RecruitZ (Afterworld Series) (11 page)

My feet banged against the fence time and again, but I realized the fear mounting inside was literally paralyzing me. I didn’t want to let go of the rings. I would rather dangle for hours than sail through the air, hoping to grab the chain-link in time. I let out a deep breath and slowed my movements away from the fence.

Gavin popped into my head and I started laughing. I was sure as he watched from his seat in heaven, he was laughing at me and wondering why in the world I was so determined to get myself in these situations. I was beginning to wonder that myself.

As crazy as it sounded and looked, the safer option was the trapeze. Once I could get to it, if I could hang from my knees, I’d be able to swing to the fence and ensure that my fingers were holding onto the chain-link before I disconnected from the trapeze bar. There would be no freefalling or chance of not connecting with the fence. The only problem was that I had no idea if I had the core strength to work my legs over my head.

There was only one way to find out. I began pumping my legs in the opposite direction and once high enough I kicked my legs in unison toward the bar. The tips of my toes shoved the bar away, and I brought my legs back down in defeat, my body still dangling above the ground. My abs felt like they’d just been stretched over a large barrel or something, but they were still usable. I could do this. I waited until the trapeze bar stopped moving and began pumping my body again. The ache in my stomach muscles soon turned to a burn, but that didn’t stop me.

“One, two, three,” I whispered, as I flipped my legs into the air, my hands holding tight onto the metal rings. My stomach muscles pulled and tightened while my knees bent inward, and my body glided toward the bar. My arms were shaking while I continued to stay in the fetal position until the time was right.

And the time was right.

I extended my legs out and up on the last upward motion, and wrapped my legs around the bar. The moment the bar was tucked behind my knees a wave of relief washed through me. I did it. My body was now arched across the ceiling of the cage. My hands securely fastened to the rings and my knees locked onto the trapeze bar. The only thing left to do was release my fingers from the rings and hang upside down from the bar before swinging over to the fence. It really didn’t seem this complicated when I was standing on the mat.

Just as I was about to release my fingers, the front door sprang open with a large crash against the metal wall.

“You in here, Frank?” a man’s voice boomed through the mostly empty space. I heard more footsteps come in behind the man. Something shifted in the gym as the man’s voice got increasingly agitated. “Frank.”

I heard the two fighters in the ring mumble something to one another and snap the ropes as they exited the ring.

“Do you know where Frank is?” the same man yelled at the two fighters.

“Probably in his office. We don’t want any trouble,” one of the fighters said.

“Let these two gentlemen out,” the man directed.

I heard the men’s footsteps scurry out of the building as my pulse began pounding in my ears. I was stuck.

The way I was positioned made it impossible for me to see who was at the front entrance.

“I don’t have what you’re looking for,” Frank stated. He took a few steps backward, and he came into my view.

Who were these people? What was going on?

“Don’t you mean who?”

There was silence.

“The girl? Have you seen her?” the man asked.

“No. She hasn’t been in for weeks.”

Girl? As far as I knew I was the only female with a membership.

“I can tell when you’re lying, Frank,” the man said. Several pairs of footsteps shuffled toward Frank, bringing into view five large males, all dressed in black.

“Let’s try this again. Has she been in here recently?”

If it was me they were looking for, Frank could easily point toward the ceiling and the charade would be up. But he didn’t do it. Instead, his voice remained steady and his eyes fastened on whoever was in front of him.

“Screw you,” Frank said.

“Then why’s her truck parked outside?” the man asked.

Frank said nothing.

The sound of the safety being clicked off echoed in the warehouse, and my head pounded as I hung sideways, my grip barely holding on. Any movement and I would surely catch their attention.

“You do understand this isn’t merely a threat?” the man asked.

Frank nodded.

Three of the five men turned around, and I caught a glimpse of TRAC printed on the back of their jackets as they took a few steps away from Frank.

Afraid to make any noise, I slowly let out my breath through my mouth and squeezed my fingers as tightly as possible.

“Alright, boys,” the man said and that was it.

The gun went off and Frank crumpled into a lifeless pile on the concrete floor. My body began shaking, and my mouth fell open as I watched the pool of blood seep into the concrete floor.

Every muscle in my body burned like it was on fire. I was still shaking and my hair was drenched in sweat. As long as I didn’t look down at Frank, I felt like I might be able to regain some sort of control to get myself out of here. Grief wanted to push its way in and take over, but I couldn’t allow it. I wouldn’t allow it. I was so confused. Why would they have killed him? Why were they after me? Who were they? Why didn’t Frank just point to where I was perched.

Unless he knew he’d die either way.

After the group did a quick search of the gym, they’d left, but I’d remained clinging up in the air, near the ceiling. I was too afraid to come down, and I figured if they knew my truck was outside, they’d just wait until I showed up.

I’d been hanging for what felt like hours, but I think it was only around ten minutes. I needed to get out of here. I needed to get help. I remained still for a few more moments as I collected my thoughts and to ensure that no one else was lurking inside the gym.

I took slow and controlled breaths through my nose as I steadied my nerves and began to focus on how to descend from here. I was getting weaker from hanging on. I squeezed my eyes closed and let go of the metal rings. My body fell underneath the trapeze, as my knees stayed securely wrapped around the bar.

