Saving the Silent: Part Six

Welcome to GoMC's Story Fest! For the next couple of weeks (possibly) I'll be posting my writings, only breaking for weekends and Fridays, when I do Randomness Friday.

If you missed the first five parts, go to the following links, or just scroll down to part one.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

PART SIX:

A voice cut through the darkness. “I told you them kids were trouble.”
 Dawn woozily opened her eyes. She was in a dim room that stank of stale hay and mold. Two shadowy figures stood in one corner, obviously arguing. She blinked several times until the image melded into a single person.
 “Ohhh…” she moaned to herself. It felt as if a horse had kicked her in the head. Her voice sounded even more muffled than she had thought it would. There was a cloth stuffed in her mouth that tasted like metal.
“-should have gotten rid of ‘em the first chance you got!”
Something moved beside her, but Dawn couldn’t tell what it was. She could only hope it wasn’t some huge, mutant insect. To keep her mind off of it, she made herself keep still and strain to hear the voices.
The voice, feminine but harsh, again caught her attention. “I don’t exactly want ‘murder’ on our list of crimes!”
 It was the gun lady! Dawn wriggled around, but the bonds that held her were tight and complex.
The woman’s voice became a murmur as she continued a conversation.
 Dawn took a deep breath, and went over the facts.
There were little holes in the ceiling, and Dawn could still see light. She hadn’t been out long, and old-looking rafters proved that she was in the dilapidated barn.
There was a little itch on her arm, but she couldn’t move.
 There was a chance she would live, but only if she thought and reacted fast.
  A low, haunting sound right next to Dawn’s ear reminded her of the horror movies she had watched with Sean.  “Mmmmm…” The shadow next to her drew back, and then something struck her side, like a very blunt dagger.
Dawn sat up like a rabbit listening for danger. First dangerous criminals, then overgrown insects, and now elbowing mummies? What was the world coming to?
 
“Dawn…” a voice whispered.
“Josh?” That’s what Dawn meant to whisper, but her voice came out like an ill rattlesnake.
 “Hold still while I try to get the gag off.”
She saw a glint of metal, and suddenly her mouth was free. Spitting the wad of cloth out, Dawn smiled. Sweet relief…
Her arms were soon untied, and Josh began hacking at the ropes around her legs.
 “We’re lucky that I brought my pocketknife.”
They both slowly stood up, but there was a click. Something cold and hard pushed against her hairline.
  “Don’t move,” the lady hissed, “Or she’s dead.”
Josh froze beside Dawn.
 “Drop the knife and kick it over here where I can see it.”
He obeyed.
As the woman was reaching towards the knife, Dawn acted.
 “Duck!” she screamed at Josh.
 She grabbed the woman’s gun hand and twisted it away from Josh and her. Several shots rang out, but none of them hit Dawn. The woman yelped once, and fell. As quickly as she could, Dawn dived for the floor as she twisted the lady’s wrist, causing her body to face away from Dawn to get the gun out of her hands.
  Standing up, Dawn kept the gun pointed at the groaning figure.
“Josh…”
“Whoa.” He stood still, gaping at Dawn. It reminded her of the fish she had caught last summer at Cedars Lake with Mr. Patterson. Their mouths were huge, and so was his, at the moment.
“Josh!”
Josh suddenly came to life and pumped his fist in the air. “Wow! Never mess with a black belt!”
 “Joshua, please tie her up.”
He quickly got her against one of the wooden supports. “Now, I really don’t like hurting you,” he pulled one of the ropes tight, and the woman groaned. “But desperate times call for desperate measures, as you said before you knocked me out.”
  “My leg,” she groaned. “I got shot.”
Josh bent to look at their captive’s ankle.
  “What do I do with the gun?” Dawn stared the weapon in her hands, disgusted.
“Put it down.” Josh looked up. “This woman needs medical help.”    
 “But, Josh, I think there’s someone else here. She was talking to someone.”
 “It’s called a phone, honey.” She looked up at Dawn with cold eyes. “I was talking to my brother in Denver.”
  Dawn smiled wryly. “Somehow, I doubt that.” She glanced at Josh. “She’ll be fine for now. I think we should make sure no one else is here.”
 “But my leg!” the now gun-less woman cried.
 “You’ll get help as soon as possible.”


God Bless,