Broken

4: Off The Cliff

Quote: You have to be at your strongest, when you're feeling at your weakest.

Something is pushing me upwards. I have enough strength to pull back down, but I hear sounds from above me. Out of curiosity, I let it push me upwards, reaching for consciousness. I finally grab it, and it pulls me forwards.

I hear a bang, then a thump. The pattern continues. Before I can think, a yell escapes my mouth. At first it sounds like a gurgle, from the dryness of my throat, then forms itself into a scream. I cover my mouth as I hear a faint knock on the door beside me.
"Jo?" The voice seems familiar, "Jo! Are you in there?"
It's Tay. I'd know it anywhere.
"Yes!" I yell over the the gunshots.
"Okay, move away from the door; I'm gonna blow it up!"
I drag myself to the other side of the room and cover my ears.
"Mmkay!" I shout when I'm ready.
The door breaks to the ground. The window beside it shatters. A few seconds later, Tay and the man who helped us earlier appear.
"Are you okay?" Tay's eyebrows furrow, concerned.
"Yeah." I lie.
I don't convince her, but she sighs and offers me her hand.
"We gotta go." She says as I take her hand.
The pain in my shoulder and thigh are now raw. But I ignore it, hoping that I'll be able to run, now. I bite my lip as I attempt to walk again. I wobble, but I catch my balance before I can fall. Soon my wobbles turn into a limp. A good start. Tay grabs my hand, eyebrows still furrowed. The man gives me a curt nod.
"I'm Jeff, by the way." He says.
"Jeff... Thanks." I scratch my neck. Jeff gives me a confused look, so I continue, "You know for... Saving my life."
He opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by shrieks coming down the hall. I can't make out what they were saying, but I don't care; we have to go.
"Which way are we going?" I ask.
"Follow me." Jeff is barely finished his sentence, and is already running.
I let go of Tay's hand and run after him. Even with a heavy limp, I manage to run pretty fast. Surprising myself, I catch up to Jeff, Tay at my heels. We reach a corner and Jeff holds up his hand for us to stop. He peers around, holds up his gun and shoots the men around the corner. Then we continue to run. The pattern continues; stop, shoot, then run. We reach the exit door and before we can go out, Jeff stops us,
"Okay, get ready to sprint into the car!" He looks at me in the eye, then at Tay.
"Got it! Let's go!" I say firmly. Fear and excitement wash over me. I push the door open, and without waiting for the others, I break into a run. I look outside; it's starting to get dark. I wonder how long I've been trapped in this building, bleeding. I push away these thoughts as I climb into the back of the car. Sometimes I question myself if I should trust Jeff, but then again, he saved my life. I still got shot, but at leased it wasn't in the head.

"We're heading to a facility, I'll explain to you more about it later. Trust me okay? And... They'll stitch those wounds up for you too." Jeff says once he's behind the wheel.
Jeff starts the engine and presses his foot down on the gas, gradually getting louder. And then silence breaks through the car.

I stare out the window. The sky dark with many stars. I wonder if my mother and sister are worried about me. I wonder if I'll ever see them again. And if I do, will things ever be the same? I push those thoughts aside when I look where we're heading; off a cliff.
"Jeff! Are you trying to kill us?" I gasp.
"No. Like I said; you have to trust me." Jeff says evenly.
"By driving us off the cliff? Are you nuts?"
"You'll thank me later for bringing you here." He sighs.
My heart pounds; I really hope he's right. Most of my comfort and trust I had earlier disappears. It looks like we'll have to trust him, because it doesn't look like he's going to stop the car. I check the doors, but Jeff is one step ahead; they're locked.

"Your Broken, remember?" Jeff says.
"Yeah, but what about me?!" Tay gasps.
"Don't worry, I have a theory; you thought Jordyn was dead, right? So you were Broken."
"But she isn't dead!"
"Yeah, once your Broken, you can't change back to human again. Like I said, you were Broken, now your Unbroken!"
"Unbroken?"
But it's too late, Jeff yells, "Here we go," right before we go off the cliff.

I try to breathe. I close my eyes. I'm not going to die. I'm not going to die. Suddenly, I feel my stomach drop and my head start to spin. I try to scream, but nothing comes out. I try to breathe, but my mouth is dry. The sickening feeling continues for about a minute, then it stops. I open my eyes; I'm not dead. I'm not dead! Jeff gets out of the car, waiting for us to do the same. I stumble out after Tay and look around. The sky is not black, nor has stars, but instead I find myself in twilight. The gravel of the road we were on before, has now turned into orange coloured dust. Weird combination.
"Where are we?" I ask.
"Probably where dead people go." Tay replies mockingly.
Jeff frowns at the comment.
"What?" I say.
"Never mind, just follow me."
"Where are we going?"
"A facility, for Brokens and Unbrokens. Kinda secret... Let's go!

Yeah, this chapter wasn't very exciting.
Btw, my friend said that this was like the Allegiant movie (like the red sand part), BUT FYI I wrote this BEFORE that came out!!! But I'm editing/posting it now!
Thanks for reading and giving this story a chance!

Tara <3