He looks down in shock. His hands move to it and he pulls it out, staring at it confusedly in shock. I manage another step towards him, calling his name, but I can tell he’s already drifting off. He looks at me in sorrow, his legs giving out from under him as he falls to his knees.
I make it to him just as he falls to his side, his eyes closing as he succumbs to the drugs pumping through his body.
“No! Charlie, wake up!” I demand, shaking him violently. He doesn’t respond. I look up, hoping to find help, but instead I see Will being lifted into the van now only feet away. I watch Dean’s disappearing back and hearing Rose’s scream in the distance. I can guess what has pulled him away from us.
“Wake up, please wake up!” I beg of Charlie, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and trying to lift him to his feet. He’s completely dead weight and without any help from him, I can’t get him up. He falls from my grip and hits the ground, still not aware of what is happening.
I realize now that we’ve failed. There is no hope of escape. I’m not strong enough to escape with Charlie and I don’t want to leave him, so I sit by him, my hands holding his. I lean over him, resting my head against his chest and listen to his slow beating heart. I try to let it calm me. Charlie is alive and right now, that is the best outcome that can come from this.
I close my eyes as tears fall down my face and wet his shirt. I have no wish to be separated from him. I grip my hands tighter around his. Maybe Stan will let us stay together, maybe whatever Martha wanted us together for will still stand.
Hands grab hold of my hair and I’m pulled away from Charlie, my hands still gripping hold of him, refusing to let go until two men take hold of him and drag him away.
“No, don’t take him!” I beg, trying to move with him, but the person holding me just tightens their grip, keeping me in place.
“Needle, now!” A woman’s voice grunts from behind me. I know she’s the one holding me. I don’t even care that I’m about to be stabbed with a needle, a thought that should at the very least have me fainting. Instead, I want her to hurry up. I want to be unconscious and away from this nightmare. I need to be asleep for this because otherwise, I’ll break in two and I don’t think that anyone will be able to fix me. My mind is a ball of pain, fear and loss.
“What the…” the woman’s voice gasps quietly, and I’m suddenly let go. I hear commotion behind me, but as I am dropped to the ground, I don’t look back. I crawl forward, my legs too weak to carry my own weight. My body is in shock, I realize. I watch the door close on the van that has Charlie and it is driven away, following the one that also houses Will. Two of us have been taken, and from Rose’s scream earlier, that number is most likely three. There is only me left now.
I stop moving forward, not having Charlie to move towards any longer, waiting to be grabbed or even shot with a dart.
Surprisingly, I’m picked up and thrown over someone’s shoulder. This person is running us back down the hill, away from the cabin and over the knocked out guards scattered along the ground.
Through my blurry vision, still hindered by tears, I see that the person carrying me is wearing light brown cargo pants, not the black military gear that the P.A.G.E. soldiers are wearing.
“Joel?” I call out in shock, realizing the only one of us wearing cargo pants has been him. “Joel, what are you doing?” I demand, my voice growing stronger.
He doesn’t answer me, just keeps running and dodging around trees. I lift my head up to see we’re not being followed, at least not from what I can see in my jumpy vision.
“Joel, let me go!” I struggle in his arms, hating that I’m now so far away from Charlie.
What is he doing? I need to be taken by P.A.G.E. I have to be with Charlie so he isn’t turned. I can’t do this on my own, not when everyone else has been grabbed.
“Joel!” I scream at the top of my lungs and he screeches to a stop, swinging me back around his front. I lose my breath in the shock of the sudden lack of pressure of blood in my head.
He recovers quicker than me and throws his hand over my mouth, even though I’m no longer screaming, and he pushes me against a tree, leaning close enough to me that I can’t move.
“Shut the hell up. Do you want them to catch us?” he hisses at me.
I glare at him, not able to respond while his hand is still over my mouth. I push him several times, trying to get him to step back, however he doesn’t move.
