AllFreeNovel
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I spotted a pile of clothes on a table near one of the ambulances: scrubs and t-shirts. A little boy was handing them out to people who had stripped down to their undergarments to escape the insects’ attack.
“Look there.” I nudged Sariel with my shoulder and tilted my head in the direction of the child and his clothes.
“Stay h—”
“Let me do it,” I interrupted him.
“Fuck no.”
“Sariel, you'll scare him,” I reasoned. “I know you can’t see yourself right now, but if you go over there all shirtless and hot-headed, you’ll just garner attention. That is the last thing we need right now.”
He gave me an incredulous look before pulling me out of the way of an elderly couple hobbling towards us. “And you don’t thinkyouwill in that scrap of fabric?” he hissed quietly.
“Stay here. Search for Johnny and Marilyn,” I suggested evenly. “I’ll get us a change of clothes.”
I moved to step out of his reach, only to be halted by a large palm wrapping around my upper arm. Sariel’s jaw worked as his eyes flickered between both of mine, then dropped to my mouth. “I…” he swallowed, eyes rising to mine again. “Be safe.Please.”
There was something close to anguish in his expression. I nodded.
I could feel his gaze on me while I ducked my head and moved up to the table. I greeted the little boy with a smile; he handed me a shapeless black dress, and when I reached for a t-shirt and baseball cap, he helped me by handing them to me.
“Thank you,” I told him when he turned to serve another person.
“You’re welcome,” he answered, a small smile on his face.
Sariel watched me return, unmoving and unblinking, like if he so much as breathed too hard, I’d be gone again. It was so irrational, I could do nothing but hand him the shirt and hat I’d gotten him. I put the dress on over the sheer material, then yanked it off from underneath and left it tangled in the bushes, rippings the pearls and flowers out of my hair.
Sariel took my hand as we attempted to blend in with the departing crowd.
“I see them.”
“There’s Neo.”
Sariel and I murmured different things at the same time.
Our heads twisted in opposite directions, turning towards where the other had motioned.
A sudden explosion went off somewhere. Neo was slinking out of a side door not far from me. We locked eyes—his sight quickly raised to Sariel behind me, his lips twitching before falling back to me. He raised a questioning brow, and I mouthed the words, “Follow us.”
“Is he going to follow?” Sariel asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good, because our time is running out.”
I turned to where he was looking. A gate had opened, Paras flooding through it; they were armed and wore protective gear, unlike the ones who’d been at the trial itself. These were the prison guards.
“Get into two lines!” one snapped. A Captain, for certain. “No one leaves until we get to the bottom of this shit.”
He was tall and lean, a cigarette dangling from his lips and fingerless gloves on his hands. He looked like he belonged in the army with his buzz cut and aviators, especially since I caught a glimpse of dog tags when he shifted around. Perhaps he’d been in the military at some point. It wouldn’t surprise me if the American government sanctioned something like this; it loved patriotism and strong soldiers and showing off their own might.
“Anyone caught trying to vacate the premises will be shot and killed. That goes for civilians, too. Be good little fuckfaces and do as you’re told. Two lines per gender. Women form two lines, men form two lines. Little boys, you’re in line with the men, little girls, in line with the women,” he bellowed. He ashed his cigarette, eyeing the parking lot full of people when no one moved. He mumbled something I didn’t quite make out before drawing the gun strapped to his thigh and firing once in the air. “Four lines total. Form them starting in front of me. Get going.”
“Shit,” I breathed as the parking lot erupted into motion.
“I hope angelboy back there can keep up,” Sariel murmured. “Keep your head down and walk, I’m right behind you. Don’t stop no matter what. You’re heading straight for Johnny.”
My eyes narrowed when I spotted Johnny. He was standing next to a short brunette in a Para uniform—Marilyn, I suppose. I vaguely remembered seeing her face and hearing her voice, but I couldn’t recall much of anything after Tyler had tried to slice my throat open. Everything Neo had told me about her made me a little anxious around her.
