Okay Sarah take a deep breath and just open the fucking door. You can do this. I sucked in as much air as my lungs would hold while I lost a staring contest with the door to Mr. Connolly’s lecture room; the score of my midterm exam taunting me from the other side with arrogance I could practically see.
“Don’t freak out so much Sarah you have a lot of other shit to worry about right now.” Rachel’s voice echoed in my ear before she gave me a gentle push forward and headed in the opposite direction. Great, now my anxiety had anxiety and I was still a panic attack away from being kicked out of Law School.
Steeling myself I opened the door, the wood unusually heavy in my hand all of a sudden, and all I wanted to do was turn and run in the opposite direction. The room itself hadn’t changed since my exam Friday and I had to mentally scold myself for thinking something as stupid as that. No, only my fate would change. Was I going to continue to be a law student, or was I going to become one of those people who made a living off of blogging and mediocre fast food jobs?
The room was bustling with other students but I paid them no mind, instead focusing on the bulletin board on the opposite end while I walked with my hands shoved deep into the pockets of my sweatshirt. My feet were moving slower than usual and part of me felt like I was going in slow motion before I realized that it was just my feet trying to spare me the embarrassment of being kicked out of school. Calm down and suck it up. Just look at your score and go from there. One step at a time Sarah. I mentally prepared myself for my fate as I managed to approach the group of students who were searching for their name on a small sheet of paper. Who knew an inanimate object could hold so much power over us.
There were hushed whispers around me as I forced myself to look, my eyes scanning the names until I found mine. Not that I needed to look very hard, having a last name like Blackwell was an all but guarantee for top of the list.
Blackwell, Sarah……………………………………………………………………………………………. B –
“Fuck yeah!” I almost shit myself when I saw my score and everyone around me turned to stare awkwardly while I did a little victory dance. It wasn’t the top score but I passed and that was all that mattered seeing as I bullshitted like half of the exam. I turned on my heel and walked out of the room smiling widely even as I heard hushed voices behind me.
“Why is she so excited? A B minus isn’t something to write home about.”
“She’s pretty much failing anyway so I don’t know why she even tries so hard.”
“Hey cut her some slack she works hard.”
“Well when you’re intellectually lacking I don’t blame her for having to work hard.”
I wanted to say something, I really did. I would have loved nothing more than to turn around and come back with a retort that would have them all gaping at me but I knew better than to let their banter get the better of me. I was here to learn how to be a lawyer, not get into a pissing contest because I didn’t have the best grades. As I closed the door I silently wished I was the type of person who could stand up for herself instead of just passively rolling over while the entire world stepped on her. There were a lot of things I wanted to be able to do but right then there was only one that I was actually going to do. Run.
Rachel was still in her class so I all but ran back to my dorm to change before I took off. My usual route was the three miles from the campus to the bookstore and back again. The wind was cold as I ran but the frost bite that nipped at my nose and the burning in my lungs were something I welcomed as I pushed my feet farther and faster. The sun was high in the sky and the warmth from it did wonders to chase away the cold as I ran; its rays shining down on me as if giving me praise for passing my mid-term. I knew that wasn’t the case but hey a girl could dream right?
By the time I got to the library I was breathing hard; a light sheen of sweat was beginning to form under the weight of my jacket and I let out a long sigh of relief as I shrugged out of it and stepped through the door. The air inside was warmer and I was sweating more within a few minutes but the smell of the books had me sighing in content as I walked around. Unlike most law students who enjoyed spending their free time reading law material and court cases, I liked to spend mine flipping through the pages of a nice thriller novel. Once I had a book in my hand and a nice quiet corner scouted out to read peacefully, I sat and buried my face into the cover of the most recent Kay Hooper book.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed but sometime later the rays from the setting sun had me sneezing and looking at my phone, cursing and jumping up. Shit how did I lose track of time? It was already dinner time and I told Rachel we would rent movies and veg out tonight. She was going to kill me when I got back and I swore again when I noticed I had a missed call from her and multiple unanswered texts. Fuck. I hit redial as fast as my fingers would allow.
“You owe me a good explanation.” Was all she said when she answered and I felt a wave of guilt wash over me.
“I’m sorry I went for a run and ended up at the bookstore and lost track of time.”
“Just for this we’re watching the Notebook and then after that we’re going to watch The Last Song, and if I hear so much as a groan from you, I’m going to duct tape you to the chair and make you watch as I burn every Disney movie you have.” I felt my stomach drop and swallowed hard.
“Good now get your ass back to campus or I’m not going to save any candy for you.” Her tone was lighter this time and I nodded in response, knowing full well she couldn’t see me.
