Dissonance - Book One

thirty

I don't sleep much the rest of the night. I toss and turn between wake and slumber, unable to tell the difference between my unconscious nightmares and the nightmare I'm currently living. As soon as I hear the first sounds of life on the other side of the door, I assume it's morning, so I get up and get dressed, then I wake Wyler and Lex. His arm is slung over her body. His face pressed up against the back of her neck. But unlike last night, their closeness doesn't bother me. I feel hyper focused.

"New plan," I say as soon as they seem coherent.

"What do you mean? Did I miss something?" Wyler asks, still wiping sleep from his eyes.

"No, but I did. It's all so clear now."

"What is?"

"Our way out," I say, standing up and pacing the room. "Lex, you're right, we'll grab Jacobs when he enters and steal his gun. But we're leaving him here. He's not coming with us."

They look confused.

"Come on, he'll be here soon." I toss their shoes at them.

"Wait a minute, Ever. If he's in here, then who's going to get us out?" Lex asks while tying up the laces on her boots.

"I am."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"You know the dreams I've been having?"

"Yeah," she responds uneasily.

"Well I don't think they're dreams. I think they're memories. And if my memory serves me correctly, then I should be able to get us out of here."

"How?"

There are footsteps coming down the hall, fast and furious.

"There's no time to explain. I need you two to trust me. You have to trust me," I say sternly.

They look at one another and nod.

"Ok," they say in unison.

The footsteps are getting closer. Whoever it is, is right outside our door.

"This is it. Wyler, over there. Lex, you go on the other side." I point to either side of the door. "Lex, when he comes in, I want you to get his attention, that's when Wyler will punch him in the face and I'll grab his gun. Since he'll be armed, you'll only get one chance at hitting him." I say to Wyler. "Don't screw it up."

"Right, no pressure."

Sarcastic as usual.

The footsteps are just outside our door.

"It's now or never," I say as we get into position.

I hear the lock disengage. The door opens.

"Hey there," Lex says sweetly. She pops out to Jacob's right, turning his attention in her direction. "Looking for this," she says in a mocking tone while dangling his ID in the air.

"Why you little..."

He takes the bait and lunges towards Lex, but before he can reach her, Wyler tackles him from behind. Jacobs collapses under his weight. They're on the ground wrestling back and forth. I try to grab Jacobs' gun but it's impossible to reach while they're rolling around. Jacobs breaks free for a second. It's just enough time for him to reach for his gun. This was a terrible plan. One of us is going to get shot and I'm not going to let it be Lex or Wyler so I kick Jacobs in the side as hard as I can. The blow from my boot is enough to stop his hand from reaching his gun. Wyler is on top of him again and clocks him in the face. But Jacobs is tougher than I expected. Wyler continues to throw punches while Lex and I frantically search the room for something to use to take him out. That's when I notice that Wyler is too distracted by trying to knock Jacobs out, that he doesn't notice Jacobs' hand moving towards the holster on his side. I try to get to Wyler in time but Jacobs manages to reach his gun. Wyler sees it at the last minute and pins Jacobs' arm to the ground, above his head. I run towards them and kick the gun out of his hand. It goes spinning towards Lex who picks it up and points it at Jacobs' head.