I reach for Gabe’s arm, and I know he can see the shock on my face.
“What is it?”
“We’re in trouble.”
“Trouble?”
His eyes go to the rearview mirror and he curses when the truck behind us pulls into the passing lane and drives beside us. It’s Mendez. The look on his face is unreadable, but he doesn’t look happy.
“Speed up,” I say.
Gabe pushes the gas pedal to the floor, but Mendez keeps up with him. My heart pounds as we gain in speed. I look behind me and see that the truck that had been behind Mendez is now on our tail.
“What are they trying to do?” I shout. I look from the back window and through the driver’s side and my eyes go wide. “Brake!” I yell out, and Gabe doesn’t hesitate. He brakes just as Mendez’s passenger lets off a flurry of bullets. He misses, but the truck behind us rams the bumper, sending our back end spinning.
“Hold on!” Gabe screams. I grab for something, anything to try to stabilize myself before the truck rolls onto its side, flipping over into the ditch.
We come to a crushing stop down the side of the embankment, and I can already hear the other trucks screeching to a stop.
There’s no time.
I can feel blood trickling from my forehead though I don’t recall hitting it in the crash. I look over at Gabe whose nose looks broken, with blood running down the front of his face.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” I say. “Why are they trying to kill us?”
Gabe unclips his seatbelt and opens his door, trying his best to hurry out. “Can you move?” he asks, grabbing his pistol from the floor.
I nod. Surprisingly, my rifle doesn’t seem to be damaged by the crash. I reach for it in the floor and wrap my fingers around it. I unclip my seatbelt and open the door, nearly falling out of the side.
When I look up, I see Gabe running toward me. “Run! Run!”
I’m glad neither of us broke a leg because Mendez, Paxton, and the other soldiers would already be on top of us. One look back shows me that some are already climbing down the embankment, a few taking haphazard shots at us on their way down.
I run harder than I’ve ever tried to run in my life, dodging trees and bushes. I know I won’t be able to keep this up for very long. “We’ve got to hide, Gabe.”
“I know,” he says, but we keep running until we’re over a hill. We stop for just a second as Gabe seeks out a good spot to take cover.
I turn my head to get a good listen for the others coming after us. I can hear Paxton barking orders. “You take the left bank, and you take the middle.”
“They aren’t far,” I say.
“There,” Gabe says. “Do you see that? Through the trees.”
I turn my head and look at where he’s pointing. Through a clearing there looks to be an old, rundown farm with a house and large barn.
“If we can make it there, we might be able to hide.” He turns to me and grabs me by the shoulders. “Can you make it?”
I shrug him off of me. “Can you?” I don’t give him a chance to answer as I start my sprint, ignoring the need for more air, paying no attention to the stabbing pain in my side. As we take off, a few shots whiz through the air. I know they’re aiming at us, but with the number of trees, and the distance between us, it will be hard for them to hit us while we’re in the woods. I’m just afraid about the field between here and the farmhouse.
A short, barbed wire fence slows us down for a minute when we get to the edge of the woods, but we clear it quickly. My legs carry me as fast as they possibly can, but I know it isn’t enough. Soon, Paxton and his soldiers will be at the fence and then it will be a game of best shot wins.
The closer we get to the barn, the easier it is for me to see the uncomfortable amount of greyskins that are there. As I sprint, I can already count about seven of them directly in front of us, roaming around like they have nothing else to do. But then they spot us and start walking in our direction. I try my best to look past them for a vehicle or anything that might get us a way out of here. Toward the right, I don’t see anything, but to the left I see three trucks. The tires are still intact, and grass has grown all around them, so that means no one has tried to use them. And the fact that there are a ton of greyskins lurking around means this probably isn’t anyone’s home anymore.
“Gabe,” I yell out through painful breaths. “Can you hot-wire a truck?”
“Yes,” he yells, “but you’ll need to distract them!”