“On my way now. I’ll be back to campus in a few minutes.” I didn’t give her time to respond before I hung up and grabbed my jacket. The weather had grown colder and I briefly contemplated just waiting for the bus, but I could practically feel Rachel sifting through my collection of Disney movies and felt myself stiffen. Running would definitely be faster and my poor movies were counting on me to save them.
I had gotten about half way back when I felt the atmosphere change and my phone vibrate in my pocket. The number wasn’t one I recognized but I answered anyway; my tone questioning.
“There’s a gas station coming up on your left. Go in and call Rachel.” Was all the female voice said to me and I slowed to a stop as my heart pounded in my chest.
“Who the hell is this?” I was looking around as I spoke but nothing popped out at me and nothing seemed out of place. There were a few people walking and the cars that drove by were going the normal speed.
“That’s not relevant right now Sarah. You are in danger and you need to get to a public place and call Rachel.”
“Why should I listen to you when you won’t even answer my questions?” I couldn’t help the venom that laced my tone as my eyes darted around me. The woman sighed heavily and I inwardly screamed in frustration. Sorry that I am curious as to who the fuck is calling me randomly and warning me of shit I didn’t know I needed to be worried about!
“I don’t have time to explain anything to you right now. If you want to stay alive you will listen to me.” Her tone became so serious, it had me walking towards the gas station instinctively.
“You could at least tell me what you’re warning me from. Or you could tell me your na-“I didn’t have time to finish my sentence before the line went dead and I was staring at a ‘call ended’ screen and doing my best not to give into the panic that was overtaking my very soul.
I looked around again before glancing back to my phone and my anger surged. Ignoring the call I scowled and shoved it into my pocket and started running again, mentally flipping the innocent gas station off as I passed it. Fuck that bitch and her stupid warnings. I can take care of myself. If anything bad actually happened I was confident I could outrun it. I took first place in a lot of races back in high school and running was second nature to me so I wasn’t worried. Huffing at the arrogant voice from before, I ran on; stopping only when my phone rang again; showing the unknown number, again.
“What do you want?” I snapped.
“For you to listen to me. You need to get off the street.” The voice was a slightly more annoyed version of the one I had spoken to only moments ago, and I scoffed.
“Listen Lady I don’t take orders from people I don’t know…” I trailed off as I continued back to campus, this time walking as the voice on the other end cursed.
“Will you fucking listen to the person trying to save your life?”
“Save my life from what?” I countered and was met with silence. “Yeah, I thought so. You won’t tell me anything. I call bullshit on everything you’ve said lady. You call me again and I block this number.”
“Sarah wai-“ I hung up before she could finish, hoping that she got a taste of her own medicine as I turned my phone off completely to begin running again. Whatever kind of sick joke this was it, wasn’t funny anymore and I felt myself growing angrier by the second so I automatically picked up my speed to try and calm down. I could see the campus coming up on my right and smiled. I don’t need your stupid jokes and warnings. I thought triumphantly before a scream rode the air.
I stopped mid-step and looked around but nothing looked out of the ordinary. In fact those around me didn’t seem to have heard anything at all. I listened intently and seconds later another scream met my ears and I turned to the woman walking past me.
“Did you hear a scream just now?”
“No what are you talking about?” She questioned with a raised brow but kept walking. Whatever it was that I was hearing clearly wasn’t reaching anyone else. Around me people went about their lives as if the scream that just echoed didn’t happen. The street lights were just starting to come on and the shadows that lurked everywhere were suddenly more malevolent than they had previously been. Turning to my right I heard the scream again and my feet were moving before my mind could catch up.
There was a park just before campus and that’s where the sound came from. I didn’t know why I was running towards the screams but whatever the reason was, I was going to have a serious talk with myself about self-preservation later. After tripping over an exposed root and face planting, I heard it again; this time closer and to my left. I was back on my feet in seconds and rounding on the play structure before I saw it. There was a girl who looked no older than me, fighting off two large dogs and my throat seemed to constrict. These had to be the biggest canines I had ever seen in my life and each one had their jaws wrapped around the girl. From where I stood I could see the blood and hear the growls.
My body was moving before my mind could decide what to do, picking up a stick in the process and racing towards the scene before me. The dogs seemed too caught up in their attack to notice me coming so I took the first one by surprise when I smacked it in the head with my stick. The wood shattered on impact and the animal growled before turning on me and I jumped back to avoid teeth. I threw the other half of said stick at the second beast and it let the girl go and she crawled to her feet crying.
