Page 4 of Unholy Cross

“You’re stronger than you know.”The last words her father said to her flashed through her mind.It had been right before the monster entered their lives.Her parents thought Dr.Birsha could help her understand the so-called gift she’d been born with.They trusted him, and he led them all into hell.

Easing off the bed, she made sure not to look at the surveillance camera.The stare felt through the lens burned her skin and she sat down in her corner to escape what she was doing.Carefully, she reached under the bed and felt the metal bars holding up the thin mattress.There was a long rod in the center with smaller rods angling on each side.Wiggling one after another, the third one slightly moved, indicating it was loose.She banged it with her palm.It moved some more.Over and over, she hit it, until it finally broke free.Lorelei caught it before it could fall and make noise.Slowly, she pulled the metal bar toward her and slid it behind her, under the waist band of her white scrub pants.

Then she waited.She’d wait forever if she had to.

That evening, when the luminosity dimmed to indicate lights out would be in thirty minutes, she waited for the nurse to arrive and administer a shot to help her sleep.The low ambiance would work to her advantage.Her plan was simple.Attack the nurse, get the key card, and then run like hell.Hopefully, the guard behind the cameras wouldn’t be looking her way.

The door opened, but instead of the night nurse coming in with her medicine cart, the beast walked in.His large girth blocked the doorway as he entered.The receding hairline met both sideburns, which formed into a scraggly beard, framing his face like a picture.Deep-set eyes stared at her with a fanatical glee that scared her.He wasn’t there to do anything but hurt her.

“Lookie, lookie,” he goaded.“I spy a pretty little thing that can’t talk.But I wonder if I can make you scream?”

She pushed to her feet and glanced at the camera watching over them.Now she hoped someone was watching.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” he said dismissively.“The bird’s eye is temporarily disabled, giving me time to fuck your tight little body.”

This was bad.This was very bad.She shook her head no, making it very clear she didn’t want that.He only laughed and closed the door behind him.The keypad turned red, indicating the lock had engaged.The only way to open it now was with the key card hanging off his scrub top.

“Go ahead,” he taunted, accurately predicting what she was thinking.“Try it.”

Lorelei glanced back up at the camera as fear filled her, but when the brute only grinned, she knew that avenue of help was truly disabled, just as he said.The man licked his lips like a typical movie bad guy, and she knew she’d rather be dead than raped by this man.It was either him or her, and this was a situation that was going to turn ugly really quick.

He reached out for her, and she knocked his hand away.Anger lit up his mean, beady eyes and in the next second, he backhanded her across her face.Lorelei crashed into the wall, falling to her knees as pain exploded through her skull.

“Violence is never the answer, except when it’s violence against you.Then you must do anything and everything to survive.”

With her heart pounding in her chest, Lorelei knew she had one chance, so she had to get this right.Slowly, she pushed to her feet and reached behind her to grab the metal rod.Could she hurt him?Could she actually hurt another human being?Emboldened by his actions, he took another step closer, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would defend her life with everything she had.

Then her time was up and he lunged for her.At the same time, she brought up the rod and plunged it into an eye socket.Surprise lit up his remaining eye a moment before life left it.She had to quickly move to the side as he tumbled forward.The adrenaline crashed through her, causing her stomach to rebel.She leaned over and vomited up the meal she had eaten.Then reality set in and she knew she had to run.This was the only chance she was going to get.

As she yanked the key card off his scrub top, the jingle of keys in his pants pocket let her know she had a means to escape the area quickly.She couldn’t help but look at the rod protruding from his eye socket, keeping his head elevated at an odd angle, and she almost vomited again.Grimacing at the bad taste remaining in her mouth, she pushed down her emotions.She’d fall apart later.When she held the key card up to the plate, the green light popped up, allowing her to leave the room.No alarm went off.

Knowing it could be only a matter of moments until she was discovered, she hurried through the sterile corridors toward the exit.Only a skeleton crew worked the evening shift and she prayed to any god listening that she would avoid another person.Whatever good luck she managed to catch answered her prayer and she hit the exit door with force, stumbling out into the night.The perimeter had a gate but the key card served her once more.Then she was out.

Freedom.She vowed never to take it for granted again.

Hitting the fob, car lights blinked, telling her which vehicle had belonged to that man.Running toward it, she ignored the fact that she wasn’t wearing shoes.The pain from stepping on rocks didn’t even register.

Just as she was ready to turn on the engine, the passenger door yanked open and a very large man slid into the seat.Fear exploded through her.She couldn’t go back.She might have defended her life by killing a man, but she’d rather die than return to that cell.As she fumbled with the car handle to open in a desperate move to escape, the man reached over and caught her wrist.Instinct and desperation caused her to fight back, thrashing around to free herself.

Why?Whycouldn’t luck be on her side for once?

“I’m not going to hurt you!”the man muttered.“You can’t take this car to escape.They’ll track you.Listen to me, Lorelei!”

Her name slipping from his tongue jolted her, and his words slowly penetrated the terror robbing her of sanity.Then she took a closer look at the man.It was hard to tell his eye color in the dark.Short hair.Bold, masculine features.Tattoos on one side of his neck.He wore a leather jacket, jeans, and black boots.By his look alone, he wasn’t an employee.

“My name is Aera Cross, and I’ve come to rescue you.Although you managed that very well on your own.”

Suddenly, the alarm sounded, and lights flooded the perimeter.For a moment, she froze.Panic overrode any logical thought.Then Cross left the car and ran around to the driver’s side.Before she could blink, he took her hand and yanked her out.He looked down at her feet and frowned.

“Where’re your shoes, woman?Actually, never mind.We must get away from here.”

He picked her up bridal style and ran into the darkness.She threw her arms around his neck and got a closer look.He wasn’t classically handsome, but there was something dark and rugged about him.Who was this man?How did he know her?It seemed foolish to trust him, but he was leading her away from the monsters so he couldn’t be all bad.Could he?

They ran over a hill to the road below, where a motorcycle waited.Suddenly, the leather jacket and riding boots made sense.Once they reached the bike, he placed her on her feet and plucked a helmet off the backrest to slip it on her head.He hopped on the machine and looked pointedly at her.

“Get on,” he barked.“Don’t burn your feet.”

She’d never ridden a motorcycle before, but it seemed straightforward.Sliding onto the back seat, she wrapped her arms around him and was careful where she placed her feet.The engine roared to life, and then they screamed off into the night.

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