by Zara Zenia
“Hello?” I asked, fear and exhaustion making my voice tremble.
“Get out,” Darla’s voice demanded. “Get out of your apartment now!” The warning was harsh and slayed me.
I wasn’t sure I heard her right. Her voice was barely above a whisper. Why was she being so quiet? What was going on? Fresh panic robbed my throat of receiving any breaths.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, sure I misunderstood her. I shook my head and frowned with anxiety.
“You have five minutes, maybe less. Get out of the apartment now, or I swear by all that is holy that I’ll go and stick a knife right into Corinne’s throat.” Her tone was wicked and evil.
My stomach lurched and I tried to breathe. In shock, I looked around me, wondering what I had time to grab. It wasn’t the first time I’d had to evacuate on a dime, and by now, I’d learned what was most crucial. I had no idea why Darla was sending me out of my house, but I knew enough about her harsh demands to know that I needed to abide by them, blindly, at all costs.
“Can I come back?” I asked, worrying over mine and Corinne’s refugee documents. Without them, it was like the last ten years hadn’t happened. We’d have to start all over from scratch. I didn’t want to have to start all over. I wanted to know that I could come back here. It was the only roof over my head.
“No. Now move!” she hissed as if it wasn’t up for debate and she was losing patience.
I ran to the sofa bed then, and holding the phone with my shoulder to my ear, I reached under and grabbed the avocado green metal lock box. Throwing open the lid, I grabbed the stash of documents, mine and Corinne’s lives written out from start to finish on a few precious pieces of paper. If I couldn’t come back, that meant I couldn’t leave without them.
“Are you out yet?” Darla asked, panic coloring her voice. Her tone was like a deafening siren wailing through the night.
Whatever had her scared must be serious, and I wasn’t about to stick around and find out what it was. If it was enough to spook a hardened woman like Darla, that was enough to make me scatter like the gutter rats that roamed the hallways of this building.
I thrust my feet into my sturdiest boots and grabbed my coat. “Almost,” I responded with a grunt as I pushed myself back into a standing position.
Glancing one last time behind me at the place that had been mine and Corinne’s home for the last few years, I felt a bittersweet pang of remorse. How many homes would I have to abandon in an instant without warning like this? Would I ever have a home that lasted? I turned around and swallowed the sour feeling. Without Corinne, this wasn’t home anymore anyway.
But there wasn’t time to dwell. I slammed the door behind me and went to the stairwell. I sagged my shoulders with fleeting relief that it appeared to be empty, for now.
“You know, if you’re going to take your time, maybe I’ll have to do the same with Corinne. Cut off her eyelids first so she can see everything I’m about to do to her. Then again, she’s plenty old enough. Maybe I’ll just sell her to the Pain & Pleasure House. They always have a need for fresh virgin meat, ” Darla mused, a sick edge to her tone that made me want to vomit, if only there was anything in my stomach to allow it. Why was she torturing me like this? I was doing everything she asked me to do.
“Stop! I’m already out. I’m getting to the stairs now. Where do you want me to . . . Gardax?” My voice cracked, and I almost dropped the phone. My breath caught in my throat and I was paralyzed.
He was at the bottom of the stairwell, flanked by two burly guys that I assumed must be his security because there could be no other explanation for their flashy body armor plates and the weapons in their hands. Their faces were stoic and somber. Their fists were clenched at their sides.
“Get out of there! So help me, she will die, Amy, she will die. Do you understand?!” Darla screeched. Her tone was desperate as she cried into the receiver.
Confused and raw, I stepped back, but not soon enough.
Gardax looked up, and our eyes met, hitting me with a mix of emotions. Chief among them, panic. I was torn between running directly for him or charging away like a thief in the night. Gut-wrenching conflict ailed me and robbed my thoughts of anything more than a murky haze.
“Amy!” he called out, but I was already running, my boots slapping the thin boards of the hallway. I drew in narrow breaths. I was afraid to glance over my shoulder for fear of what I would see.
