Persona (17 page)

Liam adjusts Moira in a better grip and he turns them to the other door to the left of them. Moira can see an exit sign just over the door, and prays its safe outside. Over Liam’s shoulder the others follow, but she’s looking down the hallway past them. The glow of the flashing light end mid hallway, so the end of it looks intimidating. Moira expects someone to jump out at them at any minute, but does wonder where all the doctors and staff are.

At the exit door, Liam pulls it open without hesitation, and as soon as he does Marty is there to greet them. He’s in full persona, like a dark demon, and he’s practically jumping in his skin with nervousness. His eyes go wide when he’s sees how bad Moira looks in Liam’s arms, and they just about pop out of his head seeing Daisy in Ray’s.

“We have to move fast, the guards out here went to get the power back on. We won’t have cover for much longer.” He rushes out in a whisper.

Marty walks in before them, and lightly touches Moira’s cheek before turning back to the door. She feels so relieved to see him. She almost can’t breathe for a moment. They are about to go out the door and into the darkness outside, when a door opens behind them.

***

They all turn in alarm, and Raven the only one without anyone in her arms, crouches and bares her teeth at the incoming threat. Marty pushes past Liam, and rushes to Raven’s side with a yell. Liam and Ray back up to the door holding tight to they’re cargo.

From the end of the hall, a woman steps into the blinking light with her hands raised in surrender. Moira lifts her head from Liam’s shoulder and see’s that it’s the red haired woman named Dana. The woman’s eyes are wide, and she searches among them before spotting Moira. Her posture relaxes then, and she looks relieved.

“I’m not going to try and stop you. I just want you to get her out of here.” Dana says.

Raven and Marty stare at her in confusion, but back up to the others. As Liam steps out the door Moira gets a better look at the woman and see’s tears in her eyes.

“Why would you let me go?” Moira asks in wonder.

With tears falling out of her eyes, the woman says, “I used to work with your mother once upon a time. I owe her this much, to see her daughter safe.”

Moira notices then that the woman is older than she looks, and she can see the age in her pain. If she really did know her mother, then she also knows everything that has been going on. Not understanding why she’s still working here, Moira can only stare at her in shock.

“Moira, know he won’t stop until he gets you back. Stay safe child.” Dana whispers.

Raven and Marty come out of the door last, and when they close it behind them, Dana disappears from her sight. Once outside Moira notices the outside of the base hasn’t changed much since she was here as a child. Most of the facility is underground, and the top floor in placed against the front of a side of the mountains. Even in the dark, she can see the perimeter of the property. The whole place is roughly the size of a football field, and only has about a dozen small buildings scattered amongst the trees. The place is surrounded by a large brick wall, which centers a guarding post, and sours several feet high.

Still in Liam’s arms, with being outside in the cooler night air, Moira shivers more violently. The only good thing is that the cold wakes her up and she doesn’t have to struggle to stay conscious. The bad thing is that the numbness is fading away now, and her whole body is racked with pain. They’re group make their way to the right of the door they came out of, with Marty at the front and Raven at they’re back. They all try to stay hunched down, and try to stay covered with the darkness.

Moira notices that they pace along the side of the mountain, and then cutting through a group of trees they start for the wall. On this side, it is about fifteen feet away, and they all hurry to get to it and pick up they’re pace the closer they get. Every movement Liam makes sends a jarring pain through her, and she can hear Daisy’s cries of pain over the same problem. They all come to a halt as they reach the wall, and Marty doesn’t hesitate as he bends down and jumps up to the top of it.

“Ray, hand Daisy up to me.” He says as he reaches down for her.

Ray comes closer to the wall, and shifts Daisy in his arms. She grunts in pain as she reaches her arms out as Ray pushes her up higher. Marty gets a hold of her, and pulls her up with ease, and he jumps down to the other side with her. Not even a second later, he’s back up on the wall.

“Alright Liam, hand Moira over.” Ray says, but no sooner are the words out of his mouth, that a loud siren wails through the courtyard.

They all freeze and Ray motions for them to hurry up, but then a flood light fills the area and they are in plain sight. They all cower in the light, and Moira is so frightened of being caught she feels sick.

