Kate
He’s dragging me out of the building, I can hardly walk let alone run because the pain in my legs and sides is intense. We stumble down steps and into a labyrinth of snow and corpses. The snow is stained red under bodies beaten so brutally you’d assume a great war was once waged right here, yet Rune has not one scratch on him. My head throbs with a splitting pressure, my pulse roaring in my ears.Who is the real enemy here? What’s really going on? How do I get to Claire?
I stare down at the bodies, holding back my screams.
He pushes my chin in the opposite direction, guiding me around the dead. “Don’t look.”
Yeah, thanks. A little too late for that.
I wipe my trembling hands over my eyes, trying to brush away the clinging snowflakes from my eyelashes. I lean into him for support, I’m not sure how far I can get like this. “You did that? By yourself?”
His head snaps up and he rubs at the back of his neck for a moment before meeting my stare. His mouth curls down at each end.
A shiver skitters down my spine.
I stop walking; the tips of my boots are covered in snow and blood. I’m looking down at them, trying to figure out all the questions I have for him, everything I need answered.
“I want you to tell me everything,” I say.
“What makes you think I know anything?” he snaps.
“Where are you from? Why is the world like this? Is it all over, in every country? What’s going on?” I brace myself for the answers, trying to overlook the horrifying sensation biting at my thoughts. I know what he’ll say is ridiculous, something made for blockbuster films and not for real life, but looking around I know now—anything is possible. I take a deep, steady breath, waiting for his answers.
Rune quickly pulls me by the elbow, ignoring my questions.
I stand my ground and the soles of my boots skid wetly over the slush-covered ground as he continues to drag me along.
He doesn’t stop until I yank my arm away. “I want answers!”
Immediately, his face is an inch away from mine, voice hissing so low I can barely understand what he’s saying. “We’re not alone here.Move.”
My hands clench into fists, my nails carving crescents into my flesh. By the time I realize he might be telling me the truth, it’s too late. Shadows are shifting in the thick air around us, rushing toward us.
We both stagger back. My heart races, almost exploding in my chest. I grip Rune’s hand. It’s a thoughtless act, one that I’m going to have to revisit at some point when I’m not about to run for my life.
Rune jerks me to the left and we tear out of there faster than I could ever imagine possible. My eyes lock on what’s straight ahead, but from their corners I can see the darkening shadows of the things at our heels. Large dark figures—I can almost feel breath against my back.
Squinting through the swirling snow, up ahead I see the shadowy forms of the men.Were they with the ones I just escaped from?We’re running back in the direction we came from. I want to stop and go back, but there’s no turning around. I hesitate when we reach the pile of bodies. My legs are dark red up to the shins of my pant legs, my skin underneath so frozen it’s numb. I squeeze his hand so his head snaps back at me. “Let’s hide under the—”
I feel my feet tangle, slipping over the icy mess in the street. A razor-sharp pain stabs through my knees and hands as they collide and scrape over the grit covering the asphalt. Bits of rock and cement slice into my skin and I cry out in pain. I end up eye level with a pile of dead bodies.
This, of course, makes me scream even louder.
Whatever’s behind us picks up speed; a freight train headed right for us. From the ground, all I have time to do is raise my eyes to Rune. My chest sinks knowing he’ll leave me and try to save himself. I drop his hand and brace myself. His eyes widen then look over my shoulder.
Cold fingers jab into my armpits. I can feel their iciness through my vest and the ground sliding out from underneath me. Ice and slush soak the bottom of my pants as he hauls me up the steps into a building—a brownstone. The door is open, dangling sideways from broken hinges.
Once inside, I’m scooped up tightly in his arms as he runs up a flight of stairs. The building is dark and the hallways are narrow, covered with crumbling bricks and long hanging strips of wallpaper. You can tell it was once beautiful, full of rich people’s antiques and decorative snobbery.
He runs into the first room and tosses me on some soft piece of furniture. It’s a bedroom. “Don’t move too much, you’re hurt.”
Light from the windows throws a hazy glow across the room. There’s not much inside except for the bed, a small armoire, and the window. An enormous fireplace takes up one wall. It’s big enough for both of us to lie down in. Crystal frames hold pictures of a happy family in all different poses across its mantle.
I don’t think that family is happy where they are now.
The window is where Rune goes immediately. Hands splayed against the glass, he looks down, eyes absorbing everything.
Pain stabs at my knees but I hobble next to him anyway.
“You shouldn’t be moving around. You need to rest—”
“I’m fine,” I lie, watching him. That’s twice he’s saved me now. Twice he didn’t let me die. I want to say thank you but my vocal cords refuse to show him gratitude, so I remain silent. But my heart skips a small beat in my chest.
On the other side of the dirty glass, one floor down, out on the street, enormous shapes hover over the bodies below.
“What the f—,” I say, pressing heavily against the cold glass, my gaze wide as I watch through the falling snow. “What are they doing? Are theydressingthose dead bodies in the metal suits?”
Rune’s breath steams out across the window, his eyes narrowing at the sight below. “Yes,” he whispered, “I just don’t understand why.”
