Persona (The Island Book 2)

by Amy Cross

  Looking down at the gun in my right hand, I realize that I've held one of these things before.

  “Deckard,” I stammer, turning and scrambling across the wet forest floor. “Deckard!”

  As soon as I reach him, I see that a huge, smoking hole has been blasted through one side of his chest. Dropping to my knees, I put a hand on the side of his neck to check for a pulse, but blood is erupting from his wounds, flowing out of his body and spilling onto the forest floor.

  “It's going to be okay,” I tell him, as I start to pull his tunic aside to get a better look at the wound. My hands are covered in blood now, but I refuse to accept that I can't help him. “You'll be fine, Deckard,” I continue, “I promise. We'll get you patched up here, and then you can rest, and eventually you'll be on your feet again.”

  Once his tunic is clear, I stare in horror at his bare chest, part of which has been completely burned away.

  “Just stay calm!” I hiss, leaning closer to get a better look. There are pieces of twisted bone protruding through his mangled flesh, and more blood is running down onto the ground. “We'll make you better again,” I tell him. “We'll make you better, we'll find a way.”

  Grabbing the torn section of tunic, I start ripping it into smaller pieces. My mind is racing and I have no medical experience at all, but at the same time I figure I can buy some time by patching the holes in his chest.

  “Stay with me,” I continue, scrunching a section of fabric into a ball and then pressing it against the largest wound. Blood immediately starts soaking through the material, and it's clear that there's far too much for me to clean up. Within seconds, more blood has begun to trickle from the edges of the wound, as if it simply refuses to be stopped.

  As panic fills my chest, I look around for something else, anything else, I can use to save him.

  “It's going to be fine,” I whisper, with tears running down my face. “I'll save you, I'll...”

  Spotting some wet leaves nearby, I scramble over and grab them, figuring that maybe I can use them to somehow seal Deckard's wounds. My hands are trembling, and when I crawl back over to Deckard I don't even dare look at his face. Instead, I start rolling the leaves between my hands, although after a moment I realize that there's no way this is going to work. I freeze for a moment, trying to work out what to try next, before finally I feel a kind of weight settle in my chest, and I force myself to face the truth.

  Turning, I look at Deckard's face.

  He's dead.

  He probably died as soon as he was shot, several minutes ago now.

  He died to save me.

  There are still screams in the distance, coming from the town, but for a moment all I can do is sit next to Deckard's body. I feel completely numb, as if all hope has left my chest, but slowly something else starts to creep to the edge of my senses. Deckard believed in me, and he truly seemed to think that I still had a chance to deal with Harold and get Steadfall back. Maybe he was wrong, maybe he was completely deluded, but I have to take that chance now.

  Reaching out, I gently close Deckard's dead eyes. I feel as if I should say something, but no words come to mind.

  “I hope you find your wife now,” I mutter finally, before slowly getting to my feet. There are tears in my eyes, but I don't have time to mourn right now. I have to -

  Suddenly I hear a vast, shuddering groan, as if something huge and metallic is lumbering through the forest. Turning, I look through the trees, and I feel a growing sense that I'm not alone. Everything around me feels somehow unreal, as if I'm in a dream, and the cold night air seems to be shimmering slightly. Still clutching the gun, I step past Deckard's body and then past Ben's as well. Still staring at the darkness ahead, I listen to the sound of engines getting closer, and after a moment I realize I can see lights hovering as they advance through the forest. I've seen them before, but I don't remember where. A moment later, trees start to come crashing down, and I realize there are dark figures running this way. All around me, the air is vibrating with a kind of tense anticipation, and I feel as if I should know what I'm doing.

  The war.

  This is what happened during the war.

  “Down!” a voice shouts.

  Suddenly several energy blasts come flashing through the air, slamming into trees and missing me by inches. I turn to run, only to find that there are soldiers all around me, already firing back at the enemy. Dropping to my knees, I turn and watch in horror as some kind of vast warship comes crashing through the forest. A moment later, energy cannons are engaged, sending a series of crackling red beams through the air. Unlike the blasters that simply send pulses of energy, these cannons produce a long, continuous beam that flashes over our heads, slicing easily through trees and then changing direction until they cut straight into the bodies of nearby soldiers. They scream as they're dismembered, and I stare at them for a moment before turning to face the warship and raising my gun. I start firing, even though I know I don't have a hope in hell of bringing the damn thing down.

  “Asher!” a voice shouts, grabbing my arm. “We have to retreat!”

  Turning, I'm shocked to see Mads next to me, dressed in full combat gear.

  “Asher!” she hisses. “Move! We've got orders to drop back to the original insertion point. There's more cover there, and we can regroup for another push. Right now, we're out-numbered and we're losing too many people!”

  “We can't retreat!” I tell her. “If we -”

  “Move!”

  Pulling me between the trees, she forces me to duck as the energy beam slices through the air above us. Several more trees come down, slamming into the wet ground, as individual energy blasts are sent flashing toward our position. Other soldiers are already pulling back and diving for cover but, when I turn to look back, I see that the warship is still coming, smashing through the trees while foot-soldiers approach through the darkness below.

