Page 71 of Defended By Bam
She blasted the air, but at first it only blew out hot. “Can I crack a window?”
“Yeah, sorry. Takes a few to cool down. But I love this car. This model is the last it was produced. Ninety-one, baby.”
“This car is older than you?” I was not a car girl, so I didn’t know makes or models.
“Yep, but it’s petite and fast. Just like me.”
After a few minutes, the air finally cooled down and we rolled the windows up the rest of the way to the house. We jammed to Alice in Chains, AC/DC, and Guns N’ Roses before finally pulling up to the house.
My shoulders relaxed and I sighed. Funny how having a real home makes you miss it.
“You good?” Glenda asked just as Ollie pulled in behind us.
Opening the door, I got out, closed it and walked to the front steps but leaned down, feeling under the second to last step. “Yeah. Happy to be here. Sucks I can’t stay, but he has his reasons. Got it.” Pulling out the key hidden there in case I got locked out of the house by mistake, I climbed the steps.
“Let’s make it a quick stop, ladies,” Ollie said as he caught up to us.
Opening the door, I started to head inside but stopped in the living room. The hair on my arms stood up. “Something’s wrong.”
Ollie pulled a gun from under his cut and put his arm out. “Go wait by the door.”
Glenda and I stepped backwards toward the door, arm in arm. My heart pounded in my chest and my breathing became labored. Something wasn’t right. I didn’t know what, but I just knew.
Ollie walked back to the other side of the house, still motioning for us to stay put. He came back into the living room, tucking his gun away. “Didn’t find anyone, but we need to–”
Glass shattered, and Ollie stopped talking, briefly suspended as a bullet passed through his forehead, so close to my head I heard the wind whip past. Then everything was quiet. Not silent, but as if I was in a bubble. Someone was yelling, but I couldn’t understand them, and I couldn’t move.
A scream was trapped in my chest, tears pleading to burst from my eyes, but I was frozen. At least until Ollie’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground only feet away from us.
I was being tugged and looked down to see Glenda’s arm pulling me. Sound rushed back. “C’mon, we gotta go now!”
My body shook but I turned to run toward the car with her. We almost made it, but footsteps were hot on our heels. I didn’t look back, but yelled, “Glenda!”
“Go, go, go! Fuck!”
When she yelled, I turned. A man with a black mask with nothing but eye cutouts was holding her as she squirmed and kicked. A small box truck came barrelling from the back of the house. It must have been down the trail to the water bank. Another masked man was quickly in my face, reaching for me.
He picked me up, but I kicked and flailed my legs until I made purchase, so I kept aiming for the same spot. It slowed him a little, but not enough. I yelled, for no other reason than to amp myself up, and headbutted him as hard as I could.
He dropped me, and I briefly saw stars as the dust from the ground flew around me like a cloud. Having taken blows to the face before must have helped me because it didn’t last too long and I stood up. His hand went to his mask and came away with blood. I tried to move quickly and managed to knee him in the balls. Glenda was pounding the back of her head into her attacker's face, also yelling as her limbs flew everywhere.
She finally fell from his grasp, but then I was grabbed from behind. I used my foot to trip him up, and we both toppled to the ground, both of us grunting.
Glenda must have been on him, because more weight crushed me further into the ground, making it hard to breathe. I was starting to see stars again then the weight lessened, but there was a yelp, followed by a gasp and the unmistakable sound of a woman being kicked in the stomach. I knew that sound all too well. It was a thud, but not like a knock on the wall. It was a softer thud, with a rubber soul slamming into skin and cushioned by soft organs.
A fist grabbed my hair, lifting me off the ground. My hands went at it, digging my nails in as hard as I could as I grunted through clenched teeth.
My hair was released, but a sharp blow to the back of my head sent me to my knees and palms. “Fucking bitch.”
A boot connected to my gut, sending me onto my side, coughing as I held my stomach with my dirty hands.
Glenda roared as she grabbed at her attacker’s leg, but reached down, grabbing her short ponytail and slamming her head into the ground over and over. They had on cuts. I briefly saw something orange, but everything was moving too fast. They were bikers. The club business.
“Glenda!” I yelled before another swift kick nailed my stomach. That one knocked the wind out of me, and I couldn’t take a breath to scream.
Suddenly, I was rolled onto my stomach and my arms were bound. It sounded like zipties, and sure as hell felt like them.
“I–can’t–breathe–” I wheezed.
