Love Among The Ruins-Chapter 97

NADINE’S P.O.V

I wasn’t sure if it was exhaustion or if we’d developed a concussion from being thrown back so hard but we all fell asleep.

We were out in the woods with no form of protection and we’d just passed out. I wasn’t sure when exactly it happened. The last thing I remembered was my conversation with Amy. I sat with my back to a tree, trying to catch my breath and the next thing I knew, I was waking up to the sound of birds chirping.

It took me a second to remember where we were and by the time I did, I swore loud. I pulled myself to my feet, ignoring the pounding headache I felt and how weak my entire body was.

Rowan was asleep on the ground next to me, Amy was curled up a few feet to the left and Joshua was beside her.

"Rowan."

I nudged him, trying to rouse him. He didn’t stir. The Rowan I knew would wake up if I even moved wrong at night. The lack of a reaction told me everything I needed to know.

He was the closest to the blast. I didn’t see where he landed but he could very well have gotten a concussion and I’d never know.

I tried again, shaking him a little harder thus time. "We need to find shelter. We’re too exposed out here."

He murmured something inaudible under his breath before slowly opening his eyes. He lay there confused for a moment as he stared at me. I saw the exact moment that he remembered what happened because he cursed and rushed to his feet.

"Fuck, how long have we been out?"

"The entire night. We need to wake the others."

He nodded. "I’ll grab the bags and you wake them."

I woke Joshua first. He was much easier to rouse than Rowan. As soon as I shook him, his eyes flew open. He seemed as disgruntled as ever, but murmured a small thanks under his breath.

I hesitated before waking Amy. She looked so peaceful as she slept. It felt like cruelty to force her to wake up and remember what she’d lost. If I had my way, she would be asleep for the rest of her life, always dreaming, always happy.

"Amy?" my voice was gentle. "We have to keep moving."

"Noah?" she asked and my heart damn near broke in my chest.

I’d never heard her son’s name before and I hadn’t realized that until this moment.

"It’s me, Nadine."

Her eyes snapped open at my words, her cheeks a light shade of pink as she scrambled to her feet. I stretched out a hand, trying to help her but she ignored me, pulling herself to her feet and dusting off the dirt from her pants.

"Thanks," she mumbled, obviously dismissing me, but I didn’t move, I couldn’t- not until I knew she was fine. "You can go, Nadine."

"Are you alright?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not, but I’d rather not have you looking at me with pity right now. I had the most amazing dream with my son and I’d like to remember him like that."

"I’m sorry." I hadn’t realized I was causing her so much distress with my presence. "I’ll go-"

"I should never have left," she whispered and I stilled. I didn’t say a word, choosing instead to wait for her to feel comfortable enough to speak. "If I just stayed with him, he’d be alive. I told myself I was doing the best thing for him, but that’s a lie. I was being selfish."

"Amy-"

"It’s true. Having a child in there... it’s not easy. There were days I thought I was losing my mind. I wanted out of the bunker but I knew I couldn’t take him, so I left him and I got him killed."

I grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. "You didn’t kill him, Trent did, and we don’t even know if he’s dead."

"Did you not see-"

"I did," I cut her off. "But it could’ve been a ploy to phase us. He could be lying."

"I guess we’ll never know." She brushed past me before I could say a word. "Are we leaving now?"

"Yes, we just-"

Rowan went silent when an arrow went whizzing past my face and landed in the dree directly behind me... the exact spot that Amy moved from.

"Nadine, come here, now."

"Nobody move," a cold voice warned.

I turned slowly, following the source of the voice. A man stood between the trees, a bow in his hand and an arrow nocked, ready to be shot. He wore a hood and had something tied over the lower half of his face. I couldn’t see much of him, but I could clearly see his eyes, they were a deep shade of brown, and he had a pink scar that ran over his nose.

"What do you want?" Rowan asked and the man turned the arrow on him. "You can’t kill all of us."

"You’d be surprised at how well I can shoot."

Rowan didn’t flinch. He didn’t even seem to care that he had a weapon aimed at him. "Tell us what you want. If it’s supplies then you’re shit out of luck."

We’d left our supplies in an empty building while we raided the lab. We only had one bag with snacks that we’d packed for the trip to the lab and back. Half of those snacks were gone.

"I don’t need your supplies," the man snarled. "Raise your shirts, all of you. I need to know that you weren’t cut or bitten."

While he spoke, I took slow steps to the side, aiming for my dagger that was lying on the ground a few feet away. If I could just get to it, I’d be able to throw it if need be.

Amy saw what I was doing and decided to distract him. "I’m not stripping for you, asshole. You’re going to have to take my word for it."

"Or I could just kill you and check your dead fucking body, bitch."

"Fuck off." She spat. "If you’re so scared, you may as well leave."

"I’m not scared, darling." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

I was so careful as I moved that I barely made a sound. I finally made my way over to my dagger and bent my knees slowly until my fingers brushed the handle. I thought I’d gotten away with it, but he must’ve seen or heard something because he immediately turned the arrow back on me.

"What are you going to do with that, hm?" his voice was almost mocking. "Why don’t you put that dagger down before I put an arrow through your head? You need to get close enough to me to hit me with your dagger."

Before I could answer, I heard another voice speak. "No, she doesn’t. She has a good arm on her and good aim too."

I recognized that voice.

I knew it too well.

Even though it’d been a while, it wasn’t a voice I could forget.

I followed the sound, only to meet a smirking face. "Hello, Nadine, long time no see."