20
Rowan
Heath slammed his fist against Gabe’s face yet again, and he went down, this time not even trying to catch himself. He groaned and rolled onto his back but didn’t try to get up. His face was a mess. His right eye swollen shut, his lip split, his nose bleeding and slightly crooked. He also had a big gash on his left cheek from where Heath had pistol whipped him. I wasn’t sure how much more he could take—or how much more Heath planned on giving him.
Michael stood over us, turned sideways so he could see what was happening while also keeping an eye on the rest of the prisoners. Hank paced, his gaze bouncing to Devon every couple seconds. He was getting antsy. The other three men hadn’t yet returned from taking care of the dead even though the moans had stopped. I couldn’t see them from my position on the ground, but I could hear their footsteps. They were on their way back.
“Get up,” Heath ordered.
“Why? What’s the point?” Gabe turned his head and spit. “Just get on with it.”
“I want you to suffer.”
“Believe me, I’m suffering.” Gabe shifted, pushing himself up. “I watched my wife and kids die. That’s more suffering than any one man should ever have to live with.”
He’d had kids?
I hadn’t even known he was married until Heath mentioned it back at the hospital, so it wasn’t really a surprise that Gabe hadn’t told us about his kids. Maybe his loss had something to do with why he’d wanted all the women and children to stay inside where it was safer. Maybe he was trying to spare them, or himself, from more pain.
“You deserve a lot more suffering than that,” Heath said.
Gabe sighed. “You’re insane.”
“Insane?” Heath leaned closer. “You haven’t seen anything—”
The crack of a gunshot cut off whatever he was going to say.
Michael jerked when a bullet tore through his shoulder, let out a grunt of agony, and went down. Lisa cried out and ducked, and Devon moved closer to me, trying to act as a human shield. Hank spun around as if searching for the source of the gunshot, but Heath ducked, his gaze darting around as he tried to figure out what was going on. That was when Kiaya came running through the open gate, Doug, Ari, Rick, and Brian with her. They were all armed.
“Drop the weapons!” she called, pointing her gun at Hank. “Now!”
The teen sneered, his lip curling in rage or disgust, I wasn’t sure. He looked like a wild animal, and I wasn’t sure if he would listen. He apparently wasn’t either, because he hesitated and looked around like he was trying to gauge his chances. Obviously deciding his knife was no match for the guns pointed in his direction, he finally obeyed. The knife clanged against the pavement when he tossed it to the ground.
“You, too,” Kiaya said, looking toward to Heath even though she kept her gun pointed at Hank. “Gun on the ground.”
Heath’s gaze darted around, taking in the scene as he tried to decide what to do. After only a moment, though, he straightened and tossed his gun aside. He said nothing, but his expression made it clear he wanted to rip everyone to pieces with his bare hands.
“’Bout time,” Gabe grunted, his hand going to the cut on his cheek.
Brian was the first to rush to his friend’s side. “Sorry, man.”
“It’s fine.” Gabe let out a hiss of pain, but he waved his friend off when Brian moved to help him stand. “I’m going to be okay.”
“Shit,” Ari said, going over to join them. “You don’t look it.”
“Get down,” Rick said in a low and menacing voice. “On your knees. Both of you.”
Heath obeyed, as did Hank, who still had a gun pointed at him courtesy of Kiaya. Rick stood over Heath, a gun pointed at his head, while Doug moved to check on Michael. The asshole who’d hit me was conscious but bleeding profusely, his hand pressed to his shoulder as he swore over and over again. His face was scrunched up, and he seemed to be in too much pain to really be a threat at this point, but Doug stayed at his side anyway, his gun out and ready just in case.
As soon as everything had settled down, Devon turned to me. “What about you? Are you okay?”
“I’m sore.”
His fingers brushed my throbbing right cheek, and I jerked away, letting out a hiss of pain.
“Sorry,” he said.
My head was pounding, my face ached, and my shoulder was sore. The next few days were going to be rough.
