“Liar and a murderer!” Shannon howled.
Nick somehow managed to push through Bronx and toward Jamie. The cloud stayed outside just like it had when the door had been opened earlier.
“I am not!” Jamie insisted. “I was tied up! How could I have killed anyone?”
“You cracked her skull,” Shannon screeched. “You need to pay for what you’ve done! All of you do!”
She raised her gun, and Bronx pushed us all further back into the storage room.
“Get back!” Bronx growled.
Less than a second later, gunshots rang out.
We all ducked.
“Shit!” Nick said as he dashed forward tackling Jamie down to the floor and out of the line of fire. Blair was screaming somewhere behind me.
Shannon’s aim was terrible. She looked frustrated.
“Is she drunk?” I asked.
“Looks like it,” Bronx said before looking into my eyes. “Stay here, no matter what, do not leave this room.”
I nodded, but it was an empty gesture. I wasn’t making any promises when Jamie and Nick were out there. Bronx turned, and crouched down, sneaking out of the doorway into the main room.
“Bronx!” I whispered, but there was no way he could have heard me over the noises of the gun.
He moved quickly around the room, hiding behind shelves. I watched as he inched up next to the door and grabbed the gun, twisting it and attempting to pull Shannon forward through the window.
Her body was about halfway through when she seemed to get stuck. Bronx yanked the gun out of her hands and took a step back, aiming the weapon at her.
“Leave!” Bronx shouted. “Go on, get out of here!”
Her head shot up, and she pushed her way through what was left of the door and dove at Bronx. He didn’t shoot as she landed on top of him. They both tumbled to the ground fighting for control of the gun.
Nick grabbed his gun from Jamie and tried to line up a shot, but before he could, the other gun started going off and he dove across the floor.
All of a sudden, the room was silent. I stared at Shannon and Bronx, laying on the floor. Neither of them moved.
I took a step into the room, but Jamie waved me back. My hand shot up to cover my mouth. Why wasn’t he moving?
Jamie looked at Nick, and his eyes widened. He started crawling across the ground making his way closer to Nick.
“Bronx!” I said my voice barely audible. Why was Jamie going toward Nick instead of Bronx?
I turned back to Bronx and Shannon and noticed the blood pooling out of Shannon’s middle. A small gasp escaped from between my lips when Bronx pushed her off and wiggled out from underneath her limp body.
He rolled her over onto her back, her body rocking back and forth slowly before settling to a stop. A huge shard of glass stuck out from her middle, and her empty eyes stared up toward the ceiling.
Shannon was dead.
Bronx pushed himself to his feet and glanced toward the storage room. Our eyes met for a second before he turned and looked at Nick. He cocked his head to the side before dashing across the room.
“Holy shit,” Bronx said dropping to his knees.
My blood ran cold as I took a step forward. “Nick?”
“I’m fine,” Nick said, his words running together, but this time I wasn’t sure if it was because of the alcohol. He pushed Jamie and Bronx away as he worked to get to his feet. “I said I’m fine.”
Nick stood there staring, his eyes glassed over as he looked in my direction. His skin was pale as he wobbled to the side.
He took a step forward but his knee gave out, and Bronx caught him before he crashed to the ground. My eyes narrowed, it wasn’t like Nick could have gotten drunker. I blinked and noticed the blood that was soaking through the leg of his jeans.
“Oh God,” I whispered as I ran out of the storage room and to Nick’s side. “You’re bleeding.”
Nick tried to smile at me but his eyes rolled back, and he passed out. Jamie helped Bronx carry Nick into the office. They laid him down on the sofa, and I knelt down next to him.
I tapped my palm against his cheek. He didn’t move. He didn’t respond. His breaths were shallow.
Was I losing him?
I swallowed hard and lowered my head. “Nick… oh God. Nick.”
Seventeen
Bronx was digging around in the backpacks searching for the first aid kits. He mumbled random curse words as he moved the items around.
When he pulled out a t-shirt and started ripping it into shreds with his hands, I figured he wasn’t finding anything to use to bandage Nick’s wound.
I shook Nick again… or maybe I hadn’t stopped shaking him. “Come on, Nick answer me.”
“What can I do?” Blair asked, but I had no idea who she was asking. If it were me, I had no answer. I had no idea what we could do for him.
“We need to wake him,” Bronx said running his hand through his hair as he dropped down to his knees at my left. “At least I think that’s what we should do. I gotta look at this wound.”
Blair crossed her arms and shook her head as if she didn’t understand.
“Help me get his pants down,” Bronx said looking up at her.
“Right,” she said unbuttoning his pants and helping Bronx wiggle them down his hips.
I covered my gasp when I saw the blood bubble up out of the hole in his thigh. Bronx moved Nick’s leg, examining it as if he knew what he was doing.
Nick leaned forward gasping for a breath of air. He clenched his teeth as sweat dripped down the sides of his face.
“Hurts,” Nick said, barely managing to get the word out. His eyes blinked rapidly, and it looked as though he was unable to focus on anything
“Nick, Nick,” I said turning his face trying to force him to see me.
