Chapter 66 - Torrin
We circle the edge of town like we’re sneaking into enemy territory. Which, if the chaos unfolding is anything to go by, isn’t far off.
Knock on wood, we've been lucky since we turned away from the roadblock on the highway.
No barricades, no crowds - just empty streets and the occasional abandoned vehicle.
Mars' hands are clenched on his thighs, and his head is moving nonstop, checking every side street and alley we pass like he’s bracing for something to leap out.
When we finally roll into familiar streets, that tension hits my spine too.
The town’s fucking wrecked. Storefronts are shattered and whole streets of houses are damaged.
Smoke’s still curling from the shell of what used to be a coffee shop I took Luna to on lazy Sundays when I was home on the off-season.
I hear the growl of a military truck just before it turns onto the street two blocks down, and have just enough time to tuck my truck in behind a delivery van.
We both duck, trying to make ourselves less visible.
I hear the squeal of the brakes as the truck stops and I can hear voices as the soldiers get out, but we are too far away for me to make out the words.
I take a chance and slide up a little bit so I can see over the dash and it isn't good. The soldiers are dragging someone out of a house on the corner, kicking and yelling. I still can’t hear the words, but I recognize fear when I see it and…
shit… I recognize the damn uniforms they’re wearing.
Fuck, fuck, FUCK! These soldiers are men my father commands.
I grit my teeth so hard my jaw clicks. Of course it’s him.
Of course, my father is behind this. When he drank too much, which was pretty much every night he was at our house in town, he would sometimes go on a rant about how if he were in charge, he’d come for this country.
He’d rant that Canada was weak, too trusting, too easy.
The moon broke and it cracked the door wide open for people like him.
Opportunistic bastards with enough force to crush anyone standing in their way.
“Fuck,” I hiss. “We’re ditching the truck.”
Mars doesn’t argue, just nods and opens his door as quietly as possible.
I follow him across the seat, and we slide out fast, close the door so it barely latches, and take off across the nearest lawn, ducking behind shrubs and fences.
It’s not until we hit the final stretch of grass beside Luna’s place that my heart starts to pound for a different reason.
We’re here. I’m finally home, back to her.
Our house looks intact, thank fuck, but there’s another military truck parked further down the street, way closer than I like. Shouts echo from somewhere near the end of the block.
“Shit,” Mars says, eyes wide. “They’re coming this way.”
“Under there,” I bark, pointing at the huge motorcoach parked beside the garage.
We hit the dirt and slide underneath, gravel scraping our skin. The cool shadows under the RV swallow us, the ground damp and close. My breathing picks up again as heavy boots stomp past.
“Got orders to check every damn house,” one soldier mutters. The accent is thick. Newcastle, maybe, but it’s been years since I’ve been back there to know for sure.
“Just drag ’em out. Anyone gives you lip, break something.”
He sounds casual, and they laugh, like they’re talking about taking out the trash.
My blood goes ice cold. They move on, and I start to breathe again, but just barely.
My heartbeat is a war drum in my ears and my fingers have dug into the gravel without realizing it.
When Mars shifts beside me and starts rolling, I panic.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I hiss, grabbing his arm.
He shrugs me off. “I have to see her.”
“You’ll get yourself shot, you absolute knobhead!”
But he’s already gone, crawling into the light like a suicidal shadow.
I stare after him, stuck between fury and disbelief.
Bloody fucking hell. He leaves me under here, alone with the rising anger and the weight of what I know now.
About why he left. About the guilt that’s been chewing him alive from the inside.
He’s a dick, but he’s not a monster, and if he’s got even half the balls he used to have, he’s not going to let anything keep him from Luna again.
I stay hidden as the soldiers disappear around the corner. I wait until the coast is clear and then I crawl out from under the RV, wiping dirt off my hands, heart still pounding in my ears. I’m about to move for the house when more voices have me dropping and rolling back under the damn RV. Fuck!
I’m forced to lie there and wait as my mind circles around the bigger picture of what’s happening here.
If we’re going to do this, find a way to fight back, we'd better be smart about it because if my father is behind all of this? That's not good. This time, I’m not backing down. I’m fighting back.
The bastard won’t take anyone else that I love from me.