Kill Me Now (Book 1)(Editing)

Chapter 48: The Stargazers

‹‹‹‹‹{Chapter 48}›››››

{Recap}

“Saving his good for nothing a**,” Mitch replies with barely concealed fury.

“You’re kidding,” Eric raises his voice.

“Nope,” Julie turns around and shakes her head.

“Where are we supposed to hide all these kids before the boat comes,” Kasey wrinkles her nose in thought as she lifts a toddler in her arms.

“I know a place,” Mitch answers with a small smile.

“Zyla,” I nudge him in the side.

“How did you guess,” Mitch laughs as he wraps an arm around my shoulders.

“Can I have a piggyback,” a little girl tugs on his shirt, “I’m really tired.”

“Of course princess,” he squats down and lets her scramble onto his back. Before long the tired child falls asleep as we walk along and buries her little head into Mitch’s shoulder.

“She’s adorable,” I whisper as I gaze at her small, peaceful face. When I shift my stare to Mitch’s face I’m slightly startled to see his stormy expression.

“Verisal isn’t getting away with this,” Mitch mutters as he turns to me.

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{Play Music}

            “I think we should take a quick nap,” Kasey comments as a child in front of us stumbles from sleepiness.

            “Gotcha,” I laugh as I catch the frail little boy’s arm and lift him up.

            “I wish we could,” Mitch turns to Kasey, “But we don’t know if they’re on us by now.”

            “True,” she sighs in reply.

            “You know at first I was a little hesitant to do this,” Julie shifts the kid on her back, “But now I’m really glad we did,” she grins at us.

            “Too bad Hank isn’t here,” Eric mumbles under his breath. A silence settles over us as we shuffle along through the dark. A couple of hours ago we finally broke out of the swamp and moved into a meadow like scene. As we pass a tree my nose scrunches up in thought. Is it just me or did that tree look familiar?

            “I think we’re getting close,” Mitch speaks aloud as he glances around. So it wasn’t just me. We continue walking through the tall grass, and as I glance down at the blades I notice they are slightly blackened. I breathe in deeply and my eyes widen in confusion. The air around us smells acrid, like old smoke and fire. My heart starts beating faster and my head whips to Mitch.

            “You don’t think they...” I whisper as my eyes become as big as saucers.

            “Oh God no,” Mitch’s voice lowers as his eyes become as big as mine. Our worst fears are confirmed when we reach the top of the hill and look down. The village has been reduced to rubble with ancient smoke billowing up from it’s old ruins. My eyes search for a sign of life and begin to water when they find none.

            “They just wanted to help us,” I begin to cry, my body heaving with sobs, “They did nothing wrong.”

            “It’s ok,” Kasey pulls me into a hug and rubs my back.