Page 73 of The Reaper

I heard screaming and commotion between our grunts and heavy breathing, and was relieved when the faint sound of Tobias’s and Archer’s voices carried through the woods. I had the man pinned to the ground between my legs and he squirmed. He reached for a rock at his side and swung it toward my head, knocking me on my back.

We’d traded positions. My eyesight was blurry, and I felt disoriented from the blow. I scrabbled around for any solid object within reach and found nothing but moss-covered twigs. A figure appeared above me, and I shook my head repeatedly to focus my vision.

The man straddling me reached for the larger rock next to him. I punched his stomach, but, like me, he was wearing a bulletproof vest. He lifted both arms over his head, the rock aimed at my face. Three shots were fired behind him, and I was splattered with blood and other matter as a bullet sliced through his skull. He fell into my arms.

I pushed his dead body off and sat up, expecting to find either Archer or Tobias, but it was neither who saved me. I blinked my eyes in disbelief, hoping my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. “Andrew?”

He rushed toward me, extending his hand to help me stand. I hugged him and he wrapped his arms around me. “You’re alive,” I said.

“I am, but we have to go,” he said as he released me. He looked different. His hair was longer and a beard hugged his face. If it wasn’t for his blue eyes, the ones matching mine, I wouldn’t have recognized him.

“How did you get here?” I asked.

“I’ve been watching you for months. I knew the Church and The Firm would go after you because of what I discovered.” He looked around, wariness in his eyes.

“What did you find?”

“Gruesome things. Things they had all of us do.” His hands gripped the sides of my face. “The people we killed … most of them were innocent.” Darkness flashed across his eyes, his hands trembling with barely controlled rage.

“I called you all the time and you never answered. Were those phone calls from you?” I asked.

“I didn’t want to risk your life, but I needed to hear your voice to make sure you were still alive. I’m sorry, but I thought that was the best thing I could do to keep you from harm. I’d been in the shadows watching over you while planning my next move. That’s why I sent you the list. It’s safer with you, in case they get me first. That’s why I sent you the photos, to let you know I was there.”

Confusion clouded my brain. “That was a list?”

He nodded. “Do you still have it?”

“Yes.”

“Good. We need to go. This way.” He pointed toward the road with his gun.

“Wait, I can’t,” I said, stopping him. I couldn’t leave Archer and Tobias. “I can’t leave without my team.”

The lines on his forehead deepened. “We have to get out of here before backup arrives.”

“We have to find them.” I took off in the direction I’d last seen Archer, with Andrew having no choice but to follow behind.

Andrew grabbed my shirt and pulled me behind a tree, pointing at three armed men ahead, sweeping the forest with their rifles. Shots were fired from above them, hitting one in the head. The remaining two fired back and so did we.

“Fuck!” Tobias yelped, grabbing his wounded leg before falling to the ground.

“Tobias!” I rushed to get to him while Andrew covered me. “Are you okay?” I asked, examining his injured leg.

Tobias grimaced, gritting his teeth. “My fucking leg,” he muttered.

“Can you stand?”

“I can try.” Tobias sat up, sweat dripping down his face. Andrew draped his arm on his shoulder.

“Who are you?” Tobias asked.

“This is my brother, Andrew,” I said. “Andrew, this is Tobias. He’s one of us.”

“How did you get here?” Tobias asked.

“We’ll get to that later. We need to find Archer,” I said.

We slowed down. My worry grew watching Tobias hopping on one foot. I didn’t know the extent of his injury, but his pants were already soaked with blood. I was hyper-aware of my surroundings, making sure no one sneaked up on us while we searched for Archer.

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