Connor and Vince fight their forbidden attraction as they attempt to rescue themselves and fellow residents of the underground Refuge facility from a toxic breach.
*****
Conn...
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For so long the color red had flooded my vision, since waking in utter chaos to nearly getting my head blown off. Then I entered the hole in the wall and was immediately flooded by white. The dull light blinded me even when viewing it through the visor of my face mask, and for a second I lost sight of Vince and Tamara. As we passed the floodlight that lit the small entryway, they entered my sights in front of me. Each were escorted by a large man who had their hands pinned behind their back.
The man who fisted my wrists kept quiet mostly, except for the occasional grunt or huff as we trekked over chunks of concrete that had crumbled from the blasted hole. It was obvious that the hole was how they gained access to level Ten, but the question remained-where did they come from? The only possible answer seemed to be up.
Further ahead, the space narrowed as it led to a wide wooden ladder fixed to the wall, extending up into the darkness.
Vince called out, "Where are you taking us?"
"Just shut up and walk." His escort shoved him forward, causing him to stumble, especially when he put his weight on his injured leg. He would have fell if he didn't put his arms out to balance.
A growl rattled my vocal cords. "His leg is injured, asshole. I don't see you pushing around someone who could better defend themselves."
A rough push from behind sent me to the ground, but I was lucky to have placed my hands in front of me just in time to break my fall. My heartbeat quickened and my breathing grew shallow as my fight or flight response kicked in.
Tamara's voice rang throughout the tightening enclosure. "Leave him alone. What's wrong with you guys? They're hurt enough already."
Although my gaze was fixed on the debris around me, the shuffle of her feet as she struggled with her captor was prominent. My captor's footsteps approached from behind, probably to pull me back onto my feet and into his grip so he could force me to the ladder.
"Connor!" Tamara's screech took my attention from my racing thoughts. "On your right. Peroneal, shoulder level, now!"
My mind searched for the meaning behind her code. She was saying something important, something familiar. Why didn't her words register? They were orders she was yelling, but my mind was too jumbled to make any sense of them.
"Now, Connor." Her frustration caused her commands to come out frantic and desperate.
Instead of trying to figure it out, I gripped a large chunk of concrete that lay beside me and swiveled on one knee until I faced the crotch of my captor and slammed the concrete at his lower abdomen. He grabbed his groin with both hands and dropped to my eye level before writhing on the floor.
Vince took the opportunity to perform a similar move on his captor while the man was distracted by the commotion I'd caused. Vince twisted and kicked his captor in the side of the knee.
