Katie stepped up, looming over me with a sneer, entirely oblivious to the fact that my hands were completely free. "You think I'm stupid?" she hissed, looking down at me as I cradled my throbbing face. "You will stay right here until we have it."
Before I could try to push myself away, she drew her foot back and kicked me. The blunt force of her shoe buried straight into my stomach, knocking the air from my lungs. A second later, her boot swung again, clipping the side of my head. Sparks exploded in my vision, and a strangled cry of pure agony tore from my throat as I curled into a tight ball on the floor.
"But you will die here anyway," she whispered maliciously.
At those exact words, a jolt of pure, white-hot survival instinct cut through the blinding pain. The pole. Katie turned her