Devon reached to help me when I started to stand, and I clung to him even though there was nothing wrong with my legs. He was still shirtless, and his skin was cool from the chilly night air. It was comforting, though, having his arms around me.
Once I was on my feet, I looked around. Flames poured from the windows in the older section of the school, and they were visible in several others. It was going to burn, and just like with the other fire, there was no one around to stop it. Buck was dead, his body lying where it had fallen after Hank killed him, and Gabe was a bloody mess. Michael was bleeding out—not that I cared if he died—and Hank and Heath were both on their knees, their hands on their heads.
“What now?” I asked.
“Now,” Devon grabbed Hank’s discarded knife off the ground and crossed to the teen, the muscles in his bare chest flexing as he moved, “we finish this.”
“You’re going to kill him?” Kiaya asked.
“It’s what we should have done before,” Devon said.
She nodded.
All eyes were on him. Rick still had the gun aimed at Heath, but even he watched as Devon knelt in front of Hank, and the air seemed to crackle with the anticipation at was going to happen next.
“Do you have any last words?” Devon asked the teen.
“Yeah.” The teen glanced Kiaya’s way. “Tell your sister I was thinking about her. Tell her I was remembering how she felt under me.”
Kiaya took a step toward him, her hand shaking as she raised her gun. “Don’t talk about her. Don’t even think about her.”
Hank’s lips curled into a creepy smile. “She’s all I can think about.”
“I’m doing this,” she told Devon, taking another step toward Hank. “Me.”
“Kiaya, I don’t—”
A gunshot cut through the air, drowning out her words, which was quickly followed by a grunt of pain. I spun toward the sound, taking in the scene. Rick was down, the gun knocked from his hand—that must have been the gunshot—and Gabe was on the ground again, his hands on the knife lodged in his chest as Heath stood over him. Smiling. We’d all been so distracted by Hank that we hadn’t been paying close enough attention to Heath, and somehow, he’d gotten a knife.
“Shit!” Brian rushed to his friend’s side. “Gabe. No!”
“You bastard,” Rick said, throwing himself at Heath.
Things went crazy after that. Heath went down, Rick on top of him, pounding his fists against the other man’s face over and over. Meanwhile, Lisa had rushed to Gabe, as had Kiaya and Ari, and even Matt. They were all around him, Gabe lying on his back and gasping in pain while Lisa shouted orders.
“Leave the knife. He could bleed out if you remove it.”
“We can’t just leave it there!” Brian said.
“We have to.” She looked around, her gaze landing on Doug. “The truck. Now. We need to get him to the hospital.”
My ex rushed toward one of the trucks idling on the other side of the barricade without saying a word.
Meanwhile, Lisa ordered Brian to remove his shirt. Once he had, she wrapped it around the knife as gently as she could. Gabe was groaning, his eyes closed, his face pale beneath the many cuts and bruises.
“Is he going to be okay?” Brian asked, his tone panicked, his expression as pained as Gabe’s.
Lisa met his gaze. “I can’t promise anything.”
“Shit,” Brian said, and swiped his hand through his dark hair. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”
Devon stood over Hank, watching it all happen with a shocked expression on his face, and
the kid must have seen it as his only chance, because he chose that moment to charge.
Hank had nothing on Devon. He was shorter and chubby, and not at all athletic, but he managed to catch Devon completely off guard. The teen threw his body against the back of Devon’s knees, sending him flying, and with more agility than I could have imagined he’d be able to muster, Hank scurried past Devon and took off running.
“Shit.” Devon rolled over and jumped to his feet, rushing after Hank. “Don’t let him get away!”
Everyone was too focused on Gabe to even notice.
Hank reached the wall of cars just as Doug drove the truck through the open gate. It screeched to a stop and the door flew open, while at that exact moment Hank practically threw himself onto the hood of a sedan. He scooted across it, landing on the other side of the barricade a few seconds later and disappearing from sight.
Devon followed.
“Devon!” I called.
He didn’t stop, and he didn’t look back when he yelled out, “Stay where you are!”
