Screams and cries filled the air as the floor shook vigorously. After it stopped, Caleb helped us to our feet and hurried us down the long hallway past the numbered rooms.
“We have to get out of here,” Caleb said looking upward guiding us toward the door at the far end of the hall.
People behind us were calling for help. Begging for someone to get the doctor to save them.
“What about them?” I asked looking over my shoulder.
“They’ll have to figure it out,” Caleb said. “We don’t have time to help everyone.”
“They could die,” I said just as another explosion crashed somewhere else in the town.
Jenna whimpered. “We could die.”
“I know,” I said. My throat was so dry it was making it hard to breathe.
Robby was out there. I had no idea if he was alive… if he would come back to me. And even if he was alive, would he find me?
We stepped outside into the back parking lot. The dampness and chilly air forced me to cough sharply.
People were running this way and that, trying to stay hidden in the shadows. A man grabbed Caleb’s shoulders. There was blood dripping down the side of his face and his eyes were so glassy he appeared intoxicated.
“You have to hide!” he said in a loud whisper. “They’re here. They’re killing everyone.”
The guy let go of Caleb and ran off into the darkness. Caleb looked even more concerned as he looked around, trying to figure out which way we needed to go to find Marcus’s building.
“Where are Rex’s men?” Caleb asked without expecting an answer.
“I’ll wait here for Robby,” I said attempting to plant my feet into the pavement.
“The hell you will,” Caleb said easily jerking me forward. “Robby wouldn’t want that. He’d kill me if I left you here alone.”
“Come on, Joss,” Jenna said clasping her hands together as she pleaded with me.
I felt like I was going to be sick. I couldn’t leave Robby but I couldn’t leave Caleb either.
“He’ll come,” Caleb said turning to look at me. “Maybe he’s already there.”
We turned a corner and a man grabbed Caleb, turning his body so he was facing Jenna and me. There was no hesitation before he pulled the trigger.
Caleb’s eyes bulged with fear and confusion before turning lifeless. The man with the gun unsympathetically let his body flop to the ground with a heavy thud.
Had someone screamed? Had it been me?
I had to be dreaming. What I’d just seen… couldn’t have been real.
The gunman took a quick step forward and pressed the end of the barrel to Jenna’s head. She reached over and took my hand.
“No!” I screamed in the man’s face. I’d barely noticed Clover jumping from my arms.
“Wait!” a voice from behind the man said. “Keep these two. They’ll make good prisoners for us.”
The gunman shook his head stiffly. “No prisoners. Those are the orders.”
“Look at them,” the second guy said. “We need more like these two. They’ll approve and if not, we’ll take care of it. Bring them to Arnie.”
“You bring them to Arnie,” the gunman snapped.
As they argued about who was going to do what, I bent over and picked up a rock twice the size of a softball. With both hands, I slammed it into the side of the gunman’s head.
He turned his gun toward me and his eyes rolled back. My body shook with the pop of the gun. I was almost certain I’d been hit. In fact, I was shocked when I hadn’t fallen to the ground like Caleb had. It was like I was just waiting for the second my legs would give out.
“What the hell?” the guy said turning to me.
I still had this rock but I couldn’t get it up before the second guy aimed his gun at me. Before I could tell Jenna to run, a gunshot rang out.
26
Adam
I shook Leah. Her eyes popped open instantly but she looked confused.
“Adam?” she said my name inside a sharp breath.
“They’re coming,” I said. “We need to go. Where is the bag?”
“I hid it,” Leah said as she sat up and pulled on her shoes.
The knock at the door was loud. We both froze. It was too late. We couldn’t run.
“Shit,” I whispered.
“What do we do?” Leah asked. “Climb out the window?”
“I don’t think we’ll get far. That could be worse for us if they catch us,” I said.
All the color had washed from Leah’s face. Our eyes met. She didn’t have to say it out loud… I could tell she was scared.
Whoever was outside our door knocked again. Leah stepped up beside me and I grabbed her hand.
“Open the door,” the male voice said. “We don’t want to break it down.”
Dammit. The door was the only thing protecting us from the outside world. We needed it. Especially considering we might have to run off with supplies from the resort.
We’d be stealing from them just like the town to the east had. If we’d get caught, I could only guess what they’d do to us and there probably wouldn’t be anything my dad could do to help us.
Leah followed me to the door. Her palm was sweaty but so was mine.
On the other side of the door was a clean-shaven man with hair that had been recently buzzed off. He wore sunglasses even though it was raining down on him and there was no sun.
“Your presence is required at the town center,” he said.
“I’m not sure who I should say this to but we’ve been excused. My dad is on the council,” I said. “And this is my wife.”
“May I please see your official paperwork excusing you from your duties?” the man with sunglasses asked.
My lips pressed together as if they’d been glued shut. Leah elbowed me but I couldn’t make the words come out.
“It’s odd but we didn’t receive them,” Leah said. “I’m sure it’s a mistake we can clear up relatively quickly if we can just go talk to Adam’s dad Martin.”