I’m not sure which ‘them’ he’s talking about, the greyskins or Paxton’s soldiers. I suppose both.
I duck low as a bullet whistles through the air above our heads. It seems that Paxton and his men are finally where they can take clean shots at us. Gabe veers to the left, keeping his weapon silent as he makes his way toward the trucks. I veer right, shooting at greyskins and making as much noise as I can. I finally find myself next to the old barn on the side of the property. As I round the corner, I’m clear of Paxton’s gunfire, but there is just about an entire herd of greyskins on top of me. I start to count them in my head, but after fifteen or more, I stop trying.
I pull out my dagger from its sheath when one of the greyskins is nearly on top of me. I swing around and embed the knife into its brain. It falls to the ground, taking my knife with it. I don’t have time to reach down and pry it out. There are so many more coming after me and I’m running out of room to run.
I’m finally in front of the barn, and I can see that the giant door is hanging halfway open. If I could just get up to a loft or something, I would be out of reach. I swing the door open, praying that there aren’t more greyskins hiding in here, and when the light takes away the shadows, I’m pleased to see that it’s vacant. The barn is mostly empty but for mounds and mounds of damp hay scattered all over the floor. A ladder on the other side leads up to a loft. I glance behind me and find that the herd of greyskins is just about to join me. I run to the ladder and am about to start my climb when I see a pitchfork leaning against the wall next to it. I quickly grab it with both hands and throw it to the loft above me.
Three greyskins are in the barn now, their arms stretched out, ready to grab me and hold me down so they can sink their rotten teeth into my flesh. I grab onto the ladder and pull myself up. The nearest greyskin’s hand brushes against my foot just as I make it high enough to be out of reach. I’m glad that greyskins are too stupid to know that they would be able to climb if they had a mind to.
Once I reach the top of the hayloft, I move to an opening—a window without glass—and look out. I can see Paxton’s men in the distance, coming at us through the field. They are taking each step carefully. They know we haven’t gone beyond the farm because we would have run out of steam. I take a look below me and find about ten greyskins clamoring for me, wishing for nothing more than a bite. I reach over to the pitchfork and then lean over the side, stabbing downward. My first attempt sinks into the top of a greyskin’s head. The others make it easy for me. All I have to do is lift the pitchfork and stab downward again and another head will replace it, not caring that the others have been stabbed through.
All of this would be great if we didn’t have soldiers with guns coming after us too. I pull the pitchfork up and set it next to me. Now it’s time to snipe a few soldiers. I swing the gun around and aim for the nearest one. He’s cautious and looking in every direction it seems, except for the hayloft in the barn. I hold my breath for just a second to get a steady aim and then fire.
With a quick spurt of blood, he’s down on the ground and the other soldiers duck low in response, looking in every direction for the location of the shot. I scan the group, looking for Paxton. I don’t see him, but I do see Mendez. I shake my head for a second, not wanting to do this. The first guy I shot was a man I had never seen before, but Mendez is someone that I’ve fought beside. He’s someone that I’ve talked with a little. Knowing that he’s about to die feels weird.
Better him than me.
I shimmy to the right side of the loft and try to look through one of the many cracks in the wall. I see Gabe crouched next to the truck, working to get the wiring done right. He has to stop a couple of times to stab a greyskin through the head, but at least he’s out of range from Paxton’s soldiers for another minute or so.
I stare at him until the truck finally rumbles to life. I see the elation on his face. He should leave. This is his chance. If he takes off now, Paxton and his men will never catch up. Sure, they will get me, but at least I’ll be shot and not eaten. I pull myself away from the wall and start my crawl back to the barn window. I brave a peek out into the field and I almost gasp when I see how close his men are. Another bullet slams against the barn just above my head. I get a shot off, but I don’t think it hits anything.
I can hear shots coming from Gabe’s direction. He must be shooting now, expecting me to come out of the barn, but he doesn’t know that I’m trapped. I know he can’t give me much time. I look down at the greyskins below me. I would be able to kill all of them if I had a little while, but there is no time left.
