The bullet ricochets off the wall behind us.
Kai fires his gun too as bullets fly through the room.
BANG! BANG!
“You really like making a grand entry, don’t you?” Blaine says, and he runs toward the fighting too.
Nathan’s exchanging fists with a guard who’s got him cornered, and another guard comes at him from behind. I fling my knives at the guard rushing toward Nathan and save him from a chokehold.
He briefly glances at me, shouting, “Thanks!”
Another guard runs out of the room and into the hallway, and I fling my last knife straight at his throat. Blood pours out as his hand wrings around his neck in an attempt to pull it out while he sinks to the floor.
The other doors open too, and two more Bonesmen step out to see what’s happening. “Motherf—”
Blaine pulls out an actual goddamn sword from his umbrella and shoves it into his belly.
“Don’t waste precious words,” he mumbles as the guard sinks to the floor.
“You gave me your gun and start fighting with a motherfucking sword instead?” Nathan growls from the other end of the hallway.
“It’s not a sword, it’s a katana,” Blaine argues. “But of course you wouldn’t know.”
“Jesus, can we not right now?” Kai growls at both of them.
Suddenly, one of those Bonesmen jumps me from behind, wrapping his arms around my neck.
BANG!
Kai fires his gun all the way from the other end of the hall, hitting the guy in the temple, and he sinks to the floor.
Right then, an alarm goes off, and we all exchange panicked glances.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
I run toward the room the boys are in while guards from all sides of the corridor pour in.
“Run, Lana!” Kai barks.
I glance over my shoulder, and a bunch more Bonesmen come in via the stair entrance. It’s like the whole club was infested with them.
We’re cornered.
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” Nathan growls.
Right when Blaine enters, Nathan shuts the door while Kai pushes a chair underneath the door handle.
“Fuck, we barely made it.” Blaine takes a minute to breathe.
“Wish you fucking hadn’t,” Nathan mumbles under his breath.
Blaine side-eyes him as he wipes his katana on his pants. “I heard that.”
Nathan immediately runs over to Rory’s cage. “Ro, I’m here.” He unlocks it and pulls her out into his embrace. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they touch you anywhere?”
She shakes her head.
“I’m just scared,” she says, crying her eyes out as she holds on to him for dear life.
“I’m here; you don’t have to be scared anymore,” Nathan says. “I’ll take care of you.”
“What happened to Uncle Milo? Those guys hurt him when I tried to run,” she says, shivering.
I approach her and pat her little hand. “He’s okay. He’s in the hospital, but he’ll be all right. Don’t you worry about him.”
“Are you here to save me?” she asks me.
I nod. “We’re not leaving here without you.”
Nathan holds her tight while he directs his attention on Blaine, who’s casually eating one of the apple slices the guards left in their hurry to attack.
“Jesus Christ, an umbrella, katana? Really?” Nathan growls at Blaine. “You brought some nunchucks too while you’re out here trying to cosplay as Jackie Chan? No wonder Milo left you.”
“Yet you know about the nunchucks,” Blaine muses. “Who do you think taught him?”
They go head-to-head, seemingly forgetting all about the reason we came here.
“Guys, we need to look for a way out,” I say.
“Stop fighting,” Kai barks at them both.
Banging on the doors makes me step back. “Guys, we gotta hurry.”
“Open this fucking door!”
“I’m scared,” Rory murmurs, hiding in Nathan’s neck.
I check the room, but there’s no other doors except the one we came through. “Fuck, we’re stuck.”
“There has to be another way out of here,” Nathan says.
Kai holds down the door, shoving another chair underneath. “This won’t hold for long.”
“We can just face them head-on if you like,” Blaine says, chomping on some more apple slices like he’s having the time of his life. “I mean, we were already charging into it without thinking twice. Might as well finish the job.”
“Of course you’d suggest that,” Nathan scoffs. “You forgot we’ve got a kid we’re trying to keep safe.”
“Who the fuck are you?” a voice yells from behind the door.
