Until another vehicle rumbled over the horizon on a black snake made of tar.
The sky rumbled, and let it burden free.
Rain hammered the truck, the windshield and her vision washed in water.
At the ugly presence on the horizon, her truck faltered, and the exhaust backfired. The engine wheezed before it stopped entirely.
Her luck had just run out.
She screamed in frustration, banged on the steering wheel, turned the key. But the wretched thing had given up, fled to greener pastures and left its host to fend for herself.
The glass at her side was smashed and they were on her. Dragged through a window, she screamed. This time, she couldn’t hold it back. It was instinctual. The terrible, visceral fear erupted out of her mouth and reverberated through the trees. Their strength was significant, their weight crushing. She was on the ground in the mud as the rain fell while their bodies pushed the breath from her lungs and squashed her, attempted to pry her legs apart.
She struggled, screamed again. She reached up, teeth bared and bit exposed skin. A man howled and threw his hand back in an attempt to strike her where it would hurt.
‘What the fuck is going on here?’
The man on top of her stilled. Both he and his companion turned as four men exited the truck that had been the precursor to her end.
There was a brilliant flash of hope. Maybe these newcomers would save her, find her heart and home, shield her from the two that planned to steal her soul. But when her eyes caught them, she knew instinctively that these men were no heroes. Malice and cruelty were written on dirty faces. She would find no safety with them. Her heart faulted and tripped because of it.
Four car doors slammed. Each thump jarred her, shocked her with electricity. It sang a song of terror. She had to escape.
When the man that lay upon her pulled himself upright, she rolled and, by the grace of divine intervention, she stumbled to her feet before anyone had a chance to thwart her trajectory.
Then she ran. Her boots were loud when they hit the tarmac, water splashed with every step. Each footfall was accompanied by a shout. She screamed out the only two words in the entire English language that meant anything to her at the time. Euan. Nick. There was a glimmer of hope in her predicament. The more time these monsters took with her, the longer the men she loved had to find her.
She screamed their names with every particle of oxygen in her lungs. She screamed until she was hoarse, until only sobs passed her lips.
There was chaos behind her, but she paid it no mind. She simply ran. She didn’t look back. She didn’t dash into the landscape at her sides. The scrub, trees and uneven ground would hinder her path, slow her down. She needed speed and …
A truck behind her revved.
Nope, she needed trees.
She was quick, nimble, but not as fast as a vehicle. The distance they made up with their engine consumed any she had won with the efforts of her legs. They didn’t need to go into the scrub, they simply required the head start to be mute. Despite the adrenaline, she waned, each step a little slower than the last. She stumbled and they pounced.
A body hit her in the back.
She went down with a tumble. Already bruised from her earlier scuffle, her hands bound, she could not lessen the impact. She hit the ground with a painful cry.
The gravel tore at her skin. The dirt filled her mouth. Mud soaked her clothes. They tumbled and rolled. She struggled. She kicked. She clawed.
But it was not enough.
They were upon her. In the mayhem of hands and fingers, she thought it was all of them. They pulled at her clothes, tore at her boots, her hair. She screamed, but no one paid her any mind. It was over, she was tired. Fear was a motivator, but a body could only last so long.
Then, shots fired. Two rounds exploded into the air. There was a perfect moment where Kira felt profound relief, Euan and Nick had come to save her. She was going to be free. But it was destroyed, smashed, when an unfamiliar man prowled over the hoard that swamped her tiny body. He was a tower of anger and evil. Lank blond hair that dripped onto broad shoulders. Ratty clothes of greys and green covered a pale body. Eyes the colour of moss and mould held hers for a heartbeat before he scanned the men that surrounded her.
He lifted his gun, cocked his head and without further thought, shot them, one by one, even as they attempted to escape.
A sob accompanied the flinch as each bullet rung out. Gore splattered her clothes, her skin, her face. It mingled with the mud and the rain. She trembled as the bodies of four men tumbled to the ground.
Kira was surrounded by corpses that twitched in their demise. There was blood with death. So much blood. Tears leaked from her eyes unheeded. Her body vibrated unchecked. White skin was painted red, black, pink, brown. Blank, her mind was blank. Somewhere inside, her conscience wailed, but all she could do was stare, and wait.
‘There are rules, and consequences for breaking them. Understand?’
Kira nodded. What else could she do?
The man crouched. Kira cringed back. The glint of a blade caught her focus. It dripped with water from the sky. In her shock, she could do nothing but watch as the man bent and sliced the rope that bound her hands.
She bit back the yelp as the blood rushed to the appendages. Her fingers tingled and she rubbed them, only to realise she was rubbing the blood of the vanquished into her skin.
The blond man turned to his one remaining companion. ‘Radio Parker. Tell him we have found him a little blonde
