Mack's (POV)
Oh cheese and crackers!
The sound of a vehicles engine fills the night air, the rain only a mild sprinkle now.
I look up the hill we just crashed on....again!
I'm seriously starting to think rocks have it out for me.
I keep my eyes focused on the top of the large hill, trying to see if I can spot any lights.
It stays dark.
Relief spreads throughout me. Maybe they're still a good distance off?
That reminds me-
Guilt tightens in my chest.
Alex tried to tell me about this, but....I didn't believe him.
I hang my head. If only I'd taken a moment to think things over and process everything.
Then maybe, all this could've been avoided.
I jerk my head back up as I hear movement, wincing as it irritates my sore neck.
Alex walks over to the flipped truck, his face studying.
I grimace.
The truck.
It's laying on its roof, all the windows on the front completely broken, the front axle split in half.
It looks just peachy.
But I suppose this doesn't matter. You know, with a group of criminals back at the farm ransacking everything.
Helplessness grips my lungs, squeezing the air out of them.
Lucy and Don.
This...This was their life.
It's almost funny how quickly everything you know can be taken away from you.
In a heartbeat.
Polly walks over to the truck also, cradling her left arm in her right.
Moving to the back of the truck, she leans in, pulling out a small tan backpack.
Ah, good thinking.
The emergency backpack. It has a flashlight, a small medical kit, a blanket, a few granola bars, and few other odd things.
Good old Lucy keeps one in every vehicle.
Which I guess this is an example of when it would come in handy.
I frown, the taste of vomit still lingering in my mouth. Yup, it's going to be awhile before I get that taken care of.
I mean, what'd you expect my reaction to be after nearly getting shot, then rolling around in a big hunk of steal.
I'd say I took it rather well.
I sit back down, waiting to see what Alex is going to do. But mostly because my broken leg is starting to act up a little.
I stretch my bad leg out in the wet grass, messaging my leg through the soggy cast with my right hand.
My brows furrow as I feel strange bumps sticking out of the cast. I lean down. Using my finger, I pry one of the pieces out.
Bringing it up to my face for inspection, I see it's a splinter from our wood floor.
Oh.
It must've been from when Alex practically jerked my arm out of my socket, saving my life before the floor explode where I'd just been.
But hey, I'd rather have a dislocated shoulder any day than have my body full of bullet holes.
I throw the splinter away, running a hand down my face. I'm positive Alex must have some splinters in his leg from when he made that mad dash to the Browns room.
When he almost got killed.
I can't believe this is happening.
We were almost shot!
I let a deep breath out.
"Come on." Alex says, breaking me from my thoughts as he loops an arm through mine, helping me up.
Polly, with the backpack slung over her back, comes to my other side. Assisting me the same as Alex.
I hate feeling so helpless.
But I of course, didn't exactly have time to gather my crutches up before we so hastily escaped.
It wasn't really on my mind at the time.
Alex starts leading us down the path, towards town.
A thought strikes me.
Oh my go-
How'd I not think if this!
If Ben is part of that group, then what about Jack and Bill?
Dread hits my chest.
"Alex." I pause our steps. "What about Jack and Bill?" I frantically ask. "They might need help!!" I see Alex glance at me from the corner of his eye, staying quiet.
Realization dawns on me.
My shoulders slouch, and I see Polly's eyes begin to water as she comes to the same conclusion that I did.
They're probably dead.
Alex starts walking forward again, me and Polly reluctantly following.
"There's nothing we can do." Alex whispers, his own shoulders slouching a bit.
I slowly nod my head.
We can't do anything anyway, we're just....kids. Although we do have a spy with us.
But even a spy can't work miracles.
I sigh, continuing on.
Suddenly, another thought runs through my head.
We're never going to make it.
They're chasing us with vehicles, and we're stuck lugging my sorry self around. And it's still another ten miles until civilization.
"Guys, we're not going to make it." I voice my concerns.
Alex just continues walking, his body supporting me as I limp along. Polly glances at me from the corner of her eye, her shoulders stiffening.
Alex looks around in what little light there is, his eyes landing on the cornfield.
"Well then, we'll just have to confuse them some." Alex says, now heading towards the corn that stretches out further than the eye can see.
We'll, when it's light out.
I suddenly understand. We're going to travel to town, through the corn.
Now why didn't I think of that?
It could work. The cornfield does head in the general direction of town, but it stops about three miles before, then it's mostly a wooded area.
But I guess that's better than a open field.
The engine continues to grow closer.
Alex and Polly speed up their steps, me practically dragging between them as I try to keep up.
