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I stood there in awe as the group ran toward me, barely noticing one of the soldiers loomed twice as tall as the others, unnaturally so. But the man who had saved me bent down so his face was at eye-level with mine, obstructing my view of the massive soldier behind him.
The man’s eyes roamed over my face and body, cataloging the damage.
He looked to be around the same age as me.
“I’m good,” I told him. A lie.
He nodded his head as if knowing so, a few strands of his dark hair falling forward.
He didn’t wear a helmet like I did. Instead, most of his thick chin-length hair was pushed back out of his face, framing his perfect jaw where it came to rest below his ears.
“Four more, six o’clock,” one of the soldiers said, a female.
I peered around the man to find the female soldier’s wild eyes assessing me. The state of her dark, untamed curls just as wild.
The man looked up at the moon making its descent as dawn approached. “Kill them,” he directed to the group. “We have to go.”
This man must be the leader.
The soldiers lifted their weapons, firing more of the molten-like liquid.
“Adrian,” the man said, speaking to another, but staring only at me, “help me get her over the wall.”
Who I assumed to be Adrian stepped forward with a strong face devoid of emotion. “She can’t come with us, Leo.” He didn’t even bother looking my way. “She stays behind.”
I’d bet many would be intimidated by this man named Adrian, with his serious stance and harsh voice that promised violence. But he didn’t intimidate me. In fact, I wanted to argue with him just for telling me I couldn’t do something; this brute wasn’t going to tell me where I could and couldn’t go. But Hunter was still out there somewhere. And I couldn’t leave my brother behind.
“He’s right, I can’t leave.”
Adrian’s eyes locked on mine, his eyebrows lifting in slight surprise.
Had he wanted me to put up a fight?
“Niall . . . My brother—”
“We’ll come back for them.” The man Leo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as if torn. “But right now we need to retreat like everyone else.”
I didn’t bother telling him there would be no Niall to come back for.
Niall was gone.
And my heart ached.
I considered demanding Leo help me find Hunter, but my brother was in the city. Getting to him would be nearly impossible without a tank for protection; the creatures were far more dangerous than my superiors had accounted for.
Based on the weaponry Leo’s group was working with, they had to be some kind of special ops called in as backup. Sticking with their group was my best chance at survival right now.
“Leo,” Adrian hissed, “she can’t come. They’ll—”
Leo growled, “She’s coming and that’s final.” He nodded his head toward the top of the wall, glaring at Adrian. “Climb the fucking wall.”
Adrian rolled his eyes and stepped back four paces before running straight at the wall.
He scaled the concrete quickly, hauling himself up and over the top with ease.
I stared at the wall with wonder.
“Your turn.” Leo placed his hands on my waist. His touch cool. “Arms up.”
