Decemberland

Chapter 41: Summit

Nico’s stomach flipped from being pulled out of the violent upward flux and back into normal gravity, the vicious grip nearly tearing her skin off of her neck. She felt her already broken leg crack even further as she landed on the ground. She cried out in pain, unable to resist against the hand that dragged her across the dirt covered ground, pulling her by her hair. Her captor forced out a low, throaty chuckle.

“You think you got lucky? Trust me, the only way you’re making it out of this alive is with me.”

Nico looked back at her assaulter. Her heart beat faster to find that Mrs. McFeener was still alive and smiling through blood-stained lips. She bent over and scrounged around to pick up a long piece of glass from the obliterated wall next to them to hold her hostage with. Ignoring the bleeding that her grip on it caused, she held it to Nico’s throat and continued to drag her, adding a new, bleeding cut to her throat next to the one that they had put before. Nico pushed along with her good hand and leg, not resisting, but still frantically looking for a chance to escape.

“You hear me, beast?” she shouted, “If I even see your hideous face, I will end the life of your precious scapegoat! I will not be killed here! And you--” She pulled Nico’s head up to her face and chuckled through blood, “You may even be fortunate enough to be my little elfish pet for the rest of your miserable lif--”

A loud crack resounded behind Mrs. McFeener’s head, jolting it forward. Her eyes rolled into the back of her skull and she loosened her grip on Nico, collapsing unconscious onto the ground.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Phillip stood with a large metal pipe in his hand that happened to be lying around in the rubble near them. His face wore the same, disgruntled look with a hint of concern and bewilderment as he looked at Nico, lying on the ground with all her wounds.

“Phillip!” Nico cheered weakly with a smile. He bend down to help her sit up, and held her wrist in his hand. It swelled to twice the size of normal.

“I would insist on taking you to a hospital, but unfortunately we’re already here,” he said, gingerly holding her wrist in his hand. “More importantly, I need to get you to the court they’re holding Blake in to testify. He’s two steps away from being executed by the head of the Town Guard.”

“I can’t!” she exclaimed, “Clarity was just taken away by Trust! He’s not in his right mind! He’s… he’s…  I have to go find them before something happens!”

“You mean the guy with the eye-patch? Is he bad?”

“He’s… he’s not his usual self. I’m just worried! Help me!”

Without another question, Phillip lifted her face-up in his arms and began walking to the closest set of stairs with her. Nico could feel her face getting red hot. She wasn’t used to being in this position.

“I-I can walk, you know.”

“You can limp. I don’t have time for limping. I need to get Blake out of court and we need to get Clarity back into bed.”

Nico kept her mouth shut. He was right, she would only slow them down if he let her try to walk. It became a challenge to keep her head turned away from his face, as the way he carried her only invited her to look up.

They made their way back down to the first floor and down its hallways. After a few moments of silence, Nico noticed him glancing. Once they met each other’s eye’s for a brief moment, Phillip took it as an opportunity to talk.

“I take it this was Trust’s doing?”

“What?”

“The terrible shape the hospital is suddenly in.”