Ashes (Of the Earth Series)

Chapter 17.1 - Kendall

I threw the flamethrower to the ground as the last spurts of flame exited the tip and fell to my hands and knees, cursing that the idea had ever come to me as I watched the flames devour the building that was to be my brother's tomb.

My chest constricted, suffocating me. The sound of bullets ricocheting around me only added to the chaos as Finn's voice blasted through my comms, frantically asking someone to check on me.

A year, a whole fucking year, holding out hope that he was alive, that he would make his way to us, knowing it would be a miracle among miracles if he ever did - and then having that miracle answered? Only to have him torn away from us less than a year later. My chest heaved. Tears mixed with snot and drool flooded my visor, clouding my vision as I stared at the broken asphalt beneath me. My gut churned violently.

I pawed at the visor to open it but couldn't get the latch, finally ripping the helmet off my head entirely and flinging it away with a scream, which quickly turned into vomit.

Amanda yelped and dodged the torrent as she ran up to me. She knelt. "Kendall, baby, come on, we have to leave. We can't lose you too." She set a hand on my shoulder, but I grabbed it and threw it off.

Ignoring her cries of pain, I rocked back and forth on the ground, clutching at my chest in agony. But when she tried to comfort me again, I snapped - screaming that I didn't care about anything anymore. "I don't care! I don't fucking care! Get the FUCK away from me!"

With tears streaming down her face, Amanda retreated and muttered something into her comms. The word "inconsolable" floated through the air to my ears. Yeah, that was a word for it. I could never be consoled.

The word echoed in my mind like a maddening mantra. No one could ever console me for this. I didn't care about the empty reassurances of someday or somehow. All that mattered was the raw, burning pain of losing my brother. In that moment, all I wanted was to shatter into a million pieces alongside his remains.

But then I heard Lilly's laughter, high-pitched and maniacal. My eyes lifted to see her perched on top of a car, firing her guns with reckless abandon. A sinister glint flickered in her eye, an evil smile plastered across her face.

Rage consumed me as I watched her revel in the chaos. That fucking bitch. How dare she laugh when her husband, my brother, had just made the ultimate sacrifice to save us all? The tears streaming down my face turned to boiling-hot fury as I clenched my fists.

I stood, hate surging through me. Fury propelled me towards her as I reloaded my weapons, spitting obscenities under my breath.

Lilly didn't see me coming until it was too late. I hopped up on the car's hood and jumped onto the roof beside her. She gasped in shock as I grabbed her by the collar and tossed her off the roof and into the hood of the car, knocking the wind out of her lungs as she tumbled to the ground. "You think this is funny?!" I bellowed, as I jumped down and grabbed her again, dragging her to her feet.

Before I could do anything else, something heavy plowed into me, taking me to the pavement.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing," Finn screamed into my face. "Have you lost your fucking mind?"

"SHE'S LAUGHING!" I screamed back.

"I don't care what she's fuckin' doing as long as she's keeping those things from getting out! You're gonna fuck up your brother's last wish because you're pissy about how she handles it? Get the fuck ahold of yourself! SHE LOST HIM TOO!"

My chest heaved, my breath coming in ragged gasps. "Are you fucking done, soldier?" he screamed at me through his visor.

I nodded, and he released me from the bear hug he had me in and rolled off. I stood quickly, brushing myself.