Talk about a surprise. Gina didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t that.
“It’s a spell, so you and the others can understand me, and we can communicate. I’ll explain more later. Right now, we need to move before Gavin gets back up.”
“I can’t move,” Gina grunted as she wiggled around.
“Hold still.” Nick hooked a claw under the cord holding Gina in place and sliced it apart. Gina jumped up from the chair, rubbing her wrists.
“Thanks.”
“Stay behind me,” he said as he turned and headed back down the corridor. Gina jogged behind him until they reached the room where Annie, Maggie, and Clara waited for them.
“Nice!” Nick said when he saw the three bears knocked out in the makeshift courtyard.
“Let’s go before they get back up,” Annie said.
“Thank you all for coming for me,” Gina said, tears starting to drip down her cheek. “I was terrified I wouldn’t see any of you again after Gavin took me.”
“Save it for later, hun. We need to get the hell out of here before we all end up dead.” Maggie pulled her into a quick hug as they made their way out of the trailer. Instead of taking the back way through the woods, Nick led them down the main driveway.
“I’m not picking up any other scents, so we should be good to take the most direct route to save some time.”
“Good,” Annie said. “There’s a little more light this way. It should be easier for us to find out way out of here.”
The girls jogged behind Nick, knowing they needed to get back to their SUV as quickly as possible. If Gavin or any of the other bears started chasing them, it would not be good.
Gina breathed a sigh of relief when the SUV came into sight. They were almost there. Almost to safety when a booming noise stung her ears.
“What the hell?” Maggie shouted just as Nick dropped to the ground.
He instantly changed from bear to human and grabbed his leg, grunting in pain. Blood oozed through his fingers and dripped onto the ground.
“Nick!” Gina hollered.
“Fuck!” Annie swirled her wand in a circle around them, creating a thick see-through bubble. Several more booms sounded. Several somethings bounced off the force field and landed on the ground beside them.
“Are those bullets?” Clara squeaked.
“Yep. We need to get to the vehicle. Now!” Annie said. “Help him up. We’re almost there.”
“Nick, are you okay?” Gina knelt beside him.
“I’ve had better days, babe,” he grunted, trying to get up off the ground.
“Here,” Gina ripped a piece of fabric from her shirt and tied it around Nick’s leg to stop the flow of blood. “Maggie, can you give me a hand?” she asked.
“Sure thing. Come on, Romeo. Let’s get your ass off the ground.”
Gina and Maggie each grabbed one of Nick’s hands and helped him up. With one leg completely useless, Nick wrapped his arms around each of the girls and hopped on his good leg as they made their way the last few yards to the waiting SUV.
As soon as everyone was loaded into the vehicle, Annie sent a surge of magic in the direction of the shooter before hopping into the passenger side of the SUV. Maggie hit the gas and sent gravel flying behind them.
No one said a word until the lights of Misfit Bay illuminated the streets ahead of them.
“I thought for sure they were going to come after us,” Gina said, breaking the silence.
“So did I,” Clara said.
“We need to go to the hospital so Nick can get his leg taken care of,” Gina added.