Page 38 of Snow Good to Lose
Caden
“Caden.” A voice entered my conscious and disturbed the peaceful silence.
“Caden.” A slapping sound followed by a perception of pain across my face, but I couldn’t feel it. Amari’s screams and her fingertips on my skin were the last memory I had grasped. Her touch, I wanted to hold on to it.
Another slapping sound along with pain registered. A rancid smell entered my nose. I flailed my arms and connected with something solid.
I willed my eyes to open. They wouldn’t cooperate. I punched in the air.
“Hold him down.” The voice seemed closer.
“You’d better tie him down. When he wakes up, he is going to be pissed.” I recognized the voice.
Pressure exploded across my chest, and a ringing in my head blared like sirens. There wasn’t supposed to be pain in heaven. Perhaps all my evil deeds outweighed the good and I was in hell.
A soft damp cloth whipped at my face. I inhaled and coughed. The darkness faded. Light seeped through my closed eyelids.
I opened and blinked.
Another wave of smelling salt passed beneath my nose. I jolted upright. The man holding the salt jumped backwards a few feet. I growled and leaped off the hard wood and went after him. Not sure why, but he was the closest person to me.
Pain prevented me from destroying him. I stumbled and clutched my chest. I fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
“See there, good as new,” Carlos sang and squatted next to me.
“What did you do to me?” My voice came out hoarse and strained.
“We killed you?” He grinned and gestured as if it was no big deal.
“What?” My eyes narrowed. “Why?” I sat up again. Amari’s scream filled my soul. I pushed myself up and walked in circles. “Where’s Amari?”
“We have very little time.” Carlos stood and impeded my path. We stood face-to-face. It took every fiber in my body to not pound him into the ground despite the throbbing weight on my chest.
“What did you shoot me with?” My blood thumped loud in my ears.
He held up a gun, uncocked it, and released the bullet in the chamber. He caught it in his hand and held it between his thumb and index finger.
“You seen that movie,XXX?”
I sat back down on the table and shook my head from side to side.
“Oh, you really should. Vin Diesel. So much better than those Fast/Furious movies.” He chuckled but stopped when I glared at him.
“Anyway, in the movie, they had a gun that could mimic a real gunshot.” He waved his hand. “Call it a sophisticated paintball gun.”
I lifted my shirt and peeled away the bandage. An inch in diameter bruise spread out from the center bullet hole in the center of my chest.
“Why do I have a bullet hole in me?” I replaced the bandage and stood up. The feeling in my legs returned.
“Maybe I was a little too close.” Carlos laughed. “Doc checked you out and you’re fine.”
“The ringing in my ear. You shot me twice.” I rubbed the side of my head.
“That was more for show.” He shrugged. “You’ll be fine, but we have to roll soon.”
His casual mood pissed me off. The rage exploded in my brain and he had not answered my question.
I rushed him and pushed him up against the closest wall. I placed a hand on his face and banged his head into the stone.
