Fractured Minds (Rebels of Sandland Book 3)

by Nikki J Summers

  Little did we know how true that statement would be by the morning.

  We entered the fighting arena to see the aftermath of what a Mathers loss looked like. There was rubbish and crap all over the floor. A few people were hanging about arguing and trying to throw down with the security guys. From the look of it, there’d been total carnage going on in here when we were out the back dealing with the soldiers. Some guys who were throwing their weight around suddenly noticed that we’d entered the room and the tension escalated.

  “This is fucking bullshit,” one of them shouted, marching over to us.

  “We want a rematch,” another called out, pointing right at us.

  “This isn’t what we paid for,” his mate added. “You’ve fucking scammed us.”

  “Leave this to me,” Zak stated, pocketing his phone. “Get the girls out of here. I’ll deal with them.” And he headed over to them with his hands in the air like he was showing his surrender, or trying to placate them.

  Ryan spotted Kian lingering in a doorway across the room and he ran over to him, gesturing for him to go and help Zak. In hindsight, we should’ve all stopped to sort it, but Ryan had Emily and I had Effy and Liv to care for. In that moment, all we wanted to do was get the fuck out of there and find out if Harper and Brandon were okay.

  The music in the main hall was still blasting out, and we decided to take a detour down a side corridor to exit via a fire door out the back. We didn’t fancy running the gauntlet of the main crowds. They were pissed up, fired up and ready for anything.

  Once outside, we made our way to the car park, walking around the perimeter of the building and picking over the mud while we listened to Liv complain about the state her heels were in and how much she’d spent on them.

  Ryan and Emily headed to their car with Emily typing away on her phone, trying to get either Harper or Brandon to answer and let her know what was going on. Liv pulled the back door of Effy’s car open and climbed in without saying a word, her huffing and puffing said all she needed to say. She’d had enough. And Effy and me stayed outside, leaning against the car.

  “Watch it now,” Effy said, biting her nails nervously and nodding to my pocket where I kept my phone.

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to be here when you do. And I want you to get it over with so you can delete every one of their sick messages. Tonight has been… awful. But tomorrow is a fresh start. Get it out of the way and then we can try to move on.”

  She did have a point. I wasn’t about to sleep on it and watch the video over my cornflakes. There’d been a shit load of crap thrown our way tonight. Might as well get it all done with in one go.

  “Fine. But I don’t want you to see it.”

  I moved so I was standing opposite her and pulled my phone out. She bit her lip and waited, clutching her little handbag to her chest and taking deep slow breaths.

  I tapped my phone screen to life and opened up my messages. Sure enough, there it was, a line of text and a link to a video clip.

  Congratulations. You completed the game of consequences. Happy viewing!

  There was an emoji of a laughing joker at the bottom of their message and seeing their fucked-up logo made me want to throw my phone to the gravel. But I didn’t. I clicked the video and gripped my phone tightly, hoping there were no more surprises in store.

  The video started right where they’d left off last time, and after hearing them say he was dead before they’d sent me the first message, I realised this had all been one long video, cut up to form their sick and twisted games.

  Colton King stood behind Tony, holding a knife to his neck. The whole thing looked like a cheap horror movie, albeit a real one. I’d muted the sound because I didn’t want Effy or any of the others to hear any of the screams, but I could see the way Tony’s mouth was contorted in pain. His face a mess of blood and skin. Another soldier walked on, his face covered with a black balaclava and he held a spiked club, swinging it around like he couldn’t wait to use it. Colton’s eyes lit up as the other guy lifted his club up and then smashed it down into Tony’s lap. Then he put his boot onto Tony’s leg to steady himself and yanked the club out of him, lifted it again and smashed it right back down into his groin.

  I couldn’t stop myself from flinching as my own nuts shrivelled in response to what I was watching, and Effy reached forward to place her hand over mine.

  “Stop if it’s too much,” she urged, but I shook my head. He was still alive. I wasn’t finished watching yet.