I look down, watching as our feet leave very noticeable prints in the mud.
Oh great, now they can follow us. Not that we could do anything about that anyway.
We make it to the beginning of the cornfield, a wooden fence surrounding it.
I grab onto the top rail, Alex and Polly pushing my stiff leg up and over the fence. Right as I'm halfway over, my hand slips on the slick wood and I tumble the rest of the way down.
I land with a SPLAT in the deep mud.
I spit some out of my mouth, feeling the mud drip into places I'd rather it didn't go.
Polly holds onto the fence, then expertly walks her legs up it, using the boards like a ladder. Swinging her body over, she lands beside me.
More mud splashing on me from her rough landing.
I stare impassively up at her, my face a mess.
She grimaces, giving me an apologetic look before stooping down to help me up.
Alex lands on the other side of me. Stumbling a bit as his legs slightly buckle from underneath him.
I frown.
Didn't he say something about a piece of glass?
I strain my eyes, trying to see his face in the dark.
He's got either sweat or rain running down his forehead, his hair plastered to his face.
And since it stopped raining, I'm guessing it's sweat.
His breathing still hasn't caught up with him, his eyes narrowed in what looks like pain.
He carefully leans down to help Polly lift me up. And I see his eyes light with definite pain, his left arm coming around to securely hold onto his right side
They pull me to my feet. And retaking their positions, we head into the dark forest of corn.
I look back over my shoulder, my eyes catching sight of a light up on-top of the hill.
They've come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alex's (POV)
Keep going.
Keep moving.
Those words repeat over, and over in my mind.
Sweat streams down my face, stinging my eyes. My breathing ragged and painful, head pounding with each step, arms aching from the strain of helping Mack.
The only thing I want to do, being the only thing I can't do.
Rest.
It's been thirty minutes since we crashed in the truck, disappearing into the cornfield.
The sky flashing with heat-lightning every couple minutes.
My dry throat itching at each attempt to swallow.
I glance over at Polly.
She doesn't look much better than I feel. Her face is also glistening with sweat, her long hair in tangles, breathing coming in gasps.
Why does Mack have to weigh so much?
He's been helping as much as possible. But if we weren't assisting him, then we'd still be a ways back there.
Mack hops along between us, his bad leg now dragging on the ground from exhaustion.
And these narrow pathways through the corn don't help much either.
I take my left arm away from my side, pushing another stalk of corn out of our path.
I quickly place my hand back around my side, feeling a sharp piece of glass barely sticking out of my ribcage.
I grimace as another spasm of pain runs through my side, my stomach also deciding to act up.
Perfect timing.....Not.
We step out into a small clearing, the now almost clear sky shining with stars.
And the full moon.
Which that just makes us all the more easier to spot.
I stop, my legs refusing to go any further without some rest.
And I think everyone else would agree.
I grab Mack's arm that's around my neck, unwrapping myself from him before I help him sit down.
Once he's seated, Polly plops heavily down on the muddy ground beside him.
"Finally, a break!" She sighs, wiping her face in a attempt to clean it. Only she ends up leaving a mud track across her cheek instead.
I walk a few feet away. My eyes scanning the surroundings, ears perked for any noise.
Satisfied for the moment, I let a breath out. Then I carefully lower myself to the ground, wincing the whole time.
Finally, I'm firmly seated on the ground.
I look over at Mack and Polly.
Mack has his face in the backpack, rummaging around. Polly staring at him with disapproving eyes.
I move my gaze over to my right side.
With the moon and the stars out now, I examine my side. looking over my black shirt, I spot a dark ring spread around where the pain is coming from.
Blood.
I swallow, my throat burning.
With trembling hands that I now notice are stained red, I find the hole in my shirt. Slightly ripping it open, I take a look at my injury.
There's a piece of blood colored glass barely poking out of the skin that's between two ribs, the skin around it irritated.
I grimace.
It might only look to be as big as my thumbnail, but who knows how deep it goes down in there.
And judging from the amount of discomfort I'm feeling, I'd say it's pretty deep.
I groan in annoyance, tugging the two pieces of cloth back together to hide it.
I look up-
Immediately biting back a shout of surprise as Polly's face suddenly appears next to my arm, her body kneeling right behind me.
"Sorry." She apologetically says, her eyes already back at my side.
I frown, watching as she spots the dark stain on my shirt.
"Alex." She slowly says. "I should check that." She looks up at me. "It could be serious." Polly stares at me, her eyes unblinking.
I lean back, moving a few feet away.
"I'm fine." I stubbornly say, placing my arm back across my side.