“You guys get on the other side, and then I’ll pass Moira to you.” Liam says, as he addresses Raven and Ray.

Ray nods, and jumps up onto the wall with no problem, and then he and Marty both disappear over the side. Raven hesitates, not wanting to leave them alone and vulnerable, but then turns away and jumps onto the wall. She doesn’t jump over the side though, and turns back to Moira and Liam and reaches her arms out.

“I have to set you down for a second, Mo. It’ll be easier for you to go up, if I can get a hold of your legs.”

Moira tenses in his arms, and glances up at him. She can see how scared he is of getting caught, but he’s trying to keep it together. She knows it’s going to be painful standing up and even worse going over the wall. But nothing can be worse than having to go back to the facility, so she nods her head and tries to be strong. Ever so gently, he places her down on her feet, and her legs tremble as she tries to stay upright. As he starts to squat down to her legs, Moira gazes up at Raven and hopes she has no problem lifting her. Just has Liam grabs both her legs together and raises his head to her, a shuffling in the trees behind them can be heard. Ravens eyes go wide as she looks over their shoulders, and Liam quickly lifts Moira up without warning. She can’t hold back her cries of pain as she goes airborne, but still she stretches her arms out to Raven.

“Put the girl down son, now!” A mans voice calls out.

Moira freezes mid reach and looks behind her, to the voice. It’s a young man in his early twenties, and he’s in a soldier’s uniform. The thing that startles Moira the most is that he’s holding a handgun and it’s pointed right at her. Liam doesn’t set her down, if anything he grips her tighter so that is nails dig into her calves. Moira glances down to Liam, and he’s watching her intently, almost trying to tell her something with his eyes. She doesn’t know what could be going through his mind, but she’s definitely not climbing the wall and leaving him to be shot.

“I said put the girl down, now!” The man yells.

Moira is shaking now, and not from just being hurt, but afraid the man’s yelling will alert other soldiers. She feels Liam’s hands tense, and she has an unsettling feeling that he’s about to toss her up over the wall. She looks up to Raven, just as a man pulls himself up onto the wall beside her. Moira barely has time to think that her father just climbed onto the wall, when he leaps over her head and tackles the soldier to the ground.

Liam drops her into his arms, and they turn just in time to see her father get to his feet and kick the man’s gun from his hands. He picks it up before the man can grab for it, and uses the butt of it to knock him in the face. The man falls unconscious to the ground, but not before other’s can be heard coming from the distance.

“Daddy!” Moira yells, as she’s about to leave Liam’s arms to run to him.

Liam’s arms sweep out though, and grab at her middle stopping her from getting too far.

“Liam what are doing? Let me go dammit!” She ignores her body’s protests as she tries to get to her father and fight off Liam.

Her father only gives her a once over before he stares down Liam.

“I told you to get her out of there without getting caught.” He spits out.

“I know sir, they found out faster than we anticipated.”

Moira looks between them, not really understanding what’s going on. She knew Liam went to him to find her, but had no idea her father would be so involved.

“It’s doesn’t matter now, all that matters is that you get her away as fast as possible. I can only hold them at bay for so long.”

Her father’s words penetrate just as Liam lifts her back into his arms, and she screams as he pounces them both up onto the wall. Moira is trying to jerk free, but Liam hold firm and is about to jump down to the other side. Quickly, Moira searches out for her father. He’s still in the same position, but his eyes are on her, and Moira can’t help but to see sadness on his face. Sobbing now, she reaches lifelessly out to him, but he shakes his head and gives her a small smile before turning away from her.

“Hold on to me.” Liam whispers into her hair, as all the air gets rushed out of her lungs as they fall to the ground on the other side of the wall.

***

As soon as Liam’s feet hit the ground, Moira’s whole body is jarred with pain and her vision comes and goes in flashes now. She sees her friends all huddled beside the wall closest to them, and they all look terrified. When Liam turns away and runs, she hears shouts and gun fire on the other side of the wall. Biting her lip to not make any noise now, she feels her heart breaking for leaving her father. She hopes he’s all right, and prays Fletcher doesn’t get to him.

