The Runaways – Chapter 29

By MyNameIsCAL

-Gazzy's POV-

I was scared for my life. Fang was driving us to that place on the map. We had less than an hour to get there now. Our backpacks were now loaded with explosives thanks to Iggy and me. Fang had stopped at a hardware store and we stocked up. Hopefully a few explosions would be a good enough distraction for us to get away, to show them that we weren't going to give in this easily.

"I'll go with Gazzy and Angel," Fang said quietly.

"No, Fang…"

"Max, this isn't up for discussion."

"But…"

"Don't argue with me! The less we have on our minds the better a chance we have to get through this, alright?"

"Okay, Fang."

But I could tell she was angry.

"And whatever happens, don't wait for me."

"I'm not going to leave you behind, Fang."

"If it's the difference between life and death for you, then you will, promise me that, Max."

She fell silent. "I promise."

Angel shivered next to me, talking in a low voice. "This could be the end of us, Gazzy. I just wanted to tell you that you've been a great big brother."

I closed my eyes. "We're going to be okay, Angel."

Iggy turned to face us. "Nothing but a few explosions to fix things, yeah?"

He was trying to lighten the mood, but the way we were all so tense, I'm not even sure if he could believe in his joke.

It wasn't long before we pulled up to some abandoned looking house. Surprisingly, it wasn't that far from other things. If the map we had was right, Seattle was only another forty-five minutes away without traffic. Although nothing could be as bad as LA traffic. Fang opened his door, checking the time.

"Five minutes. Gazzy, Angel, come with me."

"What about us?" Max asked.

"Stay here unless I tell you to come."

She clenched her teeth, but nodded and we followed Fang towards the house. It looked dilapidated, like it might fall in on itself at any moment. The windows on the second floor were boarded up. Like a haunted house, although not as creepy looking.

"You two listen to me very carefully," Fang said in a whisper. "I have a plan that no one knows about, but if you're going to get out of here alive, you gotta do everything I say, you get that?"

Angel nodded and I felt myself obeying as well.

He pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. Then he threw it into a bush.

"We're gonna need help to survive this," he said, taking another step forward, trying not to limp. "Whatever I tell you, don't second guess me, just get the hell out of here."

"Fang, you have to do your best to get out of here alive too," Angel interjected.

He looked down at her. "I will."

We knocked on the door and these two cars pulled up from the back side of the house. These big, muscular guys appeared. It almost seemed surreal. This stuff was the kind of thing you saw in a movie, not what happened to people in real life. Then again, there was nothing normal about this at all.

"So you've decided to accept my offer?" The man that appeared next was my father. I resisted the urge to lunge out.

"We're here, now let the others go!" Fang spat.

"Tsk, tsk so demanding," my father frowned. "Ah, Angel, Gazzy, I've missed you dearly. Actually, no, you're the thing standing between me and happiness. But soon enough, I'll get what I want and disappear from this horrid place."

Angel was blinking back tears.

"The others in the car, bring them out here, please," my father motioned. "We haven't got all day. I'd like to be out of here before dinner. I want to show them who I really am."

The guys hustled Max and Fang and Iggy out of the car. They stood behind us, hands held behind their backs.

My dad's eyes flickered to Fang. "You and your little 'missing' girlfriend caused a lot of trouble for me. I see you've chosen to sacrifice yourself. How charming."

Fang said nothing.

"And Iggy," my father went on. "I never thought I'd see you again. I'm so sorry about your family, but you know, they were just a small casualty in all of this."

"You bastard," Iggy said in a low growl.

My father laughed, turning his attention to Nudge. "Your parents were good friends of mine. They wanted me to take over their part in the business, but I have better things envisioned. I have no interested in you."

He turned back to Fang. "I say we start with a little trauma, you know? Get the blood flowing?"

Two men came over, grabbing Fang.

"I heard that you've got a bad leg," my father smiled cruelly. "Shall we?"

They grabbed hold of Fang's leg and began to twist. His bloodcurdling screams were deafening, but exactly the kind of distraction we needed.

I looked around. Everyone had their eyes on Fang. Slowly, I slipped my hand into my pocket.


-Max's POV-

Gazzy made the first move. I watched him, holding my breath as he pulled one of the makeshift explosives we had thrown together. They were almost like grenades and he pulled the tab, rolling it towards the guards that stood off to the side.

He threw himself against his sister and Fang. We all fell to the ground within seconds, the bomb going off. Iggy was next, uncapping another one and chucking it towards the house. I tossed one under one of their cars. That caused a huge explosion, flames shooting up in the air.

"I should have prepared more!" The man swore, seeing most of the other men who had been guarding us on the ground, passed out. Somewhere between the explosions and rolling around on the ground, I had missed him grabbing a gun.

"IGGY NO!" Iggy wound his arm back, throwing one right at the man holding the gun. I hadn't noticed until it was too late, but he was pointing it at Fang.

Fang dropped to the ground and the man managed to deflect Iggy's explosive away. We were all thrown back a couple of feet. In the distance, there were sirens, maybe even a helicopter above us. I forced myself to get up, kneeling next to Fang.

"Fang!" I shouted. "Fang! Don't you dare let go!"

I pressed my hands against his chest.

He started to cough up blood. "Max…I love you…I…"

"I love you too, Fang, but you're going to be okay."

"The FBI is coming. I…I managed to…"

"Fang!"

He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Max."


Suspense? Yes? I'm sorry to leave you hanging.