Chapter 9 - Into the Forest

When she saw the mask, dread tore at her stomach. Mia's scream got hitched in her throat as she turned to run. 'I can't go back!' Mia screamed in her head. 'I don't want to go back!' She didn't bother closing the glass door behind her when she busted into Tool's bedroom. The knife that Barney had given her laid on the dresser next to the bathroom door. She pumped her legs hard and prayed to God for any help. Her hands slammed onto the knife. In a swift motion, Mia unsheathed the large knife and whipped around to slash the man. The masked man snatched her wrist in mid swing as he tackled her. Mia was painfully thrown back into the dresser and the two of them fought over the sharp blade for a moment. He began to twist her wrist while Mia refused to drop it. The man's grip was strong - way stronger than Mia's. A frustrated grunt came from Mia and she felt herself losing the battle. When It felt like her wrist was going to snap, she bitterly let it fall from her hand. His other hand went around her neck before he threw her back into the dresser. The back of her head smashed against the wood and metal knobs. Now both his hands were around her neck, cutting off any air. Mia thrashed and tried punching him; however, he was just out of reach. The lack of oxygen began to take an effect on her. After a minute, her actions became weaker and sluggish.

This wasn't the way she wanted to die. Mia hadn't even been able to see Rosemary or her home after being kidnapped. The memories of her and Rosemary sitting by the small pond on her property flashed in her head. Then there were the men again, burning cigarettes into her flesh. And then, there was her grandparents smiling from the front porch of their late 1800's farmhouse.

With the last bit of energy she had, Mia swung up her legs. She took advantage of his unwavering hold he had on her that supported her weight. Her left leg wrapped around the back of the man's neck, locking him in place, and she landed a solid kick to his face with her right foot. There was a satisfying crack from his nose before he cursed loudly. His grip began to loosen; She kicked him hard again. And then again as she still had a hold on him. She finally dropped from the injured man and fell to the floor. Mia was loudly gasping and coughing as spit dribbled down her chin. Her head was pounding while her limbs tingled uncomfortably. It was hard to scramble for the knife when her arms felt like jello. She dug her nails into the hardwood floor and quickly clawed her way to her weapon. As soon as she had a grasp on the handle of the knife, Mia was flipped onto her back by the man. He swung his legs over her small hips and landed a punch to her face. The world around her spun and in a daze, she felt him snatched the knife from her hand. "No!" she screamed when she lost the knife.

Mia could see the way the light reflected off the metal of the blade and time slowed down. She could taste her blood on her tongue; it was a bitter iron taste, making her stomach turn. His weight held her down as she attempted to escape.

There was a single gunshot and a hot, misty cloud of blood sprayed over Mia. The man's body slumped to the side. She didn't notice to who had taken the shot and began kicking the dead man's weight off of her. Out of instinct, Mia went after the knife again and pulled it from the masked man's hand.

"Hey, hey!" A voiced yelled out and she brought the knife up to guard herself. "Mia, you're good," Caesar told her and held up his gun. He turned on the light, making Mia squint her eyes. She didn't realize how dark the room had been. She guessed the street's lights could only light up so much.

Mia's head buzzed with confusion at first. She went from fighting for her life, watching her life flash before her eyes, and then safety. She was safe again... Relief washed over her like a wave and tears welled up in her eyes. Mia blinked them away as she fell back onto her butt. She loosely held the knife in her right hand as the other tried wiping the blood off her face. She was still breathing hard. "Did you see anyone else?" Caesar asked glancing into the bathroom.

When he turned back to her, she shook her head. "No." As her mind was becoming less fuzzy, a thought struck her. "Where's everyone else?"

"Down stairs. We had a couple of 'visitors' come through the back door, but everyone is okay," Caesar told her and behind him the elevator rumbled alive.

After a moment, the elevator brought Barney up. He was alone and had a few bloody scrapes, but nothing serious.

Barney was eager to make his way up stairs to check on Mia. He had heard her scream and then a gunshot. He had guessed that Caesar had made it in time, but wasn't a hundred percent sure. Before that he had heard loud noises coming from up stairs while they fought off the ten other men that came through the back door. He was honestly surprised they had found their location so quickly and wondered where they were getting their intel from. That was something else they were going to have to worry about now. When the metal gate open on the elevator, Barney stepped out to see Caesar was the closest to him while Mia was near the bed. Her skin was stained with blood and looked like a different person entirely. The ponytail she wore was now half down while her blue eyes were widen with fear. There was always a sliver of joy that you could read in Mia's eyes, but it was now gone. Once she realized it was Barney, she slightly relaxed. She looked stunned and still had the knife in her hand. He could tell her adrenaline was wearing off as she wore exhaustion on her face. In front of her, laid a man with a gunshot that went through his back and out of his chest. Mia's eyes were off to the side as she tried not looking at the man.