The sound of thunder rocked the stairwell and I knew they were close behind me. There was no way out. Darla was in my ear, hurling horrible threat after threat, and I had the sickening, horrible feeling that I’d just run out of time. This was it. Corinne would be lost to me. I felt pulled in a million directions and I didn’t even have a fathom of an idea what kind of danger might befall me, no matter what decision I made. Corinne. I could only think of Corinne and her safety.
Blood screamed in my ears and sweat beaded on my forehead as my breath slowed. I couldn’t lose her.
And then I saw it—the waste chute. It was my only resolution, the only escape.
Every floor had one. Residents tossed their refuse down it for compacting and removal. If I could fit inside and slide my way down, I’d narrowly make my escape.
I didn’t think, I just ran, pumping everything I had into my legs, and in one swift motion, I tucked my body into one long line and dove down. I didn’t know what would happen next, but I was out of options.
“Nooo!” I heard Gardax scream behind me, the sound of his voice doing strange things to me that I didn’t have time to examine as I hurtled down the metal tunnel. Why was he so panicked? His screams of agony made my blood turn to icicles inside me.
With a painful thud, I landed in the foul-smelling container at the bottom. I retched and swam my way through the ocean of trash and waste from other refugees’ dumpsters.
I scrambled to my feet, searching frantically for the phone that had slipped out of my hands, and then jumped out of the pile of trash. My boots hit the hard concrete floor and I started running for the door.
“I got away,” I huffed into the phone.
There was no sound, no answer. Only silence. Where the hell was she now? My emotions were swirling in turmoil, wreaking havoc in my mind.
“No! You can’t do this, Darla!” I screamed into the phone, panic seizing me once more. I continued to run. The air burned my throat, but I pressed on. I didn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop until I had confirmation that my sister was unharmed.
I’d just tumbled down five stories of metal tubing, my body doubtlessly bruised and battered in ways my adrenaline was blocking for now. I would feel the pain later. The bruises would be the lasting effects of this whirlwind nightmare.
“I did what you said!” I shouted, more desperate. “Darla! Damn it, answer me!” My tone was angry.
“Cool your twat, I’m still here. Where are you now?” she asked, more casually now, as if she were asking for a prediction on the weather.
My heart beat again. “I’m in the basement. I jumped into the trash chute.” I scanned the area, nervously pacing and running a shaky hand through my braid.
“Well, that’s where you belong. So fitting. Good, now get out of there. They’re not going to give up that easily.” Her tone was bitter and mocking.
I nodded silently, catching my breath and running up the steps, breaking through the street access door. I pulled the hood of my coat up, but my hair was wild and loose and fluttered around the sides.
I’d made it less than a dozen paces before I heard him again. “Stop! Amy, wait!” He wailed with enough passionate desperation that I had to turn back and look at him.
I glanced over my shoulder to see him behind me, hot air puffing out of him in a cloud of vapor. His expression was pained and confused.
“You’d better run, trash. Run for your life. Oh, silly me, I mean your sister’s,” Darla taunted with a sinister chuckle that made me gasp.
I ducked between a couple walking down the p
ath. Horribly as my morning was going, there was some luck to be had. Crowds were beginning to stream onto the sidewalks as people set off for their jobs, starting the business of the day. I could get lost in the shuffle.
I heard him shouting something to his guards, and from the sounds of people being pushed out of the way, I knew he wasn’t giving up. We would cause a scene, especially if it looked like I was being chased by the prince.
Sick as it sounds, part of me wanted him to catch me. But a bigger part knew I couldn’t let that happen. Darla would make sure I paid the price for that.
I ran into the road, diving between peddlers and vehicles, nearly getting mowed down in the process. I bumped into people, barreled into others. I couldn’t stop, no matter how many hiccups I encountered along the way.
