Surprise! Here it is...
I woke up and it was dark. I must have slept for a while. It took a few moments to see the face above me, green eyes wide and staring.
"Ellie?" Rosen's hand was on my arm, shaking me.
"I'm up," I grumbled, wanting to roll over and burrow further into the pillows.
"Get up, we have to go," Rosen's tone of voice made me sit up hurriedly. He sounded frantic, he sounded afraid. I was awake instantly, throwing back the covers as I stood up on shaky feet, Rosen steadied me with his hand on my upper arm.
"What's wrong?" I asked, my heart racing as I looked around for Cole, noticing him loading up a gun.
"The Def are here," Rosen replied, pulling me along. He swiftly shoved a sweatshirt over my head, before making me sit on the bed as he began slipping on my shoes. Everything was moving so fast I could barely keep up.
"How?" I managed to spit out, my throat dry and my heart thumping the blood through my veins. My ears were ringing and it felt like every breath I took was a struggle.
"I don't know. I don't know," Rosen muttered, shaking his head.
That's when I heard the first gunshot. The sound echoed down the hallway of the hotel. I jumped in surprise, gripping onto Rosen as I stood up. The whole hotel was suspended in silence.
Then, the screams began. They grappled my heart, squeezing and tightening my chest with every decibel emitted. I had never heard such a horrid sound in my life.
I wanted to cover my ears, but there was no time as Rosen grasped my arm, pulling me along with him as he started to shove a mixture of weapons into his clothes.
Holding up a small gun, I noticed the silver of the trigger shimmer in the thin light, he showed it to me. I couldn't help but flinch when the cool medal pressed into my palm. Absently, my thumb ran across it, feeling the smoothness added to each individual bump and crevice that made this invention deadly.
"This is loaded with a clip already, but it might not be enough. There isn't a safety, so just pull the trigger. Don't hesitate," Rosen guided me, pointing out each individual feature as he went.
"I can't shoot this," I answered, my eyes wide as my heart whooshed in my ears. The screaming became background noise.
"Yes you can Ellie," Rosen said, his eyes meeting mine through the blackness in the room. "You have to,"
"Don't leave me," I begged, horrified at the idea of having to flee on my own.
"I won't," he promised, drawing me into his arms. The loud booms of guns going off intensified, and it almost seemed as if the screaming had slowed. I pushed my face into his chest, breathing him in and attempting to calm myself down. I was afraid that fear would paralyze me and I wouldn't be able to move.
"Rosen," Cole warned, looking fearful himself as he stood near us. Rosen pulled away, and I instantly craved for his warmth to return.
"Let's go." I watched before my eyes as Rosen transformed into a soldier. No, not just a soldier, a leader. "Ellie, stay behind me at all costs. Cole will have our backs," he instructed. Cole patted my shoulder with his free hand, letting me know he was there.
Rosen reached back and squeezed my free hand with his, before reaching for the doorway. I clutched the gun in my hand, sure that my knuckles were white as bone.
The door creaked open as Rosen slowly entered into the hall first, me right behind. I followed the red carpeting all the way down the end of the hallway, aware of the eerie silence that now overtook the hotel. The flooring creaked with every step we took, groaning as if sending out a signal to the Def telling them of our whereabouts.
Every corner was taken with caution, and each sound we heard made us flinch. Another gunshot echoed around us, this time from right below.
They were making their way up each floor, and ours was second to last.
Ducking into the doorway that led to the stairwell, Cole made sure to take extra caution in letting the door shut behind us with a gentle click. All we would have to do now was make it to the bottom floor, and out past the lobby to the parking lot.
Seemed simple enough if the threat of our own lives didn't loom overhead.
I couldn't help but wince when our steps projected throughout the stairwell. If anyone else was inside, they would hear us coming.
At one point I was following so close to Rosen that I tripped on his shoe and almost went sprawling down the stairs if Cole hadn't grabbed onto my sweatshirt.
When we reached the landing for the floor below ours, I was terrified to look in the door window. But Rosen did.
"They gathered all the people out of the room. Have one watching guard." Rosen whispered. "They must have moved up to our floor already." Cole gave a curt nod, processing this information and how it would affect our escape.
The anticipation was too much, and I had to chance a glance through the small window in the door. What I saw was a sight I would never forget.
About eighty people were lined up against the wall on their knees. One man stood, a gun slung across his back and another in his arms. He seemed bored.
His dress was all back, except for a red emblem on the chest of his bullet vest. I couldn't make out what it was.
I couldn't see the faces of the people being held hostage, as they faced the wall. But I did make out trembling shoulders. One mother was holding her child protectively under her arm, a streak of blood on her white blouse.
Nobody looked at the three bodies lying nearby. Blood was pooled underneath each head, already soaking into the fabric of their clothing. I also noticed the red that sprayed the walls, bloody pulps of flesh that once belonged to the people who now lay dead.
