The Withered Series (Book 1): Wither (32 page)

“Get
back!” I wave him off.  He hesitates then notices the
canisters in my hand.

“Avery,
that’s not a good idea.”

“Trust
me.  It’ll work.”

A
crash of glass sends one canister spiraling from my hand. Loud shouts
are followed by another pane of glass exploding.  I bite down on
the canister and chuck it behind me. With trembling hands, I flick
the lighter.

“Rapid
start my ass!”
 
I
click it again and again.

“Avery,”
Cable hisses.

I
hear the sound of glass crunching underfoot.  Their movements
are slow as then enter the room.  “Luke, you smell
something funny?”

The
footsteps pause.  I click the lighter again and it flares to
life.

“What
is that?” a man’s voice echoes through the shop as I
touch the lighter to the fluid.  Blue flames race away from me,
curling around the corner and heading straight for the front door.

“Run!”
Cable motions for me to race toward him.  

I
push to my feet as gunfire slams into the glass overhead.  I
dive, curling my arms over my head as the shards slice my arms and
cheeks.  The scent of burnt hair is strong in my nose.

“Dammit.”
 Cable beats at my hair, snuffing out the flames as I roll to my
side, coughing over the rising smoke.  “That fire won’t
last long.”

“I
know,” I choke out.  Blood trails down my face.  There
are lacerations in more places that I care to count.  I hurt all
over, but I ignore the pain.  I shove the lighter into Cable’s
hand and point to Victoria.  “Light her up.”

He
looks stricken for a second but another round of gunfire gets him
moving. I crawl behind him, shredding my hands and knees on the
glass.  My teeth burrow into my lower lip as I fight through the
pain, moving as fast as I can.

The
instant I move past Cable, he flicks on the lighter and tosses it
onto Victoria.  The blast of heat is suffocating.  I kick
back with my feet, scooting across the floor as fast as I can toward
the hall.  The instant I’m clear, Cable grabs me around
the waist and hauls me to my feet.

“Don’t
look back.”

But
I do. Half a dozen faces are illuminated in the windows. Each one
staring right at us.

Cable’s
pressure around my waist increases as I hesitate, lost to the terror
threatening to overwhelm me as I stare into the rabid gaze of the men
waiting outside for us.  I sense their rage, see the crazy in
their eyes.  Their companions flail near the front doors, their
clothes set alight.

The
store before me is a blazing inferno.  Blistering heat licks at
the ends of my hair.  The scent of burnt hair mingles with the
billowing smoke, but I feel none of it.  

“Avery!”
 I turn away from the window in a daze.  Cable’s face
appears before me.  His shouts feel like white noise as I blink,
trapped in slow motion.  “Avery, snap out of it!”

“We’ll
never make it,” I mutter.  

I
glance down at Victoria’s body, at the sizzling flesh that was
once a person. A person I knew.  Maybe we didn’t always
get along, maybe we would have continued to butt heads in the days to
come, but I will never know.  I pushed to come here, to ignore
the danger, to keep Cable safe and look what has happened.

I
killed them.

“Yes
we will.”  Cable’s grip on my arms becomes painful
and I tear my gaze away from Victoria’s funeral pyre.  “I’m
not going to die tonight and neither are you.”

With
every fiber of my being I want to believe him, to have faith in some
entity that maybe, just maybe, watches over me. Heck, at this point
I’d even settle for dumb luck.

“Do
you trust me?” Adrenaline sends a spike of energy through my
body as I nod. I’ve already entrusted him with far more than
just my life.  “Then come with me.”

I
follow after him, knowing that I would go to the ends of the earth if
he asked me to, simply because he asked, because he would be with me.
 I know letting myself fall for him is wrong, is setting myself
up for loss.  Cable is sick and I have no idea how much longer
he has, but as I twine my fingers through his and run behind him, I
vow to make every second count.

He
pulls me to a stop at the far end of the hallway and tucks me behind
him.  With a flick of his thumb he ignites a lighter and chucks
it onto the oil slick.  “Run!”

Strong
hands yank me from Cable’s grasp and I crash into Alex’s
side.  He wraps his good arm around me and pulls me toward the
back door that leads to the mechanical shop.  The room ignites
around us.  The floor warms with a searing heat that rises
through the soles of my shoes, making each step painful.  Covering
my mouth with my shirt, I stumble forward with Alex beside me and
Cable pushing from behind through the smoke.  

