I gasped for breath. “Still alive, asshole.”
43
I took off, leaving Julian in the dirt.
My knuckles throbbed, and I almost dropped the tablet twice as I ran back to the field. I was on the verge of total panic, too terrified to look over my shoulder to see if Julian was following me.
Dead scrabs littered the ground. Patrick and Dorsey were fighting one off. Laila and Priya sprinted to help.
“Clara.” Madison came to a stop beside me. “Thank god you’re OK. Have you seen Noah? We were in the trees, but—”
Her face paled. She raced to where Edan was sitting next to a motionless Grayson. I pressed my hand to my mouth, tears welling in my eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Edan said, roughly wiping tears from his cheeks. “He jumped in front of me when Julian shot at me.”
Madison laughed. She clapped a hand to her mouth, a second hysterical laugh escaping before she dissolved into tears.
Edan’s eyes caught on something behind me, and he closed them, looking away. I turned.
Noah was dragging Archer’s body out from beneath a dead scrab. I gasped, the tears I’d been holding back streaming down my cheeks. Noah pulled until Archer was completely free, and then stepped back and glanced at us. A single claw had ripped a huge gash down the right side of his face, and the entire area was covered in blood.
“Jesus, Noah.” Dorsey rushed forward, ripping open his weapons pack. He produced his first aid kit.
Sirens wailed in the distance, and Noah shook his head, putting his hand on Dorsey’s.
“It’s all right. They’ll . . .” He gestured vaguely in the direction of the sirens, apparently unable to finish the sentence. His shoulders sagged heavily. Dorsey pressed white gauze into his hand anyway.
I wanted to sink down beside Madison and sob, but I was still clutching the tablet in my hand, and I needed to make sure there weren’t scrabs waiting to pounce. I wiped my eyes and walked to the barn door.
There were several rows of scrabs still in cages. One snarled.
Priya stepped inside. Her eyes were red, and dirt and blood was smeared down her arms, but her expression was all relief as she looked at the scrabs.
“MDG didn’t get any of them out,” she said, leaning back against the wall with a sigh. “All the containers and trucks are still here, except for the one you saw leave earlier. Team thirteen is going after that one.”
“That’s good,” I said quietly. Had we won? This didn’t feel like winning.
Priya wiped her cheeks with a sniffle. “Where is Julian?”
“Oh. I—I left him on the other side of the barn.” I stepped toward the door. “I should go—”
She put a soft hand on my arm, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it. The police will grab him if he’s still nearby.” She managed to almost smile. “I hope you punched him a few times.”
Dorsey, Patrick, and Laila walked through the barn door. Laila wrapped an arm around Priya. Patrick reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. Noah followed close behind them, holding a bloody white bandage to his face.
“Madison wanted a minute alone with Grayson,” Noah said quietly.
I glanced at the door. Where was Edan?
“He’s around back,” Patrick whispered, even though I hadn’t asked.
I squeezed his hand again before slipping out the door. Madison was sitting cross-legged next to Grayson’s body, and she didn’t look up as I edged around the barn and then walked quickly to the back. Tears welled in my eyes again. I took a shuddering breath.
Edan was crouched on the ground beneath a soft yellow spotlight, arms wrapped around his legs, head lowered to his knees.
He shot up at the sound of my footsteps, hand fumbling for his machete. His eyes focused on me, and he let out a sigh, shoulders slumping as he dropped his hand.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
“No, it’s fine.” He wiped both palms across his cheeks. “I just didn’t want to fall apart in front of Maddie. I think she needs everyone to stay calm for a minute. Or she just wants be alone so she can have a breakdown in private. I don’t know.”
“Do you want me to go so you can have a breakdown in private?” I asked. I wondered if he could hear that I wanted the answer to be no.
He pressed his lips together for a moment, hands on his hips. When he spoke, the words were wobbly. “I really don’t.”
I was shaking as I stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around my waist and lowered his head onto my shoulder. He held me tightly.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
It took a moment before he responded, his voice quavering. “Julian’s the only one who should be apologizing.”
“I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.” I closed my eyes as I pressed my hands to his back. The full horror of what had just happened was starting to settle in, and I was worried that I might collapse if I let go.
We stood in silence for a long time before I found words again. “I’m so glad you’re OK,” I whispered.
He put one hand on the back of my head, his lips close to my ear. “I’m so glad you’re OK too.”
Julian was gone by the time the police showed up. I gave them a statement about everything, from MDG’s plan to build a scrab army to Julian shooting Grayson and trying to kill Edan as well.
Grayson had booked the teams’ hotel rooms earlier in the day, and all eight of us crowded into one. I’d taken a shower and changed, which had only momentarily made me feel better. The image of Grayson’s body jerking as he was shot was on replay in my mind. Noah dragging Archer’s body. The scrab snatching Zoe. I closed my eyes, blinking back tears.
Noah and Madison sat on the ground near the window, laptops in front of them. They were searching the team’s uniform camera footage, trying to
