Chapter Ten: Promises
Note: Almost there, everyone! Hang in there just a little bit longer! The Angst is almost over. Well, the past angst, at least. Also, how have you been this week?
Nothing was visible under the shroud of darkness that blanked his eyes, the faint warmth provided by the light on his skin the only indication that sunlight might still be present. He was relatively sure that he was blinking, but he still couldn't see anything that might be present around him. His senses were somewhat dull, the only thing he could hear or feel being a strange and unwelcome tightness in his shoulders, and the low rumble of something beneath him. V was entirely unsure as to what was going on in that moment or how he'd ended up in this situation.
And then he suddenly remembered everything.
Flashes of bits and pieces of his memories played across his mind like a slideshow of snapshots of moments past, rendering him totally still with shock. That was right! They had been waylaid by a group of irate villagers who had been working with the insane sociopaths that had attacked their quiet little village just a few hours ago! Was it even still the same day? Regardless, he vaguely remembered being knocked upside the head after two very painful tumbles down a cliff, and after that, the only thing that he could recall was waking up… wherever he was now. His throbbing head was a perfect indication of the fact that he might, in fact, have brain damage by this point. He was so painfully aware of the fact that he knew nothing about anything at that moment that it physically took his breath away.
Panic set in earnest a moment later when something significantly more distressing occurred to him. Where on earth was Morgan?! Oh no, what had they done with that poor little girl?! Practically every ounce of concern he had for himself fell away as his breath picked up and he began to quietly panic, trying his best to calm himself before he went spiraling over the edge. Guilt and horror his him like a tidal wave as he realized that he'd left her alone with that group of morally compromised lunatics, and now, as a result, he didn't have the slightest idea as to what had become of her.
V trembled in horror. He had never once felt such a profound feeling of regret before for something that he hadn't intended to do. While it was true that he had no way of knowing that the people in the neighboring town would be such willingly murderous turncoats, that didn't change anything as far as he was concerned. It wouldn't matter as far as Morgan was concerned one way or another. His actions, involuntary as they were, could still get her killed, and that was something that he had to reckon with. But first, he needed to find out what had become of his young companion. Then he could go from there. He just hoped that it wasn't too late
Just as he opened his mouth, a secondary figure shushed him in a hurried tone, suddenly gripping him by the shoulders and shaking him slightly as if to snap him out of something. V went totally rigid, his inability to see getting the better of him as he hoped internally that this wasn't one of the men they'd encountered in the village. He still had no meaningful way of contending with an armed mod, and that was something that he was going to have to come up with a meaningful response to.
He felt a rough tug that lurched him forward slightly, a commanding voice demanding that someone "knock it off" with the perceived threat of retaliation if they didn't. As soon as they released him, he heard what he thought was a commotion, and then whatever surface was beneath him lurched harshly, turning to the side as it seemingly hit something beneath him. It was only then as he heard an old engine strain that he realized that he was in some kind of vehicle. Or, more than likely, the back of some kind of vehicle. He bounced slightly before making full-body impact with the hard metal surface he was lying prone on, hissing slightly in discomfort as his head and upper body throbbed from the involuntary movement. Oh, that was right. He was sore as hell wasn't he? That fall had really done a number on him, hadn't it?
Suddenly there was a startled shout from the man who had spoken before, and then a loud knocking thump vibrated through the vehicle as someone screamed distantly as though they were falling. At that moment, V got the distinct feeling that between that sound and the angle that he was leaned at that he might be higher up than he originally guessed. There was a part of him that was somewhat relieved that he couldn't see whatever had just happened, but he still needed to get out of there. He strained to sit up, realizing that the pain he'd been feeling in his shoulders was due to the fact that his wrists were bound tightly behind his back. He needed to figure out what was going on and find a way to get free as soon as possible. No, sooner than that. He'd been out of time the moment he'd come to in the back of this vehicle.
"... I-is… is someone there? Hello?" He trembled slightly as he spoke, all too aware of the fact that he was taking a huge risk by speaking. He might be better off not saying anything than gaining the attention of someone undesirable. And from what he could tell, everyone they had encountered that day fell into that category. What the hell was going on, and where on earth was he headed? And why couldn't he see anything still? Had he somehow managed to go blind into the bargain?