“Let’s load him up,” Doug yelled as he rushed from the truck.
Rick had beaten Heath until he was barely conscious and was now moving to Gabe’s side as well. The men worked together, lifting him into the bed of the truck as gently as they could. Brian was the first one in after him.
Lisa climbed up as well. “We need to keep him as still as possible. Ari and Matt, you come with me. Doug, you drive.”
They scampered in, and Rick slammed the tailgate.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll take care of Heath.”
“Make sure we never see that asshole again,” Gabe managed to get out.
“I will.”
Doug was rushing to the open driver’s side door when Kiaya called out, “Are Randall and the kids in there?”
He paused, his hand on the door. “Yeah.”
“Good.” She waved to the truck. “Go. Get Gabe to the hospital. I just wanted to be sure they were okay. And tell my sister I’ll be there soon!”
Doug nodded once, hopped in, pulled the door shut, and then he was speeding away.
Rick had already turned to Heath. “This is the end for you.”
The asshole actually smiled up at him. “I’ll die happy knowing Gabe isn’t very far behind.”
“He’s going to live.” Rick pulled a knife from the sheath at his hip. “Not you, though. You’re dead.”
I couldn’t give the situation my full attention because I was waiting for Devon to reappear. The darkness beyond the barricade seemed to stretch out forever, and as far as I could tell, there was no movement anywhere. He must have caught up with Hank, though. There was no way the kid could have outrun Devon. Could he?
I glanced over my shoulder, back to where Rick still stood over Heath, knife in hand, then returned my attention to the car Devon had hopped over a few minutes ago. Still, there was nothing.
“What’s going on?” Kiaya asked, coming up to stand at my side.
“Hank ran off, and Devon went after him.” I tore my gaze from the blackness and focused on her. “I’m starting to get worried.”
She put her hand on my shoulder. “He’ll be back.”
Unable to make myself talk, I went back to studying the blackness beyond the barrier. It was silent and seemingly empty. No movement of any kind. I wanted to run after Devon, wanted to throw myself over the hood of that car and rush into the darkness to find him, but his words were ringing in my ears.
Stay where you are!
I’d made a promise, and not just to Devon and Kiaya, to myself as well. I was going to be smarter from now on. I would think things through and not react based on emotions. Which meant that as hard as it was, as difficult as I found it, I would stay here and wait for Devon to return. I had to.
Not turning away from the wall completely, I shifted so I could see what was going on with Rick. He had Heath on his knees, a handful of the asshole’s shirt clenched in his fist. It looked like he’d gotten in a few more hits, too, because there was fresh blood dripping from Heath’s nose, and his left eye was almost swollen shut.
“You killed Lane,” Rick said through clenched teeth. “You tried to kill Gabe.”
“Oh, I killed him.” Heath let out a pained chuckle. “I’m sure of it.”
Rick pulled him closer, their faces inches apart. “I’m going to slit your throat and enjoy watching you bleed to death.”
“Less talk,” Heath said, “More action.”
Rick released him, and Heath dropped to the ground, catching himself on his hands and knees. He spit, a glob of bloody saliva landing on the pavement in front of him, then looked up. Rick stood over him, his shoulders heaving as he pulled his knife, and the blade glinted in the truck’s headlights.
Rick grabbed a handful of Heath’s hair, forcing his head back. “Last words?”
Heath smiled. “Go fuck yourself.”
“You never did know when to shut up,” Rick said.
He poised the blade at Heath’s neck, pausing like he wanted to drag it out. I expected to see fear in the guy’s eyes. He was, after all, about to die. There was nothing, though. Nothing but the same cold glint. As if this were just another day. Another moment like every other.
In one quick motion, Rick drew the blade across Heath’s throat. It opened, reminding me of a red smile, and blood poured out. It ran down his neck and chest and soaked into his shirt, saturating it in seconds. Like Buck, Heath reached up as if trying to staunch the flow, but it was no use. In seconds, his arms had dropped to his sides. Rick released him then, and he dropped to the ground.
