No time. No time. Oh God, was she really about to do this?
Caroline threw the edge of the tarp back and a fresh wave of rotting stench bombarded her senses. She gagged. Pale, almost white, sightless eyes stared back at her. Flies and other creatures she couldn’t name crawled in and out of rotting cavities. Dried blood caked faces and chests and limbs. The tangled mass of horror lay before her. It was the stuff of nightmares. No, it was worse than a nightmare. This was something she couldn’t wake up from. The sight wouldn’t fade from her memory as days passed, it would be forever ingrained in her mind. An atrocity she couldn’t wrap her head around or even begin to understand. There were children in there.
Fighting against the nausea, she said a silent apology to Reaper and hooked her hands underneath his armpits and pulled him in the direction of the piled up corpses.
He stirred, fresh blood spilled from his bullet wound, but he did not waken. Her adrenaline must’ve fueled her strength because she was able to scoot him inch by inch across the floor to the very edge of the pile of bodies. She should probably bury him underneath a couple of them to truly conceal him, but she didn’t have the strength. So she turned him over onto his stomach and pulled the closest corpse down on top of him.
The latch jiggled again, rough metal on metal screeching across her nerves. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t put herself beneath someone’s dead body.
And then a long, loud screech skidded through the room, a sound more terrifying than keeping company with corpses. The soldier had managed to open the latch. Caroline sucked in a breath as she lifted up a woman of around her size and crawled beneath her, floundering blindly for the edge of the tarp, fingers closing around the rough material and yanking it down a second before the door banged open.
And then there was nothing but darkness and the most god-awful smell—one she didn’t think she’d ever be able to forget.
“Search the entire building, you idiot!” The commander’s voice was muffled but clear. Caroline closed her eyes and began to pray.
The loud footsteps echoed through the building, more than likely quiet but so loud to Caroline’s overwrought senses they sounded like pick axes pounding against a concrete floor.
Please don’t let him look under the tarp.
His footsteps grew louder. He was walking over the exact spot they had just vacated. Dear God, what if he noticed the blood on the floor from Reaper? Would it stand out? There was blood on the floor all around the tarp anyway, but it was drier and older.
Something long and prickly crawled up her arm. Terror took hold and Caroline bit down on her cheeks so hard she tasted blood. The darkness started closing in and a panic attack began working its way around her lungs, shrinking, compressing, killing.
Silent tears streamed down her cheeks, but it was the only outward reaction she would allow herself. Anything else might get her killed.
Where was the soldier? Had he left without her noticing?
The darkness. The bodies.
She couldn’t breathe. She had to get out.
No, no, no. Fight it. Fight it. Think about what he would say. There was still air in the room; she could still breathe. She wasn’t being crushed to death. The bodies, however horrifying, wouldn’t kill her. But the man standing on the other side of the tarp holding a gun could.
As if her thoughts had summoned him, he shuffled closer, mere feet from her head. She stopped thinking altogether as a rustling sound filled her ears. She saw the light first and then felt fresh breeze. He was lifting the tarp. Caroline turned her head away, closing her eyes and forcing her body to go limp. The weight of the dead woman pressed against her.
Please let her hijab completely cover her hair.
The soldier made a gagging noise and cursed. He dropped the tarp and stumbled back. “No boss, no one been in here.”
For the first time in Caroline’s life, she embraced the darkness.
The minutes ticked by. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but she’d long ago stopped trying to keep up. She had to make sure the building was completely empty before she could risk pulling Reaper from the pile.
Finally, after only the sounds of the flies buzzing reached her ears, Caroline risked reaching out to lift the tarp. The pink and orange glow of the setting sun filled the room, but nothing else. She didn’t sense anyone else in the room.
Carefully, she eased up from the pile, the cold dead flesh of the woman on top of her pulling across her skin. Exhausted, Caroline fell onto the floor and rolled onto her back. Her stomach revolted and she staggered onto her hands and knees and vomited.
As soon as she was in control of herself again, she searched out Reaper and began tugging him from the pile. It was harder this time. The energy from the adrenaline had burned off, leaving her exhausted and worn out. At least Reaper was unconscious and he wouldn’t have to bear this memory.
The sound of his clothes rasping against the others while she finally extracted him sent another rush of vomit burning up her throat, but she bit it back this time. Fresh blood poured out of Reaper’s shoulder from all the tugging and pulling. She didn’t have the luxury of throwing up again. Nor did she have the time to reflect on what she’d been forced to do to survive.
If she didn’t get him out of this place and find medical supplies, Reaper would die.
She grabbed his good arm, draped it over her shoulders and attempted to stand. Reaper’s massive weight yanked her right back down to the floor. Her knees banged into the concrete and she yelped in pain. Exhaustion crept through her muscles, her brain, even through her skin. Every single inch of her body screamed for her to lie down beside him and rest.
The men would probably not come back again tonight after the building had been cleared. She could close her eyes and relent to the sweet oblivion of sleep and pray she woke up fresh and ready for tomorrow’s challenges.
But if she did that, Reaper might not wake up at all. And no amount of fatigue was worth his life. Determined, she dragged his arm over her shoulders and once more attempted to stand and lift her warrior, but she couldn’t even straighten her back. He was simply too big and too heavy, making it physically impossible for her to carry him from this building.
Darkness crept into the warehouse, the shade of night camouflaging them from prying eyes. Her only hope was to wake Reaper for long enough to get him on his feet so they could get somewhere and hide out. She just didn’t know if she could wake him.
