Page 39 of Whispers and Warriors
Chris didn’t bother knocking, just pushed the cabin door open and stepped inside. His voice was low, almost hard to hear over the storm that did remain.
“Grab your gear! We’re leaving, now. Lifeboat on the…fuck I don’t know what side…the left side. We’re going to risk all getting in one so we can’t get separated. Grab everything and we’ll meet there.”
“Again?” Emma’s voice trembled, but she pushed up off the bed.
William and Bash sprang into action, their movements swift and purposeful as they snatched up their belongings. Alex’s heart pounded in his chest, his thoughts still consumed by Emma’s safety. They had to leave, but she didn’t need to carry the extra weight with the ship still in a storm.
“Will, Bash— get my stuff too, will you?” he called out, his voice strained. “I’ll help Emma and Ranger.” There was no point keeping her name a secret now.
Will nodded, and the pair took off down to get to the room they shared.
Alex turned, grabbing Ranger’s leash to help Emma, when Chris’s hand clamped down on his shoulder. “Alex, wait.”
He spun around, impatience flaring in his eyes. “What? We don’t have time?—”
“That stunt you pulled back there,” Chris interrupted, his gaze steady. “It was stupid.”
Alex opened his mouth to protest, but Chris held up a hand. “But it was better than what I would have done. I would’ve put a fucking bullet between his eyes.”
The words hung between them, a moment of understanding passing between the two men. They had both seen the horrors this world could inflict, had both lost and loved and fought with every fiber of their being.
Alex clenched his jaw, the truth of Chris’s words sinking in like a lead weight. He knew he couldn’t let his emotions cloud his judgment, couldn’t let his fury and fear consume him. But he had, at least a little and now they were paying for it.
Chris pulled his hand back and Alex clipped the leash to Ranger’s collar before passing Emma his leash.
“You focus on Ranger. Right now, he’s the best bodyguard and the less you carry, the easier it will be to walk on the shifting ship.”
“Is this even remotely safe?” Emma’s fingers brushed over his as she took the leash.
“Is anything we do?” Alex quipped, trying to lighten the mood. Possibly even trying to ease some of the fury in his chest that they wouldn’t get to end the man who’d tried to hurt Emma.
A small smile lifted at the corners of her lips.
“Never a dull moment,” she slipped by him, taking Chris’s hand. “I didn’t have fleeing during a storm on my bingo card for this trip.”
“Let’s go. The storm has only partially died down, we need to be prepared for the lifeboat to flip at any time. You get in and you put the vest on, you hear me?”
Emma nodded and Chris tugged her out the door, Alex following behind them after grabbing her pack off the floor.
“Liam, do a quick sweep?” Liam nodded as he latched the clasp across his chest from his bag.
“Be right behind you.”
The ship pitched and rolled beneath his feet even before he tried to climb the steps to the deck, the storm’s fury starting to build again. He set his hand on Emma’s back as Chris tugged her, letting her know he was there if god forbid she lost her footing.
The deck was empty now, the crew likely down below with things secured to avoid being thrown over from the storm. He glanced at Carnie’s quarters, glad to see no one had regained consciousness just yet.
Alex’s heart hammered in his chest as he gripped the railing, his knuckles going white. He could see the lifeboat up ahead, a fragile beacon of hope in the darkness. But even as they drew closer, a part of him hesitated, guilt twisting like a knife in his gut.
“Keep moving,” Chris shouted over the wind, his voice barely audible above the din. “We’re almost there.”
Alex forced himself to take another step, then another, his legs damn near heavy as lead. He could see Emma up ahead, her face pale and drawn as she clung to Ranger’s leash.
William and Bash were already at the boat, setting their packs in and working on the ropes.
“We’ll cut them,” Chris barked as they got closer.
Alex kept watch on the others, faces remained grim and focused as they began to climb into the boat, their movements swift and efficient. Emma and Ranger went first, followed by Bash and Chris. Alex and William were next, their hands slick with rain as they gripped the ropes.
