Page 11 of Fear the Reapers

“Why did you wait so long? We could have saved them too,” I argued.

“It would have been impossible to get everyone out in time. We would have had to leave them here.”

“Bullshit.”

“I'm telling the truth. There was no way I could get you out of here before on my own,” he argued. “There are less men here now that they're gone. We would have needed to get through the guards upstairs first, then if you wanted to waste whatever precious time we had left, then you could have let them go.”

It wasn’t a good enough reason for me, but I would have to take what I could get in the moment. However long it took me to figure things out, I would.

They were going on the list.

If I couldn't help them now, I would do my best to follow the trail later.

“How about you sweeten the pot and give me something I can use to protect myself?”

“How do I know you won’t kill me?” he asked as he toyed with the leather sheath on his belt.

“Do I look like I have the strength?” I asked.

He pulled the knife out of the sheath and handed it to me. When I took it from him, he sighed. “I hope you know how to use this,” he said. “I only have one gun and it’s for me.”

My rescuer carefully opened the door. As the light from upstairs hit my legs, I swallowed down the sob clawing to get out of my throat. Once we both stepped out of the narrow staircase onto the main floor, he drew the attention of the man standing guard. I snuck up behind him, put my hand over his mouth, tilted his head back and slit his throat. The knife was so sharp it cut through the skin like butter.

It was messy, but he didn’t utter a word.

His body went limp as I felt his last breath escape him. My arms tightened around him, and I lost my balance, my knees buckling as I tried to prevent him from hitting the floor too hard.

I felt so exhausted, my arms trembling with effort as I attempted to push him away.

As I finally heaved his dead weight off of me, my eyes burned with unshed tears. I hadn’t felt so helpless since I picked up the phone to tell my brother that my mother had died.

ChapterNine

HARLEIGH

He moved quickly.

Within ten minutes we had vacated the decrepit building, our footsteps echoing against the walls. The literal dead silence we’d created by our actions was beyond eerie.

Once the floor was cleared, he grabbed my arm and dragged me outside. I held my breath, hoping nobody had gathered to see us come out of the building. Releasing my arm, he went off ahead of me. I could feel the sweat dripping down my back.

My head swam as I panted for breath.

When I finally reached the bottom of the steps, my legs were so weak, they went out from under me. I was on my hands and knees before I could stop it. Dirt, rocks and who knew what else digging into me. The sudden impact of my knees hitting the ground was excruciating and reverberated up my spine.

The man cursed. “We don’t have time for this.”

Grasping my arm, he put it over his shoulder. With one arm around my waist, he hefted me to my feet and pulled me along.

We were a perfect pair of macabre twins. My clothes had a sticky, metallic feel from the blood spatter of our escape. They would need to be burned once I’d found something new to put on. The sight of us was probably enough to send a chill down the spine of onlookers, even in the warm summer air.

Until this guy shed some light on the situation, I had no idea what to make of my surroundings. We were in the middle of what looked to be an abandoned neighbourhood. The street signs and unfamiliar buildings left me wondering which town or city we were in. I had no idea if I was still in Alberta, or if I had crossed over into another province, or even another country.

Without my phone, I felt isolated and unable to reach out for help.

I could feel the desperation creep in as I realized that with no one to turn to and no time to spare, I wouldn’t be able to find a safer place if I were to ditch my supposed saviour. Not knowing what else to do, I reluctantly accepted his plans. With the knife he had given me, I could feel the power in my hands, and I knew there was a lot I could do with it.

We hobbled up the street, the hot summer sun beating down on us, until we reached a car. There, he released me on the passenger side. Stumbling, I placed my hands on the door, the metal hot on my skin. Thinking we’d have to hot wire the car; I glanced around for anyone in sight. Then to my surprise I heard the jingle of a set of keys as he extracted them from his pocket. Thinking it was his vehicle, after I opened the door, I paused for a moment.

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