The door can only be opened by someone on the inside.
Looking at the people behind me who were waiting for me to guide them, I steeled myself. I had to.
My guys will be okay. They’ll be okay.
I just need to get these people to safety first, and then I’ll come back.
With tears running down my face, I spoke with a shaky voice. “Follow me.”
I did my best not to space out. Not to let my thoughts go back to the gunshots that I heard before the back door closed on me.
The big bus looked like heaven as it entered my sight.
I saw from the windows that people were already filling the space, standing and trying to make room for the next group that I led there.
“I’m so sorry, but please squeeze in,” I said as I got to the doorway of the bus, guiding people up the steps.
I hate to do this. Make them feel claustrophobic after being trapped in a cage, but this was all they got.
Four teenagers, and one fucking bus.
After the woman, who had stumbled on her feet earlier, finally got inside, I gently placed the infant back in her arms.
“I’m… I need to come back for them, okay? Just… this button, it closes and opens the door,” I said to no one in particular, sobbing softly in a panic, because now that I’ve finally guided everyone here, I needed to go back.
I was about to get off the bus, when I heard footsteps approaching, and I couldn’t leave.
I can’t take it in me to leave a bus full of vulnerable people and break into a run to get my guys.
Grabbing the gun I had tucked in the waistband of my pants, I aimed at the clearing, my hand shaking as I put one finger on the safety, waiting for a bad guy to come through.
Breathe.
I could almost hear Nero say, pretending it was him guiding me through firing a gun.
Control your shake.
That’s something Siege would try to say.
Aim for the head.
Dex would be the type of asshole who would tell me that.
I almost fired the gun as soon as I saw a head, but thankfully, I was too chicken to hurt someone, because the head tilted up and I saw Nero looking at the barrel of the gun. Siege and Dex were holding him up, his arms on both their shoulders.
Keeping the safety on, I tuck it back behind me, on the waistband of my jeans, before I was running to my guys, throwing my weight in them.
Good thing they were three built guys or I would’ve been a bowling ball, them the pins.
“What the fuck happened? Did you get shot?” I was still crying, pulling away from the four-way-hug I just tried to do to look at Nero’s leg that he was holding up.
“Go on, tell our girl what fucking happened,” Siege said, sweat covering his face so that some of his hair stuck to his forehead.
Looking at Nero with my brows furrowed in worry, he only cleared his throat as he muttered, “I slipped on the goddamn severed finger.”
Despite the situation, and the new trauma I’m sure we’ll go through together as a group, I laughed, leaning forward for another hug.
I’m so fucking done being an honorary Azul.