His eyes were on me, but it took several seconds for him to realize who I was. “Gwen! Aw, Gwen, man, I was hit by one of those stray bullets.”
“Yeah,” I said smiling at him. “I know.”
“Don’t look so worried,” Nick said. “I’m going to be fine. Really. All you ever do is worry.”
I forced a smile, but I could see that he was losing so much blood. Bronx did what he could to clean the wound, but he needed to stop the bleeding. He wrapped the fabric strips tightly around his thigh.
“That’s the best I can do,” Bronx said shaking his head. He turned to Blair. “See if you can get him to take some of the pain relievers.”
Her head bobbed up and down quickly before she started moving around like a chicken with her head cut off. Jamie was just standing there staring at Nick.
The air in the room was so tight I needed to back away to get oxygen or I was afraid I might choke. I turned to go, but Jamie reached out and grabbed my hand.
His eyes were wide as he stared into mine. “He saved my life.”
I pressed my lips together tightly into something that vaguely resembled a smile. He let go of my hand, and I stepped out of the room drawing in a deep breath before dropping down onto the blanket I’d been sleeping on.
My leg shook as I wrapped my arms around them pulling them closer to my body. What would I do if I lost Nick? I may not have forgiven him, but that didn’t mean I wanted to lose him.
I was one of the lucky ones… I wasn’t alone in the end of the world. Maybe Nick and I hadn’t been close over the last few years, but there was a time we had been. He was my brother. My brother. I wasn’t ready to lose him.
“Hey,” Bronx said lightly tapping his foot into mine. “He’s going to be okay.”
“You don’t know that,” I said biting my cheek.
“I know he’s a fighter. He’s tough. If it would have been anyone else…,” Bronx said his voice fading before he was able to finish whatever he was going to say.
I laid down, facing toward the office. Blair had pulled up a chair and was sitting next to Nick. She had his hand in hers, stroking the back with her thumb while she whispered to him. Occasionally h
is head bobbed, or he’d smile. She was keeping him awake.
Bronx was pacing around the room. Danny was sitting near me with his fingers twisting together in his lap. Jamie appeared to still be in some kind of state of shock over what had happened. I wasn’t sure if it was from almost getting shot, or from having been brought out into the fog. Either way, I was worried about him. Really worried.
And I was worried about Nick. I wasn’t sure how much room I had inside of me for any more worry.
When morning came, Nick was a bit more awake. He was joking with the others that he wasn’t sure if he was going to make it through the night. At least, I was pretty sure it was an attempt at a joke.
Nick’s color was back, but he hadn’t been able to put any weight on his leg. Bronx had checked the bandage he’d crafted, and the bleeding had slowed significantly.
“Aw, Gwen,” Nick said raising his brow. “I’ll be back on my feet in no time.”
My words got stuck in my throat, but I managed to flash him half of a smile. I sat down in the chair Blair had placed next to the sofa. She’d gone off when I woke to get some rest. Blair had stayed up with him the rest of the night.
“We’ll be back on track before you know it,” Nick said tapping his fingertip on my knee.
“Hmm?”
“To grandma’s house.”
I turned toward him and nodded. “We will? Seems you might be forgetting about that big cloud out there that’s keeping us locked up in here.”
“Well, when it’s gone, we’ll be back on track, and my leg will be good to go by then,” Nick said.
He was crazy thinking he’d heal that quickly, but before I could tell him as much, the wind picked up. With the front door broken, I could hear it whistling around in the main room.
I looked out of the opened office door. Bronx’s eyes were wide as he stared at the closed door. His body was absolutely still, stiffened with worry.
“Something wrong?” Danny asked stepping into view, stopping several feet behind Bronx.
“I’m not sure,” Bronx said without turning. “I think I’m going to take a look.”
Jamie was on his feet behind him shaking his head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” Bronx said looking over his shoulder at Jamie. He looked him up and down before turning back toward the door.
“I still don’t feel great since those women dragged me out there. I don’t want anything to happen to anyone else,” Jamie said. “It’s too risky.”
“It probably didn’t come inside,” Bronx crossed his arms. “Just a quick peek.”
Jamie’s head was still shaking as his fingers crawled up to his chest. I stepped up next to him, and he jumped back.
“Sorry,” I said chewing my lip. Something was different about him since the ordeal, but maybe he was just trying to process it all. He’d been pretty lucky to find his way back through the thick fog.
“It’s fine,” Jamie said.
Bronx waved for us to move back. “I’m taking a peek, move back, you know, just in case.”
“In case what?” Danny asked.
“In case that fog tries to get in here, and I have to quickly close the door,” Bronx’s eyes narrowed.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked without moving back to the others.
He shook his head. “I’m not sure at all but how will we know when it’s safe if we don’t look.”
“Do whatever you want,” Jamie said moving back into the corner of the room. His eyes settled on me and waved me back.
“Stay back,” Bronx said his eyebrows scrunching together as he looked at me.
My jaw stiffened, and I pushed past him. I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob and pulled it open an inch before he could stop me.
When I saw there was no fog inside the main room, I opened the door wider. “It’s clear.”
