Chapter 33 #2
The leader taunts Tobias and Rachel some more, but I don’t pay attention, instead focusing on creeping around the edge of the caravan and to the treeline across the dirt road.
Harriet and Matt spot me tiptoeing behind the gang members, their eyes widening slightly.
I shake my head, not wanting them to give me away.
Harriet’s gaze turns calculating a second before she struggles against her captor, drawing everyone’s attention to her.
“Settle down, bitch, before I slit your throat,” one of the Scourge snarls.
My stomach clenches, and for one second, I’m terrified that I might have just got Rhys’s sister killed. Thankfully, she stops struggling immediately, and the captors relax.
I keep moving and don’t take a breath until I’m in the safety of the trees. There, the flickers of my plan form into something more solid.
I crouch, grab a few pebbles and stuff them into my pocket before moving deeper into the trees. Once I’m hidden in the shadows while still having a good angle on the gang members, I take out my pistol and two pebbles.
The first thing I do is throw a pebble as hard as I can toward where I came from. It slams into the side of the caravan, the noise causing everyone to jolt. The gang members swing their heads in that direction, a mixture of confusion and bloodthirsty glee on that faces.
The leader sneers and turns his attention back to Tobias. “Seems like you have a friend desperate to join us,” he taunts before snapping his gaze to the gang member beside him. “Go grab the fucker and bring them here.”
The gang member grumbles but does as he’s told.
I wait until he’s disappeared around the edge of the caravan before throwing the second pebble.
This one clatters to the ground beside another caravan two down from the one the gang member is investigating, causing everyone to swing their gazes towards it.
With their attention elsewhere, the leader’s gun has shifted, no longer pointed at Tobias.
Perfect.
He’s the first one to die, dropping from a well-placed bullet to the side of his head. But now I have a problem; the gunshot is too loud in the quiet of the forest, giving away my position. It’s only a matter of time before they storm the forest to find me.
But it appears luck is on my side, and I’m feeling greedy.
The gang members don’t move at first, too stunned by the sight of their dead leader on the ground. I take advantage of that and kill two more before they finally spring into action, shouting curses as they come straight for me.
Using the shadows of the trees, I slip deeper into the forest while throwing pebbles in the opposite direction, hoping to confuse them.
It works and in the pandemonium, Tobias and Rachel get their hands on some weapons and fight back.
This fragments and confuses the gang members even more, especially since the people from Haven are screaming their heads off and crying, only adding to the chaos.
Thinking they’ll be easy pickings, I shoot, catching at least one guy in the arm. But I’ve overestimated myself and got too cocky. Because now every gang member in the forest knows exactly where I am and boy do they show it.
I barely dodge the incoming bullets, a couple whizzing by so close I can feel them brush against my hair. Bits of bark and dirt fly into the air as bullets slam into the ground and nearby trees. I dive behind an oak tree and into the muck, grimacing as it soaks into my clothes.
This is definitely not my idea of fun.
Twigs snap and mud squelches as gang members trudge through the small, dense wood, barking orders at one another. It becomes apparent that while they don’t know exactly where I am, they have a good idea and are circling to surround me.
Fuck.
I try to move, but one of them spots me and charges. I drop like a sack of shit, narrowly dodging a deadly swing from his machete and fire, hitting the guy in the thigh. He screams and collapses to the ground, his weapon clattering to the ground, forgotten as he clutches his injured leg.
“You fucking bastard!” he wails.
I roll my eyes. What a drama queen. Using his screams as cover, I scramble through the mud and leaves, hoping to slip out of the woods and toward the caravans. But luck is no longer on my side because as I near the edge of the treeline, more people shout and a shotgun blast explodes to my left.
White hot agony sears across my left ass cheek and thigh, and I grunt, barely suppressing a yell as I stumble to the ground.
Holy fuck, getting shot hurts like a bitch.
Now I understand that guy’s reaction. The pain is all-consuming, causing my vision to waver and my stomach to roil with nausea as I fight to stay conscious.
There’s another shotgun blast, although this one thankfully misses and hits the dirt next to my head.
I want to snap at them to stop attacking me for five fucking seconds so I can breathe, but I keep my mouth closed. Mostly because I know if I open it, I’ll scream and cry because my left thigh and butt cheek feel like they’ve been lit on fire.
I can’t believe I got shot in the ass. If I survive, I’m never going to live this down.
Another shotgun explodes in the shadowed woods and hits the tree on my right as I army crawl my way through this nightmare. Bark explodes from the truck and rains down on me like shitty confetti. God, it feels like even the trees are mocking me.
Or maybe it’s just that I’m slowly losing my mind from blood loss.
“Show yourself, asshole!” one of the gang members growls from behind me.
I bite back a snort. Yeah, let me just go do that. I keep on crawling, the edges of my vision darkening as my thigh and ass slowly grow numb. Not a great sign, and I really don’t want to die like this. Even death by zombie is better than bleeding out of my ass.
I blink and find myself lying almost face down in the mud. The sun is going down, dousing the forested area in inky blackness. There are still shouts and gunshots, but they sound distorted and so far away.
Is this it? Am I dying?
My eyelids grow heavy, and I blink. This time, I’m no longer in the woods, but lying near a caravan. It’s completely dark and the gunshots have stopped, replaced by people talking close by to me. I frown and try to lift my head, only for it to flop uselessly back to the ground.
“Theo?” Alex’s face appears in my wavering vision, his brow furrowed in concern and his lips pressed into a grim line. There’s a haunted look in his eyes, and something’s telling me it’s not all because I got shot in the ass.
Something happened.
My heart rate kicks up as panic floods my system, pushing aside the exhaustion for a moment. “What’s wrong? What happened?” My words come out slurred, but he seems to understand what I said.
“Anthony and I found you lying in the mud, bleeding from your gunshot wounds. We carried you out and put you here while we wait for the doc to send back a stretcher to carry you to the med bay.”
I frown. He’s not even going to make fun of where I got shot? Yeah, something isn’t right.
I try to move my head again and have a little more success, but I still don’t find the one person I want—no, need—to see. The panic and dread tightens my chest. “Ollie. Where’s Ollie?”
Alex’s expression turns even grimmer, and he looks like he’s aged ten years as he sighs heavily. There’s a shimmer in his eyes a moment before a tear rolls down his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Theo. I tried to find them, but they aren’t here.” He sucks in a shuddering breath and closes his eyes.
My frown deepens, the pain and exhaustion making it difficult for my brain to process what he’s saying. “Them? What’s going on, Alex?”
He swallows hard and opens his eyes. “It’s Rhys and Ollie. They’re missing.”
That’s the last thing I hear before darkness swallows me whole.