 | Chapter 13 Copyright 2004 by Alison McKenna All rights reserved |  |
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I squeezed my eyes shut as my heart fluttered in anticipation of the crash. What a way to go. At least it would be quick. Not at all the horrible pain and torture that Troy would've wanted me to suffer. I curled up as much as I could and waited.
Nothing exploded around me from the impact of a crash. The car didn't roll over or smash into a tree. Instead, I felt it skid to a stop and fall silent. All that was heard was our breathing. I remained still for several moments, trying to get my bearings before I chanced it to steal a peek at Troy. He gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were white. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he looked around. He finally glanced over and stared at me for several moments. Then he broke into a wide grin. "What a fucking ride!" he exclaimed. "Totally awesome!" I declined to comment and diverted my gaze. He was insane. If there was a doubt in my mind before, there sure the hell wasn't any now. He reached down to restart the car as it had died. The engine sputtered and groaned out a protest. He turned it off and tried again. This time, nothing happened. Apparently, the car was on my side. "Fuck!" he hollered and punched the steering wheel. I shrank back towards the door at his sudden outburst. I huddled on the floor of the car, trying to get as far away from him as I could. He turned and glared down at me. He shook his fist in my face. "This is all your damn fault! As usual!" I started to shake my head but then gasped as his door was flung open. "Get out of the vehicle!" the officer commanded. "Make any move I don't like and you'll be missing a kneecap." Troy sat back in his seat and sighed. He didn't move for several moments and I knew he was trying to think of a way to get out of this. I looked around for the shotgun and noticed it had fallen to the floor by my feet. I didn't move a muscle in fear of distracting the officer's attention off of Troy and giving him the chance to turn the situation in his favor. "Out!" the officer barked again. Troy slowly raised his hands up into the air and turned in the seat. He inched out of the car and stood up. I felt like crying in relief. It was over. Isis and I were saved. Only then did I move my feet and step down on the shotgun. I wanted to make sure Troy didn't make a dive for it. And if he did, he wouldn't be able to get it. No sooner had I done that but Troy did grab for the gun. A moment later a shot rang out, sounding like a bomb going off. I screamed and ducked my head, hoping it was the officer's gun and not the shotgun. It was silent for several minutes. I slowly raised my head and looked out the driver's side open door. In the headlights from the car behind us, I could see Troy. He was laying on the ground, unmoving. He didn't even look like he was breathing. I stared at him and a million thoughts raced through my head. I was so caught up in my memories and thoughts that I didn't even hear my door open. The officer leaned over me as I was still sitting on the floor. "Ma'am?" Somehow I managed to tear my gaze away from Troy's body and look at the officer. He was young with a baby face which I found oddly comforting at the moment. I cleared my throat and tried to say something, but nothing came out. "Shh," he said soothingly. "It's going to be okay." "Isis," I managed to squeak out. I struggled to move up to sit on the seat and only managed to do so with his help. He pulled something out of his pocket and turned me so my back was to him. Whatever he had he used to quickly slice through the taped holding my arms behind me. Then he moved down and removed the cuffs with a key. He looked up at me. "Is that your name?" I shook my head. "I'm Isabella. Belle. Isis is my friend. He put her in the trunk," I told him. He reached past me and grabbed the keys out of the ignition. He went around to the trunk to release Isis from her prison compartment. The feeling came back into my arms gradually as I rubbed them. Fresh tears escaped my eyes, not so much from the pins and needles sensation crawling on my arms, but from the fact that we were safe. And alive. And Troy wasn't. I reached up and tucked some stray hairs behind my ears. I took several deep breaths before turning around to look again at Troy. I had to keep making sure he was still there. Dead. My jaw dropped as I took in the sight. "Oh, shit," I muttered. Troy was no longer on the ground. I reached down and grabbed the shotgun and hurriedly got out of the car. I turned towards the rear and saw three heads behind the open trunk lid. "Shit," I uttered again under my breath and raised the gun up towards the trio. My mind was spinning. I couldn't very much shoot at them. I didn't know which one was actually Troy. In the glare of the headlights it was hard to tell who was who as they were hidden by the trunk lid. How in the world could Troy survive the gun shot?
In The End, Chapter 13
At that moment Isis screamed. An instant later she was flung aside like a rag doll into the ditch. Then I heard sounds of a scuffle and I knew Troy and the officer were fighting. I hurried over to Isis and shook her gently but urgently.
"Isis," I said.
"Belle!" she cried out and flung her arms around me. "Oh, thank heavens."
I disentangled myself from her. "Get up," I urged, tugging on her arm. I saw that Troy and the officer were having a down and out fist fight, taking turns pummeling each other. I half dragged Isis to her feet and together we ran for the woods. We crashed into the underbrush and nearly tripped. I debated dropping the gun so I would have a free hand to help us along but decided against it.
Moments later, Isis fell to the ground, moaning. "I can't, Belle."
"Yes, you can and you will. Now get up!" I pulled her up again and we forged on. We stumbled ahead for a minute before she fell again. She sobbed and held her right leg. She shook her head. "I can't, Belle. You go."
I looked down at her leg and in the dim moonlight I could see the blood seeping out of a wound. I silently swore to myself and flopped down next to her. I gazed back in the direction we'd come from. I was sure we hadn't gotten very far from the road. If Troy won the fisticuffs, he wouldn't have any problem finding us.
It only took a second for me to make up my mind. There was only one solution. I had to go back and make sure Troy got dead for good this time. I wasn't going to let him have the chance to hurt Isis again.
I turned and looked at her. "Ice, I have to go back."
She gripped my arm tightly. "No way!"
"Shhh," I cautioned. "He'll hear us."
