Blood Iris

Chapter Nine

As soon as the alarm bells sounded, I was at the edge of my cell. Time for the plan. The plan that promised hope and freedom.

All of the doors opened simultaneously and a rush of prisoners, angry prisoners, rushed out every which way. I blended into the crowd, making my way slowly toward the air vents. A fight broke out across the room, distracting gang members from my escape. I quickly opened the vent and tried to slip into it. It was a little dusty and kind of disgusting, but the hard part was getting in. I would have to hoist myself up and onto my stomach, which wouldn't work very well because my ribs were broken.

I clenched my teeth together and tried not to scream as I put pressure on my stomach. I finally was in the duct safely, every inch of me screaming in agony. I pushed forward despite the pain. I focused on the cause; people depended on me. The adrenaline helped a little.

I squirmed my way through the airways until finally reaching my destination. I burst from the dusty, dirty air vent, panting hard. I was surprised to see a girl in the room. The room was supposed to be empty.

"Who are you?" The girl asked. Suddenly her eyes widened. "Wait, the alarm, the prisoners... You're escaping!" She turned to press a button on the side of a wall. Her mistake.

I grabbed the door from the air vents and whacked her over the side of the head with it. She was out cold.

I tried in vain to ignore the sharp pains in my sides. I could barely walk.

I tried to focus on the task before me, pushing through the pain and agony. I burst through the door, scanning the hallway. It was empty except for one person. When she saw my face and my expression, she turned and ran the other way. I headed toward the front doors. Before the doors, there was supposed to be a security gate. I saw it right in front of me. Most of the guards were down, courtesy of my new friends, but two remained. I pulled one of the gifts I was given out of my pocket. A very useful gift.

As I got closer, both guards ran towards me. I lifted the taser and got the first one. The second, I tried to kick her legs out from under her, but she was too quick and smart. She dodged my kick and got out of range of my taser. I ran to the gate, not looking behind me. I reached the gate and turned around, to give the signal. A shot rang out coming from the guard.

I felt a sharp pain in my thigh. I looked down and saw that through the cotton pants, a bullet had embedded itself in my leg. Blood was already streaming from the wound.

I gritted my teeth and quickly gave the signal and the gate swung open. I turned to run and more shots were fired. I was running, or limping, out the doors when I was shot in the shoulder. I stumbled out of the building, everything screaming in pain, especially my thigh, shoulder, and ribs.

Shoving the pain down, I raced to the nearest car parked on the street. Taking note of the street address, I unlocked the car with my other gift from my friends. I ducked down while I hot-wired the car. More shots rang out, but luckily I was low enough to be safe.

In seconds, the car was running. I sped off down the street, making a beeline for my destination. The only place I knew they wouldn't go. The only place I actually knew someone that could help.

In minutes I pulled up to the police station, screeching to a halt. I stumbled out of the car, trying not to fall on my face. I limped to the doors, leaving a trail of blood that would inevitably stain the sidewalks. I stumbled inside, causing the place to go silent as everyone gaped at me. I didn't blame them. I would be staring at me too.

I limped to the front desk.

I slammed my fist on the desk, as if I didn't have their attention already. "I need Matthews, now!" I didn't bother lowering my voice and the receptionist jumped.

"I- um- you need an appointment?" She stuttered out.

"I said now!" I was nearly screaming at them.

"Um- well- I'm sorry, but do- do you mean Officer or Detective?"

"I don't care! Both! Don't you see this is an emergency?!" I could see their fear very clearly. "I also need a pen and paper. Now!"

The poor receptionist was scrambling for a pen and a paper. She handed them to me and picked up the phone. "I need Officer Matthews at the station now. It's an emergency. Yes, now!" She hung up and then called another number.

"Did I hear my name?" A smooth voice calmly carried through the chaos. A man entered the room. He looked to be in his early twenties and he was very handsome. An odd thing to be thinking about at the moment, but it struck me very immediately. I almost forgot what I was doing. Almost.

"Did someone need-" He stopped dead in his tracks. He gaped at me, his eyes widening as he looked me over, my bloody clothes, my torn up face, and my wild expression.

"No, no! I need Officer Matthews!" I cried in frustration.

"You mean my dad?" Now that I looked closer I could see the resemblance. Same dark chocolatey brown hair, same dark, intense eyes. Only a lot younger. And handsomer.

"Yes! I have information for him! Is everyone useless around here?! I need some results! This is urgent! An emergency!! Where is Officer Matthews?!" By now I really was screaming.

At that moment, the door burst open and the same man who interrogated me at the prison stepped through.

Immediately I rushed to him. "You need to go. Right away. They are following me, or were. They are at this address, but they will be gone in less than 15 minutes. It's the only lead I have now, but I'm willing to help as much as I can. Please! You need to listen to me." I was begging him by now.

He didn't respond for a long time, trying to get over his shock at my appalling appearance. "Are you-" his voice dropped to a whisper, "are you talking about the Blood Iris gang?"

I nodded frantically, shoving the paper with the address into his hands. "They are extremely dangerous, take your best men and don't underestimate them!"

He straightened up and began giving orders. They were about to leave when he turned around, "And for heaven's sake, will someone please get this young lady some medical attention before she bleeds out onto my floor?!"