A
terrible crash comes from the front of the shop.  Glass shatters
and shouts rise around the crackling roar of the flames.  We
burst through the door and into the blissful cool of the night.  My
arms and cheeks feel burned.  My eyebrows singed.  

Alex
releases me and I drop to my knees as a racking cough seizes me.
 “No...time,” Cable chokes beside me.  He wraps
his arm under mine and hauls me to my feet.  

Grabbing
my knife from my pocket, he places it in in my palm, his hand
trembling as he covers my fingers over it.  “Don’t
think. Just do.”

I
try to nod, to act tough but inside I’m terrified.  I
don’t want to fight my way out of here, to possibly suffer the
same fate as Victoria.  The men I saw at that window may have
looked crazed but there was also intelligence still lingering in
their eyes.  That makes them deadly.   

Cable
grabs a wrench off the top of a tall red tool chest and Alex tightens
his grip on a couple of flares.  It is dark and cool in shop.
The concrete block walls keep most of the destruction out.  Flames
flicker along the seam that runs at the base of the door. I step
away, drawn to the cold rather than the heat.

“They
will be waiting for us.”  I say, turning toward my two
final companions.  Along the way we collected and lost more
people than I want to count.  Staring at the men before me, I
realize not all of us will make it, not to the end.  To a time
when maybe someone can create a cure, to reverse this mess.  The
odds are stacked heavily against us.

Cable
reaches out and grabs my hand, squeezing it tight.  Alex looks
down at our embrace.  “It has been an honor knowing you
two.”

“Cut
the sentimental crap.” I yank Alex into a half hug.  He
cries out in pain and I release him, realizing I’ve just
grabbed his bad arm.  He presses against his bullet wound but a
broad smile chases away the pain.  

“Isn’t
this how they do it in movies? The hero pauses to say a heartfelt
thank you before rushing head first into a battle, which he has no
earthly chance of winning but somehow lives to have the final word?”

“Yeah.”
 Cable wipes at his face. It drips with sweat.  I frown,
remembering the fever raging within.  “I’ve got
nothing.”

“Me
either.”  I glance toward the two metal garage doors.  I
see movement beyond. Our escape path wasn’t exactly a secret
after we set the front on fire.  “But then again...that’s
not really our style, is it?”

Alex
grins and lifts the flares.  “Cover me until I reach that
semi then I’ll create a diversion and meet you in the woods.”

Leaning
up onto my toes, I look through the garage door window to where he
points.  Sitting parked beneath an awning that houses six diesel
pumps are three semis.  I glance back at the flares in his
hands.  “You won’t make it that far.  Not in
your condition.”

He
puffs up his chest.  “I know how to hold my liquor well
enough.”

“I
meant your arm.”  I jerk my head toward the blood staining
through the shoulder and chest of his shirt. “You’ve lost
blood.”

Cable
stares hard at Alex. The two men lock gazes and for a moment I feel
forgotten, cast aside.  Cable nods and pulls me toward the door.
“We’ll try to keep them off you.”

“What?
No.  You know he will never make it and even if he does, if he
gets one of those flares near that fuel it will blow sky high.”

“He
knows.”  

I
look up at Cable and see the sorrowful resignation in his gaze.
Glancing back at Alex, I see only determination, not fear.  “You’re
both crazy.”

“You’re
darn right,” Alex grins, winking at me as he grabs the bottom
of the garage door.  “On three.”

“Three,”
Cable shouts and throws up the door. I only make it half a dozen
steps before Cable shoves me aside.  I hear the whizz of a
bullet passing far too close to my ear before I hit the ground and
slide.  My back slams into a stack of tires.  They teeter
overhead. I wrap my arms around my head and prepare to be pummeled.

“Get
up.”  Cable yanks my arm and drags me out of the way.  I
kick at the tires as they spiral around me.  He points to the
dark, away from the mechanic shop, away from Alex.  “I
want you to run that way and keep going. No matter what you hear.”

“No.
I’m not leaving you!”

