Page 88 of Leave Me Behind
My hand curls over my chest and I finally start to stagger toward his unmoving body.
“Bring her to me.” A bored voice echoes through the room. Two soldiers standing idly by move to grab me. I let them drag me by the arms to the man who did this. But I don’t let my eyes break from Bradshaw’s form. I watch him intently, waiting for a cough or a seized breath, but he lies motionless.
The two men toss me to the floor and only then is my trance severed. I force myself to my hands, wincing at the pain that shoots straight through my palms. I hesitate before looking up.
“It’s okay, you can look at me.”
I look up and find a masked man sitting lazily atop an oakwood table. His palms are pressed to the edge as he leans forward to see me better. His mask is matte black and covers his entire face. It’s in the shape of a skull and the eye sockets have a mesh screen that hides his eyes.
The silence that fills the room makes me uncomfortable. I start to look over my shoulder back at Bradshaw, but my jaw is caught in the man’s hand and he turns my face back to his.
“You care about that guy?” He has no tone, just odd curiosity that sends shivers up my spine. I nod slowly. “Why?”
Why?That’s a great question. But regardless of what the answer is, I do. I care about him more than I’ll ever admit.
“Did you… kill him?” My voice is weak.
He throws his head back and laughs before hopping off the table. “Let’s go find out.” He fists my hair and pulls me over to Bradshaw on my hands and knees. I bite into my lower lip to keep from whimpering at the pain of him pulling on my scalp.
He releases me a few feet away and I crawl to close the distance, pulling the bleeding soldier into my lap and brushing his dark hair from his face. Shock rolls through me as I stare down at Bradshaw’s face.
It’s not him.
“E-Eren?” I choke out. His eyes crack open weakly, but I’m not sure he can see me before they close again. “You fucking monster!” I scream and clutch Eren’s body as if I can protect him.
Eren’s face is drenched in his blood. I wipe away the excess from his cheeks and don’t see cuts, so the wound must be on top of his head somewhere. His arm is broken and hangs to his side lamely while his torso has the monopoly on injuries. His jacket is soaked and leaves blood all over me. It breaks my heart to see him this way.
Even if he lost faith in me—I failed to protect him.
The masked man laughs. “I guess he’s still kicking then? Good, I’d hate for him to miss all the fun.”
I seethe and rise to my feet. I charge at the man and try to punch him in the face but he dodges it and grabs my throat with one hand. The force of it is so powerful it stops all airflow and makes me audibly gasp. Both my hands fly to his arm as I try to fight out of his hold. I’m so weak already that I can hardly put up a worthy fight.
He laughs again and drops me. I fall to my knees and choke as I take staggered breaths. Tears fall to the ground and I shake my head. “Where is Bones?”
“Who? I don’t know aBones,” he taunts me.
I rise again and try hand-to-hand combat a second time. This round, I’m fighting with a more level head rather than pure rage. I kick him square in the chest, but he doesn’t fall back, he grips my ankle so I can’t pull away and twists it. I cry out at the ugly snapping sound that rings through the room, but I don’t let the pain stop me. I lift my other leg and kick his kidney. He instantly drops my leg and I don’t waste a moment as he clutches his side. I rush him, tackling him to the ground and struggling to get on top of him so I can wring the life out of him.
The soldiers standing by tear me off him and throw me back.
“Coward!” I scream.
The man rises and laughs again. I battle to keep my mind in control. He knew seeing Eren like this would make me distraught. But who the fuck is he? And how long has Eren been here? Where is the rest of the squad? I fight the tears that burn the back of my eyes.
“Bring in the brother,” he says as he turns to return to the table. He sits like the unruly king of this underground operation, bored and seeking entertainment from others’ pain and suffering.
My spine stiffens and I turn as the doors open. Bradshaw limps in. He’s in the same state as when we arrived. Which is still beat to shit, but far better off than his brother.
Bradshaw’s eyes flick to Eren’s body and he only flexes his jaw before looking back at the ground. He still doesn’t meet my eyes and my heart wars against my ribs with terror. Why won’t he fucking look at me?
It dawns on me finally. It’s guilt.He knows who’s in charge, he knows what’s going to happen to us.
thirty-five
. . .
Bradshaw
