Boondocks

Chapter 23: No Match

WILLOW

Two rows of Officials marched silently up the muddy bank. The wind blew over us on its way to them, carrying their scent far beyond our reach. Had they come from the other direction, the whole camp would have known by now. They'd planned. They'd prepared. They knew everything.

I stood like a deer faced with an oncoming car. No match. No chance. No more hope.

"Willow?" Croc said, as if he'd said it several times already. I hadn't even noticed him exit the water until he was right in front of me. He took my chin, forcing my eyes to his. "Their focus will be on the men in camp. Go wait in the garden with Julia."

I shook my head. "The kids—"

"I'll protect the kids." His voice was stern. "I need you to promise me you'll protect our baby. Promise me you'll wait in the garden."

No. No. This was all wrong. We couldn't be separated. I couldn't go hide without knowing he and the kids were okay.

"Promise me!" he hissed, the call leaking into his words.

The Officials were drawing closer. There was no time to argue. No time to think. "I promise." I choked.

Croc pressed a palm to my stomach, kissed my forehead, and took a deep inhale of my hair. Then he pulled away with a rough "Go" and stormed to the water's edge. His arms extended, chest expanded, and the call poured from his lungs like a summons from God.

The water stirred violently, waves becoming rapids, then geysers as alligators burst onto the shore and stampeded toward camp.

I scrambled up a small hill before they could trample me. My breaths broke apart like glass, slicing my throat raw. This couldn't be happening again, already. It was too soon. We'd won. My vision blurred. Everything felt too horrible to be real. Like a nightmare, I ran, but my legs had no power. I was disembodied, clumsy, and the distance kept stretching. My footing slid on the dead leaves. Tree roots fought to trip me.

After what felt like an eternity, I broke through the trees.

Julia knelt in the garden, sprinkling water on the freshly disturbed Earth, oblivious to the danger.

She jolted upright at my approach. "What's wrong?"

The first round of gunfire answered for me, and a sob stole my last bit of breath. I collapsed in front of her, heaving air.

Julia gripped my shoulders and forced me upright. "Where are the kids?"

I motioned behind me, but I couldn't speak. My lungs were locked, my throat shut.

More gunfire erupted, a cacophony of roars mingling with the noise.

"Dammit, Willow!" Julia shook me. "Where are the kids?"

"With Croc," I rasped, hoping it was true. He would get them. He would protect them. I had to believe it; the alternative wasn't something I could bear.

The gunfire multiplied, and I straightened, turning toward the sound. Birds fled the trees, becoming frantic black specs in an otherwise cloudless sky. Everyone could die. This could all end, and the world would never be saved. If I lost Croc, mine would never be the same. What if something happened to him before he made it to the kids? What if they were alone and afraid, little mice waiting for me to come and find them. And I was here, hiding, saving myself, like I'd sworn I'd never do again.

I turned back to Julia and pushed to my feet. "Hide in the woods."

She gripped my wrists and stopped me. "Where in the hell do you think you're going?"