Page 112 of Uprising

My eyes widen. I look between them both. No fucking way am I being taken from this house. Not now, not when I’m so close to getting free.

Carter talks into his earpiece, passing on the instructions. Darius wrenches me up by my arm and I take the chance to fight him. Hitting him with both fists.

He takes my blows as if they’re nothing and then he throws me over his shoulder and carries me as I jerk so violently trying to force him to put me down.

I guess he gets tired of my fighting. I guess he just expects me to acquiesce and he pulls me back to my feet then slams my head so hard into the wall that I all but pass out. My body goes limp, I can’t focus. I slump against him and this time, when his disgusting hands scoop me up I can’t do a thing to stop it.

He picks up speed then, all but running through the house to where the helipad is located. When we get outside I can feel it, the freezing cold air. It’s afternoon, now. The sky is thick with grey stormy clouds. We’ve been inside watching this riot play out for almost the entire day and I’m still in the damned nightgown I was dragged out of bed in last night.

I can hear the chopper. I can hear the sound of the blades going round and round.

Darius gets in, plonking me into the seat opposite him.

Carter climbs in beside Darius and I stare out, over the wall, at the mass of people, at the tsunami of rage headed right for us. I can see them now. I can see the thousands of people marching on the house. Even with the forces we have, there’s no way we could hold that mass back.

And I know if Darius gets me away from here, I know Roman won’t be able to track me. Darius has too much money, too many connections. I’ll be even further from help than ever.

My heartrate picks up. My adrenaline is spiking even more than my fear. I’m utterly exhausted but I can’t not fight. I can’t just let this happen. Not this time.

The chopper starts to take off. Something comes hurtling at us threw the air and Darius ducks as whatever it is smashes against the window.

But he hasn’t shut the door. It’s still wide open and right now, I’d take a broken leg over a lifetime stuck with Darius.

Without hesitating, without considering the consequences further, I hurl myself out the door.

Except, I’m not the only one who moves.

Carter moves with me. He’s got a gun in his hand and he wraps his body around mine, as if his weight can pull me back but the momentum is too much and instead of keeping me in the helicopter we both fall from it.

We slam into the concrete below. Somehow in the milliseconds it took to fall we spun around so that I land on top of Carter, with his body cushioning the impact. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less.

I meet his furious eyes and then we’re both scrambling for the gun he had. Only in the fall it’s too far from both of us. I pull my head back slamming it with all my strength into his face and then take the moment to grab the knife I know he keeps in his belt.

Despite the blow, he’s not even dazed and his hands wrap around mine. He’s shouting something. But the noise of the chopper above us is too much. And the sound of protest is getting louder and louder.

We both struggle for control, both desperately fight for ownership and as I sense a brief moment of advantage I take it, driving the blade into his stomach.

He groans as it slides in. But his grip remains just as firm around my hand and I know I’ve not stabbed him nearly hard enough to do any real damage.

“Easy now.” He says.

I shake my head. My rage, my fury, my complete and utter desperation taking over in this moment.

“Come on Rose. We both know you don’t have it in you.” He says.

I grip the blade harder and with all the strength I can muster I force it back, back into his flesh, back into his stomach.

His hands try to push me off. He grapples for dominance and I become rabid, screaming, as I drive the blade into his abdomen again, then into his chest, and finally, I drive it right into his throat where it remains lodged.

When I’m finished I’m covered in blood and panting like we’ve been fighting for hours when in truth it couldn’t have been more than a minute of frenzy.

As my body slumps beside him I stare up and realise the helicopter is still there. Darius is still there. He stares at me and in a split second I reach over, grabbing Carter’s discarded gun and I start shooting. Aiming for Darius. Aiming for the helicopter. Not caring who I fucking hit.

He yells out, the chopper makes a sharp turn away and then it’s climbing, gaining altitude so quickly.

I keep firing. I keep pulling the trigger until I’m all out of bullets and then I lay there, on the freezing cold concrete as my adrenaline drops and the pain of everything I’ve gone through really starts to hit me.

Roman

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