Bronx placed his hands on my shoulders and moved me to the side. I could feel the anger radiating through his touch. He hadn’t wanted me to be the one to check, and he made sure I knew that by the dark look he flashed me.
“Sorry,” I muttered, but I wasn’t even a little.
I followed Bronx out toward the window, glancing over my shoulder as we left the storage room. Jamie didn’t follow, but Danny did albeit apprehensively.
The wind picked up, and the cloud outside the window swooshed around. As I drew closer to the glass of the window far from the door, I saw the pumps outside through the particles.
“It’s leaving,” I said even though it was obvious.
Bronx’s head was turned toward the door where the glass had been broken. Every so often, the light would catch on the particles coming inside the room.
“Get back in the storage room,” Bronx said taking a step back.
Danny and I both moved slowly backed away from the broken door. Now that the cloud was thinner, it was finding its way inside the building.
“Get back!” he shouted when he turned and saw we weren’t moving fast enough.
It only took a few seconds to get back into the storage room. I pressed my hand to my chest and took several breaths expecting my breathing to feel weird, but I felt normal.
Bronx started stuffing a blanket under the bottom of the door. Blair stepped out of the office and crossed her arms.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“The cloud’s leaving,” Danny said.
Bronx looked at the top of the door and shook his head before turning to face us. “There bits of it everywhere.”
“It’s going to come in here?” Blair asked her voice cracking.
Bronx let out a sharp breath. “I don’t know.”
Eighteen
Over the next couple hours, Bronx stared at the blanket that covered the crack underneath the door. If anything was leaking into the storage room, he didn’t mention it, so I could only assume that it wasn’t.
Without windows in the storage room, we had no idea if it was still day, or if somehow darkness had swallowed the gas station. The candles in the room gave off a glow that made shadows dance on the walls.
The gas station had been constructed very simply, perhaps it had been built in a hurry. The lack of exits had been a good thing, but the lack of windows hadn’t been. One thing I knew for sure was that the builders definitely hadn’t had the end of the world in mind when they’d come up with the design.
I sat with Nick while he rested. My body was tense as I listened to Bronx moving about in the other room. Nick’s intense mumblings in his sleep weren’t helping to ease my mind. It was like he was trapped somewhere between a deep sleep and being awake. If what he was trying to say was important, I couldn’t tell. I hadn’t been able to make out many of the words and what I could decipher made little to no sense.
I stood looking at the faux-wood paneling walls as I paced back and forth inside the small office room. A small spot of blood had managed to seep through the make-shift bandage on Nick’s thigh. I was thankful it hadn’t been more.
“Hey,” Nick said looking at me through half-opened eyelids.
“Hi,” I said dropping down into the chair next to him. I leaned forward. “How are you feeling?”
Nick attempted to smile, but his bottom lip quivered. “I’ve been better.”
The muscles in my face tightened, but he noticed whatever shield I had attempted to hold in front of myself crumble away. He knew me too well. Nick reached out and grabbed my hand.
“No, Gwen, don’t make that face. Gives me terrible flashbacks to our childhood. It’s like I can hear you calling out to mom about to tattle on me about something I did wrong.” Nick shook my hand weakly until I had no choice but to meet his eyes. “I’m going to be fine. I promise you that.”
I opened my mouth to tell him how little his promises meant, but his eyes narrowed, forcing me to press my lips together.
“Don’t say it. I’m telling you the honest to God truth. Other than being so damn tired, I’m going to be fine.”
“I just can. My body is on the mend.”
“You lost so much blood.” My head was shaking as I looked away from him. I shouldn’t have told him. But then again, he probably already knew.
“I’m making more as we speak. Hey,” Nick said shaking my hand again until I looked up. “I know my promises don’t mean all that much to you, but this is one thing I wouldn’t lie about.”
A long breath squeezed out from between my lips. “Okay.”
“So, what’s going on out there? How’s Jamie doing?” Nick asked.
Surely Blair had been keeping him abreast of everything that was going on. Maybe he’d forgotten, or maybe he wanted to compare information. That seemed like something a police officer would do.
“The cloud is moving away.”
“And Jamie?”
“He’s fine.”
Nick’s head cocked slightly, wrinkling the fabric of the pillow underneath him. “Are you sure about that?”
“As sure as I can be… why? Do you think something is wrong?” I asked.
“He was out there a long time. Much longer than Monica’s feet had been.”
Nick was right. But if anything had been wrong, surely Jamie would have mentioned it by now.
“Well,” Nick said, each blink lasting longer than the last, “keep an eye on him.”
Nick pushed himself up until he was sitting. I’d tried to help him, but he waved me away. He stared at the door as his palm moved up and down his uninjured leg.
“Help me,” he said using more energy than he had to scoot himself forward to the edge of the sofa.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked crossing my arms.
“Going to try to stand. And you’re going to catch me if I fall.”
“Just like old times.”
Nick raised a brow. “Still have your sense of humor, huh?”
“Always. You should probably wait for Bronx. I don’t want to drop you.”
The Red Sky Series (Book 2): Blue Cloud Page 10