“Get out of here and call 9-1-1!” Was all I said before I was sprinting in the opposite direction; the two dogs now chasing me. While I sprinted I wondered just what the fuck was wrong with me that would make me provoke two clearly vicious animals. Yeah, me and my sense of self-preservation needed to have a talk. I turned sharply to grab the closest light pole and spin fast, coming around to kick the second dog in the face before wincing at the pain that radiated up my leg. Jesus Christ are they made of fucking lead?
The first animal circled around to cut me off and together they both steered me towards the wall of the play structure and I soon found myself cornered and cursing. The first feigned an attack and I jumped to my right only to feel teeth sink into my ankle and I yelped in both shock and pain. I kicked out with my free foot and listened as the beast growled but released me. I scrambled to my feet but only had enough time to bring my arms up to protect my face before the other dog lunged, crashing into me head on and sending me to the ground. I hit with a pained grunt and felt more teeth pierce my forearm as well as my shoe. Seconds later the two dogs were dragging me off towards the other side of the park, and I was screaming while I tried to fight them. They were heavy and stronger than I remember dogs being; all that raced through my mind was that my Disney movies were going to be destroyed because two fucking flea bags made me their dinner. Fate was indeed a cruel bitch.
I struggled and reached up with my free hand to make a jab to its eyes and sighed when it worked. The first dog released me and began to circle around for a better vantage point while the other continued to drag me off to God knows where. In the distance I could hear sirens and wished that they would hurry up. I didn’t want to die by a dog attack. My vision had begun to get blurry and my entire body was shaking from fear and adrenaline and when teeth sank into my hip, I barely felt the pain.
“Hey!” A shout rang out from somewhere behind me and seconds later the dogs were sprinting off in the opposite direction. Footsteps echoed behind me and I turned my head to see a man sprinting at me but all I could think was, thank God and I should have listened to the voice.
“Are you alright?” His tone was panicked as he knelt beside me and placed his hand over the bite marks on my hip while I gripped my forearm.
“Y-yeah…thanks.” My voice was weaker than I had anticipated and I winced as the pain pulsed in time with my heart.
“Hang on the ambulance is on the way. I can see the lights now.” I looked up into blue eyes and smiled before nodding.
“That sounds good.” I replied before feeling my entire body relax. I wasn’t sure when I had passed out but the last thing I remembered was a voice in my ears.
“You should have listened.”
When I came to, I was surrounded by white walls and I could hear beeping to my right. Pain radiated all over and each breath I took had fire spreading through my lungs. Looking around I could see I was in a hospital room and in the hall I could see Rachel talking with one of the doctors before she glanced in my direction.
“Oh thank God you’re alright…” She had her arms around me in seconds and I winced but hugged her back as best I could. “I was worried when your phone went straight to voicemail.”
“I saw a girl getting attacked in the park outside of campus and I guess I just acted out of instinct. Sorry to worry you Chel.” My voice was more even than I had anticipated while I spoke and I could see the aggravation simmering right beneath the surface of her amber eyes and I laughed nervously.
“You almost got yourself killed is what you did. I swear I have to keep my eye on you at all times or you’re going to get into even more trouble.” Even under her anger I could hear the amusement and I smiled at her.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“The doctor said you got some pretty bad bites on you so they’re keeping you overnight for observation. The girl you saved is in the room next door, but she’s in bad shape.” Rachel’s voice had become so serious that it had my heart pounding within my chest.
“Is she alright? I saw she had a lot of wounds when I jumped in but they didn’t look that life threatening…” I tried to recall her physical condition the last I had seen it. She had bite marks everywhere sure, but none looked particularly deep and almost each was on a part of her body that avoided major arteries and organs. In fact she ran off mostly unencumbered, so why was she in such bad shape all of a sudden?
“…probably why she’s not doing so well- hey are you listening to me?” Rachel snapped her fingers in front of my face to bring me from my thoughts and I jumped.
“Sorry what did you say?” The blonde before me sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose and all I could do was offer a small smile of apology.
“I said,” She cast me a glare, “her wounds weren’t serious but the infection that set in a few hours ago has run rampant in her system and she’s been declining steadily ever since. Whatever it is that’s causing her fever and organ shut down is killing her…they’re giving her till tomorrow at best.”
My entire body went stiff and we both turned towards the door as the speakers went off signaling a code blue, whatever that was. Seconds later five people rushed into the room next to mine, and I didn’t know I was shaking until Rachel grabbed my hand and squeezed tight enough to draw my attention back to her.
“Am I going to die Chel…?” I could feel tears welling in my eyes. Rachel smiled and squeezed my hand.
“You’ll be just fine. I’m not going to let you die. We have to graduate together remember?” Her voice was calm and I felt nothing but truth radiating from her body, but something deep in my soul was telling me that the woman before me was hiding something.
