Chapter Twelve
Sleep didn't come to me that night. I watched the small amount of light that peaked through the tent fade slowly away to darkness until it came back again.
Still restrained, the only thing I could do for all those hours was think. An overwhelming sense of despair had washed over me as time ticked on by, and I hadn't heard any news about Eric. The worry made me feel sick to the point where I wanted to throw up constantly. I just hoped he was okay. I couldn't bare the thought of anything bad happening to him.
I knew the only way I could distract myself from those thoughts was to continue trying to think of a way to escape. If I could break free, I could also untie Mackenzie and we could find a way to get Eric back. But so far, I'd achieved nothing. It was a completely useless feeling to be practically glued to a chair and not even move your limbs. My arms and legs had grown stiff and sore, while my eyelids had grown heavy, begging for sleep.
Throughout the entire night, I'd waited for someone to come back into our tent. I was growing completely desperate to know about Eric's condition but wasn't getting the answers I needed. Every now and again a man would peer through the tent opening, simply to check that we were still trapped the way we were supposed to be, before leaving abruptly. No matter how many times I called out or pleaded, I was completely ignored.
Mackenzie and I had barely spoken to each other in all the time. It wasn't because we were mad at each other or anything like that, I think we both just didn't know what to say. There had been no plans made or any ideas even suggested for how we were going to get out of this one.
The RFI had thoroughly devised their plan to capture us. As I looked around the small white tent, I couldn't find one thing that would help us escape. They knew better than to give us access to anything that we could use to our advantage.
Slowly, I felt my eyelids grow heavier and heavier. It started to become a challenge to keep them open as the drowsiness overcame me. But I kept fighting it - desperate not to fall asleep in case something happened. I just wanted a solution to all of this. I wanted a way out of all of this but most of all, I just wanted to know that Eric was okay.
Finally, I was startled back into being alert as two men barged into the tent. I hadn't seen either of them before, leading me to believe that there were more RFI agents on this island than I'd originally thought. It was like they'd opened up their own base here, simply to hold us captive.
To my surprise, they walked directly past Mackenzie and me, heading towards a wooden cabin that stood meters behind us. They began ransacking the drawers, looking for something.
"Where is he?" I piped up nervously. "Where did you take Eric? If you've hurt hi-"
"Your friend is being stubborn," One of them replied calmly, not even bothering to glance in my direction. "Therefore, he is being dealt with accordingly."
I paused at his words. He was confirming my worst fears - they were torturing him. Eric hadn't given them any of the information they wanted, which I should have expected. He probably would have valued the RUA over his own life. And that only made me feel sicker.
If he didn't answer their questions, they were going to do God knows what else to him. But I knew him well enough to know that even the worst pain wouldn't cause him to betray the people he cared about. It was one of the many things I admired about him. Loyalty.
My eyes welled up with tears but I did my best not to show it. If they saw me this way, it would only provoke them even more. They would enjoy it. Instead, I breathed in slowly, trying to regain myself.
"If you do anything to him," I began softly, feeling myself shake in anger.
"You'll what?" The man laughed, his deep voice and accent booming through the tent. "You're tied up for a reason."
I pursed my lips, feeling my blood boil in anger. To be so angry, yet so powerless was torturous in itself. I wanted to attack these men more than I'd ever wanted to hurt anyone before. Not only were they harming one of the most important people in my life, they were taunting me about it.
From the drawer, the man took out a knife. I instantly froze in fear and felt my heart rate pick up as they moved closer to me. I was surprised when he walked past me, but the realization hit me as he moved towards Mackenzie.
She stiffened at his closeness and I watched as he used the knife to cut her arms free from the rope. In a flash, his grip was on both her wrists to stop her from trying to escape. Mackenzie wriggled in his grasp as the other man worked on freeing her legs.
"What are you doing?" I barked at them. My eyes wandered around nervously at the scene unfolding in front of me.
Mackenzie continued to try and overpower the two men who had grabbed a hold of her, lifting her up with ease. She yelled out some expletives, growling at them to release her. She didn't look scared. If anything, she just looked angry.
