A Whisper in the Flame (The Ragers Series Book 1) Page 26
I turn us back to face the direction the voice came from. Who is our captor? As I rotate, a sharp light reflects in my eye, catching me off guard with its blinding ray. It runs over my face again. Then I see the movement across the street, hidden in an ally the soldiers can't see into from their angle.
He pops his ash blonde head up between a few different abandoned vehicles. The ferocity at which my heart beats against my chest almost sends me spinning.
He can't get caught here. They'd kill him. And who even knows if they'd wait for a proper trial. They might kill him right here in the road.
Jake catches my eye, abandoning the mirrors. His gun is in one of his hands, ready for my say so.
Please, please don't. Just leave us be. I plead in my head, giving him a curt shake of my head. I'm praying he understands; praying that he can read my thoughts.
I drop one hand, signaling to him to lower his weapon and give my head a final shake, desperate to not be overtly noticeable.
"Ma'am," the leader of the group beckons me, now only feet in front of me. My head snaps to meet his face. He can't be much older than his mid-thirties. His olive skin holds both signs of youth and experience. His black hair is short under his cap and his big round brown eyes still have an element of kindness to them.
"Ma'am," he calls again. "What are you doing out here on your own? It's dangerous. What is your name?"
"I'm... I'm Emma. And this is my sister Camryn."
His eyes grow even bigger, if possible, upon hearing my name. Comprehension glides over his face. He looks from me to Camryn several times, trying to evaluate my statement. First his eyes narrow as his brows draw to the center, but I keep my expression hard and unmoving. Sending him a clear message that they will not separate us.
He reads my face, taking us in as she clings desperately to my side. He nods to me, waving his hand as I feel a wave of relief wash over me momentarily.
"Okay, ma'am. We will need to take you both in. You're going to come back to the base with us." He takes hold of my arm, as soft and delicate as possible, leading us down the road to their vehicles.
Don't look back. Don't look back.
My head ignores my wishes, chancing a backwards glance to see Jake one last time, but my eyes don't find him. He's gone. Just like that.
When we reach the Army caravans, there must be at least eight different vehicles. Some are small jeeps; others are big tank vehicles. The man leads us to a tan metal caravan with large double doors on the back end. My stomach twists with anticipation. Or maybe its twisting because of the heartache that is carving its knife into every square inch of my body.
Two soldiers stand guard, opening the doors for us. The inside looks much the same as the outside with tanned metal walls and a long row of metal seats on either side so passengers are seated facing the opposite wall.
The leader turns to me abruptly, an air of displeasure in his eyes. It confuses me, halts me in my step. I instantly tighten my grip on Camryn but they're too quick.
"I'm sorry to have to do this, ma'am." The two soldiers who opened the door now wrench Camryn and I away from each other, instead, holding us tightly to them. I can see the soldier holding Cam plunge a needle into her neck.
"No!" I scream, "Stop!"
The man pushes himself against my body as I fight to get out of his reach. I can sense his sick smile, hot on my neck.
"My apologies," the leader issues in a calm tone, before plummeting my own needle into my neck. My pulse slows to half speed as the liquid goes into my system. I can feel myself slipping to the fringes of my mind. The world around me begins dissolving, folding in on itself.
"What did you..." but I'm not even sure if they heard me or if it was all in my head.
"Get off of her like that," I hear the annoyed tone in the Commander's voice. "You can expect a write up for that, Hyson."
My body is jolted. I'm free falling through the air. I'm not sure how long I was falling but my body catches on something towering. Something soft, something hard.
Then, it all goes blank.
Chapter 36
Ouch - is all I can think as my eyes slowly flutter open. I can see a fragment of light above my head, but my mind can't make sense of it yet. An aura covers my eyes and an ache crawls across my forehead. It grows and reaches for every part of my brain with each passing second.
My body aches from my heavily bruised and swollen back. The discomfort starts at the base of my hips and works more than halfway up my spine tingling more with the mix of the cold air around me.
Every little move I make sends shock waves through it. My side screams at me as I try to sit up on the green cot beneath me. My fingers tingle as I inch up my red shirt from my side. A massive black, blue and purple bruise hovers on my side, stretching both into my abdomen and around towards my back.
Ugh. I wince at its enormity, worried that the pain could be some internal damage as well.
Where am I? I think, finally taking note of the light blanket laying across my legs. The cot creaks as I turn to its side, shoving the blanket off me as I throw my feet off the make-shift bed.
The four walls that enclose me are grey and cemented, keeping the cold locked in. A long rectangle window lets the sun come in above my head, giving the small bit of light. The light is scorching to my eyes, forcing me to turn away from it.
The prison cell I'm in is fully equipped with a metal bar door. How luxurious, I mock in my head.
The hall outside my cell is poorly lit, especially compared to my cell. It's cast in dark shadows across the walls, and I can only see a tiny flicker of light somewhere down the hallway.
Something shifts in the dark. Or was that just an illusion, a trick of the eye? I stumble closer to the bars, trying to see but my eyes still deceive me, and my head is still fuzzy. I scowl with each movement, finally securing the cold bars in my hands. The metal bars smooth and cool to my sweaty palms. Leaning my heated head against them helps to ease the migraine pulsating through my brain. I close my eyes, for only a fraction of a second, when a familiar voice calls out to me.
"Hello, Emma."
A tall, lean figure steps out of the shadows. His curly dark blond hair frames his fair colored face, sitting shorter above his thick eyebrows before growing longer in the back.
His brown eyes sweep over me, a sense of delight brightening their darkest parts. The delight in his eyes does not play across his taut lips. They don't curl up into a smile, accentuating the dimple on his cleft chin. He is handsome and haunting all at once.
"Thomas," I breathe.
About the Author
Rebekah Nicole grew up in Charleston, SC, a beautiful coastal city full of historic charm, a dark and haunted history and renowned southern hospitality. Spending her college years studying subjects such as psychology and creative writing; she finished her time by playing Madam Mary Contrary in the musical theatre production, Ode to Humptee. When she’s not writing young adult fiction stories, you can find her chasing her little monsters and thoroughly enjoying a life of perpetual exhaustion with her husband, Nathaniel.
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A Whisper in the Flame
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