Storm

Chapter Sixty-Five

This was possibly the dumbest thing I've done in my entire life.

Which was saying a lot, since I'd done a lot of dumb stuff.

I'd signed the paper.

I wasn't totally sure what I'd been thinking. The lady had offered to fix my leg, though. I really did need a doctor or somebody to look at it.

Now that I didn't have Noah.

Plus, I was utterly lost. I had nobody left. What else was I supposed to do? I needed help.

This woman had offered it.

Now, sitting in the back of a dank van wearing a black mask, I started to question the decision I'd made.

I wasn't alone. Three other masked figures crouched alongside me. One of them had introduced herself as Peggy. The others had been totally silent.

I felt more than a little out of place.

And I still hadn't been told what the hell I was doing.

I mean, what did she expect me to do? I had a terrible limp and could barely move on my own. If this was some sort of job that required agility, I was screwed. Then again, if it was a job that required agility, she probably wouldn't have hired me.

The van jerked to a stop. I winced.

The other black-masked passengers hopped out the back, and I slid down, holding myself up with my crutches once I was back on solid ground.

We stood next to a large gray brick building.

Obviously, we weren't at the front entrance. Whatever I'd gotten into definitely didn't seem legal.

Well, I already was a fugitive, so it didn't really matter.

Another black-masked figure came out from the shadows and towards our little group. They began talking to the taller of the two unnamed guys from my van.

Peggy turned to me.

"This is an easy job. All we need is for you to stand guard at the back of this van. Be our eyes. If you see any guards come by, shout," Peggy explained quickly.

"Wait, but what even is happening-?" Peggy was already gone by the time I finished my question.

I was stuck in this situation. No turning back now.

It also made sense why they got random citizens off the street to do this job. If a guard came by and I screamed, I'd probably get arrested for questioning at the very least while the rest of them hid. I probably should not have trusted that woman.

Thankfully, the street was pretty dead. The moon and stars glowed far above me, lighting up the empty cobbled streets. A few lamps lit up circles of white light on the sidewalk. They were too far away, though. Back here in this alleyway, not many would see us.

I don't know what it was about the quiet, but for some reason, that moment was when everything really hit me.

I had no idea who I was anymore.

What I was doing.

Mere weeks ago I'd been with Asten. I'd been with Max and Kyan and January. I'd been at the camp.

Before that I'd still trusted Mace. I'd fought at the border with the rest of the Snow Society.

But now everything was in shambles. Mace was a traitor. January and Kyan were long gone, likely dead after all this time. Asten and Ava had supposedly been caught but who really knew anymore. Maybe Asten had also died that day when he'd shoved me down the trash chute and the court case was just to give a semblance of justice.

The Snow Society didn't exist. Whatever was left in it had been sucked into Claire's opposition group out in the desert, even though I had no freaking clue how to get back.

And Elijah. His friends. They still expected us to come back. They were going to have to wait a very long time.

Finally, Noah and Emma. The two people I thought I could trust. People who'd seemed so sweet and welcoming, but when it really mattered, they'd ditched me. I guess Emma hadn't totally ditched me, but I doubted she would disagree with Noah after everything. After he told her who I really was.

I jumped as a loud clang rang out in the alleyway behind me. Thankfully, it was just the other masked figures, carrying something seemingly large and heavy. They struggled with it as I kept watch of the street. Nobody was there. Nobody was going to come. We were safe.

And then I'd get help.

Everything afterwards would have to be taken one step at a time.

Peggy finally signaled at me to hop in the back of the van alongside the metal box that they'd dropped off. The lid was shut, but as the van door closed, Peggy unsealed it.

"Perfect," she said, smiling in the dark. I leaned over to look at whatever was inside. A black blanket.

My hand slipped and I found myself touching flesh.

I jerked backwards, staring at the spot where the black blanket had pulled aside. An arm.

A hand.

God, I should have realized this earlier.

They weren't smuggling just anything.

They were smuggling bodies.