“There she is!” he yelled over the blaring stereo.
“Somebody help me!” I screamed again, panic beginning to overpower rationality.
“Hey, Dany! Heads up!”
Something whistled past my ear, barely missing the side of my ear before it exploded off to the side of the road.
A beer can. They were throwing beer at me.
Within the next heartbeat, Andrew’s car pulled up and Callen launched another can from the passenger window. This time, however, he didn’t miss.
Pain exploded in my shoulder as the full can of beer made impact. I cried out as I stumbled, doing everything I could to stay upright and keep running. It was of little use, though. My legs gave out, sending me flying forward face first into the jagged rocks.
Sobs wracked my battered body, leaving me torn between continuing to fight or begging for death.
Fight, my heart whispered furiously.
Fight.
Agony was a tangible thing as I rallied what little strength remained.
“Fight,” I whimpered, running a shaking hand over the ruined planes of my face. A jagged piece of sandstone protruded from my left eye.
A shrill scream rang through the night air, a torrent of rage and anguish for the unjust.
“Get up,” I spat, refusing to let weakness win.
Every part of me protested as I pushed up onto two feet again.
“Look at this,” I heard Andrew say. “This bitch doesn’t know when to quit.”
“I like a fighter,” Callen answered, and I could hear the bloodlust lacing his excitement.
Sociopath.
The cabin light illuminated the psychotic glint in his eyes. I didn’t blink as I stared back.
“Drive,” he growled.
Andrew did a double-take, looking from me, to Callen, and back to me. “Like…?”
“Do it.”
Andrew didn’t look sold. A worry line creased his forehead accompanied by a blink of surprise and slight hesitation. And maybe– was that…
Fear?
“Dude,” he whispered harshly toward Callen. “It’ll fucking kill her.”
I was still staring defiantly at Callen. At first, it was to call his bluff. Now, though, I could see the rot in his soul. There was no bluff. He got off on seeing how much he could do before I would break.
“Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. She seems hell-bent on living. Let’s see what else she can take.”
Andrew didn’t move. His body was rigid as if he were fighting between whatever sense of morality he had and that command of his friend. A friend who, no doubt, kept total control over their relationship through pain and fear.
As Andrew slipped back into the driver’s seat, I clenched my fists and tried to prepare for whatever cards fate dealt. My body wasn’t going to be able to jump out of the way. If I unlocked my knees, I would fall and that would be the end.
Callen must have sensed my determination because his smile was the most evil thing I’d ever seen.