So far so good.

I opened my eyes as I hung upside down and began swinging my body back and forth toward the chain-link. On about the tenth attempt, my fingers locked onto the large crisscrossed wire. My ears pounded as the blood settled in my head and thoughts of Frank drifted into my mind. It was too late for him, but it wasn’t too late for me. I slid my fingers around the wire and hooked each one as if my life depended on it because it did. I was now completely stretched like a crescent moon with my knees locked on the trapeze bar and my fingers latched onto the fence. I had no idea my body could bend like this, but I was grateful.

Now for the scary part.

I slowly straightened out my legs and felt the trapeze bar roll away from my legs, and before I had the chance to control anything else, the weight of my body fell from above and crashed into the fence. The wire jammed into my jaw as I scrambled to lock my feet into the small holes. As the fence stopped vibrating and clanking from the thrust of my body, I climbed down the fence and hopped onto the mat.

Being this close to the ground, to Frank’s body, made my entire body tremble. I felt like jelly as I tried to move forward. I heard a large vehicle outside and instantly wanted to climb back up into the safety of the swings above. I was now far too exposed standing in the middle of the gym, but I certainly couldn’t go out front. I opened the cage door and quietly closed it. I ran to the locker to grab my bag and phone. There was a storage room in the back where I could call for help. But who would I call? If it was TRAC members who were involved, the authorities would believe their story before mine, and I didn’t want to chance exposing myself to whoever was looking for me.

I opened the door to the storage room and closed it behind me. I slid my body between the back wall and some cardboard boxes and caught my breath as I dialed the one person in the world who wouldn’t call me crazy—Preston. The phone rang one, two, three, four times when he finally picked up.

“I’m on my way,” Preston said. I could almost feel the smile over the phone.

“Preston,” I whispered. “I need help.”

“What’s going on? Where are you at?” he questioned, his voice low and urgent.

“Someone’s been murdered and I saw some of the—”

“No more,” Preston said. I heard the rumble of his truck as he started the engine. “Don’t say anything else over the phone. Just tell me where you are.”

“The gym on 45
^th
and Larkspur.”

“I think they’re outside still. They were after me, and they know my truck is parked outside.”

“Is there a back entrance?” Preston asked.

“There is, but I don’t know if anyone is watching it. I’d assume so. There aren’t any windows where I can check.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll be there in five minutes. If there’s anything I need to take care of, I will. Wait until you hear three short knocks and then open the backdoor. Got it?”

“Got it,” I breathed into the phone, glancing at the EXIT sign. At least the back entrance was in the storage room.

Preston ended the call, and I pressed my head up against the wall. I had no idea what had changed so suddenly in my world, but I had a feeling it was the same thing that had in Gavin’s as well.

I waited quietly, my eyes closed, as I leaned against the wall. The rumbling of a truck outside broke my trance. The engine remained running, and I heard a quiet popping sound and began to slowly make my way to the exit.

Had there been someone out back waiting for me? Three quick knocks banged on the backdoor, and I opened it to reveal Preston’s worried expression as he grabbed me.

“We’ve gotta get outta here,” he said, hauling me out the door.

My eyes fell to the parking lot where a TRAC member was lying down face-first. So there was someone waiting back here for me. I ran to the passenger side of Preston’s truck and jumped in. He was already in the driver’s seat and reversed out of the parking lot, leaving my nightmare far behind.

“Tell me what happened,” Preston said, giving me a sideways glance.

“I decided to go to the gym after a straggler was at my house. I needed to blow off steam and—” I stopped myself as the image of Frank lying on the concrete floor smashed into my mind. How did this happen?

“Keep going,” Preston urged.

For some reason, I wanted to try some cage and climbing work. I’d never really concentrated on that before. It was just me and two other fighters in the gym, besides Frank,” my voice caught. “I climbed up the cage and began working with the rings and that’s when it happened. A group barged into the gym, asking for Frank.”

“Who’s Frank?” he asked.

“He is…was the owner of the gym,” I tried to steady my voice. “They asked where the girl was, and I wondered who they were talking about. I knew at one point I’d been the only female who had a membership there…He wouldn’t answer. They demanded that Frank tell them where the girl with the truck was. That’s when I knew it really was me they were after. I was absolutely paralyzed. I held onto the rings near the ceiling for all I was worth. Frank could have told them where I was, that I was strung above their heads. But he didn’t…even when they pointed the pistol directly at him.” My hands trembled as I relived the moment.

“He knew they’d kill him regardless,” Preston said, placing his hand on my knee. “You’re okay now.”

“I don’t feel very okay.” I glanced outside the window and watched the city go by. “What do we do? Should we call the police? Did you kill that guy?”

“No. Just stunned him with a tranquilizer. Normally I would say yes about calling the police, but because of who you saw there, I don’t think that would be a very good idea.”

As tears filled my eyes, I stayed focused on the buildings outside. Frank was dead and it was because of me. An overwhelming amount of guilt spread through me, along with a constant stream of hopelessness.

“Do I take a right up here?” Preston asked.