As I lie on my belly, I listen to the soldiers talking. “If she pops her head up, take her out!” a voice says.
“She might be out of the barn,” another answers.
But then I hear Paxton’s voice almost as clear as if he were standing next to me. “She’s still in there. Surround it and torch it.”
They’re going to light me on fire? Jerks. I cling to my gun when I hear his words. I try to determine exactly where he is by the sound of his voice, but I can’t be certain. I know that if I look out from the window I’ll see that he’s somewhere to the left.
I check my gun and find that I have only a single bullet left. They may try to torch me but it won’t be because I didn’t try to defend myself.
Gabe’s revving engine blares through the farm, though I’m not sure where he’s headed. Away from here, I hope. I don’t know why, but I feel the need to stand—to take my final, defiant shot before they set the barn on fire. I’m in front of the window in full view of the soldiers. My eyes scan the horizon quickly until I spot Paxton about a hundred feet away from me. I aim my gun at him and for a moment, I’m pretty sure we lock eyes. He doesn’t have time to bring up his gun before I pull the trigger.
I don’t get to see if I hit him because I’m forced to drop as more bullets rip through the barn like it’s paper. The truck engine is getting louder and when I look toward the barn door, I see Gabe backing it into the opening as fast as he can. Snapping bones and the splattering of blood are the sounds that come as Gabe rams the back of the truck into the greyskins below me. It’s a long drop, but I’ve got to make it.
My feet land in the middle of the truck’s bed and pain shoots up and down my legs. I grimace, but don’t let out a scream as I smack the top roof of the truck and Gabe slams his foot against the gas. A couple of the greyskins that hadn’t been run over reach out for me, and they are close too, but we’re out of the barn before they can scratch me.
The truck rides out into the open air and we are met by speeding bullets as Paxton’s men come up on us. I duck my head low, hoping that Gabe isn’t shot in the back of the head as we drive out.
I knew he would do it. I knew he would come back for me. There was no way Gabe was leaving this place without me.
The truck is loud, but I still try to listen toward the farm. I hear a lot of voices. Most of them are yelling at each other about letting us get away. Some are talking about hot-wiring one of the other trucks and giving chase. But those aren’t the voices I’m looking for. I turn my head several times until I hear it, and the moment I do, I want to slam my fist against the truck.
“We need to get back to the trucks,” Paxton’s voice yells out. He’s giving orders to several people and he doesn’t sound hurt at all. I was sure that I had lined the shot up just right. I was sure I killed him.
Gabe doesn’t let up on the gas, and I don’t want him to. I want him to keep driving until we can’t anymore. But we might have to pull over sooner than expected. When I look at my hands, I see blood dripping off my fingers, and I feel a sudden sharp pain in my side. Somehow I didn’t feel it until now, and the pool of blood around me tells me that the bullet wound I’ve got is serious.
I need to call out to Gabe. I’ve got to tell him that I’m going to die if we don’t stop the bleeding. But no words pass by my lips. I’m not sure he would be able to hear me over the truck engine anyway.
He’ll stop soon, I think.
It’s the last thought I have before I close my eyes.
Chapter 21 - Waverly
Ashley and Lydia both lie dead on the floor next to me. I look up at Samuel while he wipes a smudge off of his gun. His callousness makes me sick.
“Why don’t you kill me?” I ask
“Because you’re going to help me find Jeremiah and Mitch,” Samuel answers. “Their time is up, and I know you know where they are.”
“But Ashley just told you that she killed them,” I say.
“And I believe Ashley is a liar,” he argues. “You’re going to take me to where they stand or where their bodies lie. Either way, their time is up.”
