Redemption (Stand-Alone, Spin-Off to Reaper Series), page 16
There it was! The rattling of the tools as the doctor re-entered the hallway. Eve pressed her ear to the door so as to tell exactly where he was, based on the volume of the noise. It was growing louder as he drew closer. Eve figured she had about six seconds before he was in position. She shut off the faucet and grabbed hold of the door handle, counting in her head.
Three… Two… One… NOW!
Eve pushed the door open quickly and barged through it, like she was in a hurry. At that exact moment, the doctor and his cart were directly in front of the bathroom door. The doctor glanced up as Eve rushed towards the cart, but no one had time to react. Eve crashed into the cart, seemingly by accident, and knocked the whole thing down on its side. Eve tumbled over it, crashing to the floor on her face.
“Good Christ, girl!” Ortiz roared. “Watch where you’re going!”
Scalpels and scissors and bandages were everywhere. The doctor looked like he was fuming behind his mask, but said nothing, allowing Ortiz to storm over and roughly yank Eve back onto her feet. Rivera was helping the doctor to retrieve his tools, but Ortiz barked at her as well.
“Rivera, come on! He can manage that himself! Eve’s going back to bed, right now!”
Ortiz and Rivera marched Eve quickly back to her room. Ortiz practically threw her onto the bed and then began strapping her tightly back into place.
“I’m gonna recommend they just give you a bedpan or something,” Ortiz snapped. “This is too much bother to go through every day. Javan is too soft on you. Maybe a good beating every now and then will keep you in line, too.”
Eve said nothing, but narrowed her eyes at Ortiz.
“It was just an accident, Ortiz,” Rivera said. “Calm down, all right? It could have happened to anyone.”
“Yeah, but it didn’t happen to anyone,” Ortiz argued, tightening the last strap around Eve’s ankle. “It happened to her. Screw permission, I’m going to get you a bedpan. Let the doctors deal with your crap!”
With that, Ortiz stomped out of the room, with Rivera following close behind, looking at Eve apologetically. When they were gone, Eve waited several seconds after the door was shut, just to make sure they weren’t coming back. Once she was sure they were gone, Eve leaned forward as far as she could and spat something from her mouth onto the bed sheets by her hand. Something sharp and steely.
One of the interchangeable scalpel blades. The cart had been full of them, supposedly so that the doctor could change them frequently, making sure the same blade wasn’t used on more than one patient. When Eve had crashed into the cart and knocked everything to the floor, she had quickly and discreetly snatched up one of the blades and placed it carefully in her mouth, taking care to not cut her tongue with it. Eve really hoped that she had grabbed one that hadn’t already been used.
Twisting her wrist to grab the blade in her fingers, Eve was able to get a firm grasp on it. She then was able to twist her wrist in the other direction and begin sawing away at the leather straps that held her in place. She could feel the razor-sharp steel already beginning to slice through the restraint.
After a minute of cutting, Eve felt the leather strap break away. Her hand was free! Not pausing to relish the moment, Eve immediately began cutting the strap around her other wrist. She was able to cut through quicker this time, as she was able to get a better angle now that she could move more freely. Finally, with both hands free, she got started on freeing her ankles.
When the last strap broke away, Eve allowed herself to grin in triumph. Now all she had to do was-
Suddenly the door opened. Eve looked up and saw Ortiz standing there, staring at her in shock, with one hand still on the door handle, his other hand holding a bedpan. Eve and Ortiz stared at each other in shock for a moment, but then Ortiz dropped the bedpan and reached for his gun, beginning to shout.
Eve reacted instantly. She flung herself from the bed and struck Ortiz in the side of the face with a vicious scissor-kick, whipping his head to the side, where it banged loudly against the door. On her feet now, Eve kicked Ortiz in the back of the leg, which instantly brought him to his knee. He began turning toward her, reaching out like he was going to grab her, but Eve punched him once in the face with an open fist, her palm-strike instantly breaking his nose.
Ortiz cried out in pain as he grabbed his face, blood already pouring from his nose. Eve didn’t allow him any time to shout for help. With only three more well-placed punches, and one kick, Ortiz was lying unconscious on the floor, his large belly seeming only larger as he lay on his back.
Eve breathed a deep sigh of relief. That could have gone so bad, she thought.
Not wasting any more time, Eve poked her head around the doorway to check the hallway. Looking left and then right, she saw that the hallway was completely empty. No doctors, no guards. Most will have gone home for the evening by now, while others were busy in labs. Most security will have been repositioned around the laboratories and patrolling the lobby. Eve had been able to ascertain that much information by listening in on conversations between Ortiz and Rivera, as well as the other guards she had encountered. All she had to do was get to the elevators, ride down to the lobby and make a break for the exit. She had no idea what the movements of the security personnel downstairs were, or how many there would be, but she was determined to at least try. She refused to just keep lying in that bed forever.
Eve quickly crept into the hallway, wondering if she would have time to find a change of clothes before heading to the lobby. She didn’t much fancy the idea of running out into the Canadian night in nothing but a hospital gown made of paper, but she figured Ortiz wouldn’t stay unconscious forever, so she would have to be quick.
