Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
T en miles, ten miles , I repeat to myself as I step off the boat. My backpack is heavy with everything useful that I could cram into it. The gun in the waistband of my jeans is loaded, and my knife is strapped in its holster on my hip. I’ve taken every precaution I can to make it to the end.
The six of us have filled our stomachs and went over all possible scenarios before pulling the boat into a harbor. It’s bittersweet saying goodbye to the one place that has provided us with a shred of normalcy since we left Devil’s Lake.
River hasn’t fully recovered and needs Noah’s help climbing down the ramp to the ground. Her movements are slow, and if we’re placed in a situation that requires us to run, it may be next to impossible for her. We plan on protecting her by keeping her in the center of our group at all times.
I say a silent prayer while we walk to the land crossing. I hope it’s quiet and uneventful, but the chances are good that won’t happen. Coft is not only most likely swarming with Zs, but the military presence it had makes the people a threat as well. We need to get to the main highway as quickly as possible, so we’ll have a wide-open space in front of us with minimal obstructions blocking our view.
“You look nervous,” Ryland says, walking beside me.
“I’m just anxious to see how this all turns out.”
He places his hands in his pockets, surveying the area around us. “Do you think you’ll leave for Bogati as soon as you get out of here?”
I’ve honestly not thought past this part of our mission. Making it across the border has been such a long shot, and I haven’t bothered to entertain it. The best I’ve done is come to terms with saying goodbye.
I shrug. “I guess it’s up to River. She’s the one who has ties to both Giran and Bogati. I’ll go where she goes, for now. What about you? Do you think you’ll go back to school?”
“I don’t know. I kind of want to go home and live on my mom’s couch for a bit.”
“That sounds nice,” I say, keeping my focus straight ahead.
“You can come with me.”
“Yeah, and we can sit together on your mom’s couch, and she can cook for us while we catch up on all the television shows we missed.”
“Why not?”
I smile and roll my eyes. “We’ll see.”
We follow the highway into the heart of the city. When tall buildings close in on us, we defensively hold our weapons at the ready. Grunts and footsteps penetrate our tranquil surroundings, drawing our attention in every which way. Our circle closes in around River, and we place our backs to her, moving down the road. Sweat slides down my face, and my heartbeats are so fast that I can count them by the pulsing in my ear. Like a slow crescendo, a chorus of earth-shattering screams calls out, sending a chill down my spine.
The crumbling buildings around us come to life with flashes of dark silhouettes moving inside. The Afflicted pour out the doorways and windows, trickling into the street. Dozens of them, in various stages of the Affliction, move toward us. I’ve never seen anything like it in the past two years.
I glance at the steel frame hovering over the water in the distance—the land crossing. We’re so close to it. Unfortunately, we’re also faced with the impossible odds of making it there alive.
“Whatever you do, stay together,” Ryland barks.
“Hang on to my shirt,” Noah says to River, pressing her to his back to shield her from the Zs.
Aiden moves to Noah’s side while Ryland, Wes, and I guard the rear, ready to open fire. The first Z races forward, eager to devour us and not share with the rest of the horde. I steadily walk backward, my jaw painfully clenched as I focus on my target. Holding my gun with both hands, I fire and hit it in the head.
All hell breaks loose—bullets colliding with Zs.
The Zs surround us with their arms outstretched, grasping at thin air as they try to reach us. Unseeing white eyes skip back and forth and their nostrils flare, breathing in our scent. They growl with hunger, their mouths hanging open with long, thick wisps of slobber dangling from their chins. They’re starving animals who’ve come to claim their feast.
My gun clicks twice before I realize I’m out of bullets and I frantically release the empty chamber, dropping it to the ground. “Shit,” I hiss, reaching into my backpack and fumbling for a new clip.
Ryland’s voice resonates through the chaos saying, “Communicate with me, Quinn.”
“I’m good, I’m good,” I say, pulling out the new magazine and slamming into the bottom of my gun.
