CHAPTER TWO
"You're going to get us out of here, fish," a deep, menacing voice growled from above Roy. He could feel multiple pairs of hands pushing him down, making it hard to get his breath back.
"That's what I'm here for," Roy managed. He tried to push his body off the ground. The teetering was getting worse. They needed to get out of here. Roy was forced back down onto the vinyl flooring, the furrows pressing into the skin on the right side of his face. It felt like five people had climbed on top of him.
"The bus is going to fall. We need to get out," Roy wheezed. Bright red spots were beginning to float past his eyes. He knew he was reacting to the lack of oxygen. If they didn't get off him soon he was going to pass out and possibly suffocate.
"Get off of him," a new voice urged. "He's the only one who can reach the keys."
The weight lifted off of Roy. Closing his eyes, he took huge lungfulls of air, trying to clear his head. Then he was being pulled up to his feet. Afraid of what the men were going to do to him, Roy quickly opened his eyes and tried to see beyond the dark edges that were beginning to fade. He found seven hard looking men glaring at him. Three were to his right, between him and the open door while the other four were between him and the back. He had nowhere to go.
"The guard has the keys," the nearest man told him. He lifted his right hand to show a handcuff that chained him to the seatback beside him. While he was as hardened as the others, he didn't have the burning hatred smouldering in his dark gray eyes. "We can't get out and this thing is going over at any second."
"If you let me by I'll get them. I just want to get us all out of here before this thing goes over the edge," Roy tried to reassure the men once he got his breath back. The one who'd spoken stepped out of his way immediately. The man directly behind him was massive. He filled the aisle and more. Muscles rippled as he clenched and unclenched his hands. Then he too stepped out of his way. The last man was about Roy's height and build. There was something about him that set Roy's nerves on edge worse than they all ready were. The man looked Roy up and down before he stepped to the side. There was something in his pale blue eyes that made Roy feel like a piece of meat.
"How do we know he's not going to run for it?" one of the men at the back of the bus demanded.
"If he does we're dead. It's better than being in prison," one of the other men said.
Carefully, Roy made his way to the guard. He checked for a pulse and was disappointed to find that there wasn't one. Being as respectful as he could, given the need for haste, Roy searched the man's body until he found the key. It was in the ignition, along with the one for the bus. As Roy reached for it to turn the ignition off, fire sprouted out from under the hood. With a quick flick of his wrist, Roy turned the silent engine off and withdrew the keys. As much as he didn't want to release these men he couldn't leave them here to die either.
"Give me the key, man," the smaller man at the front demanded. Roy stood at the front of the bus, a slight pounding beginning in his head, the keys clenched in his hand as he weighed his options. The other inmates were beginning to protest and shift around nervously. The increased movement was enough to send the bus teetering a little harder. Under his feet, Roy could feel metal scraping on rock. The decision was made for him.
Warily, Roy took a step toward the nearest man and held the key out. He was trying to keep from getting any closer than absolutely necessary. The man snatched the key from his fingers and frantically tried to undo his handcuff. Leaving the men to fend for themselves, Roy moved over to the guard. He didn't want to leave him in the bus to be incinerated. The man had a family. Roy could see the wedding ring on his hand. They would need to have a chance to bury their loved one.
Gingerly, Roy pulled the body out from behind the steering wheel and began dragging him toward the door. By now the first two men had gotten out of the handcuffs. They pushed by Roy on their way through the door. The larger man nearly sent Roy into the windshield again in his haste to get out of the death trap. Ignoring them, Roy continued to struggle with the body. The next man paused long enough to grab hold of the body and helped Roy pull him out the open door. Roy figured it was more due to a strong sense of self preservation than any real feeling of sympathy but it didn't matter. At least the guard was out of the bus now.
As Roy tried to regain his feet, he'd stumbled under the guard's two hundred pounds plus frame, he felt something cold circle his wrist. Glancing at it he was dismayed to find a handcuff snapped on his left wrist. "What?" he said in shock. Then the large man snapped the other end of the handcuff on his own wrist.
"You're going to get us out of here, fish," he growled. To bring the point home, he pulled on the handcuff sharply. Roy hadn't been prepared for the action and went sprawling at the man's feet. A large smile spread across the inmate's face. "Have a nice trip?"
"I was going to get you all out of here, why did you put this on me?" Roy asked as he scrambled back up onto his feet. Fear was gnawing at his stomach. What had he gotten himself into?
