Sharing Hell (Hell Virus Book 3)

by Aurelia Skye

  We reached the Red One team, where they hovered behind one of the shelves they had managed to overturn. It provided some cover, but clearly not enough. There were bullet holes in the metal, and three of the four team members were bleeding.

  I knew Jim from having seen him around the armory, but didn’t know the name of the other three. There was a young redhaired boy, though I supposed he was at least of age, and he lay on the floor in a heap. I started to move toward him to check on him, but paused when Jim shook his head.

  “No point. Greg took the first shot, and that’s how we knew we had company. Right through the heart, and the kid dropped to the floor. He’s gone.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried not to speculate on how young he might have been. His face looked carefree and completely unlined. Such a waste of life. I jerked my head in the direction of the five that I could see, arranged behind their own collection of shelves. I didn’t see others, but I was certain there were more than their five guns pointed at us. “Did they say why they were firing, or what they want?”

  “No, not at all. They just started firing without warning.”

  Lian was with the other two who had been shot, carefully avoiding the pool of blood surrounding Greg. He nodded to the guy with black hair that he should go down the aisle, toward the exit. That man had a nasty-looking bullet wound in his thigh, and he was going to need help to walk out of the store. If any of us walked out.

  Jim went next, and I jerked my head in his direction when I heard him cry out. There was blood on his back, and now all four members of Red One were bleeding. Three of them were still alive though, and it was mine and Lian’s job to ensure they stayed that way. When he nodded at me to start moving back down the row, I shook my head. I wanted to stay with him.

  “Go, and I’ll cover you. When you reach the end of the row, then you can cover me.”

  I didn’t like his plan at all, and I wanted to be stubborn and insist on staying beside him, but I couldn’t see a good way to extricate us both at the same time. Jeremy and Logan were still firing, and we had to get them to safety as well. I hurried down the row as fast as I could. Bullets dinged around me, and I winced when something sharp hit my calf, but didn’t take time to look. I was reasonably certain it couldn’t be a bullet, because I could still move with only limited pain. The warmth of blood flowing down my leg made me wonder though, but I couldn’t take the time to examine it until I reached the end of the row.

  As soon as I did, I joined Jim in firing, though I couldn’t really aim from there. We were providing cover for Lian, and he quickly made his way toward us. At the halfway point, I cried out when he suddenly froze. A moment later, blood blossomed on his shoulder through his white T-shirt, and I forgot about protocol or following orders. I rushed to his side, pulling him back with me.

  It was only as we reached the relative safety of the endcap that I realized he was shouting at me. My ears had been ringing from the gunfire, and I’d had tunnel vision there for a moment. I let go as I looked up at him, trying to make sense of the words he was forming.

  “Don’t ever do that again. You could’ve been shot too.”

  I stared at him, uncomprehending for a moment. Finally, his words filtered through my brain. “I couldn’t just leave you there.”

  “I didn’t need your help. You put yourself at risk for no reason.”

  “Don’t shout at me,” I said, getting into his face as I shouted the words myself.

  Suddenly, Lian’s mouth captured mine in an inappropriately timed kiss, and we stopped shouting at each other. The kiss was over before it really began, because there was no time for such things, but it left a lingering impression. Even as I turned to fight, shooting so that Logan, and then Jeremy, could retreat to join us, I could still feel his lips pressed against mine.

  As we moved through the store, our group pressed tightly together with the most seriously wounded in the center, I was relieved to see Alyssa and her men at the entrance. They were firing shots out into the parking lot, and as we got closer, I sensed a level of rage I didn’t quite understand. We split into two, though our backs were together, our group facing the threat at the back of the store, while Alyssa, Shane, Jamar, and Han fired at the parking lot in alternating fashion.

  “Do you guys know what’s going on, or who they are?” I asked.

  “No clue who they are, but we’ve seen them before. We had a run-in with these fuckers in Wyoming. They killed one of our guys without even bothering to engage or shout a warning. We encountered them at one of those big-box stores, and they shot Maddox. There were less of them then.”

