Page 107 of Waves of Fury

Please.

I push through the shattered diner door, following the sound of Aaron’s voice. I’m so focused on getting to him, I don’t notice an obstacle blocking my path. My feet become tangled in a pair of giant, booted legs and I fall face first on a big belly that jiggles from the impact.

Jerking up, I face down the person on the ground. His face is gone, blood and gore spattered all around him and puddling beneath what’s left of his head.

Wayne.

No. No. No.

Kellen grabs my arm and yanks me to my feet. He curses when he comes to the conclusion it’s Wayne.

“Come on,” he grunts. “Nothing we can do for him now.”

The world spins around me and I stagger after Kellen, fear clogging my throat, making me gag. We push our way into the kitchen, following a smear of blood as though someone’s been dragged along the greasy tiles, and discover my brothers on the floor near the walk-in freezer.

Aaron is covered in blood and sobbing uncontrollably. At first, I think he’s injured, but then I see my baby brother in his arms, blood seeping through the front of his jacket.

“Jesse,” I cry out, dropping beside them. “What happened?”

“That man shot them,” Aaron snarls. “For no reason! We were being compliant!”

Focusing on Jesse, I begin pulling open his jacket to assess his wounds. Small bleeding holes cover his chest that seems unusually pale. His eyes are closed and for a moment, I think he’s dead. When I check his pulse and still feel it, I breathe a quick sigh of relief.

Shotgun blast to the chest, but he was clearly farther away than Wayne. His shotgun blast damn near took off his head. Jesse still has a chance.

More gunshots erupt outside and I wonder if the perpetrator has come back to finish everyone off. Kellen takes off like a rocket to investigate. Aaron is useless to do anything aside from holding our little brother and sobbing into his messy hair.

“He’s going to be okay,” I lie to Aaron. “Pull it together, man. Calm yourself for him and help me.”

Aaron’s red, wet face twists into an expression of disbelief. “Help you what, Ty? He’s dead.”

“Not yet,” I snap.

“But he will be soon,” he hisses back. “In case you didn’t notice, there are no hospitals around. We’re out here all alone. No one to help. You’re not a doctor no matter how much we all wish you were.”

His words hurt, but the thought of losing Jesse hurts worse. Ignoring Aaron’s tirade, I grab some paper towels and do my best to make bandages to apply to the wounds. Maybe if I stop the bleeding, it’ll buy me some time to fish out the pellets or bullets or whatever’s inside of him. Then I’ll find something to sew him up with.

Heavy footsteps rush into the diner. I’m relieved Kellen has returned, but then I hear other voices. Not Dan’s or Hope’s or Hailey’s. Strangers.

Voices bark out commands that I’m unable to make sense of. All I can do is try my best to help my brother. When someone grabs hold of me and drags me away, I start screaming and throwing punches.

“Dude, chill,” a guy grunts against my ear. “Let Vince get your boy to Dr. B.”

Dr. B?

I fall slack in his arms, hoping against all hope that this is a friend, not an enemy. My eyes land on Kellen’s and he’s nodding emphatically. These newcomers seem prepped for such situations because they bring in a stretcher—like one you see EMTs pushing.

They expertly load Jesse onto the stretcher and then manhandle the apparatus over broken glass and debris in the diner.

“I’m Owen,” the guy behind me says. “The doc’s people will get your boy to the hospital. Dr. B is the real deal.”

Another guy with white hair and kind eyes helps Aaron to his feet. “I’m Owen’s dad, Richard. If it weren’t for you guys, we would’ve never caught that piece of shit.”

“Who?” Aaron croaks out. “The guy who shot my brother and killed Wayne?”

Richard nods. “His name’s Holt. Was with the Goodland group but then lost his damn mind. We knew he was likely hiding out here in this little town, but he was able to evade us. Well, until you guys showed up and made him blow his cover.”

“The prick kidnapped my little sister. That’s why we’ve been hunting him,” Owen growls. “And if he did more than kidnap her, he’s going to wish we’d shot him when we caught him.”

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