“I can’t let him know the truth; he’d kill me,” she said sharply to John, then turned to me, her face stricken.
“Your head,” she said, gesturing at me. “Are you—”
“I’ll take care of her,” John replied firmly, linking his arm with mine.
“You better,” Holly said, but her voice shook. “Take her and get as far away as you can. I’ll stall as long as I can, but the others will hunt you when they find out. Hide yourself in the woods at least until tomorrow.”
John gave a brief nod to Holly and pulled me toward an exit.
“Wait,” I said, looking back at my sister. “We can’t—”
“We can,” John said sternly. “And we are.”
“No,” I whimpered. “I can’t leave her again, not when—”
My protest was silenced by the sad, resigned look that Holly gave me.
“You need to go, Claire,” she said quietly. “I’ve made my bed, and my place is here.”
“But—” Tears streamed down my cheeks, and a sob escaped me.
If I’d been thinking rationally, I would’ve known we had to leave her. But I was exhausted, injured, and seized by frantic emotions I didn’t understand. Knowing she’d turned a corner made it feel like I was losing her all over again.
“You need to go,” she repeated. “I want you to.”
I stared at her, torn. My insides felt frozen.
“Claire,” John barked, snapping me out of it. “Come on.”
I swallowed reflexively and let him to pull me away. The basement held a tunnel that led to the college on the opposite side of the road. Crumbling and partially flooded with several inches of water, it wasn’t an easy trek, but it was better than the alternative. With wet feet and my scalp still slowly oozing blood, we emerged into a warm June evening—into a world that appeared unchanged yet would never be the same.
The night was quickly illuminated by the burning theatre, engulfed in flames. Shouts came from the cultists, desperate to save their dear leader, even as it was futile. I did my best to put them out of my mind as we fled.
John navigated through the Red Zone, leading me through alleyways and backstreets, not slowing for a moment. I was breathless and exhausted, but I allowed him to pull me along until he found our way back to the vast forest that surrounded the ruined city. Even once we’d reached the cover of the woods, we walked for a long time, going deeper into the wilderness. Moonlight was our only guide, but at least the darkness and rough terrain would make it difficult for the cult to follow us.
Finally, when I felt as though I was about to collapse, John stopped. He pushed through overgrown brush until we came into a small clearing. It was as concealed as could be. John clicked on his flashlight and set his pack on the ground. He pulled out a blanket and spread it across the ground.
“Sit,” he ordered before rummaging in his pack again with the light.
My knees gave out as I lowered myself onto the blanket, and I gasped at the surge of pain in my wounded scalp. My hair was caked with blood and felt disgusting. Despite the warm evening, my skin was cool and clammy. I hugged my velvet cloak around myself, shivering. Battered and bruised, my grip on myself was slowly slipping away, as surely as my sister had in those final moments in the theatre.
“You’re still in shock,” John said, surprisingly calm. He’d trained for this, I supposed. “Take a couple deep breaths for me.”
I tried my best as he retrieved his outrider medical kit from his bag and knelt in front of me. Flashlight in hand, he shone it directly into my eyes, and I flinched.
“Sorry,” he murmured. “Checking for concussion.”
I let him examine my pupils and answered his questions. He determined that concussion was unlikely; I’d been lucky, apparently, even though I felt anything but. He scooted behind me and parted my hair to inspect the laceration on my scalp. His touch was gentle, but I winced anyway.
“It’s not as bad as it seems,” he said, reaching into his kit. “Head wounds bleed a lot, even when they’re not deep. It’ll be okay with a few stitches.”
I nodded numbly, and he started cleaning the cut with a cloth he dampened with his water bottle.
“What’ll we do about the horses?” I asked, my voice sounding foreign to me.
“We’ll get them tomorrow,” he replied. “Assuming it’s safe.”
I was shaking like a leaf. I didn’t know how I’d ever stop.