Caesar turned his attention to Barney. Barney nodded and he put his gun away. "They need your help down stairs," Barney told him. "We got to get rid of the bodies before sunrise." Caesar agreed and went to grab the body. Mia silently observed him pick up the man and throw him over his shoulder. It looked like nothing to the large black man as he sauntered back to the elevator.

"Thank you, Caesar," Mia called to him before he pressed the button to go down. That's when Barney saw the blood that colored her white teeth. He was sure that the noise he had heard before was the struggle between the two of them.

A small smile grew and he replied, "It's no problem." Then he closed the gate and went down.

Barney walked over to Mia and gently took the knife out of her hand. At first, she held it tightly - not letting go. "You can put the knife down," he said to her and her fingers loosened. It was almost like she couldn't tell herself to let go; she was still on guard. She let out a shaky breath and her trembling hands closed the front of her gray jacket. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," she said and rubbed the back of her head a little. The pain was starting to set in and Mia hadn't realized how hard she was thrown around by the man. "Just sore. He almost had me." She paused. "He got really close to-"

"I know," Barney cut her off. He wouldn't let her finish that sentence. Around her neck were two bruises coming in and her lip was busted a little. She looked down at her clothes and hands. A pained expression fell over her face. Barney silently helped her off the floor and sat her on the end of the bed. Mia rubbed her red wrist while staring at the bloody floor.

"I guess the guy on the dock lied, huh? I'm still a target."

Barney squatted in front of her, getting down to her eye level. "Pressmen was probably after the SD card like before and thought it was a good moment to tie up any loose ends," he explained and she grimly nodded. "We're going to have to move locations."

"To where?" she asked.

"I don't know yet, but we're leaving in an hour. You'll need to pack everything of yours. I would shower first though," he lightly told her.
Again, she nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea," she said and took off the jacket. Her pale skin was flushed; probably from her blood pumping hard moments ago. Barney knew Mia was a quiet woman, but for some reason, her silence bothered him. She got up from the bed and went to the bathroom without saying a word. He stood up from his squatting position, listening to the shower be turned on. Then the sound of muffled crying came from the other side of the door. There was no other word, besides helpless, that could describe how he felt. Mia didn't ask for any of this to happen to her. She was living a normal life before being thrown into the world of guns, death, and violence. She was a strong woman and seemed to be handling all of this better than Barney expected. But he also could see that she wasn't built for this life. Her small frame was a disadvantage and she didn't know how to correctly deal with an opponent. Sure, she could learn how to defend herself, but she could never change her size.

Mia was holding her duffle bag as she waited in the common area. She nervously waited for their next destination. There was no control over this situation so all she could do was hope for all of it to be over soon. A heaviness sat on her chest, making it harder to breathe. That was the second time she watched a man die. The first time was when Christmas rescued her and Barney from Quinn. Mia wondered how long it would take for someone to become numb to killing people. It seemed like to Barney and his team that this was just how their job worked; kind of like being a police officer. At some point, you may have to kill someone for the greater good. It was a hard reality to watch first hand. Tool entered the room first and Mia smiled at him. The few days she was here, Mia enjoyed Tool's company. All of them were a little rough around the edge; however, they were the nicest people she had met in a while. After him, the rest of the team soon followed behind Tool. "We've decided on bringing you to a safe house in Montana. It's remote and should be extremely hard for Pressmen to find you," Barney explained and glanced between Yin Yang and Christmas. "One of them will stay with you while the rest of us are away."

"Away?" she repeated.

Barney nodded. "We got some information from a resource of our's on where Pressmen may be. We'll be gone for a day - two at most. We're heading out now though and can talk on the plane."

"Okay," she replied and turned to Tool. "Thank you for all of your hospitality. Your food was very good," she politely thanked him. "One day, I hope to repay you."

The older tattoo artist agreed and they both shook hands. "Safe travels," he said and then went to the rest of the team to say his goodbyes.

