Page 35 of When the Living Fall

“Why not? It’s the only entertainment I have right now.”

“You’re not helping, Max.” I fight to keep my grip on Griffin, who’s putting all his weight into breaking free.

“Serves you both right. You two got us thrown in here, after all,” Max adds.

“What about you?” Griffin growls with a sneer. “They didn’t look too thrilled with you, either, or the problems you created, like always. You’re stuck in here with us too, aren’t you?”

“I said I was handling it. I was doing what needed to be done.” Max’s expression darkens. “That leader Dick guy, he shoved her.”

“We know,” I say.

“Then he raised his hand to hit her. I was the one who got there first, and I had every intention of finishing it before you two idiots showed up and made us look like we’re all hotheads.”

Griffin’s whole stance shifts, his rage laser focused as he glares at Max. “He what?”

Max pushes off the wall and stands up straight. “Exactly what I said. He shoved her, and then he raised his hand to hit her. Now we need to get out of here so I can kill the guy.”

Griffin lets out a low growl and clenches his fists, his knuckles turning white. My anger flared, my hold loosening at the thought of him touching her. I crack my knuckles. I want to kill that guy, too.

We don’t need to say the words to know that we’re all in agreement on this. We’re not leaving Emily behind in this place. Not without us.

Not ever.

Now all we need to do is figure out how to get out of a locked cell.

21

EMILY

Nothing is going to plan, and I’m stressed.

Not that I’d even had an actual plan—more of a loose sequence of hopes. Get inside, hand Zoey the insulin, try to reason with Richard. I thought if he would allow the guys inside, then Griffin could get some medical help. But if Richard couldn’t see reason, then I’d leave, maybe for good. What I hadn’t counted on was the guys crashing into the colony, weapons drawn and nerves frayed. Of course, they wound up thrown into a cell for causing a “disturbance” and I’m left on my own to figure out a way to get all of us out of this mess. Zoey wanted to stay with me, my best partner in crime, but Richard sent her away to assist in the medical ward. I have a feeling it was nothing more than a ploy to separate us.

“You can’t do this. They’re good people. They only reacted because you were the one being a dick.” Zoey’s words startle me, and I look in the other direction to see her arguing with Richard.

My lips quirk into a smile. It shouldn’t surprise me she snuck out of the medical ward to help me out. I would have done the same for her.

“You’re supposed to be saving lives, not defending prisoners,” Richard argues.

“Can you at least listen instead of brushing off everyone who has an opinion opposite yours?”

Richard sighs. “Fine. Let’s go.” He motions for her to follow and they go out of sight. I’m torn between following them and staying put. The only reason I remain here is to make sure nothing bad happens to my guys. I don’t trust anyone else here.

Letting them get locked up was the best option in the moment, but I have a sinking feeling Richard has no intention of letting them go. I might need to figure out another way to get them out of here.

The rough brick wall presses into my back while I lean against it outside the jail with frustration boiling over. I’m watching the guard nearby, eyes flicking to the ring of keys hooked on his belt. My fingers itch with the need to grab them and break the guys out. I’m about to push forward with that awful idea when I hear the clamor of approaching footsteps. A group of teens, two boys and a girl, faces streaked with panic, bursts through the gate and head straight toward me. My body tenses. Something’s wrong.

The surrounding guards notice and move to intercept. “What is it?” the first one says, his voice gruff, trying to take charge of the situation.

Ignoring them, the girl veers off. She rushes toward me and throws her arms around my waist, and I wrap my arms around her in return. Her shoulders shake, every ounce of her fear spilling over into my arms. “What happened?” I pull back to look at her face. Her eyes are red-rimmed, her cheeks damp.

“We—” Her voice catches, and one boy steps forward, his voice strained.

“We went out to scavenge,” the boy starts, his voice choking up. “We thought, if Emily could survive out there,then maybe we could too. I know we’re not supposed to go out on our own, but we thought we could do it if we stuck together. We wanted to help since we’ve been so low on supplies, especially the medical stuff.”

My stomach twists when I see where this is going. “Who’s missing?”

The third teen, fighting back tears, chokes out, “Josh.”

---