I didn’t get a chance to reply before doctors came into the room and motioned for her to leave. She was fighting them even as her eyes locked on mine and I couldn’t help the shudder of fear that raced through me. She looked so worried as they practically pushed her out of the room and all I could do was sit there speechless.
“Miss Blackwell?” A man with short black hair and glasses drew my attention to him. He was tall and pale but had eyes as blue as the sea and they comforted me for some strange reason.
“My name is Dr. Ackles, I need you to be patient with us while we give you an exam to make sure everything is still fine. Leslie here is going to take some blood real fast is that alright?” His voice was calm as he spoke and I looked to the brunette beside him. She had brown eyes and her smile had me smiling back and nodding. As she prepped my arm the main doctor spoke again.
“Can you tell me if you’re feeling any pain? Do you know where you are?”
“I feel fine aside from a little sore at my ankle, arm, and hip. I’ve got a slight headache but other than that and being a little thirsty I’m alright. I can only assume I’m at Boston General Hospital because that was the closest facility to my campus.” I winced as the needle went in and my eyes were automatically drawn to the flow of red.
While I watched my blood leave my body I answered more questions and sat still while they checked my temperature and vital signs. When they were done Dr. Ackles checked my eyes and nodded to Leslie before smiling at me.
“That’s all for now. You just rest here and someone will be back to check on you in a while. In the meantime I will have a nurse bring you some water. Unfortunately I can’t allow you to eat anything until we know for sure you are well enough to hold food down. The last time you woke up you threw up everywhere.” He chuckled slightly before walking out and I was left confused as I stared after him. I didn’t remember waking up earlier.
I lay back down, wincing only slightly as I pulled out my phone. As soon as I grabbed it the voice flashed through my head. You should have listened. I stiffened and turned on my phone to see multiple texts. Most were from Rachel and a few were from Drake but there was a few from a number I didn’t recognize so I opened those first.
I could practically hear her angry voice in my head as I read it.
The girl you saved was going to die anyway so you should have stayed out of it.
I furrowed my brows at this message because this was right after I had told said girl to run away so how did this mystery woman know she was going to die? Things were starting to get really freaky, and it was beginning to scare me.
They’re going to draw your blood soon...you need to get out of there before that happens.
What the fuck was she talking about? I looked at the time and jumped when my phone vibrated again. It was the same number.
My blood ran cold and I looked around instinctively. I had no time to even text back before my phone was ringing. I took a deep breath and answered it.
“Sarah you need to leave now.” Her voice was rushed and sounded almost urgent as she spoke.
“What? Why? I’m safe here the dogs can’t get to me.”
“Those weren’t dogs Sarah, they were wolves. The girl you saved is going to die if she hasn’t already because of their venom.”
“Wait what? Last I checked lady, wolves don’t have venom. So why don’t you tell me what the fuck is going on here before I hang up on you and call the cops.” I snapped at her as I looked up to see Rachel walk into the room before closing the door; her steps seeming rushed all of a sudden. In one swift movement she had my phone to her ear and was unplugging the monitors.
“Hey, it’s me. Yeah I switched the tubes out and got rid of her blood. They won’t suspect a thing. Yes I’m getting her out now I heard two of them coming from below us while I was convincing the nurse to discharge her….” She trailed off as she looked at me and nodded before speaking again, “yeah I have her clothes. Prepare for us, we will be down in five minutes, maybe less.” I was staring in shock when she hung up and pulled me to my feet.
“We need to get you out of here now,” She paused to lift my right arm and yank my IV out. I hissed as she continued, “there are clothes in the backpack at your feet you need to be changed in two minutes.”
“What’s going on here? Why are we leaving? I thought I was dying?” I was pretty much hysterical at this point as I watched her put all the tubing and wires from my monitors in a bag before she shoved it into another backpack.
“I don’t have time to explain right now Sarah because there are two people on their way up here to kill you, and if we’re not gone in the next three minutes it’s going to get a lot bloodier in here.” Her tone had darkened and I shuddered before nodding absently while I struggled to get into my sweatpants. I had no sooner gotten my shirt on before she was practically dragging me to the door; keeping me balanced while I stumbled but put on my sneakers.
“Wh-why are there people trying to ki-“I never finished my sentence before she slapped a hand over my mouth and opened the door to peer outside. Her movements were calm and collected and it only seemed to scare me more until she looked to me, and I saw what looked like fear in her eyes. Whatever was going on, she was afraid for me and that only served to make me even more petrified.