"This way I know where you are. All the time," the inmate growled as he pulled the short chain between the handcuffs causing Roy to stagger again. The man was very strong. He was stronger than Roy, which terrified him. Roy was used to being able to do anything he needed to. At this point, he was at the man's mercy and it appeared he didn't have much to spare.
The last of the inmates sprang out of the now badly seesawing bus. As his feet left the bottom tread of the stair the bus made a final loud groan. Then it slowly began a downward slide. As more of the long vehicle ground over the boulder it picked up speed. Within moments it plunged over the edge. On the way down the fire spread to the engine and the fuel tank. The resulting explosion knocked all of the men on top of the cliff to their knees.
"What the hell, Johnson?" one of the inmates demanded as they gathered themselves up and climbed to their feet.
"What?" Johnson, the large inmate, growled. While they were all convicted felons, Connors always seemed to have an air of superiority about him. It was as if he didn't know where he was, like he was on a beach somewhere, not in prison. His whole attitude drove Johnson to distraction. The only thing that had kept him from pounding the younger and smaller man into the ground was the fact that the guards all liked him and protected him.
"Why'd you do that? He helped us just like he said he would," Connors demanded. He was furious upon seeing the hand cuff around the blond man's wrist. Especially, when he saw where the other end of it was connected. Johnson had a real mean streak and had been known to not care whether he had sex with men or women. His only preference was how quickly he could find a partner. The shocked look on the blond man's face sent ice through Anderson's veins. This was going to be very bad for their rescuer.
"It's none of your business," Johnson spat.
"Okay, okay. Let's just get out of here before the cops show up. Someone's going to see that smoke and call it in," an inmate said. Roy looked around at the seven men surrounding him. The one who had just spoken wasn't much older than the fireman. He was about the same size and build but the others seemed to look at him as the leader. Even Johnson, the man he was handcuffed to, seemed to cede to his logic.
"Fine by me," Johnson said. He pulled Roy up in front of him and looked down into the blond paramedic's blue eyes. "Do you have a car?"
"Yes. It's up on the road but it only seats two," Roy said. He had the feeling he didn't want to anger this man. Standing as tall as he could, Roy only came up to the man's chest.
"Cool. Lead the way," Johnson ordered. Roy wasn't sure how he was supposed to climb with this giant attached to his arm but he moved over to the slope. The giant moved with him and began to climb as well. They had to have their movements coordinated or else Roy wound up being pulled up the side of the cliff instead of climbing it.
After what felt like an eternity to Roy, the eight of them finally reached the roadway. Roy's wrist had begun to bleed where the metal handcuff had cut into his flesh. Most of the damage had been caused by Johnson pulling him up the cliff face. The man had longer legs and could move faster. Taking great heaving breaths, Roy paused on the roadway to catch his breath. His convertible was parked several feet to his left.
"What now, Connors?" the slimy inmate asked. They were all dressed in blue jeans with white t-shirts and denim shirts. At a glance it was hard to tell that they were convicts. The only one that stood out was Roy.
"We can't all go in the car," the leader responded. "But we can't stay together either. We need to split up. It'll make tracking us harder. Two of you should head out in the car."
Roy considered briefly arguing about them taking his car but then he realized there wasn't anything he could do to stop them at this point. He just hoped they wouldn't wreck it.
"Give me the keys," one of the inmates demanded, stepping up close to Roy. The man obviously didn't find hygiene important. He had really bad breath and worse teeth. He and another man had elected themselves to take the car. None of the others protested as Roy dug in his pocket and pulled out the keys. With great regret, Roy dropped the keys to his baby into the grubby hand and then he was forced to watch as it sped away from him. For the first time pure, unadulterated fear burned through his body.
"Now what?" Johnson demanded. To relieve some of his tension, he pulled on the handcuff abruptly, forcing Roy to stumble into his side. He really liked the feeling of power this was giving him. He looked down at the shorter man as he pulled himself back onto his feet. Fear rolled off of him in waves. This was going to be fun.
"I'm staying with you and the fish," Connors said. He glanced around at the other four men. "Where you go is up to you. You're free, enjoy it while it lasts."
"Well now, I'd like to stay with the fish too," the slimy inmate said as he looked Roy over again. Roy felt his skin crawl. For the first time in his life, Roy felt afraid for his body. He didn't much like it.
"Whatever," Connors said. Without bothering to say another word, he headed off up the roadway. Within several feet he slipped into the foliage on the side away from the cliff. Johnson hesitated for a moment before following, pulling Roy along in his wake. Roy had to trot to keep up. It was going to be a very long day and he was all ready exhausted.