Page 72 of Obliterated
“We found some traces at the grave… but he covered his tracks. He’s not up north, and I have a feeling he never arrived there in the first place.”
“The tag was hanging on this,” Sami supplies as he finally comes inside, next to Roe, Whisper in his hands.
The devastating look on his usually happy, carefree face makes me throw myself at him and hug him close, Whisper almost stabbing me through the ribs. I bury my face in his shoulder and squeeze until he grunts.
“Thank you,” he croaks, and I only let go after that, hands still shaking.
“Tass,” Roe says, swallowing. “I mean, my daughter… she said once Max has a place somewhere on the west side, where he goes when he, you know…” I almost hiccup a sobbing laugh as he twirls his finger around his temple. “I don’t know where it is, but I was hoping you do.”
He’s trying to lighten the mood, to stay strong, to not crumble right then and there. It’s in the set of his shoulders, the tick in his jaw. But the way Sami glances at him, the way his hand claws at his commander’s arm, grounding him, shows he’s got at leastone person to help him through this. If that’s even possible. If you can come back from this kind of pain.
I wipe the last of the tears away and force my voice flat. “I know where it is. I’ll go get him.”
“It’s not safe,” Roe says. “It hasn’t rained for a while. If it’s coming…” His words trail off, warning and worry tangled.
“I’m going.” It’s not a question, and they know it. “And I’m going alone.”
“Out of the question.”
“He wants to keep it hidden,” I say. “And if he’s doing what I think he’s doing, then there aren’t any Walkers in the near vicinity, anyway. I’ll take my chances.”
Roe looks at me, then at Sami. “Then we’re coming with you as far as we can. We’re going up north, so we can drop you off. That’s an order, Kieran Freyr.”
“You can’t order me.” I cock my head. “I’m not a damned Watcher.”
He narrows his eyes. “I can see why he likes you so much.”
My cheeks heat. I don’t know if it’s the look or the thought of Max liking me, but it sticks in my throat.
Roe steps closer, voice low. “My men found something at the research facility. Something important. We need to movenow, before Joyeus gets wind of it.”
I nod and grab my bag, make sure my dagger is in its sheath, and do a quick final sweep through the kitchen for some extra supplies before I shoulder it.If he hasn’t eaten for this long…
The strap digs in and the weight steadies me more than I expected. Sami shoulders his own pack without a word. Roe checks the radio, then nods at us before we leave the apartment. There’s a tidy hurry to them that makes the whole thing feel unreal.
We take off. Out into the street, past the harbor, following the main road that runs north before I have to cut west toward the cliffs, where Max’s house is.
I’m focused, every step counted, but under that focus my stomach is a stone, grief pounding into me with every beat of my heart.
Tass. Poor Tass.
I’m terrified of the state I’ll find him in, scared of how this loss could break him, and fucking sick with fear at the thought there might be no trace left of the Max I love.
Chapter eighteen
Kieran
I’mrunning.I’mrunningas hard as I can, as swift as I can, and thank the stars I’ve got those damn sneakers on, even if I hate how they feel on my feet.
It's not even the Walkers chasing me. It’s the damned red rain.
Roe warned me. He fucking warned me. We thought the sky was clear, but once I started going up on my own, the ominous red clouds of rot and death peeked over the mountain like something hungry.
Roe and Sami left me half an hour ago at the long ascending driveway that leads to Max’s house. They head to the facility while I try to talk Max back from the brink.
The brink I’m sure he’s almost teetering over, just one more step before he’s gone.Tass. His best friend. His other half. The one who was always there for him, who understood his darkness and took it in stride.
She’s gone.She’s fucking gone.
