CROSS MY HEART // dystopian romance

12. it's with or against

I have seen monsters, corpses coming back to life, viruses, evil creatures, and still nothing compares to the greed of men. The cruelty that hides in each and every one of us. The things humans can do to each other.

We stopped in the woods for the night. Big Ben lit a warm little fire, but the air is still freezing. They handed me an extra sleeping bag. I'm lying here, on the moss and the leaves, in my blanket, and I observe the others. Althea and Mihan put their sleeping bags together, and she's holding him tight as they fall asleep. Big Ben is watching the fire, and it's Elan's turn next.

I wake up in the middle of the night, Big ben is sleeping and Turner fell asleep sitting in front of the fire. I hear strange bird noises and leaves cracking the woods near, and I decide to go take a look at it. I make sure to grab a dagger before I go. Standing my ground, I wander around, following the noises, thinking it might be a Dead-Alive that I have to kill before it eats us.

I can hear muffled sounds and...voices.

Suddenly, I hear more leaves cracking, and louder, but this time behind me. I don't have time to scream or react, because two hands cover my mouth and snatch me away. I gasp as I try to free myself from the arms blocking me from behind, and the hand on my mouth.

"Shhh you idiot ! It's Elan." a familiar voice reassures me. "Just shut up."

My body is pressed onto his as his grip tightens, and his back is against a large tree. His hand finally leaves my mouth breathe, and grabs my shoulder so that his forearm is blocking my collarbone. I'm holding on to it, trying to get me to let me go, but he doesn't.

As the steps come closer, I realize why he pulled me back the way he did. We're hiding.

"I swear I heard some sounds" a man with a deep voice swears. "There's someone out there, Jord."

"Circle around." another one orders.

My breath is scattered and intense, while I fear I know the cause to all this turmoil.

"The Claws ?" I whisper, my breath heavy.

"Shh. Yes." it feels like he's whispering in my ear from behind.

When the men are right behind our tree, playing with their guns and weapons, Turner lets me go.

"Go. Find the others, and go. I'll talk to them." he says.

"Are you crazy ?" I ask, frowning, my eyes wide with disbelief.

"Run. Do as I say."

And somehow, my body is compelled to obey. For the first time since I've met Elan Turner, I trust him. Partially. I run as fast as I can to find the others, and tell them to leave. I'm struck with horror when I get there. Half of the Claws have already found them, and they're holding them at gunpoint.

"Come out, little dove." some middle-aged man who saw me behind the bushes whistles. "Come out."

And just as I'm about to get a dagger I have hidden in my boot, a firm hand grabs my wrist and forces me to come out.

"Well, well, well..." says the man. It looks like he's the leader. "What do we have here ?"

The man behind me forces me to walk closer to the leader, a gun behind my head.

"Ah, here he is !" he smiles in the fakest way possible, looking at Turner who's being dragged toward us under the threat of a gun. "The one and only... Elan...Turner. How's that scar doing ?"

Turner looks closed off, cold. When he looks up at the man, there's murder in the dark of eyes.

"Let them go, Darian." his voice is rough.

"You're walking on my territory," Darian ignores his request, then caresses my cheek with the end of his gun, which sends a shiver down my spine. "So, surely this must be a gift for me. Right ? As an apology."

"I'd rather die." I spit on the floor, too scared to try anything else.

"The girl's a gift ?" the fat man behind me exclaims, too excited for my taste. He grabs my arm from behind touches my hair, which gives me the urge to rip his heart out.

"I don't know, Garry." he brushes his fingers against my lip, and it makes me sick to my stomach. "Let's ask our boy Elan." he then pauses to look at Turner. "Is she a gift for me ?"

I glance over at him as panic strikes my veins. It's only now that it hits me : he's going to say yes. He's been dying to hand me over and use me as salvation for the moment we met. This is it. This is the perfect occasion for him to get rid of me.

"She's..." he mutters under his breath, constrained.

"I can't hear you." Darian threatens when one of his men pushes the gun further against Turner's head. "She's...?"

Turner clears his throat, and looks over at me. I can't decrypt what his expression means, but a knot ties my insides as his eyes pierce through mine.

"She's with us." he affirms, his eyes shifting to Darian's face.

My heart drops. I breathe out, still shaking. Darian suddenly laughs, and I don't know if it's worse than any other reaction.

"You've got balls, Turner." he slips between laughs. "You don't seriously think, that I'd let you keep such a pretty thing all to yourself ?"

"Yeah well." he sighs. "You wouldn't want her, anyway. She's too goddamn stubborn and feral."

"You of all people should know, Turner, that I don't mind a challenge." Darian ogles me up and down. "Hands up in the air, sweetheart. I want to look at you."

The tension is so heavy, my heart feels like it's beating out of my chest. I hold my hands up, behind my head. Suddenly, I touch the small dagger hidden in my hair bun. Turner glances over at me, and furtively signs something.

"As you want, Darian." he says, louder than normal. He spells his words carefully. "But be careful. She'll break your heart."

I take it as my cue, and I throw the dagger directly to the Garry's heart, because he's the threat closest to me. His body thuds to the ground, before anyone sees it coming. It's the powder that light the fuse, and the others start fighting immediately.

An explosive fight breaks down, and I'm nearly shot twice. Turner grabs his rifle from the ground and hits two of the men in the head with the shoulder stock, but one of them gets up and shoves him on the floor.

"Ivy, behind you !" Althea shouts, so I turn back and dodge a punch. The man chases me as I run to grab my small sword near my sleeping bag, and thing go down pretty fast. I swing my blade around, and I cut his throat with it.

Blood splashes on my face, it makes me flinch. His body thuds. I can see Big Ben smashing a few guys' skulls over there, onto a tree. Mihan and Althea are hiding behind him.

One of the Claws knocks over a stone blocking the campfire, and causes some branches to catch fire. Giant flames devour the trees, chaos drips down my wrist, blood waters the grass, embers flutter in the night like fireflies, and I see him.
I see Scar.