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One look to their left and Nik’s stomach dropped. Smoke was rising from the entrance to Rysburg. Ali shuddered next to him. This undoubtedly felt like deja vu for her. She’d said she didn’t want to live through an attack like this again, and he was determined that she wouldn’t. They would get out.
Nik squeezed her trembling hand. “Eli isn’t up there. Follow me.”
He knew the post Eli was working tonight, assuming his assignment hadn’t been changed again.
“The Coyotes. The group that attacked you. They’re here now?” Ali’s breath was strained as she ran behind him toward Eli’s post.
“It would appear so. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible.”
Nik tried not to concern himself with the shouts coming from the other side of town. As long as they got to Eli in time, they could escape and run like their lives depended on it. He would leave all of this in the past. There wasn’t anything here worth saving.
Let them have it all.
They made their way down the familiar path toward Eli’s post, this time not bothering to hide. Sneaking wasn’t necessary when a dozen other people were running next to them. Despite the nightmare of being attacked, the timing presented an opportunity.
They could see Eli standing atop the wall immediately, looking past them in the direction of the entrance. They climbed the ladder with lightning speed and Eli reached out a hand to help Nik up the remaining steps. Nik offered him a bag with belongings they’d packed for him and he threw it over his back, tightening the straps.
“What the hell is happening?” Ali asked as he pulled Ali up the wall. He stared below them as several others began to climb the ladder too. “Who are these people?”
“Rysburg is under attack,” Ali said. “They followed us. Everyone is running away from the main gate. It’s chaos down there. We need to go.”
Eli grabbed a thick rope with knots spaced out every two feet. He tied it on one end and slung it over the other side of the wall. Before they climbed down, he scanned the ground below and the treeline in the distance. They couldn’t be sure there was no one waiting to attack this side of town. But there was no one in plain sight, and it was a risk they’d have to take.
“Go on. I’ll make sure they all get down,” Eli volunteered.
Ali climbed down first. The rough rope burned her hands as she moved too fast. The ground on this side was uneven, and she stumbled when she reached the bottom. It was rocky and sloped downward toward the woods. If anyone was watching, they’d have the advantage.
Nik climbed down after her and she made her way down the large rocks to make room for the remaining refugees. They were slick from the rain, and he watched as she slipped and regained her footing.
“I’m okay,” she yelled back when she realized he was watching. She nodded up toward the rope and his attention returned to the men, women, and even a young child descending now.
Nik helped each of them while Ali led the way down the rocky path toward the valley. At last, Eli slid down the rope and he and Nik brought up the rear.
They trudged through the mud that separated the forest from the rocks. Nik’s feet were sopping. His shoes did little to keep out the cold and wet.
They walked a few feet into the woods and Nik looked up in time to see Ali frozen in place. It was dark and he could hardly make out her outline in the shadows. Something shifted at her side and his stomach dropped.
They weren’t alone.
It had been a gamble and now he knew it had been a losing one. Nik traced her body in the dark and saw with horror that the stranger had a hand on her already, tugging at her elbow.
Nik weaved through the rest of the group until he was in front of them, staring into the man’s dark and demented eyes.
“Please,” he said roughly, his voice caught in his throat. “Please don’t hurt her.”
“Ah, he lives.”
Nik recognized the voice. The man hadn’t bothered with a mask this time, and Nik could see a long jagged scar down the front of his face. It cut from one temple down to the opposite side of his chin. This was the same man who’d directed his men to beat Nik within an inch of his life. Daunting images of Ali facing the same fate flooded his vision. He saw her lying on the ground, bleeding to death. Too broken to fix.
“Please, I’ll do anything.”
The trees behind the man began to move. More bodies shifted in the moonlight.
The lump in Nik’s throat grew. He didn't know how they could get out of this. Not without leaving Ali behind. He turned to Eli beside him and whispered, “Run. Take them. Take the others to safety.”
Eli glanced at Nik from the corner of his eye. He was watching Ali just as fiercely as Nik had been. “No. You’ll die. You’ll both die.”
“These people need you, Eli. They need a leader. They’ve never had to fend for themselves. Please, take them and go. I’ll figure out something.”
