When All is Lost

Chapter 60

"You alright?" Carlos asked me right as Ray joined us. Neveah couldn't hear us from her where she stood on the opposite side of the Judge's group, but the corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk. Their plan had worked.

"I'm okay," I answered, taking a deep breath. I was still in too much shock to be anything but elated.

"You sure?" Ray asked as he looked between me and the Judge's group. "You look like shit."

"Thanks, Ray." My smile tightened. "I missed you too."

Ray shrugged. "You don't have a coat." He began to unzip his own but I shook my head. There wasn't time.

We only had the upper hand so long as we moved quickly. They'd only be intimidated by two guns for so long before they'd come to the conclusion that it'd be worth it to challenge us.

"You six," I called to the captives. They had been nervously glancing at Carlos and Neveah, but their attention snapped to me the instant I raised my voice. "Come to me."

The atmosphere shifted and I could sense that the fear was melting away. In its place was aggression. Different people in the Judge's group shifted on their feet not bothering to hide their sour expressions as they looked for their own openings to act. Their hostility was palpable and I began to realize that they clearly weren't used to being outmaneuvered.

We have to move faster.

"Where are the others?" I whispered to Ray.

Ray opened his mouth then closed it again, taking a moment to think before answering. "Some are safe, some are coming. They should be here soon."

I blinked trying to understand him as I watched the six whisper amongst each other. They were taking their sweet time to move, seemingly having a hard time trusting the shift in power. It was Marcy who finally got the group moving. She started to walk to me and the others slowly followed. Anton refused to look at any of us during the process.

The six shuffled to stand by Carlos's side and I motioned to Neveah to start coming over as well. She walked with careful and calculated steps, never taking her eyes or her gun off of the Judge's group.

"They're coming," Ray whispered to me. My heart jolted in my chest from his statement and it took me a second to realize that he hadn't meant it in an ominous way. I looked at him and he tilted his chin down to the street where the fire still burned. Through the smoke, two figures had come into view, running as fast as they could in our direction.

I was able to make out Prisha first. She carried a red gas canister in her hands as she sprinted through the snow. Her stance was sloppier than I'd ever seen it and even from a distance, I could tell she was tired. Even still, she carried on, looking behind her every once in a while to make sure she wasn't alone.

My stomach swooped when I finally saw Ian. He was doing his best to catch up to Prisha, but I could tell he wasn't focused on her. He was focused on our group – on me.

It gave me the courage to push further. I turned back to the Judge's group. "And you. You're coming with us too," I told Anton.

He wasn't facing me, but he knew I was talking to him. His back stiffened almost impossibly straighter. As if it physically hurt him to do so, he made himself turn to face me. I could see it in his eyes that he was waging an internal war. He didn't say a word, but he took a few steps in my direction.

"If anyone tries to follow us, we'll kill him on the spot. Understood?" It was a warning I wasn't sure I could actually follow through with, but that only made me put more surety and force into my voice as I spoke.