233 A Rough Patch
[Two Days Earlier]
Alice made quick work of the doors and locks throughout the science building. She wasn’t able to get into Alpha Cain’s office, but it didn’t matter. The nearest computer gave her what she needed.
She quickly left the building, doing her best to stay covered. All she needed to do was avoid being seen. He wouldn’t get what he wanted if she could just make it across the border.
Granger had sent her in with two missions. The first she had already accomplished. The second… she could exploit a technicality.
“When you find Ashleigh, lead her here. Make sure she crosses the border,” he had said.
So as long as she didn’t find Ashleigh, she wouldn’t have to complete his command.
“Hey!” a shout from across the field caught her attention.
Alice looked back.
“Damn it!” she growled as she recognized Ashleigh running towards her.
‘..lead her here. Make sure she crosses the border.’ His command echoed in her mind. She growled and shifted into her wolf, running harder towards the border.
It wasn’t long before they neared the border. Alice came to a stop, shifting back into her human form. She looked back; Ashleigh still followed behind her.
Alice quickly darted through the trees and bushes.
Once she had crossed the border, she stopped, turning back and waiting.
Ashleigh arrived within seconds, shifting from her wolf and immediately summoning her weapons.
“Why are you here, Alice?” she asked. “What did you do?”
Alice waited; Ashleigh had one more step to take. One more to be over the border. Alice took a step back and stopped. Ashleigh moved forward, crossing the border and fulfilling Alice’s obligation.
“Stop!” Alice shouted. “Go back! Quickly!”
“What?” Ashleigh asked, confused. “No, why would I do that?”
“Please,” Alice begged, “just go back before–”
Alice’s words were interrupted by the gust of wind as something zipped by her face.
“Ugh,” Ashleigh said. Furrowing her brows and looked down to see a dart sticking out of her chest.
The sound of rushing wind came once more and then again. Two more darts appeared on Ashleigh’s chest.
Ashleigh looked up at Alice with confusion before dropping her weapons and falling to her knees. Alice moved quickly, catching her shoulders.
Lowering her gently to the ground, Alice looked at Ashleigh with a deep sadness.
“I told you to go back… you should have listened.”
Ashleigh’s consciousness faded. Alice looked down at her with regret.
The armor Ashleigh wore pulled itself back inside her pin. Alice saw her cell phone. Looking around for Granger, she quickly grabbed the phone, tossing it back inside the Summer border.
“Nice work,” Granger said, approaching from the trees. “Now, let’s get out of here before someone sees us.”
Granger bent down and picked Ashleigh up, smiling as he looked down at her face.
“Back in my arms where you belong,” he whispered.
Alice felt her stomach turn at his words. She walked ahead without a word.
Just over a mile from the border, Alice stopped.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“What are you going to do to her?” Alice asked.
“Why is that your business?” Granger asked, setting Ashleigh down beside a tree. He looked closely at the pin on her chest.
He reached down and pulled it off. Looking it over, he finally recognized it from the night of the party. So this was where the armor had come from and the new weapons she had started using. He
tossed it aside.
“I did what you asked, but I won’t let you hurt her,” Alice said.
“Hurt her?” Granger laughed. “I love her.”
“Bullshit,” Alice hissed. “You don’t kidnap people you love.”
“Well, we need some time alone to work out some of the kinks in our relationship. All couples have a rough patch,” Granger smiled.
“You’re disgusting.”
“And your usefulness to me is done,” Granger growled. “Holden is the one that can’t seem to live without you. But I don’t like you, and I don’t really like him either.” ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
Granger took a step towards Alice.
“Honestly, Holden hasn’t kept his word. I think maybe he should be punished for that,” he smiled.
Granger growled and jumped at Alice, but she quickly bounced back. But, unfortunately, she wasn’t far enough away. He reached a hand out and caught her ankle.
He pulled her down, and she caught herself with her hands and elbows preventing a head injury against one of the large rocks.
Granger pulled at her leg, growling.
Alice kicked him hard in the jaw. He howled out as she scrambled away from him, getting to her feet.