"Belle, you can't go back there. He'll kill you," she said.
"He'll do it anyway if he finds us here," I told her. "And I'm tired of all this. It's time I stopped feeling sorry for myself and do something about it."
She looked at me for several seconds before nodding. She must have heard the determination in my voice. She threw her arms around me. "I love you, Belle. Be careful."
I smiled and hugged her back. "I will. I'll be damned if I let him hurt you. See you in a bit. Stay put and be quiet."
"But-"
"No matter what happens, Ice. I promise you. I'll be back for you."
She nodded and I stood up. I hefted the gun up and started walking back in the direction where I hoped the cars were. I listened for any sounds of the men, hoping they were still fighting so I could hear them. As I walked, I racked my brain, trying to remember what I had seen about using a shotgun on TV. Not that it was a good learning tool but right now it was the only thing I had to go on.
My heart seemed to be beating twice as loud as I finally emerged out of the woods. Looking around I realized I was a bit down the road from the cars. I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat and headed towards the flashing lights. As I neared, I saw someone stand up and raise his hands in victory. I know only one of the two would do that.
Troy.
"Izzy!" he suddenly screamed out into the calm night, making me jump and almost pull the trigger. "You'll never get away from me!"
"Bullshit," I whispered to myself and continued on my way towards him. I reached the front end of Isis' car, watching him the whole time as he paced by the body of the fallen officer. I just about made it to the rear of the car before the same stroke of bad luck I only saw in the movies bestowed itself upon me.
I stepped on a stick. It snapped so loud that for a millisecond I thought the gun had gone off. I stopped dead in my tracks as Troy spun around to see what the noise was. I stepped forward quickly and cleared the end of the car so I could see him completely in the headlights of the car. I kept the shotgun leveled at him.
He wore an amused expression on his face as he looked at me. "Aww. How sweet. Is my precious little Izzy going Rambo on me?"
I ignored his comments and kept my eyes on him, barely blinking. "Get the cuffs and put them on."
He burst out laughing. "And giving orders? Good one, Izzy," he said and then grew serious. "I've never taken orders from any woman and I sure the hell ain't going to start taking them from a little wench like you."
"Yes, you are, Troy," I told him, matter of factly. I was surprised how calm I sounded when it felt like my stomach had dropped to my feet. "And now is a perfect time to start."
"Do you think you can shoot me?" he sneered. "Look how good a job the piggy here did. Don't you remember screaming when you heard the shot? I did. It was such sweet music to my ears. I'm going to enjoy making you scream. Besides. You don't have the guts. You're too meek and mild. A perfect little slave slut whore."
I shook my head. "Don't you know any other taunts? Those are getting quite old. You're not going to bully me anymore."
He took a step towards me. "Oh, really?" I could see the surprise in his eyes when I didn't move back as he came closer to me. Instead, all I showed him was fierce determination.
"Really," I said. "Now be a good boy and put those cuffs on. And lets start with your little footsies."
His look of amusement disappeared and was replaced with one of pure fury. "You're such a stupid little whore," he growled out and took another step closer. His hand snaked down and snagged the bottom of his shirt. He lifted it up to reveal the bulletproof vest he wore underneath.
At the same glance I made to look, he lunged at me. He grabbed the gun and tried to wrest it out of my hands. I held on for dear life. We did a strange dance together as we vied for possession of the gun. He yanked hard to his left and slammed me back against the car.
I grunted in pain but didn't let go. In retaliation, I kneed him hard in the groin. Not once, but twice in rapid succession.
His eyes bulged and his grip lessened as he fought his own pain and tried to remain standing.
Seizing the opportune moment of reprieve, I shoved him backwards with strength I didn't even know I had. He lost his grip on the gun and stumbled backwards. His hands went down to cup his injured family jewels. "Bitch," he hissed.
I raised the barrel of the gun at him, breathing heavily. In the distance, I could hear the wail of sirens as more squad cars approached. "Give it up, Troy. It's over."
He shook his head. "You don't even know how to use that gun. And you're right. It's over of you," he spat at me and moved towards me again. I braced myself for the recoil and squeezed the trigger.
Nothing.
"Shit!" I cried in distress and then it came to me. I pumped the shotgun a second before he grabbed at it, pointing it downwards. As he did, my finger tightened on the trigger. The shot exploded instantly, sending me crashing back against the car again.
My own leg was in agony as I realized that I had taken some of the gunfire. Not as much as he had. I looked up to see Troy standing there, wavering eerily with a shocked expression on his face. My eyes moved downwards to his own leg and revulsion threatened to consume me. His upper left leg looked like mangled meat.
"You shot me," he choked out in disbelief, stating the obvious.
I pumped the shotgun again, ready for him if he tried to make another grab for me again. "I told you. It's over."
He dropped to the ground and rolled onto his back. He stared up at the sky. "Fucking bitch," he said, his tone full of venom. "You're going to pay."
The sirens were louder now and I knew they couldn't be too far off. Only a few more minutes. "No, Troy. You're going back to prison. And from the looks of it, I think you'll be taking it up the ass from now on."
He struggled to sit up and shook his head furiously. Then he laughed at me. "Night, bitch," he snarled. He raised his hand up towards me. In the headlights of the squad car I saw he held a gun. I panicked and squeezed the trigger again.
The recoil tossed me back against the car. I waited for his shot to come. It never did. I opened my eyes and looked at him. The gun slid out of my hands and dropped to the ground. I fell to my hands and knees. Everything I had in my stomach came up from the sight before me. It wasn't much. I covered my face with my hands and I wept. It was definitely over now. Troy wasn't coming back ever again.
My second shot had just about taken off his head.
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Proceed to Chapter 14
In The End | |||