Jace and I twist into the North room only to find a wall of soldiers gussied up in blue jackets with gold and silver pins coated along their chests. That's when Jace and I realize that this isn't a recreation of the war or a sector seeking revenge...
This is an ambush. Jace nods his head to me and I leap into the air, he grabs my cold, frightened hands and I kick my feet behind me. I feel my combat boot impact something hard, like a jawbone, and as I land back on the ground I look back to a man, cupping his chin as his mouth leaks blood. Definitely reached his jawbone. A tall dark girl with chocolate brown eyes and hair that slowly begins to move towards me. She holds her hand out as if I'm a dog, cautioning me. I laugh and sprint to her, tackling her to the ground. She looks at me confused and pulls a pistol out of her waistband, holding it to my forehead. Although her threat scares me, I do not let it show and spin the gun back around to her.
"I don't know who's telling you to do this to us, but it's not cool and I know for sure that I can take you down," her eyes widen. "How do you wanna play this?" I ask her. She stares blankly, lost in a space of thoughts. Suddenly, she shoves me off of her and flips back around, switching positions, as well as the gun.
"I know which way I wanna play this and trust me, it's not yours." She grabs my arm, squeezing painfully tight and starts dragging me down the ambushed building. Around me the air is thick and sickening. I cough in disgust and defeat. I soon realize she is nearing me towards the East room where I recently noticed four symmetrical poles in the center of the room. If this woman has handcuffs, I'm pretty much done. I kick and punch as hard as I can, flailing my body everywhere trying to get her to at least loosen her grip. Her hand does not move and she continues to drag me down the anything-but-silent hall.
As I predicted, she throws my now-limp body into a metal pole and holds my feet down as she chains my right foot onto the thin rod. I grunt, feeling like all hope has fallen. She then takes out an odd shaped tube and holds it up to her mouth. Oh no. She blows and BAM! She shot me with a tranquilizer dart. I scream in agonizing pain. For a while she stands there, handgun in hand, staring me down like a mother sending a look of disapproval to her child. I lay back in defeat and pain until a man screams, rushing out of the East room.
"Nivea! You are wanted in the North room! A young man with dark hair and clothes has shotten a soldier in the leg and he is unable to walk! The man escaped as well. We must move quickly, Nivea!" Jace. I applaud in my mind, proud of him to look someone in the eye and shoot them. The soldier pushes Nivea, causing her to drop her gun on the ground. A small victory pops into my head. If I can reach the gun I can shoot the chain off. She rushes out and my head once again fills with the terrifying sound of bullets and handgrenades. All I want to do is curl up and cry. I know that that is the last option I have if I am to prove myself worthy enough to be not only part of Sector 5, but to be someone.
I am brave. My leg stings with excruciating pain and it causes me to wince. I am lying in Sector 1's East Room on the blue tiled floor. I can't breathe, and I can't find Jace. I do not surrender. I am not a coward. I fight for what I believe in.
I slide my numb body over to the black and blue pistol that Nivea dropped and shoot the chain that is squeezing my ankle. I am free and I get up with a struggle and almost fall back down again as I limp toward the door. I'm almost there. I slide the pistol into the back pocket of my dark blue, loose, Sector 5 pants. The air is thick with smoke, causing me to cough like crazy. All around me I see smoke and fire, engulfing the walls that surround me. My head spins but I reposition myself, readying myself for my next challenge. In the corner of my eye I see a tall muscular figure in a black leather jacket and black skinny jeans. Jace. I scream his name but he does not hear me. My ears are ringing from all of the bombs and guns firing. I reach my hand out as if to grab Jace but he is too far away. His long dark nose fits perfectly on his narrow face and his lower lip puckers with a cut through the middle. His dark brown eyes glisten with worry. He is looking for me. I cry for him but my voice is strained so I run after him instead. Or at least try to anyways.
The world lowers beneath me, my legs have given in. The dart that Nivea shot me with made my legs weak and hurtful."I can't give up,"I murmur to myself trying to motivate myself to get up and chase after him. To get out. But my eyes start to go black in the corners until I can't see anything but darkness. I get lightheaded and everything slips away from me. I've passed out. In the middle of a bombing. How stupid.
You'd think that when your unconscious you A, either wouldn't realize it or B, wouldn't see anything but blackness. I was wrong on both of those things. I was absolutely, completely aware of what was happening and it was more of a dream then passing out. Correction. Nightmare. It was like reliving death over and over. Anything bad that can happen, will. Anything good that can happen, won't. It's a never ending trap. I'm surrounded by walls covered in blazing flames that are crawling with insects and hot blood. Soldiers in gussied up jackets move closer and closer towards me, closing in on me with a wall of threats and terror. The ground beneath me is slowly moving inwards, disappearing until it is gone and I begin to fall. Begin to fall towards a pool of steaming, boiling lava. Just as my body feels the heat of the deathly substance, something slides beneath me, carrying me to my next nightmare. Below me is a falcon, screeching in my face. It carries me to a nest on top of a dead tree that is at least one hundred feet tall. Inside the nest are six baby falcons, waiting for their supper. As the falcon deposits me onto my death bed, I am woken by a strong shaking force.
"Kiera!" Exclaims a familiar voice. My drowsy eyes open to Jace's wounded face. I try to lift my arms up to him, to hold him, but my body doesn't move.
"Jace what's happening?" I ask his shooken up face.
"Kiera, we're being ambushed..."
"Yes, I know that, Jace. I mean who? Who is doing this? And why would they want to harm so many innocent people? It's absurd." His watery eyes just stare at me. They speak nothing but the fear of talking. Jace is actually afraid. The same person who dared me to jump off the top of the school onto a mattress in a dumpster. The same person who got in a fight with the strongest, biggest kid at school, and won. The same person that waited for me in the middle of an ambush. "Jace. Answer me, I need you to tell me," I plead. His mouth finally begins to open and the two most frightening words in the world fall from his petrified lips.
"Jeffrey Kingston."
YOU ARE READING
Audacious
AdventureA story about a girl from a messed up society just like every other book. And just like every other book, she wants a new life, a new fate, a new purpose. But, how will she do it?
