Tesla Bethel
Lantern Staff
I heard footsteps coming toward me, my senses heightened as my adrenaline kicked in. I quickly rolled to my left and turned, balancing on my heels in a crouched position. I raised the gun and watched as the man lowered his night vision goggles, and the lamp light was too dim giving me a little cover. I aimed and pulled the trigger just as he got his goggles into place and was reaching for his gun. The bullet went through his hand and into his bullet proof vest.
He let out a chuckle as I watched horrified as the hole in his hand began to disappear—healed. What the hell is he? I thought to myself before dread rushed in. My body became heavy and unable to move. I had given away my position, and I was going to die for it. The man knew he had me and didn’t bother with his gun as he approached. He hit the gun out of my hand and back handed me. I felt the familiar copper taste spread across my tongue as I hit the ground. He grabbed a fist full of my hair and drug my body to where all the other captors were.
“What do you want with us?” I said as I spit blood onto the ground. I felt some blood on my lips and remembered the knife I had hidden away. I smiled a little as I wiped the blood from my mouth. If I was going to die, he was going down with me.
“Oh, you’ll find out here shortly,” he said as if it was some sort of cruel inside joke. I shifted a little to get a better grip on the knife. I turned the knife and began to saw at my restraints. “I wouldn’t move if I were you. Wouldn’t want to mess up that pretty face of yours, now would we?” he said, the threat made clear in his tone.
I cast a glance at where Axyl was hiding, who looked livid and ready to rush out at any moment. I gave a subtle shake of my head. He looked at me pained, but slowly nodded. He knew the timing had to be right. He knew what I meant, not yet.
I looked around to see if there was anything I could use to get close enough. If I was going to do something, I needed to do something that took longer to heal. I don’t know what will kill him, but I knew repairing a major artery would be a lot harder than some muscles and ligaments in the hand. I glanced to my right. He hadn’t picked up the gun. It was still on the ground where he had hit it from my hand. I looked at the gun, then Axyl and back hoping he understood what I needed him to do. The rope around my wrists loosened, and I gave him a subtle nod. It was now or never.
Axyl rushed forward, grabbed the gun and pointed it at the soldier’s head. As the soldier turned, I broke out of what was left of my restraints and jumped on his back with knife in hand. I threw my left arm over his shoulder to secure myself as I went to draw the knife across his neck. He thrashed and brought his hand up to block my blade. I felt it go through his forearm and hit bone before he flung me to the ground. I watch in horror as he walked toward me, when I heard three distinct gun shots—all in the head. The man slumped to the ground. Was he dead? I didn’t really want to check. I grabbed my knife and his gun as Axyl began untying people.
“We need to hurry!” I said. “I don’t know how long that…thing is going to be out for.”
Once everyone was free, I gave one of his guns to a woman in the group for protection.
“We had to go get Ren,” I said hoping she had stayed put in that little crevice. Axyl nodded and after one more look, the two of us went to find her.