Rule and Ruin

eight; the ache of betrayal

chapter eight.

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THE ORDERS LEFT Dino's lips just as Nix threw the both of them to the side. They hid behind the wooden crates as bullets tore through the space they occupied moments early.

Nix crouched swiftly and looked at her with those dark eyes.

"Run."

The word fell against Selene's ears like a bullet. Aggressive authority filled the simple command and every single bone in Selene's body obeyed.

She ran. Shielded by the stacks of cargo boxes to her right, she traced the wall on her left and ran with her head ducked. She didn't stop even as bullets flew from every angle, even when the cargo boxes surrounding her crashed and fell. She just kept running.

How did she get here?

Nix's footsteps sounded behind her. Even though he had saved her, she couldn't help but feel like she was being chased. She could hear his pants behind her, following her to escape. She could turn around and shoot him right now. She could go back to Dino's side. She could relish in that power again. There were so many things Selene could have done, and yet none that she wanted to do. Her legs just kept moving on their own, pushing against the concrete floor with as much speed as she could manage. She had trained daily for the past seventeen years, so she was far from out of shape, and yet a strange ache ran through her body. The ache of betrayal was an ache that never left.

The light of the exit was getting closer and closer, but before she could reach for it, Nix grabbed her hand and yanked her behind.

She gasped at the force and fell against Nix as the stacked boxes before them came crashing down. She panted in disbelief at the closed off exit.

"This way," Nix breathed. Pushing her off him, he led them to crouch behind a crate for cover while his eyes darted to the window. Selene couldn't hear anything besides the sound of her heart slamming against her chest. She looked down and clenched her hand around his as tight as she could, because she desperately wanted to break something. If her grip was too tight, he showed no sign of discomfort.

He was still holding on to her when he turned to her and whispered, "Don't let go."

Before she could respond, he pulled against her and dragged the two of them towards the glass windows. Selene let her body follow him without a complaint, because at that point, she was a mere whisper from giving it all up.

It was still raining bullets.

Nix swiftly climbed the stack of crates in front of the windows, unforgiving as he dragged her behind him. He tightened his hand against hers when they got to the top.

Turning around to face Dino, who cowered at the warehouse entrance, he gave a spiteful grin, raised a remote control in his left hand, and clicked a button.

Before she knew it, they were crashing through the window. Nix leapt first, throwing up an arm to shield himself from the shattering glass while his other hand had Selene in tow. She heard a gigantic explosion from the warehouse. Pieces of wood flew towards them, joining the shower of bullets and glass.

It felt like falling in slow motion. Selene could do nothing but squeeze her eyes shut as they fell, jagged pieces of wood and glass exploding beside them like some kind of throat-cutting firework show. She felt Nix pull her closer to his body, and when they landed, she fell into his chest while he fell into the bags of trash with a grunt.

It was too dangerous to think about the way his body rolled into hers as they steadied themselves.

Selene raised her head to look up and noted the 15 foot fall they had just made.