Page 183 of This Blood that Bonds Us
William’s voice grew soft and quiet. “Tell me, all of you . . . how was death?”
“Peaceful,” I said.
“Warm,” Presley said. “Like a bath.”
“Quiet,” Zach said.
“I didn’t feel lonely.” Kimberly squeezed my hand.
“I won’t be either. I’ve got three girls who are waiting for me.”
“If your little sister is anything like my brothers, she’ll probably give you an earful for keeping her waiting,” Luke said.
Will chuckled. “I can’t wait. I swear . . . I . . . I can hear her. Singing. She loved to sing.”
William hummed softly to himself, his face stayed relaxed and blissful till the humming slowed and his head fell. He was gone but still smiling. We cried, taking in the scene of carnage around us. The queen was dead, and Her Guard was no more.
And somehow, like I planned, we were free.
“What do we do now?” Presley sniffled.
There was a pause among us. The birds chirped outside. The sound of the night was alive. Bugs. The bugs of spring were singing.
“We live,” Luke said.
Eighty
Presley
Zach and Luke were really heavy. William was right, we wouldn’t have been able to carry him. I could barely keep my brothers from falling into the street. Aaron reopened his wound, and well—
“Where the heck is it!?”
“This is the right street.” Kimberly huffed, studying the colored buildings that lined the street. Everything looked the same color at night. None of my senses were working the way they should. We’d somehow gotten off the island. Zach explained the basics of how to drive the speed boat. I almost crashed. It was fine.
“I can’t see anything!”
“Me neither!”
Kim and I were panicking a tiny bit. The other three were in and out of consciousness, and we’d gotten too far to lose one of them. I was about two seconds away from a frustration cry but was trying to keep it together.
“I think it’s that one. He said it had a red door.”
“Kim, half the houses on this street have a red door.”
“Let’s just try one.” Kimberly was holding pressure to Aaron’s chest.
“What if you’re wrong? We’re covered in blood!”
“We’ll tell them it’s oil.”
“Why are you two fighting?” Luke asked.
“Because you’re all going to die here in the street, and me and Kim are going to go back to Alaska alone and become sad, young, forever hermits.”
“Wow. Creative,” Zach said.
“Don’t panic or anything.” Aaron coughed. He was being sarcastic, and sarcastic was better than dead.
