Double Crossed

Surprise Attack or Planned Battle

[Erin’s POV]

I duck underneath a punch that someone throws and use that moment to reach up and grab their arm. I raise my elbow and throw it down upon the crease in his arm, breaking it. I kick them in the stomach and once they hunch over I knock them out with a blow to the face. I feel the crunch of their nose breaking under the pressure and I instinctively shudder.

 Looking around, I see the others fighting. One man lands a solid punch to Jacky’s face and I know she will have a black eye in the morning. Mel is fighting well, she lands some good hits and is knocking out guys at a good rate, but I have a bad feeling. The last lecture we were given pops into my head, about how we can’t just relay on fighting to get us out of a situation like this. But what else can we do? Our team is down four people! I look over at Zack just in time to see him get kicked in the side of his knee, bringing him down on all fours. The woman he is fighting follows through on her attack and lands an uppercut under his chin, the force of the punch causes Zack to fly into the wall behind him, and effectively hitting his head.

It is as he crumples to the floor in a state of confusion that time starts to slow for me. It is in that moment that I realize we are losing. While I was caught up in my own little world I neglected to do the very thing that Volant tried to teach me, I have become surrounded by the enemy. In my search of the room, I neglected to keep an eye on all things. So focused on my friends I shut out the thing I’m supposed to be fighting, and now I could very well have killed myself.

Everything is happening in slow motion and just as I start to wonder why they aren’t using their guns, the people surrounding me all reach for the weapons holstered at their sides. I start to hear screaming in my ear, I’m not sure what it is. I look back over at Zack to see him lying on the floor, the woman has descended on him and continues to land punch after punch to his body, no doubt littering it with cuts, bruises, and maybe even giving him a concussion. The screaming in my ear continues, and out of the corner of my eye I see Mel rush towards me. My mind is thrown into a state of confusion, so much happening all at the same time. So much to do but my body won’t move, I’m pinned to the spot and I can’t stop my mind from wondering why.

I don’t know when I realized that the screaming in my ear is Volant trying to get my attention, all I remember is my instincts taking over. I drop to the ground, losing sight of Mel and reach for my gun, as I roll out of the way I shoot as many pairs of enemy legs as I can. When I’m back on my feet I see I have successfully escaped the death trap and that I have taken out at least half of the circle, while Mel is finishing off the rest. Although our victory is short lived. At this point I know we need to leave, I’m fairly certain that Zack is unconscious, because the woman he was fighting is gone and he is lying on the ground, his face bleeding pretty badly. Volant is continuously screaming in my ear and it is only now that I can actually register what he is saying.

“It’s a trap! Get out of there!” he yells. “Erin? Are you there? Zack? Sophia? It’s a trap!”

I think he has just been repeating this over and over again, “You’re a little late for that, Volant! Zack is unconscious and both Zane and Sophia’s team is unaccounted for!” I scream back, “Mel, Jacky and I are still fighting Hecate, Bonny is in the basement protecting the boy.”

“Get out of there, Erin! Hecate knew you guys were going to be there, they set it up from the beginning! Agent Cadwell and I have come to you. Get Zack and the boy and meet us out back at the vans, we’re concealed in the woods.”

“If I’m not there in ten minutes, take Zane, Kim, Sophia and Jade for medical services.” I don’t hear Volant’s reply though. I feel a heavy pain in the back of my head and realize some idiot has just hit me with his gun. I fall forward and land on my hands, not having time to change the clip of my gun I swivel around and swipe his feet off the ground. He crashes loudly onto his side, I crawl on top and hit his temple with the butt of my gun. With fumbling fingers, I change the clip before climbing off.