Fractured

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Trapped.  That's the dominant force I felt between us.  Trapped and at the same time tempted with release.  I wanted to run.  Oh god, you have no idea how badly I just wanted to grab his hand and run as fast as we could.  This was torture... because we couldn't.  One casual step at a time when we entered the darkness and away from the parking lot.  Any second, I felt they would attack.  We were engulfed in the shadows, even though the snow on the ground lit up reality around us enough to see we just entered the bare thick trees.  We were covered and if they were going to come at us, it would be very soon. We already felt them around us.

Luke's arm wrapped around me was much more tense now as was his body.  I could feel he was ready to turn it around on them whenever they made their move. Glancing down and slowly over to him, I noticed barely that he did in fact have his gun out and ready at his side.  I felt my teeth dig into my bottom lip and I tightened my grip on the pepper spray, not ready at all... but needing to be for this at the same time.

"Drop the files; we don't need to worry about those now," Luke whispered in a low voice as we moved, side by side, into the woods deeper.  I didn't question it.  I doubted it was because he wanted to give the files to them for our lives; that probably had nothing to do with this.  We just didn't need to lose them in the middle of this.  When we get out of this... and we will get out of this... we will pick them up on the way back to the car.  Right?  I mean, that's what was going to happen.  We weren't going down, we couldn't, even when my fluid mind seemed to chant at me that we were dead meat.  My mind can go fuck itself.

Swallowing, I found the feeling in my free hand to open my coat up a bit and slid my hand under the material.  When I felt the two heavy and suspicious files pressed into my chest, I took them out from my coat and nonchalantly bent down with them as we walked, laying them down in the snow against a bush where they couldn't be seen.  I felt my heart ting with grief, in the risk of losing those files... but we wont.  We got this, Luke knows what he's doing... but damn if I wasn't freaking out on the inside!  I didn't want him getting hurt over me.

"Albany," he said a bit more urgently.  "Any second, they will come at us.  I don't think they have guns because they would have used them by now.  So I need you to be ready.  I can hear them closing in around us..." he said and it was during that moment where I heard branches creak and snap from behind me... from yards off to the side.  It was making my nerves shake on edge but I held onto his words as he continued.  "Use that spray with anyone you see.  And if it gets bad... you need to run, do you understand?"

I only nodded as I got what he was saying through my head, not sure if I would actually run though.  I-I just didn't know!  I couldn't say if I would if it got bad.  I wouldn't want to leave him.  I wasn't ready, even though he was.  He was trained after all and prepared.  It made me feel slightly better.  But not much when he was still in danger and with me not knowing what was going to happen.  I found out a second later.

We continue walking through the woods, our footsteps swishing over the thin layer of snow that covered the ground.  But with my ears straining, I soon picked up on more sounds, more movement around us.  Only this time, it was fast... and coming from behind me.  In only a matter of seconds, something, someone was sprinting through the trees and nearing us.  And the moment I heard it, was the moment it was but a few feet behind me.  I acted on instinct - on that fear and that rage swelling up inside my tightening chest.

I was terrified, to say the least.  But... once I heard in that split second someone running at me from behind, all I wanted to do... was kill that person.  I was done with all this shit.  And I wont back down.  With that spurt of anger in me growing, I spun around and disconnected my contact with Luke, my eyes hitting the force charging at me - of a man but a few yards away.  And just before he could reach me, tackle me, I raised the can of pepper spray Luke gave me with a scowl and pressed the nozzle down.  Spraying the man before me with the acidy fluid that made simple chaos erupt before me.