Polly rolls her eyes. "Alex, I can remove it." She scoots closer. "We have all the supplies needed for that, and I have done something like this before." She looks away. "Although it was on a medical dummy." She mumbles to herself.
It's not that I doubt her skill.
It's just.....well.....For starters, we need to get moving again. And second.....
They'll see some of my scars.
My heart thuds in my ears.
"Alex." She hardens her gaze. "Stop being stubborn, it'll only take a minute." She crosses her arms. "And don't tell me it's comfortable lugging a thousand pounds around while you have GLASS grating on your ribs." She lets a huff of breath out, nostrils flaring.
"Hey, this thousand pounds over here is offended." Mack whisper shouts over at us.
I slouch.
It would be better just to get it out.
I slowly nod my head, hanging it in defeat.
"J-Just hurry." I say.
Polly nods, motioning for Mack to come over. He drags himself next to us, the backpack in his hands.
Polly gets a clean rag out, wiping her hands off. Then she takes a bottle of rubbing alcohol out, placing it next to her knee.
I look away as she brings out some interesting looking tweezers, my hands tightening at my sides.
"Alex, you're going to have to lift your shirt up." She slightly shakes her head. "I'm not having any cloth get in my way." She states, leaving no room for argument.
"I thought you needed your glasses to see." Mack oh-so-helpfully pipes in.
Polly elbows him. "Only to read." She corrects, looking discreetly between me and Mack.
He catches on. "Oh." He settles back.
Polly takes a flashlight out of the backpack. Then pulling out a rag, she covers the top of the light, making it duller.
Good idea.
She hands it to Mack.
I let a painful breath out, my chest tight.
Lifting my right arm up, I move it out of the way. Then I take my left arm, using it to raise my shirt up just high enough for her to get to my injury without hassle.
But it's still high enough that you can see plenty of scars.
The air grows heavy with silence, and I resist the urge to look over at them.
I flinch as something cold touches the skin next to my wound. Then I feel her grab the glass with the tweezers.
I bite my tongue as she starts to gently pull. The uncomfortable feeling of a foreign object leaving my skin almost making me puke again.
I grunt as it grates against a rib, my breathing picking up.
"Oh, that's so gross." I hear Mack say, then the rustle of clothes as he positions his body slightly away from me.
I involuntary lean to the left as the tweezers slip, a pulse of pain going through me.
"This is a bit bigger than I'd originally thought." Polly mumbles, concern leaking into her voice.
That's nice to know.
A gasp escapes my mouth as she suddenly pulls the glass completely out of my skin.
"This might sting a bit." Polly says, then quickly places a damp gauze on my open wound.
I tightly clinch my hands, nails biting into my skin.
A fiery pain ignites in my side, the rubbing alcohol doing its job.
My eyes water, and I quickly bite down on my tongue again. Trying to keep the tears away.
"Almost done." Polly mumbles. "But I'm going to have to stitch it." She tells me, her hands pausing.
I just nod my head.
I hear the sound of a plastic bag opening, and the urge to look finally becomes too much.
Polly's taking a already threaded needle out of a small clear ziplock bag, Mack's face a look of pure discomfort.
I glance down at my side.
There's a three inch gap that's now open, a mixture of dark red and purple filling the inside.
Blood flowing freely from it.
I look away, my own stomach rolling in distaste.
My eyes land on the red tinted piece of glass.
It's bigger than I'd originally thought. About two-three inches long, and three inches wide at the end.
But I don't think it punctured anything important.
I squint in pain as I feel the cold bite of steel from the needle run through my skin, immediately followed by the uncomfortable feeling of thread being dragged through skin as Polly sews me back together. Ending with a sickening tug as she tightens the loop.
I look away.
I've been through worse.
Finally after an agonizing minute of that, she places a gauze over my wound, keeping it there with some medical tape.
I let a breath out, thankful that I don't get that grating against my ribs anymore. Just a slight twist of pain from the wound.
I pull my shirt back down.
"Alright, that's the best I can do." Polly says, packing up the stuff. "You'll have to see mom as soon as possible." She takes the flashlight from Mack.
"Thank you." I tell her, my voice sounding a bit strained to even my ears.
She smiles, but it slightly disappears as her eyes glance back down at my side.
To my scars.
My heart pounds loudly in my ears, each beat like nails being stabbed into my temple.
I sigh.
Well I'm gonna have to tell them eventually, especially since they just saw some of it just now.
"It's no biggie." Polly replies with, her eyes back up to me, a questioning look in them.