“I know what you’re thinking; I saw your face back there. I watched you stop fighting, but you can’t do that. We have to get away from here.”
I shove him hard again and this time he steps back from me, his hand moving away from my face.
“Get away from here? Where the fuck are we going to go then? We have no money, no car, no safe house and we’ve just lost everybody!” I shriek, watching him wince as I don’t make any effort to keep my voice down.
“Look, I know this seems hopeless, but we don’t know for sure that Rose and Dean have been taken. Right now, our best bet is to escape this and we can make a proper plan to get Charlie and Will out.”
I laugh, but there is no humor in it. I sound a bit crazy actually. “Are you kidding me? We couldn’t even get surveillance right without being caught. You think we’ll be able to break probably four people out of a guarded facility when we don’t have any clue where that’ll be? The two of us, given I’m the worst fighter out of all of us and you’re nothing more than a murderer?”
He flinches at the name I call him, but I don’t care how it affects him. He is standing in the way of being with Charlie and I will say anything to get him to move.
“Charlie made us all promise to look out for you. He made me promise that I would do everything in my power to keep you safe. I know you hate me and I know you always will, and I deserve that. But I made a promise and I intend to keep it. I intend to prove to you and myself that I’m not a monster. I made a mistake and I’ll be sorry for the rest of my life, but we have to keep moving. We will find them, we will figure out how to save them and then we will get them out. I promise you because I won’t ever give up.”
I shake my head, my vision changing from the beaten Joel standing in front of me, moving to the vision of Charlie I had seen in that dream where he was no longer on our side. I can’t leave him there; I can’t leave him to be brainwashed. Even if what Joel is saying is true and there is a possibility that we could find and save them, there is no promising that we’ll make it in time. There is no promising that Charlie will want to come with us.
“Please, Zoe, they’re getting closer.” Joel grabs hold of my arm and I’m brought back to the present. My mouth opens ready to scream, ready to alert the men of where I am so I can be captured, but no sound comes out. My voice is gone and I realize that I think Joel might be right, or at least my instincts do, because I suddenly want to run.
Joel obviously reads my face and sees that I’m not going to go back. He sighs in relief and then he pulls my arm as we run together.
***
The sun is casting shadows across the trees, and I’m sure we’ve only got a couple hours of light left. My legs long ago went numb and I’ve fallen over several times. Hidden rocks litter the ground, covered by dirt and leaves. I’m lucky to have not twisted my ankle on any of them.
Joel had the misfortune of running head first into a branch, and if the situation were different—and most likely if it had been anyone other than Joel—I would have laughed hard at that. Instead, I simply ran passed him, and moments later, he caught up to me. Now his forehead has a large bump over it and already it’s bruised and bloody from where his skin broke.
We stay silent, and while we never hear any of the men chasing us, we’re both aware that they’re close.
Exhaustion and fear are eating away at me. I can’t stop my thoughts circling around the others, which of course also doesn’t help me to avoid falling over.
Are they okay? Have they woken up yet? Are they being kept together? Have the
y been separated? Have they been mistreated? Then I stress over the fact that it might only be Joel and I left. That it might be up to only us to save them. Two untrained people against a government run agency. Two people, which Stan will most likely expect to come. Two people that have a history so horrible that I might very well snap and attack Joel at any moment.
I have no idea why my instincts are telling me to run. I want to be with Charlie, I will even take being with him if it means being forced into whatever Stan expects us to do. So why am I running? Why does the thought of stopping make my heart squeeze painfully? Why am I willing to abandon the others?
Joel cries out in pain and I look ahead to watch him fall down. I see that he’s hurt himself badly. Instead of running passed him, like I’ve done previously when he’s fallen down, I crouch by him and grab hold of his arm. I pull him to his feet, but he winces and shakes my grip off him, leaning against a nearby tree.
“Joel?”
“I think I’ve broken something.” He keeps his left foot off the ground and leans entirely on his right leg.