The same hands that had gripped him before suddenly grabbed him as they lurched further to the side, steadying him as he nearly tumbled to what he could only assume was further harm. In an instant, his muffled hearing and blindness departed him, and he was suddenly able to see again, his lungs sucking in the fresh air that he hadn't noticed until then that he was missing. He blinked, shaking his head as he tried to adjust to the dim light. It had to be nearly sundown from what he could tell, but none of that mattered as much to him as the sight that stood before him.
It was Morgan. She was still alive.
Despite the fact that she had a busted lip and looked a little worse for wear, she seemed to be okay, and that was the only thing about the situation that he found himself in that actually brought him some measure of comfort. A quick glance around him was all that it took for him to realize that they were on some kind of backroad headed back up towards the mountain. He could still see the village they'd come from below them on the mountain, so they hadn't gotten very far, but now he wasn't sure exactly what to do about the situation they were in.
"Morgan… you're safe. That's a relief. I was worried." V sighed in relief and looked down towards the bed of the pickup truck they were in, something occurring to him suddenly. "There was someone else in this truck with us, wasn't there? Where did he go?"
The young teen looked at him funny, an almost humorous glint in her eyes. She pointed over her shoulder toward the ravine that they were currently driving dangerously close to the edge of. It had to be at least a good seventy feet or more before you even reached the tops of the towering pine trees below. V felt his stomach lurch slightly as he realized that the only thing between them and a fatal fall was the far too low edges of a worn-out old truck that probably had no business navigating this terrifying road in the first place. For goodness sake, the dirt trail didn't even have a guard rail! What lunatic had conceived of a road this dangerous in the first place?
"What do you think he went, V? I kicked him off the goddamn truck!" She said as though it were exceedingly obvious, a sort of "no duh" look on her face. After all, there was only one place he could have gone when they were in such a remote location in the back of a moving vehicle. "Fuck that guy! He's one of the guys who's trying to kill us! Well, he was, at least. Now he's probably dead. I don't think anyone including us could survive a fall from this high up. Were in kind of a tight spot, aren't we?"
V had never been so happy to hear a teenager curse in his entire life.
A look of sadness suddenly crossed her face as he considered their options. From what he could tell, something was weighing heavily on her, and that was something that he more than understood given their current situation. But he hoped that she could hold on long enough for them to make their escape, however, they were going to manage to do that. Jumping over the edge was totally out of the question, but maybe they could climb out of the back of the truck? It had to be a better option than whatever the villagers had in store for them. But before they could do that, he needed to check with her to see if it was something that she was capable of doing. After all, it was a risky gamble.
"Morgan… are you alright?" He asked quietly, glancing back at the people driving the pickup truck. It seemed that due to the noisy truck that they were driving, and the fact that their uphill trek was straining their engine, they hadn't heard a single thing that had transpired in the last few minutes. If that was the case, then this might be their best opportunity to escape. "If your still willing to trust me, then I might have a plan. It's risky, however."
She huffed slightly, shaking her head as she looked up with a hint of tears in her eyes. V felt for her, but he didn't know how or what to do to help. And at that moment in time, they had more pressing matters to attend to. This situation was hard on them both, but he could only imagine what kind of toll it took on her. She wasn't that much younger than he was, but he had to admit that despite everything, he knew that he wouldn't have taken the situation that she was in as well as she had. Her resolve was astonishing.
"Of course I still trust you, V! None of this is your fault. You did the best you could." Her voice cracked sadly as whatever had been hurting her so deeply come to the forefront of her mind and overflowed, the floodgates holding back the pain that she felt cracking and springing a leak that forced her to try and get at least a little bit of what she was feeling off of her chest. "So many people have died today. I don't even want to think about it. Look, I know this is kind of a bad time and it might be a little bit insensitive, so I'm sorry, but I just want to see my mom again, ya know? I feel like such a selfish jerk for saying that.
