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Before I realized what was happening, I collapsed against him, sobbing. It wasn’t a manly cry by any means. Oh no. It was a collection of snot and tears and gasps. Sarge remained rigid, unsure on how to comfort me, before awkwardly patting my back.
I cried for Addie and all she had endured.
I cried for my mom, choosing to live a life on the streets to feed her addiction. She had chosen drugs over her own son. Over me.
I cried for my baby sister whose life had been snuffed out too early.
And I cried for myself. The realization came crashing down on me, the onslaught bordering the precarious line between pain and relief.
I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sacrifice my life for a twisted version of vengeance.
I’m so sorry, Allison.
Everything became simple. Black and white instead of a thousand shades of grey.
I was choosing Addie, as I had done countless times before. And maybe, just maybe, she had chosen me back.
* * *
Addie
Calax scooped me up, setting the radio into my lap. I gripped it tightly in my hand. Distantly, I was aware of a screeching coming from outside the house. The sound was getting louder and louder with each passing second.
“They’re here!” Ryder stood in the doorway, eyes wild and face ashen.
“What’s going on?” I asked, anxiously glancing from face to face.
“Some asshole is driving a police car with the sirens blaring,” Ryder said through clenched teeth. “It led the Ragers right to us.”
Fear paralyzed me, sparking down my spine and to the toes of my feet.
“Who would do such a thing?” Either someone was an idiot or...or this was intentional. But who? Questions assaulted me, but I knew now was not the time to get answers.
“Ronan and Asher are collecting more supplies from the hospital,” Ryder filled in as we moved down the long hallway and to the staircase. “We’ll meet them there. Tamson is starting the car. Doc and Kai are with him.”
“Weapons?” Calax asked, hurrying his pace. The siren was just outside our house now, the sound very near deafening.
“None with me,” Ryder replied briskly. Before anyone could say anything else, there was the sound of a window shattering. Fine particles of glass flung through the air, a few keen shards nicking my skin.
A Rager crawled through the window.
Its body held evidence of the recent surge of acid rain. Peeling skin, darkening to a sickly red color. Hair leaving its head in clumps. Brittle bone appearing at intermittent intervals throughout its body. It...or was it a he? His genitals were on full display, somehow demoting him from a monster to a human.
Ryder lunged, slamming into the Rager’s deformed body and taking them both to the ground. His fingers dug into the creature’s neck, loose skin breaking until the brittle, offset white bone was revealed. I turned my face into Calax’s chest, resisting the urge to vomit, as the putrid stench of blood bombarded my senses.
The creature writhed and bucked beneath Ryder, but he held firm, never once removing his hands from the Rager’s neck.
With a sudden burst of strength, the Rager shoved Ryder off of him. Blood and skin dribbled down his face as he leaned over my lover.
“No!” I screamed, voice a mere rasp. At the noise, the creature’s feral gaze whipped in my direction. There was nothing remotely human in his red, pinprick eyes. He was a shell of a man. The monster had completely overtaken him. I was wrong in my initial assessment. Not a he. An it.
Ryder used its distraction to slide out from underneath, crawling towards the door. There was an ugly gash in his chest that hadn’t been there before, but otherwise, he looked relatively unharmed.
“Shit,” Calax murmured, arms tightening around me. He took a step backwards, eyes locked on the creature…
Until a rough hand grabbed at us from behind. Calax let out a curse, shielding my body more firmly with his own. The new Rager clambered through the broken window, clawed hand snaring on Calax’s shirt. Another one appeared over her shoulder, this one just as grotesque as all the others. More and more were invading the house, circling us like we were prey and they were the hunters. I supposed it wasn’t an inaccurate analogy.
There were too many of them.