I glance around, the sudden urge to leave pressing down on me.
"I'll tell you on the way." I quietly say, looking between both Mack and Polly.
They look a bit surprised for a second, but quickly shake it off.
I mean, they already know I was a spy. Might as well tell them the rest.
Well, some of it anyway.
I get up, then help Mack also. Me and Polly getting into our positions on each side.
I can do it.
My chest tightens, making breathing a chore on its own.
As we start out into the cornfield again, I take one last glance behind.
Nothing.
I furrow my brow, the feeling of being watched scratching at my skin. I shake my head. It's probably just a animal or something.....hopefully.
After another ten minutes of agonizing walking, I finally open my mouth, attempting to tell them.
I said I was going to tell them.
So I am.
I take a couple deep breaths first. Relieved that my side feels better, but my ever present headache making up for it double.
I must've hit my head pretty hard.
Both Polly and Mack glance over at me every few minutes, curiosity clear in their eyes.
I let a breath out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Polly's (POV)
Lines of raised slightly pink skin, zigzags, oddly shaped.
The scars I saw from what little skin Alex showed while I 'operated,' flashing in my mind every-time I blink.
I feel a shudder run through me.
They're like off a horror movie. Like something you think you'd never see in real life, never witness.
And that's saying something for me. I am the daughter of a doctor after all. I've seen a good share of broken bones, bruises, bumps, open wounds, and scars.
But this. I never in a million years....
I glance over at Alex.
That would explain a lot.
His fear of water, his PTSD, and just the general way he acts most of the time.
But I can't think that. I need him to say it.
I can't...No, I won't believe someone would do such a horrible thing.
But he was a spy. And the world is a mess. Some people out there...just don't care.
Don't care about other people, and will do whatever they think is necessary to gain the upper hand.
Mack stumbles, bringing me from my thoughts as we almost fall down.
"Ugh, stupid mud." Mack angrily grumbles as we right ourselves. We continue walking, my arms burning with exhaustion.
I unconsciously keep glancing over at Alex, waiting for him to speak.
I examine him.
His hair is a mess all over his forehead, his dark brown eyes looking tired but determined, mouth slightly open as he breaths in what sounds like painful gasps for air.
I frown.
Is telling us whatever it is going to make things worse for him?
Because I know he's prone to panic attacks, and he can't have one while we're running for our life.
....Our life.
I lightly shake my head.
How ridicules that must sound to anyone that isn't us. But it's true.
And....
A block drops on my heart, weighing it down.
Jack and Bill.
They're most likely...dead.
I blink rapidly, trying to keep the tears back again.
I'm not going to be weak anymore. Not like when all this started and all I did was practically go crazy.
I glance back over at Alex.
If he was a spy, does that mean he's been chased plenty of times before?
I look at the side of his face. The scar that runs down the side of his neck showing clearly in the moonlight.
Oh yes, without a doubt. He's gone through this plenty of times.
But it came with a cost.
Alex suddenly opens his mouth, his eyes looking torn between something.
"W-Well, on the last mission I did." He mumbles out, looking over at us a split second before looking away. "Uh, i-it ended up not going as planned." He keeps his voice low, and I detect a hint of sorrow leaking into his words.
I see his shoulders tense, a tremor running through him.
Unpleasant memories.
I wince.
"I-I was captured by a man named Razim." He says the name with venom, his features hardening. "And l-long story short, he kept me there for about a month. Getting his revenge....Tort-" He chokes on the word, his face turning completely away from us. Almost like he's...ashamed.
Mack moves his hand, patting Alex on the shoulder. "Alex." Mack quietly says, sadness wrapped in his voice.
Alex takes a deep, shuddering breath. Then looks back over at us.
I nearly gasp out-loud at the broken look that's now taken over his once determined eyes.
No.
They really did.
"H-He...tortured me." Alex whispers, his jaw trembling.
The world stops.
I had guessed it, but I didn't want it to be true.
His shoulders noticeably slouch, his eyes growing watery. He leans away from us - like he believes we'd think differently about him now that we know.
I stop. Them both also having to stop.
Letting go of Mack, I walk the few feet over to Alex. And without pausing, I wrap him up in a much needed hug.
Yes, I know.
This is a very odd time to be getting all emotional. You know, with the threat of being chased and all.
But like I always say; There's never a time like the present.
And yes, I do say that.....sometimes.
Instead of Alex tensing up like he usually does when he comes in contact with anybody, he relaxes. His arms coming around to complete the hug, obvious sniffles falling from his mouth, body shaking.
I feel more tears prick at my eyes, and this time.
