Ordinary (Anything But) (6 page)

He shoved her away from the car and twisted her arms behind her back in one fluid motion. “I
am
helping you.” She had no idea what he meant by that. Handing her over to the two threatening-looking men was in no way
helping
her.

Honor came face to face with her pursuers. The short bald one had a scar that went from his left eye to his mouth, like someone had tried to carve his face for fun. His nose was flat, his eyes small and dark. Flashes of lightning gave his already scary features an even more sinister appearance.
“Officer Talley. Thanks for your help. We’ll take over from here,” he said in a gravelly voice.

Honor shrank back, pressed herself against the officer. “No. Please.” She turned her head to look at him. “Don’t leave me. Please.”

He made a sound and shook his head. “Did you even talk to her? Explain what was going on?”

The taller one replied quietly, “We didn’t exactly have time for that. As you’ve witnessed firsthand, she likes to run.”

“Did
you
?” the bald man added. Officer Talley didn’t answer. “Hand her over.”

His grip tightened on her arms and Honor bit her tongue at the sharp pain. “
She is not an object. She is a
person
. I am not just
handing her over
to you. My orders were to escort her inside. That’s what I plan on doing.” The taller man motioned him forward. Officer Talley nudged her. “Come on, Honor.” He propelled her toward the building.

She
choked back a sob. Tears mixed with rain on her face as she marched to her doom. She slipped in loose gravel and the officer righted her. “Please,” she whispered. “Please don’t do this.” They were almost to the metal door. Where was her courage now, when she needed it most?

His voice spoke softly into her ear, “You’re going to be okay. I promise. Do as they say.”

“Why are you helping them?” Honor quietly cried.

“I’m not. I’m trying to help
you
.”

Honor twisted her neck to look at him
, incredulous. How was this helping her? He stared down at her with conviction in his eyes and nodded once for an answer to her silent question. She faced forward, having no other choice. She closed her eyes as metal clanked from the other side of the door and it swung open with an eerie sound. Fluorescent lights flipped on and Honor blinked as her eyes adjusted. The room was large and devoid of anything. It smelled like cigarettes and Lysol. She looked at the bare white walls. It felt like she had entered a tomb. It was a fitting analogy.

Officer Talley released her and she fought to stay on feet supported by weak legs. Honor swayed and put a hand on the cold wall. Three locks slid into place, one resounding click after another. The floor showed scuff marks and she wondered if some of them were from Christian as he’d struggled with the two men staring at her. She turned her head from their scrutiny, swallowing with difficulty.

This wasn’t a church, it was a mausoleum.

The short man eyed her. “I’m Agent Burns.” He gestured to the taller man. “This is Agent Nealon.”

Honor straightened and glared at them. “I don’t care
who
you are. And I don’t believe you’re agents of any kind. Just…” She looked at her pale hands. “Just do whatever you’re going to do with me and get it over with.”

Did she really just say that? Did she mean it? Yes. Yes she did. But one thing was for sure: Hono
r wouldn’t go without a fight. She pulled her shoulders back and met their gazes with her head held high. If Honor was going to die, at least she could die with dignity; not crying and whining and begging for her life.

Agent Burns chuckled. “You’re a brave one, aren’t you?
A fighter. Good. That’s good.”

Honor glared at him, but didn’t say anything. They’d see how much he liked it when she was clawing his eyes out.

“Thank you for your help, Officer,” Agent Nealon said, dismissing him.

Officer Talley gave them a look and Honor got the feeling he didn’t care for them too much either. So why was he aiding them? Maybe he didn’t have a choice.
Honor’s chest constricted as he slowly turned to her. “You’re going to be fine, Honor.” Officer Talley’s eyes drilled into her, like he was trying to wordlessly communicate with her. “You’re going to be fine,” he repeated. He didn’t look away until she gave a short nod. Officer Talley pushed a button on the wall and part of the wall slid open. He walked through and it closed behind him.

A terrible sense of loss hit Honor as she faced the spot the officer had stood a moment ago. Her last chance of escape was gone. There was no hope for her now, none at all. She was at the mercy of two madmen. Agent Burns put his hand to the wall and another part of it opened, directly behind Honor. She studied his hand. It was wide and hairy and her skin crawled looking at it. Those were ugly hands, cruel hands.

“Shall we?” He grabbed her arm and held her in front of him. He smelled like garlic and cigarettes. Honor’s stomach churned and she tried to jerk her arm away, but his sweaty grip tightened.

“Where are we going?” she choked out.

“To your new life,” was his response as he pushed her through the opening.

Honor stared at the rows of metal benches, surprised to find them in place of pews. Other than the structure itself, anything that would have defined it as a church was gone. No one would ever suspect what the inside of the previous church now looked like. Honor never had. She’d run or driven by the building numerous times throughout her teenage years and never once had she thought it was anything but an old, disused church. It was ingenious, really.

She’d come to the church once as a child when she’d stayed the night at Anna’s. It was so very different from what she remembered. It was the feeling more than the sight of it, although the bare walls and metal benches were a drastic change from what used to be there. The place wasn’t right. Bad things happened there. There was a sterile smell in the air, but it rang false, like death covered over by bleach. Honor shivered, feeling sick.

Their footsteps echoed as they walked between the two sections of benches. It was surreal, walking down the aisle of the church that should have been holy and was anything but. Honor again tried to pull away from Agent Burns. He tightened his grip until his fingers painfully bit into her bicep. The warmth of his body seeped into her back and she wanted to vomit, his garlic and cigarette smell seeping into her as well. Down the aisle they went, like they were handing Honor off in her wedding to Death. Agent Nealon went ahead of them and opened a door on the side of the room with one touch of a button.

