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We kept walking.
People screamed nonsense above our heads.
We kept walking.
The rustling of feet and bodies on the deck slowed.
We kept walking.
“Please calm down. We have the suspect, but as you can imagine after hearing gunfire, I can say with certainty, he is guilty.”
What the fuck? The Captain just made himself judge, jury, and executioner?
We had reached the point where the engineering tunnel, by my estimation, was just over the side. The journey felt pointless now, but we still had to get off the side of the boat.
Rage filled my body. Thoughts about murdering Dean took over my mind. I would end him and be alone with the boys and my baby. This was my child and no one else’s because no one on this miserable forsaken planet would do except for Sam. No father at all was better than what Dean offered.
I killed a worthless man before, and the world was better for it. The last thing this world needed was more pathetic, manipulating, insignificant men. I could do it again.
Lori insisted I go first because I had hurt myself in the fall. I hated to admit it, but she was right. Without someone else pushing, I was unsure if I could pull myself over.
When I made it to the side of the boat, no drones were in sight, and the agriculture building blocked any view of Captain Matthews. Most of the passengers had stilled, waiting for something. They twisted their faces in confusion and disgust. I trembled with the thought of who they saw and in what state that person was in.
Had he been shot or killed?
I made it over the edge, numb to the pain that radiated throughout my body. Lori’s boys followed, and I pulled them by the back of their shirts until they fell to my feet. Beau and Lewis were in deep conversation, and when it was their turn, Beau, to my surprise, stepped forward. He used the flat palms of his hands to balance as Lori pushed him upwards with his legs and then the bottoms of his feet. I gripped his wrists and grimaced as the metal pushed into my hip.
“Like spiderman,” Beau said, wrapping his arms around me.
I placed him on the ground. “Forever my superhero, baby.”
Lewis was at his side less than a minute later, and Lori made it up after only a few tries, and I ignored the searing pain that shot up my side. It throbbed and burned like nothing I had ever experienced, but we were all safely within twenty feet of the entryway.
“Who is it?” Lori breathed. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her eyes were wild.
“I can’t tell. I can’t see.” I surveyed what I could from our vantage point. “I think this may be our opportunity to go, but I can’t. I have to know if it’s him.”
“You heard the gunfire. If it is, he could be dead.”
My mind spun, weighing every option. I had children to care for, but there was also the child inside me. That baby deserved the chance to have a father, and that man might have a gun to his head right now. I could speak up for him and plead with Dean. Then I could sort out killing that fucking bastard later.
“It’s Sam,” Lori whispered. She rocked my shoulder, but I kept staring off into space.
“We don’t know that,” I argued, but my voice was uneven. The quiver in my jaw came through every word.
Lori slapped her hand on my thigh. “No, it’s Sam.”
I spun my head to face her. “We don’t know that. Just let me think.”
“Dammit, Rowan! Over there, it’s fucking Sam. He’s right fucking there.”
My heart leaped from my chest and I sprung to my feet, but the sharp pain in my hip brought me back to the ground. Before I landed on my ass, I was in Sam’s arms. His panicked eyes met mine. When he wrapped his arms around me, I yelped from the pain.
He pulled away with a start. “Are you hurt?”
“Not too bad. I landed on my hip. What the fuck is going on? I thought you were…” I trailed off.
Sam brought his lips to my ear. “When the red out happened, I waited by the entrance thinking you would be here...” The screaming of the crowd stopped his sentence short. Everyone quieted as the Captain urged them to calm down through the speakers all around us.
