Taken by E.M. Leya
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The sound echoed in the darkness, but Trenton knew exactly what it was. Muffled by a suppressor, he still knew the sound of a gunshot. Hope battled with fear as he wondered if the team had finally come for him or if it was something else. Maybe one of the hostages tried to escape from upstairs, or someone pissed off whoever led this place. It could be anything.
Chances were, it wasn't his team. They would take more than a day to plan for something this big. He closed his eyes, listening to the now deafening silence. Not even the kids were crying or making any noise. It was eerily quiet. He heard one of the guards cough from the direction of the table they sat at, but even they hadn't been around to check on the cages in hours.
Beside him, Ian slept. He'd been called upstairs for only a couple of hours earlier. When he'd come back down, he had bruises up and down his torso. He claimed he was fine, but Trenton was sure the guy had a few cracked ribs at the least. He kept his eye on him, making sure he was still breathing through the long nighttime hours.
Another shot rang out, then another. Trenton sat up, his body going on full alert. When he heard screams of warning from the guards outside, he knew to take action. He stood, his feet wobbly from the drugs they'd given him hours ago. "Ian, wake up. Everyone, get up. We have to get to the back wall." He bent and grabbed Ian's arm. "Got to get up."
"What? Why?" Ian asked sluggishly as another gunshot split the night air. "Shit." Ian sat up, then cursed as he grabbed his chest.
"Slow and easy to the back wall. Gather everyone and huddle together. Keep your heads down." Trenton spoke loud enough that everyone could hear him.
Outside the cages, the two night guards ran toward the outer door with their guns drawn. As long as their attention was on the door, they were safe in the cages.
"Huddle together, keep your heads down and covered if possible." Trenton gathered the men together at the back wall near the toilet. It was the only place that gave them even a little cover, and only from one side. If bullets started flying, it wouldn't be good for any of them.
"What's going on?" Hector asked as he curled nearly into a ball beside Trenton.
"I don't know. Sounds like someone is raiding the place, but who is the question?" It could be his team. It could be another trafficker coming in to steal merchandise. "Just keep your head down."
"The alarms upstairs are going off too," one of the guards yelled.
"There's a ton of them out there. Get out if you can," another guard yelled as he ran by.
Trenton listened to everything, watching what he could in the shadows. Things would go silent for a minute, then there would be another volley of gunshots. His heart raced as he prayed it was his team and they would all be safe, but he knew taking on a group this big was dangerous, and shit happened quickly. He wouldn't forgive himself if one of the team was killed trying to rescue him.
"We're all going to die," one of the hostages cried beside him.
"They might be coming to save us," another said with a shaky voice.
In the other cages, kids screamed and women cried. He heard male voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying outside the cage. He prayed it was his team, but didn't dare leave the group huddled with him to look.
"There's too many." A scared voice came from near the door that led upstairs. "Kill the hostages and run."
Trenton's chest tightened at those words. It was what he feared most. Kill all the witnesses or anyone who could testify or identify others. "Keep your heads covered."
One of the men sobbed openly, others shook with fear. Within seconds, the place was in chaos. Gunshots rang out as men shouted orders and lights suddenly flared to life, illuminating the cages like they never had been before.
The light was so bright that Trenton closed his eyes. He wanted to look, wanted to see if he recognized any of the men, but he didn't dare uncover his head or turn around. His back was to the front of the cages, but it was the best he could do to stay clear.
There was so much noise it was impossible to tell who was who, and with smoke filling the air, bright explosions being set off, his ears rang. He coughed and his eyes watered, but nothing pushed away the hope that this was a rescue.
Fire suddenly exploded on the back of his shoulder and he cried out, though he couldn't hear himself anymore because of the ringing in his ears. His body fell forward, crushing into the group of men he was crouched with. Beside him, he saw one of the men fall to the ground and a second later realized there was a bullet hole near the man's neck.
Trenton closed his eyes and prayed he lived through this. He just wanted to hug Faith one more time. He wasn't ready to die. He had things he'd left unsaid. He'd always thought he had time. Tears filled his eyes, both from the smoke and emotion. He didn't have the energy to wipe them away. Pain coursed through his body, but he didn't know what caused it.
Another round of gunfire filled the area and Trenton felt something hit his thigh. This time he looked down, seeing the blood pouring from his leg. He tried to press his hand to it, but the blood seeped through his fingertips. This wasn't good.
As his energy gave way, he sank to the cement, giving up all hope of getting out alive. He watched the others with him, several bleeding, others just crying. He wondered if they would get out. If they would see their families again. He hoped so.
"Trenton?" Ian was on the ground beside him. "You were shot." Ian placed his hand over the wound on Trenton's leg. "Hold on. They'll help us. It's the police."
Trenton turned his head and saw through the chain-link that several men with black uniforms, the word SWAT across their backs.
It wasn't his team. It was the police. It didn't matter who it was as long as it was someone who would free them. He breathed heavily, his chest tight. "It's over."
"I think so." Ian continued to put pressure on Trenton's wound.
"How many dead?" Trenton asked.
Ian mumbled something but Trenton couldn't make out the words. His vision was blurring and he still couldn't hear past the ringing in his ears. He stared up at the lights, but they were like stars dancing overhead.
"Let us in." Strong hands gripped his arm as someone, maybe a paramedic knelt beside him. "Two gunshot wounds. One to the shoulder, the other to his thigh."
He understood the words but had trouble relating to the fact they were talking about him. It was as if he was watching a movie, seeing other people.
"Help." He thought he said the word but didn't hear his own voice.
Again, the man spoke to him, but Trenton couldn't make out the words. He closed his eyes, ready to just sleep. He was so tired.
He was aware of his body being moved, lifted, then floating. His eyelids were too heavy to open, and the people talking around him made no sense. He could smell gun powder, smoke, and oddly roses.
A few minutes later, he heard a siren and felt someone working on his leg. He wondered why he wasn't feeling any pain. Wasn't feeling much of anything other than the occasional pressure of someone touching him.
"Trenton, stay with us. We're almost at the hospital."
He had no clue who spoke, but the words were louder than others around him. He caught the meaning. Hospital. That meant Beau would find him. Beau would alert the others. He thought of Faith's meatballs, then of buttered popcorn which the two of them always shared when they went out to the movies together.
His thoughts drifted, but he couldn't hold on to any single one. So tired. He just needed to sleep. How long had it been since he'd slept?
Unable to hold on any longer, he let the darkness take him.