Page 134 of Blue Arrow Island
I take off toward him, my heart racing with fear and excitement.
“Olin!” I reach him and bend down. “Come with us, please. Just trust me and come.”
His eyes meet mine, confusion rippling over his expression. His hands are covered in blood.
“Olin, she’s gone. I’m sorry. We have to go. You’ve been lied to.”
Something whooshes past us and I feel a thud on the ground. Amira shot an arrow at someone who was running toward us.
Olin stands, looking at his bloody hands.
“Please,” I implore him. “You can trust me. We have food. You’ll be safe.”
His nod is almost imperceptible, his expression dazed. My eyes flood with relieved tears as I take his arm and run away from the fight.
“Let’s go!” Nova yells. “Back to camp!”
Marcus races up to me, blood splattered on his face and chest. His left eye is swollen almost shut and he has a fat lip.
“You okay?” he asks.
“I’m okay.” Emotion clogs my throat, making it hard to talk. “This is my friend Olin. He saved my life.”
Marcus locks eyes with Olin and says, “You’re gonna be okay. The hard part’s over.” He glances over his shoulder. “Command Teams One and Two, in position!”
I turn and see about ten Tiders in a full sprint toward us. Panic for Olin flares in my chest.
“Take your friend to the aromium switch location,” Marcus says levelly, drawing his gun. “We’ve got this.”
I can’t leave them. But I also can’t leave Olin.
The other command team members turn back to join us, and I see that Adele has a wound in her side. She’s bleeding, but still holding a stun stick in one hand and a knife in the other.
“Adele! I need you to get my friend to the aromium switch spot.” The Tiders are almost here, so my words are spilling out in a rush. “You’re injured. Take him, and I’ll stay. Please.”
Indecision flashes in her eyes.
“Go, Adele,” Marcus barks. “Take him.”
Olin gives me a final quick look as he and Adele take off. I spin to face the Tiders, drawing the handgun from my waist.
One of them drops. Then another. Marcus and Nova are firing their guns at them.
We have limited ammunition, so bullets are precious commodities. But I’m certain the wild-eyed people racing toward us are all fours, permanently bonded to their aromium. It’s definitely the right time to use bullets.
I don’t even have time to turn off my gun’s safety and aim it before all the rushing Tiders are on the ground, dark-red blood soaking into the sand around them. One of them looks familiar.
Her long, dark hair is partially covering her face, but I can still tell it’s Yelena. She never liked me, but no one deserves to die like this, their mind and body chemically warped to fight for a cruel overlord’s regime.
For around half a minute, no one says a word. We’re battered from the fight, swollen bruises and gashes marking nearly everyone.
Marcus tucks his gun back into his holster. “Team One stays here to burn the bodies of the Tiders. Team Two, take the bodies of our people to camp and bury them.”
“You sure it’s safe to do it now?” Nova asks. “We usually wait.”
He nods, his expression grim. “Virginia heard the gunshots. They won’t fuck with us again today.”
No one but me would recognize him as the man who draws light circles on my back with his fingertip as we’re falling asleep at night. He has to be detached to do what he does and keep his sanity, but I can’t help wondering what this is all costing him. The death and destruction. The impossible choices.