“What are you going to do to me, shoot me?” Honor’s voice was high and unnatural. She hated how weak and pitiful she sounded.
She told herself to be strong, to not show any fear. It was hard when all she really wanted to do was fall to the floor and weep.

The men
exchanged a look and Burns chuckled. Honor’s jaw clenched. A spark of resentment zapped her, adding some fire and life back to her. It was better to be mad, at least she wasn’t as scared then. “Glad you find this so amusing.”

“Not this,” Burns replied.
“
You
.” Honor didn’t even try to understand his ridiculous words.

They were in a narrow hallway. It smelled strongly of antiseptic
. Metal doors like the one she’d first walked through lined the walls on either side of them. She glanced at one. It had a small rectangular cover near the top of it over what could only be a window. The cover looked like it slid open to offer a view inside.

“What is this place? What are you doing to people here?” Hon
or asked in a faltering voice as she unconsciously jerked into Agent Burns. Honor’s teeth began to chatter, her body shaking. Cold, she was so cold.

“She’s in shock,” Agent Nealon murmured from the side of them.

Burns snorted. “Wait until she sees them.”

A squeak left her. See what? See who? She was struggling to draw air into her lungs
and she had the horrifying thought that they were experimenting on people and she was next. She could handle death…sort of. Torture and experiments of any kind…
no
. Honor’s only thought was to flee, somehow, someway. She’d been waiting for the right moment to make a run for it, but it appeared the right moment was not going to show itself. She took a deep breath and slammed her elbow back with all the strength she had. Burns grunted and his hand dropped from her.

Honor ran.

A door loomed before her at the end of the hallway and she raced for it, almost slamming into it as she shifted from a sprint to a dead stop. Honor grabbed the handle and pulled. It wouldn’t budge. Her eyes raced over the cool metal, searching for a lock of some kind. She found a deadbolt, flipped it, and made a sound of relief as the door opened. She glanced over her shoulder. Burns and Nealon walked down the hall at a brisk pace, their eyes on her. Why did they look so calm? Honor darted into the room and locked the door behind her. The window was uncovered and she could see them stop and talk to one another. Two, three, four figures appeared behind them and joined the conversation. Eyes turned her way and she ducked her head.

She
pressed the side of her face against the cool metal, feeling the burn of tears in the corners of her eyes. She couldn’t get away. They knew it. There was no escape. She was prolonging the inevitable and had been since that afternoon. She rested her head against the door. Honor’s shoulders shook with sobs. She slowly dropped to her knees, her hands sliding down the door as she went.

She saw her mother’s sad smile in her mind. Honor felt the silky softness of her sister’s hair against her cheek as she held her close. Her shoulder felt the weight of her father’s warm hand. Where was her father’s voice now? Why couldn’t she hear him? Honor was all alone and it was a horrible place to be.

Another sound mixed in with her crying and Honor paused. She swiped a hand across her wet face and stood, slowly turning around. Along one wall were cabinets, a counter, and a sink. In the middle of the room was a table. A body was on the table. It was a long figure, male, and his arms and legs were strapped down with fabric of some kind. She scrambled back until she hit the wall.

The face was turned away, but the shaggy dark brown hair, wet with sweat, was familiar. The locks curling at the nape of the neck and over the ears were on
es she’d gazed at every day in history class. She’d even wondered what they would feel like against her fingers. Honor slowly stood and took a step closer. He wore a white tee shirt and white pants. His feet were bare.
Like someone in a mental institution.
Was that what this place was? Some form of a whacked society harvesting teenagers or something? A sick feeling waved through her, making her dizzy.

Honor moved around the table with her
eyes trained on the unmoving form. “Christian?”

The relief she felt at finding him alive was so powerful she would have sunk to her knees if she hadn’t grasped the edge of the table in time. But the relief was also false and it didn’t last long. There was nothing good about the situation, not even finding Christian. He was unconscious and tied down to a table, not exactly the scenario Honor would have chosen for him to be in, had it been up to her.
His face was ashen and his eyes moved behind closed lids. His jaw was clenched, like he was in pain. Christian’s hands were fisted at his sides so tightly the veins popped up and his knuckles stood out.

“What did they do to you?” she whispered.

Her eyes examined him for bruises or cuts and found none. There was nothing visible on the outside to warrant the apparent agony he was in. She chilled at what that meant about Christian’s insides. Had they done something to him undetectable to the human eye? Honor swallowed; dizzy with fear and nausea. She hesitated, and then slowly reached out a hand to lightly brush bangs damp with sweat from his forehead. His brows lowered and his teeth gritted, making her think even her light touch pained him. She frowned and dropped her hand. Honor wanted to help him, but didn’t know how, or if she even could. A light knock at the door forced her attention away from Christian. She could make out the outline of features through the small window, but that was all. Honor stood there, staring at the door. She knew whoever it was could have unlocked the door. So why didn’t they?

“You might want to unlock the door now. For your sake…sooner is better than later,” a dry voice told her.

The voice was familiar, mocking. Recognition hit her, took the air from her lungs. Honor sucked in a ragged breath, unable to comprehend why
he
was on the other side of the door, in the church, with the bad guys. A second of something like betrayal went through her, diminishing any and all nice thoughts she’d ever had of him, which hadn’t been many to begin with. Instant fire flared through her veins.