I bite my lip until I draw blood as I open fire again. I need a reminder that although I’ve outsmarted these creatures hundreds of times, I still bleed. All it takes is one wrong move for them to gain the upper hand. No sooner does the thought cross my mind, and Aiden is torn away from our group.
He screams, punches, and kicks as he struggles against the Z. It climbs onto his back, holding him in a headlock while trying to bite his neck. Aiden repeatedly delivers violent blows to its face, his fist coming dangerously close to its mouth. All it takes is one misaimed punch, and he will join the rankings of our enemy.
Ryland breaks from our group, charging into the scuttle. Fury radiates from his eyes and each of his swift movements is filled with determination. He won’t watch as another friend is torn apart right in front of him.
Another Z leaps out of nowhere, slamming its body into Ryland. They crash to the ground, and he swiftly throws back his elbow, colliding with the Z’s nose. He seizes the break in their scuffle to line his gun with its mouth and pulls the trigger. The Z’s head bursts open from the back, ejecting brain matter and blood.
Not bothering to get to his feet, Ryland crawls to Aiden. Grabbing the Z’s leg, Ryland yanks and throws it off balance. The Z tries to maintain its hold but is unsuccessful when Aiden administers a punch to the center of its neck. It falls backward with a fleshy thud, and Ryland unloads three bullets into its chest.
Aiden offers Ryland his hand and pulls him to his feet. “Thanks.”
“Hold off on the thank you until we’re across the border,” Ryland says, wiping the sweat from his brow.
The two men fall back into the folds of our group, picking up where they left off.
I scan the area, devising a plan. Aiden’s attack was too close for comfort, and the Zs are growing tired of the chase. We won’t be able to hold them off much longer. The only chance we have to make it will be a distraction.
“Quinnten, I know that look. No heroics, love.”
I shoot Ryland a side-glance. “I can lure some of them away and give you more time.”
“No!”
“Let me do this.”
“Absolutely not. We stick together.”
I shake off Ryland’s refusal to let me go and continue to fire at the Afflicted, knowing that breaking from the group is the only option we have left. I step forward, poising myself to sprint as soon as I see an opening.
Boom!
The Zs at the front of the horde crash to the ground in a ball of flames.
I stumble back, shielding my face from the heat of the blast with my arm. A firm hand grabs mine, and Ryland pulls me in front of him and pushes me forward. Together, we run to the center of the bridge. Out of breath, I hunch forward with my hands on my knees. Movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention.
Wes stands on the bridge’s railing with a huge smile on his face and his blue eyes shining with pride. He salutes the burning horde and says, “What a way to use the last grenade.”
I laugh with a mixture of relief and amusement. “You’re out of your mind.”
“But in a good way, right?”
I don’t get a chance to answer. A dozen Zs break through the flames. Through the tears welling in my eyes, I watch as the charge toward us. It’s useless to fight back. They’ll continue to come, and we’ll never be able to kill them all. All that is left to do is brace for their impact.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Rapid-fire blasts through the air, instantly followed by the whizzing of bullets over our heads. I spin around and find several figures in concrete towers, firing upon the Afflicted from the other side of the border crossing.
“This way,” I yell to the others.
We rush to the checkpoint, and I take one final glance over my shoulder. Many of the Zs lifelessly tumble to the ground, but most disperse in several directions. I’m astonished. They’re actually surrendering.
“Weapons on the ground and hands where we can see them,” says a commanding voice over a loudspeaker.
We exchange alarmed glances, and Ryland gives a quick nod. Together, we gently place our guns on the pavement and raise our hands over our heads. No more than fifty yards away is the border guard station and beyond it a massive concrete wall. Armed guards line the top of the monstrosity with their weapons trained on us.
“This is a closed continental crossing. Stern citizens are not permitted to enter the continent of Oscuros,” the disembodied voice says.
“We’re not Stern citizens,” Ryland replies, holding up his passport. “We’re Giran citizens requesting asylum with the Giran embassy.”