Granger got back up on his feet. He snarled at her before he charged once more. Alice jumped to the side, kicking him as he went past her. She shifted in the opposite direction and was able to kick him again.
Granger took the first hit with a surprise, but in the second, he caught her leg and spun her down to the ground. He jumped on top of her. He punched her repeatedly. Her chin, face, stomach.
Alice reached her hands out, trying to find anything to help herself. The best she could do was a handful of dirt. Throwing it in his face while she closed her eyes. Finally, she was able to push him off while he struggled to clear the dirt from his eyes.
She quickly got up and looked around. Her eyes landed on a large but sturdy branch about three feet long. She ran over and placed her foot in the center, pulling at both ends. Finally, she snapped the branch in half with some effort, giving herself two weapons to work with.
Alice heard his footsteps just in time. She turned. He was charging at her low, planning to take her down at the waist. Instead, Alice jumped and threw her weight into an aerial cartwheel over him.
She landed, turning toward him immediately. She wasted no time. Using the sturdy branches like clubs, she brought them down on him in swift, fast motions. Granger let out grunts and whimpers as the branches hit his head and back. He curled in on himself.
Alice jumped back from him, just in time as he swept his arm out to try and grab her.
“I knew you were the type,” she said, preparing to defend.
“What type?” Granger asked, getting to his feet.
“The type to feign injury to gain the upper hand. The pathetic type,” Alice scoffed.
Granger snarled and charged at her. This time he kept his eyes on her, waiting for her to jump or move aside.
Alice tried to dodge him, but he caught her, moving just a little to the left when she thought he wasn’t looking.
Tackling her to the ground, Granger quickly straddled her, punching her repeatedly.
Alice grabbed one of the branches and shoved it with all of her might into his side, satisfied by his painful shout. She knew it wasn’t enough to pierce him, but she hoped the pain would be enough to get away.
She was wrong.
Granger’s face contorted into a rage. He grabbed her throat, wrapping his fingers around and pressing his thumbs aggressively.
It was long before her vision was blurring, and her lungs were screaming out. Alice clawed at his hands, she kicked and tried to throw her body, but it wasn’t enough. The darkness at the corners of her mind was coming for her.
A panic rose in her heart. She couldn’t die now, not before she found him.
Her hand searched the ground, and she found a rock. Gripping it tightly, she brought it hard against his head.
With a loud thump and a shout, he let go of her throat, and she pushed him off. Then, crawling away, she tried to catch her breath.
Granger held his head. He didn’t come after her. Alice looked around for anything she could use. She saw Ashleigh and the three darts sticking out of her chest. Alice grabbed them. She looked back just as Granger noticed her actions. His eyes widened.
“Don’t you want your freedom, Alice?!” he shouted. “Stop fighting me, and I’ll give it to you.”
Alice looked at Ashleigh once again and growled.
“I’ll find it my damn self! I’d rather see you dead!” she shouted, throwing herself at him.
Granger wasn’t fast enough to block her. She was on him and swinging.
She raised the bundle of darts above her head and brought them down full force toward his throat.
“One day Alice came to a fork in the road!” Granger shouted.
Alice paused, the tip of the darts mere centimeters from his throat. She recognized another passphrase. One she didn’t know. One that made a sound like a lock being opened in her mind.
“..and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree,” Granger smiled. “‘Which road do I take?’ she asked.”
Alice gasped.
Inside her dark, dank cave, she saw something. The locks were being removed. The walls shook, and the cracks were spreading all around her.
“Ya know, Alice,” Granger said, pushing her back.
Alice crumbled to the side, frozen in shock as she felt her mind unlocking. The darts falling to the ground.
“I was told that when I said that to you, I needed to make sure you were in a safe place and calm. He told me it would unlock your mind,” Granger smiled. “He said that I needed to do it in three sessions. Not all at once, no… all at once… might break your mind entirely.”
Granger got up off the ground. He stared down at her with a dark smile. He reached down and picked up the darts.
“I just don’t have that kind of time… But guess what, Alice?” he said, leaning forward with a whisper. “You’re free.”
The grime-covered window shattered. The flood of memories rolled over Alice, leaving her a whimpering mess on the forest floor.