  “What’s the plan?”

  Their truck was closer to the entrance than ours had been. Ours was still out by Red One’s truck, and there were several Humvees between us and the trucks.

  “We’re waiting for backup,” said Shane. “We just need to hold them off until Collier and the others arrive. He’s bringing the tank.”

  I was relieved to hear that, because though it might have been overkill, we needed to smash our way through these people, whoever they were. It couldn’t hurt for them to know we had a tank at our disposal.

  “We’re just trying to hold him off until then.”

  I nodded at Jamar and indicated I’d heard his words, as did others around us.

  I glanced down briefly at my leg, confirming that it wasn’t a gunshot. It appeared to be a clean slice, and I imagined a bullet had caught a glass jar of some sort, and one of the flying shards had sliced me.

  I fired another shot before looking at Lian, who seemed to be holding his rifle well enough despite the wound in his shoulder. Jim appeared to be struggling to hold his weapon, and I was afraid he might not make it. If we didn’t get him back to the armory and Finn, he definitely wouldn’t. I wasn’t entirely certain Finn could save Jim anyway, since he was a vet student, but he was certainly the best chance we had.

  The other two who were injured, whose names I hadn’t yet caught, seemed to be holding their own. As I glanced closer, I was certain the blond guy’s was simply a graze across his arm, though I couldn’t tell for sure. There wasn’t as much blood, and while he was favoring his other arm, he didn’t seem to be unable to use that one. The black-haired guy had sat down to stretch out his leg before him, and he was bleeding profusely. “I think you need a tourniquet.”

  He glanced at me briefly before returning his attention to firing.

  I glanced around, desperate for something to use as a tourniquet. I spied a bandanna in Alyssa’s hair, used to confine it like a headband. “I need this,” I said as I snatched it from her hair. She let out a little yelp, and I realized I’d pulled some of her strands too.

  “Sorry,” I said as I moved forward, thankful the bandanna was already wrapped in a band. It made it that much easier to work with, and I was able to tie off the area above where he’d been shot. I didn’t think it had hit his femoral artery, or he would have been dead already, but he was still bleeding more than I was comfortable with. I hoped Finn would be able to do something for him that I didn’t know how to.

  I had just finished tying the tourniquet when there was a squeal of tires in the parking lot. I looked up, expecting to see our reinforcements, but it appeared to be another Humvee. It might have been ours, but from the way it drove straight up to join the group blocking us from our trucks, I didn’t think so.

  A second later, Alyssa cursed. It was a long, angry curse, and I’d never heard such rage in anyone’s voice before. It was enough to stop me from my planned task of resuming firing at the group at the back of the store, and I stared at her with my mouth agape for a moment. “What is it?”

  “Who,” she corrected, voice shaking with anger. “It’s that cunt Kassandra.”

  “It can’t be, sugar.”

  She glared at Jamar. “I’d recognize that bitch anywhere. She’s in the passenger seat.”

  I squinted, unable to see much more than blonde hair and a face covered with sunglasses.<
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  “Son-of-a-bitch, I think she’s right,” said Han.

  Shane and Jamar both looked unsettled, and there was a hint of guilt in their postures. I wondered if this was the woman Alyssa had told me about, who had caused their group to nearly splinter.

  “What’s she doing here?” asked Jamar. “I wouldn’t have thought she could survive alone long enough to hook up with anyone.”

  “I told you you always underestimated her.” Alyssa seemed angry as she directed the words at Jamar, and I was certain this anger was for her lover alone, and not for Kassandra.

  His dark head gleamed when he nodded. “I know, sugar, and I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I just can’t believe she survived.”

  Han snorted. “She’s a piece of work, and people like her always survive, at least until you’ve put a bullet between their eyes. Then you can be sure she’s done surviving.”

  “I call dibs on that honor,” said Alyssa with stark coldness.

