Melody Anne - Scorched

Curling up in a fetal position on the hard earth floor, she breathed deeply into her plastic cocoon, refusing to let any tears fall.

This wasn’t how her life was supposed to end.

She was supposed to be a mother in five months; she was supposed to hold her babies close as she dreamed about tomorrow.

Rachel knew she should try to stay awake, but as sleep began dragging her under, she soon stopped fighting it. She didn’t want to be awake. If she didn’t ever awaken, it was meant to be.

Letting go, she huddled beneath the tarp and prayed for the comfort of dreams to replace her harsh reality.

The door swung open and Shane was standing there in full military gear, looking like GI Joe come to life. Rachel was trying to analyze this dream. Why would she be fantasizing about Shane? She’d think it would be Adriane, the man she loved, rescuing her.

But, no, not even in her fantasies was he playing the star and the hero. Maybe she’d closed the door on the hope of a happily ever after with her king; maybe she thought it was too much to hope for at this point.

She did think it would be mighty nice if Shane passed his coat over to her, though. If she were going to have a fantasy about him stripping, then she’d really like to have his coat.

Rachel giggled at the thought. The sound of her voice coming out squeaky startled her into stopping her laughing as quickly as she had begun it. Wow, this was a strange dream.

“Put this on,” Shane said, rushing to her and placing a bag at her feet, then kneeling down and helping her sit up. Rachel gave him a sweet smile and nodded her head. She tried to reach for the bag, but her fingers wouldn’t work.

Maybe she had frostbite. It wasn’t unlikely. Maybe she was already dead and this was heaven. But why would Shane be in her heaven?

“Let me help you,” he said, then he carefully removed the tarp. She wanted to protest even though it wasn’t much protection against the cold.

Within a few heartbeats, a warm coat was being wrapped around her shoulders, sending some feeling back into her arms. Then gloves were being thrust upon her hands. Oh, this dream was getting better all the time. If she got out of here alive, she’d have to apologize to Lia about fantasizing about Shane. At least she could tell her sister that she’d been fantasizing about Shane putting clothes on her, rather than taking them off.

She’d never been attracted to Shane, but right now, she could kiss the man.

“Lean on me,” fantasy Shane said as he pulled her into his arms, making her stand up on wobbly legs. She didn’t like this part of the dream. Her feet ached from walking in the snow and then being clenched stiffly as she’d tried to curl up into as tight a ball as she possibly could.

Soon, warm pants were pulled up her legs, and then, even better, thick wool socks. Before she could blink, Shane was putting shoes on her feet and tying the laces.

Rachel reached out and touched his face, afraid he was going to disappear and she’d find herself huddled in the cold again without the fabulously warm clothing enveloping her.

“Shane?” she asked.

“I’m here, Rachel. I’m getting you out of here,” he said, his voice soothing as he wrapped her in an affectionate embrace.

Wait a minute. She could actually feel him. She’d never had a dream this real.

When Rachel realized this was no dream, her emotions released in an avalanche. She began sobbing against his shoulder as the warmth began returning to her aching joints. He must have placed warmers in the clothing, because she could feel real heat penetrating her frozen form.

“Eat this,” he commanded, placing a PowerBar in her hand. Rachel didn’t hesitate to lift it to her mouth and bite down, and she moaned as the flavors exploded on her taste buds and she knew the lovely calories were headed toward her stomach.

Not caring that she looked like a savage animal, she gobbled the bar down greedily, eating every last bite. She nearly licked her glove-covered fingers, but Shane placed a water bottle in her palm and instead she lifted it to her mouth and guzzled.

“Can you run?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied. She hadn’t had much food the last couple of days and her body was still frozen.

“I need you to run just to the fence, OK? I have to keep my gun out in case anyone tries to stop us. It’s dark out, but floodlights are illuminating the yard and I don’t know when Gianni’s men are going to come check on you. I saw them put you in here two hours ago. I’m sorry it took so long for me to get to you, but the yard finally cleared so I could safely reach the shed. I’ve counted about fifteen guys in total. I couldn’t take the chance of having them hit you while trying to get me.”

