I started convulsing as my body used up the rest of the oxygen it had and screamed for more. I fought my involuntary impulse to open my mouth to gasp for air. Soon, I lost and my mouth opened. Everything around me became blurry. My body thrashed as it demanded the oxygen it needed in which to survive. My vision blurred more and more until it faded to black and I lost all of my senses, falling into a deep unconsciousness.
Chapter 22
Water spewed out of my mouth like a waterfall as I was turned on my side by whom I presumed was Dylan. He firmly patted my back until all of the water in my lungs was expelled. When I could finally breathe again, I coughed and coughed so much that my body could hardly take it.
Finally, I sucked in a deep breath of air, surveying the area with my watery eyes still blurry from my ordeal. Dylan’s face, clouded with worry, filled my line of view.
“Allie…Allie, are you okay?” Dylan supported my back with his arm, lifting me into a sitting position.
My throat still scratchy and hoarse, I simply nodded instead of speaking.
“Dylan, did it work?” Dr. Wilcox ran up breathlessly, sweat on his brow.
“Yes, the water receded and the doors opened.” Dylan turned back to me, still nestled under his arm. “Oh, Allie, I’m sorry. I have no idea how this happened.”
I smoothed some wet strands of my hair off my forehead, opening my mouth to speak, but someone beat me to the punch.
“I do, and it is unfortunate that you thwarted my plan, Mr. Dylan Baker.”
Both Dylan and my gaze drifted up to a woman standing in front of us surrounded by four guards. The woman had brownish-red hair that fell in curls slightly past her shoulders. Her cinnamon eyes bore into me in a way that made me feel as if my soul was bare for all to see. On her person, she wore a red suit jacket and matching skirt, with a white blouse underneath the jacket. Mary Jane pumps covered her feet with gray stockings that went up her legs and disappeared beneath her skirt.
“Mayor Aldridge?” wondered Dylan, releasing me and standing to his feet.
The mayor stood straighter, her lips spread out into a small smile. “Yes, it is I.”
“You did this to Allie?” Dylan’s mouth dropped and he took a step forward, but was quickly halted by a guard. “You tried to kill her?”
“Well, Dylan, kill is such a strong, harsh word. I think saying we tried to do away with a problem threatening our entire city is a better way to look at it.” Mayor Aldridge’s smile grew even wider as her eyes veered toward me. She took three deliberate steps until she was only three feet from me. “Hello, Allie, my name is Mayor Kathy Aldridge and you are not welcome in my city.”
I simply stared up at her, slowly turning my surprised gaze into a glare of hatred.
Twisting her head over her shoulder and raising a gloved hand, Mayor Aldridge stated in a commanding voice. “Arrest them all.”
I tried to stand up in protest, but I was still too weak to do anything. Dylan fought against the men trying to bind him with some kind of synthetic material. Dr. Wilcox took off before anyone could catch him. The mayor sent one of her men after him and they both disappeared around the bend and out of sight.
Helplessly, I was dragged by one of the guards all clad in black with so many different pockets in their pants that the contents kept slamming against me, as they tugged me along.
Dylan and I were tossed into the back of a long tube hardly wide enough for sitting areas. It resembled a limousine, except that there wasn’t a place specifically for the driver. The Mayor and her guards climbed inside and then shut the door. Soft lighting illuminated the dark vehicle as the mayor simply said, “Headquarters,” and the tube started to move.
The mayor sat quietly in her seat with her right leg crossed over her left, her hands folded in her lap. A small smile still graced the corners of her lips and she continued to gaze eerily from Dylan to me and back the entire way to her so-called “headquarters,” which I assumed was City Hall.
We rode in silence for quite a while when finally, the vehicle stopped and one of the guards jumped out to hold the door open for the mayor. Once the mayor was out, Dylan and I were each yanked out of the vehicle and swiftly ushered through a back door.
We entered a hallway so dark I could hardly tell it was lined with wood on either side. I could feel the wooden planks on the floor as I was dragged toward the end of the long hallway towards what looked like a lift. A gate covered the front of it, but it appeared like any old rustic elevator on the inside. All of us filed into it, still spacious with several people inside. One of the guards pressed a button and it began to descend.
We seemed to descend forever. Due to my vantage point behind a wall of guards, there was nothing in my line of sight—no level indicator at the top or flashing buttons.
The lift rocked with a jolt when it finally settled on what I assumed to be the bottom floor. The guards parted for a moment and I got a glimpse of the room before us. Tan-colored crates and boxes littered the concrete floors for as far as the eye could see. Piled high upon one another nearly to the ceiling were more boxes and crates. Narrow pathways snaked through the cavernous
