Her eyes snapped wide, ignoring the searing stab that lanced through her skull.Bars.Thick, cold metal bars enclosing a stark holding cell.
She pushed herself upright on the floor, wincing as a deep ache pulsed along her left jawline.Gingerly, she traced her fingers over the bruised skin there, the touch confirming the dull swell and the obvious dislocation.That’s right, she thought, the recollection sharpening like a razor.The woman—Marie, with her cold eyes—had swung a closed fist straight into her jaw.She realized her jaw had been dislocated exactly as it had been by Bryan her freshman year of college nearly a decade ago.And the man—Ming, broad-shouldered and silent as a shadow—had followed with a ruthless strike to her temple, the world dissolving into black.
“Hello?”Her voice came out ragged, muffled around the tender throb in her jaw, the word tasting like copper on her tongue.“Hello?Is anyone there?”
Silence echoed back.She rolled to her hands and knees, her stomach rolling with the movement, and stayed there for a moment, panting, praying she wouldn’t get sick.Gingerly, she stood, wrapping her hands around the cold and unyielding bars of the cell to steady herself.
When the world quit tilting and her feet steadied under her, she shook the cell door with desperate force.It rattled faintly but held fast, mocking her with its immovability.
Nothing made sense.Tears pricked hot at the corners of her eyes.She couldn’t tell if it was the relentless pain carving through her body or the clawing fear of the unknown that caused the tears.Slowly, she sank onto the bench, the chill of the metal seeping through her dress, and buried her face in her hands.
At this point, all she could do was pray.Silent words tumbled through her mind, fervent pleas for strength, for rescue.
And for Jerry.
She had no doubt he’d find her.
Marie and Ming had done a deck-by-deck sweep and encountered no one except that redhead, so when Marie opened the door to the office in the engine room, seeing Emanuel Ramirez typing away on a laptop almost gave her a start.
“Emanuel,” she said.
He looked up, eyes absent before focusing on her.“What are you doing in here?”
“We had mandatory training.I was sent to find you.”
He raised an eyebrow.“Bug off.I’m doing something important here.”
With a sigh, she lifted her pistol.“No, Emanuel.I’m doing something important here.”
He looked at her again, and a startled look replaced the irritation on his face.“What are you doing?What is this?”
“Come with me.”
He started to shake his head, and Ming leaned forward and grabbed him by the collar.
The clanging noise startled Olive.She jumped up from the bench as the woman, Marie, and man, Ming, marched a man in an engineer’s uniform toward the cell.He had long black hair pulled into a ponytail and light tan skin.Marie held a gun on him.Ming said to Olive, “Move to the back.”
Unwilling to risk either of their lives, Olive swallowed her rising panic and stumbled to the back corner of the cell.Ming swiped a key card across the digital lock beside the door.A soft electronic beep cut through the tension, followed by the sharp click of the magnetic mechanism disengaging.
The door clicked open, and Marie shoved the engineer inside.Ming slammed the door behind him with a clang that vibrated through Olive’s bones.
Olive stood still until the two captors left, then she stepped forward.“Are you okay?”
He spun around, eyes wide and shadowed with confusion and shock.“Who are you?”
“Olive Duncan.I’m a passenger.”
“Are you okay?You’re hurt.What’s going on?”He whirled toward the cell door and grabbed the bars with both hands, shaking them hard.The door rattled but did not budge.He put his face against the bars and yelled, “Hey!Let us out!”He rattled the door again.“What is this?”
She sat back on the bench.“I don’t know.”
“Where is the rest of the crew?”
He asked the same questions she had thought over and over again.“I don’t know.”After a moment, she asked, “What’s your name?”
He looked over his shoulder at her.“Emanuel.Emanuel Ramirez.”
She rubbed her arms with her hands.“Well, Emanuel, we have no choice but to just wait.”She gestured at the control panel on the wall next to the door.“Unless you know how to hack that thing.”
