Ashes (Of the Earth Series)

Chapter 12 - Just the Two of Us

The sharp crack of Lilly's fist connecting with James' face yanked me back to reality. "Dipshit!" she snarled, eyes blazing with fury.

"Damn it, Lil!" James winced, clutching his face, blood seeping between his fingers and stumbling to the side. "What was that for?"

"Because you're a dipshit!" Her fist coiled one more time, ready for another assault.

"Fuck you, bitch!"

"Hey!" I interjected, stepping between the fiery siblings, my arms spread to keep them apart. "Calm down, both of you! Enough!"

Lilly's icy glare pierced through me before she retreated, her chest laboring under raw emotion. James gingerly probed his split lip with shaky fingers.

We'd escaped into the outskirts headed into the woods, but a spat between the two was going to draw attention to us. Their fiery tempers were often oblivious to the dangers lurking in every shadow.

"Alright," I said, eyeing James. "What the hell happened to you guys?"

James spat a mouthful of blood onto the cracked pavement. "The fuck you think happened? We got ambushed by the Turned, that's what." His voice trembled with pain and anger. "They had to know we were in the area and I guess they knew we'd be looking for food. We didn't have a choice but to use ammo but as soon as those first shots went off... It was like a fucking dinner bell. You saw how many there were. We were barely able to make it here and bolt ourselves in." He lifted his arm, and I again noted the strap around his shoulder and the blood dripping from his hip. "I took a hit, bad."

"Is everyone okay?" I asked trying to steady my trembling voice. The huddled group before me was like an oil painting of despair: James nursing his wounds - Mathis with his stoic resolve - Ron heavy with guilt - Kenzie and Stali nursing their private fears. Almost all accounted for, but two faces were devastatingly absent. A visceral dread coiled within me like a venomous snake.

Frantically scanning the area, I demanded, "Where are Jairo and Esther?" My eyes darted around, searching for any sign of them as if they would miraculously appear from behind a pile of rubble.

James grimaced and looked away, his hand clutching at his wounded side. "Jairo... he didn't make it." He forced out the words as if they burned him.

The world seemed to shrink around us, the walls closing in. "Driller got him," Ron murmured solemnly. "I didn't let him suffer... though he deserved more than a bullet... As for Esther..." He didn't finish - he didn't need to.

"Damn it!" I slammed my fist into a tree. Pain bloomed in my hand as my knuckles split, but was drowned by the storm raging in my heart. Two more lives snuffed out.

Mathis stepped forward, his once-handsome face now marred by deep cuts and bruises. "Our gear is still at the supermarket," he stated, trying to keep his voice steady. "And our ride too," he added with a nervous glance towards the others. He swallowed hard. "It's back into that hell or head back empty handed and down a car."

Kenzie's sobs engulfed her as she threw herself into my arms, her tears soaking through my shirt. Lilly glared a hole into Kenzie's back as she did so, and I shot her a look, mouthing, "Knock it off." She sniffed and looked at the ceiling.

I held Kenz tightly, feeling the weight of her despair in every tremble of her body. "We tried, Alec," she choked out between sobs. "We really did. But we were overwhelmed and we had to run."

My chest tightened at her words, torn between anger and grief. I wanted to scream and sob myself, but instead, I held Kenzie close and fought back the urge to break down.

"It's not your fault," I pulled back as Kenzie broke away from our embrace and looked around the group. "You did everything you could. I should have been here with you."