The Subway (Now Available on Amazon!) (Unedited Version on Wattpad)

Chapter 8

I watched in silence as Dox and his band of masked nut jobs began untying people and ushering them down onto the tracks of the subway.

"Now this is how this is going to go," Dox began as he paced back and forth in front of the abandoned tracks. "The tracks from here on out are abandoned and farther down they break off into a bunch of unused subway tunnels. That's where you all are headed."

You could practically hear the joy dripping from his voice.

My eyes widened at his words. Why were we headed there?

"We're going to be playing a little game of hide and seek if you'd like to think of it that way. There's only one exit in one of these tunnels that leads up and out of the subway station but finding it will be like finding a needle in a haystack. If by some miracle though, you do happen to find this exit then you're home free... but if you don't," I could practically hear the smile in his voice. "And we get to you first then... well I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise now would I?"

The man in the sheep mask stepped behind the little girl with the pig tails and untied her wrists before roughly yanking her up, causing a small whimper to escape her lips, and pushing her toward the tracks where everybody else was nervously standing in a group.

I felt a pair of hands grab my wrists from behind and I turned my head to see the man in the Jason mask untying my ropes. I quickly got to me feet, not wanting to be manhandled and started forward towards the tracks. Before I reached them I glanced over my shoulder at Archer who was being untied by a man in a black ski mask.

Archer joined me right after I'd joined the group of passengers on the tracks.

Dox stepped forward so he was standing on the edge of the platform and looked down at us through his mask.

"You get two minutes. Two minutes and then the chase begins and you better hope like hell that we don't catch you."

"Why are you doing this?" A male voice demanded.

I whipped my head towards Archer thinking that he'd opened his big mouth again but when I did he shook his head and nodded toward my right. I followed his gaze where my eyes then landed on a boy probably a few years older than me. He had shaggy, blonde, shoulder length hair, and pale blue eyes with a silver hoop pierced through his nose. He was lean and tall and had that whole skater look to him.

Dox stared down at the boy but it was impossible for me to tell what he was thinking since I couldn't see his face.

"I'm doing this to prove a point." Dox stated simply.

Like that explained everything.

"What point?" Skater boy demanded.

"That I'm free to do whatever I please. You all live in this world thinking that you're safe, that you're protected. You think that the police, the firefighters, the army, they're all supposed to protect you and keep you safe right? But where are they now? Hmm? Do you see anybody down here that'll give you a second glance if it means risking themselves?" Dox shook his head when skater boy didn't respond. "I didn't think so. Today all of you are expendable except for one and that one person will be the one to make it out of here  and deliver this message to your pathetic police. When they find all your dead bodies they'll see what a complete failure this entire system is."

Dox glanced down at a watch that sat perched on his wrist.

"You have one minute and fifty-nine seconds... fifty-eight, fifty-seven..."

In a panic everyone took off down the train tracks. I glanced to my left trying to make sure Archer was still with me before I felt his hand on the small of my back, urging me forward. As we started to run I tried to scan the crowd for the little girl but I couldn't see her. People bumped into me and elbowed their way pass trying to sprint ahead.

A man probably in his mid-thirties with dark hair, had a wild look in his eyes as he caught up with Archer and me. He was breathing hard and before I knew it he had rammed into my back trying to get pass, sending me sprawling forward. My knees smacked painfully against the train tracks and then I felt the man's crushing weight on my back, pinning me to the ground. I gritted my teeth through the pain shooting through my knees and back and waited for the man to get off me and continue running, but he didn't. Instead he grabbed a fist full of my hoodie and yanked me up roughly causing a shriek to leave my mouth.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I demanded as I tried to free myself from his grasp.

"Sorry kid, but if those freaks get to you first then that's more time for the rest of us." The man wheezed, trying to catch his breath. "I've got a family."

Like I didn't?!

I literally lost all hope in humanity as the man spun me around and pulled his fist back, preparing to smash it into my face, but before he was able to he was yanked backwards and fell hard on his butt.

I saw Archer standing over the man with his fists clenched and as much as I would have liked to see him pummel the hell out of the douche bag for trying to use me as bait, I couldn't. For one, the man was scared out of his mind and fear made you do crazy things and two, we didn't have time for this. We only had two minutes which were probably close to being up by now. Any second now Dox and his friends would be making their way down the tracks planning to pick off whoever crossed their path.

I reached forward and took hold of Archer's arm.

"We have to go. We're almost out of time."

Archer glared at the man for a few more seconds before he backed away and we took off down the now empty tracks.