Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
N oah falls in step with me, and together we rush toward River. He lifts the hem of her shirt, revealing the rip in her smooth skin. The entire world goes silent as we stare at the blood flowing from a jagged semi-circle. My eyes widen, and my heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. She stumbles back, her legs give out, and Noah catches her before she crashes to the ground.
“Quinn?” he says, my name a plea for help.
No other words need to be spoken. His mind is surely flooding with the same thought as mine—she’s been bitten.
I’ve failed her, and now she’ll turn into the one thing we despise the most in this godforsaken world. River will become one of the Afflicted.
Noah effortlessly lifts her into his arms. Her head rests on his shoulder and relief washes over her face. I rip the bottom of my shirt off and do the same to the back of Noah’s. Balling up the fabrics, I place them to her side.
Noah’s face pales at the sight of the material already turning crimson and tears pool at the corners of his eyes. He steps back with River held tightly to him and repeatedly mumbles how sorry he is. She wipes the tears from his face and assures him everything will be all right, and he has nothing to be sorry for.
“Quinn, come and wrap the shirt into place. Tie it tight to slow the bleeding,” River says as the others gather around us. I do as she asks while she talks to the guys. “I’m going to need stitches, so we need to find somewhere that’s somewhat clean for the night.”
She’s in denial, shocked that this is her fate. We’ve talked about what we wanted to happen if we were ever bitten. At the time, we agreed to kill the other to prevent the Z virus from consuming us. Of course, it was the thought process of two young women who believed it would never come to that.
No.
No!
I refuse to believe this is it.
“Riv, what do you want us to do? Tell me how to fix this.”
“You are going to have to sew me up, and let’s get to Caprielle,” she weakly says.
I nod and dry my eyes with the back of my hand. “Okay.”
Noah’s head jerks up, his gaze locking with mine. “She can’t—they won’t let her pass once they see the signs,” he says.
I open my mouth to tell him to shut up, that she will be fine when River’s laughter catches on the wind. “Oh, my God, Noah! You’re planning my funeral. It didn’t bite me. Its fingernails were super long, and it stabbed all four into me.” She looks at me and nods. “I’ll be okay, Quinn.”
My legs give out and I fall to the ground. With my face buried against my knees, I cry like a baby. Rage, relief, fear, and unconditional love course through me all at once. I physically can’t handle the magnitude of my emotions. I thought I fucking lost her.
Noah lets out a string of words that is a combination of a prayer and curses, before pressing his lips to River’s.
Ryland clears his throat and brings us back to the task at hand. “I have a plan that will give River a chance to recover and give everyone a break from the Zs.” He looks out at the endless lake before us. “We just need a working boat.”
He leads the way to a marina where dozens of abandoned boats are tethered to the dock. We choose a yacht that looks to be in sailing condition and has a roomy cabin. It’s not the most extravagant craft in the harbor, but it’s just what we need.
It turns out that we have made it to Ryker Lake—an enormous body of water that borders Oscuros as well. It’s a major risk to use the waterway to cross into Oscuros. But we should be able to sail to Coft—the city on the Stern side of the border. From there, we’ll have to continue the ten-mile journey by foot to the border crossing. It sounds promising in theory, but nothing about this journey has gone to plan.
Once the boys do a quick security check of the yacht, they leave Noah and me to help River into the hull while they raid the other docked vessels for supplies. She directs us to place her on the long built-in couch across from the kitchenette. Noah sets to work gathering clean towels, and I divide my attention between her and digging through our medical supplies for the items needed to suture River’s wound. She walks me through the process of preparing the needle and my stomach roils at the thought of what comes next. River and I love helping people, but there’s a reason I wanted to study psychology and not general medicine. I’m not one to deal well with those in physical pain, so being designated as her surgeon is terrifying.
“Is there something I can give you for the pain or to at least numb the area?” I ask.
Taking a deep breath, she shakes her head. “Just do the best you can and don’t go too deep with the needle.”
With one last look at the needle I’ve strung with medical thread, I set to work with shaky hands. River bites a wooden pencil that Noah found in one of the drawers and holds his hand in a death grip. Beads of sweat form on her brow, and she struggles to keep conscious. I do my best to work quickly, but it’s hard. I hate the feel of her skin resisting the sharp end of the needle and the little droplets of blood forming around each stitch. It takes everything I have to push myself to stay on task.
After wrapping her injury and giving her painkillers, Noah carries her to the primary bedroom, and they settle in for the evening.
I finish cleaning before heading up to the deck. Other than the stars and moon in the clear night sky, I’m in total darkness. The yacht gently rocks with the movement of the lake and has a calming effect on my rattled nerves. I take a seat on one of the several padded benches and try to relax.