I look toward the door, knowing that Samuel’s time is about up, too. I don’t know where they are, but I won’t have to lead him to Mitch. Mitch is coming here. I don’t look forward to the abuse he’s going to dole out to me, but I know it’s only because he doesn’t understand. He can’t understand what I saw. Ashley was going to kill him, wasn’t she? According to her, she killed all the others too. But now, I’m not so sure. What if she was bluffing all along?
I don’t have time to contemplate it as the door swings wide and Mitch rushes through. The look on his face is pure shock and anger. I hear the click of Samuel’s gun readying just above my head, but little does he know, Mitch would probably like to see me die.
Mitch walks forward calmly. Confidently. He carries no weapon in his hands. I look back at Samuel and see that he no longer points the gun at me, but at Mitch.
“My, my,” Samuel smiles. “I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re here, but you’re a little late, I’m afraid.” He motions toward Ashley’s body. “Of course, you showing up only confirms that killing her was a good call on my part.”
“Drop the gun,” Mitch tells him.
Samuel’s gun falls to the floor as he lets go of it.
“Don’t make any movements unless I tell you to,” Mitch says.
I look back at Samuel and he has a blank stare across his face. When I look at Mitch, I can see tears welling in his eyes as he looks down at Ashley’s body.
“I want both of you to stand against the wall and stay quiet,” he says, not even looking at us.
I don’t know how. I don’t know why, but my limbs seem to move involuntarily at his command. What is this strange influence that Mitch possesses? I get up off the floor and walk to the wall and set my back against it. I stand only a few feet away from Samuel. I have seen all this before, but I still can’t figure out why he’s able to control us like this.
But then a thought strikes me and I feel my mouth fall open. The Starborn blood. That’s why the canister felt lighter than before. Mitch had already been in the room. This was the power that was in the blood. With a command, Mitch can now make anyone bend to his will. That’s why Samuel dropped the gun. That’s why we’re standing against the wall. Then I think about Ethan. He’s coming for me, but now I don’t want him to. He’s only going to suffer the same ending as us.
Mitch falls to his
knees next to Ashley and scoops her bloody head into his arms. He begins to sob uncontrollably as he buries his head into her neck. “This was never supposed to happen!” he screams. He looks up and his eyes find me. I dread what’s coming next. “This would have never happened if you hadn’t been so stupid!”
He sets Ashley’s body down on the floor gently. He then stands and starts walking toward me. I shut my eyes as he reaches high into the air and slaps his hand against my cheek. But he’s not finished. His arm comes back and this time it’s his knuckles that catch my other cheek. I see a bright white light, but this time it’s not a vision; it’s from the dull, aching pain.
I can feel the tears and blood trickle down the side of my face. Mitch screams in my ear, yelling for me to get back up and stand against the wall. I do so without argument. I have to. I have no other choice. The tears that fall have little to do with the pain I feel in my face, but more to do with the fact that Ethan rushes into the room, probably after hearing the commotion.
I can feel my eyes widen when I see Ethan. He’s carrying a rifle and is ready to fire, but Mitch commands him to stop, get against the wall and do nothing without permission. Ethan does as he’s told without argument.
Mitch then turns back to me with large tears streaking down his face. His jaws are clenched tightly as he grits his teeth. He rears back and slaps me across the face again. The pain is blinding, but at least I’m able to keep myself up this time.
This is as far as I have seen. Past this point, I don’t know what is supposed to happen. All I know is that my theory of multiple futures to choose from is out the window. Everything I’ve seen so far has happened except for the vision I had of Remi and Evie, and the vision of Ethan walking through the street…
The realization hits me like a truck. Touching someone multiple times gives me multiple futures, but not alternative ones. The things I have seen all happen at different times. They are not possibilities based on decisions I make. I saw Ethan kissing me on the roof—of course that was going to happen before he was shot in the middle of the street. But even so, that doesn’t mean it will happen soon. There is still time to figure out how to stop it.
The Starborn Ascension: Books 1, 2, and 3 (The Starborn Saga) Page 45