“That’s OK,” she said, not really knowing what she was saying.

“No, it’s not. None of this is OK. I got here as fast as I could, but it wasn’t fast enough. Rafe and Adriane will meet us. Their plane just landed an hour ago and they are moving as fast as they can to reach us. They wanted to be here for the rescue, but I wasn’t going to wait. We just have to get past the fence line, and I have a snowmobile ready.”

“Sure,” she mumbled.

“All right, I’m going to open the door. Hold on to my belt,” he said. She took a couple of unsteady steps, testing her legs. They were holding her upright. That was a good sign. “Don’t let go,” he commanded her.

She acknowledged his order with a nod.

“Trust me, Rachel. I’m going to get you out of here.” He leaned down and hugged her again before placing her hand on his belt and cracking open the door. “It’s all clear. Don’t make a sound. We’re going to move swiftly and get the hell out of here.”

She didn’t say a word as her muscles tensed in preparation. She’d do what he said and hope she didn’t fail him. She wanted to survive. She needed to.

Without further delay, they were off. After only a few paces, she heard shouting to her right and then Shane lifted his gun and began shooting. Gripping his belt for all she was worth, she focused on putting one foot in front of the other as she ran behind him. She knew he could move faster, that he was slowing his pace for her. As much as she wanted to leave, she was going as quickly as she could. She was grateful he seemed aware of her limits.

They made it to a wire fence as more shots were fired. She didn’t look behind her, but just focused on Shane’s back as he opened the fence and thrust her through. She stumbled to the ground and looked behind her as Shane kneeled, holstering his handgun and quickly raising his rifle and firing several shots.

The gunfire had alerted Gianni’s other men that there was trouble, and soon doors were opening and more men ran around the house, intent on taking both her and Shane out. Now, they didn’t care about information they could obtain from her; they cared only about stopping her escape.

“Run straight ahead!” Shane yelled without turning, still firing as two more men came into view.

She knew she was moving slower than he was, knew she couldn’t help him, so she stumbled to her feet and began running as hard as she could. She tried to inhale through her nose so the breath wouldn’t freeze in her lungs, but she couldn’t help but gasp in her desperation for oxygen.

She didn’t know how long she ran, but it seemed each time one foot hit the snow-covered ground, another shot fired off. If something happened to Shane, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. Maybe she should turn back around and help in some way.

No. That would end up getting him killed because he’d be focused on her, not on the enemy. She staggered forward, face-planting into the snow, but she refused to stay down. She rose again quickly as she told herself to just keep moving, keep heading in the direction he’d told her to run.

“You’re almost there,” Shane said as he suddenly came up behind her and lifted her up, cradling her to his chest as he kept running.

“Are they dead?” she gasped.

“Not all of them,” he replied. The two of them were in the shadows, safe from a direct hit, but a stray bullet could still find them. They weren’t safe yet.

Just as they reached his snowmobile, there was a loud explosion, the night lighting up and making her jump as Shane put her down on the seat before climbing on in front of her.

“It’s not over, Rachel. We have to move. Hang on to me.” Shane started the engine and threw the machine into gear, snow flying out behind them as he jolted them forward.

Rachel held tightly to Shane, though she couldn’t help but turn around and look at the mess behind them. The house she’d been held in for two days was nothing but a great ball of fire, and it lit up the night sky, making it easy to see the remaining men scrambling from the windows and flailing about on the ground.

She was safe.

“I’m getting you out of here,” Shane yelled over the scream of the whipping wind.

“Thank you, Shane,” she whispered, more to herself than to him. She leaned into him as they sped away.

It was almost over.

Adriane approached the compound with Rafe right behind him. Looking in all directions, they spied Shane rushing through the yard with Rachel clinging to his belt.

Adriane immediately jumped up, ready to run to her, catch her up in his arms and take her away from here — far away. Rafe snatched his coat and pulled him back.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Adriane snarled, prepared to throw a punch.