Rick stepped back, sighing. “I never thought I’d kill another human being. Definitely never thought I’d enjoy it.”
He looked our way as if searching for some kind of absolution, and Kiaya said, “Some people don’t deserve to live.”
Rick turned his focus on Michael. The man who’d hit me was on the ground now, and unmoving. He must have bled out while we were focused on Gabe and Heath. The satisfaction I felt at the thought should have made me feel bad, but it didn’t. Like Kiaya had said, some people didn’t deserve to live.
I turned my attention back to the wall of cars. Devon was still nowhere in sight.
“He’ll be back any second,” Kiaya said, putting her arm around me.
I said nothing, refusing to look away from the cars.
Minutes passed before the sound of footsteps reached us. My body stiffened as I strained my ears, hoping to hear something that would tell me if it was Devon, Hank, or something else. I focused on the steps, letting out a sigh of relief a second later. They were even and measured, not staggered. The sound of heavy breathing came next, and by then I was on the verge of collapsing. I didn’t even think about what I was doing as I rushed toward the wall of cars, didn’t even consider that it could be Hank coming my way and not Devon. Thankfully, my impulsiveness for once didn’t matter, because before I’d even made it halfway there, he was climbing back over the car.
“Devon!” I gasped, moving faster.
I threw myself against him the second he was on this side of the barrier, and his arms went around me. His bare chest was warmer than it had been earlier, and moist with sweat, and as usual, my emotions got the better of me. Tears sprang to my eyes, refusing to stay away. If I ever reached a point where I could control my stupid emotions, I’d be thrilled.
“Hey,” he said, his lips against my head. “I’m okay.”
I pulled away and gave him a swat. “You scared the shit out of me. Where did you go?”
“I went after Hank.” He frowned as he glanced over his shoulder. “Didn’t find him, though.”
“He’s still out there?” Kiaya asked, coming up to join us.
“Unfortunately,” Devon replied.
Fear gripped me then, and I wasn’t alone. It was probably one of the only times I’d seen genuine terror in Kiaya’s eyes.
“He’s going to come after Zara.”
“He won’t be a
ble to get her.” Devon put his hand on Kiaya’s shoulder. “We’ll make sure of it.”
She tried to look brave but didn’t quite manage it.
A moan broke through the air, and we all turned.
Rick stood a few feet from Heath’s body, looking out over the barricade toward a group of advancing dead. “I think we should head out.”
“Yeah,” Devon said. “First, though, can you give me a hand?”
Devon’s gaze was focused on Buck’s lifeless body.
“Yeah,” Rick said with a long sigh. “I can do that.”
Kiaya and I crossed to the trucks but didn’t climb in. We stood beside them, keeping an eye out as Devon and Rick lugged Buck’s body up off the ground and carried it our way. The dead weren’t far, but they were slow enough that we should have been able to get away before they reached us. Just in case, though, Kiaya and I remained ready.
The zombies were still a good ten feet away when Devon and Rick loaded Buck into the bed of the truck. The thud of the tailgate shutting came next, then the men turned to us.
“We should split up.” Devon nodded to the other truck, which was still idling. “I’d hate to leave a vehicle behind if we don’t have to.”
“Good idea,” Rick said, then glanced toward Kiaya. “I guess that means you’re with me.”
She gave me a tense smile then headed to the other vehicle. Rick followed.
“Ready to get out of here?” Devon asked me then.
“More ready than I’ve ever been for anything else in my life,” I replied.
He climbed into the driver’s seat while I pulled myself into the passenger seat. Once inside, I watched the others, not able to hold in a smile as Rick climbed into the passenger seat of the other truck. He looked more than a little irritated, but Kiaya was already behind the wheel. Good for her.
She pulled out of the parking lot first, turning left so she could head for the interstate. Devon started to follow, but I grabbed his hand and he slowed to a stop.
“Wait a second.”
“What is it?”
I nodded in the opposite direction. “My bag. Heath left it in front of the school. Can we get it?”
Far Series | Book 3 | Far From Lost Page 33