Page 64 of Fallout

Lord, help us.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Jasper rolled over and groaned. He wasn’t waking up in bed. He was in a house, lying on the floor. His chest hurt like crazy, tempting him to rub it, which would be a bad idea, considering the bruise. “Samantha! Blake!”

His friends were here. No cell signal, according to the screen on his phone.

Everything that’d happened rushed back. The reinforced doors and windows. Multiple victims in the basement. He had no intention of being another one on that list.

But it wasn’t like he could survive just by being determined enough.It doesn’t work like that, does it?Faith was a mystery to him. Blake had explained that the point was to give up control.

Could he do it? If it kept them alive, it was worth considering.

If he had to hedge his bets, the Almighty was more of a sure thing than his own ability to keep himself alive. Caleb had trusted God for the comfort of knowing he would be in heaven, but he’d also known he couldn’t heal himself. Despite his desire to see his brother again after he died, to Jasper, it seemed like God didn’t care one way or the other.

He’d have to figure out this entire thing. But that meant getting out of the house first.

Jasper pushed up to sitting. Blake and Samantha both lay on the floor nearby. He scooted down the hall and patted Samantha’s cheek. He shook Blake’s shoulder. “Time to wake up, sleepyheads.”

Someone banged on a window.

Jasper got to his feet, but his arms and legs didn’t seem to want to work. His whole body was sluggish. Whatever they’d been gassed with had sucked the energy and coordination from him. But why had he woken up? It must have stopped long enough the affects had worn off.

He leaned against the wall and saw someone in the kitchen window above the sink. A firefighter in a helmet.Julio.Captain Espinoza-Vasquez pounded on the window. “We got the gas off at the source. We’re gonna get the door open.”

Jasper gave him a thumbs-up and went back to the hall. While the fire department figured out how to get inside the house, he needed to make sure the three cops would be alive when they did gain access.

There was nothing to cover the vents with. No way to keep them from dying if more of that gas came out or if something more lethal had been hooked up to the HVAC system.

The system…

He went back to the kitchen, grasping the edge of the sink to keep him steady while his head swam from turning around so fast. Jasper slammed his hand on the glass. He spotted someone with a circular saw.

The world spun. He leaned back against the sink until he got his balance.Okay, go.

He set off, weaving across the kitchen. Blake had started to stir. Samantha lay there, unmoving. Jasper hit his knees between them, scanning his friend before he checked his partner’s pulse. He could hear the equipment rev like an engine. Metal screamed against metal.

Jasper’s head pounded from whatever they’d been gassed with. “Samantha.” He rolled her to her back and felt again for her pulse. It was there but nearly too faint to feel. “We need to get her out of here.”

“Ugh, my head.” Blake touched his forehead. “What was in that gas?”

“Let’s figure it out when we’re out of here.” He grabbed Samantha’s arm and hoisted her over his shoulder. Jasper stood, leaning for just a second against the wall. Then, he gritted his teeth. “Let’s go, Reed.”

Blake groaned but levered himself to his feet. The three of them went to the kitchen where the firefighters still worked on the door. Sparks flew into the room. The spray made Jasper’s attention focus on those tiny orange embers.I’m not okay.

The door flung open.

Captain Julio—Jasper couldn’t comprehend that double-barrel last name right now—stormed in. The firefighters called himCodabut Jasper didn’t know why. He just knew it was easier to comprehend right now than his full name.

Coda had fire in his eyes. “Samantha?”

Jasper rolled her into Julio’s arms and the firefighter took his partner from him. The guy looked at her with entirely too much fear on his face. “Sammy.” He jostled her in his arms. “I’m gonna get you out of here.” Julio turned to the door and carried Samantha out.

“That’s what I was doing.”

One firefighter got ahold of Blake, and another grabbed Jasper’s arm and slung it over his shoulder. “Let’s go, Hollingsworth.”

Jasper felt the pull in the bruise on his chest and grunted.

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