Breeder Nation

Chapter Twenty-Seven Part Two ~Maddie~

I wince internally at his words, but I know I can't hide the fear in my eyes. Travis takes one look at me and makes an involuntary, anger-fueled stride towards us, but Jenkins presses the knife in harder, nearly cutting through my skin. I gasp, the blade so close I can't even swallow against it, afraid I'll cut myself open.

I want to scream. Scream for Travis to stay, for him to not leave me alone with Jenkins, but I mash my lips together and squeeze my eyes shut.

They have to go.

I've made it through everything else. I can make it through this too.

"Go. Please, go," I manage through my fear, through my mind and heart screaming at me to beg for the opposite. My tears fight even harder now to break free, but I'm stronger than them. I push back ten times harder. I can't cry yet. I can wait until they're gone; I'll hold them back until they're far away from this place.

The sound of my breaths are magnified in the momentary quiet of our silent standoff. I'd almost think they left if I couldn't hear Travis's heavy breathing or Alex silently crying or Danielle softly consoling her. I open my eyes slowly, not knowing what to expect, and see Travis still standing there, watching me intently.

His gaze darts quickly to my right and then to Jenkins, a slow smile forming on his lips. "I gave you your options, and you made your choice. And now? You'll pay even worse for that last comment," he threatens as a gun clicks beside me.

"Drop the knife, or I will not hesitate to shoot your ass," a vaguely familiar voice says.

In the blink of an eye, Travis has his gun drawn and leveled on Jenkins with a look in his eyes that terrifies me straight down to the bone, even if it's not directed at me. "Drop it now!" he growls.

Jenkins shifts against me, "Dammit!" and the pressure of the blade disappears from my throat. He throws the knife to the floor, the metal clanking against the hard ground, and releases his grip on me.

Travis immediately charges him, grabbing him by the throat and shoving him up against the wall. I jump out of the way just in time, watching as Jenkins tries to push Travis off of him, his arms clumsily pushing against his chest.

Alex grabs my hand, pulling me into the elevator and into her arms. I shake uncontrollably against her as Travis goes at Jenkins in a rage. He grabs the front of his shirt in a tight grip, his other fist swinging up and colliding with his face, and then he knees him in the groin, and Jenkins crumples to the ground.

"Hell yeah!" Danielle screams beside me. "Teach that son of a bitch a lesson!"

"You're gonna wish to God you would have taken option one," Travis threatens as he steps over him.

He kneels down and his fists tear through the air, connecting with Jenkins' face over and over again. One fist after the other, pounds into his jaw, his cheek, his nose, his temple, never stopping.

Jenkins tries to fight back, but it's useless. Travis is relentless, possessed by rage. He breathes heavily, grunting as he lands punch after punch. Jenkins' fists connect with him a few times, but he quickly gives up, cowering behind his arms as he tries to protect himself from Travis's assault.

Blood covers his face, trailing up and onto Travis's fists. But Travis keeps going. He keeps going until Jenkins stops fighting back, until he's not moving anymore, and I turn away, not able to keep watching. Hiding in Alex's arms, my tears find their release, and I sob into her, holding her tight. I just want to get the hell out of here.

"Alright man, enough. Enough! We gotta go! And I think you're scaring your girl dude." I look up and into a familiar pair of brown eyes, matching the face of the same familiar voice from earlier. Tanned skin, dark hair, soft features...It's Sanders, Travis's partner.

He lifts Travis up by the shoulders. "Let's go, we gotta go now man."

"What the hell is going on here?!" Another voice yells from down the hallway.

"Shit."

"Fuck," Sanders and Travis say in unison.

Travis clears his throat, "Colonel."

"It's not what it looks—" Sanders starts but is interrupted.

"What it looks like, is three Hunters beating the hell out of a fellow officer! In the middle of a damned fire drill! Now you three better get to explaining what the hell you think you're doing!"

"Colonel," Travis starts, "Lieutenant Jenkins was attempting to escape with four Breeders when we found him here at the elevator. He pulled a knife on us and," Travis points down at Jenkins, wiping the sweat from his brow with his forearm, his hands covered in blood, "I took care of the problem Sir."

"That...you did," Sanders adds. I can't tell if he's amused of terrified by the situation.

"Well done Lieutenant. Where are the girls?"

Travis points towards us, "In here Sir," and I freeze in Alex's arms.

"Colonel to security," the man says, his walkie crackling through the tension filled air.

This is it. It's all over now. If they just would have left without me...they could have made it.

"Security station copy? I repeat, Colonel to Security, we have a situ—" his sentence trails off into a muffled scream.

Travis and Sanders dart out of view.

"I can't let you report that, and I wish I could say I hate to do this to you, but with the operation you run here, that'd be fucking a lie." Travis says, his voice becoming strained as the sound of a scuffle ensues.

Danielle keeps the elevator doors open, her back against one side and her feet against the other, while watching the commotion happening in the hall.

I stay with Alex against the back wall as she rubs my head, telling me I'm okay, that everything will be okay and we'll make it out of here.

Glancing over at Becca, I see her quietly waiting in the corner. She stares ahead, looking completely disconnected from the world and what's happening around her.

Danielle suddenly bursts into laughter, "They tied him up, shoved him inside a room and locked him in," and she falls into another fit of laughter. "Fucking. Awesome."

Footsteps hustle down the hall, growing louder as they near. "You okay?" Travis immediately asks me when he comes into view.

I bite my lip, nodding in response as Sanders steps foot in the elevator. Moving forward, I go to push the button for the third floor, but Travis stops me, pulling my hand away.

"Just a sec," he says, holding my hand in his as a third Hunter rushes into the elevator. My eyes trail up the man's uniform, wondering who else is working with Travis, when I hear Alex scream.

"Aiden!" And she lunges at him. "How the hell- what are you- how did you?" she asks in complete and utter surprise, holding him at a distance, looking up at his face.

He smiles at her and pulls her into his arms, hugging her tight. "It's good to see you too," he laughs.

I faintly notice the elevator doors closing behind him, barely feel the floor ascending beneath me, as I stare at him in shock, my mouth open wide. "How the hell?" I finally say, a smile stretching across my face.

***Author's Note***

Hi everyone!! Thank you so much for being here!

So....Aiden???!!

Oh! The picture at the top is our Travis & Maddie muses. ;)

And Thank you for reading!! <3