  I traded a look with Lian, and he seemed more confused than I was. The only thing I knew was what Alyssa had told me, and the guess that she was the woman in question. I just shrugged at him.

  A few moments later, the sound we’d been waiting for came rumbling in, and my heart skipped a beat in relief when the tank pulled into the parking lot, followed by a virtual convoy of our own army trucks. Whoever drove the tank, and I assumed it was Collier, drew up level with the line of Humvees blocking our path. The cannon mounted to the turret swung in their direction, and his message was clear. I held my breath to see if he would fire, but he seemed to be giving them a chance to retreat. I wasn’t certain that was the best thing, especially since they had attacked without provocation, but he eased my doubt a moment later when his voice emerged through a speaker system located somewhere in or on the tank..

  “Let our people exit peacefully from the store and make it to our vehicles, or I fire. You have ten seconds to start withdrawing.”

  He was doing it to protect us. Otherwise, I doubt he would’ve given them the option of withdrawing.

  It was like he had flipped a switch himself, and the Humvees started backing away, somewhat in an orderly fashion, within a few seconds.

  Gunfire continued from the back of the store for another few seconds, but then it stopped too. I assumed they had received orders to stop firing, and when I looked back that way, I saw the last of them disappearing out of view into the door marked “Employees Only,” which I assumed led to the back entrance and the docking bay. I didn’t like the idea of them getting away, but we also had wounded who needed care, and Collier’s ultimatum had offered the quickest way to see to them.

  I started to offer Jim a shoulder to lean on as Lian had done when we got to our feet, but Jamar stepped into my intended place before I could. He was big and strong enough he probably could’ve carried Jim all on his own if he needed to, so I let him.

  I moved to the black-haired guy, helping him to his feet as Han assisted me.

  “Thanks for the tourniquet.”

  I nodded. “We couldn’t have you bleeding out everywhere.” I still wasn’t certain Finn would be much help, but I hoped he could stop the bleeding.

  “Jamar can get you fixed up on the way back to base.” Alyssa spoke the words with confidence as she moved to put an arm around the waist of the blond guy. I was briefly sidetracked and more than a little amused when Shane inserted himself in front of her, keeping her from putting her arms around the other man. He provided a steady support instead, and Alyssa and I ended up walking out side-by-side, not supporting anyone else. “Was that her?” I asked quietly.

  She didn’t have to ask to which “her” I referred, and she nodded. That same anger returned to her expression, and I shivered slightly. Despite her petite size, I had a feeling Alyssa was a formidable enemy, and while it wasn’t enough to make me feel sorry for the other woman, if I were her, I’d be pretty damn terrified right then if I had Alyssa after me. “Do you think she saw you?”

  Alyssa shrugged. “Probably not, but if she had, she would have had them shoot me if at all possible. She hates me as much as I hate her. The difference is, she would’ve let the men shoot me on her behalf, whereas when I get the opportunity, I’m going to kill her myself.”

  I didn’t doubt her sincerity at all. She might not be successful, but it was clear that was her goal and intent. “Do you think we’ll see them again, so you’ll have the chance?”

  Alyssa shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll see the rest of the group again, but I don’t know about Kassandra. I’m actually surprised to see her out at all. If she’s like she used to be, she’s the type to stay behind and let others do her battles for her. So it’s hard to say, but now that I know she’s still alive, she won’t be for long.”

  I was more concerned about the men, and their firepower, who had surrounded the mysterious Kassandra, but didn’t try to point out to Alyssa that they might be more of a danger than the blonde woman of whom I’d caught a glimpse. I hadn’t had a run-in with Kassandra personally, and Alyssa struck me as levelheaded. If Kassandra was enough to throw her off her game and make her this enraged, she was probably just as dangerous in her own way, if not more so. Sneaky and sly could sometimes be worse than forthright and brutal.

  In the truck, Jamar packed the black-haired man’s wound, having him stitched up and bandaged in under ten minutes. I admired his work as we bumped along in the back of the truck we had all piled into. Others drove the other two trucks, but we had seemed to be moving on autopilot as we just got in the back and fled. Who knew when the other group would return, and with how many?

