Caedes

16 | not on my watch

Thursday, 3:15 P.M.

One by one, the remaining cops slowly turned their heads almost in sync, dull eyes focusing on Ellen. Most of their uniforms were ruffled and splattered with either Officer Tomato's or his partner's blood and scratches and bruises marked some of their arms and faces. If it wasn't for their labored breathing, they could easily be mistaken for a group of abstract wax statues.

The cop who'd doused Office Tomato in scalding coffee pointed at Ellen and snarled, "You!"

"Stay back," Ellen said, lifting her weapon ever so slightly.

Was she serious? Had she not just witnessed Officer Tomato basically try the exact same thing? And we all saw how that ended.

But then she surprised me.

Quick as a fox, she stepped forward, grabbed the keys to the cuffs, and tossed them between the cell bars right at me like a true professional. Thanks to my catlike reflexes, I twisted around in time to catch them. My gaze lingered on hers for a split second and she nodded firmly.

I'd underestimated Ellen. Clearly.

Meanwhile, her colleagues were slowly surrounding her like a pack of hungry lions. She was still holding her gun like the last resort it was—we both knew if she used it, it was over. Besides, deep down, I knew she didn't want to kill any of them, and I wasn't sure if she could.

Unfastening these cuffs turned out to be a little harder than expected. It took me several tries to insert the key, and when it finally fit, the damn thing nearly got stuck. With a huff, I loosened my grip and then tried again. By some miracle that seemed to do the trick and the cuff slid off my left wrist. I looked up just in time to see one of the officers reach for Ellen's arm.

Not on my watch, buddy.

With my newly freed arm, I reached through the bars and grabbed the back of his shirt. As his hand was about to close around Ellen's forearm, I pulled back and he slammed into the metal bars with enough force for him to moan in pain. When he dropped to the floor unconscious a moment later, I felt pretty good about my own strength.

I felt myself smile. That was sure to leave a nasty bruise.

My momentary satisfaction was immediately replaced by annoyance when I saw someone else had simply taken his place and was now trying to wrestle the gun from Ellen. She put up a good fight, but then another officer made to grab her hair. It was only a matter of time until the rest joined in and she met the same fate as good old Officer Tomato.

I snapped my fingers. Again, no one paid any attention to me—like I didn't exist. And I still couldn't get out of this damn cell. Officer Tomato had taken the key with him, and he wasn't exactly in a position to tell me where he'd put it.

"No!" Ellen cried as the cop twisted her gun out of her hands. Her eyes focused on me and I could see the blatant fear in them.

I stuck my hand through the bars again, trying to reach any of the other cops, but they were too far away. There was nothing I could do. Ellen seemed to come to the same conclusion and her facial expression changed into one of hopelessness.

No.

I pushed myself further against the bars until I heard a low creak and the gap widened ever so slightly. Now that was something I could work with. But there was no way I'd be able to pull three metal bars apart in time to save Ellen, no matter how strong I was. We needed a miracle.

"Hello?" A female voice called from somewhere out front.

Hello, miracle.

Soft footsteps cautiously approached the cell block. I couldn't see her yet, but the newcomer was bound to come around the corner any moment now. "Where is everyone?" she called, much closer now.