Page 42 of Promises in the Dark

I gritted my teeth and I hauled her back up. I felt my stomach lurch as I saw the blood starting to trickle down her shins but we didn’t have time to stop.

Red’s breathing was getting heavier, and I glanced back. She nodded, still running, but she was reaching her limit.

“Hurry!” I shouted as we ran through alleyways and side streets, following the Kabul River as it cut its way through the valley below.

“I’m not fucking Usain Bolt on crack like you!” Red huffed in frustration.

“I don’t give two fucks whether you’re Usain Bolt or Peter Dinklage,” I responded hastily. “I’m not asking you to break the world record, I just need you to speed up a little.”

She rolled her eyes, but she picked up the pace.“I am moving as fast as I can, goddamnit,” she snapped back. “I thought you were supposed to be good at this spy shit, shouldn’tyou be trying to, I don’t know, make plans and figure this out instead of pushing and yelling at me all the time? Jesus, Rogue,” she spat back at me, practically daring me to lose it.

I stopped dead in my tracks, feeling the vein in my temple throb as her bullshit complaint hit me.

“Iammaking plans,” I snapped angrily, turning to gace her. “But we can’t exactly sit around and map out a goddamn strategy while the Talis are crawling up our asses, can we?”

Red stopped too, leaning forward with her hands on her scratched-up knees, panting like she was about to collapse. “Real fucking genius plan, Rogue,” she said, her voice panting from the effort. “Just run and try to figure things out as we go.”

I was completely and utterly done with Red and her crap. I was exhausted. I was pissed off. And I was done saving her ungrateful ass.

“Must youalwaysbe a pain in the ass?!” I asked, fed up with her bullshit about how I handled things. “If you think you can do better then be my fucking guest and take the lead, Red.”

Her eyes hardened and for a moment, it seemed like she was about to say something back, but she shut the hell up. The look on her face told me she realized I had a point.

“Of course, you won’t because you know damn well that youcan’t."

She had nothing to say to that, no comeback, no argument, so I let her run ahead. I could’ve easily outrun her, but I didn’t see the point. Let her try to prove herself if it made her feel better.

The city faded into the distance as we moved further away from the danger. The sound of gunshots and chaos slowly faded, replaced by the rhythmic sound of our own footsteps.

As we approached the rushing river, my eyes narrowed in concern. We needed to cross it to get to the base, but it didn’t look like it was going to make that easy for us.

I took a deep breath, trying to tamp down the nerves before breaking the silence. “You know how to swim, right?”

Her red hair clung damply to her forehead and her green eyes darted nervously. “Is there... is there any other way?” she asked, looking as if she was about to piss herself.

It took everything in my power not to roll my eyes. “This is the shortest route,” I answered with a touch of harshness in my voice.

Her face turned pale, her breathing erratic. It seemed like she’d rather chew on broken glass than attempt to swim across. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” I said slowly.

She trembled slightly, her eyes meeting mine for only a moment before she looked away. Her voice came out strained, almost like a whisper.

“Talk to me, goddamn it,” I added impatient.

She trembled, glancing at me before quickly looking away. Her voice barely came out, weak as shit. “I don’t like to swim, that’s all.”

I raise an eyebrow, not entirely convinced. “Yeah, well, I don’t like getting shot at, but we don’t always get what the fuck we want.”

Red looked over at me, her face unamused by my comment. “Don’t you have anyone else you can be a dick to?” she asked, deadpan. “Or am I just your lucky charm?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle darkly. She was pissed, and I wasn’t about to let her have the satisfaction of getting under my skin.

“If you wanted nice, sweetheart, you should’ve joined the Peace Corps,” I replied, equally sarcastic.

She looked like she wanted to punch me straight in the face, and for one second, I thought that she was actually going to do it. But she held herself back and just shot me a dark, angry look instead.

I kept walking, until I reached the edge of the river, not bothering to look back and see if Red was following me or not.

I didn’t care if she was or not, at this point, she could go fuck herself for all I cared. I was done with her constant bitching, her whining, her complaints, and her goddamn attitude.

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