“Mrs. Montoya, stop! Please!”
I almost do. Mrs. Montoya!? Is this guy on drugs!?
But as I struggle onto my feet, the hardness of the engagement ring in my pocket presses against my thigh and I’m reminded of who I am to these people: their boss’s future wife.
Shouldn’t that give me some leverage?
I jump up and raise an authoritative hand towards the approaching driver. “Stop!” I order, in my best Angel impression.
Surprisingly, the young man does as I say.
Young. He
couldn’t be more than a year or two younger than me, but that seems like enough.
The body guard isn’t stopping, though. He crawls around the front hood of the limo like his life depends on catching me. I wouldn’t be surprised if it does. Angel may not be quite as harsh as I first thought he was, but I can’t imagine he’d take kindly to anyone who loses his fiancée.
I wonder what he did to those guards who took me to Dante, back at the compound?
I don’t have time to mull it over. The big burly guard lunges for me, but I’m able to jump out of the way just quickly enough to avoid his grip. He falls to the dirt road and a big plume of dust lifts all around him. I know it’s the only chance I’m going to get, so I rip off my sandals and run...
Away from the burning town.
I know a shortcut across the river, and it’s through the thick stretches of forest that line this dusty dirt road. I’m not going to be able to outrun either of these guys, but if I can lose myself in the trees, then I might actually be able to escape their ‘protective’ grip and make it into town.
My ears rush with blood, and the voices yelling from behind me are muffled and growing more distant by the second. Adrenaline lifts my bare feet, the sandals in my hand flop against the gust of my speed. I’m going to make it...
Suddenly, a flurry of thunderous roars shakes the air. The blood immediately drains from my ears and I can’t help but turn around.
The body guard is closer than I thought—he was gaining on me... until something caught him in the leg.
He writhes around in the dirt, clutching at his shin. His dark red blood stains the orange dirt road.
My first instinct is to rush forward and try to help. “Sorry!” I cry, but my voice is quickly muffled by another series of thunderous roars.
Bullets skid through the dirt, nipping at our heels and crashing into the limo. I watch, horrified as the glass on the windshield splinters against the force of the gunshots.
“Run!” the fallen body guard orders, when the thunderous roars have died down enough to hear through.
I suddenly don’t want to anymore. He needs my help, or else he might...
Another round of gunfire suddenly buzzes in our direction. The bullets outpace the roar of the guns they were fired from, and I get to hear the sickening sound of one of them piercing the body guard’s chest before the world is blanketed by thunder again.
Blood explodes at my feet and I fall onto my ass, shocked limp.
Dirt upends around me, creating a dust shield. I’m frozen, completely overcome by horror, before the shots go quiet again.
The dust starts to settle and I try to look past the corpse at my feet, towards the car. The driver’s nowhere to be found, but a cellphone lies on the road by the front wheel. Its screen is glowing bright, like a call is being made, and I consider making a run for it. I need to call for help; I need to call for Angel...
That thought doesn’t last long. A new round of gunfire explodes through the air. The limo’s front tires go flat and the flight part of my fight or flight instincts take over.
Violent roars blanket the world as I scurry for the trees. Tears well up in my eyes and my heart feels like it’s going to cut right through my heaving chest, but somehow, I make it behind the nearest trunk. Before I go any further, I feel brave enough to take one last look back.
Big mistake.
I can see the driver now. He’s just as bullet-riddled as the body guard. The limo sinks into the earth like a melting rock... but the phone I saw before is still open and glowing.
The world’s gone silent again, and I swear I can hear the faint sound of a familiar muffled voice coming through the speaker. It’s too far away to tell for sure, but I also know that it’s my only hope. There’s no way I’m going out there again. Salvation is going to have to come for me, and there’s only one man I know who’s vicious enough to rip through this violent thunder and come save me from my nightmare.