Jogging along the hallway, her bare feet padding softly against the wooden floor, Eve rounded a corner and found herself only a few yards away from the elevators. Hardly believing she was actually getting this far, Eve began jogging towards the silver doors that marked her way to freedom. Once outside of the building, Gabriel would know where she was and come get her. Then their father would be able to fix everything. Eve was sure of it.
Just as Eve was reaching the elevator doors, however, the light above one lift lit up and there was a ding sound to indicate the arrival of a lift. As the doors began to open, Eve slid to a stop. She knew she needed to get out of sight, but there was nowhere to hide. The hallway was completely barren and all the nearby doors were locked. She was completely exposed.
And then Javan stepped out of the elevator.
He was being escorted by two security guards and was in heated debate with one man in a white lab coat, flipping through some pages on a clipboard. Whatever they were talking about, however, ceased to be of importance the moment he laid eyes on Eve. He stared at her in amazement, Eve staring back like a deer caught in a pair of headlights.
“Eve?” Javan said in awe.
Without waiting to offer a response, Eve turned and took off down a connecting hallway, ignoring Javan’s cries for her to stop. She could hear the pounding of feet as the two security guards pursued her. Eve heard one of them shouting into what must have been a radio, alerting the entire building about her escape attempt.
“We have a patient attempting to escape the facility,” the guard was reporting as he ran after her. “Short red hair, female, currently on level twelve. Two in pursuit! Lock down all exits!”
Damn! Eve roared in her head. She should have been more careful!
Suddenly another guard stepped out from around the bend up ahead and positioned himself with his hands spread, as though he planned on grabbing Eve as she ran past. Eve didn’t plan on running past, though. She planned on going straight through the guy.
Taking him by surprise, Eve suddenly sidestepped while only a few feet away from the guard and ran up the wall, gaining height. When she kicked off the wall, her feet were exactly at head-height, and she planted her heel squarely into the guard’s jaw. She heard the crack of breaking bone and the guard was down even before Eve had landed. Smirking as she took off running again, Eve figured the poor guy must have had a glass jaw.
Then Eve saw a door up ahead that was marked as a fire escape. If she could get down the flight of stairs to street level, she’d be able to get outside. Without hesitating, Eve slammed her hands down on the metal bar that ran across the door and burst out into the cold stairwell, ignoring the loud whooping alarm that began the moment she opened the door. She turned and began to head down the stairs, but paused when she heard voices and loud footsteps. Looking down between the spiraling stairs, Eve saw a flurry of movement. A whole squad of guards were making their way up the stairs.
Crap!
Eve turned and did the only thing she could. She began running up the stairs. She had no idea what she would do when she got to the top, but she knew she had a better chance on the roof of the building than running into the clutches of a dozen trained security personnel. She could hear them all shouting as their boots pounded against the concrete stairs. They had spotted her and were in hot pursuit. Eve bounded up the stairs two at a time, really missing her wings as she thought about what to do when she reached the roof.
After several minutes of frenzied sprinting, Eve reached the door that led out onto the rooftop. She burst out of it and was momentarily stunned by the sky and nature. It seemed that Javan had installed a rooftop garden for his staff to take their breaks in. There were flowerbeds and small trees, hedges and water features, there was even a gazebo in the center. It was the first time Eve had seen anything green in weeks. Though now was not the time to stop and admire it. She had to do something about the guards.
An instant later, she spotted a box on a nearby wall. A red box that was labelled with the words, “FIRE HOSE REEL.”
Eve immediately yanked open the case and began pulling out the hose. When she had pulled the hose out as far as it could go, she pulled it tight and began to wind it around the handle of the door leading back down into the stairwell. As soon as she had tightened the hose around the handle, the door burst open and Eve jumped back, afraid that the guards were busting through, but the hose had pulled taut and the door wouldn’t open any farther. She could hear the angry and confused shouts of the guards inside. Laughing, she turned and ran across the rooftop, searching for a way to get down.
It didn’t take her long to figure something out. Turns out there was more than one stairwell that led to the roof. Eve began heading towards it, planning on heading back downstairs, circling around the guards, and escaping through the lobby, just as she had originally planned. Despite the detour, she thought the plan had gone down perfectly.
Until the door to the stairwell opened before Eve could reach it. As Ortiz emerged from the dark, drying blood on his face, Eve skidded to a halt. Ortiz saw her and snarled in contempt. He raised the gun he held in his hand and aimed it directly at Eve. Then he pulled the trigger.
The shot rang out across the rooftop like a cannon had been fired. Eve felt the punch of the bullet in her stomach, immediately falling onto her back as she grabbed where she had been hit. She could already feel the blood beginning to flow between her fingers and soak into her paper gown, but there was no time to inspect herself. Ortiz was advancing on her, still pointing his gun. Eve scrambled back to her feet and took off, sprinting into the rooftop garden. She ducked as she heard Ortiz fire again, flinching in fear as she heard the whiz of a bullet fly over her head and punch into the trunk of a small tree. Another shot was fired and Eve ducked again, afraid that this time the bullet would hit her. She had already decided being shot once was enough for her. Eve vanished from Ortiz’s line of sight around a hedge, just as Ortiz was about to shoot again.