Barney loaded up the back of his truck with his, Christmas' and Mia's Bags. They got in the truck and began following behind Caesar's black F-250 truck. Mia sat in the middle like before as Christmas sat in the passenger seat. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, coloring the sky in beautiful hues of pink and tangerine orange. She wondered what part of Montana they were flying to since their plane seemed to be only for water landings. When they arrived at the dock, they all gathered their things and boarded the plane. Mia strapped herself in and waited for them to get into the air.

The men talked among themselves, going over the details of their mission and making jokes. Mia found it so interesting to see this side of mercenaries. They were trained killers, but were still just like you or I. She admired their bravery and wondered if she could ever do the same. They went day in and day out fighting and putting their lives on the line. Putting herself in their shoes was a strange thought. She could never envision herself as Barney or his team members. It wasn't what she was built for. What a badass thought of storming the enemy before defeating them. It also was a scary thought of not knowing if you'll make it out alive. Mia knew that feeling too well.

The flight was around six hours and they arrived around noon. The adrenaline made her crash an hour after the plane was in the air. She slept for four hours while the last hour was spent taking in the new landscape. Toll Road took notice of Mia's eyes that were glued to the window. "Ever been to Montana?" He asked.

She sheepishly grinned. "No, but I've always wanted to go," Mia replied not taking her eyes off the towering mountains that were in the distance. "This is the moment I wish I had my camera. My God, look at this scenery…"

"Alaska is a great place to visit too," he commented.

She began gushing over the idea. "I would love to see the last frontier. Go fishing and catch some wild salmon while you're there." Barney smiled up in the cockpit at their small talk. The more Barney got to know her, the more he realized how intertwined her life was with nature. Mia wasn't kidding when she said she loved nature. She was happy to throw away a modern lifestyle most people wanted and traded it for a harder life. One that you depended on your hard work and the land to provide for yourself. It seemed like a simpler life. "Do you see many mountain lions and bears up here?"

"Oh yeah. And wolves. They've got some big grizzly bears up here."

Her eyes lit up. "That's amazing. I heard they're around eight feet when they stand up."

"Around that height. It depends on the bear though," Toll Road explained. As Mia and Toll Road continued to talk about places they wanted to visit, Barney glided the plane down to Lake Mcdonald - just south of Polebridge. Barney put their safe house there knowing the chances of staying hidden were favorable. The town had a population of just over two hundred people. This was the kind of town where it was easy to go into the wilderness and disappear.

Barney got the things that Yin Yang or Christmas would need while they stayed at the cabin for the days ahead. They all piled into a large SUV that luckily contained a second row of seats. The very back row was just big enough for their bags and Mia. The drive up to Polebridge was bumpy and an hour long before they arrived to a small house a couple of miles outside the town. Barney avoided the center of the town so their vehicle wouldn't be seen by the locals. They would be ones to notice an outsider's vehicle. Everybody knew everyone in a town this small. Barney pulled into a dirt driveway and drove up to a single-story home with a barn off to the side. A few seconds after he parked the SUV, a man came out the front door.

Mia stood off to the side as the stranger went up to Barney. He was in his late 40's, around Christmas' age, and Both men greeted each other with smiles and a handshake. "Good to see you again, John," Barney said to the man.

The man was around six feet tall and by his built, she could tell that he had a similar profession as Barney. Around his neck were military dog tags and he wore heavy duty boots to match. He was bald but sported a thick handlebar mustache. On the top of his head was a black cattleman hat. It had a dented center and curled brim. "It's been a little bit," John chuckled and nodded at the rest of the team. Then his eyes fell on Mia. "And who's this?"

"This is Mia Brooks," Barney introduced and Mia leaned forward to shake the man's hand. She could tell he was trying not to take notice of the bruises and burns on her." She'll be staying at the safe house for a little bit."

"It's nice to meet you," Mia said and they shook hands.

"Same to you," John told her and turned to Barney. He pointed at the barn. "All your stuff still in the tack room and the horses are in the back pasture. You should have time to make it before nightfall."

Mia's face morphed into confusion. "Horses?"

"The only way to get up to the safe house is horseback. There's no roads," Barney explained and Mia grinned.

"Sounds good to me."

Author's Note: Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you thought. Thanks again! Also, I hope everyone is staying safe during this Corona Virus (Covid-19) outbreak. I feel awful about China and all the people who have been affected. And to anyone in the USA, don't forget to wash your hands A LOT and stay away from large groups of people! It's just the beginning of our outbreak. Stay safe and heathy!

~FriedPeaches