121 Degrees

Two Shots of Help and a Request for It

Joshua's POV:

It had been another half-hour since I saw the first flash, and I suddenly saw another one, but it stayed there this time. It was a white light, reflecting the sun at me. I suddenly realized what it was: scope glint. As soon as I'd reached this conclusion, the person using the gun pulled the trigger, and for a split second I thought It was over. I shut my eyes tight and waited for the end.

It never came.

When I'd opened my eyes, the rope tying me to the pipe had fallen to the ground and the scope glint was no longer there. I didn't waste any time in grabbing the key from the table and heading outside the door. I was met with a hard punch to the side of the head.

Claw had been waiting for me outside the cabin this whole time. "Did you really think it'd be THAT easy? Your friends will die-as will you." he snarled at me, his dark hair shining in the sunlight.

He punched me in the face, almost breaking my jaw. Before he could do anything else though, I heard another shot rang throught the air and a bullet went straight into Claw's head., immediately popping out the other side and making him fall like a puppet without its strings. I grabbed the key, but a clear voice came out of the trees "Joshua, stop."

I did so, despite not wanting to. I heard a rustling to my left and turned in that direction. A female wearing a camoflague suit stepped out of the bush. She was quite tall, and she was wearing a mask. I only knew it was a female from her voice. "Joshua, are you sure you know what you're doing? She won't take you as a boyfriend-even if she DID kiss you earlier." she informed me.

"You think I'm going to take you seriously? A complete stranger?" I answered.

"My name is Ada." she answered "I've been tracking the Dragon's Fang for 3 years. This is the only place I've been able to find a base of theirs."

"Well, good luck with that." I answered, about to start off again. I had to get to the sauna-

"Josh, I can't let you do that. I need you to help me. Your friends can wait-this can't. We've got a chance to take out the Dragon's Fang for good here. If you free your friends, however little time it might take, we'll miss our oppertunity to catch them." She told me.

I lost all restraint and started shouting "IF I DON'T GET THEM OUT OF THERE NOW THEY'LL DIE!"

"And if you don't help me, Dragon's Fang will just come back and try to kill them again." Ada replied calmly "I've calculated how much time they have left, and I give them another 3 hours before the temperature reaches 121. That should be enough time to kill the gang and get to them before its too late." I continued to look mutinous, and she reminded me "I just saved your life. Twice."

"Fine, but please make it quick. I don't want to think about Melissa being found dead in there." I told her.

She nodded in understanding and beckoned me to follow her as she turned around "I know. I've lost someone I love to those bastards before. I don't want anyone else to suffer the same fate."

I was slightly relieved by her reassurance, but my heart still pounded like a frantic bird against my ribcage. How long could they survive in there?