They must have tried to run.
My stomach lurched and I gagged as Rosen pulled me away. His eyes met mine, frantic. That only made me more afraid.
"Breathe Ellie. Keep breathing and keep moving. It's the only way we'll make it out," he coached, his hand finding my cheek. I inhaled shaky breaths, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to close out the picture in my mind. But closing my eyes only painted the image into my eyelids, haunting me and searing the scene into my thoughts.
"Rosen, we have to keep going," Cole's hurried whisper broke Rosen out of his attention towards me as he gave a curt nod, switching over into his role as leader once again.
We continued down.
My gut churned with queasiness, and I realized I never ate supper. Thank god that I would have nothing to heave up if I saw such a sight again.
Although my heart was still pumping ferociously , I felt an eerie sense of calm. Was I going into shock? Or was everything just too much to comprehend.
The rest of the floors we passed without looking at, none of us wanting to see the horror that awaited on each hall.
When we go to the ground floor that led to the lobby and Rosen let out a curse, I knew we were in trouble.
"Three that I can see, they're guarding the front door." Rosen explained. I glanced out the window, relieved when I couldn't see any bodies. The door opened right in the middle of the first floor hall. This meant that we could just make out the three standing at the door, but couldn't see into the lobby.
"There's another door," Cole piped up, looking hopeful. "To the right and at the end of this hall is an emergency exit. It will sound an alarm when it goes off, though." Rosen nodded, the gears turning in his brain as he thought of a plan.
"Thank god I grabbed the car keys," Rosen muttered, digging them from his pocket. He handed them to me without explanation, curling my fingers around the rigid metal.
"What-" I started confused, but Rosen was already explaining.
"Ellie, you're going to go out the emergency door. When the alarm sounds, Cole and I will take to the lobby as a distraction. You get the car started and we will join you so we can make a quick getaway," he laid out, looking to both Cole and I as he talked. "Unless there are more guards, which I don't think there will be, it will be pretty easy to get out."
My hands shook as I took a few deep breaths. He was leaving me on my own. It would be up to me to get down the hall and out the door.
"What if you don't make it?" I whispered, fear settled in the pit of my stomach.
"We will," Rosen assured, tucking the gun into his jeans so he could cradle my face. "if we aren't out in six minutes, leave. Go to the police, get home, do whatever you have to do to get out. If they come after you while you're in the car, don't wait for us. Cole and I can survive the Def, but you can't." Tears pricked my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I nodded instead, my throat tight as I listened to his instructions.
He leaned down and kissed me quickly, our lips only meeting for half a second. But I treasured that zero point five seconds to give me the courage to continue.
"I believe in you," Rosen whispered into my ear before pulling away and letting his hands fall from my face.
"Good luck Ellie May, see you soon," Cole said, a sad smile on his face. I mustered up a smile in return, but I was sure it was pitiful.
"You remember how to use this thing?" Rosen asked, pointing to the gun still clutched in my left hand. "Pull this and shoot. Don't hesitate." I nodded again, although I knew that if it came down to it, I would hesitate before I made the decision to take someone's life.
"I'm ready," I said softly, more to reassure myself than anything. Rosen gripped the door handle.
"Turn right away so they don't see you, and stick close to the wall." He added. I saw the hesitation in his eyes as he pulled open the door extremely slow. We couldn't draw any attention to ourselves.
I took my first step outside the stairwell, glancing at the men guarding the front door. Before I lost my courage, I hurriedly started walking down the hallway all while staying glued to the wall.
Cole hadn't mentioned a turn. so when I saw the hall end and take a sharp left turn, I immediately paused. It could just be the door, but it could also be something else.
Imitating Rosen, I crept up the wall and peaked around the corner.
I covered my mouth to keep from gasping or gagging, I wasn't sure.
Five bodies lined the way to the door, each with gruesome scenes of blood and gore. The walls were again splattered with brain matter, and whatever else had exited from each person's head as the bullet tore through. Every person so far had been shot execution style.
The people that were lying face up tormented me the most. Their soulless eyes stared at the blank ceiling, never to see life again.
One lady didn't even have a face.
I dry heaved, clutching my stomach as the nausea rolled through me.
Whoever had been guarding this door must have left, and the only way out would be past the bodies.
Taking the first few steps, I cringed when my shoe squelched as I stepped on something. I was too afraid to look at what it was. I bit into my shirt to keep from crying out as I stepped over body after body. Each person's life seemed to burn into the back of my skull. Some of these people were wives and brothers. Sons and mothers.
Right before the door, one body left to step over, I stopped. This man was lying face up, but his eyes were closed. And there was something else peculiar about him, his chest was moving.
I dropped to my knees beside the man, my hand hovering over him unsure of what to do. I had to help. I had to do something. For some reason, this guy had been shot in the stomach instead of the head. Therefore equaling a slow death, and what I'm sure was a painful one.