  I kept my eyes on the screen and tried not to react as the second guy rained down blow after blow with this club, making the wood turn dark with the blood stains. But Colton grew restless and couldn’t wait any longer. He wanted his fun too. So, he yanked Tony’s head back, then started hacking with the knife. Blood was pouring everywhere and I could see Tony’s body go from twitching furiously to limp. But it didn’t stop Colton. He was on a fucking mission to take his head off, and that was something I didn’t need to watch. That was the moment I had to tap-out.

  I stopped the video and deleted it. I deleted them all as Effy held me tightly and whispered that it was over.

  “What the fuck is that?” Liv said, interrupting us as she hung her head out of the open window of the car.

  We all turned to look at her, Ryan and Emily included, and when we saw she was looking at the factory behind us, we spun our heads around, and that’s when we saw the smoke billowing into the night air.

  “What the fuck?” Ryan darted into action, telling Emily to get into the car, but she wouldn’t listen. She was right behind him as he ran across the grass towards the building.

  I couldn’t believe what was happening. I had just dragged myself out of one nightmare, only to land slap bang into another.

  Without a second thought, Effy and I chased after Ryan and Emily, with Liv stumbling behind us. Our hearts were racing as we ran towards the front of the building, watching people staggering out of the factory, coughing and hacking up from the smoke that was spilling out of every door and boarded up window, doubling over in pain as others led them away to safety.

  “Oh my God. It’s on fire,” Emily cried, just as sirens from fire engines in the distance rang out.

  “Fuck! Zak! Kian!” Ryan shouted and ran towards the doors.

  “No, Ryan! Please!” Emily ran after him, but he was too fast and she lost him in the crowds. Not knowing what to do, she sprinted back to us and started to cry. “I lost him! I couldn’t run fast enough and I lost him!”

  “I’ll find him,” I said, prying Effy’s hands from me as she begged me not to go. “I can’t let him go in there alone. Please. Stay here with Em and Liv. I’ll be fine.”

  I didn’t wait to hear what she said. I charged my way through the crowds that’d started to gather around us, choking on the smoke and dropping to the cold wet grass to recover.

  By the time I’d reached the door, the fire engines were blocking most of the entrance and forcing people back. It didn’t matter how much I argued, they wouldn’t let me past. I moved against the flow of people, trying to get myself into a position where I could make a run for the door, but then I heard, “Mate, I can’t get in. I tried.”

  Ryan was panting and he rested his hands on his knees, bending forward to catch his breath.

  “They won’t let me through. I feel fucking useless,” he cried, screwing his face up in pain.

  I put my hand on his shoulder in solidarity and I waited for him to calm himself. When he straightened up, he ran his hands over his face. “We fucked up. I fucked up,” he groaned.

  “You were right the first time,” I admitted sadly. “We fucked up. We shouldn’t have left them both in there to sort our shit out.”

  This whole night had taken a grave turn and it looked like I had more than one person’s fate left in my hands. It was too much for anyone to bear.

  More sirens blasted out, cutting across the screams, shouts and collective noise of the firemen and the fire the
y were here to fight. Police started to take names and numbers, getting details of what’d happened here. And we stood frozen to the spot, having absolutely no idea whether our friends, our best friends, were safe.

  “We should talk to them.” I nodded over to where the police were taking their statements.

  “Yeah, in a bit,” Ryan replied absent-mindedly. I don’t think he actually heard what I was saying. He was lost in his own head. As if to prove my point, his head shot up and he glared at me in panic. “Is Emily okay? Is she still out here?”

  He darted across the grass, heading to where we’d been standing before.

  “She’s fine,” I shouted out after him, but he didn’t hear me and he didn’t respond. Or maybe he didn’t believe me until he’d seen she was okay with his own eyes. He pushed people out of the way and frantically searched the crowds, calling her name as he did. When he saw her, he grabbed her to him and held her, rocking her in his arms.

  “Thank God,” he kept saying over and over again.

  I held Effy too, and then Liv put her arms around us both. All we could do was stand and watch the flames as they engulfed the building. Listen to the crash of the beams and other internal structures as they broke and collapsed inside from the heat. Watch the fire service as they risked their lives to save the ones still trapped inside. And pray that everyone got out safely.

