Page 109 of Her Defiant Warrior

Smoke.

He tried to sit up. Mateo rolled over and pushed himself up onto his knees. Everything was coming together. He squinted and saw Laura and Bonnie. Both standing. That was good.

Real good.

Laura was sobbing, but she didn’t look hurt.

“Braxton? Did you see Braxton?”

Bonnie’s mouth was moving, but he couldn’t hear her.

“What? Did you see Braxton?”

Her mouth moved again.

“I can’t hear you!” he yelled.

She finally shook her head. That was when he realized that besides the rain, she was crying.

“No! That can’t be right,” he yelled.

Mateo turned to look at Gideon’s demolished house. He didn’t hear anything.

Nothing.

“Braxton!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. At least he thought he did; he couldn’t hear shit. He started to run forward, but his knees gave out and he fell on his face.

He lifted his head. “Braxton!” he yelled again.

Was he hearing sirens? Who the fuck knew.

“Braxton!” Over and over and over again, he yelled for his friend.

He felt something touch his head. A hand. He looked up. It was Bonnie.

“Lucy?” he croaked out her name.

Bonnie slowly shook her head.

The smoke seemed to swirl around him, turning everything gray. He watched the tears drip down her face, leaving clean tracks through the ash. Then his world went black.

3

Mateo gagged and rolled over on his side, sure he was going to vomit, but nothing came out. Was there anything worse than dry heaves?

Where was he?

He tried to push up, but he fell back down again, but at least he landed on something soft.

He took a deep breath and the sharp scent of alcohol-based disinfectants and latex assaulted his senses, and he gagged again.

He was in a hospital. There was something worse than dry heaving.

“Yo, drink some water. It’ll help.”

He squinted but couldn’t make out a face.

“Why am I—” he croaked out the question in a voice that sounded like a rocky landslide.