Madness At Noon {COMPLETED}

A Charitable Soul 4/12

Jack was taking things too far. It was clear he had no interest in escaping, only in causing mass chaos. Ordinarily, I would not judge a man's personal life choices, but right now his little rampage was making it extremely difficult to break out of a maximum-security prison when every guard and doctor with a gun was on high alert for fleeing prisoners.

The task was made even more challenging because I was not alone.

"Not that way!" I hissed, yanking the boy's arm back. He tripped and stumbled against me. I held him tight to my chest, turning as rigid as stone and indistinguishable from the shadows as a small squad of SWAT soldiers rushed past. Focused on the frozen catastrophe that was erupting in Cell Block A, they did not see us.

I held the position for a moment longer. "Run."

It took seven minutes from the basement underground, traversing the maze of Sceptre, past two security gates and the bolted main doors, to reach freedom. But the boy's legs were much shorter than mine and he was exhausted; extreme blood loss was a slow killer.

Already he was stumbling behind me, choking down air, large eyes darted from side to side, wide with fear. The bloodied sheet over his head flapped wildly behind him.

The ticks of the clock, the routes, the number of bodies and every drop of spilled blood drip, drip, dripped before my eyes.

Too slow. Too slow if we were to escape before he appeared.

Without pausing in my stride, I scooped up the boy and threw him over my shoulder. He growled and wiggled against my hold. I smacked his head against the wall. He made no more protests.

My feet hardly touched the ground as I sprinted down another hall, fast enough to outrun the hounds of hell.

Somewhere behind us, an explosion shook the building. The lights flickered and blinked out, plunging us into complete darkness.

I knew the layout of Sceptre as well as I knew my own mind. Light or dark made no difference. The small child I carried clung to me with all the strength he still possessed as I skidded around a corner. His breaths came out as ragged gasps against the back of my neck.

Nine seconds until the backup generator kicked in.

I burst through the double doors into the North Wing, shielding the boy's head with my hands. Two female nurses were cowering behind the pharmacy counter. I left them alive.

Eight.

Right turn. Left turn. Another right. Through the cafeteria.

Seven.

A metal prong from one of the bolted tables caught my leg, tearing a gash into my thigh. I flinched for a step but did not slow.

Six.

More doors, more twists, more turns, more terrified medical staff who did not die this day. Not by my hand.

Five.

Through the blackness I saw the first security gate rushing closer. It was guarded by four men in riot gear, each man heavily armed and ready, but blind and clearly nervous in the dark.

Four.

Creatures of the light sightless in the gloom. They thought themselves hunters, but the darkness was my ally and I had no fear.

I could have my way. Steal a gun and splatter the black with red, red. Did they think those toys could stop me? Me?

Three.

I crouched, putting all my weight on the balls of my feet, and jumped. I flew, driving all my weight into the first guard. "Uhg!" I kicked off his body, into the second guard, using him as a stepping stool to launch myself through the security gate. Shifting the kid's weight to one arm, I grabbed onto an overhanging light and swung my body up.