The authoritative voice falls silent, and everything comes to a standstill. We nervously shift from side to side, knowing this is the moment of truth.
Two men wearing black uniforms with bulletproof vests exit the station. Their hands hover over the guns in their holsters as they approach us.
“Do all of you have passports?” asks a guard with sandy-blond hair and a mustache.
“We have our marriage licenses,” River unzips her backpack, searching for the two documents we took months ago from the regional court office and Noah forged.
The guard with jet-black hair and dark umber skin scowls and says, “That’s not what he asked. Do you have pass?—”
“Yes,” I interject, holding up two Giran passport booklets in my shaking hands.
He glares at the engraving on the covers before turning on his heels and heading to the wall. “Follow us.”
The other guard falls behind our group, urging us forward at gunpoint.
Everyone remains silent as we follow the guards to the checkpoint, the taping of our steps creating a steady beat. My nerves are frayed, our first plan to cross into Oscuros has been uprooted with no hope of being salvaged. I’m not surprised, the marriage licenses were a flimsy attempt at best. I just pray that by some miracle my plan B works the way it should.
Pulling the reins on my growing anxiety, I allow my curiosity to take over. “Why did the Afflicted run once you opened fire on them?”
The guard’s dark eyes examine me up and down before he answers with indifference, “They’ve learned we’ll kill them if they set foot on our territory. Like an animal, they can be trained to a certain extent, but never tamed. Occasionally, one will try to reach the wall, but we’re here to quickly put them back into their place.”
I’m dumbfounded by this information. I never considered Zs to be intelligent beyond their preferred hunting methods. The terror they can cause has been elevated to a new height, making this the perfect time to leave them and this continent far behind.
We reach a booth sitting before a concrete barrier, blocking the road into Oscuros. The two guards who gathered us stand watch as a third takes Aiden’s passport and enters his information into a computer system. I lean forward, tapping River on the shoulder with one of the passports in my shaking hand. Her eyes widen as she takes the book, and I return to my place at the end of the line next to Ryland.
“Where did you get those?” he asks under his breath.
“I know a guy who’s really good at creating fake IDs,” I reply.
His brows rise with surprise and a grin splits his face. “Noah. His criminal activity worked in your favor.”
“It would appear so.”
Every muscle in Ryland’s body relaxes. He clearly has faith in his friend’s ability to forge government documentation, which is a good sign. We can’t risk the guards second-guessing the legitimacy of what Noah created.
Before Aiden’s passport is returned to him, the guard says, “I’ll need you to wait for your friends on the other side of the barrier. Once everyone has been verified through the database, all of you will be escorted to a quarantine area to be examined and tested for the Z virus. If everything comes back clean, you’ll be handed over to the Giran authorities.”
Everyone nods, and the guard blocking the small entryway steps aside. I can’t believe it; they’re going to let the boys go home.
River steps forward, handing over the passport, and every normal function of my body stops. I don’t know how extensive the database is, but if there are pictures to accompany the information, she’ll be screwed. Noah replaced Dylan’s image with hers, but it won’t match what the government has on file. There’s no way she’ll be able to pass as him.
I stop breathing as the guard eyes her. “Dylan Kassis?”
Without missing a beat, she says, “That’s me.”
The guard examines the passport again, comparing it to his computer screen.
“Please, my wife has been injured, and I just want to get her home,” Noah begs.
The guard scratches the back of his neck, dividing his attention between the information in his hand and the girl before him. He isn’t falling for it. She doesn’t match the information before him. River isn’t going to make it across.
The resolute glare he gave us when we first approached softens. “The quality of the pictures in this system sucks. But you have a non-Stern passport and that is all that’s required to cross, Ms. Kassis,” he says, giving the booklet back to her.
The breath I’ve been holding leaves me in a whoosh as I watch River walk across the border.
