When Kronos comes out after Hypnos, I cringe. Those two, I could handle. It’s Ayres that I don’t want to get into an altercation with. I’m torn between following and staying. I choose to stay. Once the SUV is gone, I make my way toward the left side of the cabin. I turn on the heat sensor in my binoculars and look through them. Two bodies are in the kitchen, and it doesn’t have windows. Perfect.
With a calm that I don’t know how long I can keep; I make my way to the back and look for the room that faces south. I know I can get in there because the window doesn’t latch. And I don’t recall them ever fixing it. Moving slowly, I raise the window and smirk. “Cocky bastards,” I whisper to myself.
This is stupid, but I have to get Charlotte out of here. I didn’t want to take her until I had everything else in place, but today is the perfect time to do it. Moving through the room, I exit and turn right. I open the next door to the right and take a deep breath. This is the old computer lab that Hypnos and I used to work out of. My hands tighten into fists as I think about the betrayal from them. I knock over a monitor on purpose and move back to the south facing room.
“Don’t move from this kitchen, little kitten,” Ayres demands as he runs toward the sounds.
“Fuck!" he exclaims as I rush him, pushing him into the room and dropping a mist canister of tear gas into the room. I slam the door shut and wiggle the doorknob until it’s broken. It will take him some time to get out of there. I laugh inside of the mask I put on. It should keep the smoke that seeps under the door frame from bothering me.
I should kill him, but I have to make Charlotte my number one priority. I make my way into the kitchen and my little bird swings at me with a frying pan. That’s my girl.
“Stay back,” she warns me, but I ignore her. She’s no match for me, even in her spitfire mode.
She keeps backing up and hits the chair. I grab her and throw her over my shoulder. The frying pan clanks to the floor as she coughs. Yep, time to go. I rush out of the cabin and head toward the forest.
Charlotte’s added weight slows me down, but I’ve blocked Ayres from getting out of the room long enough to give me a sizable head start.
“You let me go this instant!” She emphasizes her words by pounding her fists against my back. Bless her, but that will not deter me.
The mask muffles my voice and hides my face., I’m grateful for this. I don’t want to tell her who I am right now. It would only slow us down.
“Calm the fuck down and shut up,” I tell her as I come to the road. My truck isn’t far, but Ayres might be out by now. I don’t delay us by looking back. The thought that he may have gotten into his truck hits me, and I groan. I didn’t disable his truck. Fuck.
I throw Charlotte into the trunk of the vehicle I stole. It’s wrong to not let her know it’s me, but I didn’t want to tie her up. She would have fought me tooth and nail the entire way here. I slam the trunk down and get into the front seat. I take off the mask and wonder if Charlotte is going to forgive me for taking her like this.
* * *
By the timeI pull into the driveway at the second house I own, I’m feeling confident that everything is going to work out. The garage door closes behind me as I put the vehicle into park. As I turn off the ignition, I close my eyes and I let the fact I have my little bird here with me sink in. Maybe now I can breathe a little easier.
I turn on the garage lights before I pop the trunk and stand over Charlotte. She’s ready, too. Her foot comes out in a kick that I taught her, and my pride swells.
“Enough, little bird.”
It takes a moment for her to register that I’ve spoken. When it hits her, she looks up, and the terror morphs into surprise.
“Haydes?” she screams as tears run down her face.
“Yes, little bird. Let’s get in the house and you can shower. Then maybe get some clothes that fit you.”
She looks down and covers her bottom half. “Deep breaths, little bird, you’ve nothing to fear. I'm not going to hurt you."
Charlotte gets out of the trunk slowly and winces. What the fuck? Why is she wincing? I didn’t hurt her. Fuck, I hope not.
“Why are you wincing?” I demand and she looks at me, terrified. She takes a step back and my anger reaches a new high for those assholes.
“I’m sorry Haydes, I’ll be good. Please. I’m sorry.”
I see stars of black loitering my vision. Fisting my hands, I count backward from ten, trying to remain calm. I pull her to me and wrap her in a hug. She winces again, and I know those bastards probably did something to her. I won’t push the issue for now, but I will find out soon enough.
“Shh, sweet bird. I’ve got you. You’re safe.” Her face burrows into my chest. My heart palpitates like a drum.
“You… you have to take me back. They will kill you for taking me.” Her voice is distraught with fear. I feel the anger about to explode.
She wants to go back. Fuck no.
“Son of a bitch.”I wheeze as I run out into the woods as my eyes burn and my lungs ache with each breath. Every time I move, my entire body convulses. I fall to my knees, unable to move another muscle.
“Charlotte,” I mutter into the phone when Kronos answers.