  “What do you think caused this?” Liv asked the question that was plaguing all of our minds.

  We each shrugged, too dumbfounded to formulate an answer. But somewhere in the deep recess of my brain I knew this wasn’t an accident. In my gut, I felt like this was a deliberate act.

  Arson.

  We had our enemies, but it didn’t take a genius to guess who could’ve done this. Five psychopaths without an ounce of empathy between them. Five men who didn’t give a fuck who they hurt. They’d have done this just to spite us. It wasn’t enough that they messed with me. They had to go out with a bang. A fuck you to the Renaissance men. I thought they wanted the party held in Brinton so they could do something good for their community, put Brinton on the map, but I was wrong. They lured us here like rats to a sinking ship.

  And I’d made it happen.

  Now, I’d have to live with the fall out.

  Forever.

  After hours standing around waiting for news and watching the emergency services clear the site, we decided to head for the hospital. Nobody could confirm whether Zak or Kian had been brought out, but there’d been a few ambulances leaving the site, and we prayed they were in one of them and not still trapped in the debris of the now-smouldering wreckage.

  We abandoned our cars wherever we could and raced towards the hospital entrance. But when we asked at the desk for news on Zak and Kian, we were told we’d have to wait and were directed to the visitors’ waiting room. We felt powerless and desperate for news.

  I sat on the plastic chairs, holding Effy for support. Ryan paced up and down as Emily tried to offer up words of encouragement.

  “They’ll be okay. They have to be. We have to stay positive.” She nodded, agreeing with her own statements.

  Liv stayed quiet, but I could tell what she was thinking. She was a realist and she was bracing herself for the worst.

  When we heard, “What the fuck are you all doing here?” we turned to find Brandon stood at the exit of the hospital shop that was adjacent to the waiting room, holding chocolate, crisps, bottles of water and a whole load of other snacks.

  “Is Harper okay?” Liv asked, buying us some time before we had to tell him about what’d happened once he’d left.

  “She’s in pain and every word that comes out of my mouth seems to make it worse. But apart from that, we’re all good.” He looked knackered and motioned to the haul he had in his hands. “Midwife said it’s gonna be a long night, so I figured I’d get some provisions.”

  “Give her our love, won’t you? Tell her to push for us.” Liv gave a false chuckle and Brandon frowned.

  “Yeah, whatever. Why are you here though? The babies won’t be born for hours.”

  I glanced over at Ryan, not entirely sure whether we should tell him. This was the happiest and scariest day of his life. He was going to be a dad. Did we really want to piss all over that and let him know two of his closest friends might be lying dead in the same hospital?

  “You’re right,” Ryan answered for us all. “We couldn’t stop thinking about you both and wanted to come and see how it was all going. But we’ll head home and wait for you to call.” He walked over to Brandon and patted him on the back. “Make sure you ring us as soon as it’s all over, yeah? Oh, and keep your mouth shut. Stick to hand-holding and agreeing to anything.”

  Brandon laughed, but he was so dazed and confused he didn’t give us a witty or sarcastic response, just nodded and said his goodbyes. We watched him leave, but we had no intention of going anywhere yet. Not until we had some answers. And then maybe tomorrow, or the day after, we’d let Brandon know what’d happened. Whatever that actually was.

  We stayed in the waiting room for hours, alternating which one of us badgered the receptionists for news. After our thirteenth God-awful cup of cheap coffee, I saw Ryan bolt up from his chair and we all shot up too and followed him. Kian was walking down the corridor, clutching a bag from the pharmacy, and when he saw us, his shoulders dropped.

  “Kian, mate. Are you okay?” Ryan hugged him, and when he pulled away the rest of us grabbed him into a gentle hug too.

  “They’re letting me go,” Kian said in a raspy voice. “Shortage of beds and all that. My throat and chest are sore from the smoke, but they don’t think there’s any lasting damage. I was lucky. I managed to crawl over to one of the fire exits and get out.”

