Shattered Love (The Shattered #2)

Chapter One

T he sun beat harshly against my back, cool water lapping over my legs. The rushing stream filled the silence, the new camp too far away to hear the chatter of the many voices. Now that we were all together, there was hardly a moment of quiet among the eleven of us.

The stark silence that used to live among us was no more. The strangers we had been long vanished, a patchwork of kindred souls blending together to create what we now were.

Twigs snapping under feet alerted me and my body tensed. Twisting my head cautiously, I spotted Mina and Sasha traipsing toward me. Immediately, my shoulders loosened, the fear leaving me. Their eyes hardened as they took in the stitches on my thighs, the stream brushing past their ankles as they joined me in the water.

“How are you holding up?” Sasha asked, dropping to her knees beside me.

Mina followed suit, her hand hovering over the injuries, careful not to touch the reddened skin.

I considered lying. Pretending to be tough and acting like I was okay. That I wasn’t in excruciating pain. But I knew there was no point. It had been a week since that small knife had done so much damage in the hands of a cruel man. And yet, the pain surged as if it was still happening.

“I’m pretty sure the wounds are infected.”

As if to emphasize my point, white fluid poured from one of the wounds, a pulsing throb starting underneath my skin. Red streaks spread from both lines of stitches and as someone in the medical field, I knew that wasn’t a good sign.

A soft hand pressed against my arm, and I looked to Sasha. “The good news is your arms seem to be healing well. If you’re up for it, we could take the stitches out today or tomorrow. That helps reduce scarring, doesn’t it?”

I held back a humorless chuckle at her innocent question. Truthfully, it did help reduce scarring. But when we were all probably going to die in a few months, did it really matter?

“Yeah, let’s take them out,” I finally responded. “And we can try to figure out what to do with the infection, too.”

Mina bit her lip, casting a quick glance to Sasha. A silent conversation passed between them before Mina nodded, turning back to me.

Raising a brow, I asked, “What are you not telling me?”

“That’s actually why we came to grab you. The guys are currently fighting.” Mina cringed as she spoke, her face flushing as if she was the one caught arguing.

“They’re fighting over the infection on my legs?” This time, I did let out a small laugh. In the grand scheme of things, that seemed silly to be fighting about, but who was I to tell them how to spend the last few months of their lives?

“Not exactly. She’s just focusing on that part,” Sasha said, nudging Mina, who blushed once again. “They’re talking about the papers again, trying to figure out what our next plan is. And of course, no one can agree on anything.”

“Well, Murphy and Rainer agree,” Mina added.

“What a surprise there,” Sasha added with an eye roll, and we all laughed.

Rainer was the yin to Murphy’s yang and I’d be hard pressed to find something the two of them disagreed on.

Pressing against the soft sand of the stream, I stood up, Mina and Sasha hovering in case I needed help. It seemed as the infection grew, my balance became exceptionally worse. It was a miracle I had made it this far into the woods, although I attributed it to the adrenaline.

“Let’s head on back then. It seems we can’t leave the men to handle anything around here.”

The three of us laughed once more as we started walking back toward the camp and I savored the sound. That was the thing about learning your imminent death awaited you. Every moment, even the small ones, deserved to be cherished.

Stepping into the small clearing, I wasn’t surprised to see what sat before us. Partially because Mina and Sasha had warned me, but also because this had been the norm for the past three days since we had learned about the meteorite and the bunkers.

Rainer and Murphy stood shoulder to shoulder, a united front. Rainer glared at Warner and Aiden, his shoulders tense and a frown adorning his face. Murphy didn’t look much calmer, although I could tell by the gesturing of his hands that he was at least trying to be reasonable.

Aiden stood before them, an exasperated look on his face. His previously clean clothes now matched the rest of ours, pieces of his shirt torn for cleaning and bandages, the remaining material covered in grime from sleeping on the dirt.

Warner was the last in their little standoff, Elizabeth, Emmanuel and the kids leaving themselves out of it. He was the only one who looked uninterested in the entire debacle, bored eyes glancing around the clearing. But I knew better. He would have a strong opinion, just like the rest of them.

His lazy gaze landed on me and a slow grin spread across his lips. “Nice of you to join us.”

The other three turned their heads in unison. Murphy gave me a small smile, whereas Rainer’s expression didn’t change. If anything, his hardened stare became steelier. Aiden stomped over toward us, dragging me across the clearing until I was standing before them all.