Noah looks back at me as he hands over his documentation that is missing its cover. Worry is written all over his face even though he knows he made the right choice to change Dylan’s passport to look like it belongs to River. Wanting to ease his concern, I mouth the words thank you , and he responds with a timid nod.
Ryland places his hand on my lower back, moving me in front of him.
“No. You go ahead, I need to find something really quick,” I say, kneeling on the ground and unzipping my backpack. I mindlessly rummage through the contents as Ryland hands the guard his passport. I can feel his gaze shifting between the guard and me as he waits for his approval to pass.
My stomach turns and the lump in my throat makes it difficult to swallow. When Ryland is given the okay, I grab his hand. “Get her to her family,” I say, letting go of his fingers.
Confusion washes over his face as I slide my arms through my backpack. The guard tries pushing him through, but he drags his feet. “Wait. Hold on. Quinn.”
“Your passport, miss,” the other guard says to me.
I pull Noah’s cover off my Stern passport and smile. “I’m not a Giran citizen.” I show him my booklet which Noah was unable to alter with our limited resources.
Ryland stops struggling and stares at me in wide-eyed shock.
The guard’s explanation of why I can’t cross is nothing more than white noise as I take one last look at the people I love. They’re finally somewhere safe where they can forget about the nightmares of the Affliction. I’ve completed my only goal for the past two years the best way I could.
“I’m just here to wish them farewell,” I finally say to the guard.
“Quinn?” River says, and Noah wraps her in his arms, holding her in place as she pushes against him. “No, let me go. Quinn!”
“I love you, Riv,” I say, choking on the words as I step away.
“I love you, too. Please don’t do this, don’t leave me,” she wails, going slack in Noah’s arms. He holds on to her while tightly squeezing his eyes shut and biting on his lips.
I brush the tears from my eyes, turning my back on her and the boys for fear of breaking down.
Needing her to believe I can be strong on my own, I trudge up the strength that River helped to ignite in me. She has been my life support when I felt like the whole world was going to swallow me whole. She gave me a reason to keep on going when I wanted nothing more than to give up. She’s my best friend, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her, including walking away.
“Quinn!” she screams again.
My body feels like lead, but I force myself to keep moving. This is what I must do to prove it will be all right. I want her to go find our family and live the life she deserves. I know the four men with her will make sure that happens.
Holding on to the knowledge that I’ve done the right thing, I quicken my pace until I can no longer hear River’s cries. I stop at the point where we discarded our weapons and pick them up. Heavily armed, I continue toward the city infested with the Afflicted.
A mixture of emotions overwhelms me when the end of the bridge comes into view. The carnage in front of me conjures a feeling I’ve never felt before. No longer will I have the safety net of knowing someone always has my back, I’m left to face the Afflicted and this decaying land alone.
I scan the city beyond the bridge. The Afflicted scurry from building to building, slowly making their way back to where I stand. I square my shoulders and exhale every ounce of air from my lungs. I’m bound to lose the battle with them, but all the same, I won’t let them take me without a fight. And maybe if I’m clever enough… fast enough… I’ll make it somewhere safe. Perhaps the Sanctuary does exist, and I can live out the rest of my days inside of its walls.
“How can you walk away without so much as a goodbye?”
My stomach comes alive with butterflies and at the same time sinks. I slowly turn around and say, “What are you doing?”
Ryland doesn’t bother to answer my question but carries on with his train of thought. “Because since the moment you came into my life, I’ve dreaded the day I would have to say those words to you. I’ve fought and bled to keep you with me. I’m haunted by the very thought of letting you go.”
“Everything comes to an end, it’s a hard lesson we were forced to learn through all of this,” I say.
He steps closer to me, touching a strand of my hair that has escaped the bun on top of my head. He tucks the rogue piece behind my ear and softly says, “That’s not the lesson I learned.”
I swallow down the emotion building inside of me and ask, “What lesson did you learn?”
