Page 64 of The Darkest Parts of Me

The only thing we have to our advantage is that he won’t fully understand what we say to each other.

“Maven.” She looks at me, her blue eyes full of fury. “Whatever you do, do it fast,” I say calmly.

“Renn, what—” she starts to say, but Colin puts a hand over her mouth, still holding the knife against her neck. I see the realization in her eyes of what to do next.

“PUT DOWN THE GUN NOW!” he screams, but then, as we all move in slow motion, she bites down hard on his hand. Colin yelps, and the second he loses his grip, she tries to break free, but I still can’t get a clear shot without risking hitting her. She pulls away for a moment only to be tugged back as Locke backhands her so hard across the face that she falls to the ground, unmoving.

Absolute horror is all I feel as I fire the gun, hitting Locke in the shoulder. He stumbles back a few steps, grasping the wound. Before I can fire again, I lose my balance, slipping in the mud, and it costs me dearly as Locke throws the knife still in his hand, striking me in the arm and causing me to drop the gun. Fury numbs the pain as I pull it from my flesh just in time to see Locke charging me. He tackles me, our bodies making a loud splat on the sodden ground.

With the knife still in my hand, I aim to stab him in the chest, only to find that he’s wearing body armor underneath. The blade only manages to rip the fabric of his jacket.

He hits it out of my hands, then uses his forearm to press into my throat, blocking my airway. I reach up, digging my fingers into the gunshot wound on his shoulder. He screams but doesn’t let up. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see movement.

Maven.

She picks up the knife and stabs Colin in the back, but because of the armor, it does nothing.

“The gun,” I manage to say, choking for air. She looks around, desperately trying to locate it. Locke removes his arm, punching me in the face before he stands to chase after Maven.

A tang of blood coats my tongue, but in seconds, I’m on my feet. Before he can reach her, I shove him down into the mud, except this time, I’m above him, pinning him.

“How has it been for you, Aldrenn? Knowing that they’re all dead because of you? She’ll be another soul to add to your list of failures,” he shouts up at me. He’ll do anything he can to make me suffer, but I intend to do the same. I will make him bleed, so I punch him repeatedly, my fist making contact with his face over and over again.

His attempt to fuel my despair works, so much so that I don’t notice the knife now lying close to Locke’s hand. He grips it, despite all the mud, and stabs me in the side. The adrenaline still thrums through me to block some of the pain, but I feel it enough that Locke manages to push me off, and I slip again on the muddy ground, landing on my back. The wound in my side stings as I try to get up, and I only manage to rise to my knees to pull the knife out of my flesh once again.

Click.

Locke holds my gun, aiming it at my chest and holding his shoulder with his other hand. Blood flows from his mouth and nose. Maven is standing a few yards away where she has been desperately looking for the gun, but now it’s too late. She looks from Locke to me. And I hate myself more than ever, because I’m about to die in front of her. And then what? Will Locke shoot her too?

“Run,” I tell her, and she shakes her head. “Maven, run.” But she doesn’t move.

“Just like I said, Renn, you couldn’t save the crew, and you won’t save her either,” he hisses at me. I turn to Maven to see her blue eyes wide and fearful, and there’s nothing I can do to make that fear go away. If I wasn’t about to die, that look would kill me enough, knowing that I did this to her. Colin has won.

“Maven,” I say, and her lips tremble, the emotion getting caught in my throat. “Forgive me. Please.” I bring my attention back to Locke. If he’s going to kill me then he’ll look me in the eyes as he does it. I won’t go down as a coward.

“I believe this is goodbye, Captain, and . . .” I hear a snarl, and Locke turns just in time for Shy to jump on top of him, taking him to the ground.

In a matter of seconds, I’m on my feet, sprinting as Shy latches on to his arm, shaking it violently. The gun lies on the ground a few inches away from his hand. He rolls onto his stomach and tries to reach for it, but I kick it away and then jump on top of him, shoving his face down into a muddy puddle. He gurgles and chokes in his attempts to break free for air, but he can’t lift his head above the water while Shy still chews up his arm. He jerks one last time in a final attempt, but my hands shove his face deeper into the mud.

It feels like hours and seconds all at once, but I know the moment Locke is dead. His body goes still as one does only in death. Shy’s teeth still sink into his flesh as she yanks at his arm. I’m overwhelmed by what she just did for me. “It’s okay, girl. Let go,” I say calmly. She obeys and lets it fall with a splat on the soggy ground.

I’m gripping Colin so hard that my fingers are locked up when I try to pry them away. Shy has a cord wrapped around her neck with the end frayed. She must have chewed through it to break free. Smart girl. I remove what’s left of the cord and toss it aside. I stand, staggering back due to the flaring pain from my side. The rain is just drizzling now, revealing the disturbing scene in front of me. Colin’s body face down in a puddle, and Maven falling to her knees, staring at his body with wide, terrified eyes, frozen, with mud and blood covering her. I cautiously approach her. She doesn’t move a muscle or look my way, not even as I kneel beside her. Shy trots over and licks her hand, trying to get her attention and to tell her, in her way, that it’s over now.

“Mave?” Nothing. She’s in shock, and I realize she might not even be able to hear me, but I have to get her inside the house. “Maven. You’re okay. It’s over. You’re safe.” Her body rocks slowly to the side, her eyes closing before I catch her, afraid she might faint. I try to brush back her hair to look at the wound on her temple. “Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay. I’ve got you,” I say, pulling her into my arms. She lazily lifts her eyes to me. “It’s okay. You’re okay,” I say again, and I don’t know if it’s unconsciously or not, but she wraps her arms around my neck.

I stand slowly, the wound in my side making me dizzy for a moment, but I manage to hold her legs in one arm with the other around her back. Shy follows me, her eyes on Maven in my arms. The ground is soaked and slick, so I move gingerly but as quickly as I can into the house, easing the door open and then setting her onto the couch.

“Don’t move,” I tell her, removing my coat and her shoes carefully before wrapping a blanket around her and then quickly moving to get the fire going again. She pulls the blanket around her tightly but still says nothing. Shy whines as she looks at me, clearly aware that I’m injured, probably from the scent of all the blood.

“Stay,” I tell her, so she sits beside Maven. The flames begin sparking to life, so I rush upstairs, not caring about the mud and blood I’m trekking over the floor as I retrieve the box beneath my bed, amazed that I haven’t passed out from blood loss yet. It must be the adrenaline keeping me upright. I open it quickly and swipe a glob of the healing ointment onto my wound, enough that I can take care of Maven first then reexamine it later. I throw it back into the box to carry it downstairs.

Maven is looking at the flames roaring to life in the fireplace as I set the box down gently, trying not to startle her—pulling the coffee table closer so I can sit in front of her.

“I’m going to check you for any internal injuries, then heal the wound on your head. Is that alright?”

She nods slowly in response.

I place my thumb on the reader, and the lid springs open again. Maven turns slightly, eyeing it with no emotion on her face as I pull out the body scanner first.

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