Walking Amongst Them (Among Us, Book 2)

a rocky understanding

"Just another trading chip," Cody brushed him off and tugged me closer, away from the man and towards the tent.

His shoulder's were tense. Did he know he spoke to my father? The asshole who'd left me alone with the rest of his so-called family to die? He knew something. It was evident in the way he tried to pull me away from my dad, to keep me from being seen.

"Wait," Dad's voice cut out.

I couldn't see him through Cody's form, but he must have waved us over or something, because Cody changed his steps and we started towards him. I wasn't sure if he realized it or not, but Cody's hand tightened around my arm the closer we got to the man. I kicked him while we walked, subtly, but hard. His hand loosened and he shot me an unreadable expression.

We were closer to the tent than before, giving me the ability to see the two smaller tents beyond the medium sized one. All I could really thing about though, was the blade clipped to Cody's- my, backpack.

I didn't get the opportunity to use it. Cody pulled me forward roughly, holding out his foot just so, causing me to stumble and hit the dirt. The rope was still in place, but it thankfully didn't catch as I fell. He did pull it as soon as I'd recovered though, laughing humorlessly at the same time.

"Come on, get up."

From where I was on all fours, in the dirt, my father's boots were only a few feet in front of me. I could hear Gary and Jerald talking about something, it sounded like food maybe. But blood was rushing through my ears. Anger boiling my brain.

Something Cody said reentered my brain. To play along or I would ruin everything.

The part of me that had become one with the apocalypse wanted me to fight. The part that had been trained in what to do when taken by bad people, who still existed despite all of the good who'd died, wanted to wreck havoc.

I wiped my hand across my face as though I'd been hurt, keeping my shoulder's hunched down. The blood and the dirt mixed. That, with the bruises, was going to hopefully be enough.

I don't know why I worried about it though, my father barely looked at me before nodding to Cody.

"Put her with the others. You lucky bastards are just in time, the van will be here soon. Gary, you sly son-bitch, you know that I don't accept trades. What did you bring to make it right?"

I didn't get to know what any of that meant, because Cody pulled the rope again. He grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet a little quicker than my brain wanted, and I swayed. He didn't see it, as he'd released me just as quick as he'd grabbed me.

I fell over, not quiet passed out, but close.

He turned around when he felt the rope tug, and even through the spots I could tell he'd been ready to come unglued on me. His face softened more than I remember it being these last few days and he helped me back up.

Dad and his boys were too busy to notice the way Cody helped me walk away from them, around the large tent and out of sight. We walked towards the closest of the small tents. Cody's body was tense and sweaty. But I couldn't even complain about his sweat getting on me, as my feet started to stumble again.

Cody released a colorful swearword and bent down, scooping me into his arms and jogging the rest of the short distance. The lack of sleep and the rest of it all was catching up to me. I wasn't sure why it chose now to, though. If I felt unable to sleep with two strangers and Cody, I wondered how sleep would find me so close to my father.

I heard the tent unzip, a small gasp, and then nothing.

*

*