Tires squealed and brakes cried out as motorists swerved and stopped to avoid me. A mirror from a passing track smacked against my bag and the force of it knocked me down to the sidewalk where my knees pounded with a brutal thud. My sensitive skin burned in the area where I had landed. I winced in pain, but I had to stand up again and press forward once again.
People craned to see what was going on, but I couldn’t stop. I made a run for the alley, hoping to lose him in the moving crowds. I didn’t look back anymore. I remained focused on the road in front of me.
Dirty water splashed my boots as I raced down the alley and around a corner, knocking various trash and debris in the process. I ducked and dodged every obstacle in my way, sustaining minor injuries as I went.
“Where are you goin’ in such a hurry, pretty baby?” A man caught me by the waist and pulled me toward him, his putrid breath assaulting my senses as he made to kiss me. I grimaced and braced for impact, but I was able to free myself in time before his slimy lips contacted mine.
We struggled briefly while I still held the phone, the sound of Darla’s sadistic laughter echoing from the phone’s speaker. I’d almost forgotten that I was still connected to her on the line.
“Release her!” I heard Gardax roar from down the alley. His voice was booming and threatening as it crashed through the frigid air.
The man was stunned just enough to give me time to push away and sink a fist into the soft flesh of his gut, right beneath his ribs. He doubled over and released me. I’d lived on the streets for long enough to know how to deal with sleazy guys like that and defend myself.
As soon as I was free, I sprinted again. My lungs seized for oxygen, my muscles ached, but still, I ran. I was running for Corinne’s life, not mine. Her life was far more valuable than my own.
Making my way to the other end of the alley, I scrambled over the metal netting of a fence. If I could get two more blocks, I’d be at the transit center, my best chance for losing Gardax. There would be enough warm bodies shuffling about there to help me get lost in the crowd.
“Excuse me, sorry,” I tried to manage as I ran through the growing mass of bodies, knocking people down and sending one woman’s bag sprawling.
“Watch it, ref-rat!” someone called out, using the derogatory term for homeless refugees.
The dinging sound of the transit center hit me, and I surged forward, fighting the crowds of night-shift workers making their way toward their homes, leaping over vendor carts and weaving quickly through the churning maze of bodies. I was gasping for air now, red in the face and hair all askew.
I jumped off the sidewalk, into the shoulder of the roadway between the sidewalk and the street, trying to get through the crowd faster. I was surprised at how limber and agile I could make myself as I pushed against the current of people from all angles.
“Out of the way, red!” A cyclist called out, elbowing me as he rode past. His face was puffy in frustration.
The thrust connected with my side and sent me stumbling against the curb. The wind was knocked out of me for a brief moment. I scrambled to get up a second later.
I didn’t feel the phone leave my hand, just heard the terrifying splash and crack as it fell into the puddle, the screen shattering. I was powerless to stop it from happening. The damage had been done.
“Nooooooo!” I screamed, the veins in my face feeling like they might explode. I wanted to pass out, to scream and to throw myself on the ground and pound my fists into the pavement, all at once.
On my hands and knees, I reached for it, frantically trying to wipe the water off it. With fumbling, desperate hands, I prayed that the device would still work.
“Amy.” I heard Gardax’s voice behind me, but I was too distracted, too devastated to react. I stared at the phone as if it were my only option for ever seeing Corinne again.
“Hello? Hello!” I called, gripped by the temporary hysteria. I screamed into the phone, begging Darla to respond.
The call was disconnected, the phone dead. That was it. I had no other way of contacting Darla. My situation had just gone from hopeless to subliminally dreadful.
I don’t remember crying, but I struggled to wipe the water off the phone in vain as I realized the moisture was my own tears splashing down on it. My shoulders shook with regretful sobs that ravaged my body.
A hand on my shoulder shook me out of my breakdown. It was warm and powerful and made me feel instantly safe.
“Amy, please, tell me what’s going on?” Gardax asked, crouching in front of me. His eyes displayed genuine concern, flickering with mercy.
