Chapter 8 - The Trade
The entire perimeter froze in absolute silence.
Dozens of police weapons clicked as they took aim, but Silas kept the boy perfectly shielded.
"Put the knife down, Silas!" Miller yelled, keeping his gun leveled at the man's head.
"Back off!" Silas screamed, his eyes wild and bloodshot.
The little boy sobbed quietly, too weak to fight against the massive man.
"You don't want to hurt him," I stepped forward, raising my hands to show I was unarmed.
"Stay back, Doctor!" Miller warned me.
I ignored him and took another slow step toward the tree line.
"You need medical attention, Silas," I said, keeping my voice calm and steady.
"I can see the burns on your neck from the explosion."
"Shut up!" he hissed, pressing the blade slightly closer to the boy's skin.
"Let the boy go," I offered. "Take me instead."
"Rowan, no!" Miller barked.
"I'm a doctor," I reasoned with Silas. "I'm vastly more valuable as a hostage than a dying child."
Silas stared at me, calculating the odds in his twisted mind.
He knew he couldn't outrun the police while carrying a frantic kid.
"Walk toward the black van behind the trees," Silas ordered me.
"Slowly."
I walked forward, my heart hammering furiously against my ribs.
As I reached him, he aggressively shoved the little boy toward Miller.
In the same breath, he grabbed my hair and dragged me backward into the shadows.
He threw me into the back of a stolen paramedic van and slammed the doors.
The engine roared to life, and the tires spun wildly in the mud.
We smashed through the police barricade, tearing off down the dark country highway.
I lay on the metal floor of the van, bruised and terrified.
Silas looked at me through the rearview mirror, an evil grin stretching across his face.
May you like
"You ruined my family, Doctor," he sneered.
"Now, you are going to help me build a new one."