“Broken?” I gasp, looking closer at his foot as he lifts his pant leg up slowly.
Already his ankle has ballooned out from above where his shoe ends. I realize that even if he’s only sprained it, there isn’t going to be a way he’ll be able to run on it or even walk anytime soon.
“Just keep going, Zoe, don’t stop.”
I open my mouth, but I don’t know what I planned to say. If I leave him, then he’ll surely die out here in the middle of nowhere. I’ll have no one to help me get the others back. If I stay, then we’ll both most likely be taken and I won’t have to do this alone.
“I can’t.”
“These people aren’t good. You have to keep going.”
“They’ve got the others, I can’t… I can’t do this alone.”
“You’re strong, Zoe. I know you can do this. I’ll try and hold them off for as long as I can.”
“How?” I look down at his damaged foot.
We are both weaponless. There is no way Joel can hold anyone off right now.
“I’ll figure something out. Just keep running. Your best advantage to get the others out is that you’re on the other side, and they won’t expect much from you. Prove them wrong. Show them what you can do.”
“But what if I can’t?” Tears spring to my eyes and I wipe them away furiously. I’m not even strong enough to keep myself from crying.
“At least try. If you fail, then you get caught.” Joel touches my face gently and I’m too upset to bother pushing his hand away. “I wish—I wish this could have been different.” His voice shakes and he takes a deep breath before he continues, “Even though I kept having those dreams, even though there was this weird compulsion inside me, wanting me to hurt you, there was something else there, too. Something between us.” He wipes away a tear as it falls down my face with his thumb and leans closer to me. “Please tell me you felt that, too. I know you and Charlie are together and I’m happy for you. I am. But before him, before I hurt you so badly, before I became that murderer you see, did you feel it, too?”
There is desperation in Joel’s eyes, something I’ve never seen before in anyone. Behind his pain and fear, I see it and it is like a hand reaches out and grips ahold of my heart, crushing it.
“Yes, I felt it. Drew, the future one, said that in the old timeline we got married. If you hadn’t killed Dana, hadn’t tried to kill me, then we probably would have been married,” I blurt it out, my breath catching when I see the flare of fire in his eyes at my words. He smiles at me, not some blindingly happy smile, but one that comes from relief and rightness. He closes his eyes for a moment and I watch a single tear trail down from his shut eyes, leaving a wet line down the brown dirt lining his cheek.
“Thank you. I—I knew there was something. I wish that life could have been real. I wish we could have been part of a family. I know I can’t ever have that, but you still have that chance.” His eyelids open and his gaze pierces me. “Run, Zoe. Run and don’t look back.”
I stare at him a moment longer, not sure how I feel. I know it’s not love, and I don’t think it’s forgiveness. I think I feel a sense of loss for that life that we both won’t ever get to have. I think my heart is mourning the love that will never happen between Joel and myself.
“Now, go!” Joel hisses at me. I know why he sounds so urgent, running footsteps are approaching us. I think I still might have stayed with him had I not heard Martha calling out that she could hear voices.
Her words send chills down my spine, and a new fear grips me. Not the one that I’ve been feeling since losing Charlie. A new fear that I’ll be taken by Martha. A thought that sends my instincts spiraling. I give Joel one last look, taking in his features for what I know will be the last time before I nod at him. I’m not exactly sure what that nod is meant to mean. Thanks? I forgive you? Goodbye?
It doesn’t matter, though, I only make it maybe thirty steps when I hear Joel’s cry. I freeze, crouching down low. Running will only attract attention and I’m not far enough away to be able to out run them. They’ll know where I am and I’ll be caught in seconds.
I strain my ears and peek from behind the large tree trunk I’m hiding behind. Although there are branches and leaves in the way, I can just make out Martha as she stands over Joel with an air of confidence and fury. This is not the Martha that I saw at The Windmill. There, she was restrained and falsely calm. Right now, she looks ruthless and cruel.
