A stampede of noise answered my question. I heard my name being called from outside the hold, and bellowed laughter. I hated to hear Charlie so distressed, and at the same time, I was so grateful to know he was still alive and capable of speaking.
I dropped to the floor, not caring that I was soaking, and crawled beyond the pillar and past a segment of containers that was only stacked a few yards high. I felt water slow me down, stretching the cotton of the sweatshirt. The fear that Wallace or even Charlie might have seen me as they barged in was overwhelming.
“Addie!”
The clanking of metal accompanied the laughter. Charlie called out for me again and again. I bit my tongue to fight my own tears. I could taste the blood from my assault on my swollen lip.
“Relax, loverboy, she isn’t far!”
I peered around the corner, carefully insuring the hood of the sweatshirt was well secured over my head and face. Although I exposed one of my eyes, I saw Wallace pointing in the direction of the confessional, muttering something into Charlie’s ear. The worst of it was the knife pressed at his back; I could see it glimmering in the light that struggled to get through. “Bastard! I’ll kill you!”
I knew calling out would give me away. And then what? Wallace might put me back in the confessional and that was if I was lucky. I had to stall. If I kept quiet, I could sneak out and get help. Where in the hell was Ben Walden or those brutes Yuri and Reid when a girl needed them?
He called out for me again. I closed my eyes and felt the tears slip. I tried not to focus on the sadness I heard there, but he sounded so completely shattered that I couldn’t stop it from breaking my heart.
“Damn!” Something metal slammed again. “I was hoping to drag that out.” He laughed some more. “Must have hit her harder than I thought.”
A growl emerged from the depths of Charlie, though I knew he wasn’t Charlie anymore. He had become that darkness inside of himself. He was letting the beast take over now, not caring about himself or the consequences of his actions.
With my peripheral vision, I saw the clashing of limbs and a torso against a metal side, but I lunged myself from behind the container and began running down the gangway. If either of them noticed me, they didn’t acknowledge it. Again, I was completely grateful for my ability to be invisible. Or maybe they did see me and I was too consumed with getting help for Charlie to realize it. I knew I could only be helpful to him this way. I didn’t feel the skin on my foot splitting open against the metal planks or the wind ripping against my face. I ignored the cramp in my side when it began and tried to pretend like the world wasn’t moving agonizingly slow until I got to the door of the hold.
I clamped onto each end of the large spinning wheel door and tried to budge it. The only thing that resulted was a groan that erupted from the lips of the door and my own divine swearing.
Behind me something struck. I could hear it echo as it landed on the metal floor; the sound of a body was unmistakable. I could see Charlie against the floor. He seemed quick to move, but his body only dodged more blows. Wallace had been slowed by his own injuries, and my eyes searched for some kind of hope. I didn’t have to look far, finding it within shielded glass; I released the fire extinguisher from its cage with my elbow. It was only after the adrenaline wore off that I would feel the pain there, but the extra clothing prevented any skin from breaking.
With whatever I had, I swung at Wallace’s knees. Having his back to me, he never saw me coming, never even expected me to be anywhere near him. So although I may not have bruised him as much as inconvenienced him, it was enough for him to turn his attentions away from Charlie.
During their brief argument, my love had done something horrendous to the side of this man’s face, as the muscle tissue and bone no longer fit into place, but rather slid off at the end of his left eye socket