The Satchmo P.I. - Living Amongst Monsters – Chapter 17

therneau (58)in #story • 7 years ago (edited)

Chapter 17: Stella’s Escape

As Stella stood at the edge of the pipeline, looking down from cliff at the crashing waves below, she knew her only chance was to try and scale the cliff face towards another pipeline.

The men tracking her were closing in so fast that she didn’t have another moment to think.

Stella grabbed at an outcropping of rock and pulled herself out of the pipe. She managed to secure a good foothold on a small piece of rock below and gradually moved sideways, angling up towards the next pipe. She heard the footsteps reaching the end of the pipe and as she looked back she saw two men popping their heads out.

Stella kept dead still on the rock face, trying not to make a sound as the men were looking down into the ocean, their eyes scanning the rough waters.

As they started looking around they too noticed all the pipelines exiting the cliff face. Stella knew they’ll spot her soon. At that moment one of the men looked around and up towards where she was clinging onto the cliff. A wry smile crossed his face as he spotted Stella. He started grabbing towards the outcroppings, finding a good grip, he pulled himself out.

Stella started scurrying, almost losing her footing a few times as she tried to make her way towards the next pipe. She looked back and saw the man quickly approaching her while a third had also popped his head out from the pipe.

“Stop running” she heard the man say, her focus now back to moving across the cliff as quickly as possible. She could hear him breathing fast and steady as he closed in. “You can’t escape.”

Stella heard some loose rocks tumbling down against the cliff face behind her. She quickly looked back and saw the man had lost his grip, hanging on by one arm. Then she saw a big rock, the size of her head, being hurtled towards her, passing the dangling man and narrowly missing her back, smashing into the cliff past her.

“Just a little bit further” Stella thought, fear and determination driving her beyond what she ever thought possible.

She saw the one man in the tunnel banging his hand against the rock, seemingly trying to break a piece of rock off as smaller shards went tumbling down towards the ocean. The one on the cliff face had regained his grip however couldn’t seem to get a good hold heading closer towards her. He was now also trying to pry some pieces of rock off the cliff, smashing his palm into the rock.

Stella scurried along and managed to grab onto the bottom of the pipe. She pulled herself up whilst trying to find a better grip on the rocks with her left hand. As she managed to get a good grip she felt something smashing into her ribs, causing her to lose her footing. It was a small rock he managed to break off the cliff face. He threw it with such a tremendous force that it felt as if her ribs had been shattered where it hit her.

Struggling to breath she regained her footing and scrambled up towards the pipe. Stella had her upper body in the pipe when she felt another massive blow smashing into her left buttock, almost knocking her out of the pipe. She knew that must have been a much bigger rock. Stella cried as she struggled to get the rest of her body in, finally collapsing safely inside the pipe.

Still struggling to breath she turned herself around to see if she could spot the men. She didn’t know what was worse, struggling to breath or the pains shooting through her body.

She carefully looked down and saw the man on the cliff had started heading back to the other pipe. The other men were gone.

Stella collapsed back down into the pipe, screaming and crying, praying that this nightmare would come to an end.