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Fuck. That really hurt.
I dug my fingers into my scalp as the echo grew louder still. I turned toward the men, only to see a look of anger and worry cross their faces.
“I told you not to move,” Tavik roared but I could hardly hear them at all. Instead, my vision began to waver, the sound echoing powerfully within my skull and I screamed. The dark shapes above me drew closer until Zane grabbed me and threw me to the ground, covering my body completely with his.
The hum buzzed loud, before it eventually stopped. It began up again, only to pause once more. The intermittent gaps of silence gave me relief, but the pain was still too strong for me to even thinking about getting up.
“We need to get away from here, now. The drones would have marked her location and they’ll be sending artillery any second,” Caleb said.
“I told her not to fucking move,” Tavik muttered, his fury clear, but my head hurt too much for me to care anymore. Zane’s body heat over mine was comforting though and I tried to focus on him instead. The humming still buzzed, the thing likely still searching for me and something whistled loud nearby. Then I heard another, and another. It sounded like a firework of some kind.
“Fuck. Run,” Valdus exclaimed, his panic palpable.
Before I knew it, Zane had jumped up and thrown me over his shoulder and the four of them were sprinting through the woods. As he ran, his arms held me tight, keeping me from bouncing against his body. I could feel his heartbeat, strong and fast against my waist and I forgot to breathe for a long moment. I lifted my head and looked backwards, watching the tree I’d hidden beneath as Zane sprinted away with all his might.
What looked like a thousand falling stars began to fall from the sky, little red orbs shooting down toward the ground. For a long moment, I wondered at its beauty, oblivious to what it actually was until one of them hit the ground. An explosion of fire consumed the tree I’d hidden beneath, causing the wood to shatter and fly apart into a million little pieces.
Then another bomb fell.
All of a sudden, a sea of red painted my vision. Fire rose in every direction as artillery fell from the sky. The heat seared the tiny hairs on my arms and I curled into Zane’s embrace in order to protect myself. I couldn’t tear my eyes away though and I watched as the woods I had once called home blazed with fire and destruction.
Beside us, Valdus roared with a scream of pain and anger. In a panic, I lifted my head and saw him stumble as a fiery remnant shot off in his direction, slamming into his chest and making him stagger. His shirt went up in flames and he threw himself on the ground. I wanted to run and help, but Zane held me tight, not allowing me to move even an inch. I saw Valdus roll in the wet leaves on the ground, his grunts of pain tearing at my soul, and thankfully, the fire was extinguished within a few seconds, but not before I saw the fiery pink burns against his purple skin. He didn’t pause to rest. Instead, he jumped to his feet, falling a bit behind from the rest of us. Tears prickled at my eyes. I wasn’t sure if it was the smoke or the fact that it was my fault that Valdus had gotten hurt.
“Which way?” Caleb asked over the roar of the weapons.
Tavik didn’t answer. He just pointed. We ran for what felt like miles in silence, bombs dropping behind us until I was sure the landscape we’d left behind was sure to be entirely wiped out. All I saw was fire. All the leaves that had fallen from the trees blazed hotly and would burn for some time to come. Trees that had once rose high up in the air now flared like beacons. My sorrow swelled, and I hid my face against Zane’s back.
I bit my lip.
I could have been killed. All of us could have been killed because I hadn’t remained hidden beneath the tree.
The men slowed down their pace, until finally, they paused to catch their breath. Valdus had caught up with the group and the look of pain on his face was obvious, but we hadn’t had any time to tend to his wounds. When we finally did stop, it was in a very small clearing, with barely enough room for the five of us to stretch out together.
Zane paused his movements and held me still on his shoulder. I could hear his breath, haggard with exertion and I didn’t move. His hands drifted up, caressing the curves of my ass and I sighed, enjoying the feeling, but it didn’t last long. Then, he lifted me and put my feet back on the ground. His gaze searched up and down my body, in a clinical fashion. Next, he ran his hands all over me in an effort to ensure that I was still in one piece and that I wasn’t hurt. I knew I wasn’t, but it felt comforting all the same.
“No burns?” he asked, his face awash with concern.
“No,” I answered, knowing he would want confirmation.
Tavik stood at the perimeter of the small clearing we’d stopped in. He wouldn’t turn my way and I began to grow nervous. What if he was angry with me? What if he just decided to kill me now and forgo holding me captive? I tried to swallow my fears as I sat down on a nearby fallen log, but I couldn’t. Caleb’s eyes found mine though, and I felt a little bett
er because of it.
“What was that?” I asked as Caleb moved to sit next to me. I noticed his eyes drifting across my body too, quickly ensuring I wasn’t injured either.
“An incoming tracker patrol unit from the Vakarran army. It has human body heat-sensing technology and once detected, if the target isn’t immediately secured, it sends in heavy artillery in order to ensure death. You wouldn’t have made it out alive if it wasn’t for us. Worst of all, ground patrols will likely investigate the surrounding area for the next few days, if they’ve arrived on Earth by now.” He sighed. “We were supposed to arrive in Atlanta within two days, but now we’re going to have to delay our arrival. If we don’t, we could lead the patrols straight to the Resistance and that could prove dangerous,” Caleb murmured, and I shivered.
“If she’d fucking listened, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place. Now, we’re all at risk because of her foolishness,” Tavik spat, his green eyes darkening in my direction.
Damn. I guess he was still mad then.
Zane met my eyes. I saw a measure of sad acceptance there and I began to feel nervous.
“I’ll see to it that she’s punished in the morning, Tavik,” Zane offered, and my skin ran cold. What the hell did that mean? The last Vakarran I wanted to be alone with was Zane. I knew his tastes ran dark and I had a feeling he wanted to hurt me. Even now, I could see the shadowy excitement beginning to build in his eyes.
“No. You can’t,” I squeaked, staring at the dark eyes of the one member of the battalion that truly gave me chills. I looked at Caleb for some measure of support, but even he wouldn’t look at me then.
“Yes. He will. And once you’ve been adequately disciplined, you’ll crawl to me on your hands and knees and show me exactly how sorry you are. Show all of us how sorry you are,” Tavik growled. Despite his anger, my body ran hot, imagining myself crawling before him and taking him in my mouth. I licked my lips in disbelief. I tried to look at Valdus and Caleb for support, but neither of them offered even a whisper of it. Instead, I turned back to Zane, who appeared rather calm, but a fiery eager desire burned in his gaze.
