Page 26 of Desolation
“Fuck!” Ash cries, drawing our attention to him. His hand is against the back of his head when he pulls it away, blood stains it.
“Ash!” Lana calls, dropping the things in her hand and rushing over to him.
Hale catches her by the hand before she can get far, pulling her to a stop and rushing to get his words out. As we gape at the situation we’re in, he lays his plan out to protect us. “We need to take cover immediately. Drop everything, grab your towels and run over to the tree line! Use the towels to cover your head!”
Dropping the items without a second thought, we sprint to grab our towels and run towards the designated area, just as thunder booms overhead. I look over my shoulder to make sure Lana’s okay and see Luke holding her hand so she doesn’t fall behind.
She’s okay. We’re okay.
As we’re rushing towards safety, two-hundred feet from the dense woodlands, the sky opens up and the hail batters down as if determined to cut us open. Cries sound off from behind me but there’s no time to look. All I can do is pray no one is seriously hurt.
Almost there,I tell myself as I pass under the canopy of trees. Ignoring my own wounds, I whirl to check on Lana, covered in a towel Luke’s holding over her head as they dart into the cover of safety.
She looks unharmed but my brother isn't so lucky. A deep gash runs through his eyebrow and blood gushes from the wound into his eye. He drops the towel, his hand immediately going to the injury and he hisses from the sharp bite of pain.
Hurrying over to him, I apply pressure to the wound to staunch the bleeding. “Shit, Luke. This is bad.”
Lana screams in frustration, standing with clenched fists like she’s holding herself back. Tears stream down her face. “Why didn’t you protect yourself?! I could have held my own towel! You’re hurt because of me!”
He looks at her, his face a bloody mess, sincerity shining in his eyes. “My Queen, I’m not hurt because of you. I’m hurt because of the hailstorm. I shielded you to the best of my ability because you are more important to me.”
Damn, we’re so in love with this girl.
That’s the most emotion I have ever heard my twin convey out loud.
Lana doesn’t respond but continues to sniffle, as she snatches the towel he dropped onto the ground and cleans the blood running down the side of his face and neck.
As she cleans him up and I try to stop the bleeding, I take a minute to make sure the rest of the guys are okay. I say a ‘thank you’ to the skies that they’re good.
“We need to get a little further in,” Hale says, his breathing a little labored—from the sprint or the panic, I’m not sure. “If the wind shifts or if the hail gets bigger, it’ll easily break through the tree canopy. We’re not safe at the edge like this.”
“Hale will keep us safe from the hail,” I cheekily announced to the group. “No worries, guys.”
Luke chuckles next to me, drawing a glare from Lana. “Good one bro.”
“Oh, shut up, Leo,” Hale hisses as we follow him into the trees.
Come on, that was funny.
“You know I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to crack a joke,” I mutter, hoping I didn’t offend him. “It’s what I do when I’m nervous.”
“It’s okay. Let’s just focus on what we’re going to do if the storm gets worse, okay?”
As if he’s freaking clairvoyant, the wind starts howling, making the tree branches swing erratically. Some branches drop all the way down to half their length with the force of the gusts.
Fucking hell!
“Group together and duck down! Put Lana in the center and cover yourselves with your towels!” Hale barks out over the wind.
“No!” Lana yells at Hale, her hair whipping around her. “You are not putting me in the center. Protect yourselves!”
Hale grabs Lana’s arm and pulls her close, growling at her, “Not the fucking time, Lana. Get your ass on the ground.Now!”
“Lana,please,” Zedd pleads as she stares defiantly at Hale.
At his desperate plea, she glares at Hale one last time before turning away from him, her shoulders slumping as she crouches near the base of the tree. We surround her, kneeling to the ground, placing our arms out with our towels around the circle, creating a cocoon around Lana and our heads.
Please just let this be a hailstorm. I don't think we’d survive a tornado out here.
