Airborne

14. Barren Bennet

Chloe

By what Brody counted, plus my five, there are fifteen Raiders in total roaming the area. The outcome of taking these assholes out means the route to Barren will be cake.

Choosing an orderly attack, my eyes track their patters long enough to decipher a distinct path: three cross routes, two stray before looping around the centre where Brody and I had been when the Bestial arrived. Sucking in a needed breath, my string grows taught, and I let the arrow fly when the cross over is complete. I'm watching as it sinks into a fair-haired woman's eye socket before she staggers off into one of the shops. Firing a second at the approaching raven-haired bloke, catching him in the centre of the cranium, he falls not far from the same shop the woman stumbled into. The last one is hiding their features behind a ski mask, but it's obvious they caught my arrow slamming into one of their comrades by the way their gun shakes in their hand, and how they're frozen to the spot. As soon as they reach for their radio, my arrow finishes the job.

Moving up the rows of shops, using the railing barrier as cover for when the need to change angles is necessary, my eyes locate the remaining few on my level. Collecting a shard of glass, I throw it not that far from where my position is, and a low voice calls out, "Did you hear that?"

"Go check it out," a gruffer one retorts, a throaty cough soon following.

On cue, a brunette appears in front of me, unaware that I'm only inches away from here. Scanning the surroundings, their partner vanishes into one of the shops, and I use that as an opportunity to take out the one before me with a quick jab and slice to the throat with the head of my arrow.

Readying the same arrow, I'm sending it into the one who is leaving the shop, and I'm fast to nail the approaching figure, only it doesn't take her down straight away.

Shit.

Firing another, it impales her throat, ceasing the splutters and gasps for air. Sighing in relief, I'm swift in retrieving my ammunition before leaning over the barriers in search for Brody and for anyone sneaking up behind him, although, it looks like he's handling himself well.

He's stealthy, I'll give him that. He makes each of the kills clean with a quick flick of the wrist, if it got brutal, then it was a rough stab and slice to the throat. For the Raiders approaching from behind, I'm there to deliver a quick arrow to the backs of their heads.

Suddenly Brody's no longer in sight. Calmly scoping the floors for him, there's no sign. Panic flushes through me, and before I know it, I'm walking as fast as I can toward the broken escalators. Halfway down the steps, gun fire blares throughout the mall, and then it all falls silent.

"Brody!"

I'm practically running the rest of the way, scanning left and right as I go.

Where is he?

"Brody!"

Rounding a corner, a body collides with mine, and a startled sound comes from me. Raising my gaze, Brody's there staring down at me with blood splattered over his sweater, and worry clouds my mind as I start lifting the hem with tears in my eyes.

"Broody, are you OK?" There's nothing on him, just bare tanned skin.

His fingers circle my wrists, pulling my hands to his chest as he rests his forehead against mine. "I'm alright, I promise. This isn't mine."

A shaky breath passes my lips, mingling with his as we remain like this. My heart's thudding erratically, remembering how he held me when that snake was on me, then the passionate embrace we shared in my dream as he took me softly, sweetly.