We reach the side of the building as I continue to fight with everything I have in me, and I hear someone yell my name, but with the fighting going on I’m not sure who it is or how close they are. I’m slammed into the concrete siding as we turn the corner, and now the fighting is completely out of sight.
A few more feet and I see him. Waiting for me.
David.
***
ANNA
After the man had released my throat and thrust me to the ground, I’d turned and seen Brian turn his back on me and walk away. This was all David’s fight. He wanted to be the one to finish me off. He’d ran like the coward he is, allowing his men to fight without him. He’d waited in the shadows for Brian to bring me to him.
And now laying on the ground at his feet, gasping for air, I’m not certain I’ll survive this. Sure the General trained me, and there isn’t anyone better to learn from, but this isn’t me. I’m not some soldier trained to fight and kill. I don’t want to kill anyone. I want to live in peace with my friends and family. I want Luke to ask me to marry him, and then I want to give Ash the double wedding she’s dreamt of. I want us to have lots of babies and grow old together. All of us. All of my new friends too. Mateo, Brea, Camila, Daniel, Easton, Tommy, and yes, even the General. That hard ass has kind of grown on me. And the only thing stopping me from achieving all that is the church. Maybe not the church in general, but certainly the people like David that represent the church.
That thought somehow gives me strength, and while David looms over me, I drag myself slowly to my feet. I can still hear the fighting, but with a quick glance, I see it’s just the two of us. No one to save me, but no one to help him either.
And you know what, maybe I don’t need saving.
In that moment, something the General said to us once has me lunging. The element of surprise. And I sure surprised him. From the look on his face as my fist connects with his, says he did not expect me to fight back. Ha, suck it.
Unfortunately, that surprise only lasts long enough for me to get in one punch. One punch, and then I’m flying. If I could pick one super power, it would be flying.
I hit the ground hard, skidding to a stop, and before I can get back to my feet David is on me. His fist tangles in my hair as he pulls back before slamming my face into the ground, stars bursting across my vision. That was it for me. I don’t think I can come back from that.
My vision grows dark around the edges as I feel David’s knee dig into my back, and then a fist connects with the back of my head. I’m pulled back from the brink of emptiness as David’s tongue tracks down the side of my face and I puke. That’s right. I. Puke. Projectile actually. I’m not sure if it was the blows to the head or David licking me, but never the less, it happened.
“You are mine, little bitch. My men are winning the fight. Your boyfriend is dead, and you are mine.” He hisses in my ear, weaving his fingers through my hair once more, and I know if I take one more blow to the head I’m done.
And then his weight is gone.
chapter 23 - Nothing
ANNA
When David’s weight disappeared, I thought for a moment that I was dead. For just a moment, I thought I’d actually died when my vision went black, and everything after that was some sort of hallucination. It had taken me too long to realize that wasn’t the case, and then I’d finally managed to roll over on my back, first staring up at the cloud filled black sky before turning my head to the grunting sounds to my right.
And that’s when I realized why David was no longer on me.
My father.
The two men rolled and grappled back and forth on the ground, both covered in blood and dirt. The sight was far more horrifying than the thought of dying. My father wasn’t old, but he also wasn’t young, and I was certain he was no match for David. I had to do something.
Pulling myself to my feet, I reach for the knife Luke had strapped to my waist before we’d left Bonham, only it wasn’t there. I vaguely recall through my haze David pulling it off me and chunking it out of reach, so I search the ground frantically.
My father lets out a yell, followed by a scream, and I resume my search, but I come up empty. Okay, new plan. Anything. Anything that could serve as a weapon. I drop to my knees continuing my search for the knife, or anything else I can use to help my father. My hand scrapes across something hard, and I pull it to me, seeing it’s a decent sized rock. Dragging myself to my feet once again, I make my way to where David now sits straddling my father’s middle, a dagger held to his throat, and I don’t think. I slam the rock into the back of David’s head while my father simultaneously pushes him to the side, and then