  “What is that thing?” I stammer.

  “Don't freak out on me now!” Mads shouts, aiming her gun and then firing several blasts at the enemy.

  “Who are they?” I ask. “Who are we fighting?”

  “For real?” she hisses.

  I turn and fire some shots into the darkness. There are shapes up ahead, hurrying between the trees, but I can't make them out properly and I can't see exactly who or what they are. “This happened,” I whisper after a moment, as I realize that I'm reliving a memory. “This actually happened, we -”

  Suddenly a blast fills my vision and I fall back. The shot misses me by inches, but a moment later I hear a cry as Mads slumps to the ground. Crawling toward her, I find that she's taken a direct hit to the chest, and the damage has broken through her armor. Blood is flowing from the wound, and she lets out a gasp of pain as she tries to get up.

  “Run!” she shouts. “Asher, you -”

  Before she can finish, blood starts bursting from her mouth. She tries to speak, but she simply brings up more and more blood.

  “I'm not leaving you,” I stammer, grabbing her arms, ready to pull her to safety.

  “Run!” she gurgles.

  Hearing a loud creaking sound, I turn and see that the warship has begun to turn, heading straight toward us through the forest. Energy blasts are flashing through the air in both directions, and cries of pain are coming from all around. We're right in the heart of the war and there's nothing I can do except try to get Mads out of here.

  “Don't get yourself killed,” Mads whispers, sounding weaker by the second. “Asher, leave me! Get the hell out of here and go back to join the unit!”

  Ignoring the advice, I start pulling her across the damp ground, but after a moment I stumble and fall. By the time I've managed to get up, the warship is even closer, sending trees crashing down all around us. For a moment, all I can do is stare up at the vast lights of the machines as it starts to fly directly over us. The engines are deafening, whipping the air all around into a gale and causing the ground to shudder.

  “Run!” Mads screams, he
r voice barely audible as the warship's engines enter a new surge-cycle. At the same time, the blast from the cannon is burning the air.

  Nearby, foot-soldiers are screaming.

  “Asher, run!” Mads shouts. “Get out of here!”

  “Medic!” I scream, hoping against hope that someone from our side will hear me. “I need a medic!” I look around, but all I see are dead bodies scattered throughout the forest. “Medic!”

  “Asher!” Mads continues. “It's too late!”

  Filled with panic, I aim my gun straight up and start firing futilely at the warship's brightly-lit underside. The shots bounce off harmlessly, of course, and a moment later I realize foot-soldiers are getting closer and closer. Turning, I aim at them and fire, blasting them as fast as possible. They return fire, but their shots miss while I manage to hit two of them almost immediately. Overwhelmed by a sense of fury, I start running toward them, still firing, figuring I'll take as many of them out as possible before inevitably one of them -

  Suddenly I trip and fall, landing hard against the ground. When I get up, I see no more foot-soldiers up ahead but I keep firing anyway, sending blast after blast into the cold night air before realizing that the sound of the warship has stopped. Looking up, I see dark trees rising toward the night sky, and then I turn to check on Mads, only to find that she's not here. With shaking hands, I look the other way and see Steadfall burning in the distance, with screams still ringing out.

  Nearby, Deckard's body is on the forest floor, with Ben's a little further away.

  When I look down at my trembling hands, I realize that I must have experienced some kind of flashback. Deckard's death seemed to trigger something, and for a moment I was back in a war I don't even remember fighting. Swallowing hard, I look around for a moment, but the foot-soldiers and the warship are gone. They were just memories, albeit of something that I think actually happened.

  And Mads...

  As screams from Steadfall continue to fill the air, I look down at the gun in my hand and realize what I have to do. Stepping over Deckard's body, I make my way toward the burning town.

  Chapter Forty-four

  Iris

  Gasping with pain, I try to sit up, only to feel a stabbing sensation in my shoulder. The energy blast might not have hit me directly, but it still caused a lot of damage, and I can just about make out glistening flesh and blood beneath my torn tunic. Every time I take a breath, something sharp slices through my chest.

  Nearby, in one of the other huts, people are screaming.

  “We'll be next,” a voice says.

  Turning, I see one of the town's younger women, Natalie, watching me with fear in her eyes.

  “I don't know why he's saving us 'til last,” she continues, “but it won't be long now. He's burning the others.”

  Despite the pain in my shoulder, I stumble to my feet and head to the door. I can't get too far, not with a rope around my leg that's securing me to the wall, but I manage to peer out and see that most of the other cabins are in flames. Harold is making his way to the cabin next to this one, and he stops for a moment to stare in at the people he's tied together. I can just about see their terrified faces, and while some of them are screaming, others are begging for their lives.

  Ignoring their pleas, he tosses some kind of liquid over them.

  “Please!” one of the women screams. “I'll give you anything you want, but don't kill me!”

  Ignoring her, Harold takes a piece of tarpaulin and sets it on fire.

