The main door burst inward, a metal object tossed inside.
My body knew what was happening before my brain did. I spun toward the hallway leading to the back exit right as a grenade exploded, shrapnel flying. Thrown forward along with the mangled debris of chairs and the shredded remains of corpses, my shoulder slammed into the wall. A yelp tore from my throat, and I crumpled to the ground.
The injury in my left leg locked up, my thigh cramping. I couldn’t stand.
Blurry anarchy descended. The tinny ringing in my ears deafened me. Dazed, I lifted my head to find throngs of Hunters invading the room. Adrenaline spiked, tingling in my fingertips. The pain in my leg disappeared.
I reached into my pocket, fingers hooking into the metal hoops of the knuckles. Screams pierced the ringing as Hunters wrangled prisoners, slicing the throats of the dying. I scrambled to my feet, using the wall as a brace.
I started toward the back door with several others, tripping over dead bodies in my effort to move quicker.
The deadly tattoo of gunfire added to the pandemonium, and the man next to me dropped to the ground.
I ran faster.
First to reach the door, I crashed into the push bar. The metal slid beneath my sweaty, bloody fingers, but I managed to escape into the cold air.
As I straightened, my heart stalled, then beat overtime. Hunters had surrounded the property. Several pairs of eyes landed on me.
My stomach dropped, but my grip on the knuckles tightened. Searching for an escape, my gaze darted over each Hunter, settling on one with kind eyes.
His face lit up. “Well, well. Look at you.” He called over his shoulder, “Hey, Colonel!”
A spike of elation drove through my chest. Could he mean Lucas? Fleeing Defiants poured from the door behind me, pushing me forward. They were wrangled by the awaiting enemy.
My attention zeroed in on the man now walking toward me.
No.
No, no, no.
Jack Miller smiled, clasping Kind Eyes on the shoulder. “Good job there, soldier.”
Panic tore through every fiber of my being.
I ran.
Two of them grabbed me before I made it even a few feet. I cut one of them, but he wrenched my weapon from me.
“Where the hell did you get Hunter knuckles?”
They held my arms and turned me to face Miller. He sauntered toward me. When his gaze slithered over my face, it widened, and a flame caught behind his eyes.
“Fuck me, gents, I think I found me a keeper.” He reached out to touch my cheek, and I snapped at him. “Feisty little thing.” He seized me, fingers digging into my upper arms.
“No!” I jerked away, trying to dislodge his grip. A fleeting spark of hope lit when one hand released me, only to be extinguished as he punched me across the face, breaking the skin of my cheek.
Exquisite electric shocks sizzled into my eye and ear, dazing me.
“That’s better,” he said above the buzzing in my brain. “Why don’t you give us a smile, sugar?”
I spat in his face.
His fist landed a blow to my temple, knocking my head to the side. Stars danced in my vision, and the world tilted dangerously to the left.
He stepped closer. The sandalwood in his cologne and the winter air mixed, poisoning those scents for me forever.
The third punch knocked me out cold.
