WE ALL DIE ▸ NICK CLARK

xxiii. no

"Katherine!" I start hearing from a distance. "Hey, wake up." It was Alicia.

I hear gunshots and I feel hope that someone came to help us.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I hear again, but a different voice. Nick's voice.

"Is she dead?" I hear Troy's voice.

Not today

I suddenly can open my eyes searching for air.

"I'm not dead, asshole," I say breathless and I hear him taking a deep breath. "I love you but I'm out of air," I tell Nick as he hugs me tightly.

"Sorry." He breathes out.

"Come on." Alicia helps me up and I see Madison, Walker, and Strand.

"Am I hallucinating or is he the guy with the boat?" I ask still feeling dizzy.

"You're okay?" Walker asks me and I search for air.

"Never better," I say breathless. "Where's Ofy and Lee?"

"You're okay?!" Ofelia runs towards me and helps me out of Alicia carrying me with Crazy Dog.

"Like I said, never better. You?" I ask them and they nod.

***

I wake up on the back of a truck with a blanket.

"Charming," I say still weaker than usual.

"How are you?" Crazy Dog asks.

"Better," I assure him and get out of the truck but failing in keeping myself up. Maybe I'm a lot weaker than I thought. "Where's Alicia?"

"Still sleeping."

"You're awake?" I hear Strand calling and Nick telling him to shut the fuck up.

"If I wasn't, I would be now," I scream back at him knowing that not even an earthquake would wake Alicia up.
"Help me out," I ask Lee and he gets me up.

"I thought you died." Strand says.

"I don't die that easily."

"Did your brother make it?" He asks and I swallow hard.

"He was bitten," I say shortly and he nods.

"you good?" Ofelia asks me as I struggle to walk towards her.

"No. Are you?"

"No." She says and I sit on her side.

"At least we're not alone." I breathe out and walker comes towards us with Maddie.

They sit in front of us and look at Ofelia as if she was somehow fragile.

"Ofelia, your father... He's alive, Ofelia." Maddison says and I look at Walker and he nods making me put my arm around Ofelia. "He's asked us to bring you to him."

"It's true. I saw him myself." Walker tells and she starts crying.

"He thought you were dead," Maddison says. "He's desperate to see you."

"Thank you." She mutters and they grab her hand.

"We got to move. The explosion's already attracting more." Maddison gets up and walks away from us and towards Alicia, slightly touching my shoulder.

"Where's Jake?" Alicia asks and Nick nods in deny.

Nick had told me he was dead but Alicia didn't know yet. Making my heart break for her.

"How?" she says swallowing her tears.

"He was trying to stop this." He says.

"How?" She asks again.