She aimed the gun at him and he dropped the log. He closed his eyes.
“Don’t watch,” he said from between his lips only a second before the next shot sliced through the air.
“No!” I shouted as if my words could form a shield around him.
I stood at the same moment Jake Quinn stepped into view, pressing the barrel of his shotgun into the back of Clara’s head.
Blood soaked through the front of her jacket and oozed down the back of her hand. Her hand shook as she tried to raise the gun.
It wasn’t Shawn that had been shot. It was Clara.
Jake pulled the trigger and Clara collapsed to the ground. It was like her icy bones had melted.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Jake said looking into my eyes. “I saw a bear less than a half-mile back. I’m not sure if the sounds will have drawn his attention or send him running in the other direction.”
I nodded and walked over to Henry’s body. Lightning flickered in his empty, wide eyes. I grabbed the guns and tucked one into the back of my pants. The other I kept in my hand.
“That’s a lot of blood,” I said looking at the wound on the side of Shawn’s arm.
“Hurts like hell too.” Shawn winced.
I grabbed Henry’s pack and opened it. I pulled out a red and black flannel shirt and wrapped it tightly around Shawn’s arm.
“You’ll be okay,” I said. “We can’t be that far from home. Kieran will patch you up.”
“I hope so,” Shawn said bending down to pick up Clara’s gun. “Who knows, maybe that bear wants to come have a piece of me too.”
“I won’t let that happen,” I said as I stuffed my pack into Henry’s larger pack. “Take her stuff.”
Jake looked over his shoulder. “Let’s go. We don’t have time to worry about taking their stuff.”
Lightning cracked the ground nearby and my body shook. The hairs on the back of my neck stood even though they were drenched.
“You two are lucky I came out this way,” Jake said. “She was going to shoot you.”
“No kidding,” Shawn said.
“What are you doing out this way?” I asked.
Jake’s shoulder sank. “I guess I’m on the run now. Those people from that town came and took everything. I have nowhere to go. Your people won’t be safe for long either. Although it looks like maybe the worst already happened?”
“We were fooled,” I said shaking my head.
“What do you mean?” Jake asked flicking me a glance. It seemed he preferred to keep his eyes forward as much as possible.
“Those were people from that town too,” I said. “They told us there was a military base in the mountains where everyone was going.”
I hit my thigh out of frustration. Shawn lightly placed his hand on my shoulder.
“I should have known better. I can’t believe I made such a stupid mistake,” I said between my teeth. My jaw muscles relaxed as I turned to Shawn. “I’m so sorry I let this happen.”
“It’s not your fault,” Shawn said refusing to meet my eyes. “I would have done the same thing.”
“Gage was suspicious,” I said. “I could tell. He’s never going to forgive me.”
Shawn inhaled slowly. “He’s already forgiven you.”
“He doesn’t know yet,” I replied.
Shawn finally turned to me. His paleness made his eyes glow even more. “It doesn’t matter. You can’t do wrong in his eyes.” He turned away. “It’s the same way I see you.”
Jake cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt but we need to move. We need to get back to your people and get them out of there.”
22
Joss
After Caleb and Jenna returned, we met in their room to carefully and quietly discuss the situation. None of us had any intention to tell Rex but it seemed as though either way, many lives would be lost.
If we left, and Rex only had a small army, they’d be killed. And if we stayed, we would be outnumbered and maybe, even more, would die.
“I need to stay with the doctor,” Jenna said patting her stomach. Worry dampened her eyes. “Otherwise, I don’t know what will happen.”
“Rex said it’s under control,” Robby said.
“He’s said it so much that maybe he’s just trying to convince himself,” Caleb said.
Jenna huffed. “Why would we trust this guy anyway? We don’t even know him.”
“What if the doctor is going with him?” Caleb asked. He placed his hands on his hips and chewed his lip.
“There is no clear answer,” Robby said. “It could be bad if we stayed and it could be bad if we go. Let’s not forget that we know what it’s like out there.”
“Nonsense,” Jenna said waving her hand in the air as if she were trying to chase off a fly. “We’re safe here. Buildings. Shelter. Food and water. Even a little dash of fun.”
Robby cocked his head to the side. “Secret fun that Rex can’t know about.”
“If I have to go back out there, you all know I won’t make it,” Jenna said. “None of us know the first thing about delivering a baby, not to mention these weird cramps I get.”
“Has the doctor said what he thinks is going on?” I asked since she never really tells us much about her infrequent visits.
“Not really. Could be round ligament pain or Braxton Hicks. Dr. Brody isn’t very concerned because there isn’t any bleeding,” Jenna said. “I can feel him moving sometimes.”
I smiled. “That’s great.”
“Yeah, but I’m still worried and want to stay as close to a medical professional as possible,” Jenna said.
I couldn’t blame her. Not only was it nice to be where there
