A/N: Firstly, cheers for all the reviews! Love to you all! Secondly, no one has complained about switching POV's so far so I'll assume it's clear to everybody...I hope this chapter is the same. Thirdly (and this is especially for Sylvia and anyone else who was wondering) the reason Evelyn got in the wrong side of the car was pure panic, she would not have been able to drive in her condition, she's never faced situations like this and is not able to keep calm like Sands. Hope that clears that up for you.
Fourthly, I would like to recommend Scarlett Burns' OUTIM fanfic "Sands through the Hourglass". I only just got round to reading it and...wow!
And finally, happy reading everybody!
Chapter 14: Return of the Mariachi
Nino had run but not very far. He had run until he was sure Sands wouldn't be able to hear his footsteps any more. He knew a good hiding place which he could still just about squeeze into; it was a cave only accessible through a tiny crack in the rock. He saw the cartel's car speed past and when he was sure there was only one car Nino sucked his stomach in and exited the cave. He looked into the distance and saw Evelyn's car closely followed by the black one of the cartel. Run and hide Sands had said, but he couldn't just abandon him and Evelyn now they were in trouble! He had to find help!
Nino turned and ran, if he had been looking where he was going he would have been able to stop before smashing straight into someone who had also been watching the cartel. He bounced off the man and landed in the dirt.
"Pardon senor!" he said at once. The man gave him a small forgiving smile and then returned to watching the car chase. He had dark hair that reached to just above his jaw and dark eyes which were sharp and alert. He looked like a Mexican, with dark skin and the right build, but he was taller than the average Mexicans Nino knew. He estimated the man to be just under six feet tall. He was wearing a simple white shirt, cool in the heat. His trousers were black and studded with ornate silver buckles. Most intriguing of all he was carrying what Nino presumed to be a guitar case. When Nino looked back at the man's face he saw an expression of hatred as the man watched the two cars disappear over the horizon. Perhaps this man could help!
"Pardon senor," said Nino proceeding in his native tongue, "I really need some help."
"I don't have any money," said the man without even looking down.
"I don't want money senor," said Nino insistently, "I need help! My friends are in trouble!" El Mariachi heard the desperate plea from the young boy and tore his eyes away from the road.
"Explain," he said. Nino quickly recounted what had happened. He hadn't got a clue who this man was but he needed someone to help or it would be too late.
"Did you say senor Sands?" El asked when Nino had finished speaking.
"Si," said Nino. El frowned. Senor Sands? Could that possibly be the American who had employed El eight months ago?
"Senor?" said Nino. He was looking up his face full of hope.
"Ok," said El, "Let's go."
El walked back to his motorbike his buckles jangling with each step. The little boy was jogging to keep up.
"Where are we going senor?" he asked.
"To find your friends," said El as his bike came into view. Nino grinned widely.
El had Nino held securely in front of him so he could be sure the kid was safe. He hoped they did not have to go far; he did not dare to go fast with a child on board. He would never have let his daughter ride with him. Fortunately he saw the cars stationary up ahead so he pulled over.
"Come on," he said helping Nino off the bike. He led the kid behind an old abandoned shed but Nino made to pull back.
"Senor, we're going the wrong way," he protested. El put a finger to his lips and pushed Nino down to the floor. Nino looked up at him confused but El was no longer looking at him. He had just remembered what he had left behind, his all important guitar case.
El and Nino crept closer, keeping low so they couldn't be seen. Nino gasped when they got close enough to see what had happened. El had to cover the boy's mouth to stop him yelling out. Evelyn's car was completely wrecked; El could see that both the back tyres had been shot flat which would have been the cause of the accident. It was the driver's side that had collided with the thick tree, the only tree for miles around. El knew there was a real possibility that whoever had been driving had been killed on impact. He crouched very still, his hand still silencing Nino, and watched as the cartel advanced upon the crashed car, guns in hand. El thought Nino was going to escape his grip when he saw Evelyn being taken away kicking and screaming. Nino wanted to get to her, to save her but El held the kid firmly. They both waited to see what they would do to Sands but only one of the men returned to Evelyn's car which what looked like a fuel tank in his hands. El squinted to see more clearly. The cartel's car had started and appeared to be waiting for the last member to join them. El cursed himself, why had he left his weapons behind?!
The remaining cartel member was now pouring liquid over the car, covering the roof completely. When the canister he was pouring from was empty he threw it aside and removed a cigarette packet from his top pocket walking away from the car as he did so. He took a deep drag of his cigarette then turned and flicked it, still burning, onto the car roof. Instantly the whole car was aflame. Nino's eyes grew wide with fright but he had stopped struggling now. The man from the cartel rejoined his companions and the black car reversed onto the road and sped away but neither El nor Nino were paying that any attention any more.
Now El made his move. If Sands had not been removed from the car that meant he was still inside and now the whole thing was on fire. He told Nino to stay put but was not surprised to hear the little boy's footsteps following him for a while as he ran to the burning vehicle. The smoke was already chokingly thick. El covered his mouth and nose with his shirt as crude protection and moved forwards, his eyes stinging. He could see the passenger window had smashed so he aimed for it. The heat from the flames was almost unbearable but El ignored it and bent down. He saw Sands at once, and he also saw the reason he wasn't getting out of the car himself.
"Meirde!" whispered El. He could see the metal that had once been the car door had travelled right into Sands. An inch further up and it would have punctured his lung, but even considering that things did not look good. Without a pause El wrenched open the scalding hot door and climbed inside. He felt like he had just crawled inside an oven, his very skin felt like it was about to ignite.
At first he thought Sands was unconscious, as he was not being able to see his eyes through the dark glasses, passed out from a combination of heat and pain but when El tried to pull the twisted metal from him he found he had been mistaken. Sands grabbed his wrist and held it with a surprisingly strong grip.
"No," he said simply, blood trickling from one corner of his mouth.
"Shut up," said El who was in no mood to be patient. Sands coughed weakly and tried to sit up which pushed the metal deeper into him. El pushed him back down roughly. The heat was overwhelming and any moment now the flames would reach the car's fuel tank and there would be a massive explosion. El had no time to waste. He forgot about making Sands comfortable and simply pulled at the metal impaling him with all his might. Blood bubbled up out of Sands' mouth and he groaned agonisingly as the blood soaked metal slid out of him. El felt his fingers begging him to let go of the sharp metal but he did not until Sands was free and he was sure there was a big enough gap for him to fit through. El grabbed the injured man and pulled him from the smouldering wreckage not a moment too soon. El had only just managed to get ten metres from the car when there was an ear splitting bang accompanied by a blast that threw both men to the ground as the car exploded.
Nino had seen El disappear into the smoke, now it was a waiting game. The thick black smoke pouring from the flames was irritating Nino's nose and throat making him cough. His eyes were watering, mostly because of the smoke but there were emotional tears in there too. El had still not come into view, Sands was no where to be seen. Suddenly Nino was thrown backwards to the floor as a deafening explosion meant the fire had reached the fuel tank. As soon as the air above him cooled Nino scrambled to his feet his eyes wide with horror. The car had completely flipped over, the roof had caved in. Anyone inside would have been crushed instantly. Terrified Nino ran forwards praying for a miracle to save Sands, and out of the scene of hell his prayer was answered.
The Mariachi was getting up from the ground, his face blackened by smoke. He picked the now completely unconscious Sands up and half carried, half pulled him towards the little boy who was waiting for them.
A/N: Ah, watched Pirates of the Caribbean today. Gotta love Jack. :D! Hope you enjoyed the chapter...let me know what you thought.