31. The Woman I Scorned
An eerie stillness engulfed the entire office of the warden; its door broke, with furniture littering its front and sides. Pieces of wood could be seen scattered on the floor, as seven-man stood menacingly toward five pairs of weary eyes.
Two rifles and a three 45 calibre gun were drawn from the intruder's side, while two 45 calibres and a baton were raised by the startled group of guards.
A man from one of Rudolf's people clicked his tongue and grinned at the five beings in front of them.
Farlow kept his eyes on Mark. He could see the disgust and, at the same time, hurt emanating from his orbs. The renegade guard couldn't blame him though. They were unaware of the circumstances as to why two of their seniors decided to take the convict's side.
"Don't fight us and you can walk away without a scratch," Demitri yelled.
Sheldon, who at that time was pointing a gun in the intruder's direction shook his head and murmured, "Traitors."
His words were not missed by the renegades.
"Oh, this is probably a disappointing scene for ya'll," one of Rudolf's men mocked, aiming his words toward Sheldon.
Farlow was squinting his eyes, he kept trying to keep Mark's gaze focused on his. He could give the young guard a hint if only he would stop glancing from one person to another.
"Where is the control room for the metal walls?" Demitri questioned; his inquiry, though, was not aimed at any of the guards; it was at Melinda.
The young secretary, who in the previous minutes barely had the strength to keep her knees from giving out, shook her head and stuttered, "I... I have no idea."
Two of Rudolf's men suddenly stepped toward Mark and the secretary's direction. Upon their attempt, Raffy immediately fired a shot.
The sudden blast startled the renegades and Farlow took the opportunity to move to his feet. He elbowed the renegade closest to him. The unsuspecting renegade stumbled and lost his grip on his rifle. After Farlow's initial assault on the man, Demitri, too, engaged the one beside him in a fight.
Shots were fired as the other guards standing on the opposite side of the office began to scramble their way towards the renegades. In an instant, guns were flung to different corners of the room, while multiple fists were thrown in the air. Some landed on Jaws and stomachs while others unto nothing.
One of Rudolf's men was already unconscious on the floor before Mark made his way toward the group. A single shot was fired in his direction by one of the intruders, who was still able to cling to his gun. The renegade's action though, immediately gave Sheldon, who at that time was standing an arm's length away, the opportunity to slap away the gun from his hand. Mark expected to fall, he saw how the gun was perfectly aimed at him, but no pain came after the shot. What he felt though, was the small arms around his waist and the body in front of him that was slowly sliding down onto the floor.
The smell of blood and the feel of something wet on the front of his shirt pushed Mark to wrap his arms around Melinda's slacking form. He glanced around to ask for assistance, but all his companions were busy, engaged in a fistfight with the intruders.
He gazed at the two guards who he previously thought to have betrayed them. Demitri was on the floor as one of their enemies hovered above him, landing one punch after another on his face.
Farlow could barely keep up with the two men beating on him, as he desperately tried to retrieve his gun on the floor while throwing punches and blocking the attacks given to him.
Mark looked down at Melinda, he knelt beside her and tried to locate which part of her was hit by the bullet. His gaze followed the trail of blood that was slowly dripping down from her arm, and he noticed that the blood was concentrated on her right shoulder. Before doing anything else, he glanced at the ongoing fight in front of him. He wanted to run towards his comrade and give them a hand, but Melinda probably needed him more at that moment.
So, he pulled her towards the warden's desk, where both their frames could be hidden from the other's view.
He then ripped a piece of cloth from the bottom of Melinda's skirt and dabbed the material on the woman's bleeding shoulder.
"You didn't have to do that," he murmured.
Melinda was still conscious, and despite the trauma on her shoulder that weakened her, she gazed up at Mark and managed to smile at him then asked, "Did I ever mean anything to you?"
Mark, who had been keeping his gaze on her, suddenly turned away and moved his sight towards the other side of the floor.
"I cared about you Melinda, but you knew I could never be with you," he answered.
Melinda whimpered from the pain on her shoulder, but she probably felt more of the hurt caused by his words. She never wanted to question Mark or blame him for everything, but if she ended up dying inside a prison building with the same man who broke her heart, barely able to gaze at her, she had to say something. Anything to appease the tortuous pain inside her chest.
When Mark ended their relationship, she fell into depression. She knew she had to leave San Fernando Correctional and start over, but stupidly, she chose to stay and hoped that Mark would eventually change his mind. It was a brainless move on her part, but she loved him. She couldn't bear not to see him. Despite the rational part of her chastising her for her decision, she stayed. It was everyday torture, but she'd rather be a player in the band, than not be a part of it at all.
"Then why did you do it?" she questioned, as her sight began to dim.
Mark finally glanced back at her. He pressed harder on her shoulder, more intent on stopping the blood flow than answering her question. Because he knew, there was no right answer. He did it because he wanted to. There was no deep explanation or sweet reason behind it. He aimed for a relationship despite knowing that he would have to leave her in the end. Mark was aware of his mistake, but in their case, there was no proper way to go about it. One of them must get hurt. As much as he wanted to say that without Melinda, his life would mean nothing, he couldn't, for there was only one woman whom he would ever deem to hold the happiness and breadth of his life; it would always be Jasmine, his wife.
"Why did you do it?" Melinda screamed; her voice filled with agony. She must have given those words all of her remaining strength because she lost consciousness before she received a reply.
Her yell startled Mark. He felt her previously stiff body slacking from his hold. Melinda's eyes slowly shut, her breathing became shallow and a single streak of tears fell from her eye after she lost consciousness.
A few shots fired took Mark's attention from the unconscious woman. He peered from the side of the desk and saw that the guards were winning the fight. So, instead of leaving the woman's side, he kept his ass seated beside her and whispered, "I'm sorry." But no matter how many of those words he would say, there's probably no forgiveness awaiting his remorse.
After a few minutes of incomprehensible words thrown by the men surrounding Mark. He heard Sheldon yell, "Stop it," ending his musings about the mistake that will always remain inside his head.
In an instant, the intruders inside the warden's office stilled when Raffy, Sheldon, and Johnny finally got hold of all the guns on the floor while aiming their own towards the renegades, who, by then, were left with nothing but their fists to protect themselves.
Demitri and Farlow stepped toward the three guards but upon seeing the hesitation in their eyes, they decided to stop and took a step back. Sheldon, in an instant, questioned them why they did it.
It was Demitri who answered. "We were forced."
The three guards eyed each other, seemingly asking what they should do next. That's when Mark emerged from his crouched position on the floor, walked up to the three, and said, "Let's hear what they've got to say."
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