He laid her down as gently as he could, and applied a pressure bandage from his emergency med kit. It would have to do until Johnny could get to them.

  “Graham…how many are left alive?” He keyed his mike, suddenly deathly calm. He knew what he had to do.

  “I count at least twenty. We’re pretty well fucked.” He said grimly.

  Mykel grabbed the gun he had forced Isy to use, and counted the rounds. There were two left. She actually had done a fairly good job of shooting, much to both of their surprise. With a little training, she’d be as good as any of the boys. He looked down at her. “I know you can hear me Isabelle. Please…please don’t fucking leave me yet.” He said. He looked at her face, her hair, her hands…everywhere but the big hole in her chest. He just couldn’t. A single tear escaped his eyes, and ran down his cheek. “I love you, Isy. Don’t die on me baby, please.” He leaned down and kissed her.

  He stood and purposefully walked into the fray, not caring if he died, not caring about anything but killing the man who shot his woman. He shot the gun twice, taking out the first two who were stupid enough to pop their heads up, dropped his weapon and pulled out his sword. In so many ways he was more comfortable with the blades he used than any gun. He leapt over the crates and barrels the horde of bandits was crouched behind, and like a wild eyed phantom demon, destroyed them one by one. Enraged, he slashed at anything that moved, kill blows, each and every one of them. It was a macabre dance of blood and limbs and screams as he worked his way through the enemy, screaming wildly, stepping over bodies as he moved. He barely felt the unmistakable hot burning of a bullet sinking into his arm. He ignored the searing pain and kept moving, until he had serviced every last one of them, no thought in his mind but death.

  The others on the team stared in awe, watching him mow through the mass of bodies, totally enraged. Bryant made an attempt to step forward to help him, when he saw someone come around behind Mykel, but Graham commanded him to stop. He took the shot himself, from a distance. “Dude…he’s in the black, don’t go near him until he stops. He can’t even see us right now. He’s too enraged. He will kill anything and everyone in his way. Johnny, crawl over to Isy and do your thing.” The man was already on the move, shoving his body forward on his elbows, using his toes to scoot across the warehouse over to Isabelle and began CPR.

  Eventually the rage simmered down, the bodies stopped screaming and twitching and Mykel sank to the floor, utterly exhausted, covered in blood and other bodily fluids of his enemies. He stared straight ahead, not even seeing what he was looking at, lungs heaving, desperate for air. The adrenaline faded and he hit the crash. The sword in his hand clattered to the floor and lay in a pool of blood, some of it probably his. There was utter silence in the warehouse.

  “Mykel…you sane again?” Graham called, gun trained on him, but his finger not on the trigger. “Are you with us?”

  “She’s dead.” Mykel gasped. The ache in his soul was going to kill him, he knew. Something in him died with her, in that instant. He felt a part of his heart constrict and knew, he would never love again. Never breathe again. Everything in him that wanted to live, was just…gone. He had thought he was an empty shell of a man before, but he wasn’t. Not like this.

  “Graham, we’ve got to move, now!” Johnny called. “Get us an airlift with a cardiologist on board.”

  “Is she alive?” Bryant called.

  “Barely. Get over here, I need your help.”

  “Stay here woman. Trust me, please. I’ll come back for you.” He told his raven haired slave girl. She nodded grimly. Bryant left her behind the crate and made his way over to Johnny and Isabelle. He was trying to insert an IV bag and get some fluids into her.

  Graham got on the radio and called it in, and worked his way past the dead to where Mykel was kneeling. He kicked the sword farther out of Mykel’s reach, and knelt down with him. “Come on man…we have to go. We have to get your Isabelle to the hospital.”

  He put his hand on Mykel’s shoulder. The man didn’t even blink. “Mykel! She’s alive, man. Come on.” No response. He dug his finger into the bullet hole in Mykel’s arm. He grunted and blinked up at him.

  “What?”

  “Isabelle. Is. Alive. Let’s. Go.” He enunciated each word.

  “I don’t believe you.” He whispered.

  “Just come back with us. I’ll prove it to you.” Graham said. He picked up Mykel and half dragged him back to the spot where they met the chopper. Bryant’s woman had snuck back to the room and released all the women, who came out of the cage room, delighted to be free. Many of them shocked to see the carnage and bloodshed. Some of them escaped through the back door, into the city, while others just sat and cried. When a team entered the room and began to assist Johnny, a few of the men handed the more naked women blankets and whatever food and water they had on them. Bryant and Johnny used the side of a large crate to pack Isabelle out of the building and onto the stretcher and the waiting doctors. Bryant’s woman helped gather the women who had been crying and trailed after the men. She was still naked. Someone gave her a blanket and she wrapped it around herself.

  The backup team stared at Mykel as he climbed into the chopper. He was covered head to toe in dirt, sweat, gore and blood, staring straight ahead like a zombie. Totally lifeless and still. Graham had to strap him in to ma
ke sure he didn’t fall out as they made their way back to base in silence while the medical team worked frantically to save Isabelle.

  Chapter Ten

  The women had all been taken to the non-emergency part of the infirmary for medical attention and mandatory isolation. Many of them had been scary thin and starving to death. One young girl was so badly beaten they weren’t sure if she was strong enough to survive. She couldn’t have been more than twelve or so.

  The entire team sat in the waiting room of the infirmary waiting to hear the news about Isabelle. Mykel sat at the end of the line of chairs staring at the wall. He was still covered in gore and congealed blood. He didn’t notice. The only thing on his mind was her, and the time they had spent together. His mind went over and over the first time he saw her, the look of relief in her eyes when she had first seen him and knew she would be safe, how she had kept up with him in the woods. That first night in the tent, and all the times he had loved her since. Each time more amazing than before. The simple joy he felt coming home to her each night, eating meals together, playing chess, and reading together. The despair he felt when she left him, and the fear when he realized she had been taken again. The rage at her being shot. Despair again.