Page 23 of Hysteria Rises
“Now you can tell everyone how I was able to perform a feat of futuristic medicine to bring you back from the brink of death. I’mthatgood. Can’t wait.”
My eyes drop to the bulge in his pants. He looks away, taking a moment to readjust himself. It’s probably really stupid of me to want to wrestle him backdown to the mud. I won’t ever let him know the vein of my thoughts.
So instead, I do what I do best. I make sure he doesn’t want anything to do with me. Jabbing a finger in his direction, I aim a cold stare at him. “You fucking say another word about this to me or to anyone else, I’ll gut you in your sleep.” Straightening my back, I pivot, shoulder checking him as I stalk toward the woods.
At the edge of the compound, we pause, and Cross exhales sharply. “I dread bringing this news back to the Collective.”
He’s not alone in that. I squeeze my eyes shut for a count of five before I finally acknowledge what he’s said. “It’s gonna suck. But better to rip the bandage off.”
Up ahead, both Henry and Kiefer come into view. I grit my teeth so hard, they might grind down to nothing.
Henry’s gaze bounces between the two of us, confusion marring his features. He glances at Kiefer before rushing forward. “For fuck’s sake. I sent you out to have a look around. What the hell happened?” He blinks, and it’s then I realize how we must look, both of us covered in filth, Cross with a reddened cheekboneand me with my split lip and blood dripping down my chin. I wince, definitely not wanting to find out the punishment we’ll receive for brawling with each other. But I’d almost rather deal with that than break the news about the destruction of the only access we have to the world outside the compound. Devastation snakes through me all over again.
“One of you better open your fucking mouth right now and tell us what this is all about.” My father’s irate displeasure practically penetrates my head with his stare. “Now.”
Silence is thick in the air, but I manage to heave out a breath before gritting, “The river. It overflowed its banks.” I glance at Cross, begging him with my eyes to finish so I don’t have to.
For whatever reason, he gives in, jerking his thumb in the direction of the river. “The bridge is out.Gone.”
The way their jaws drop in shock would be funny if only the situation were different. “What the fuck do you mean?” Kiefer barks, his body going rigid as his gaze darts back and forth between us, waiting on us to finish.
I eye the two angry claw marks that run a solid two inches from under his left eye down his cheek, and my teeth clench together. The only good thing here is that it’d seem they are now too caught up in the news to care what went down between Cross and me. I finally pry my jaw open. “There are bits of wood on either side remaining, but the rest was washed away in the storm.”
And just like that, my grief over the situation slams into me again. Lightning crashes overhead, followed immediately by a strong gust of wind—the howl of it perfectly demonstrating the chaos that has taken up residence inside me.
Any chance I had of leaving this place and living a normal life has effectively been destroyed, just like the bridge itself.
THIRTEEN
HAYZE
Hours have goneby since word first broke at the compound about the discovery made by Cross and Malakai down at the river. The shock still hasn’t worn off.
We’re finally tucking into dinner—the firstborn sons and a few others—at the large table off the kitchen, each with a bowl of venison stew in front of us and a slice of crusty bread. It’s definitely quieter than it usually is. My eyes flick to the gathering room. The doors have been shut—ominously so—for the last twenty minutes. The Collective—with the glaring exception of my father, Finneas—is no doubt discussing the situation we’ve found ourselves in. My stomach churns, the rich stew not settling well in my stomach.
Malakai kicks me in the shin while shooting daggers at me with his eyes. “Why hasn’t Finneas hadthat damn bridge fixed before now?” In response, Gannon snorts with laughter, which gains him an elbow in his side from Mal. “It’s not fucking funny,” he bites out.
Beside Gannon, Dragan purses his lips and shakes his head. My dickhead brother could tell them both to shut the fuck up about it, but he doesn’t, instead choosing to ignore the jabs at our father.
I, however, haven’t missed the fact that both Malakai and Dragan seem to be ignoring one very important detail. Forcing the appearance of thoughtfulness to my face, I swallow, then wipe my mouth with a napkin before gritting out, “Good fucking question, Mal.” My focus flicks between him and Gannon as I pause to give them an exaggerated roll of my eyes. “Funny you’d bring that up, as I would have thought someone like, oh… maybeyourfather would have noticed that the bridge was structurally unsound fucking ages ago, wouldn’t you?”
Unlike Dragan, who lets out a loud guffaw, Rafe draws in a breath but chooses—wisely—not to get involved.
Cross tilts his head to the side, though, and after only a moment of consideration, grinds out, “I agree with Hayze,” then follows up with an unapologetic shrug.
“Oh, big fucking surprise.” Malakai aims a withering look in Cross’s direction. If Mal thought Cross would side with him on this, he’s sadly mistaken.
Cross shakes his head, a grim smile reaching his lips. “Mal, you know that piece of crap should have been replaced. We’ve been taking our lives into our hands every time we traversed it.” Pushing his chair away from the table, he leans back and folds his arms over his chest.
“Placing blame isn’t productive. The bridge is gone. Period.” I stop to rake my teeth over my bottom lip, meeting each of their gazes. Commanding their attention.Demandingtheir compliance. “We’ll wait for direction from the Collective, and then we’ll deal with it. As always.”
“The river”—Evren quietly murmurs—“I’ve never seen it like that before.”
It hasn’t escaped me that the younger man has been cautiously following the entire exchange. Everything that’s been said has made him uncomfortable. He’s a sensitive sort, much like his oldest brother. More vulnerable than the others… and less able to voice his own opinion without fear of retaliation.
I meet Arrow’s eyes, hoping he understands my silent suggestion to pay attention to Evren. His gaze shifts to his brother, and he promptly puts a hand on his shoulder, squeezing. “We’re gonna get it fixed soon.”
I totally understand why Arrow would try to reassure his brother of that, but I also recall our fathers telling us stories about how long it’d taken to build it when they’d first come to this side of themountain to live in hopes that they’d be able to start our commune inside the walls of the crumbling correctional facility that’d been erected decades before. In fact, they’d spent months camping beside the river before they could even get to the dilapidated old building.
