Chapter 151: Chapter 151
The connecting thud hit low down on the back of his head; a mighty crack and shuddering vibration ran through the bar, hurting TangShi’s palms, wrist and forearms with the reverberations. TangShi stopped dead, poised, and for a second she didn’t think it had any impact on him as he stood still. Nothing happening and the world seemed to fall eerily quiet.
Rong stared at Linlin for a long, paused moment, as she lifted her chin and made eye contact while struggling to breath and watched as his eyes glazed over and roll back into his head. His body crumbling from solid and poised to seemingly a fluid thing and he collapsed into a heap on the floor, crumbling away. His collapse revealed TangShi standing with a bar over her head, heaving in air with rapid breaths and a traumatized, scared shitless, expression on her face.
It took them both a second to realize he was rendered completely unconscious and to pull their heads together before they lost this opportunity. A sense of relief lightening both of their heavy chest weights.
“Untie me…no, wait. Tie him up. He has those cable tie things… look” Linlin nodded at the white cords sliding out of his inside pocket and peeking at her from this angle. He looked dead the way his body was awkwardly positioned but she could still see the movement of his chest to show he was breathing. “In movies they always leave the bad guy and run and he always gets up and comes after them. We have to tie him up.” Linlin rambled as her own hysteria rose, still crunched forward because of stomach pains from his assault. A sense of urgency growing inside of her.
TangShi dropped the bar, moving to auto pilot and seemingly in shock and jumped over him, pulling the cables from his coat and slid one out from the pile. She had never used one before but it seemed straightforward and she quickly figured out how to slot one end in the other and pull tight.
Pulling his legs together first and securing his ankles together with one with a great deal of awkwardness. She had to push his body over, struggle with his weight, and haul him around to get his hands together behind his back the way he had done with Linlin and secured then there too. The whole time her heart racing and stomach churning with fear in case he woke up and attacked her.
“I think….. that’s done, right?” She looked up at Linlin for confirmation, her nerves so frayed she couldn’t think straight, tugging the ties to make sure they were secure. Linlin nodded.
“Look for something sharp to get these off of me. We need his car keys too and his cell.” Linlin was a little more pulled together than TangShi was and knew she needed to take the lead. In life she had always bene the one to guide TangShi and tell her what to do in her weakest moments and knew she needed her now. Still suffering from the aftereffects of whatever he did to her, and her aching stomach, but it was improving.
TangShi did as she was told and scrambled around his body first, searching his pockets hectically for his phone and something useful. Finding nothing at all except more ties and a bottle of clear fluid. She held it up to Linlin and waved it.
“I think this is what he used on you to knock you out. We should take it.” She knew the hospital might need it to identify properly what had been given to Linlin if they needed to give her something to counteract it, thinking ahead and being hopeful..
“We should make the bastard drink it and be done with him.” Linlin snapped, Using her feet to try and kick at his lifeless body. Hating him for everything he had done to them and unleashing some of her own building rage. Shock wearing off with the drowsy effects of whatever was in that bottle.
“I’m going to try the car.” TangShi got up and ran at full speed to the parked black car. Hauling the door open and spying his bag on the passenger seat. She yanked it open without hesitation and much to her relief found a phone and a pocketknife on top of money and clothes. She wondered if he had been the one to stab the tire on Linlin’s car and made it that they pulled over with a flat. He must have been watching and waiting and timed it just as they left the café.
TangShi came back to Linlin at speed, pulling her forward and cutting the ties around her wrists first with the small blade, gasping in horror at seeing how roughed up and sliced they were from the pressure of trying to get her hands out of the plastic by herself. Red rings of smeared blood and bruising ruining her pretty wrists.
She released her then handed her the knife as she got to work at finishing untying the rope she had started earlier. Linlin worked one arm free and out and tended to her ankles, keeping one eye on him the whole time, still very scared about him waking up as they worked in urgency. He looked secure but she just wanted to get TangShi and run to safety. The instinct so strong it was making her fingers fumble on her task.
Linlin was released after a few minutes of tugging and TangShi helped her up on unsteady feet, her body swaying and loose Still. Dizzy as she got upright and realizing she was far from recovered fully. Linlin held on around TangShi’s shoulders and they hobbled towards the black car at a fast pace, leaving him in the dust as he began to groan and move around.
TangShi flicked her glance back in horror, seeing him come to and hurried Linlin towards their escape.
“You can’t drive. It has to be me.” Linlin pointed out as TangShi tried to lever her into the open passenger door.
“Look at you. How can you drive like this? We don’t need to go far, just away from here while you call the cops and we find out where we are. I can do that. I can try.” TangShi pushed Linlin in without further argument, having learned the basics of driving as a teen even though she never went onto pass her test. Linlin relented, slumping in and TangShi closed the door after handing her the phone and ran around the other side. One eye on him as she dashed as fast as she could.
The keys were still in the ignition, much to her relief and she started it quickly. Her hands shaking, her vision blurry and she took a long calming breath to get her brain to work on the mechanics of getting going. Pulling up her lessons form an instructor years ago and mentally going through the steps.
Linlin lifted the cell to call the cops and held the phone to her ear as TangShi pulled out slowly. Rong caught their attention as his body rolled sideways and he sat up, shaking his head and looked around him in disorientated weirdness. It was obvious he was dazed and there was a trickle of blood running down the back of his neck. A scowl appeared on his face as he spotted the slow, moving vehicle, recovering fast, and he started to fight his binds and gnash his teeth, kicking out across the floor to break them. Furious at finding himself bound up.
“Something tells me we should have used more than one on his hands and feet. I don’t think they’ll keep him. Drive…. drive.” Linlin’s fear exploded at the way he was rubbing his ankles at odd angles to stretch and snap the restraints and her gut said he would be free soon enough. They weren’t thick and he was a big guy with obvious strength and way more know how then them on how to snap them.
TangShi floored it. Screeching and burning rubber and kicking up dust as she put the gas peddle to the floor and drove forward, looking for a way out. The car lurching and giving her a fright with the sudden burst of speed at her fingertips.
There were huge double doors ahead of them and even though they were closed, she didn’t ease up the speed but instead went crashing through them with force. Too wound up and afraid of him coming that she didn’t stop to worry about what would have happened if they had resisted instead. Splintering the old wood and showering the car with debris but they kept moving forward with momentum and Linlin clung on for dear life as she swung them around a corner and headed for what looked like a gate to open road. The buildings all around them seemed derelict too and they were well concealed in a place neither girl had seen before.
“Hello, hello?” Linlin was straining to hear the voice on the other end of the phone call but the signal was dropping and breaking the up because of their location. She got no further than being asked what service she needed. She couldn’t hear them and doubted they could hear her either. The phone disconnected by itself as the signal dropped right off and she clenched it in frustration.
“Our signal sucks. We need to get away from these buildings and out onto a main road. Go that way. We need open air and no interference by whatever these pylons are.” She pointed ahead, towards a gap between more huge factory buildings but there was signage indicating a way out. The sky overcast and dull and the clouded atmosphere made this place feel like some dystopian reality where no humans dwelled.