Page 2 of Shattered World

Aiden silently passed our remaining gun into Murphy’s hand, grabbing my shoulders and holding me back.

Keeping one hand on me, he reached the other out to Mina, pulling her body behind his back and trying to do the same to me. But I refused to budge. I was tired of everyone protecting me at the cost of their own safety.

Aiden mumbled under his breath, but Sasha stood at my side, the two of us sharing a kindred look as we braced for whatever was beyond the door.

“Elizabeth, back the kids away,” Murphy told the mother and she scurried behind our group, Lucas and Stephanie’s hands in hers.

The rest of the occupants on the train stood as well, whispers sounding until there was a cacophony of noise. And then the back door was pried open, brilliant light shining inside.

I reached my hand up to shield my eyes, squinting against the sun. The noise in the train stopped, but the sound only swelled with the door open.

Shouts and yells filled the space, vehicles rumbling in the background. After my eyes adjusted to the sun, I peeked past Murphy’s shoulder, trying to see what awaited us.

Two men stood at the mouth of the door, their mouths pressed in firm lines. Immediately, my gaze scanned their hands andtheir waists, my shoulders loosening when I didn’t spot a gun on their person.

However, my relief was short-lived when the shorter man spoke. “Bunker ID number?”

His partner tracked the bodies inside, his lips curving into a frown. It was apparent by our demeanor that we weren’t the lucky ones invited to survive inside the bunkers, and they realized it.

“We’re here for the bunkers,” Murphy tried reasoning with the men, his hands held up in a pleading manner.

“Bunker ID number,” the short man reiterated, his tone firm, with no room for discussion.

Murphy’s hand twitched, his instinct to reach for his weapon. But they were unarmed. And we already had seen enough death.

Ignoring Aiden’s warning whisper at my back, I shoved past Murphy. “We need to get off this train.”

The taller man raised a brow, looking at me quizzically. “And we need to follow protocol.”

Clearly, they weren’t willing to broker a deal. But I had seen evil in someone’s eyes and that wasn’t them.

Inching closer until I knew I had the right angle, I channeled every ounce of Rainer that I could. “Too bad.”

My knee collided with the man’s groin, a curse spilling from his lips as he hunched over in pain. Quicker than the other man could react, I slipped past his hands, hopping off the train, knowing the others would follow.

If I thought the train station in Montana had been chaos, this was anarchy. Dozens of trains sat on the tracks, thousands of people spilling out and into the surrounding streets. I spotted men and women dressed the same as the two at our door, but they were severely outnumbered. And unequivocally unarmed.

They hadn’t been expecting this. Most likely, there were supposed to be a few people on each train, ready to be led to theirsafety. But as I took in the dirty clothes, the worn faces, I knew Murphy’s message had worked.

A firm hand grabbed my arm and I spun, ready for danger, but Murphy tugged me closer into his body.

“No more running away,” he said, planting a chaste kiss against my cheek, but the pride shined in his eyes.

Over his shoulder, I spotted the others. Sasha had a blinding smile on her face, the first genuine grin any of us had shown in days.

“What do we do now?” She asked, bouncing on her toes.

“First, we get the hell out of here,” Aiden said, his eyes wide as he scanned the area.

“And second?” Mina asked, locking her arm with Sasha’s.

All eyes drifted around our makeshift circle and a fist of grief wrapped around my heart.We were looking for Rainer.But then the fist squeezed harder as the searching eyes landed onme.

Instinctively, my gaze found Murphy. He was Rainer’s best friend. The two were always in sync. We should be looking to him, not the girl who could barely survive.

But no words slipped past his lips. He wouldn’t take Rainer’s spot. The loss of his friend hurt him more than it would ever hurt me. And I was nearly crumbling from the pain.

Exhaling a deep breath, I spun in a small circle, begging a plan to formulate in my mind. Finally, I faced the waiting expressions.

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