I n f i n i t u m

Chapter Twenty Six

I swore and immediately ducked with my hands held out, "Don't shoot! It's just me!"

Wren blinked in surprise before he gave an audible sigh. I could practically see his shoulders drop in relief, as did his previously armed position, and he rushed toward me. I'd barely straightened myself before he pulled me into an embrace, "I thought they got you!"

I held back a cringe, finding his concern over me with his touchy-ness both nice and uncomfortable. When we withdrew from each other, I gave him a wary look, then turned to Hak. He looked rough, but was probably holding up better than any of us.

"You good?" I asked.

"Yeah, just caught me off guard."

"How's Hudson?"

"Still out."

I sighed in frustration, "We need to move. No more stops until we get to that Stronghold."

"How are we going to do that?"

"I have a plan."

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I lead the way down the alley, Hak and Wren holding Hudson up from behind. The plan was pretty simple: I'd hunt down those guys from earlier since they had to have come by car, take them out one by one, and steal their vehicle.

It wasn't hard to find them.

Five minutes in, and I was already on their trail, their voices distinct in the air. I motioned for the guys behind me to pause as we neared the corner. It was perfect; four guys were headed toward a faded red pickup truck, and I could see the gleam from the metal of the keys one of them was swinging around.

"I'll be fast, don't move until they're all down."

Before Wren could say anything, I jolted forward and ran up behind the closest guy, twisting his neck fatally. His partner gave out a yelp just before I'd slashed him across the chest and I zapped the remaining two to death. All done. I turned to Wren and Hak, motioning them over, while keeping my roiling stomach in check.

It was disturbing...it was incredibly disturbing how I'd just ended their lives without another thought. They probably had families waiting for them back home...or victims awaiting their next assault.

I took shotgun when Wren took the driver's seat and within the next moment, we were off, speeding right out of city limits.

.

.

.

It seemed like a split second had passed, a moment of blackness, before I had Wren shaking me awake. I blinked a few times, realizing that I had fallen asleep and that it was now dark outside. I turned to Wren, wide-eyed, "Is it already tomorrow?! I mean, how long was I out?"

He answered rather calmly, "Three days."

We then stared at each other in silence.

Hudson mumbled from the back, "He's kidding. You've been asleep for about two hours, Fang."

I nodded in relief, completely disregarding Wren's mischievous laughter that issued next to me— that was when I realized that Hudson was in fact awake.

"Hudson!" I exclaimed, "How are you feeling? When did you wake up?"

He chuckled, "I'm fine. I woke up a few minutes before you."

I turned back around in relief once again. It was definitely unsettling, falling asleep so easily and waking up with absolutely no recollection of the 'when, where, and how'.