Between Limestone Ruins

Chapter Thirty-Two

Robert circled Hannah, who was now lying prone on the ground. He laughed and then kicked her hard in the ribs. Hannah heard a crack. It could have been several. Hannah looked at the door, willing someone to burst through and save her.

"They're not going to find you. Your cop friends I mean. You're not the only one with a new name. Although, I didn't come by mine legally, but I am very good at making fake IDs actually, so there is nothing that links me to you. At least 100%."

"So Robert isn't even your name," Hannah croaked. Keep him talking. There was blood in her mouth now. That was definitely not good.

"Benjamin Simmons is who I was. Robert Hall is who I became. I had to. To survive. I am stronger as Robert. Ben was a loser, a freak. Robert can get any girl he wants. And then he can choke the life out of her. Even if she's just as pretty as his far superior and desirable sister."

Did you hear that Jenn? Please say you got his name Jenn, Hannah prayed internally.

Robert kicked her again. "What? Nothing to say about your brother's way with women? Maybe I should show you before I kill you." 

Robert pondered incest to the ceiling the way people in a restaurant pondered if they should look at the dessert menu; there was no risk in trying it either way. Guess the incest line wasn't in stone.

That's when Hannah's panic switched from overwhelming chaos to sharp, deadly focus. Robert was not touching her again if she had anything to do about it. No one was touching her without her explicit consent. 

His dramatic ponder meant he was not looking at her and the gun was sloppily aimed, his finger no longer glued to the trigger. Hannah took this all in within a fraction of a second and decided what was next. She was escaping. Now.

Hannah sprung up and under Robert's arms pushing the gun up over their heads. Two loud gunshots rang out in the room leaving ringing in both siblings' ears. Robert lost his grip on the gun and Hannah wasn't in any condition to fight to begin with, so it slipped from her fingers too. He grabbed her around the waist as she scrambled after the gun skittering across the floor.

Hannah squirmed against the iron prison his arms created around her middle until her knee made a successful connection with his groin. His responding yelp and reaction jerk gave her enough room within his arms to wriggle free and army crawl towards the gun.

Fighting back against the dull-aching in his groin, Robert chased after her half-running, half crouched like he was possessed. He may not have the muscle definition Hannah did but his slight gender-related size advantage made pouncing on her and pinning her on her back easy, just as her shaking and bloodied fingers claimed her gun once again.

The two wrestled for control of the gun, equally matched as Hannah combat training counterbalanced Robert's size.

Hannah landed a lucky-frantic punch to Robert's gut that winded him but also sent the gun flying from both their hands.

Hannah, realizing the knife she had dropped earlier was now closer than the gun, threw herself towards it and clambered to her feet. She whipped around to see Robert had chosen to run for the gun and almost had it.

The knife was leaving Hannah's hand and embedding itself in Robert's shoulder before she had even realized that was the best plan of action. She didn't wait to see if it landed true; she took off towards the door.

She made it to the door and began climbing the dark stairs on all fours; she was steadier with her hands to assist her legs that had chosen now to turn to jelly. 

A gunshot rang out, and Hannah felt the smouldering bullet pass beside her and crash into the door at the top of the stairs. The door she was feverishly trying to get open. A second shot hit slightly above the first one and echoed in the less insulated stairwell, paralyzing Hannah with fear.