“Get back here, you little bitch!” Ortiz shouted. “I’m gonna put you down for good!”
Suddenly, the door that Eve had tied shut burst off its hinges and the entire door flew halfway across the rooftop. Javan emerged, looking furiously around. It seemed immorality wasn’t the only thing he had gained from Eve’s feathers. He had kicked the door clean off its hinges like it had been held there by nothing more than popsicle sticks.
“ORTIZ!” Javan roared, his deep voice booming across the rooftop, so loud that Ortiz flinched and looked like he wanted to shield his head with his arms. “STOP SHOOTING!”
“Sir, she’s trying to escape!” Ortiz said defensively.
“MY ORDERS WERE TO DETAIN HER!” Javan continued roaring as he stormed towards Ortiz. “IF I WANTED HER DEAD, I’D TELL YOU SO!!!!”
Looking completely disgusted with Ortiz, Javan raged past him in the direction that Eve had vanished. Ortiz followed him, along with the dozen other guards, though he looked considerably more mopey than them.
It didn’t take them long to find Eve. She had doubled over by the edge of the building, leaning on the waist-high wall with one hand, while holding her bleeding stomach in her other. She was looking at Javan with hatred, though she felt more fear than rage. She wondered if the pain she felt was what it felt like to die.
Javan was staring at Eve in horror. “You’ve been shot!” he cried.
“You don’t say?” Eve panted sarcastically.
Javan whirled on Ortiz, his face twisted with rage.
“You shot her!?” he demanded.
“To stop her escaping, sir,” Ortiz said flatly.
Javan looked like he wanted to yell, to scream, maybe even punch Ortiz in the face a few times, but he managed to restrain himself. He rubbed his hands over his face and over his dreadlocked hair, taking a deep breath as he did so.
“Okay,” Javan breathed. He held his hand out to Ortiz, as though offering an invisible cookie. “Give me your gun.”
“Sir?” Ortiz asked, confused. Eve thought she could see a little fear in his eyes, too.
“Give me your gun,” Javan repeated. “You don’t deserve it. You can get it back when I believe you won’t go shooting young girls anymore. Give it.”
Ortiz glanced hesitantly around at his colleagues. When no one spoke up for him, he slowly placed his gun in Javan’s hand.
“Good,” Javan said. He then cocked the gun, chambering a round, and pointed the gun at Ortiz’s face, pulling the trigger without a fraction of hesitation. Ortiz’s head snapped backwards and blood burst from the back of his skull. Javan had turned away from him before Ortiz’s body even hit the floor.
“Dammit, Javan,” Eve hissed. “Don’t you have a soul?”
“Eve, please, come back inside,” Javan pleaded. “You’re hurt. We can get the doctors to fix you up.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Eve spat, struggling to stay on her feet as he knees wobbled dangerously.
“Eve, you’ll die!” Javan cried in distress, waving the gun around. “Just come back!”
“I’d rather die,” Eve replied.
“You’re too weak to argue with me,” Javan pointed out. “Now, you’re coming back inside whether you like it or not. Guards, escort Eve to the medical bay, carefully! She’s been wounded.”
A pair of guards began to converge on Eve, ready to grab her, but they never got the chance. Before they had even taken two steps, there was a sudden flash of bright gold light, causing the guards, Javan, and Eve to all shield their eyes from the sudden glare. When the brightness faded, Eve looked around, hardly daring to hope for what she thought had just happened. Before she could register what she saw, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and lift her off her feet. She suddenly found herself being held by her brother, Gabriel, who was glaring at Javan and his guards with more hate than Eve had ever seen in his eyes before. She could feel his wings ruffling in agitation, and knew that he longed to kill every one of them.
Javan’s guards all stood frozen to the spot, staring at Gabriel and his white and gold wings with fear and apprehension. But Javan showed no fear. Only distress at the sight of Eve in Gabriel’s arms.
“Hold tight,” Gabriel said quietly to Eve, though he didn’t take his eyes away from Javan.
Eve wrapped her arms around Gabriel’s neck and shoulders. A moment later, Gabriel spread his white and gold wings wide, startling the guards into jumping backwards and crying out in shock. A heartbeat later, Gabriel had taken off into the sky, with Eve in his arms, vanishing quickly from Javan’s sight and into the growing darkness.
16
DEMONS
G
abriel swooped down out of the sky, far away from Javan’s tower, and landed gently on the grass beside a pond, startling a small flock of ducks into noisily flapping away across the water’s surface. Despite how gently Gabriel landed, the small jolt was enough to make Eve cry out once in agony as the bullet in her stomach pinched and twisted like a hot dagger. Gabriel carefully set Eve down on the ground and kneeled beside her, looking at her bleeding stomach in a panic as Eve curled into the fetal position on the ground, both hands held firmly over her wound.
“Why aren’t you healing?” he asked, a hand on Eve’s shoulder as worry filled his bright green eyes.
“I can’t,” Eve said through gritted teeth. “They… Made me human.”
To say Gabriel looked surprised would be an understatement. Whatever he had expected to hear, it was not this, and his shocked expression told exactly how horrified and appalled he was.