“I’ll
take care of Alex.  Just go!”  He shoves me away.  My
arms flap wildly as my legs begin to slip apart on the ice. My
footing is precarious as I attempt to remain upright. A bullet tears
through my sleeve, nicking my skin as I fall on my ass.  My
tailbone screams as I roll to the side and pull myself behind a
dumpster. Bullets ricochet off the metal and slam into the concrete
wall beside me.

I
suck in shallow breaths as I look around me. I can’t see Cable
or Alex. There is shouting all around.  It’s impossible to
tell who is who.  Glancing overhead, I spy a brilliant glow near
the roof. It won't be long before this whole place goes up in flames.
 The scent of burning oil stings my eyes and I’m forced to
wipe them several times to clear my vision.

Ducking
my head out, I try to get my bearings. The open garage door is about
fifteen feet behind me.  Just beyond that a long low ledge of
concrete stands, its purpose to funnel cars into the bays. I see a
shadow of a man leap over and crouch behind that and pray that it is
Cable making his way toward Alex. I peer out again, pressing my cheek
close to the dumpster.  Where is Alex?  I never saw him
after Cable and I ran out.

Three
men approach from beyond the wall. They slide more than step. Their
guns are poised.  My fingers ache as I grip the edge of the
dumpster.  I try not to breathe in the foul stench within.  

In
less than a minute they will converge on Cable’s last known
spot.

He’s
a soldier. He’s been trained for this sort of combat
,
I try to remind myself as I back up to follow his last order: to run.

Fingers
dig through my tangled curls from behind.  I scream as I’m
hauled to my feet by my hair and dragged out from behind the
dumpster.  “Got you.”

I
kick and fight against the man’s grip, tossing my elbows back
and wide in an attempt to wound my captor but he remains just out of
reach. Blood trickles from my scalp as the fistful of hair begins to
release from my scalp. Pain darkens my vision.

His
thick soled boots punch through the thin layer of ice as he leads me
toward the side of the building where darkness gives way to the
flickering of flames. An abandoned car sits with its doors open wide.
 It has been stripped of parts. The tires are missing.  The
cloth seats ripped away.  The headlights busted out and the
bulbs stolen.

“Ain’t
you a pretty little thing?”  The man whispers in my ear,
leaning in close as he pushes me toward the car.  His free hand
winds around my waist and tugs me close to him.  He presses his
length against my back.  “I always did have a thing for
red heads.”

His
breath grows ragged as his hand slides down my hip and dips between
my legs as we stop in front of the car. “Seems wrong to waste
something so fine.”

Pulling
me to the side, he keeps a firm grip on my hair as he passes the
driver’s side door and hauls me toward the trunk.  At
first I think he’s going to shove me inside, but he angles me
away and rummages around.  I hear metal clanking as he tosses
things out of the trunk, items useless to his pursuit.  I glance
around me, forced to look from the corner of my eye.  I can’t
see anyone. Can’t hear anything beyond intermittent gunfire.
 Are Cable and Alex still alive?  

The
scent of burning rubber burns in my nose as I try to look back the
way I came but the man’s grip on my hair is too firm.  I
cry out as he grabs my arm and yanks it behind me, pinning my hand
with his knee. He releases his grasp on my hair and fights to gain
control of my other hand. I stretch it out before me, flapping it in
an attempt to resist, but he digs his teeth into the meat of my arm
and latches onto my hand when I flinch back.

“Good
girl,” he croons in my ear.  Tears burn in my eyes as he
binds my hand with what feels like a bit of rope. His fumbling
fingers lash the binding.

With
a hard shove, he forces me toward the front of the car and presses
against my back.  I’m forced to bend over the side of the
hood.  His hips rock against me, his hands holding me in place.
 His breath is rank as he bites at my ear over my back and I try
to turn away.

“I
like it when they struggle.”  He yanks on another clump of
hair and I cry out.  The muscles in my neck twang as I fight
against the pain.  “Like it when they scream a little.”

Using
his hips to keep me in place, wedged against the car, he fumbles with
his pants.  Terror seizes me as I twist and turn. “Get the
hell off of me!”

My
head rocks forward and slams into the hood with a blow from behind.
 My cheek burns as it sticks to the ice coating the hood. I
taste blood in my mouth from a split lip.