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Those boots continued to hammer as one of them shouted their demands, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I kept my head down with my arms shielding my head, and I silently prayed they would either leave or miss me by some miracle.
I had spent so long worrying about my brothers and their work, but I never thought I’d find myself in this position. I always tried so hard to distance myself from violence, and yet, there I was, trapped in a lecture hall with several gun-wielding maniacs.
Despite my reluctance to join the family business, at that very moment, I wished I at least knew how to defend myself.
Feeling lost and helpless, I kept my eyes shut and relied on hope alone. If I waited it out, there was a chance I could make it out alive.
The lecture hall was massive, and surely there were more than enough people to increase my chances of survival. As much as I didn’t want anyone getting hurt, casualties seemed inevitable.
I counted the seconds and told myself over and over again that I would be fine. I was working toward bettering my future. I was on a new path and looking forward to what was ahead. Surely it wouldn’t all be over just like that.
But my heart pounded as a pair of boots drew closer. Every step seemed to burn into my mind, taunting me each time.
I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter.
Please keep going, please keep going.
Laying there, I could only think about the life I had ahead of me. How differently everything was supposed to look and be while I studied and eventually got my degree.
I chose a path that was supposed to be selfless and beneficial for others. I found a new passion, yet at that moment, I could only think about wanting to save myself.
“Anastasia?” a gruff voice said from behind me, muffled by a mask.
Immediately, I froze, and my skin went ice cold.
There was no way. No way they knew me.
Unable to stop myself, I craned my neck to look over my shoulder, and seeing that man standing there with his looming height, gun in hand, felt like a death sentence.
I didn’t say anything. Speechless, I could only look into those green eyes and wonder where it all went wrong.
There was a moment of hesitation as the chaos continued around me, and that anticipation made my throat threaten to close in.
I needed to run. To get out and run as far away as possible. I questioned if healthcare was even worth it, as if the idea had been tainted by the ambush.
“Get up,” he demanded, reaching for my arm.
With a rush of panic, I yanked myself away, but he was too fast and snatched my arm. With ease, he pulled me up from my hiding spot and hauled me over his shoulder.
Like landing on a boulder of muscle, my stomach slammed against his shoulder, knocking the breath right out of me.
As easy as it would’ve been to submit, there were too many wild thoughts rushing through my head to let that happen.
My future seemed to be slipping out of my hands, I had no idea where he planned on taking me, and I didn’t have a way of getting a hold of my brothers—not while I was being carried away.
The man moved down the stairs between the rows of chairs. All the while I hit his back in an attempt to get free. I wriggled and kicked, shouting at him to put me down, but his grip on me only tightened.
Pressed against his shoulder and practically hanging upside down, I couldn’t pull in a proper breath, and it didn’t take long for me to grow tired from the exertion.
“Take her!” the man shouted just as I was moved around and brought to my feet.
Lost in the confusion of it all, I felt more hands on me, and something was dropped over my head to completely block out the light. My hands were brought together and tightly bound.
Unable to see and disoriented, I was shuffled along while those heavy boots moved around me.
Sucking in deep breaths, it didn’t feel like enough. The panic was too much for me to ignore, and it felt like the whole world was spinning.
An alarm was ringing in the building, but the previous chaos in the lecture hall had died down. The noise shifted around me, indicating we were clearing more ground than I anticipated.