  I didn’t feel confident about suturing Lian in the back of the truck, so I settled for putting gauze on the wound and wrapping it. It was a through-and-through, so as least there was no bullet to dig out, but he would need stitches.

  Jim was the major concern, and he wasn’t as minorly injured as I had previously believed. I thought he’d only been shot the one time, but he’d already had a gut wound. I deferred to Jamar after I learned he’d been an Army medic, because he probably had more experience with such things, and he looked defeated when he stripped off his gloves a few moments later. He shook his head at Lian, and then at me when our gazes met. “I won’t be able to save him. I hope the vet can.”

  We’d never know if Finn could have saved him or not, because Jim stopped breathing ten minutes away from the armory, and we were unsuccessful in reviving him. It was a disheartening end to the whole encounter, and I was feeling wiped by the time we got back to the armory.

  As soon as I slid out of the truck, Avi stood in front of me. He must have been in the rescue convoy, and I collapsed against him. Even with his arms around me, I wasn’t oblivious to a brief moment of withdrawal as Lian moved away from me. I wanted him there too. After a minute, I pushed aside the thought and curled into Avi, letting his warmth and comfort sweep over me and soothe away the last of the adrenaline still churning through my body. When Chris and Finn joined us a moment later, their arms also enfolding me, it felt like the best place in the world, though I couldn’t help feeling like there was still a missing element—Lian.

  Chapter Eight

  Someone had thoughtfully brought Greg’s body too, so when we gathered together that evening for the funeral service, there were two to bury. Someone had also already dug the graves, and I was certainly relieved not to see the blanket-clad bodies anywhere. I assumed Jim and Greg were already at the bottom of their graves, just waiting to be covered after the service.

  Collier said a few words, and while they were brief, the makeshift service was poignant. After that, others stepped forward and started covering the graves. We stood until the dirt was flush with the ground around it, and I winced as the first strike of the mallet against the post for Greg’s marker echoed around us.

  It was a surreal moment, and I couldn’t help imagining how it would feel to be standing here in this position when it was one of the three men I cared about so strongly being put into th
e ground instead. I swayed slightly, and Chris’s arm went around my waist to support me. I wanted to cling to him, along with the others, and keep them safe from harm. I couldn’t imagine my life without them now, and I marveled that it had been only a week or so that I had known them all. The apocalypse clearly sped up relationships. It had also changed them fundamentally with the skewed gender ratio.

  Feeling a need for the connection, I reached out and took Finn’s hand with one of mine and Avi’s with the other. It was a bit of a stretch, since Chris was between me and Avi, but I wanted to feel connected to all of them. I looked up at that moment and saw Lian across the crowd, standing next to his father.

  Our gazes met for a moment, and I started to offer a tentative smile, but he pointedly looked away before I could do so. I looked away from him, my gaze clashing with Liu Chang’s for a moment. I shivered at the disapproval I saw in his eyes, which deepened to disgust when my lovers responded to my trembling by pressing closer, likely assuming I was cold in the evening air.

  I looked away from him and focused my attention on the two men adding the markers to Jim and Greg’s graves. Jim’s simply stated the year he had died, but Greg’s also included his birthday, so someone must have known it. He was barely eighteen.

  After that, by mutual unspoken agreement, the crowd dispersed singly or in pairs, or in my case and Alyssa’s, in small groups. The men beside me returned to my room with me, but none of us were in the mood for anything besides comfort and cuddles. By the time I returned from the bathroom, I discovered they had pushed the two beds together, and I laid down in the middle. Avi sprawled at my feet, and Chris and Finn were on either side. It felt good to hold them and be held, but sleep was still a long time coming.

  ***

  Collier had called a meeting early the next morning, and I was still yawning into my coffee cup when he started speaking. I was impressed by how much he’d already accomplished as I listened to him.