V gave her a sympathetic look, unable to make eye contact with her. While he didn't truly understand what she meant, he had a good idea. He's felt something similar for most of his life, and he could only imagine what the idea of never seeing her family again might be doing to her. After all, neither of them had woken up that morning with the expectation that they might die at the hands of a mysterious group of mass-murderous. "I'd be remiss to hold anything you just said to me against you. I do know how you feel. At least I think I do. I've always wanted to know my birth family. I can't imagine what the fear of losing them would do to me." He looked up at her, a more serious look in his eyes. Her resolve had strengthened his own."What it might make me do. Let's get out of this truck and make a run for it. We can work on a plan after that. I promised to keep you safe, and I haven't reneged on that deal, even if I have done a lousy deal up until now."
She nodded, wiping her eyes. "Okay, that sounds good. I'm tired, but I'm not too tired to run for my life. I just hope the police make it in time."
V gave her a curious look, his eyes widening slightly as he tried to take in the gravity of what she had just said. "The police? How would they know we are even here?"
Morgan cracked a small smile, wincing slightly as her busted lip stung as the muscles in her face moved. "Because I called them. Finally got some reception. I took it out to text my mom and tell her what happened, and noticed that I had just enough signal to call for help. That's how I got this busted lip in the first place. That asshole I kicked overboard slapped me and snatched my phone from me while I was in the middle of the call, but I managed to tell them what was going on and where we were." She took the phone out of her pocket, gesturing towards the broken screen. V wasn't entirely sure what to make of its state, but he hoped that she was still able to make a call for help if she needed to. "I can't imagine that they aren't far off from here. Maybe a half-hour or so by car to the next major city? Yea, let's go with that. At least I got my phone back."
He nodded, exhaling in relief. Yes, that would hopefully make things better. After all, the police had guns as well. He could only hope that they would send enough reinforcements to overcome what was going on here. "Excellent work. Let's save them some footwork and get out of her, shall we?"
She nodded, looking over the edge of the truck. "Were not moving that fast, but you're already hurt. You sure you can make that jump?"
The young white-haired man nodded. "I'll manage, for both our sakes. We're far beyond the realm of optimal situations at this point."
Morgan nodded as they scooted towards the edge of the truck. Now that his back was exposed, she took the time to untie the rags that held his wrists together, allowing him a moment of reprieve to finally relax his shoulders and allow them to fall against his sides. A quick glance down at the ground was all that it took to realize that they weren't going that fast, more than likely due to the rough terrain that the truck was driving over. But that was a double-edged sword. It would have probably been less painful to land on smooth pavement than the mess or gravel, rocks, and dirt that laid below them, but they didn't have much of a choice. And either way, it was better than dying.
Broken bones healed over time. Being dead didn't.
With one last careful glance at one another, they each took a deep breath and exhaled before moving to exit the truck. V slowly clambered over the edge of the truck and dropping onto the pavement below, unable to make himself jump and attempting to do less damage to his already thoroughly banged-up body. Morgan didn't possess such qualms, leaping over the edge and rolling to a stop on the pavement below. When they both stood, they were battered, scratched, and more than likely bruised, but they were both still alive. Mustering what little strength that still remained within them, they took off running, cutting through the edge of the woods in an attempt to throw off anyone who might be following them.
It occurred to V at that moment that they were in a strange situation. Now they had two possible pursuers, the odds thoroughly stacked against them in every way that they could be. After all, they were headed back towards the town, but what would they do once they got there? What would they do if they came up against resistance in the woods on their way? He would do his best to keep them both safe, but the odds of him actually being able to fight off an armed individual with no weapons of his own were slim at best and hopeless in a more realistic sense. But he was still going to try.
As the snow started to fall from above them, V shook his head. Of course, it would decide to snow right then, wouldn't it? As if the chilly winter wind wasn't already enough of an obstacle in their path. A quick glance over at morgan was all it took to confirm that she shared his sentiments, an irritated look plastered across her face. All they had to do was keep going, but everything seemed to want to keep them from doing that.