“There isn’t time to talk to him now,” the guy said. “We were assured that all notifications had been handed out. I was told that the two of you might be difficult. Are you going to be difficult?”
“We’re not going,” Leah said.
I nodded.
“You’re refusing to fight? You’ve been given a great life here, it’s time for you to step up and show your support,” the guy in sunglasses said.
I couldn’t think of a single reason I would want to fight for the resort. We had a nice cabin and all the supplies we could ask for but we lived in fear. Our life at the resort had been difficult, albeit different from how it was outside of the resort.
“If you refuse, you’ll be considered traitors,” he said with a disappointed frown.
We’d been harassed nearly since the minute we arrived. I didn’t want to risk my life. Especially when it didn’t seem like there was any reason to be starting a war.
I looked into Leah’s eyes. I had no idea what she was thinking.
“I’m not going to fight,” I said staring into her eyes. “I don’t want you to go with them but I can’t tell you what to do.”
I knew I wasn’t giving the guy the answer he wanted. All I could think about was how we were going to get our bag and get out of here. There was also a good chance I wasn’t going to see my dad again.
“You know I’m not leaving you,” Leah said squeezing my hand. She turned to the guard. “We’re not going to fight. And, by the way, you look ridiculous.”
He whistled sharply and before we could move, several other guards stormed inside the cabin. My hands were pulled roughly behind my back.
“Leah!” I called trying to look over my shoulders to see her. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you!”
“I’m okay, Adam,” Leah said. “What are you going to do to us?”
“You are both under arrest,” the guy in glasses said.
Leah snorted. “Under arrest? Just let us
go! We’ll leave!”
“We don’t want any trouble,” I added.
“Leave so you can warn the enemy? Not going to happen,” the guy with sunglasses said. “We have strict orders to arrest traitors.”
“Can I ask who gave those orders?” I asked. Something told me it wasn’t Mr. Donovan Tate.
They roughly pushed me through the door. “That’s none of your business.” I wasn’t entirely which guy behind me had answered but if I had to guess, it was the guy with the sunglasses.
Rain poured down, soaking me as they pushed and pulled me. I didn’t have control over my body. I had to go wherever they forced me.
As we got closer to the main building, I started shouting. “Dad! Dad! We need you!”
I knew it was a long shot but I had to try. The only chance we had at surviving this was if my dad found out we’d been arrested.
“Dad!” I shouted again. There was a thud-like sound before everything turned black.
It hurt when I tried to open my eyes. My hand pressed against the side of my head. I winced as I pulled it back.
The room was dark except for the pale, flickering light but the blood on my hand was noticeable. My skin felt rough under the dried blood.
I wasn’t sure where I was.
The room was empty. Everything had been ripped out, including the carpeting. There wasn’t anything on the walls.
“Leah,” I said softly at first. She wasn’t with me. Where was she? My voice was loud and filled with terror. “Leah! Leah! Where are you?”
“Adam!” her reply was faint.
I stood too quickly and the room started to spin. I crouched down, lowering my head.
“Are you okay?” I shouted.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Are you okay? You were hit pretty hard.”
I blinked several times but I remembered. We’d been dragged away. What had I done? What had I said? I couldn’t remember but I remembered the thud of a fist hitting my face.
“Yeah,” I said rubbing my cheek. “I’m okay.”
“We’re in trouble, Adam. We’re in real trouble,” Leah said her voice shaky. I thought I could hear her suck in a breath. “Are your hands tied?”
“No,” I replied after looking at my wrists. My brain was working slow. It felt awkward, as though the world was set to slow motion. “Are yours?”
There was a brief pause. “No, but there’s no way out. The door is locked.”
“We’re trapped,” she said.
“I’ll figure something out,” I said getting to my feet. I took two steps before the room spun. I put out my hand but there wasn’t anything I could do. Everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again, things were a bit clearer. The world was back on play.
The pain from where I’d been hit pulsed behind my eye. Moving my eyes or my mouth increased the pain.
I was about to call out for Leah when I heard someone at the door. I scooted backward up until my back was pressed against the wall.
My eyes scanned the ground as if trying to spot a weapon. I knew there wasn’t one but apparently, that had stopped me from trying to manifest one out of thin air.
The door opened and a tray of food slid several feet into the room. Eyes peeked in at me through the darkness.
“Shh,” the person said. “It’s me, Leslie.”
“Oh, Jesus,” I said with a gasp. “You have to help me.”
She looked over her shoulder and shook her head. “I can’t. Everyone is gone. There isn’t anyone left that can help.”
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“They went off to fight. I thought it was going to be a few days but they left… right after training,” Leslie said glancing back again.
She seemed different. Not as bold and brave as she had been when I’d first seen her or when she stopped by to visit with Leah.
“What time is it?”
“Late,” Leslie said. “They wanted to take them by surprise. I’m so lucky I didn’t have to go. I wouldn’t have survived it.”
“I’m glad you’re here too,” I said getting to my feet. “But you have to help me. Leah’s in another room, and we need to get out of here.”