“Look at this. I don’t care if you don’t have a medical degree, you can clearly tell this is an infection. And you really want to stay out here?” Aiden gestured harshly at my thighs and I fought the urge to cover them with my hands.

By now, they had all seen them. And although I realistically knew I had nothing to be ashamed of, they were a flashing beacon of my fear. Screaming to everyone around that I was too weak to fight back.

“Yes, we can see the infection. But you’re insane if you think going back into town is a better idea.”

Realizing what this fight was finally about, I held up a hand. “How about we all get an opinion on what happens, especially the person who has the infected legs?”

Arching my brows, I glanced at the four of them, thankful when they all nodded. Now that they were no longer at each other’s throats, the rest of the group joined us, the eleven of us sitting around the fire.

As I sat, Stephanie clambered over to me, taking a spot beside me and settling her small hand in mine. I took comfort from the contact. She and Lucas had given me bravery while we were at the camp and the need to protect them still filled me when they were near.

“Leaving the woods is ridiculous. We know what happens now in town, why would we willingly go there?” Rainer started the conversation, his words harsh and slow.

Letting out a tired sigh, Aiden said, “I’m not saying we go to the camp. In case you forgot, I’ve been there for months. But we can’t stay here forever.”

Rainer opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted, sensing this had been the discussion that had them going in circles. “Rainer, even you admitted that we wouldn’t survive here once winter comes.”

Gritting his teeth, Rainer reluctantly nodded. “I did. But it’s not winter yet, is it?”

Murphy added, “We still have a couple months before the cold comes. We have time to figure something out before then.”

Debating what to say next, Sasha piped up, her eyes wide in bewilderment as she glanced around the circle. “Are we all just going to ignore the fact that once winter comes, it won’t even matter where we are?”

Stephanie’s hand tightened in mine and I squeezed back. I knew Elizabeth and Emmanuel had told the twins a watered-down version of what was happening, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear. Not for any of us.

“We haven’t forgotten, Sasha. And in fact, Elizabeth and I have been discussing a plan.” All eyes turned toward Emmanuel, surprised to hear him speak up.

The quiet older man never seemed to want to give his input, content to keep us all fed and his family safe. But honestly, he knew more about what was happening than any of us. Too bad the young and stubborn men had louder voices.

“Well, care to fill us in?” Warner drawled, drawing Emmanuel’s attention.

Emmanuel shook his head, his dark skin weathered from dealing with us all. “That’s why I spoke up, boy.”

His snarky response had a small smile curling my lips up, and I leaned forward, hoping Emmanuel’s plan would give us some sort of solution.

“Elizabeth’s parents had a cottage on the outskirts of town. They passed a few years back and the property remained ours, although we only used it for weekend trips. If I had a guess, the fires didn’t reach that far out. And due to the location, it’s quite secluded.”

“How far away is it?” Murphy asked, his eyes focused, as if calculating how realistic a trek would be.

Shrugging, Emmanuel responded, “If I had to guess, about a week’s walk. And that’s with going from sun up to sun down.”

“But there’s a well on the property and it has a wood burning appliances. Plus, there may still be some supplies,” Elizabeth added, glancing at me with her final sentence.

Everyone sat silently for a moment, taking in the option, and I knew we were finally getting somewhere when both Aiden and Murphy nodded. However, Rainer still looked unsure, the frown never leaving his face.

“And if it was burned from the fires? If it was raided? What’s our plan then?” He asked, trying to meet someone’s eyes, but we all looked away.

We all knew the answers to his questions, but Sasha was the only one willing to utter the words aloud.

“We’re fucked anyway, so why the hell not?”

And with that, the decision was made. We spent the rest of the evening planning on when to leave, settling on the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow would be spent gathering food and water for the long hike, although we would need to stop multiple times to replenish the water.

As I settled onto the ground that night to sleep, I couldn’t help the shivers of fear that wracked my body. And I knew the second I closed my eyes, visions of the camp and Vex would invade my mind. Because it didn’t matter that the cottage was on the outskirts of town, we’d have to pass through to make it there.

And the worry of getting caught wouldn’t leave, like a virus that infected every inch of my being. Because I knew that if I ever stepped foot in that camp again, I wouldn’t be leaving alive.