Page 106 of Ash Storm

Reka

There was pain, and something sweet—no, not sweet, salty—in her mouth.

Her brain wasn’t firing properly.

It’s blood, you fool.

Her ears were ringing loud enough that it was painful. And there was a weight on top of her that—

Rogue.

He dove over you to protect you.

Protect me from what?

She remembered the shiny cylinder on the screen.

Some kind of bomb?

A grenade?

Feeling sick to her stomach, Reka turned her head sideways. It was the only bit of her she could move.

She wasn’t in the van anymore—or rather, she was where the van had been, still lying on the floor of the van, but the entire top and sides of the vehicle seemed to have disintegrated.

She took a deep breath and struggled against the weight on her chest.

Rogue.

He hadn’t moved since the explosion.

What if he’s—

No.

Pulling together all her reserves of strength, she shoved his large body to the side, careful to move him as little as possible, then pulled herself to a sitting position. She struggled to recall her high school first aid.

Check if he’s breathing.

How?

Check if his chest is moving.

Shit.

Her eyes were watering so hard, she had no idea if his chest was moving or not.

“Rogue!”

She didn’t think she could bear it if he’d died for her.

“Rogue!”

“Stop shouting, bitch.”

She looked up to see a man, recognized him as one of the figures who’d been running towards the van. Though slim, he looked a lot bigger now than he had on the screen.

She giggled, then wondered how hard she’d hit her head.

In the next instant, her arms were jerked hard behind her, the pain jarring all the way up her arms and into her shoulders. The man applied duct tape to her wrists, pinning them in place, while a second figure put a thick roll of duct tape over her mouth.

A gun appeared in the man’s hand. With the barrel, he shoved at Rogue’s unconscious body.

Reka tried to scream, but all that came out was an unintelligible sound. “Mmmmppphh!”

Please don’t hurt him.