Wild Side [h.s au]

Chapter 14

Elena

It takes me a few seconds to recognise the guy holding his gun pointed at me. I don't know him in person, but I used to see him on meetings in Vortex. My fingers are itching to either use the rifle to defend myself or grab a knife and stab him in the gut.

"Seth's been looking for you," he informs me, a smirk curving his lips. "It'd be lovely if I brought you back to him, wouldn't it?"

Yeah, I don't think so.

Anger and fear combined wash over me and in a split second, I use the rifle to kick him in the shin, a groan leaving his lips in response. I push myself up, kicking the gun away from his hand and colliding the rifle with the side of his face, his head swivelling to the side from the impact, blood spurting from the wound. He mutters a curse as his palm presses against the wounded area, his hand reaching for another gun when I punch him twice more, applying more force, watching as he loses consciousness and slumps on the ground.

I should kill him because he saw me. But I won't; Seth will find out one way or another, he always does. Besides, who can guarantee someone else won't see me? Everyone knows what we look like, I assume our pictures are all over Vortex with a price written underneath.

Adrenaline is coursing through my system, my senses on alert. The pain in my ribs is not as strong as it should be, surely because of the adrenaline. My eyes survey the area, locating Tori, Louis, and Liam, who have managed to get close to the woods. My heart sinks into my stomach as I try to find Alex, knowing his vehicle was closely behind ours. I widen my eyes when a terrifying sight of my brother lying on the ground with Vortex soldier on top of him catches my attention, noticing a knife pressed to his throat. I notice Jess standing frozen nearby, doing nothing to help him.

My feet swiftly carry me toward them while I aim the rifle in my hand, shooting at the soldier trying to kill him. The bullet hits his arm, distracting him enough to let Alex push him away and grab the knife from him, pressing the blade against the soldier's throat and slitting it quickly.

"You okay?" I ask as I approach him, extending my hand for him. He grabs it and I pull him up, my eyes scanning his appearance, searching for any wounds. It appears he has none beside a few scratches on his face and blood patches on his uniform that don't belong to him.

"Ew, blood. Fuck, I hate blood." He scrunches his face in disgust. "I'm. . . I'm fine," he adds, letting out a sigh. "Thanks, Lenny." He smiles, pressing his palm against the back of my head and pulling me toward him, his lips leaving a quick kiss on my forehead. Alex hates killing and I know how hard it is for him when he has to take someone's life no matter what the person did to him. He's way more compassionate than I am and I admire him for that.

My lips pull in a smile briefly when the realisation where are we strikes me, my focus shifting on the battle. "Where's your team?"

"Dead," he says. "Jess and I are the only ones who survived. They're fucking slaughtering us, I don't understand how did they know about this."

"Let's go, we need to reach the woods, my team's there," I inform him. "We need to leave this place before they kill us all." If the situation was different, we would surely have a chance. Unfortunately, it appears they knew about the attack, so they welcomed us prepared.

Alex calls Jess and the three of us run toward the woods, all the while shooting at Vortex soldiers trying to kill us. When we reach the safety of the trees, my finger presses the earpiece I'm wearing while I'm scanning the area. "Louis, you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we see you, El," he responds. "Turn around."