Page 26 of Shattered Home

Running a hand through my hair, I paced, trying to come up with a plan. We had already wasted time yelling around the camp; they had a head start on us. And it was too dark for all of us to hike back through the woods, but Murphy and I both couldn’t leave, not when we knew someone was out there.

But fuck, if they had been able to grab the twins, plus Alessia, I would be outnumbered on my own. And although Sasha was tough, even with the two of us, we probably didn’t stand a chance. Not when she didn’t have a weapon.

A firm hand on my shoulder halted my pacing and I glanced up to find Murphy. The grin he normally wore was nowhere to be seen, his eyes haunted under the moonlight, and my anger at him quickly faded.

He was the most optimistic person I knew and I saw none of that in this moment. My anger meant nothing when it came to being there for him. He had been there for me for two decades, I could be there for him now.

“It’ll be okay, Murphy. It will all be okay.”

Murphy gulped and fear stared back at me when he whispered, “What are we going to do?”

Gripping his shoulders in my hands, I made sure he saw the seriousness in my stare. “We’re going to get her back. No matter what.”

Glancing up at Emmanuel and Elizabeth, I raised my voice so that everyone could hear. “We’re going to get them all back. I promise.”

Chapter Seventeen

My head was pounding, my eyes felt like sandpaper, and my body jostled around. Trying to blink past the pain splitting through my eyes, I tried to recall what had happened last night. Intruders had invaded our camp once again. They had injected me with something. They had taken the twins.

At the thought of the kids, my eyes snapped open and I realized the jostling of my body was caused by the bed of the truck I was sitting in. A weight lifted off my shoulders when I saw the limp bodies of the twins across from me, leaning against each other. They were unconscious still, but I could tell by the rise of their chests that they were at least alive.

Taking in my surroundings, I vaguely recognized the town we were driving through. I didn’t know if I had been here before everything happened or if it was the town Rainer, Sasha, and I had explored in the dark.

There was no one in the back of the truck with us and we weren’t moving very fast, more of a leisurely stroll through the streets than a full out drive. I hesitated, wondering how bad it would hurt if I jumped out of the side. I knew I would survive, but could I make it back into the woods?

The twins caught my attention once more, their faces innocent in sleep, and I erased the idea from my head. It didn’t matter if I could make it back into the woods on my own, they wouldn’t be able to. And I wasn’t going to leave them. I owed it to them, as well as Emmanuel and Elizabeth, to make sure nothing happened to any of us.

The truck began slowing down further and I peeked around the edge of the truck to see the lines of tents before us. Immediately, I knew this was the camp we had seen. But they had changed it since we were last here. Armed guards still littered the perimeter, but the entire area was now covered in a fence. If I thought they were trying to keep everyone in before, it was nothing compared to the realization now. I thought maybe we would have a chance to escape once inside, but the likelihood of that seemed to have exponentially dropped.

The truck came to a stop and I heard the sound of doors opening and closing. Reaching over to the twins, I shook their shoulders, hoping to wake them. This would be much easier if I could keep them by my side. Thankfully, they both roused from what I assumed was a medicated slumber.

Their wide eyes blinked around, trying to discern where they were. Immediately, when they realized their parents were nowhere to be found and they were in an unfamiliar place, tears sprung to Stephanie’s eyes.

“Shh, you’re okay. But do not leave my side.” I glanced at Lucas, making sure he was listening as well. “Do you understand?”

Both of them nodded, their lips trembling with fear. I wanted to tell them that I understood their fear. That tears pressed against my own eyes, begging to give in to the terror coursing through my body, but I couldn’t. They needed someone to be strong for the both of them and right now, all they had was me.

Three uniformed men and one uniformed woman rounded the bed of the truck, opening the tailgate. Two of the men went to reach for the twins, but I grabbed their hands, keeping them at my side. Splitting up would be the worst thing that could happen to us.

“They’re staying with me,” I stated, trying to keep my voice strong, but I could hear the falter in my words.

To my surprise, the men didn’t seem to mind, sighing in exasperation before gesturing for us to step down. Keeping a firm grip on Lucas and Stephanie, I lowered them to the ground before following after them.

“Let’s go.” The woman led the way, the three men positioned at our backs.

As we walked to the gate, questions burned at the tip of my tongue and I couldn’t hold them back.

“Where are we?” I sort of knew the answer, but I wanted something concrete. However, no one responded.

“Why did you bring us here?” Again, no answer.

Frustration bled through me, but I shut my mouth, figuring it was better to watch for now. I could find answers to my questions later. And then I could make a plan for us to escape and get the twins back to their parents.

The armed guards at the gates nodded at our attackers, opening a latch and letting us in. My eyes took in our surroundings and the horror from weeks ago came rushing back, this time stronger than before.

We hadn’t been close enough, or the sky light enough, to truly see what was going on inside of the camp. But it was worse than I imagined. Men, women, and children milled around the area. All of their faces looked sunken in, as if they hadn’t eaten in days. There was no energy in their movements, as if they were zombies forced to walk through the aisles the tents created.

Armed men and women patrolled the tents, people ducking out of the way and scurrying off whenever they spotted them. The reaction itself told me that they weren’t afraid to use the weapons in their hands.

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