“That no matter what I have to face, I don’t want to do it without you. I can’t do it without you. ”
Tears sting my eyes as I half-heartedly push him away. “You promised to take care of River. You can’t stay. I won’t let you break that promise to me again.”
“You’re seriously the most stubborn woman I have ever met. I promised you I’d protect her just as I would one of my friends. I never promised to place her above you.”
I shake my head, trying again to shove him back toward the border. “No, please don’t do this. You have to go home.”
His hand wraps around the back of my neck, and his eyes close tightly as his forehead drops to mine. “I don’t have a home without you. I love you, Quinnten.”
My knees weaken at his words, and his arm encircles my waist, holding me to him.
This isn’t the way it ends for him. He’s supposed to return home to his family and piece together the life he left behind, staying here with me is not a future.
“Go home,” I beg him, tears streaming down my face.
“No.”
“Please go home, Ryland.” I don’t want to be the reason he stays here. There’s nothing but death and heartache in this place. He’s done his time, and now he needs to leave.
“Nothing you can say will make me leave you, even if you don’t love me in return.”
I lift my head from his and grasp his face with both of my hands. “I do love you. I’m so madly in love with you, and it’s why it kills me to think you’re destined to live out your days here.”
“With you,” he adds.
I shake my head.
“With you, the woman I love.”
“No,” I whisper.
“Yes.” His fingers dig into my hips, pulling me closer before his mouth covers mine. His tongue brushes against my lower lip, urging me to open to him and mirror the pace he sets. I let go of the last of my resolve and give in to his silent request. I savor the taste of him as I tangle my fingers in his hair, gripping it tightly.
Ryland kisses me with more than passion—it’s an all-consuming, unconditional love. His love for me is sacrificial and limitless. It perfectly reflects mine for him. I don’t ever want to let him go.
I catch my breath as Ryland plants soft pecks on my face and dries my tears.
“So, we’re out of explosives and wondering how the two of you plan on getting us back to the boat,” Wes interrupts.
“You do have another plan, right, Quinn?” Aiden asks.
I reluctantly pull my gaze from Ryland and look over his shoulder to see not only the three men I’ve come to consider my friends but my cousin as well.
My stomach sinks at the sight of them. “Why— How did you get back over the border?” I ask.
Noah shrugs and with a smirk says, “It turns out the guards know what to do when someone wants out of Stern, but they’re clueless when people want back in. I think they were in a bit of shock as we ran back this way.”
River walks away from the supportive arms of her boyfriend, her face streaked with tears. I swallow under the pure rage in her eyes. I wouldn’t be surprised if she lodges one of her arrows into me, but instead, she goes for the less harmful and more immature approach of punching me in the shoulder.
“What the hell, Riv?” I whine, rubbing my arm.
“That’s for scheming with my boyfriend behind my back and trying to abandon me.” She pulls me from Ryland’s arms, folding me into her own. “This is also for scheming with my boyfriend behind my back and trying to save me. Don’t do that again, okay? ”
I hug her back tightly and choke, “You should’ve gone and lived your life with Noah and found your parents.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea right now. I’m pissed at him for plotting with you. I could use the time to cool down.” She pulls away from me and flashes a sad smile. “Besides, we all leave, or none of us leave.”
As much as I wish at least she and Noah would’ve continued to Giran, I’m glad I still have her with me. I know it’s selfish, but I can’t imagine surviving without her.
After I release River, Ryland steps back to my side, taking my hand into his. “So, what’s the plan, love?”
I blow out a puff of air, the weight of the question pressing down on me. “I’m still working that out. But for now, it’s to stay alive and hope the Sanctuary truly does exist.”
He shakes his head. “It’s an asinine idea, but I’m behind you if you think it’s what we should do. In fact, I’ll let you lead the way.”
There’s a total shift between us. I no longer feel the need to prove myself and fight for my place. He has accepted me as I am and trusts me as I trust him. We’re better and stronger together.
I smile and marvel at the clarity of his green eyes as I say, “We stick together and do this as a team, Ry.”