His hand felt so warm, his eyes so soft and unsure. I wanted to collapse against him and fall apart. For a minute, I just stared into his eyes, trying to focus my vision. I was breathing hard, my mind racing. The exertion of the chase had left me lightheaded and slightly faint. I wanted to trust him, but I didn’t even trust myself in this mindset. There were too many unresolved factors here. I couldn’t lean on anyone but myself.
“Please. What’s happening? What’s wrong?” he begged. He rubbed my back.
But I shook my head, clinging to the one thread of hope I had left. I couldn’t tell him anything. Not if I ever wanted to see Corinne again.
“I can’t,” I breathed. “I can’t or my sister will die.” Fresh sobs pelted me. The flood of tears wouldn’t stop this time. My vision blurred, and the hot tears stung my swollen eyes.
The words seemed to stun him. He opened his mouth to speak, but his eyes were wide with shock and bewilderment and he was momentarily speechless. I could tell by his reaction that he never expected that kind of explanation from me, not in a million years.
An express trolley from the transit dinged, coming down the street swiftly. It was my only chance. I jumped up and darted toward it, leaping onto the outside handle and clinging with all the strength I had to the massive vehicle as it sped away. As much as I wanted to stay and surrender to Gardax’s warmth, I had to rip myself away and disconnect.
Gardax leapt to his feet but he was too late. He wasn’t able to jump on in time. In an instant, I was gone.
Chapter 13
Gardax
“Wait!” I cried out again, desperate. I barreled through the people blocking my path, trying to catch the trolley Amy had just thrown herself at. I couldn’t lose her, not again. I had too many unanswered questions.
My throat constricted as I fearfully watched her slim body holding to the large vehicle as it zoomed through traffic. I couldn’t believe she’d managed to launch herself onto the train with such agility and speed.
I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew with crystal-clear conviction that I needed to get to her. I heard Coel’s voice somewhere behind me, but I couldn’t slow and wait for him. I couldn’t stop searching after Amy. I had to find her. Perseverance surged through me with a burst of adrenaline.
I reached a corner and nearly dashed toward Amy, but as I stepped into the street, another trolley passed going the opposite direction, barely missing me. I had to lurch out of the way to keep from smacking directly into the moving train.
The last thing I saw was her long fiery hair billowing freely like some kind of beacon in this dreary gray jungle.
A beacon that I lost and desperately needed to find. Frustration rippled through my veins. My knees swayed but didn’t completely buckle.
By the time the trolley passed, I had lost sight of her. I struck out, hitting the side of a vendor’s cart, denting the thin metal.
“What the hell, man?” The vendor cried out.
“My apologies,” I muttered, tossing a generous handful of Union coins on his cart.
His smile grew wide and the animosity melted instantly. “No worries, s’all good, s’all good.” He tipped his hat to me.
“Do you have any idea where that trolley that just came through goes?” I asked, taking advantage of his softened attitude and wanting to catch him before he was gone.
He looked in the direction I pointed. “The Express? Manhattan to Central Transit, probably. Most of these lines go there and then branch out to the other boroughs or beyond.”
So she could be anywhere. She could have jumped off at any of the locations in between.
“Where’d she go?” Coel asked, reaching me at last.
I looked up to the sky, cursing the situation and myself for being bested. Looking at her, I would never have guessed her capable of such agility and speed. She was driving me half-mad but I still couldn’t help but to be impressed. She was like a ninja in the night, mysterious and elusive, and it was a major turn on.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “She jumped onto a trolley headed for the main transit hub and I couldn’t catch up.” I pointed abstractly in the direction she had gone. My senses were now skewed.
He quirked a brow. “You? She lost you?” He stared at me as if that were the most unimaginable concept ever conjured.
“Yes,” I answered darkly. “But not for good. This isn’t over. I still want answers.” I narrowed my eyes as I stared into oblivion and the sea of people around me.