InEscapable

InEscapable Part 5

Chapter Four-Alexander

Alexander strikes.

She dodges.

Alexander kicks.

She blocks.

Alexander sweeps. She jumps, but he catches her in the ankles, knocking her on her back. She lands with a huff, but rolls away, unfazed. Then she charges him again.

Unbelievable.

Alexander pushes her against the truck and can't help but feel it was a lucky shot. Alexander has never needed a lucky shot. She bounces back, kicks his diaphragm. The next second, she's opening the hatch, reaching for the Amazon Queen. Lunging, he grabs the blonde girl around the waist, prying her from the SUV, enveloping her in his arms, where he locks her in a solid grip.

That's when she goes truly wild. Her long blonde hair wraps around his neck and sticks there because of the sweat, and he feels entangled, like she's the one overtaking him.

A breathless Wade re-secures the hatch on the SUV before anyone can hear the Amazon Queen's muffled screams coming from it. The girl in Alexander's arms thrashes and kicks like something feral. How can something so small be so powerful? And fast. Impossibly fast.

With one clean jerk, she pops her head back and catches Alexander's chin. He releases her out of reflex. Stupid, stupid. Blood trickles from his lip and Liam's admonition sears through him: Expect the unexpected. Alexander feels like he's failing his own Extraction, instead of merely botching up Wade's.

The blonde girl takes off, running like she's being propelled by some unknown force. Alexander's gut twists, watching her escape. Don't go after her. Absolutely do not. But he's one-part intrigued and two-parts annoyed. I'm doing everything wrong. I'm thinking. Feeling. Acting like Wade.

And now I've helped him. He was going to Defect and I've helped him. Because of her.

"Alexander, what are you doing?" Wade yells after him.

Alexander is compromising the Extraction and he knows it. But I already compromised it by helping Wade. Why should that stop me now? He knows if he even hesitates, this girl will be disappear. Out run him. That seems worse than anything else in the world right now. He's tired, and irritated that she doesn't seem tired. He's bleeding, and irritated that she's not.

Chasing her is not ideal. But neither is having an eye witness to the Extraction. If he's being honest with himself though, that's not why he's chasing her. Not at all.

Ahead, he sees her. She doesn't pause until she's past the field house. She leans one hand against it and holds her side with the other. Alexander stops. He shouldn't stop. I should keep going, take advantage, close the distance. But she's injured. When? How? Alexander's sure it didn't originate with him. He could hardly touch her, let alone land a useful blow. She looks over her shoulder wide-eyed, evidently startled that he's so close.

I happen to be fast as well, he wants to tell her.

For a second, their eyes meet. Hers are a striking blue, even from this far away. Eyes that make him feel inferior in some way. Eyes that are empty. Empty like mine should be. She's doing everything right. Acting and reacting. Everything I'm not doing. Alexander wonders what she sees in his expression that makes her take off running again.

Just when he thinks she's going to stay on the sidewalk—like any normal person would do—she hurdles over the railing. Like I would do. If I was doing it right.