I let them come.
Because no one, and I mean NO ONE, should ever have to go through something like that.
I glance over at Mack. He's just standing there, staring at Alex with a whole new perspective.
I reach an arm out to Mack, and he leans in. Just like when we were at the fair.
The three of us.
I smile.
The Three Musketeers, friends forever.
And together, we can make it through anything.
"Don't worry, Alex." I quietly say. "We're here for you." I feel Mack nod in agreement.
"T-Thanks guys." Alex says with a hiccup, and I hear a smudge of a British accent sneak into his words.
Don't hide who you are.
"Yeah Alex, we're friends." Mack agrees. "But most importantly: we're family." He finishes with.
Alex raises his head, eyes alighting with renewed strength, shoulders squaring back up.
That's right Alex.
Be the leader you're meant to be.
I give another big smile.
Be the hero.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unknown (POV)
I kneel down next to the flipped truck, my eyes searching the drivers seat. The flashlight on my forehead lighting everything up just right.
Not too dark, not too bright.
In the distance lightning flashes across the sky, a crack of thunder joining soon afterwards.
I place my arms on my knees, leaning forward as I spot a patch of dark red on the seat.
I reach a hand out, my finger running over the spot. Bringing it up to my face for inspection, I conform my suspicions.
Blood.
I feel a smile stretch across my face.
The walkie-talkie on my hip crackles for a second, then a voice comes clearly through.
"Red three to Red one. Copy." It crackles again before going quiet once more.
I roll my eyes. These guys, I tell ya.
So official.
I unclip the walkie-talkie from my hip, bringing it up to my mouth.
I press the button. "Mike, you know it's me." I say monotone, my eyes back to examining the truck.
Another crackle of static. "Uh, yes boss....Sir.....it's just, we have orders to use our code names...Sir." The voice fades.
Anger sparks in me.
Who do they think they are? I'm the boss of this operation. So I make the rules.
Not them.
I take a breath, letting it out slowly. Calming my temper before it gets out of control.
Because no one likes it when that happens.
I stand up, wiping my hand off on the side of my jeans. I shine my light across the ground, reading all the signs.
Plenty of footprints, imprints from people sitting.
I bring my radio back up, my eyes never leaving the ground. "Mike, progress report." I says into it before letting go of the button.
It crackles to life. "Secured, and working on transportation now." Is the speedy yet clear voice.
I crack my neck, satisfaction running through me. "Have everything ready by the time I get back." I say into the radio.
A voice immediately responds. "Sir? We'll be ready for extraction in forty minutes max." A pause. "Why waste your time chasing....kids?" My first in command questions, disbelief in his voice.
More anger bubbles up. But I quickly stomp it back down.
They don't know.
I smirk, my beam of light following along three pairs of footprints.
I turn around, walking back to my parked truck. Grabbing a duffle bag from the backseat, I head back over to the tracks.
My eyes land on the totaled truck.
The roof completely caved in from landing on it, front axle splintered in half, shredded tire, almost all the windows busted.
It's a miracle anyone survived that.
But they did.
I continue walking along, my feet only inches from the fresh footprints.
Bringing my radio back up, I put a little steel in my voice. "Because Mike." I bite his name out. "What I'm going after." Now I pause, staring out over the cornfield as I notice the tracks leading off into it.
Smart.
I soften my voice. "Has the potential to be worth more than you could ever imagine." I finish with, taking my finger off the button.
There's a long pause on the other side, then it crackles to life. "Affirmative. We'll be awaiting your return." It clicks off, and I attach it back to my side.
I take my pistol out of its holster, looking it over with trained eyes.
I smile.
"Times up." I whisper out.
Placing the gun securely back in its holster at my hip, I swing the bag up onto my shoulder.
I stare out over the cornfield.
"I'm coming." The words get swept up in a gust of wind.
More lightning flashes, thunder cracking to life.
"Alex Rider."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
Ahhhhhh!!!!!! The suspense!!😱I'm so sorry I keep doing this to you guys.😅*Holds hands up defensively* Hey I updated a day early, so be happy lol.😂
Okay....So.
Questions:
1. Who likes this chapter?
2. So, if you were in Polly, Mack's or even Alex's position. How would your reaction to all this be?
3. Who's the Unknown POV?😏😏 (I'm sure you know😉)
4. Did I surprise you with that last POV?
Only 1-2 more chapters left!!!! And GUYS! (Just a heads up) Get ready for a major plot twist.🙃
Next update: Wednesday
Thanks again!!!!
Maggy
Edited: 6/24/17