My breath caught in my throat when the guard turned his head and saw me standing there, exposed.
“Eva,”
I heard Dominick’s desperate cry. I wanted to comfort him but I knew I had to concentrate on not getting myself killed.
“
What are you doing here?” one of the men asked.
“
Tell him the truth.”
“
I have come to get my friend out of here.”
The two men exchanged shocked looks. “Your friend?”
“
She was brought here last night.” I could tell by the way he tensed up that he knew Nadia. “What have you done with her?”
“
She’s not here anymore.” He didn’t try to lie so he wasn’t as stupid as I gave him credit for.
“
Where is she?”
“
Don’t know.” He shrugged.
Of course he knew. Dominick had told me she wasn’t there but I was too stubborn to listen. I felt the tiny prick in my neck before I saw the guards take out their weapons. The effects were immediate, I fell to my knees.
“
She should be out by now. How much did you use?”
“
Two g’s. That’s enough to flatten a horse.”
I felt myself being moved but I couldn’t tell if they were dragging me or carrying me. Where was Dominick? He should already be here.
“I am,”
I heard his voice.
“
What are they doing?”
“
Taking you inside. Do you want me to stop them?”
I hesitated. “No, I’ll go in and get Nadia.”
“
I can’t tell if she is still in there or not.”
“
Will I be ok?”
“
The tranquilizer should wear off in ten minutes or so.”
“
Stay back, I’ll be fine.”
“
Pretend to be knocked out. If they hurt you I’ll be forced to break this wall down and then my hand will be sore.”
It took intense self-control not to giggle.
I wasn’t scared at all that the VC had me and were going to take me into Alcatraz. I was safe in my confidence that Dominick wouldn’t let them hurt me. I felt his surge of love for me and relaxed even further.
“
This must be the girl who got away in New York,” one of the guards noted.
“
Captain is going to be happy to see her.”
“
He figured she would come looking for the other one.”
“
It doesn’t make any sense though. How did the other half-breed escape?”
“
Captain was sure that her kind had rescued her, but then she wouldn’t have come back.”
“
So who let her go?” Another guard had let Nadia go? Why?
***
‘
Building Seven’, where the men were to take me, wasn’t really a building at all. It had four walls that were barely standing and no roof. The floor was a mixture of dried blood, feces, and dirt. The smell alone made my stomach lurch.
In the middle of the crude floor were two long metal posts placed about three feet apart. The men fastened me to the poles by my feet and hands with thick metal chains. There were so many voices and breathing that I couldn’t tell if Nadia was there or if any SH were there. Maybe there were only guards. The SH here would be zombie-like by now.
I felt myself start to panic but then Dominick was there — in my head.
“Are you ok?”
“
I think so.”
“
What are they doing to you?”
—
No need to tell him about the chains.
“
What chains?”
Oops!
“
Do you have her secured?” I heard a voice coming closer.
“
Yes sir.”
“
And you say she is just like the other one?”
“
She has both of her hands.”
I winced. “I’ll go in alone. Stay close though.”
“
Yes sir.”
A small piece of the wall opened up to reveal a dark skinned man. His face held something that I had not seen in any of the others; kindness.
“
What’s your name?”
“
Eva.” My eyes followed him around the room.
“
Was Nadia your friend?”
It shocked me that he knew her name. “Yes.”
“
She’s not dead.”
He had helped her escape. “Do you know where she is?”
“
I should rephrase that. She wasn’t dead this morning when she escaped.”
“
Did you help her?”
“
I cannot help her; the VC would charge me with treason.” He pulled out a key ring with two keys from his pocket and latched them onto his belt loop. My eyes followed his every movement. “She was different from the SH. Doesn’t belong in a place like this. You,” he smiled, “are not sweet like her, but still not an SH. Am I wrong?”
“
An SH is defined by the presence of vampire blood in a human,” I quoted David, “so yes, I am an SH. But you are right — I don’t belong here.”
He sighed. “I fear that Nadia may not have much time left; if she is still alive now.”
“
Did she…escape this morning?”
“
Yes.”
It didn’t make any sense. Marcus would have heard her, he did hear her; inside of Alcatraz. Could he have heard someone else? Another SH? “Are there other SH here?”
“
Ryan and his brother have created some trouble for us in this area,” he admitted.
“
Are they still around here?”
“
Sometimes.”
Nadia.
“I’m already looking,”
Dominick whispered.
“
What are you going to do to me?”
“
I can’t let you go. You understand?” My breathing sped up. “They called the captain. He will be here in under an hour.”
“
He’ll be…glad to see me.”
He looked down at my feet. “It appears that Adkins didn’t secure your right foot very well.” He jingled the keys on his belt.
“
Am I going to have to take those keys from you?” He smiled at me, his brown eyes shining with friendship.
“
She went north.” He turned slightly away from me.
The chains were easy to snap. I felt kind of guilty for kicking him so hard but it had to look believable. After everything he had done for Nadia, I didn’t want him to get in any trouble.
The knives that Marcus had given me came in handy when I met the two guards outside the door. The filth in Alcatraz was repulsive. SH in various stages of decay stared at me with vacant eyes as I made my way to the only exit.
