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And then there was nothing but screams, grating metal, and darkness.
CHAPTER TWO
For a moment, I thought it’d all been a dream. When the fuzz finally cleared from my brain and I was able to see what had happened, I wished it had been.
My head was pounding ten times worse than it was when I woke up this morning, a consistent throb coming from the back of my skull, and my goddamn index finger was on fire.
Someone had me in their arms. I felt the solidity of them, breathing in their cologne as I peeled open my lids. Unsettled equilibrium had me staring down at a body that had its neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Dull gray eyes were fixed on the shuttle’s ceiling, unblinking.
It took another second for clarity to swoop in and for me to realize the man I was looking at was dead.
“Calm down,” a husky voice gently commanded the moment I started to struggle.
I stilled and slowly looked up, straight into Ciaran’s eyes. The sight of him made me marginally relax. He must have felt it because a smile ghosted his lips.
“See, I’ve got you.” He tightened his hold and carefully made his way to the front of the shuttle, carrying me as if I weighed nothing and was more fragile than a piece of glass.
When we reached where the driver should have been, his body was nowhere in sight.
The windshield was shattered, blood splatter covering the remaining shards. I doubted he was still alive. Swallowing, I turned my head to seek out Gracelyn and Melantha.
Ciaran passed me through the doors—that looked as if they’d had to be pried open—and one of the twins took me from his arms.
A pair of whiskey-colored eyes peered down at me with no emotion within them as he helped me stand up.
“Which one are you?” I asked mindlessly, flexing my fingers.
“Kyrous,” he answered. “You all right?”
“I’m fine.” For the most part.
He nodded curtly, and then stepped away so fast you’d think I were contagious or something. Whatever.
My attention went right to Gracelyn and Melantha. Seeing they were all right, aside from being shaken up, a huge weight lifted off my chest.
Grace pulled away from Maverick, who’d had a comforting arm wrapped around her shoulders, and nearly ran to where I was standing.
“We couldn’t wake you up,” she breathed, her voice clogging with emotion as she hugged me.
Melantha was right behind her, squeezing my hand, relief reflecting at me from her silver eyes. I gave her a tight squeeze back and brought my free hand to the tender spot on the back of my head, belatedly realizing my sunglasses were gone.
“How long was I out?”
“Maybe ten minutes? Your suitcase bounced off your giant globe when you flew from the seat,” Melantha replied.
I appreciated her attempt to lighten the situation. No wonder it felt as if I’d been drop-kicked in the skull.
“You sure you’re okay?” Ciaran asked, coming to stand next to us.
Jesus, he was nearly a full foot taller than me. I had to physically lift my chin to look him in the eye. “Yeah, I’m fine. What about you?”
“I’m good. I was more concerned about you.”
That was sort of sweet. Gracelyn let me go, and I began to survey our surroundings, trying to get a better feel for the situation.
A few things jumped out right away. Our shuttle was partially on its side, wedged in a grassy ravine of sorts. The fog seemed to only be coming from within the tunnel we’d traveled through, which now had a solid looking grate prohibiting anyone from exiting or entering.
Straight ahead of us was a ridiculously tall fence with an equally as large gate. Small lights and what I think may have been barbed wire lined the top of it. A guard shack was back that way too, but it was totally dark inside. Suffice it to say, things weren’t looking too great. Oh, and the driver who got us into this situation was nowhere in sight.
I’d assumed he was dead. So why was there still no sign of his body?
“How did we crash?” I asked no one in particular.
“Look at the tires,” a curvy brunette answered, coming closer to our huddle. She had the kind of body people paid good money for. Her facial features, on the other hand, reminded me of the two faces of Squidword. Despite that and what had happened, she still looked fashionably put together.
I peered around Ciaran’s solid frame and examined the four wheels more closely.
What appeared to be hollow spikes were embedded in each of them. That was a terrible freaking sign.
“Seriously, what the entire fuck?”
“My sentiments exactly, kiddo,” an older woman voiced, trying desperately to light a cigarette.
“Does anyone know what the deal is with that being shut off?” I motioned to the tunnel.
“Yeah. Someone did this on purpose!” a dark-skinned man seethed.
