He was right. I couldn't let what I’d done get to me. I had to own it. To know it was the only choice I had. I nodded and fought to calm my shaky breathing.
Taylor released the shotgun and I stowed it in place on my back once more.
“Where's Evan?" I asked.
He'd been in front of us as we’d entered the building but now there was no sign of him. I moved into the corner where my pistol had disappeared and felt around in the dark until I found it.
“Evan?" I called out. There was no reply and a chill raced along my skin.
Taylor wiped at his face so that most of the blood was removed before stalking across the room to hunt for him.
We moved through the doorway into the second room, stepping over Grey's legs which were splayed across the threshold.
The first thing I saw was Dolly, with her freakish half head of red hair and disfigured face, laying opposite the doorway. There was a knife protruding from her chest and a pistol still clutched in her hand. Her dead eyes were staring straight at me and I gasped in shock at the sight of her.
Evan was to the left of the doorway, sitting on the floor with his back to the wall and his eyes closed with no obvious signs of injury.
I dropped to his side, putting my hand to his cheek. It was warm and I shook him lightly to try and get a response from him.
"Evan?" I whispered, but I remembered that gunshot ringing out too loudly in the close space and making me dizzy. A tear spilled from my eye and raced down my cheek. "Evan? Please, wake up." I placed my other hand on his chest, it was warm and wet.
I leaned down, pressing my forehead against Evan's, trying to will him back to life as I felt his blood seeping through the knees of my pants.
Eventually Taylor pulled me to my feet. He wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face against his chest and sobbed.
“He didn't deserve to be here, we weren't supposed to be at risk," I cried. Taylor ran a hand through my hair.
"We need to move on," he whispered.
If his own pain hadn't been written clearly across his face too I wouldn't have listened. But he was right, we were still lost, still unsure about what was going on with the trial.
In the far corner of the room, the roof had collapsed making it possible for us to climb up to the roof like we’d planned.
We clambered up onto the pitched roof, slipping on the red tiles and crossed over towards the muddy bank. There was a gap nearly two meters wide between the roof and the bank so we moved back to get a run up.
"I'll go first." Taylor took three bounding steps and leapt across the gap without giving me a choice in the matter. He rolled as he hit the ground on the far side before climbing back to his feet and beckoning for me to follow. "Come on."
I wiped my hand over my face, smearing my tears with Evan's blood, took a deep breath and ran to the edge.
At the last second, my foot slipped on one of the loose tiles and my jump half turned into a fall. I cried out in panic and slammed into the edge of the bank before beginning to slide back down. I clawed my fingernails into the dirt and kicked to push myself up, my boots kicking clods of mud free of the wall and giving me no purchase.
Just as I was sure I was about to crash to the ground again, Taylor's hand closed around my wrist and he wrenched me over the edge with a grunt of effort.
The wind was stronger on the higher ground and it whipped my hair back from my face as we looked over the maze that was the arena.
It was hard to see too much within the dips and crevices in the earth but it was clear that there were far more enemy fighters than friends left out there.
"I think we lost already," Taylor said quietly.
I nodded in agreement, soon the buzzer would sound the end of the fight and the survivors would have to head back.
There was no clear path back to the starting zone from our position and I was more than hesitant to go back down into the trenches. We needed to find Laurie, she’d said she would be patrolling the eastern side of the arena and I was sure that if we could just get to her, we’d be able to head back to the starting point with her too. I looked around and realised thankfully, that we’d managed to head east for the most part on our journey here. From our vantage point, it was easy to see where the Wardens were patrolling the perimeter closer to the contaminated land though I couldn’t make out enough about them to recognise Laurie.
I exchanged a glance with Taylor and he pointed at a route between the trenches along the high ground. I was so sick of being lost down in those ditches that I didn’t hesitate to agree to his suggestion and we started forward purposefully.
We had to navigate our way over trenches which crisscrossed our path. Sometimes we could jump them otherwise we had to find a way around which meant doubling back on ourselves sometimes. All the while we were painfully aware of how exposed we were to anyone who might look up but it seemed like the best option available to us.
We fell into a routine of jumping, scanning the surrounding trenches for danger and moving along the banks as stealthily as possible so as not to attract any unwanted attention. It was hard going, my muscles protested and I was mentally exhausted too. I'd never had such a long day in all my life.
We finally got close enough to the Wardens to recognise them. The first we came across was a large man who stared at us suspiciously while raising his rifle before we turned away and headed on.
Laurie was posted at the furthest point along the patrol and as we recognised her, I groaned in relief upping my pace in the desperate hope that reaching her would equal safety and an end to this nightmare.
The wind picked up and whipped around us, throwing dust up into my face so that I turned away from it as I shielded my eyes. I blinked furiously to clear my vision, scrubbing at my eyes as I coughed up the dust.
A figure, clad in all black moved in the trench below us, slipping between the shadows carefully before darting around a corner and out of sight. My heart stilled and a tingle raced along my skin. I’d only caught the briefest look at him but I was sure it had been a man with hair as dark as the clothes he wore and a broad frame thick with muscle.