"It's your turn solnishko," he muttered towards her ear. Mackenzie pulled her head away in disgust
"I swear to God I'm going to rip your head off!" she snapped back at him. Her teeth were bared through her heavy breaths. Her arms were restrained behind her back and she lifted herself against the man, her legs kicking at the air.
The men seemed only slightly inconvenienced by her rebellion, and she was no match for the two of them. They ushered her forward, using most of their strength to keep her detained.
My worry continued to grow as I watched the chaos unfold. They were taking Mackenzie for interrogation. And it wouldn't be long until it was my turn. The situation was truly looking bleak.
But Mackenzie wasn't giving up without a fight. With all her force, she continued to resist their control. Her constant movements in an attempt to break free seemed useless, but that didn't stop her from doing them anyway.
As one of the men wrapped his arms around her to stop her arms from flailing, she kneed him in the crotch.
A flash of silver caught my eye as the man coiled up in pain. Something had fallen off him and landed on the floor. I locked eyes with Mackenzie for a brief second who'd appeared to notice it too - but the two men hadn't.
Quickly, both our eyes darted away from the knife to avoid causing suspicion. Mackenzie's glared returned to the RFI agent who was still recovering from her blow below the belt. Looking angrier than ever, he grabbed onto her firmly by one shoulder while the other agent stood on the opposite side.
"You agents never learn," he told her, a dark look in his eyes as she was dragged forward.
Mackenzie rolled her eyes, reluctantly allowing herself to be dragged forward by the two men. "Yeah, okay you little bitch."
I had to admire her persistence. Even in her most vulnerable moments, she still didn't hesitate to tell people where to stick it.
As she was dragged towards the entrance of the tent, she stuck her foot out and kicked the knife back in my direction. It slid across the floor quickly, landing less than a meter away from my feet.
Neither of the men noticed, too distracted by the task of keeping Mackenzie under control. As they left the tent, I was alone in the room with my only way out of this situation resting below me.
Mackenzie had given me the knife so I could free myself and then rescue them. I was hit with relief by the fact that the men had not noticed their clumsy slip up but grew nervous as seconds went by.
I didn't know how long I would have until somebody came back to check on me. I didn't know how long Eric and Mackenzie would have.
Peering down below my legs, I could see the small knife. The rope tied around my arms and stomach trapped me from bending over to pick it up. My heartbeat picked up as I started to worry that I wouldn't be able to grab the small thing.
My feet were tied together but I could still slightly move them around. The only way I was going to be able to get a hold of the knife was if I somehow managed to use my feet to throw it on my lap. I stretched out my toes, trying to get a hold of it.
I felt it touch the tip of my shoe and dragged it slowly closer to me until it was firmly in between my feet.
I closed my eyes for a moment, inhaling a shaky breath as I did my best to stay calm. If this worked, I could grab a hold of the knife and use it to cut myself free. If not...
I lifted my feet up as much as I could in a quick movement as the knife flew up in the air. My stomach flipped as I watched it fly up, but miss my lap by an inch and land back on the ground.
Shit.
I froze at my mistake. When I looked down at the ground a sighed in relief to see the knife was still close by, meaning I would have another shot.
I couldn't afford to mess this up. This was my only way out. The only way I could have a fair fight.
Regret sunk through me when I realized I probably could have used those few hours of sleep I'd refused due to the fact I was now completely exhausted and struggling to escape.
My feet grabbed a hold of the knife one more time and I closed my eyes again for a moment.
Please.
I prayed to myself.
For the love of God, please work.
In a swift movement, my feet rose off the ground and the knife went soaring through the air. When it landed perfectly on my lap, I thought I'd imagined it.
I blinked, staring down at the small steel knife resting on my thighs. A deep breath that I hadn't even noticed I was holding escaped me as I realized I'd done it.
Thank you.
I had to wriggle slightly to get it to reach my hands but once I got a grip of it firmly, I didn't want to ever let go. It was hard to cut away at the rope when my wrists were restrained together, but I worked quickly as the adrenaline pulsed through me.
Tiny rope frays began to show up as I sawed up and down and within a few short minutes, I'd broken free.
I massaged my sore wrists with my unbound hands, barely believing that I was finally able to move my arms. Time was of the essence and I didn't dwell on my newfound freedom for long.
