Their Thief: Redemption

Chapter 3 (Part 2)

My breath caught in my throat and I froze. My eyes widened on the shattered screen of my device. I couldn't see a single flicker of life. Not that I had expected to with the internal hardware that was visible in the corner that hit the ground the hardest.

I couldn't breathe or move a single muscle while my heart raced, demanding more air. My mind raced to try to catch my body up with the pain assaulting it.

The man who had tackled me shifted, repositioning himself so he could have a better hold of me. That was what finally kicked my fight instincts into action, breaking my stunned moment.

"Fuck! Stop!" My attacker demanded when I jerked against his painful grip. He didn't let up, but neither did I in my efforts as I continued to twist and pull. That was going to leave a bruise.

As I had predicted, it was the younger of the two who had managed to catch up to me and take me down. I nearly scoffed at his deluded demand. Instead, I held it in and decided to conserve the energy to continue to try to buck him off of me.

"Why- don't- you!" I managed to hiss out at him as I gave his side sharp jabs with my elbow between my words.

Eventually, my efforts showed me a glimmer of hope against the larger man. Pushing my muscles to their limit, I was able to bend my knee up underneath my body. After a moment to regain my breath, I pushed up on it, managing to shakily bring myself up to a partial kneel. My leg trembled from the effort required. It took all the strength I had.

That's why there was none left to withstand the impact when the man rose his body, backing off for a brief moment before suddenly dropping his full weight back down on me.

A croaked cry escaped me as my bones creaked, threatening to break.

Heavy, heated, breathing fanned over my ear. It blew my hair past my ear and against my cheek as he maintained his hold to keep me in place.

Soon the sound of heavier breathing coming from another source began to draw closer and louder. As the sound of the wheezing breathing grew, so did the approaching footsteps.

"Good- job." He had to pause to take in gasped breaths as he spoke. "You- caught her."

I couldn't help but give another useless jerk against my captor at the sound of relief that was evident in the older man's voice. The man pinning me in place tightened his hold, causing me to thrash against it harder.

"You-know what- to do," the old man raised his voice to continue over the noise. His words reached me along with alarm. Do what?

My struggles continued to grow, but they only helped further the damage I was sustaining rather than aiding my escape. Not that it was much of one in the first place. My jerked movements ground my body further against the harsh pavement below, reducing the small amount of cushioning that my clothing provided from scratches.

"No!" I couldn't help but whimper the plea when my hair was tightly grabbed in a fist. My eyes widened when he jerked my head up, knowing exactly what would come next.

A wheezy chuckle started from behind. "Yes," the older man sneered in delight.

It was the last thing I heard aside from the sickening thud of my head cracking against the pavement.

Then it was just darkness.

* * *

The buzzing of fans and machinery reached my ears as my eyes opened. I immediately slammed them shut against the assault of blinding fluorescent lights. The long tubes glared down at me in pairs. If I squinted my eyes to see past the harsh glare of the light, I could faintly make out a visible steel beam in the high ceiling above.