I rubbed my eyes to clear them and stepped forward, peering down into the trench to see if I could spot him again. Something about him had seemed…off. I couldn’t quite place it but I felt like I’d just caught a glimpse of something that didn’t belong,
"Did you see someone down there?" I asked Taylor urgently and he moved to look down into the trench at my side.
“What am I looking for?” he asked, clearly having no idea about the man in the shadows.
I kept my gaze fixed on the trench for a long moment but the man didn’t reappear and eventually I shrugged.
“I don’t know. Never mind,” I said slowly, though I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something about the man that mattered.
“Come on, Maya.” Taylor turned and walked away while I continued to hesitate.
I searched the shadows below us one last time before giving up and turning to follow. I still wasn’t sure what the man in the shadows had been doing, but it didn’t matter. We just needed to get out of here.
I was crouched down, shrouded in the shadows by the wall of a trench with my scarf pulled up to cover my face and my gaze scanning my surroundings.
It had been a good day in the end. Alicia would still be pissed as hell when I got back, but once she saw my haul she’d get over it. We were running way too low on resources and weapons always fetched a good price.
I hadn't even had to fight for any of the things I’d lifted. The idiots here were so set on killing each other that there was no point in me helping them out with it. I just watched from the shadows and relieved the losers of the best of their weapons. I couldn’t take too much from any one corpse or the City officials might notice, but a gun or knife here and there weren’t going to draw too much attention. The arena they’d built out here was too big for them to search thoroughly and they wouldn’t bother for the sake of a
few missing items.
All the same, I couldn’t get greedy. And I couldn’t risk anyone spotting me either. We didn’t need that kind of headache. Which was probably why there were laws forbidding anyone from coming here. Not that I gave a shit about that. I’d never been held to any law but the law of survival. And I welcomed any fucker who thought they could tell me otherwise to give it their best shot.
I trailed a thumb across the line of knives I’d gathered along my belt. Their weight was reassuring. It would be a good haul by the time I was finished.
The sounds of another fight taking place reached me from around the next corner and I slipped closer as I waited for the victor to leave. When the screaming stopped I’d make my move and see what they left behind.
I drew my hunting knife just in case and tapped the blade against my leg impatiently as the screaming lingered on. I gritted my teeth in frustration. There was no need for that kind of suffering. I hated it when they didn't kill cleanly, making people linger on the cusp of death unnecessarily. It was just plain sloppy. The sign of an untrained man.
I tipped my head back to look up at the blue sky as the clouds rolled over, darkening the world. Alicia would be losing her shit right about now. She’d know where I’d gone and I was going to be late getting back to make it worse. I’d taken my dirt bike when I left but the piece of shit had died when I was barely four miles into the forest. Which meant she’d be stuck worrying about whether or not I was dead for at least an additional twenty four hours before I could make it back to her. No doubt she’d want to beat my skull in for it and I probably owed her a free punch or two for the worry it would cause her. If she’d done this to me I’d lose the fucking plot. So maybe I was a hypocrite too.
My eyes flickered with fatigue as I waited and I stifled a yawn. I still wasn't sleeping properly. But that was nothing new. Sometimes I doubted I’d ever sleep right through the night ever again. Though if that was the only real punishment I got for what I’d done then I was getting off far too lightly. Memories and nightmares may haunt me but it didn’t change anything. Didn’t make any difference.
I inspected the sharp, slightly curved blade I was holding with a frown pulling at my brow. It didn't look like the trials blades. It wasn't standard issue. I wondered vaguely where the original owner had found such an object. It wasn’t like they had access to anything outside of the City. Not that there was any way to ask a dead man anything. And if I could ask the dead some questions it wouldn't be about a strange knife. It would be about that night and whether I could have done anything differently to change fate…whether there had ever been a chance for me to save him…
I frowned as my thoughts wandered, irritated at myself for the distraction.
I spun the knife between my fingers and aimed the blade at my skin. The metal cut into my thumb easily, sending a jolt of pain up my arm. It seared into my consciousness and I was fully awake once again. It was no time to let tiredness make me sloppy and the pain would help me focus.
Movement on the ridge above caught my eye and I turned to look as two figures passed overhead. A guy and a girl were walking along the upper bank like a pair of idiots. They may as well have been trying to get themselves killed. I shook my head in disgust and turned my attention away from them. Stupid people always set my temper rising.
Gunshots finally cut the screaming short and I listened to the stomping of feet as the victors moved away. They never thought to take weapons from the dead which was perfect for me, even if I couldn't understand it. Who left weapons just laying on the ground? It didn’t make any damn sense.
I slipped from the shadows and around the corner, moving towards the remnants of the fight with my blade held ready.
Five bodies were laid out along the ground and there was no sign of anyone still kicking. I stepped between the corpses and started removing guns and knives, strapping them to myself in any way I could. I couldn’t risk taking everything, but if I took something from each of them it would go unnoticed. Besides, I needed them more than they did.
