Walking Amongst Them (Among Us, Book 2)

enemy fire

The plan was crap. I'd heard Mabel come up with better plans to steal money from teachers. I was thinking about how much I'd rather be the one dipping my hand into the strictest teacher's purse while the guy who'd helped produce me shoved me into the street.

If Jace's plan played out the way he wanted it to, he and Cody would only need to take out the standard two man team. Because we weren't in the building that had been agreed upon, Jace was worried that the people might see the empty building and move on without stopping. That's where I came into play, apparently.

The door to the building that I'd just been shoved out of was shut with a firm snap. The sound was deafening and swift, making the silence afterwards feel disconcerting. I glanced over my shoulder, catching sight of the paint chipped metal door. I couldn't help it as I rolled my eyes and walked across the street.

My inability to put self preservation before this sort of shit was getting old.

As I approached the building, I found that these doors weren't chained. Despite this, it looked as if the horrors of the current times hadn't completely hit this store either. I wondered how many buildings in this town, in this world, would remain untouched long after the war against the dead and living is resolved.

The ground was covered in a thick layer of dirt, which had been disrupted more than a few times, I realized. I started to pay better attention to my surroundings. I'd allowed myself to be caught up in the situation and drama, which in turn had allowed me to wind up weaponless and alone in a joke shop.

It didn't matter that there were weapons just across the street, or people who might come to my aid. I made quick work of turning the store upside down, causing more destruction than what few people had already caused while trying to empty the vending machine in the corner.

After suffering through a few gag-weapons, I finally found a real blade in the office. If I had to guess, I'd say the small blade hadn't been used for much more than opening letters.

I hoped I wouldn't need it.

I certainly didn't have any letters to open.

Jace hadn't been clear when the people he was trying to double-cross were showing up, only that they were. But it was still strange to hear the sound of tires crunching over the street and the things that littered it. Even more strange was the sudden feeling of wrongness that swept over my body.

But how was I supposed to stop what was about to happen? I had a letter opener and a Twix bar that had been hiding here waiting for me to find it. Cody was armed and so was Jace. I had no clue what Gary was doing. Probably watching over the girls.

Still, the tires approached and my heart beat grew louder in my ears. My only job was to be seen enough to get the driver to stop. Jace didn't want to risk the van being damaged by shooting the driver while driving, or to be damaged by the bullets themselves.

My hold on the small blade was causing my nails to bite into my palms. My feet worked on their own accord and I watched as my free hand reached up and shoved the glass door open. I stepped out of the building, blinded temporarily by the sun after having  come out of the poorly lit building.

I heard the vehicle, closer than ever.

My eyes agreed to open, and for a second I saw what might have been a black van. My eyes had shut again, I reached up to rub them, strangely aware of how warm the simply presence of the sun felt as it rested on my shoulders. I was stood in the middle of the street by the time I was able to see without dots and wrong colors taking over.

The van had come to a stop not fifteen feet away from me, the sun and the angle of the windshield made it impossible to see inside.

I couldn't begin to guess what Jace was doing currently, as I took his plan and went rogue with it. Would he give the order to shoot these people down, no matter what? Even if it meant shooting me down to get to them? I couldn't make myself feel any sort of surprise over the notion, knowing deep down that he might be considering it.