Chapter 18 Realization
Serena's POV
Not one, not two, not three, not four, but five! Five of them were slowly nearing us and there was very little we could do.
I stared out the shattered window with my breath hanging somewhere between my throat. They were hiding, hiding behind the trees and anywhere they could. They stood on the opposite side from where Dante and his men were pinned down in the gun fight.
Some were hiding behind wrecked cars while others behind debris, but all had their guns ready, and their eyes locked on our SUV. We were their only target, and we were sitting ducks, exposed, while the main battle served as a distraction for off, too far to help.
Maybe this was their plan all along. Maybe this is what they wanted, isolate me while distracting Dante with a fight.
I panicked, looking around for some sort of weapon to defend myself, but there was none. I looked over at Valentina with my hands and feet shaking. "Valentina, we have to go. Now!"
I turned and reached for the door handle on my side, the one opposite where they were coming from. My fingers fumbled with the handle and just when I got it open, I noticed Valentina hadn't made a move.
She just sat there, panting hard with her hand still clutched tightly to her side.
"Come on!" I hissed, glancing over at her then through the window at the men. They had just begun peeling out of their hiding spot and slowly crawling to where we were. They must be trying to avoid Dante and his men.
They used the chaos as a perfect cover. The loud bangs of bullets and explosives went on far off, too loud to hear anything else and too dangerous to be distracted.
Valentina broke me from my little fit when she finally replied, but in a very weak and breathless voice. "Go without me. I... I don't think I'll make it."
"What? Why are you talking like that?" I asked, leaning forward towards her. I lifted myself slightly up with a hand on the chair as I stared directly at her. Her face had gone fully pale, balls of sweat formed over her head and ran down her body.
She looked like she was about to pass out.
I peeked out again, three of them were more advanced now, moving low and pretty fast. My heart raced as I leaned over the console and grabbed her free hand. "What's wrong? Tell me!"
She tried to wave me off again. "Nothing. Just... go."
Bullshit. I lifted her hand anyway. She winced, trying to push against my hand but it was too late, I had already gotten a peek.
Under her arm was sticky, fresh looking blood. A pool of it soaked her dress from her arm all the way to her tummy. The dark red laid heavily around her tummy, I traced it carefully and found a bloody hole right below her ribs with blood pooling out steadily.
"Bloody fuck—you were hit!" I yelled despite the bile forming behind my throat. Tears threatened to fall at the pitiful sight.
She winced again, breathing quite shallowly now. "Run, Serena. They'll be here any second. Save yourself."
"There's no way I'm leaving you like this." I replied and fumbled with her seatbelt. My fingers slipped on the buckle and it responded immediately, but she gasped in pain, curling forward.
The men were close now, barely twenty feet away, or less. One already had his gun slightly raised, scanning our way. No time, Serena. Think, Serena. Think!
Screw it. I scrambled over the little space from the back, my knees banging the gearshift as I dropped into the driver's seat. I placed my hands on the wheel then scanned the dashboard quickly, trying to familiarize myself with everything.
The keys were still there, but that's pretty much all that I knew here.
Valentina wheezed from my side. "You ever driven one of these?"
I gulped feeling my guts twist. "No. But there's a first time for everything," I replied but in truth, I had never driven any kind of car before. Marco never let me get near the wheel and my parents weren't any better.
But I knew our survival rested in my hands. I took one more look at the men as they were right there, just a few steps from Valentina's door.
I twisted the key hard, bringing the engine to life, good thing it responded. The SUV had been greatly damaged from earlier, but it moved still. I slammed the gas, the tires spun around for a second or two without moving, then it lurched forward, banged up and slow.
The men fired at us immediately, their bullets smacked the rear bumper, one denting the top side of where I sat. I ducked low, swerving left, then right, weaving like I'd seen Nico do.
The car dragged and felt like it could collapse any second, but I kept the pedal down.
"Hold on!" I yelled over to Valentina. She was slumped forward and leaning against the door, barely breathing.
More shots followed and I began to wonder how we hadn't been shot yet. The shattered rear glass did barely any good. I jerked the wheel left to dodge a bullet that whizzed past my side. Too close for comfort.
The road was messed up with debris from the fight. I aimed for an opening, away from the blockade. Another bullet hit the side panel. The SUV depressed to the right. Shit, a tire must be flat.
"Come on, come on," I muttered, gripping the wheel till my knuckles went white.
I looked up and they were chasing us down on foot. I pushed harder, but the car barely reached its normal speed, smoke kept huffing from the hood.
A shot to my left mirror took it down. I yanked right instinctively out of fear and slammed straight into a massive stump off the road.
The impact blurred everything. The airbags popped out, slamming my chest. The world around me spun, I felt dizzy. Sounds kept ringing in my ears while smoke filled the car, and soon, my lungs.
I coughed and developed a terrible pain in my head. I tried to focus, but I couldn't. I heard the door yank open, and a large hand grabbed my arm, roughly and pulled me.
"No!" I struggled, kicking as I could, but my body felt like jelly, no glimpse of strength. The hand dragged me out, dumping me on the dirt. I looked up at the face and couldn't tell who it was. He was scarred, bearded and had a large nose.
I twisted, spotting Valentina a few feet away. Two men hauled her out, she didn't fight back, blood trailed where they dragged her.
"Leave her alone!" I yelled.
They ignored me and began tying her up.
A few feet away from us, Dante and his men had noticed what happened, but had been overwhelmed by more attackers who now stood between us and them.
They were pinned back but still fighting. Dante looked to be barking more orders, but it all seemed to be of no use, they couldn't reach us.
Something snapped in me. I knew I had to do something. If anyone was going to save us, it had to be me.