Borrowed Time

Chapter Thirteen

“Xavier.” I exhale, letting out the breath I had not realized I was holding.

“Ceal. You look like death.” He smiles crookedly at me. “Did they put anything on you? Like a tracker or anything?”

What did he just say? Almost as if in response, the voice in my ear shouts and is soon drowned out by others in the background. They know.

My body is frozen. I look up at Xavier blankly, trying to make out what he's saying. My eyes are going in and out of focus, my mind swirling, trying to understand what is happening.

“God Dammit, Ceal.” His voice isn't harsh, not even angry. He just sounds tired.

The voices are growing louder in my ear. They are trying to yell things at me, but I can't focus on the words. They're coming for me. They'll hurt Xavier. I just want the voices to stop. I reach up and pull the device out of my ear, letting it drop uselessly to the tile floor.

“Anymore?” He asks. I reach under my shirt and unstrap the microphone, watching as it lands on a fallen toilet paper roll.

“My ankle.” I croak, glancing down at my half-buried foot.

Xavier drops to his knees and begins to fumble with the circular device around my ankle.

“Fuck,” he mutters, trying to pull it away from my skin with little success. Vaguely, I remember the way it clicked when I put it on. Does it even come off?

The voices are coming back. At first, I think that maybe they are coming from the ear piece laying on the floor. But these voices are much louder, much more distinct.

“You have to go,” I say desperately.

“Shut up, Ceal,” he whispers, looking up at me with soft, green eyes, squinting a little as if straining to hear the voices too. Then, he stands and opens the door. There is no hesitation, no time at all to think or process. He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the supply closet, back into the bright hallway.

There are people at the end of the hall. This is the first thing that I register. Three of them. Jonathan is there. A woman, not the one from a van. This one looks a little crazed. There's another man with them, one with dark, red hair and a full beard. He looks kinda like a lumberjack.

I realize a moment later that I haven't moved, that I'm staring at them, and they are coming towards me, and I am frozen. Xavier is tugging on my arm.

“You have to run, Ceal.” I blink a couple times. Run? I can do that, I think. God knows I've done it a thousand times before. I'm pretty sure Xavier is about to pick me up and carry me when I start to move.

I'm not very fast. I don't run enough. They are going to catch us. My feet move faster. Xavier is behind me. He's faster than me. What is he doing?

I keep running. There's an elevator to the right and I steer myself towards it. Xavier, who is just feet behind me sees what I am doing and pulls me roughly to the left, causing me to almost fall over.

“This is hardly a time for the elevator.” I glance up at him, blinking a couple times. His shaggy, blonde hair is plastered to his forehead with sweat. I swallow and allow myself to be pulled towards the door labeled 'stairs.'

Xavier swings the door open. Before entering, I make the mistake of peeking behind me. It's not that long of a hallway. They are catching up. The lumberjack is in the lead, his footsteps are loud and heavy, but he's surprisingly fast. He's close to us. I start down the stairs at a fast pace, letting my feet take me. Xavier is right behind me. When we have made it down a flight of stairs, I hear the door open again and someone climbing down the stairs behind us.