Super Secret | Half Hero Book 2 [ON HOLD]

Chapter 19: Big Girls Don't Cry

"We've got to go," he shouted back. "Can you run?"

"Not unless you've got a pair of bolt cutters?" I hollered, rattling my chains for emphasis.

"Don't worry, I can carry you," he replied, scooping me into his enormous arms. "There are more cars coming, and we've got to get out of here."

There wasn't time to protest. He hastily jumped out of the nearly destroyed rear of the truck and took off towards the tree line.

The frigid air was shocking and I huddled against the soldier's brawny chest for warmth as my nostrils filled with the fresh scent of pinesap and rain mixed with burnt rubber.

He hopped a metal safety barrier to drop us into a steep incline, balancing me and sliding on his butt the whole way down the muddy embankment.

Rain pelted us in sheets as he skidded to avoid the jagged rocks and errant trees that threatened to slow us down. He was keeping up an impressive clip for the unfamiliar terrain and the fact that he had a body slung over his beefy shoulder.

"What the hell happened back there?" I demanded as my chains jangled. "And who are you?"

"I'm sorry, did I forget to introduce myself?" He hardly panted, though I could hear his heart accelerate when we hit an incline. "Basem, it's nice to meet you Eleanor."

"It's Ella," I told his backside as we bounced along. "You said Cyrus was your brother?"

"That's right," he replied nonchalantly. "Adopted."

"Sure," I nodded, trying to sift through the quicksand of my mind. "Are you a Scion too?"

"And she's smart," Basem hooted into the night. "Nice choice, brother."

"I'm so confused."

"Don't worry," he assured me, angling his chin to call back to me. "You're not alone."

"Oh, good," I sighed. "That's not reassuring."

I probably should have fought him off and demanded answers, but I felt so drained after the devastating blast I'd just delivered. Basem's touch had worked my powers into a new level of frenzy. In the back of my mind, I knew that should concern me more than it did at that moment. And, why wasn't that happening now? And what about my family? Was I ever going to see them again? Did I deserve to after all that I'd done?

The thoughts fired around in my brain like a broken pinball machine.

After a while, I listened to Basem's deep, even breathes as he rushed us over the forest floor. I would have been mildly upset at being kidnapped, but I was starting to feel like weird shit such as this was just my new normal.

The branches overhead were so knotted they blocked out any light from the stars in the night sky, yet Basem seemed to manage just fine. One small bonus, the rain wasn't able to pelt us anymore with that much tree cover. Instead it was like a slow, freezing drip sent to drive you completely mad.

"Where are we going?" I asked after the cotton in my ears eventually dissolved.

"A safe house," he puffed. "Shouldn't be too far."

The East Coast wildlife made eerie noises I wasn't familiar with, and we seemed to be lost in dense, foreboding woodlands.

Owls, or some sort of nocturnal bird of prey, screeched overhead, their wings billowing like sails in the canopy. Other creatures scurried in the brush, some hissing menacingly as we passed. The only thing missing was a crazy guy in hockey mask crashing out of the trees swinging a chainsaw.

When Basem's footfalls slackened, I peeked around his muscly butt to find a rusty oil lamp hanging from the porch of a decrepit wood cabin.

She was upside-down, but Cyrus' sultry friend was waiting for us on the porch, leaning up against a mossy beam with a knowing smirk.

"Get her inside," she murmured, looking me over with a critical eye as Basem jogged past her. "You look like crap Eleanor."

"It's Ella," Basem and I said at the same time.

"Whatever, lay her on the table," she instructed as he carried me through the shrunken doorframe.

"You're the boss, Val," he chuckled.

Inside smelled heavily of timber rot and stale urine, but at least it wasn't raining. Basem laid me gently on a cold, hard surface while the bootylicious brunette followed with a lamp to light our way. The walls were covered in fuzzy growth (probably mold) that barely kept the wind from whistling through the cracks.

The woman stood over me to close her eyes and touch her hand to her heart, just like she'd done with Cyrus after the explosion. A curious light, brighter than the lantern she'd set on the table, emanated from beneath her thick lashes. Her open palm wove over my body slowly, tracing my limbs.

"There you are," she smiled wickedly as her glowing eyes popped open with excitement.

"There who are?" I cried, bewildered and shivering from the cold (or terror.)

In a flash, she'd retrieved a slender blade from the utility belt around her petite waist and I recoiled in horror.

"Hey!" I bawled, struggling against Basem's arms as he pressed to hold me down. "Look, I feel like maybe we got off on the wrong foot!"

"This is going to sting," The woman purred, leaning over my right arm to bring the blade down. "But we need to dig the tracking device out of your arm."

"Can't we-?" I bartered fruitlessly as she dug the tip into my exposed flesh.

An excruciating burst of pain lacerated my vision and I howled while she drove the blade deeper.

"Mother of pearl!" I hollered while my muscles shifted uncomfortably to accommodate her knife.

"Val!" Basem chided. "Hurry up, you're hurting her!"

"Big girls don't cry, right?" she grunted and wriggled the tip under my tissue and into the muscle. "There! Out!"

I must have passed out from shock, because Idon't remember what happened after that.

So it looks like Cyrus has more than one friend out there with superhuman powers, and they've managed to 'rescue' Ella...sort of :O