Page 8 of I’m The Worst

I shove my feet in, barely able to breathe. He shoulders the pack, checking the chamber of his gun with a snap.

“Stay behind me.” His tone makes it clear: no arguments.

I trail after him into the hall. My heartbeat thunders in my ears, each breath a fight as we slowly move down the hall.

Suddenly, a light flips on, and heavy footsteps pound ahead.

“Shit.” Wolff spins, gun already lifted and ready to aim.

“Drop the weapon!” they shout, and I freeze mid-step.

“Run.” His gaze never leaves them as he speaks to me. “Now!”

He fires the first shot, and gunfire explodes. Bullets tear past. I scream and drop low.

“Go!” His grip clamps my arm, hauling me to standing.

My legs scramble to catch up as he drags me down the hall. Gunfire echoes behind us, voices bark orders, and my shoes slap the floor as panic propels me forward.

“Faster!” His grip tightens as we round the corner.

An elevator looms at the end of the corridor. He slams the button. As soon as the doors slide open, he yanks me inside. Metal closes us in, the world falling silent but for my ragged breathing. My whole body shakes.

“When the doors open, you run. Got it?”

“I can’t—” My chest seizes. “I can’t breathe.”

“It’s the drugs. They pumped you full of them to keep you compliant.”

“I feel like I’m dying,” I wheeze.

“You’re not. Fight it.”

The elevator dings.

He pulls me into motion. My feet stumble, but he doesn’t stop. The gun stays steady in his hand as we barrel down another hallway.

Shouts sound from behind us. Boots. More gunfire.

“Move!” he barks at me.

“I can’t!”

His fingers bite into my arm as he yanks me to his side.

Another corner. A door.

He slams into it at full force. It bursts open, and cold air wraps around me. The night sky looms wide, too open, too much.

I stumble as the ground sways.

“Wolff…” My voice splinters. “I⁠—”

The world goes dark, the edges of my vision blurring. His voice is a distant echo. I reach for him, but he’s too far away as everything fades to black.

She hits the pavement hard.

I grit my teeth and lunge forward, scooping her up before I can think twice. This whole goddamn mission was a fucking mistake—the Sovereign doesn’t train heroes.