Erin Leaf - The First Time is the Sweetest

“Once we get into town, we should be able to go to the local cops and get help,” Gabriel said, buckling his seat belt and sitting back in the seat. She hadn’t heard any more shots since they’d turned on the paved road. Maybe they didn’t have a car? Sabrina reasoned, then felt her heart sink as Jimmy cursed.

“We may not get into fucking town, Gabriel.” He swore again and drove faster. He hated this. Hated feeling helpless, especially when the lives of the people he loved were in danger. He knew the best thing he could do was drive, so he firmed his mouth and gripped the steering wheel harder, trying to drive defensively, throw their attackers off balance.

Sabrina heard another vehicle behind them but didn’t dare get up to see what was happening. Gabriel leaned out of the window again before turning to look out the back of the vehicle. When he reached forward and popped open the glove compartment, she saw him exchange the clip in his gun as she peeked in between the front seats from her spot on the floor.

“What’s happening?” she asked, hoping one of them would enlighten her.

“There are two cars behind us, and they don’t look friendly,” Gabriel explained shortly. Sabrina prayed that the cars he saw were ordinary drivers sharing the road, but felt her heart sink as Jimmy cursed and swerved, sending her crashing against the door.

“Hold on!” he yelled, too late. He yanked on the wheel, and she felt more than heard a shot punch the back window. The whole piece of shatterproof glass fell on the seat, some slivers sliding onto the floor near her as she tried to wedge herself more securely between the rear seat and the back of the front seat.

“Shit, shit, shit! They’ve got semiautomatics,” Gabriel said as Sabrina heard the sound of rapid fire, thankfully none of it hitting the car. Gabriel squeezed off a few cautious shots. “I’m aiming for their tires, but I’m not sure if that’ll stop them.”

More bullets whizzed by, a few hitting the metal of the car while Jimmy tried to drive and duck at the same time. Then, suddenly, a tremendous crash impacted the driver’s side of the car, and they lurched onto the gravel-strewn shoulder of the road. Jimmy cursed, yanking on the wheel, and then they were on the smooth pavement again. He stomped on the gas, and Sabrina crashed into the door again as he tried to avoid what must have been the other car trying to ram them once again.

“Shit! Sabrina, you okay?” Jimmy called back, swerving again.

“Yeah, yeah, just drive, all right? Don’t worry about me!” She ducked as she heard more gunfire. Gabriel carefully aimed and shot a few more rounds, but she had no idea if they were hitting anything.

“Gabriel? Did you get their tires?” Jimmy rasped, yanking on the wheel. Sabrina braced her arm against the backseat and felt glass grind into her skin. She winced, but compared to the risk of breaking her arm if she didn’t hold on, the wounds were minor.

“Yeah, I did, but they’re not slowing down. They’re driving on their fucking rims!” Gabriel fired again. Sabrina grimaced, feeling blood trickling down her arm from the small cuts. Another huge crash shook the car so violently, it was all she could do to hang on as they tilted, then rolled over. She jammed her legs into the space beneath the seats while Jimmy unsuccessfully tried to bring the car back under control. She saw Gabriel lose his gun and Jimmy’s head hit the steering wheel; then Sabrina smashed into the roof of the car and back down onto the backseat as they rolled, then stopped. She couldn’t move for a second, stunned from the crash. Her head ached and numerous cuts and bruises decorated her body, but nothing seemed to be broken.

“Jimmy?” she groaned, moving her head gingerly and poking at his arm. She tried to see if he was okay, remembering how his head hit the wheel, but he wasn’t moving. Then Gabriel grunted as the door on his side was wrenched open. A large man grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out and onto the ground. Sabrina ducked down so they wouldn’t see her, but the door on the driver’s side was broken and another man reached in and grabbed her by the arm, making her gasp in pain as he pressed beefy fingers into her newly opened cut. Jimmy still didn’t respond.

“Who are you?” she asked, but he ignored her question and dragged her around the car, throwing her to the ground beside Gabriel, who lay unmoving. They were on a narrow shelf inside a ravine about ten feet down from the road, the car wedged haphazardly against some oaks. That must have been what stopped the rolling , Sabrina thought fuzzily. She didn’t know what happened to Jimmy or if Gabriel was okay. She looked up to see three men glaring down at them. One raised his gun, and suddenly Gabriel went nuts, yelling and kicking the man’s feet out from under him. She blinked, still woozy as the man’s gun slid down the side of the drop-off with a clatter of loose gravel. She still couldn’t move as she watched Gabriel fighting two of the men, and she shook her head, trying to clear it, but everything stayed blurry. Must have hit my head in the crash , she thought, just before the third man hit Gabriel in the head with his elbow. She didn’t know if any of the others had weapons, but when Gabriel went down, she felt her heart lurch, then pound, washing away the fog. Everything was suddenly crystal clear.

She realized that Jimmy was either dead or severely injured or he would have been out and helping them by now. Gabriel couldn’t take on three men by himself, especially not after being knocked around inside the car as it rolled down the slope. And most importantly, she had a gun. Sabrina felt the cold metal of it digging into the skin of her back, where she’d shoved it what seemed like ages ago. It was a small miracle it hadn’t fallen out and that the man who’d grabbed her didn’t see it when he dragged her out of the car. None of the men had checked her for weapons, probably assuming a girl wouldn’t be dangerous. Their attention remained on the one threat left: Gabriel. What they didn’t know was that she would do anything to protect him. Rage blew through her. She needed to help Gabriel. She needed to hurt the men who’d possibly killed Jimmy and were about to kill Gabriel.

Carefully, she removed the weapon from her waistband and flicked back the safety. Sabrina was grateful that none of the men heard, and she turned slightly to hide the gun from view, holding it against her leg. She looked around, seeing another car just like the one that crashed into them pulling up and parking on the side of the road above. She needed to do something soon, before more men came down. Two men held Gabriel down while the third one kicked him in the stomach. He groaned, looking dazed as Sabrina silently lifted her arm, braced the gun with her left hand, aimed at the closest man, and shot him in the head. Before the other two could react, she’d shot one in the stomach and the other in the torso. Apparently her aim had improved. All three went down as she sat there, silently letting her arm fall.

“Sabrina! Sabrina, can you hear me? Sabrina!”

She lifted her gaze from the bodies of the men she’d killed to see Gabriel struggle to his knees. He crawled toward her, looking somewhat the worse for wear.

“Are you with me, sweetheart?” He gently took the gun from Sabrina’s hand and shoved it in his waist holster. She blinked at him, thinking that there was something they had to do. “We need to get out of here. Can you run?” Gabriel asked, and she snapped out of it as the world rushed back in all at once. She heard scrabbling coming from the top of the ravine and saw three more men, one of them Patrick, clambering down the slope. Shit!

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here.” Sabrina gripped his arm tightly.