The car cut sharply to the left and screeched to a halt, sending her tumbling to the ground. “You had no idea what you’d find here, did you? No…you wouldn’t have come alone.”
Queen heaved herself back up to her feet as a circle of cars converged on her. Her body was battered and she ached from head to toe. I hope no one else on the team finds out I got my ass kicked by a bunch of bumper cars. As the cars converged, she sprang into the air. The cars came together with a resounding crash, and she came down on top of one. The cars immediately backed up, seeking to keep her hemmed in. She managed to maintain her balance for a moment, and as the car started to whip around, she jumped as high as she could.
The world disappeared and reappeared again and again in the flickering of the strobe lights, giving her the feeling that she was slowly rising, as if she were floating to the surface of a dark lake. She caught a glimpse of the metal framework above the ride, and grabbed for it. Sharp burrs cut into her hands as she clenched the rusted metal. She swung forward and reached out for another bar, intending to make her way out monkey bar-style.
That was when the strobes went out.
The sudden absence of light blinded Queen, and she found herself holding on with one hand and clutching air with the other. She dangled there until her fumbling hand finally caught hold of another bar and she hung there, listening to the sound of the bumper cars circling in the darkness below. How had a children’s ride turned into a school of hungry sharks?
“I don’t understand why you’re a concern to Richard Ridley. I assumed you’d be smarter,” the voice said. “Don’t you know you should never touch the metal over a bumper car ride?”
The meaning of his words flashed through Queen’s mind an instant before a sharp, painful tingling ran down her arms and through her body. She found herself momentarily unable to let go, but the force of her spasms jerked her hands loose, and she hit the ground, her arms and legs twitching and her skin tingling painfully. The voltage had not been sufficient to kill a person, but was just strong enough to drop her to her knees and set her muscles to twitching. Unfortunately for her adversary, it also reminded her of the electric shock torture General Trung inflicted on her before branding her forehead. The memory fueled her anger.
The cars were coming again. She could hear them converging on her from all around. Her night vision returning, she staggered sideways, toward the rail that surrounded the ride, and braced herself for another impact. She was still ten feet from freedom when the ring of cars closed in. She spotted one of the broken-down, overturned cars nearby, and she hurled herself into it, the impact knocking it back down onto its wheels.
Two of the bumper cars smashed into her car, knocking it a few feet toward the side rail. Two more cars struck it, sending her even closer to freedom. She eyed her goal and readied herself to jump for it, but just as she made her move, the car hit a sinkhole in the broken track and upended.
She crashed hard into the rail, but managed to drape one arm over it and haul herself up. More cars were coming, and she rolled over just as they crashed into the fence.
Queen caught her breath for a moment, waiting for the voice to return, but the man stayed silent. “Nothing to say now?” Queen said. She didn’t know if the man could hear her, but she said a few choice words about his mother, just in case. Regaining her feet, she was aware of every bump, bruise and scrape on her body. Now she really wanted to hurt someone.
Chapter 10
They know you’re here and they’re toying with you. It’s not safe. You’ve confirmed Manifold’s presence, and you have sufficient reason to conclude they’re conducting experiments on humans. Get out with your ass intact, report to Deep Blue and let him handle it from here. Then you can get back to looking for Rook. Queen knew she should listen to that small voice in the back of her head, but other parts of her mind were giving counsel as well. You must be almost there; otherwise, they wouldn’t have bothered turning the bumper car ride into a death trap. And why haven’t they sent any more men after you? Maybe you’re about to breach their last line of defense. The loudest voice, however, cried out for revenge. That was the one she listened to.