Page 33 of Waves of Fury

“Brian was dead by the time I left the break room,” Kyle snaps back. “The other two were missing. Was I supposed to die looking for them?”

Hope swings her fist, clipping Kyle in the jaw. He jumps to his feet, fisting his hands, but thankfully, Gerry steps between them.

“Enough,” Gerry barks. “This entire thing is fucked, but it’s no one’s fault.” To Kyle, he says, “Did he drown?”

Tyler starts to softly cry and it breaks my fucking heart. I half pull him into my lap, ignoring the searing pain in my side. I’m sure it’s bleeding like crazy again, but holding him right now is more important. He nearly died.

“Shh,” I croon, voice shaking. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

He clutches onto me, burying his head into my shoulder. I stroke my fingers up and down his bare back as I attempt to keep up with the conversation going on with the others.

“Does it matter how?” Kyle throws back. “He’s dead.” Elise starts crying hysterically, which earns the wrath of Kyle. “Shut the fuck up, Elise! You’re useless, goddammit!”

Hope flings herself at him again, but Gerry grabs hold of her before she can do any damage. She points an accusing finger at him.

“I saw his half-eaten body!” Hope screams at him. “There was a shark down there and we didn’t get so much as a warning!”

Kyle has the decency to look ashamed. His brow furrows and he glances down at his feet. “I wasn’t sure what I saw. I saw blood and Brian was dead.”

“Therewasa shark,” Tyler croaks out, breath hot against the side of my neck. “I saw it. It attacked Brian.”

My stomach roils violently, threatening to purge what little food I have in it. “And Frannie?”

Tyler shakily sits up so his bloodshot eyes can meet mine. His bottom lip wobbles as he shakes his head.

“No,” I whisper. “Frannie can’t be gone.”

He squeezes his eyes shut and shudders at the memories plaguing him. “She got pinned. I wasn’t strong enough.” He reopens his eyes, darting them back and forth as if trying to get me to understand. “I tried. I really tried, Kellen.”

Pain lances through me at the loss of one of my only friends. But having this young man break apart in my arms distracts me from my grief.

“It’s okay,” I stammer out. “You did good. You’re still here.”

His body relaxes against mine. “I’m so sorry.”

“Me too. Come on. Let’s get you back up top and warmed up.”

Hope shoots daggers with her eyes over at Kyle. He’s apparently done with their fight because he goes back to his garbage bag loot to remove the contents. Elise rushes over to Hope, hugging her tight.

“Gerry,” I grunt. “Can you help?”

Now that the situation is contained between Kyle and Hope, he jolts into action to assist me with Tyler. Together, we half lug him up the stairs back over to our spot. I gingerly sit down, well aware that I’ve fucked my wound up some more, but attempt to ignore it the best I can.

Once Tyler is settled beside me, Gerry heads back down to retrieve the first aid box and the backpack. While they were gone, with Hope’s help, I’d removed my jacket. Since Tyler is in just boxers and shivering, I grab my damp jacket and drape it over him. He curls against me as though I’m some magical source of comfort for him.

Gerry hands me an open bottle of water. I graciously accept it, sipping a few swallows before offering it to Tyler. He tilts his head up and parts his lips. I pour some of the water into his mouth. Once he swallows it down and doesn’t throw up again, I give him more. We share the bottle until it’s empty, but luckily, based on what I can see in the bag, we have plenty more for the time being.

Frannie and Brian are gone.

It’s immediately felt by all of us. There’re seven of us left.

The gray light from the cracks and a few holes in the outer walls illuminates our space just enough to see the bone-deep weariness etched on everyone’s faces. It hasn’t even been a full day and we’re all at our wits’ end.

How much more of this can we take?

Are we prolonging inevitable death?

Kyle tosses a couple of candy bars at me. I unwrap a Snickers and take a bite, damn near devouring half the candy bar. Then I feed Tyler. He shifts until he’s sitting right beside me and less in my lap. Though I miss the loss of his body against mine, it eases the pain in my side. Plus, knowing he’s feeling marginally better makes me happy.

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