Page 6 of Shattered World

I may have been tough, hard on the outside, but I wasn’t heartless. I cared for all of them more than I wanted to admit.

“They’ll all be fine. And so will we,” Warner reiterated, his tone final.

Neither of us spoke the rest of the night, except to wake the other when it was our turn to take a watch shift. Maybe it wasn’t necessary at this point, but old habits died hard.

Even when it was my turn to sleep, I was restless. Staring at the ceiling, trying too hard not to think about what I could have done differently. If there had been any way for all of us to get on that train.

The next two days passed by in a blur. Time ticked by in seconds, my patience wavering as each minute lapsed. But today, the waiting was finally over. According to the man, Declan, he had told us was his name; the trains were set to leave this morning.

I knew better than to assume it would be as simple as hopping on the train and being whisked away to the others. Thankfully,it seemed Declan had taken our threats to heart and had constructed a plan.

I worked on untying Declan from the chair as Warner loaded two bags filled with ammo and food. Tossing one of the bags over his shoulder, he threw the other at me as Declan stood up from the chair.

His legs wobbled slightly, his right hand circling his left wrist, rubbing at the skin that had been restrained with rope. His shaky demeanor didn’t instill much confidence in me, but this was only plan A. Warner and I had discussed plan B, although we hoped it didn’t come to that. The truth was, the odds of us shooting our way onto the train without getting killed were close to zero.

“Not a word to anyone on the street,” I began, stepping into Declan’s face, my gun hanging loosely at my side, not yet tucked away. “You try to run? You won’t make it two feet. You try to yell for help? You won’t get out more than one word. Do you understand?”

If possible, Declan’s skin paled further, his eyes widening as he nodded his head vigorously.

“Then let’s go.”

Warner took the lead, a stumbling Declan following behind, while I took up the rear. Stepping out onto the streets, I wasn’t surprised by the vacancy. Most people were still hidden inside given they didn’t know the trains were arriving today.

But I knew the empty roads wouldn’t last long. The second the trains arrived, someone would spot them, and the news would travel like wildfire. Eventually, the station would be filled to the brim yet again with thousands of people.

The three of us moved efficiently through the downtown area, Declan giving directions every few blocks. Finally, we reached a building two blocks from the train station. From the outside, itdidn’t look like much. Four brick walls, one singular door, no signage.

“This is it?” Warner confirmed, and Declan answered yes.

“And no one will be inside?” I checked, grabbing my gun before he could respond. The last thing we needed was to walk inside a room with a bunch of Declan’s armed buddies.

“No. They will all be at the station already.” Declan didn’t elaborate, but I filled in the blanks. They wouldn’t miss their opportunity to leave this place.

Warned looked at me over Declan’s head and with a nod, he opened the door, scanning the interior before waving us inside. As Declan had promised, no one was in the building.

Shutting the door behind me, I scanned the area, taking it all in. To put it simply, the place was cramped chaos. Dozens of beds scattered the area, clothing and food wrappers thrown about. Clearly, Declan hadn’t lied about the fact that nearly three dozen men and women had been living in these quarters.

This was their version of the guards at the camp Vex had been in charge of. The only difference, all of them knew what was happening. And all of them had been gifted the opportunity to get to the bunkers.

“Now what?” I asked, turning toward Declan.

He had told us about the building, assuring us that once we arrived, we would be able to borrow clothing that matched the other guards, ensuring our spot on the train. But if my eyes weren’t deceiving me, there wasn’t a singular shred of clothing that matched what he wore.

Warner must have realized the same thing as me because in the next instant, Declan was against the wall, Warner’s forearm pressing against his throat.

“What did he tell you would happen if you screwed us over?” Warner spat, pressing harder until Declan’s face began turning red.

Declan opened his mouth, but he couldn’t speak. Lightly touching Warner’s shoulder, I told him to ease up. We needed the man able to speak.

With Warner’s pressure gone, Declan gasped in lungfuls of air. “I thought there would be. I had no idea.”

I wanted to believe him. To think he wouldn’t be that stupid to deceive us. But if I had learned anything in the past year, after Emmanuel had sold us out, it was that there were few people you could trust.

My mind scrambled for a solution, for a way for us to sneak onto those trains. We had Declan’s uniform. But that meant only one of us would get on that train. I met Warner’s gaze once more, a silent conversation passing between the two of us.

But before we could decide on who would be the lucky bastard getting on the train, a door somewhere else in the building alerted us to others.

Immediately, Warner and I shuffled out of the way, ducking behind a dresser in the room. Two stocky men walked into the main area, their voices happy with chatter until they spotted Declan.

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