Who Were They?

S I X -Running

“Warning.  Warning.  Warning.”  Cathy opened her eyes, red lights were blaring, turning the white room to red.  She jumped out of bed, and dressed in haste.  She ran out of the room to see both kids and adults run down the corridor, pulling on items of clothing as they did.  She was dumb-struck, she didn’t know what to do and she was clueless as to where to go.  As the panic continued around her, she heard explosions in the near distance.  Now her own panic was setting in.  As bodies continued to run past her, someone grabbed her for arm and pulled her after the crowd of people.  She found her feet and started to run at her own speed.  She couldn’t pull her arm free of the iron grip, so all she could do was comply.  Whilst everyone ran their own way, she was pulled another.  The body dragged her down one corridor after another.  A door opened in front of them and she felt the cool air of the night sky pierce at her skin.  A jeep stood awaiting them.  She started to pull really had now.

“Stop resisting Miss Knight.  You are in danger.  You must go with Agent Lee, run.  He’ll fill you in along the way.” It was the woman who had made her change her name.  She was led to the jeep and pushed clumsily into the seat.  Taylor opened the driver door, got in, buckled up and set off.  Cathy fastened her seatbelt quickly as the car sped away from the compound.  In the mirror she saw more explosions and fire, the tongues of flame reaching into the dark night sky.

“Wh-what’s going on?”  Silence followed her question.  She glanced over.  Taylor was looking ahead; his grip on the steering wheel was so tight that his knuckles had gone white.  His jaw was set: hard and determined.  The dark country lanes stretched ahead of them, the car jerking from side to side at each turn.  Cathy was starting to feel panicky now, her adrenaline was dissipating. Her thoughts gathering in her head.  The main one:  what the heck is happening?

The car tore up the country roads as it plummeted on into the darkness.  The compound was long left behind.  At last Taylor spoke “the men, the men who caused those explosions, they’re after you.”  He glanced over at Cathy who had gone pale.  “We all knew they would come, they want you, and they want to take their revenge out on you”.

“But what have I-“

“Done?  You?  Nothing, but your parents have done everything.  You see, you can’t do what we do without peeing off the wrong people.  To cut the story short.  When they died they uncovered a lot of secrets, a few of their men died with them, the rest of their crew imprisoned.  Except for the leader.  His brother died at your father’s hand, and now that you are old enough, they have come for you.”

Cathy was speechless.  She had never even known her parents and now a vengeful murderer was after her.  Once finding her voice, she asked “how did they know where I would be there?”

“I don’t know, there must be a leak in the system.  But for now, till we have a game plan we need to put enough distance between us and them.”

Her heart had started to race again, she had only just entered this world and now it was coming for her, guns blazing.  She was struggling to breathe.  Her asthma clawing at her lungs.  Taylor looked at her.  “You okay?” 

“Inhaler.  Asthma” she gasped. 

“Can you last?” he was worried.  They couldn’t afford to stop the car, but at the same time she would die if he couldn’t get her medication.  He pressed his foot harder onto the accelerator and headed for the nearest town, praying for an all-night pharmacy.  He glanced at Cathy again.  She was clutching her chest, trying to slow her breathing and her heart to normal.

The lights of a town came into view; they drove straight to the centre.  A few 24-hour shops were open.  One of them, a pharmacy.  Taylor parked as close to the entrance as he could, he glanced around the car park, it was empty.  Cathy got out and stumbled to the ground.  Her chest was making a rattling noise, she was struggling, a few more minutes and she would be unconscious.  Taylor ran to her aid and half carried her into the shop.  They headed to the counter towards the back of the store, Taylors words spilled out of his mouth in request for an inhaler.