  “And Zak?” Emily asked quietly.

  “I don’t know. We got separated when the roof collapsed. He didn’t follow me. He couldn’t. I’m so sorry.” Kian hung his head, and I could tell he’d started to cry, so we led him to the waiting area to give him more privacy.

  “Is someone coming to pick you up?” Effy asked.

  “I was gonna catch a cab outside. I didn’t want to bother anyone,” Kian replied.

  “You should’ve called us. You know we’d come to you.” Ryan said, putting his hand on Kian’s knee and giving him a reassuring squeeze. Ryan stood up and went to grab his keys, but Effy picked hers from her bag and passed them to Liv.

  “Liv, would you take my car and drive Kian home? I would take him myself but…” She looked back at me, but she didn’t need to finish her sentence.

  “Of course I’ll take him.” Liv took the keys and stood up. “Ring me if you hear anything, okay? I’ll come straight back once I’ve dropped Kian off.”

  Just as Liv and Kian walked out of the doors, a doctor came in and called us over to join him in a quieter room attached to the side of the main waiting area. We knew then that this wasn’t going to be good news.

  “You’re here for Zakary Benjamin Atwood, yes?” The doctor took a seat and looked each one of us in the eye.

  We sat down with him, and Ryan spoke for us.

  “We are. Is he here? Is he going to be okay?”

  The doctor took a deep breath, resting his hands in his lap.

  “He is here. He was brought in a few hours ago by our paramedics. His parents have been contacted and they’re on their way, but they gave permission for us to speak to you about his condition.”

  “Which is?” Ryan sat forward, his hands shaking as he wrung them together.

  “I won’t lie to you, he’s in a critical condition, and the next few days are going to be tough. He’s got a big fight ahead of him. He has fourth degree burns––”

  “And what does that mean? Speak English, doctor, give it to us straight,” Ryan begged, cutting in.

  “It means he’s suffered some extensive burns that’ve gone through layers of his skin as well as the underlying tissue. Nerve endings have been destroyed––”

  “Is he going to die?” Ryan
was frantic. He just wanted the bare truth.

  “I can’t tell you one way or another at this point. Whether he survives or not depends on how he responds to our treatment. What I can say is, he’s in the best hospital. Our burns unit is one of the best in the country. He’s young and fit, so he has that on his side, and the burns are of a percentage that with good medical care can be treatable. As I said before, the next few days will be crucial. We’ll be able to tell you more then.”

  “Can I ask a question?” Emily leaned forward as Ryan sat back in his chair looking totally defeated.

  “Of course. I’ll try my best to answer as clearly as I can,” the doctor replied.

  “Where are his burns? On which part of the body, I mean.”

  “His torso.” The doctor pointed to his chest as if we didn’t know what a torso was. “And his thighs are the worst affected areas. From what we can tell, something must’ve collapsed onto him. It pinned him to the floor.”

  “So, not his face?” Emily asked.

  “There’s some burns to the neck and lower part of his jaw, but no, not the face, as such. He was lucky in that respect.”

  “Nothing that’s happened to him tonight is fucking lucky,” Ryan snapped, and Emily glared at him for his momentary but totally justified outburst.

  “It’s not the doctor’s fault,” she hissed quietly. “Don’t swear at him.”

  “I wasn’t swearing at him, I was swearing at this whole fucked-up shit heap of a night.” Ryan stood up and marched out of room, banging the door behind him, and we all just sat still, stunned into silence.

  “I’m sorry, doctor.” Emily started to apologise, but the doctor held his hand up and gave us a sorrowful smile.

  “No apology needed. If we hear anything else, we’ll let you know, but he’s in surgery now and that’s going to take a while. The best thing you can do is go home and get some rest. We should have news in the morning, after the surgery.”

  The doctor said his goodbyes and left. We stood up, feeling like zombies, and walked back out into the waiting area. Ryan was sitting in the corner, hunched over with his head in his hands, and Liv was next to him, staring blindly ahead of her.