Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Clove
Time stopped behaving normally.
Every second stretched, thick and heavy, like it was daring me to blink. Like if I did, that second might be my last. I couldn’t tell how long I’d been sitting there—minutes, hours? But my heart beat too fast for any of it to matter.
Panic was setting in.
My chest hitched as I sucked in air that felt too thin. I forced myself to breathe more slowly, more quietly. Panic would get me caught. Panic would get me dead.
I scanned the camper again, desperate now, really looking instead of hoping. The kitchenette. The bed. The bathroom. The door that might as well have been welded shut. The boarded windows that mocked me with slivers of daylight I couldn’t reach.
I moved to the back corner with my heart pounding so hard it made my head throb.
The boards over the window were old. Weathered. Nailed in crooked, like whoever put them up hadn’t expected them to matter for long.
I grabbed the edge of one and pulled.
It didn’t budge.
I swallowed hard and tried again, bracing my foot against the wall and yanking with everything I had.
Nothing.
A sob burned at the back of my throat, but I swallowed it down.
Then voices outside and close.
I froze; my fingers still curled around the wood.
“You’re fucking insane,” one of them yelled.
Another voice shot back, “I’m not doing this anymore. We should just let her go.”
My pulse roared in my ears.
“You can’t,” the first snapped. “She’s seen Rocket’s face.”
My stomach dropped.
Rocket.
That had to be the one.
The one who had tossed the grilled cheese at me yesterday. The only face burned into my memory.
“Yogi is fucking pissed!” the first guy screamed. “Do you have any idea how bad this is?”
My heart slammed so hard it hurt.
“I say we just fucking kill her,” the second voice said, wild now, unhinged. “And we run.”
The world tilted.
“Where the hell are we gonna run?” the third voice demanded.
“Anywhere but fucking here!”
Silence.
My breath caught in my chest.
Then—“Fine,” someone said. “Let’s do it.”
Something inside me snapped.
Not fear. Not panic.
Something feral.
I turned back to the window, grabbed the board again, and pulled.
Hard.
Pain exploded through my shoulders and arms, but I didn’t stop. I pulled like my life depended on it.
Because it did.
The board ripped free with a cracking sound that echoed in the camper. I stumbled back, nearly falling, my heart racing so fast I thought it might give out.
I stared at the opening.
There was no window. Just open space. Bare.
Air rushed in and filled my lungs like oxygen after drowning.
Footsteps pounded outside.
Close.
Fast.
“Now!” someone yelled.
I didn’t think.
I dove.
My body slammed through the opening, scraping against the rough edges as I tumbled out of the camper. I hit the dirt hard, the impact knocking the wind clean out of me. Pain exploded across my ribs and chest, and stars burst behind my eyes.
I gasped, sucking in air that wouldn’t come.
No time.
I rolled, pushed myself up, and ran.
Branches slapped at my arms and face as I crashed into the woods, not caring where I was going, only that it was away. My lungs burned, my legs screamed, but I didn’t slow down.
Behind me, shouting erupted.
“She’s gone!”
“Fuck!”
“After her!”
Terror lit a fire in my veins.
I ran harder.
The woods blurred around me, with trees whipping past as I ducked and stumbled and kept moving. I didn’t zigzag. I didn’t think.
Straight.
Just keep going.
Twigs snapped under my feet. Thorns tore at my skin. My breath came in ragged, painful gasps, and my chest burned like it was on fire.
They were behind me.
Not close, but close enough.
I could hear them crashing through the brush, swearing and breathing hard.
If I slowed down, I was dead.
If I fell, I was dead.
My vision tunneled, black creeping in at the edges, but I forced my legs to keep moving. I thought about nothing. Felt nothing but the ground beneath my feet and the air tearing at my lungs.
Then a break in the trees.
A road.
Hope slammed into me so hard it nearly knocked me off my feet.
I found a second wind I didn’t know I had and sprinted toward it, crashing through the last line of brush, sliding down into a shallow ditch, and scrambling up the other side.
I burst onto the road and heard it. The familiar roar of engines.
Motorcycles.
My head snapped up just in time to see two bikes rounding the curve, coming fast, and the sound ripped through the air like thunder.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
I waved my arms wildly and ran toward them, tears blurring my vision. My legs felt like jelly, every step a battle, but I didn’t stop.
The bikes skidded to a stop in front of me.
I knew them instantly.
Ender.
Jude.
Ender kicked his bike’s stand down before it even fully stopped and jumped off, crossing the distance between us in two strides. His arms closed around me, hard and solid and real, and something broke loose inside my chest.
I wailed.
The sound tore out of me, raw and uncontrollable, as I clung to him like he was the only thing keeping me upright.
“I got out,” I sobbed. “They were chasing me. They’re coming!”
Ender’s hands cradled my head, pressing me into his chest. “Shh,” he murmured, his voice low and steady. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
“They’re coming,” I gasped again.
Jude was already looking toward the woods, his body coiled and alert. “Who?”
“Three guys,” I panted. “I got out and they started chasing me.”
“Which direction?” Jude asked.
I lifted one shaking hand and pointed toward the trees I’d just come from.
Jude’s gun was in his hand in an instant. “We need to go after them.”
“No!” I screamed, panic flaring fresh and hot. “Don’t leave me!”
Ender tightened his arms around me. “I’m never gonna leave you, doll,” he said firmly.
Jude glanced between us, then nodded. “You stay with her.”
Ender nodded once.
Jude turned and disappeared into the woods.
Ender lowered his head, pressing his forehead to mine. “You’re safe,” he whispered. “I’ve got you. Breathe with me.”
I tried.
I really did.
But my body wouldn’t stop shaking. Sobs ripped through me as relief and terror tangled together. I clutched his jacket, and my fingers dug in like I was afraid he might vanish if I let go.
Two gunshots cracked through the air.
I screamed and buried my face in Ender’s chest.
“Shh,” he whispered again, rocking me gently. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
A minute later, Jude emerged from the trees, his expression grim.
“You get them?” Ender asked.
Jude shook his head. “No. Didn’t even see them.”
“Then what the hell did you shoot at?” Ender demanded.
“Just trying to scare them,” Jude said. He looked at me. “She okay?”
I nodded weakly, still pressed against Ender. “I’m fine now,” I whispered.
Jude pulled out his phone. “I’m calling Wrecker.”
He turned slightly away, voice clipped and efficient. “We’ve got her.” Silence. “By the pipeline.” More silence. “We didn’t get the guys. She managed to get away.” A pause. “She pretty much ran right to us.” Another pause. “Yeah. She’s well enough to ride. We’re headed home.”
Home.
The word wrapped around my heart and squeezed.
Ender tilted his head down toward me. “You sure you can ride, baby?”
I nodded, swallowing hard. “Um… yeah. Can I ride with you?”
A smirk curved his lips, slow and sure. “As if you had a choice.”
He pulled me closer, his voice dropping just for me. “You’re with me, baby.”