"Oh my god," I whispered, horrified. The blood on the floor began soaking into the fabric of my clothes. I placed the gun off to the side.
A mistake.
Unsure, I pressed my hands down overtop of the wound in his gut, hoping to stanch the bleeding. He groaned, making me jump in surprise.
"Stop," he moaned. "hurts." I shook my head, keeping my hands in place. They had now become slick with blood, the red substance staining the underneath of my fingernails. I had to help.
"Shhh," I cooed in what I hoped was a comforting tone. "I'm trying to help you,"
"It's too late," he gasped, his eyes flying open and his blue irises gazing at the ceiling with a glazed over look. It wasn't until he opened his eyes that I realized he was young. Possibly only three or four years older than me. His next words made my blood run cold. "They're still here."
I held my breath, listening. waiting. Then I heard it. A foot shuffling, the sound of the safety on a gun clicking off. Raising my eyes slowly, over the bodies and to the hall I had just came from, my gaze met the barrel of a gun.
I was caught.
My hand twitched, itching to grab my gun and start shooting, but the three men staring at me noticed.
"Move and we shoot," One ordered, his voice gruff. Two of the men moved towards me painfully slow while the one remained with the gun pointed at me. I was sure the crosshairs were right on my skull.
I didn't move. I barely took a breath as the men reached me, both stepping on the bellies and limbs of the dead without a care. I flinched with each squelch of their boots and the crunch of bones broken when stepped on.
Hands hooked under my arms, hauling me up and off of the man I had been trying to save. My arms were smeared with his blood, and I suddenly had the urge to scratch my skin until each speckle came off even if it meant peeling apart my arms.
My feet barely touched the ground as the men held up my weight, the third still keeping the gun trained on me.
I was dragged down the hall towards the lobby. It wasn't until we passed the stairwell I had left not only ten minutes early that instinct kicked in and I began to fight. I only prayed that Rosen and Cole had made it out.
"Rosen!" I yelled, trying to wiggle out of the men's grasp. They only tightened their hold.
I tried twisting my body any way I could, knowing I wouldn't be able to beat them with brute strength. By the time we entered the lobby, I was drained. My arms and legs felt like led, and even if I had the opportunity to run, I probably wouldn't make it ten feet before collapsing.
What I saw in front of me, made my heart drop to my toes.
Rosen and Cole were being held by their own squadron of men. Both had been forced onto their knees, and looked haggard and worn. Rosen's shirt had a smear of blood and a tear on the end.
Rosen looked up at the commotion, and when his eyes met mine I could only watch as they fell into despair. He swallowed thickly, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes closed. He looked away.
Cole kept his gaze on me the entire time, and I couldn't read his emotions. He had shut down. I'm sure I looked a mess. I was covered in blood, I wouldn't have been surprised if Cole and Rosen thought I had been shot.
But none of this was mine. And somehow, that made it a lot worse.
The men holding me threw me to the ground, and I used my hands to hold myself upright so I wouldn't collapse. The knotted mess of my braid swung into my face, and I managed to use a shaky hand to push it out of my eyes.
A gun suddenly pressed into the back of my head, making me wince. I looked up, straight to Rosen who was kneeling only five feet away from me. This time, his eyes were on mine.
"I'm sorry," he choked out, his entire face pinched with defeat. He hung his head, closing his eyes and turning slightly away.
He didn't want to see me die. To watch as the life slowly drained out of my eyes.
Look at me, I wanted to say.
I couldn't die alone.
Realizing I would never look into Rosen's forest green eyes again, I chose to close my own. I didn't want to see my life disappear. I had accepted my fate. I was accepting my death.
"Stop," An unfamiliar voice suddenly demanded. I sprung back awake, looking towards the voice to find an older man watching the scene unfold. He looked serene, emotionless.
My head spun back to Rosen, and I saw he was just as confused as I was.
"Take her with us," the man ordered. I felt a sense of relief at hearing this, wanting to smile at Rosen. We had a chance. We had hope.
But when I saw his eyes I stopped cold, the smile never making it to my lips. He looked afraid. Not just afraid, but terrified.
Terrified for me.
I felt a prick in the back of my neck and my hand immediately flew to the spot as I let out a hiss. It only took a few seconds for my arms to collapse from under me, making my head bounce against the carpeted floor as I lost all feeling in my limbs. I couldn't move. I was paralyzed.
I blinked my eyes, trying to fight back the heaviness that invaded them. My vision narrowed as black dots danced across my sight, and without warning my eyelids closed.
The last thing I remembered was the feeling of being picked up, but nothing more.
Okay so this was probably my favorite chapter to write... like ever. Super SUPER intense. I hope you guys all liked this. LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW BECAUSE THIS CHAPTER IS JUST CRAZY!!
Also vote if you liked :) Thanks everyone!