Ryland, Wes, and Aiden load an array of necessities onto the boat. Containers of gasoline, small tanks of propane, the standard non-perishable food items, and fishing gear are among their finds. I’ve never been on a boat like this before, but from what I can tell, the weather seems perfect for sailing. If it weren’t for the concerning state of River’s health, I might look forward to the journey .
It’s not long before Aiden releases the yacht from its tether to the dock, and the boys work together to hot-wire the ignition. As we pull away from the land, I reflect on how I’m not going to have to worry about Zs for the first time in two years. Since they need their lungs and they lack common sense, water and the Afflicted aren’t a good combination. I’ll be able to concentrate on mending River, instead of protecting her. It’s a comfort I was starting to believe I’d never have again.
Once we can no longer make out the outline of the Hudson skyline, Aiden drops the anchor. It turns out he competitively sailed while he attended university. He doesn’t claim to be an expert, but he says he has the necessary knowledge to navigate us to Coft and keep the boat afloat. This is his first time taking the lead since I’ve met him, and I’ve never seen him so elated.
Wes and Aiden go down to the hull to start dinner, leaving me alone with Ryland. With his arms crossed over his chest, he moves to the edge of the deck and looks out over the water. His hair catches on the night breeze and dances around his head, and his tense shoulders relax. Keeping his back to me, he asks, “How’s River?”
The anger I’ve been trying to shove down for the past few hours bubbles up within me at his question. He promised me he’d take care of her over me. We had a deal, and he broke it. River paid the price for his broken promise. She lost blood. She endured stitches without anything to dull her pain.
“Fine,” I snap, not bothering to hide my irritation.
He turns to look at me, with his eyebrows raised. “How are you ?”
“I’m pissed,” I say.
“At me?”
I jump to my feet, square my shoulders, and close the distance between us. Looking him straight in the eyes, I press my finger into his chest. “You swore to me that you’d put her first; that you would protect her instead of me!”
“You couldn’t reach your gun, Quinn.”
“I don’t give a fuck!”
His jaw flexes and a vein on the side of his neck pulsates. “I do! I give a fuck! I care if something happens to you!”
I stumble back a step, his words like a blow to the gut. It steals a little of the fight from me, and it takes me a moment to remember why I’m so angry. “You made me a promise. And because of your blatant disregard of it, I had to sew my cousin back together. I had to watch as she writhed in pain, and it didn’t have to happen.”
“I’m sorry she got hurt, but Noah was making his way to her. They got it under control. There was no reason for me to leave you to fight on your own.”
Noah was there? I was so grateful to find her alive under the Z that I didn’t even consider how it died. As always, I was focused on River, and Ryland was monitoring everything around us. Always the planner. Always the protector.
Ryland speaks again, pulling my thoughts out of the battle and back to the heated conversation at hand. “I’m not sorry for saving your life, even if it means I broke my word to you. I warned you the day you made me promise that I couldn’t keep it. I won’t take back what I did, and I can’t say it won’t happen again.” Sorrow consumes his jade eyes. “Please don’t be upset with me.”
I slide my hand down my face and release a long sigh. “I’m sorry for coming at you like that. I didn’t see Noah. And I’m not mad. I’m just scared that we all won’t make it to the border crossing.”
It’s the truth, my darkest confession. I’m terrified I will fail. And it’s not just River I want to see to safety. Ryland, Aiden, Noah, and Wes need to go home. I’m determined to see that happen.
He cups my cheek in his palm, and I close my eyes, savoring the nearness of him. I love the way his rough, callused hands feel against my skin. It’s a reminder of the trials he’s undergone and his ability to prevail. Ryland’s the strongest person I know, and that’s why I’m so desperate for his help. He can give me the peace I crave.
“If it comes down to you or her, for me, it will always be you, Quinn. But what I can promise you is this: I will protect her just as I would any of my friends. I’ll treat her equal to them.”
Every last drop of the anger I had in me is gone. He has reduced me to the equivalent of a melted puddle at his feet. He never let me down, and I wholeheartedly believe he never will.
“Thank you,” I say, my words hitching on the emotion building in my throat.
It’s more than I expected from him. The guys mean the world to him, and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to keep them alive. His life’s mission is to return them home to their families. I know he’ll do the same for River.
He gives me a weak lopsided smile. It’s painful to know I’m the cause of the sadness behind it, but there is some solace in knowing this feeling won’t last forever. He’ll be free from my hold in less than a week and can carry on with his life the way it should have always been. He’ll not only be able to leave behind the Affliction, but me as well.