Page 44 of Survivor
Nothing.
“He can’t hear you.”
Terror slammed a fist into my chest as a figure stepped out of the shadows.
“None of them can.” Marick stood at the end of my bed. “The sedative I gave them will keep them knocked out for the next twelve hours. Enough time for us to have some fun.” He walked closer, and something silver glinted in his hand. “Once we’ve played a little, then we’ll take the shuttle and leave.” He licked his lips. “Stand up.”
I couldn’t move. Every part of my body was frozen in fear.
“That’s right, Rogue. Be afraid.” His breath was coming fast. “You know what I’m going to do to you.”
He wanted to hurt me. Violate me. He wanted me to be afraid. He could have killed the guys, but he hadn’t. He wanted them alive so they could suffer my loss.
This was about me. Anger surged through me as I complied, standing to face him.
“How did you get on board?” My voice came out steady and strong. I wasn’t afraid of him. Not anymore.
“Does it matter?” he asked.
No, it didn’t. “You’re obsessed, you know that, Marick, and your obsession is about to kill you.” I was so ready to kick his ass. “You think I need the guys to protect me from you?”
His eyes glinted in the gloom. “Oh, I know you don’t. All you need is an adrenaline rush. That is what drives your power and strength.” He held up a syringe. “I fixed that with a blocker. You won’t be getting any hormonal help tonight, Rogue. For the next few hours, you’re just an ordinary woman.”
The fuzzy feeling made sense now. My hand went to the sore spot on my neck. He’d drugged me.
His lip curled as he advanced. “Get on the floor. Get on your knees.” He gripped the blade in one hand and reached for the zipper of his pants with the other. “Now or I’ll slit your lover’s throat.”
If I got on the floor, if I did what he wanted, my chances of escape would halve. There was only one thing to do.
I made as if to comply but at the last moment twisted my body and attacked. My shoulder slammed into his stomach, propelling him across the room and into the wall by the door.
His head made a cracking sound, and then I was out the door and sprinting down the corridor.
27
Marick could be lying about the others, but my gut told me he wasn’t. No way would he have revealed himself like that if he wasn’t confident. He had me where he wanted me. I knew he wasn’t lying about drugging me. I could feel the difference in my body.
Fear tried to edge in. No. I didn’t need to be a one-percenter to bring him down. I didn’t need the berserker.
The memory of his body on mine, his rancid breath on my face filled my head. I’d been powerless then, weak from the journey from Trad, still adjusting to the drug they’d pumped me with. I’d been a victim. That wasn’t me anymore.
I was a fighter, and Marick would never hurt me again.
I needed a plan. I needed to take him the fuck out.
Marick would expect me to check on the guys, so I ran in the opposite direction, away from the cabins and toward the bridge. There were weapons on the bridge. Xavier had shown me the case. Our biometric data opened them. He’d programmed mine in a few hours ago. If I could grab a laser gun…
I careened down the corridor toward the bridge, accessing the map in my head as I went.
The corridor curved, leading me to the steps to the upper floor where the bridge was. I took them two at a time and slammed my palm against the access panel.
It flared red.
Shit.
What the fuck?
“You won’t get in,” Marick’s voice echoed around me, coming from the tanoy system built into the ship. “I’ve had two days to work on this ship, to get into the systems while you all slept. You’re in lockdown, Rogue. There is nowhere to go. Stop running and give me what I want. You can fight me, I’d like that. But you won’t win, not without your special abilities.”