  “Please!” the woman sobs. “Don't -”

  Before she can finish, Harold tosses the burning rag into the cabin. Flames erupt, and for a moment I can see the people inside as they desperately try to get free. Their screams and cries continue for half a minute or more, and Harold simply stands and watches as they burn to death. Watching the back of his head, I start to realize that he genuinely enjoys their suffering, that he considers this kind of execution to be an art-form. Some of the figures in the heart of the inferno are still moving, as if they're struggling to get free, but they quickly slump down and fall still. Finally, as the flames continue to burn, Harold turns and stares straight at me.

  “We're the last ones,” Natalie sobs behind me, as Harold smiles and starts walking this way. “He's going to burn us next!”

  ***

  “Please!” Natalie shouts as we're led through the forest, with a few other women ahead of us. “I'll give you anything you want! Just don't do this!”

  “I can already take anything I want,” Harold replies calmly. “You're not in a very good bargaining position. Just keep walking.”

  “No!” one of the other women shouts, turning to him with fear in her eyes. “Please, just -”

  Before she can get another word out, Harold fires a shot that hits her in the upper chest. She falls back and slumps to the ground, and her body twitches for a moment before falling still. One of the other women turns to run, but Harold dispatches another couple of shots, one of which hits her in the back and sends her clattering into a tree before she, too, drops dead to the ground.

  “Anyone else want to run?” he asks, turning and aiming that gun at the rest of us. There are only four of us left now, and I can see from the murderous glint in his eye that Harold is itching to kill again. He pauses for a moment, before turning to Natalie. “Get on the ground,” he tells her.

  “Why?” she asks.

  “Get on the ground!”

  Clearly too terrified to resist, she does as she's told.

  “Use these,” Harold says, tossing a couple of wooden pegs at one of the other women, Elizabeth. “Drive them through her palms.”

  “I can't,” Elizabeth replies, dropping the pegs.

  “Do it or you're dead,” he continues. “Only one of you four ladies gets to survive this night, and it'll be the one who pleases me the most. Now drive the goddamn pegs through her goddamn hands!”

  “No!” Natalie shouts, trying to get up before the fourth woman, Miranda, suddenly drops down and holds her in place.

  “Do it!” Miranda hisses at Elizabeth. “We have to save ourselves!”

  I watch, stunned, as Elizabeth takes the pegs and kneels next to the struggling Natalie. There's fear and shock in Elizabeth's eyes, but nevertheless she starts forcing a peg through the palm of Natalie's left hand, ignoring the woman's screams as she carries out her orders.

  I take a step forward to stop her, but Harold aims his gun straight at me.

  “Want another shot?” he asks calmly. “One can most definitely be arranged.”

  Staring at the gun, I realize that although I need to stop him, I can't just lunge at him wildly. Hearing another scream from nearby, I turn and see that Elizabeth has finished driving the pegs through Natalie's hands.

  “Very good,” Harold says with a smile. “I want all four of you in the same position. After that, we'll work out who I let go.”

  “How do we know you won't just kill us all?” Elizabeth asks, her voice trembling with fear.

  “You don't,” he says firmly. “I guess you're just going to have to trust me.”

  He's lying, of course. I remember seeing the bodies of his torture victims from the previous town and I don't believe for one second that he's even capable of showing mercy. I watch in horror as Miranda and Elizabeth tentatively sit on the ground and settle flat on their backs, as if they genuinely believe they can survive if they just give him what he wants.

  “You know what to do,” Harold mutters, tossing some wooden pegs at me. When I let them fall to the ground, he smiles. “I don't have to explain it to you again, do I?” he asks, stepping closer. “One of you gets to live, but only by obeying every order I give.” He pauses, eying me with a hint of caution. “I'd like it to be you, Iris. I feel we made a connection when we talked earlier, but you need to prove that I can trust you. Get on the floor.”

  I shake my head.

  “No?” he replies. “You don't believe me?”

  I want to tell him that I'
ve seen his murderous work first-hand, but of course I can't say a word.

  “Do it,” he says firmly.

  I pause, before shaking my head again.

  He stares at me for a moment, before taking a step closer.

  I wait for him to say something, but he seems to be studying me.

  “Go to hell,” I mouth silently, hoping he can understand.

  He smiles.

  Suddenly he cracks the handle of his gun against my face, sending me stumbling back as a sharp pain radiates across one side of my head. Dropping down, I blink several times, but the sight in my left eye seems blurred now. When I reach up, I feel a tender spot at the edge of the eye socket, and I realize he must have cracked the bone. Wincing, I'm about to get to my feet when he grabs me from behind and pushes me down. Before I can react, he drives one of the sharp wooden pegs through my left hand, pinning me to the ground. I cry out, but a moment later he does the same thing to my right hand.

  “There!” he sneers, leaning close to my face. “Now, let's hope I've managed to attract Asher's attention!”

  Chapter Forty-five

  Asher

  By the time I reach the fence at the edge of Steadfall, I realize I'm too late. The whole town is burning.

  Flames are racing through the huts, some of which have already begun to collapse. I climb over the fence and make my way toward the large fire in the main clearing, but I stop when I see that there are several dead bodies burning in the nearest hut. With a sickening sensation in my gut, I head over to take a closer look, but all I can do once I reach the doorway is stare inside and watch as the flesh on one of the corpses continues to burn away, exposing the increasingly-charred skull beneath.