We all look at each other.
“I don’t want to die.” Rory hides her face in Nathan’s shirt, shaking terribly.
We can’t subject her to all this violence. She has to get out of here unharmed, but how?
“What do you want to do?” Blaine asks, clutching his katana. “I’m ready to plow through them if needed.”
“And risk everyone in the club knowing what we look like?” Nathan grits. “If one of them rips off these masks, it’s game over.”
More banging on the door ensues.
“We have to make a decision,” Kai says.
I look around the room and spot a vent in the back big enough for a kid like her, and maybe just big enough for someone like me …
“No, give her to me,” I say, holding out my hands.
“What do you want to do?” Nathan asks as he hands Rory over.
I hold her tight as I point at the shaft.
“No way that’ll fit,” Kai says. “Except for Ro.”
“No, we can’t let her go alone!” Nathan growls.
“I’ll go with her,” I say.
Kai swallows. “You’re leaving us here.”
“We came here to get Rory. She needs to be safe. We can’t get her through that hallway with those men waiting out there for us.”
Nathan takes in a deep breath. “You want to save her first.”
I nod. “It’s the only shot we have. We have to take it.”
“Nathan? I don’t want to leave,” Rory mumbles, reaching for him.
He watches me with a concerned look on his face. “Okay. I trust you.”
I don’t know if he’s just saying that to make her feel safe or if he really means it, but it’s enough for me to immediately move.
“C’mon, Ro,” I say as I push her up to the shaft. “Push the lid aside.”
She does what I ask, and I lift her over my shoulder and into the shaft.
“I need help,” I say when it’s my turn.
Kai approaches. “This better work,” he warns. “If you die out there, I’m coming to haunt you.”
“I won’t, don’t worry,” I say, winking.
“Lana!” Nathan says, drawing my attention. “Save her. Get her out of here. No matter the cost.”
I swallow, realizing the gravity of his words. “I will.”
“We’ll take care of these fuckers once they break in,” Blaine says, whipping his katana around. “This blade is hungry for blood.”
Kai lowers his hands and puts them underneath my foot. “Got you.”
Right as he pushes me up, the door cracks.
We all turn our heads toward the sound.
BANG!
My eyes widen as I see them barge in.
Right then, I lift myself into the shaft. “Rory, go! Crawl as fast as you can!”
Her panicked little body shifts from side to side as we make our way through the dusty shaft. Below us, the fighting breaks out. The sound of gunshots fills the shaft, and each one makes her flinch.
“Don’t listen to any of the sounds; just keep moving,” I tell her as the shaft tilts upward.
“I’m scared,” she says.
“I’m here,” I reply, going around a corner. “We’re almost there.”
I slide across the metal, headed for the opening in the far back where light pours in.
“I can see the floor,” Rory mutters.
“Okay, now jump down carefully,” I tell her. “You can turn around, right?”
She nods when she looks at me, and then she curls her body up into a ball and switches her legs to the front.
“Just like on the playground, you just jump down.”
“But what if there are people there?”
“Don’t worry about them. If they even see you, they’ll be far too busy with Nathan, Kai, and Blaine to care,” I reply.
She hesitates but still pushes farther, dangling her little legs over before she makes the jump.
It’s not far down, and when I crawl ahead, I can see her.
“Hide!” I tell her.
She moves away from the shaft and remains out of sight for a second as I lower myself face-first and hang onto the ledge to let my feet drop first.
But as I come to a stand, I feel the weight of my own blood coming down on me.
Because in front of me is a hoard of Bonesmen, their tattoos giving away their allegiance. They’re sporting butcher knives and gnarly-looking grimaces.
“Please don’t hurt me,” Rory murmurs from underneath the table to my left.
I step to the side to block them from looking at her.
“Don’t worry, Ro,” I say, with a smug grin as I pull my tiny gun from my boot while the Bonesmen approach. “I won’t let them touch you. Now close your eyes and don’t open them until I say so.”