She shook her head. “If I get caught—”
“You won’t. Who’s here to catch you?” I asked. “Just go get my dad. I can tell you where to find him.”
“I know where to find him but I can’t do it,” she said. “His wife is there.”
“Girlfriend,” I corrected.
Leslie narrowed her eyes. “No, his wife. They were married a day or two ago. There was a big shindig. Weird he didn’t have his son there.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Positive. I was a server.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not surprised by anything when it comes to Eva but I need your help. I think my life probably depends on it. You need to get my dad. Wait until she leaves and tell him what happened to Leah and me, okay?” I said taking in quick breaths. “Please, I’m begging you. Promise me you’ll tell him.”
Leslie chewed her lip.
“This is important. Please.”
She looked over her shoulder again. “Fine. I’ll try but I can’t promise anything.”
There was a noise outside the room and she turned. Leslie closed the door and locked it.
I dashed forward and pressed my palms against the painted, solid wood.
I waited a long time before trying to get Leah’s attention. She didn’t answer. No matter how loudly I called for her.
My stomach swirled. I needed Leslie to come through for me and I needed Leah to still be in the other room when she returned with my dad.
Why wasn’t Leah answering me?
I sat down, my back against the wall. My fingers twisted into my hair as my legs bounced.
It felt like hours had passed before I heard sounds in the hallway. At first, I assumed it was my imagination or maybe I’d fallen asleep and it was a dream, but when the door opened and I saw my dad, I knew it wasn’t.
“Dad!” I said scrambling to get to my feet. I threw my arms around him. “They never brought the papers. Eva was behind it. She wanted to get rid of us.”
“I’m sure it was a misunderstanding of some kind,” my dad said but he looked confused. It was like he was trying to solve a challenging riddle. “We’ll figure it out later. First, let’s get you out of here.”
I followed them out of the room. Leslie led us to the next room down the hall where they were keeping Leah.
The door squeaked open and her head slowly rose up. Her eyes were narrowed. The only light in the room was what came in from the hallway. She’d been sitting in complete darkness.
“Leah!” I said helping her to her feet.
“Adam?” she said blinking rapidly.
“Yeah, it’s me,” I said.
She sucked in a shaky breath. “What’s happening?”
“My dad is helping us get out of here. Are you okay to walk?”
“I think so,” she said her voice groggy. “I fell asleep. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s okay,” I said.
She stumbled over her own feet as I helped her along. Trying to move faster only made us slower.
“Sorry,” Leah apologized. “I’m slowing us down.”
“It’s fine. We’re going to be okay,” I said.
The front door that led to the outside opened and two guards charged in. One of them I recognized immediately… Leo.
Eva stepped in after them and lowered her umbrella, revealing a sinister, satisfied smile. She was truly pleased with herself.
“So predictable,” Eva said her voice and expression were utterly emotionless. “And Martin. What is this? You betray everyone in the resort to let out traitors? I can’t believe you would do this to me.”
“I don’t understand,” my dad said holding out his arms. “He didn’t get his papers. I figured we’d be able to straighten this out.”
Eva laughed. “There i
sn’t anything to straighten out. He should be down there fighting with everyone else.”
“He’s my son,” my dad said.
Eva clicked her tongue. “I guess it runs in the family… traitors, the both of you. We can’t have people we don’t trust here and, worst of all, on the counsel that looks out for the community. Sorry, but I don’t see any other way around this.”
“Around what?” I asked.
“His punishment,” Eva said.
My eyes narrowed and my head shook slightly. Leo moved faster. Before I realized what was happening, he grabbed my dad and shot him in the head.
“No!” I screamed dashing toward my dad. His limp body fell to the ground before I could reach him. “What did you do? What did you do?”
Leo wrapped his arm around my neck and jerked me backward. I could feel the end of the gun against the side of my skull.
Eva held up her hand, showing off the sparkling ring. “We don’t need him anymore. I’m on the council now.”
My heart was racing. I couldn’t focus. I felt like a raging wild animal.
I tried to move toward Eva but Leo jerked me back. He laughed in my ear.
“You’re kidding, right?” Leo asked. “I’m not going to let you near her.”
“The love of your life,” I spat. “You’re an idiot if you think it’s possible for her to love anyone.”
“Shut up, Adam,” Eva screamed. The room was silent. She smoothed her clothing as she controlled her breathing. “If only you would have left when you had the chance, none of this would have happened and your pervy dad would still be alive.”
I jerked toward her again but I barely moved against Leo’s tight grip.
“Stop fighting him,” Eva said. “He has a gun. One word and he’ll use it.” She pointed at Leah. “I don’t understand it but she doesn’t want anything to happen to you. So, just stop fighting.”
“You’re going to kill me either way,” I said.
Eva shrugged. “Maybe.”
Leah sniffed hard. She twisted sharply left and right as she growled but she wasn’t able to break free of the guard’s grip.
“Just let us go,” Leah begged. “We’ll leave this stupid place.”
The Reset Series | Book 5 | Torrent Page 13
