Crimson

Chapter 4

Once Gustavo helped her up, the woman rushed over and punched me right in the nose. You could hear the definitive cracking of my bones; it felt like a brick smacked me. My vision became spotty from the pain. Despite the pain, I managed to connect my fist to her temple. She groaned as she stumbled back. Marcos moved to intervene looking disappointed. Not at me but the woman. He held my arms at my side while Gustavo tended to the woman. I  have to admit the man was strong. His grip felt stronger than the chains. My attention went back to the woman. After this interaction, it was clear she was an amateur. Young and reckless. She would not last long. In fact, she would prove to be a liability in the future. "You definitely are not the brains of the operations," I said.  A guttural growl emerged from her mouth. It was at that moment I knew I had pushed her over the edge. Gustavo was too slow to prevent what happened next. The woman moved swiftly toward me. There was a click, and then I felt a sharp pain followed by an immense burning sensation in my abdomen. I tried to free myself from Marcos' iron grip as the woman continued stabbing me until Gustavo pulled her away. The pain from my abdomen caused a cold sweat to begin. I was just able to wriggle a hand free to land a blow to her face cracking the mask.

Marco took my hand restraining me once more. The woman's face turned red and there was a vein popping out of her neck as she broke free from Gustavo's grip with sheer animalistic rage. With a growl, the woman commanded, "Get. Out." Marco let me go as the woman pounced on top of me a began to mercilessly choke me. He and Gustavo left immediately. Her knee was pressed against my windpipe. In no way was I about to go out in that manner, so I pushed her off of me and proceeded to land a blow to the side of her head with my elbow. She was now bleeding from her nose. I was moving to snap her neck when the room began to spin, and I began to breathe heavily. My body had lost a substantial amount of blood. There were splotches of black in my view. Oxygen was not being supplied to my brain. I had minutes and knew I needed to get her DNA under my nails. She pushed me over. I was quick enough to pull her down with me. I landed on her and mustered what strength I had to choke her. She clawed and scratched at my hands until her eyes rolled back and she went limp. I didn't have it in me to kill her. My only goal was to not give her the satisfaction of watching me die.

I examined my wound which was located below my ribcage. I was sure that she had punctured my lung because my breathing was becoming labored. The time was running out. I needed to be quick, so I scratched the woman. The knife caught my eyes, and I decided to take it and push it through her chest cavity. With my heartbeat pulsating at a rapid rate and breathing becoming severely labored, I was beginning to feel tired and my limbs heavy; my vision was starting to become hazy as well. Despite my decline, I heard shouting and movement in the distance. Then,  a door flew open and slammed into a wall. Gustavo was at the woman's side in seconds trying to cover her wound blood staining his hands. Marcos was right behind him along with another man. I knew there was someone else on the other side.

More people moved in swarming around the woman. A silenced shot sounded and I fell shortly after. In the sea of people, I saw a familiar face. I can't believe it was you. Darkness clouded my vision as I slipped into unconsciousness. Blood began to block my airways; I coughed several times which left me feeling so weak that I didn't have the strength to keep my eyes open. For the first time since I was captured, I felt at ease.

In my final moments, all I thought of was Isa. I wish I had more time to spend with her. Her angelic face appeared clear as day. We were in her room. A sliver of sunlight shone on her resting face. Those were always my favorite moments. She began to stir from the sunlight and soon her eyes fluttered open. Our eyes met immediately, and she began to smile at me. She said something to me, but I was unable to make out what it was. Slowly, her features began to dissipate leaving only her large, round, warm, hazel eyes.