07-11-2019, 03:27 PM
When her knees skidded in the dirt, she wasn’t sure she was getting up again. The spit of gunfire and roar of flame caged the fear in her chest, but it was the crush of exhaustion that kept her on the ground. Every limb felt a thousand feet under, like the building they left behind really had flattened atop them. Natalie hadn’t forgotten the cost, but she’d hoped to ride the waves of adrenaline at least a little longer. Jensen’s stricken expression as he crouched by Cayli stole whatever fight remained, though. Her eyes half closed, regret burning like bile in the back of her throat. The world rushed on by oblivious as grief lodged in her scorched lungs.
Pain stung her vision, ignored. She recognised the grim set of Jay’s jaw; the hollow glaze of his eyes. She knew what it meant.
Jensen’s whispered question went unanswered. Natalie tracked Jay’s movements like a caged animal slipped the leash, not in fear of those teeth, but in grim acceptance of what she suspected would follow. He’d take those notches to his soul silently, each one another shovelful of dirt unearthed from the grave he trooped so dutifully toward. I was really sure I was dead that time. It felt like inevitability.
She glanced at the others, unsure if they understood. But no warnings perched on her lips, and no mercy swelled in her chest. The last of their innocence lay dead on the floor.
For a moment she tried to rally the energy to claw to her feet and follow, but abandoned the attempt when her gaze settled on Cayli’s body. She found herself tethered by the frozen mask of fear on her young face; nothing of the spirited girl remained in that cooling shell, and yet she could not leave her to the dark alone while Jay stitched the gape of this bloody wound closed. Her watery limbs crawled closer instead, surprised that even that much felt like swimming through cement.
She smoothed the hair from Cayli’s face. Closed sightless eyes. Stillness took residence, a dam against the storm beyond. Natalie pulled the gun into her lap, wondering if Zacarías would have the gall to return to gloat his victory, but it was the hungry flames that caught her gaze. Heat slicked her skin even at this distance. Something involuntary shuddered at the pierce of every distant shot. It felt like watching the world burn.
Pain stung her vision, ignored. She recognised the grim set of Jay’s jaw; the hollow glaze of his eyes. She knew what it meant.
Jensen’s whispered question went unanswered. Natalie tracked Jay’s movements like a caged animal slipped the leash, not in fear of those teeth, but in grim acceptance of what she suspected would follow. He’d take those notches to his soul silently, each one another shovelful of dirt unearthed from the grave he trooped so dutifully toward. I was really sure I was dead that time. It felt like inevitability.
She glanced at the others, unsure if they understood. But no warnings perched on her lips, and no mercy swelled in her chest. The last of their innocence lay dead on the floor.
For a moment she tried to rally the energy to claw to her feet and follow, but abandoned the attempt when her gaze settled on Cayli’s body. She found herself tethered by the frozen mask of fear on her young face; nothing of the spirited girl remained in that cooling shell, and yet she could not leave her to the dark alone while Jay stitched the gape of this bloody wound closed. Her watery limbs crawled closer instead, surprised that even that much felt like swimming through cement.
She smoothed the hair from Cayli’s face. Closed sightless eyes. Stillness took residence, a dam against the storm beyond. Natalie pulled the gun into her lap, wondering if Zacarías would have the gall to return to gloat his victory, but it was the hungry flames that caught her gaze. Heat slicked her skin even at this distance. Something involuntary shuddered at the pierce of every distant shot. It felt like watching the world burn.