"Oh, by the way, I'm sorry that I left your bag behind when they moved us. It's probably still there, though. They just left it sitting in the snow." She shivered heavily as they continued forward, trying her best to see what was in front of her as the snow continued to fall. It seemed to pick up in intensity, but that could have just been the wind. It was becoming harder and harder for them to tell. "I heard one of these maniacs say that some of the townspeople staged a fight of some sort. I guess some of them didn't like the fact that they were helping murders, you know, murder people. Who could have guessed! Anyway, maybe some of them might be willing to help us out. I don't know."
V nodded, clearing his throat as they rushed forward. His throat burned, and his eyes were watering slightly from the bitter cold as they came through the edge of the woods and into the street. It was an intersection that connected the road that lead to their town, the town that they were in, and the access road that they had just come down. As soon as they stepped out into the road, a van came barreling around the corner, the door swinging. Both V and Morgan froze in terror as they realized that there was nowhere to run. They'd be recaptured and taken to the waiting hands of their aggressors, only this time in a much harder to escape vehicle.
"Well, what are you waiting for?! Get in! We have to get out of here!" The woman holding the car door open shouted to them, a worried look on their face. There were two children in the car with her, hiding amongst a crowded mess of other worried-looking passengers. They seemed to be genuinely scared for their life, something that neither of them were expecting to see when the car had pulled up. "They can't be more than a minute or two behind us! We have to leave. Were going to the police in the next city over. Hurry up! Were out of time!"
Morgan looked over at V, a questioning look on her face. She seemed to want to capitalize on the opportunity, but she clearly needed him to be okay with it before she felt safe doing so. "What do you think we should do, V? Should we trust them?"
It was hard to say what possessed him to make the decision that he did in that situation, but he glanced back over his shoulder the sound of a distant but familiar vehicle approaching in the distance. They were right, it couldn't be more than a few minutes behind them, having come down the same path that they had just run down. It seemed that they had missed their presence. But that didn't change the fact that they had guns, and these people in the car had young children. It stood to reason that they would chase after them and, old as the truck might be, it probably still had more horsepower than the van did. And then there was what Morgan had said to him in the woods about the strange occurrences with the young men in the town. He was willing to bet that they were probably after him.
The van needed a chance to get away unnoticed, and he could give them that. Maybe that was all he could give them. All he could truly do to keep what few people were still alive safe. He couldn't fight their attackers, but he could lead them away, and allow everyone else the chance they needed to get away.
He could do that.
"... I think you should go, Morgan. We're out of time." He turned in the direction of the hill that sat at the crucks of the three-way intersection. It would be harder for a truck to go down such a steep hill than it would be for him to run down. And the police would be here any minute anyway. If they were after him, then they wouldn't notice everyone else make their escape.
She looked at him as though he'd just punched her in the face. "V… I can't just. They'll kill you if they catch you!"
A small, sad smile spread across his face. Yes. Yes, they would. But he wouldn't let them. "I'll catch up. Go. Please. This won't be the last time we see each other."
Morgan wiped barely hidden tears from her face as she back towards the car, unable to do anything but respect his request. "That another promise?"
V nodded. How did he know she would ask him that? "Yes. Yes, it is."
She nodded, quietly pleading with him. "And you keep your promises, right V?"
He nodded again, understanding what she was really asking him. "I try to. I really do."
With a heavy sigh, she turned towards the van, giving him one last parting glance before she climbed aboard. "Keep this one too, V. Keep this one too. I'm begging you."
As soon as the door closed, they pulled off and towards the city. As the van left his line of sight, for what had to be the first time since everything had started that day, he didn't feel the sinking fear in the pit of his stomach that he knew he should. Morgan was safe at least. He'd done something worth doing, even if it might cost him dearly. And now he had to get to safety himself. This time he wasn't going down without a fight, but he needed to get something first. The truck would be there any moment, and he had no time to lose.
Whew. Yea, so this chapter hurt, didn't it? I'm not crying, your crying! Anyway, see you on Friday. V had dug himself into one hell of a hole. Now he's gonna have to get out of it. Well, I dug him into the hole because I love him and so he has to suffer, but you know what I mean! I swear, I'm not normally this mean!