With the anxiety breeding through me at a rapid rate, I cut away at the rope that was wrapped around my stomach and then was able to bend over and release my feet.
I made the mistake at hopping up too quickly and stumbled at the dizziness that overcame me. Taking a second to recover, I limped over to the wooden cabinet that the knife had been taken from, searching for some kind of weapon I could use as a defense.
Papers were scattered all throughout the drawers as I dug around, looking for anything that could help me. Despair hit me as I realized all the cabinets contained were files and manila folders of information.
I sighed in defeat as I realized that all I had was my own self-defense skills - and the RFI had guns.
Peeking my head out of the tent was completely nerve wrecking, but I had to get an idea of what was out there. As I'd suspected, we were at some sort of camping ground with other identical white tents that had been pitched around the area.
My eyes scanned the perimeter, looking for any sign or clue as to where Eric and Mackenzie were being held. I had to free them so we could work together on escaping. The trouble was, I had no idea where they were being held.
I quickly ducked my head back into the tent as an RFI spy walked past muttering something foreign into a device. My breathing halted as I did my best not to make any noise. If they knew that I was free, I wouldn't have a chance.
There was no way for me to tell where Eric and Mackenzie were being kept. The best chance I had of rescuing them was to somehow sneak around the camp base and peak inside all the tents. How I was going to do that without being detected was a whole new issue that I wasn't ready to think about.
But I knew I couldn't leave them. There was no way I could just run away without trying to get them back.
I took another look out of the tent, seeing no one in sight. I was already shaking with nerves and felt like I was about to pass out. This was either going to go really well, or I was going to die. I knew which option was more likely, but I didn't want to think about it.
Come on, I told myself. I needed to get a move on.
With one last deep breath, I moved quickly out of the tent, my head darting in all directions to make sure no one was around.
No matter how hard I tried to calm myself, I couldn't stop shaking in fear and anticipation. If the RFI didn't kill me themselves, I was sure a heart attack would.
I made a quick dash to a nearby tent, hiding behind it as soon as I reached it. My heavy breaths were hard to silence as I leaned against the fabric. If I was lucky enough, I would be able to establish which tent Eric and Mackenzie were being kept in and free them at whatever opportunity I could grab.
Inching sideways, I walked slowly around the tent, keeping an eye out for any RFI agent who could emerge. This was by far the most riskiest and stupidest thing I'd ever done.
The color drained from my face at the sound of a man calling out. I turned to see the RFI agent pointing at me and yelling from meters away.
They'd spotted me.
I ran faster than I ever had, as I heard the sounds of men yelling and tents unzipping. They were going to kill me. I couldn't let them catch me.
There were trees that lead back into the forest a few meters away from me and I ran towards them desperately. A loud cracking sound filled the air as something hit the ground near me, lifting up dirt and grass.
They were shooting bullets at me.
I screamed, louder than I thought was even possible as I dove toward the trees, hearing more bullets being fired from behind me. They were only missing me by millimeters.
As I entered the forest, I didn't stop running. My lungs burned and I wanted to collapse with exhaustion and fear - but I didn't allow myself.
Minutes ticked by as the sounds of the men became distant and I realized I'd gotten away. But even then, I didn't stop running. I refused to believe I was safe.
Branches and vines whipped me, leaving red marks on my arms as my vision became blurry. I was a complete mess and could barely see where I was going anymore. But I still couldn't stop.
Suddenly, I felt myself collide with something, landing on the ground on top of it. There was a loud thud a voice that cried out, and it took me a moment to realize it wasn't my own.
I'd run into someone.
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A/N: EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT! I will be taking part in the Wattpad Block Party - Summer Edition II (August 2016)!
So if you don't know what that is, it's an event you can find on KellyAnneBlount 's account. It will feature a heap of awesome authors from Wattpad (that I'm honored to be standing alongside) who will be doing all sorts of things such as interviews, advice, writing samples and much more with even a super awesome giveaway to enter!
I will be giving a chapter dedication to the winner (from whatever book & chapter of mine they choose) so if you're interested in that, be sure to enter!
I hope you will all check out the Wattpad Block Party during August, it's going to be the best one yet!
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