Everything goes by in a blur as Liam rushes them through the trees, and the others footsteps can be heard behind them. Moira catches glimpses of trees on either side of them, and has the feeling of being trapped as they are surrounded by the mountain side. She can feel Liam’s heart beating as he runs, but he never tires or his arms never loosen from holding her. They move through the night for what feels like an eternity, when they finally come to a clearing. About a yard away up a slight hill, is a stretch of road.

Moira lifts her head off of Liam’s shoulder and can see everyone is tense, listening if the road is clear for them. It’s still dark, but the sky is getting lighter so dawn must be getting closer.

“Put me down, I can walk.” Moira chokes out.

Liam gives her a serious look, like he doesn’t trust her to run the other way. Can’t he see how hurt she is, Moira thinks to herself. She would have stayed behind with her father if she could have, but it’s too late for her to change her mind now. She knows she’d never make it back through the woods to the base, in one piece.

“Moira, I can carry you. You don’t need to be strong right now.” Liam tries to reassure her.

“I am strong. I just don’t want you holding me. Put me down, please.”

He looks like he wants to argue with her, but Raven interrupts him.

“Your car isn’t that far down the road, Liam. She can lean on me, its fine. Moira?” She says as she holds out her arms.

Gently, Liam eases Moira down onto the ground, and when she almost stumbles, he hold her tightly. Giving her a final comforting squeeze, he lets her go. Moira walks shakily into Ravens arms, and tries to ignore the hurt look Liam is giving her. He should feel bad, she thinks, he forced her to leave her father. Even if he did it for her own good, it’s still a bad thing to do.

Raven wraps Moira’s arm over her shoulder and lets her lean on her for strength. Still in Ray’s arms, Daisy is limply hanging onto him and Moira gets the feeling that she might have passed out. Marty hovers on Raven’s other side glancing around nervously. Liam takes the lead then, and motions for the others to follow slowly behind him, as the make their way down the darkened road.

As Moira leans on Raven, she secretly wishes she were still being held by Liam. She knows she’s just being stubborn, but she doesn’t know if it’s worth the pain she feels in every step. Her legs feel like jelly and she doesn’t know how she is still walking on them. The farther they get down the road, the more relaxed the group seems to get. Well, everyone except Liam of course. You could actually feel the tension in the air around him, and he continuously looks behind them.

“Rave, what is the pack you mentioned earlier?” Moira asks in a whisper suddenly.

Glancing at her quickly, she says, “Oh that. It’s just anyone in the area that are like us.”

“Why haven’t I heard about it before now though?”

“Because it’s kind of a secret society. No one knows about it except the members of it.” Marty interrupts before Raven can respond.

“So everyone like us is a part of it?” Moira asks.

“Not really. It’s more of a select thing, if you believe the things it’s involved in.” Raven says.

“And what sort of thing is that?” Moira asks again.

Before she or Marty can answer her, the guys up front come to a stop. After walking for almost a mile, Liam’s car is now just a ways down the road. He has it parked on the shoulder of the road, and it’s dark exterior is cloaked with the early morning darkness still. Liam continues forward and hurries the others to follow him, and when they just reach it, they can hear police sirens in the distance.

Quickly Liam rushes over to the driver’s side and gets in, and the rest of them follow suit. Moira eases into the front seat with the help of Raven, and only realizes she’s beside Liam after she’s already seated. Marty and Ray help an unconscious Daisy into the back, and prop her up between them. No sooner are the doors closed, and Liam is already starting the car and eases onto the road. They don’t get very far when the sound of siren gets closer, and they see the glow of blinking lights as cars approach. Everyone tenses as the cars get closer, but let out a sigh, when they race pass.

When the police cars passed, Moira felt a relief so great, that she couldn’t stop the tears forming in her eyes. They don’t hold for very long, and when she takes a deep breath to calm down, they roll down her cheeks. She feels like her whole world is crashing in around her, and nothing makes sense. The only thing that ever made sense to her was her persona, and she can’t even use that. Raven who was gazing out the window notices that Moira is crying, so she wraps her arms around her and murmurs comforting words.