The wind blows their conversation my way and I hear the echoes of their voices.
“Where is she?” she demands.
“Who?” I think I see Joel smile innocently at Martha. While I don’t see her doing it, I know she must have kicked out and hit his ankle. He cries out in pain and falls down hard. I can’t see him any longer and against my instincts, I crawl slowly closer until I get a view of both Joel and Martha. There are three men crowding around behind her.
“Tell me or this will get much worse for you.”
“That way, she ran that way.” Joel points away from where I’m hiding and I feel a small amount of gratitude towards him. He didn’t give me up, he protected me.
Martha narrows her eyes at him for at least a full minute before she nods behind her. I think I count five men—two that I didn’t realize were there—running off in the direction Joel had said.
Martha also turns in that direction, but she only takes one step before turning back to Joel.
“Who hired you to try and kill Holloway? Why did she try and save you?” She sounds genuinely interested, her confidence faltering slightly as curiosity takes over.
“Santa Claus hired me.” Joel laughs, sounding empty and mirthless.
Martha looks to the side and a man steps up to her. His face looks familiar, but I only focus on him for a moment before glancing back down at Joel.
“All I can hear is the pain he’s in,” the man, more like a boy, says to her.
“I assumed you would be a problem,” Martha snaps at Joel and then, in a blink of an eye, she pulls out her gun and fires it at Joel. I see the impact strike his head as he falls backwards. I block my ears from the loud gunshot, but my eyes are glued to Joel’s lifeless body.
“Ma’am, Agent Goodings specifically wanted this one brought back for Maggie to interrogate.” The same boy, a dark-skinned kid is looking at her in horror as he glances at Joel’s lifeless body.
“You look like you’re about to throw up. Get it over with and then catch up to us.” She tells him, sounding void of any emotion at all, considering she just murdered Joel.
The kid turns away from Joel, his back is to me as he leans down. The noises I hear make it obvious he’s vomiting.
Martha storms away, heading in the same direction as the men she sent after me.
I turn away from the scene, my body shaking uncontrollably as I replay what I just saw.
Joel is dead. Martha shot him in cold blood.
Chapter 33 �
�� The Running
I stand up and try to run, but I know I’m making too much noise, that I’m not being careful enough. Charlie and Will have been taken, most likely even Rose and Dean, and now Joel is dead. What if they’ve killed Dean, too? He isn’t one of us. I assumed if they caught Dean they would take him with us. I also assumed that Joel would get taken, too, but she shot him. Martha killed him like it was no big deal. What if that’s the same fate that awaits Dean? What if it’s already happened?
Bile burns in my throat, and I know if I had any food in my stomach that I would be chucking my guts up like that kid. Already my stomach is twisting and turning painfully. I can tell that I’m pale and sweating badly. My body is still shaking. I have no idea how my legs are holding my weight.
I push off the trees I pass, letting them propel me forward, but the fight is leaving my body.
Dana is dead. Joel is dead. Charlie and Will have definitely been taken. Rose is missing, Dean could be dead.
What is the point in running? What is the point in still moving forward?
I’m so lost in thought that I’m completely caught off guard when arms push me to the ground. I slide along the rough surface and my chin knocks into a large rock. Blood gushes from the wound, wetting my throat and most likely my sweater.
“Why did you have my family killed? Why me?” I’m turned over to see the same kid from earlier. The one who had been throwing up. He doesn’t look sick now. He stands over me and takes hold of my sweater, lifting me off the ground so only my ass and legs remain on the cool dirt.
I realize again that I recognize him; I can’t seem to focus on him, though. My fears and panic overwhelm me and I close my eyes, letting my grief consume me. I’ve been caught. I’m going to be taken to Martha. I’m going to be taken to Charlie. I don’t know how we’ll do it, but together we can figure out how to escape. It has to work out, it just has to.
Taken By Force (Taken Trilogy Book 2) Page 30