She whispered a curse as she looked to our right and took off in the opposite direction even as she pulled out her phone and dialed a number I didn’t recognize.
“They’re here already.” Was all she said and I turned back to see two men standing at the nurse’s desk and my heart sank into my stomach because one of those men was Drake. The other was a man I didn’t recognize, but even from where we were, I could see the tension in their bodies.
“No, just two. Like I said they underestimated us like usual. Yeah one of them is Winsor, the other I don’t know. South side stairwell, be ready.” She hung up before ushering me through the door just in time for me to lock eyes with Drake as he turned, and he was shouting even as the door slammed shut behind us.
I yelped slightly when I saw the rage shining in his eyes and I was so confused. Rachel cursed again before she was sprinting down the stairs, and I was struggling to keep up with her.
“I know you just got attacked but I need you to use your cross country running to its fullest right now. They’re going to catch up before we hit the bottom and it’s going to be a race once we get out to the street.” Her voice was automatic as she spoke and I could only nod absently while I heard the door crash against the wall above us.
“What the fuck is going on?” I shouted as one of the men dropped to the bottom and start racing upstairs to cut us off. How the fuck did he just survive a fall from seven stories? Yep, I was losing my mind right now.
“Shit!” Rachel said angrily as she let me go, only to grip the rail and vault over it to kick the man in the chest. He grunted but remained standing as he pulled out a knife and I felt my body stiffen. Chel simply caught his hand and twisted hard before shoving him back and pulling out a blade of her own and driving it into his shoulder. If it hurt, he made no sound but before he could recover Rachel was moving again, bringing her foot down on his knee hard. There was a crack and then he screamed before his other knee buckled.
In one swift movement, Rachel was behind him and snapping his neck, before taking my hand and running on. Behind us I heard his body hit the floor and I swear I could feel the blood rush from my face.
“Jesus fucking Christ you just killed him!” I shouted panicked as I started to struggle to free my hand. Whoever this woman was she wasn’t Rachel, and all I wanted to do was get away.
“Sarah we don’t have time for this!” Rachel turned on me so fast I had to jump back to avoid smacking heads with her. Anger was shining in her eyes but in a flash her gaze drifted past me and she was moving again, this time pulling me out of the way as a bullet rushed past her. It ricochet off the railing and I screeched in surprise before she was pulling me through another door, and when I turned back around, I could see the entrance to the hospital.
“He shot at us back there!” I whispered panicked as I risked a glance back. He was through the door and catching us fast and I felt Rachel tug at my arm.
“This is it Sarah. You’ve always been fast so put it to use. We need to out run him just enough to get to the car. Don’t stop and don’t look back. Make sure you stay right on my heels.” She said calmly as she let me go and took off and it was all I could do just to keep up with her. What the ever living fuck was going on here? The entire time we’ve been friends, she was never able to outrun me, so why was I struggling to keep up with her all of a sudden?
I felt shock race through me as she got ever farther ahead, and it took everything I had to make my feet go faster. My lungs were burning and my muscles ached like nothing I had ever felt before, and once we got through the door, she veered left and I was stumbling to catch my balance and keep on her heels. Up ahead a blacked out SUV came to a stop and the side door opened but I couldn’t see inside. Rachel was the first to reach it and it was already starting to take off as I grabbed her outstretched hand. No sooner had the door slid home, did bullets begin to clang loudly around us.
I collapsed onto the floor breathing hard and looked up to see Rachel looking out the back window; a gun held tightly in her hand as she smirked.
“Try catching us now.” She spoke to no one in particular, and even in the faded light, I could see she had no trouble breathing. She didn’t even look winded. I stared at her even as a voice sounded behind me, and it was so familiar that it had my skin crawling.
“That was too close for comfort Rachel. Had you taken any longer to get out of there she would be dead right now.” I stiffened at the iciness of the woman’s tone but couldn’t bring myself to turn around and look at her. The entire situation that I just lived through had the adrenaline rushing through my system so fast that I wasn’t even sure any of it was real. Any minute now I’m going to wake up and this is all just going to be a bad dream.
“We got away didn’t we? Don’t be so worried Lacie.” Chel relaxed visibly before holstering her weapon and looking down to me. “You alright Sarah? You look like you’re about to pass out.”
I couldn’t find the words to answer her with because it was all I could do to not throw up. My mind was racing and my breaths were coming in faster as my body began shaking, and I knew the adrenaline was fading. I could feel my pain coming back with a vengeance, and the world spun before going black. The last thing I remembered was pain exploding in my head as it hit the floor.
So here is chapter three! Well...I wrote it a while ago but just now got around to editing it and getting it posted up here. I do hope you like my novel so far! :3
