When All is Lost

Chapter 28

A door opened up from a restaurant less than half a block away. Four people emerged from it, one of them being the gigantic man from the night before. It was as though they had opened up the floodgates and people started leaking out from their hiding spots in what felt like every direction.

Four. Five. Seven. Ten. Twelve.

I counted the people around us, holding my gun up but unsure who to point it at as they deliberately began to surround us.

A man not much older than me seemed to be in charge, giving people short and quiet directions. I kept my gun trained on him.

He could have once been attractive with his chiseled features and the soft pout he had to his lips, but across his five o'clock shadow, he had a horribly raw-looking scar. It crawled all the way up his cheek and into his hairline. It reminded me of my own scar across my chest.

"What do you want?" I yelled out to him. The measly two guns we had were all that was holding them back. My gut told me they were preparing to overpower us – they were just trying to figure out how. They were the type of people who'd sheltered the pair that had killed Lindsay. We weren't safe. All I could do was buy us the time to think.

The man eyed my gun wearily, slightly raising his hands. One of them held what looked like a cleaver. It glinted in the sun as it was angled upward.

"What do you want?" I repeated, practically screaming. My heart was in my throat as the man took another tentative step forward. "Move again and I'll blow your head off!"

"You better not miss," he taunted as he glared me down. "You're outnumbered. Think you can get all of us before we get you?"

It's empty. It's empty. It's empty.

My gun mirrored me, being nothing but an empty shell of bravado. I couldn't let myself show weakness even as I had trouble keeping my knees straight.

We can't fight.

The man took another step forward. He was confident I either couldn't or wouldn't shoot. He was right, but I couldn't let him believe it. "What do you want?" I repeated again, nudging my closest companion with my shoulder. There was a gap between the buildings to my right. I tilted my head subtly in that direction, hoping at least some of the members of my group would pick up on it.

The man showed his teeth. "Everything you've got."

My heart skipped a beat at his answer. One member of his group whispered something to him, distracting him and I took advantage of that single moment. "Right. Get ready," I whispered in a rush, trying not to move my mouth.

Shooing his friend off, he zeroed in on my gun. "Drop that first. You give up everything peacefully and we'll let you leave with your lives."

I didn't bother to answer him. "Now," I told my group, making sure they moved first. They took off and I trailed right behind them.

Ray led the way, using his crowbar to knock a man upside the head so we could pass. The man only staggered back, but it was exactly what we needed. He dashed fast between the two buildings with us right behind him. There were no gates or fences to block us. In fact, it looked like there was a tree line not far off in the distance.

I made it between the two buildings when someone grabbed my gun-wielding arm, wrenching it back. I didn't hesitate. Using the ice pick in my left hand, I slammed it as hard as I could into the forearm of the person holding me.

It made a wet, slurping sound and pop as it came back out of their skin. The person howled in pain, releasing me. I thrust myself forward and away from them, sliding a little on the snow as I took off again.