Page 17 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 1

We were under attack.

Rolling out of bed, I grabbed Violet and yanked her up, then reached for Tori. “We need to move.” I snapped.

“What—”

“No,” I cut Tori off. “No questions, just run. Get downstairs, we need to get the fuck out of this building.”

Violet stood there frozen, eyes wide as more gunshots sounded. Tugging on her arm, I tried to get her moving, but she wasn’t budging. Doing the only thing I could, I put my shoulder in her stomach and grabbed her legs as I hoisted her up. She was heavier than I expected but it didn’t matter I needed to get us the fuck out of here before they stormed in and shot us like fish in a barrel. While I didn’t believe they were the monsters that Coral and the others said, this was war. You never knew who was going to be a risk, so I’d undoubtedly shoot first. Why wouldn’t they?

Tori raced down ahead of me while the other girls panicked, screaming and crying. The war in my heart about getting all of them to safety raged in my chest, yet Tori and Violet were my priority. I’d promised them that I would make sure we survived this, and I would keep my promise. In the common room, I found Branko and the other guard weapons at the ready stationed at the windows. Even Babaka had a gun in her hands, standing on a table and peering out the window. None of them turned to look at us, fixated on what was happening outside.

Everyone believed there was only one entrance to the breeding house however I knew that having stayed in Babaka’s room for so long there was a backdoor in her suite. I put a finger over my lips to keep Tori quiet as I waved her to follow me. Violet was starting to come out of her shock and wiggling in my grip, I just needed her to hold on until we got out of the main room.

Once in Babaka’s sitting room, I sat her down and grabbed her face with my hands. “Violet, I need you to hear me and listen well. Can you do that?” I asked.

“Yes,” she breathed, panic making her eyes wide as she watched me.

“We’re getting out of this place. Once we step foot outside of the breeder house, we’re going to make a run for it. I won’t stick around to see if the Southern army is going to murder us all or not. I’ve studied maps that Lucian left in his room so I know where to go. What I need from you is to be quiet, don’t look back, and no matter what… don’t stop running.” Glancing over my shoulder at Tori, who was watching the door and I pinned her with a look. “Same goes for you.”

“Lead the way, Dani, I trust you,” Tori said, making my eyes burn with tears at her trust.

Clearing my throat, I looked at Violet. “Can you do this for me, Vi?”

She didn’t speak, just nodded her head as her whole body shook. Taking her hand in mine, I squeezed it before towing her after me. When we came to the wall hanging, I grabbed it and ripped it off the wall revealing the door. It was secured by a deadbolt so I just needed to undo that and we were out of here. Looking around the space once more to ensure I didn’t miss anything useful, I took a deep breath.

“No turning back,” I whispered to myself as I tossed open the bolt and yanked open the door revealing the night beyond. “Run.”

To the girls' credit, they didn’t hesitate as we shot out into the darkness. Purposely the outpost was barren of all trees, shrubs, or anything else the enemy could use to hide behind. While this was good for us running in the dark, it also meant there was nowhere to duck for cover if shots started up. Right now, it sounded like the fight was going on behind us, which made sense since Lucian had built everything to make it look like the most accessible place to enter so they went through the minefield. I probably wasn’t supposed to know any of this, but Lucian liked to talk as he got ready for bed to wind down from the day. Since there wasn’t much for him to talk about besides the war, I just sat and listened, taking in every bit of information.

Of course, he’d never guess that I was still planning to run after three years, but I’d never given up hope. If there was ever a chance, I would take it no matter what. So here we were, running across the back half of the outpost to the northwest corner. The fence there was being upgraded and they had men working on it day and night. I hoped that their supplies and trucks were still there so we could use them to get the fuck out of here.

The first explosion echoed through the air with a flash of bright light and screaming. Half the landmines had been removed and went with Lucian on their mission. Another thing the supply shipment that hadn’t come yet was supposed to have. Not only was food becoming scarce, so were ammo and other weapons. It was almost like the General was hoping something like this would happen and set us up for failure.

“Dani, where are we running to?” Tori asked, her breathing labored.

The breeders didn’t leave the breeder house, so it was inevitable that the girls would be out of shape. Another tactic was to make sure they couldn’t run, but I hadn’t let that happen, doing all that I could to keep myself as fit as possible.

“We need to get to the section of fence they are repairing,” I answered, but I didn’t give much more instruction since I wasn’t sure what would happen after that.

Yelling and gunshots sounded closer to us, along with the thudding of feet running. “Don’t look. Just keep running,” I ordered, even though I wanted to know what or who was coming after us.

In the distance, I saw piles of fencing stacked on the ground. A beat-up work truck that didn’t have doors, and the bed was full of tools and other supplies. The lights they’d been using to work by had been knocked over and two bodies were on the ground, blood pooling around them.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, Dani. I berated myself, realizing that anyone with a speck of military training would know to hit more than one spot when attacking. This was a weak point; if they’d been watching the outpost, they would know that to work on a section, they diverted the electrical current when they fitted in the new panels. There were also far fewer land mines scattered, having removed them to keep the soldiers safe as they worked and replaced the ones missing from the funnel they created.

“Oh my god, are they dead?” Violet gasped as we got closer.

My answer was cut off as the ting of a bullet hitting the old truck had me shoving Violet then Tori to the ground. “Quick, we need to crawl under the truck. With the lights down, we’re in the shadows so move fast.”

I urged them ahead of me, needing to make sure they were going to be okay. Then I spotted another soldier dead, slumped in the cab of the truck. I saw his handgun still in the holster on his hip. Biting my lip, I peered over my shoulder and saw the shadows of people moving, the flash of guns firing, followed quickly by sounds of pain and thuds to the ground. Kneeling, I reached up and grabbed the soldier’s pants and yanked with all my might sending him crashing to the dirt. Quickly I searched his body finding a knife, gun, and what I think was what you put in the gun for more bullets when it ran out. Slipping them into my back pocket, I shoved the knife in its sheath down the front of my hip and kept the gun in hand.

“Dani, where are you?” Violet called, her voice bordering on hysterical.

I checked the soldier's pockets once more, praying the keys might be there. No such luck. With a last-second glance up in the cab, I saw them dangling from the steering column. The soldier had been trying to drive away but only got as far as the keys in the ignition.

“Get in the truck,” I whisper-shouted, as I pulled myself off the ground and into the cab.

Violet was shoved in with Tori behind her as I fumbled to grab the keys and turn them. The gun in my left hand made things awkward only I wasn’t letting go of it. My father had just started to teach me how to drive before I was taken away, so I knew the basics except a dozen lessons didn’t make me an expert.