Chapter Forty
I only had one hand on the door when the alarms sounded. The shrillness pierced the air, making the SH grunt and cover their ears. Some smacked the ground with their hands, jumping up and down like animals. I watched them in mute horror. Would I end up like that?
“
Eva, we have Nadia.”
My feet snapped back into action. “I’m coming.”
“
What are those sirens? I am coming for you.”
“
Where are you?”
“
About twenty miles north.” Twenty miles? Nadia made it that far? “She’s weak, but she’ll be ok,” Dominick tried to comfort me. My heart warmed; he knew exactly what I needed to hear.
“
Ahh!” A shot fired close to my head. I crouched low, fumbling with the keys. Another close shot had me scrambling to pick them back up. “Are they shooting at you?” His rage and fear both fought for control.
In the next second I had the door open and I was running. I realized quickly that I wasn’t sure which way north was. “Just keep running. We are coming.”
“
We? Don’t bring Nadia.”
The sounds of the autos roaring to life pushed me to run faster. I knew I was running faster than any human could, but it wasn’t fast enough. I felt disoriented and confused; I didn’t want to run away from Dominick.
Pain bit into my shoulder. I’d been shot! I didn’t have time to be afraid though, a dark shape flew out from nowhere; followed closely by a similar shape. Dominick wrapped himself around me, protecting me from any other bullets.
Achilles dropped Nadia by my feet and took his place on the other side of us. With two Letrell warriors protecting us, the human VC didn’t stand a chance. They quickly reversed and backtracked. “You two stay here,” Dominick growled. I watched him and Achilles disappear after the auto.
“
Eva?”
I gasped when I realized that Nadia was still on the ground. She looked terrible. Her face was so swollen and bruised, I barely recognized her. “Dominick said you are going to be ok,” I blurted out. I kneeled down beside her.
“
Why would you come for me? You are only a human.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“
Half human,” I corrected. “You and I,” I swallowed back the tears that were trying to form, “we have to stick together kid.”
She smiled, her own emotions showing plainly on her battered face. “I was afraid they had killed you back in the city.”
“
Me? Nah, it would take more than a few dozen men with guns to hurt me.” I experimentally moved my shoulder. Because of Dominick’s blood it was already completely healed but I wasn’t sure if the bullet was still in there. Oh well, David would get it out. “David and the others are waiting for us at the border, but Marcus gave me this.” I pulled my pant leg up and retrieved the injection I was supposed to give Nadia. I knew that Dominick would be there soon, I already heard his footsteps getting closer.
Nadia’s face turned an alarming shade of white. “Nadia? It’s ok. This is just your injection. To make you strong.” But she wasn’t looking at me; she was looking behind me. I spun around and came face to face with crazy captain from New York. He held a small gun aimed right in my face. His cruel smile lit up his eyes.
“
Hello girls,” his voice drawled out.
“
Well hello there Captain.” I crouched low over Nadia. No way was he going to hurt her. “Nice of you to join us.”
“
You won’t think so in a minute,” he chuckled.
We shall see shorty, I thought with menace. I didn’t get a chance to act on that rage though. In a motion that left me dizzy with shock, Nadia knocked me off my feet and put herself in the captain’s line of fire. He shot without hesitation.
Blood pooled on Nadia’s shirt and she was flung backwards, right on top of me. The man was able to fire his gun two more times before Dominick was on top of him. Luckily one of the bullets went into my leg.
“
What do I do?” I looked up at Dominick, who was in a dark cloud of rage.
“
He shot you,” he choked out through a closed throat, “twice.”
“
Is that all you are worried about?” My wounds were already closed.
“
You will not leave my side again until we are safely at Blakesly House.” His dark eyes tried to bore into me.
“
Alright,” I rolled my eyes, “but if Nadia dies here, I’m never speaking you again.”
Without taking his eyes off of me he reached behind me to retrieve the injection that I had dropped when Nadia knocked me over. “The bullet missed her heart by at least three inches.” He said it like it was a good thing she had been shot in the chest. He only looked away long enough to find the spot to inject Nadia.
“
Will that work?”
“
For now.”
“
We need to get somewhere safe,” Achilles spoke, reminding me that he was still there.
“
Can she be moved?”
“
She’ll have to be.” Without giving the blood time to make her strong, Achilles slung a half conscience Nadia over his shoulder. “You coming?” he asked Dominick.
“
You’re not slinging me over your shoulder,” I quickly informed him.
“
Oh come on. We could pretend that I’m your super man.” He winked. I knew when I laughed that our bond was still strong. I should be more worried about Nadia.
“
You only met her a few days ago.”
“
And I only met you a few weeks ago.”
His laughter barreled out of his chest. “Get on.” He crouched low to the ground so I could fasten myself onto his back. “I could definitely get used to traveling like this,” I thought. And then we were flying.
“
Close your eyes.” His voice was like a caress that I obeyed without question.
“
Will Nadia live?”
“
I’m no doctor, and the half-breeds are more foreign to me than even humans are.”
“
But she will be fine.” I smiled with confidence. “Dominick?”
“
Hmm?”
“
Will you still be my friend tomorrow?”
He hesitated. “I don’t know.”