Page 20 of Shattered World

I didn’t bother responding. He knew as well as I did that neither of us had an answer to his question. It had been days since the others had left. I didn’t know if they had stayed in the area, walked toward the city that stood in the distance, or worse, were captured.

I gritted my teeth at the thought of some sick fuck having Alessia in their hands once again. I could still feel the sweet satisfaction as my bullet hit Vex square between the eyes. She may have been willing to let the man live out the rest of his sorry life, but I wasn’t. And I’d do it again to anyone who thought they could put hands on my girl.

Scanning the crowd, looking for any sort of clue as to where to head, I spotted the dark head of hair. He blended into the crowd, dressed in a guard's uniform. But when he turned to the side, those eyes clear as day, a matching set to the ones I dreamed of, I finally felt lucky for the first time in my life.

Nudging Rainer with my shoulder, I tilted my head toward the man, Rainer’s lips tilting up in a smirk. “No fucking way.”

Moving in tandem, we shifted with the crowd. Everything in me screamed to push through, hoping that Alessia would be at her twin’s side, but I didn’t dare draw attention to us. Not when we were this close.

When only several feet separated us from Aiden, he finally spotted our frames. His eyes widened, his jaw going slack as if he had seen a ghost. And maybe, in his mind, he had. For all they knew, Rainer and I were dead, or at least we would be in a couple months.

“Holy shit,” he mouthed.

I barely knew the man, hadn’t shared more than a few words with him, and yet something close to relief spread through my veins. I wasn’t one to welcome others into my life. Had never felt the need for it, not after the shit I had lived through my childhood. But I couldn’t deny the warmth under my skin knowing he was alive, knowing that it most likely meant theyallwere alive.

To his credit, besides his initial reaction, Aiden didn’t make any big moves toward us. Tilting his head to the right, he began walking, Rainer and I following at a brisk pace so as not to lose him in the crowd.

When we were on the outskirts of the crowd, several miles away from the train station, Aiden took a sharp left onto an empty street. Glancing behind my shoulder to make sure no one had followed us, I took a deep breath.

“How?” Aiden asked, his eyes trailing over us as he struggled for any more words.

“Was there ever any doubt?” I asked lazily, even though I sure as hell had felt the doubt myself.

The fact we were here, that we had found Aiden, was nothing short of a miracle. If I believed in fate, I’d say that there was a reason the universe kept bringing me back into Alessia’s orbit.

Aiden shook his head, an elated smile splitting his lips. He was a good man, but I knew that smile wasn’t for his own happiness at seeing us. No, that smile had everything to do with his sister.

“I think the better question is, why were you there? And in this uniform?” Rainer asked.

Aiden arched a brow, eyeing the matching uniforms we wore. Rainer let out a soft chuckle, realizing the double standard.

“I guess a lot has happened since Montana,” Rainer admitted.

“You have no idea.” Aiden’s smile dropped, his eyes closing on a sigh.

A bad feeling settled in my gut and suddenly, I wanted to slap a hand over his mouth. Whatever he had to say next were not the words I wanted to hear.

“No,” I said before he could speak and his eyes popped open, grief shining back at me.

Rainer’s shoulders stiffened, his mouth forming a frown as he realized what I had. Quickly, Aiden explained why he was at the train station. How they had found a hotel run by a woman who was working against the government, how they each had been given jobs. His being to bring other refugees to the hotel. He explained how the girls had been sent out into the city to find the entrance to the bunkers. And then he said the words that sent a spear of pain directly through my chest.

“She never made it back.”

The walk into the city was silent. None of us had any other words to share. After Aiden had assured Rainer that Murphy was okay, there wasn’t much more to say.

Apparently, on their first trip into the city, they had taken two days, stopping in a house for the night, but none of us felt the need this time around. Sleep wouldn’t come, not when I knew Alessia was gone.

What was the point? I hadn’t trekked across the country to save my own life. Like I gave two shits about that. No, there had only been one person on my mind through everything, and now she wasn’t even here.

Dawn had come and gone by the time we approached the hotel. Eventually, Aiden had begun speaking again, preparing us for the sight of the bustling city. But even though he had told us, the sight of so many people milling about was still a shock.

A taller building, although not as tall as some of the skyscrapers, sat before us and Aiden pushed the doors open. Murphy sat behind a counter in the center of the room, his head bent as he typed on a computer.

At the sound of the door, his head popped open. Immediately, his face crumpled, and I knew exactly who he had hoped would be walking through these doors. It was the same woman who I had hoped would be waiting for me on the other side.

A kernel of jealousy flooded through me at the sight. I wasn’t blind. I knew I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t ignore the alluring essence of her. And although I couldn’t help the jealousy, I also knew it affected nothing. Who the fuck cared about social norms when society had collapsed months ago?

As quickly as Murphy’s face had crumpled, his eyes brightened as they landed on the man at my side. Faster than possible, he hopped the front of the counter, running for his friend and embracing him.

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