The train station was filled with people. Long narrow brick buildings lined the walkways of the station, some with waiting passengers, others seemingly abandoned. We had reached the bottom of the platform when I saw Garrett through the throng, exiting the train further down on the adjacent car. Garrett stood in the midst of hordes of busy travelers with smoke from the trains billowing around him. He had already secured a station attendant and was talking vehemently to him.

It was then, as I was watching Garrett, that Kael made his move. Rather, he stole my earlier idea. He threw his head back and head butted Madeline who was standing directly behind us. Having been distracted by Garrett, I didn't see the hit, only her startled reaction. Kael broke into a run immediately, yanking my handcuffed arm and my shocked body forward into the throng. The metal dug into my wrist as I was pulled along behind him. A moment later, I heard two shots fire behind us, throwing the crowd into a panic.

Even with the chaos, we managed to push through the crowd at a sprint. Everyone was running now. Despite the adrenaline pulsing through my veins, I struggled to keep up, forced to by the metal clasp around my wrist nearly threatening amputation. Lunging sideways, Kael ducked into a small gap between two tall brick buildings and jerked me alongside him. The area was disgusting, littered with trash and stank with rotting food. I halted to stop beside him.

"Get these off me!" I pleaded in between gasps for air raising my now bleeding wrist.

"Of course." He dropped his hands into both front pockets. A look of panic crossed his face. He reached back to search his hip pockets, swearing under his breath.

I let my head fall, momentarily defeated. "Please don't tell me you dropped the key. How is that possible?" I chanced a look around the corner. I didn't see Madeline, so she must not have seen us duck into the alley. Thankfully, this would give us a moment to try to get these cuffs off. "It's too hard to run with them on. Because I can't keep up with you, my hand is slowly being amputated." I whispered desperately as I tried to wipe the blood dripping down my wrist onto his jeans with a shaking arm, but to no avail. When one bloody streak disappeared, another quickly replaced it. Sirens started blaring in the distance.

"Do you have a hair pin?" He looked up at my tangled locks and shook his head. "No."

"That's right. I don't even have shoes!" My feet were throbbing. At the pace we had been going, I likely had stepped on a number of things I normally would have avoided even with shoes on. I couldn't help my hysteria. Not only had he lost the key to the cuffs, but I was in a musty alley, without shoes, being hunted by an armed woman. The shaking started again which unfortunately meant the cuts on my wrist were only getting worse as the metal dug in further.

I heard material rip. Looking up from my arm, I watched him tear the tail of his once crisp white shirt with one hand and proceed to wrap it around my wrist. "When we get somewhere safe I will find something to pick the lock." I nodded, trying to calm my nerves and appreciating the concern in his face as he worked. "We'll walk down this way." He nodded back toward the stinking, rodent infested alleyway.

"Lovely," I mumbled. I carefully peered around the corner one last time. The instant my head rounded the corner, something hard landed on my jaw and sent me backwards. My arm wrenched in the air. The handcuffs attached to Kael checked my fall and kept me upright. Madeline rounded the corner shaking out her hand, a small cut on her forehead leaving a trail of blood down her face. Her gun was in her left hand, planted firmly in the curve of her waist.

"What you did back there was unfortunate. Now I'm going to kill you. Both." At the end of her statement, Kael kicked her hard in the side, knocking her off balance and face first onto the ground. Her gun landed a few feet away. Madeline flipped to her back to stand the moment she landed, but Kael dove onto her, pulling me along with him. Planting his handcuffed arm across her neck, he threw his fist into her face. I winced and backed as far away as I could from the fight without pulling Kael's arm off her neck.

"Where is he?" He asked before each blow. "Where is he?" Madeline seemed to enjoy the abuse, laughing.

"Like I know!" Another blow. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!" I saw her hand move to her side and watched as a blade slid slowly out of her jacket pocket. Kael hit her again, oblivious to her hidden knife.

"Kael!" I called out just as she moved to stab him. He rolled off her, her knife catching his torn shirt tail instead of his side. She leapt up to face us. Tossing the blade easily into her other hand, she gestured to both of us.

"You want to do this now? Because we can. I can't promise she won't get hurt. You have placed her in the middle of all this." She continued to wave the knife at us, excited at this latest development despite the swelling already starting on her face. "Or surrender now. No one has to get more injuries." She smiled at me, her eyes moving to the blood stained rag wrapped around my wrist.

"Get behind me." I obeyed the authority in Kael's voice even though I would prefer to run. If he was going to fight now, he only had his left arm to use. The one attached to me was definitely not getting into this fight.

I leaned into him to whisper, "You sure you want to do this with one arm?"

He probably wouldn't have bothered to respond, but before he had a chance, she lunged. Their fight had started, and by some joke of providence, I was in the middle of it. Staying behind him, I watched with equal parts terror and morbid curiosity. Within seconds it was apparent that both of these individuals were experienced fighters. Each move was increasingly calculated and landed with sickening accuracy on the intended target. Kael did surprisingly well considering he only had three limbs in his defense.

Following an especially hard hit to Kael's jaw, Madeline turned and kicked. I heard ribs break, and Kael gasp for air. In some way, that was the turning point for me. I ducked out from behind Kael as Madeline rose her arm to land a second blow to his injury. Without consideration for the ramifications of my actions, I plunged forward into the woman. She screamed in shock as we landed on hard pavement. Unsure what to do next, I grabbed a fist full of hair and pulled forcefully before planting my knee in her abdomen. Years of fights in the orphanage had left me with a measure of rudimentary skill that had disappeared many years ago but come back to me in my moment of need.

She let her arms drop, seemingly defeated. I stood, realizing too late that she wasn't. In one swift move, she had planted her hand on the gun she had dropped earlier. I had failed to notice it lying next to us. Instinctively, I pressed my foot onto her wrist. My self-satisfaction at having bested her was brief. She grasped my ankle with her other hand and pulled hard, sending me falling backwards into Kael. Her weapon rose, and she prepared to kill one or both of us. Kael pushed me aside, and a large metal piece of garbage materialized in his hand, smashing into her arm. The weapon dropped to the ground. Before she could react, another blow landed on the side of her head. She fell back, unconscious. I stared at her in shock.

"Let's move!" Kael pulled on my good arm.

"Wait." I could hardly believe my own hesitation, but I couldn't leave without searching for even the smallest clue as to why this woman had wanted to take me. I desperately wanted answers. I reached down and removed her bag that had been across her body. Because he physically couldn't go anywhere without me, Kael stopped and picked up the gun, tucking it into the back of his pants.

"You ready now?" I nodded starting to follow him into the alley.

I glanced behind me. "One more thing." I pulled on the cuffs, stopping him. Tilting my head to the side, I eyed her unconscious form. I reached down and took off one of her flats to try on. They were a little large, but much better than nothing. I slid it onto my dirt covered feet, pleased with my inspiration.

"Come on Harper! Get the other one; let's go."

I slipped on the shoe quickly even as we moved, offering no further protest.

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Harper isn't the bravest heroine, but she's taken her first small step by helping fight Madeline. Did you enjoy this chapter? Please vote and let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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