The final body wasn't quite dead yet. Blood poured from a wound in the man's chest and pooled in the mud beneath him. He didn't have long and fate must have been feeling merciful because he’d passed out.
I reached forward to take the man's revolver from his hand and he lurched forward, snatching my arm in an iron grip as his green eyes snared my gaze.
"Help," the dying man gasped, like I might be an angel instead of a devil.
My gaze slid to his wound again. There was no surviving that shit.
“Sorry pal, but you're done. Make peace with whatever you believe in." I tried to pull away, but his grip on me tightened.
“Finish it, then,” he coughed as some of the blood found his lungs.
It was a nasty way to go.
I almost refused, kept working on my own mission, but there was no reason for the man to suffer. He was just an idiot raised in a palace of pawns, sent out here to die for his devotion.
I gave him a firm nod as I twisted the blade in my free hand, lining it up above his heart.
I offered him a moment to change his mind but he just gritted his teeth and nodded firmly.
"I hope you find a better place," I said, sliding my knife home between the man's ribs.
He died before he felt the kiss of my blade
I grunted in frustration at the pointless loss of life before cleaning my blade on his jacket and returning it to my belt.
Footsteps sounded at my back and I straightened in an instant. There were soldiers heading down the trench towards me.
I set my gaze on the far side of the trench, rolling my shoulders back before charging forward.
I leapt up and my fingers met with the top lip of the muddy wall and I grunted with the effort of hauling myself up onto the ridge. Most of the soldiers sent out here weren't strong enough to climb out of the deep trenches, making the ridges safer for me. But I’d also be more exposed up there. Though the clouds were still working in my favour so at least I wouldn’t cast much of a shadow.
I rolled onto the bank above the trench and looked around quickly as I figured out the best place to hide.
A large piece of corrugated metal jutted up from another trench a little way from me, creating a deep shadow beneath its curving shape. I darted into the cool embrace of the darkness and waited in silence for the soldiers to move away.
The guy and girl hadn't gone far and my gaze slid to their retreating forms as they headed toward the distant trees. They seemed to be having trouble jumping across the trenches. But whatever the fuck they were doing, they were so exposed up here that it was only a matter of time before someone down below spotted them and took them out. Idiots.
The group of soldiers snuck along the trench to my right, and a group of opposition were heading towards them from the other end. It was about to get messy. Which was usually a good thing for me.
A smile tugged at my lips and I ran a hand along my jaw, scraping the dark stubble which coated it.
My gaze snagged on the two idiots who were on top of the bank once more just as the girl stopped and looked around. Her long, dark hair billowed around her in the wind and I found myself unable to look away.
There was blood smeared across her cheek and I wondered if she was injured or if she’d just been caught up in the fighting.
She turned to face me, her dark eyes zeroing in on my hiding place and my breath caught in my throat. She must have seen me. There was no way she hadn’t.
I shrank back into the shadows as my muscles tightened and I moved my hand to the revolver at my hip, but her gaze moved on.
I couldn't take my eyes from her. The sun broke through the clouds and the wind sent her long hair spinning around her shoulders. She was beautiful, but it was more than that. There was something about the look in her eyes which called to me. Something which made my soul ache like it recognised her.
The guy started waving frantically and shouting something, though his voice was stolen
by the wind.
Gunfire rang out in the trench behind me and the girl turned away to hurry after the guy.
But as I glanced into the trenches once more, I spotted even more soldiers coming our way. They would easily spot two idiots running about on the top of the bank and for some reason the idea of that made my blood pound in a fierce denial.
But it wasn’t like there was anything I could do about it. They sent these people out here to die. That was the kind of twisted shit they did. And there was one fierce rule which I lived by whenever I came out here. No one could ever see me and live.
So I wasn’t going to do anything about the fate I could see coming for the girl.
No matter how much I might be tempted to.
"Laurie!" Taylor called out, waving a hand above his head again as we neared her position. She turned to us and raised a hand too, relief flooding her face as she saw that we were alright.
We hurried towards her and I almost wanted to cry with relief.
"Up there!" a voice shouted in the trench to our left and my heart plummeted as I realised we’d been seen.
Gunfire erupted below us and I cried out for Taylor to run as the wind whipped around us ferociously, sending my hair flying out behind me and drying the mixture of blood and tears to my face.
My eyes locked with Taylor's and he grabbed for my hand. Our fingers brushed against each other but my fist closed on empty air as something big hit me from the side and threw me off of my feet.
I screamed as strong arms locked around me and we hit the ground, rolling over the lip of another trench several feet to my left. My arms were pinned to my sides as my attacker held me and we tumbled down the steep bank so quickly that my vision blurred. We skidded across the mud and the cold wetness of it coated my clothes and sank into my hair.
We slammed to a stop as my back hit the bottom of the trench, knocking the air from my lungs.
The man who’d attacked me landed on top of me, pinning me beneath him with his hips and bracing his arms on either side of my head. I blinked the mud out of my eyes and my breath caught in my throat as I looked up at him.
Rebel Rising: A Dystopian Romance (Cage of Lies Book 1) Page 14