Page 17 of Gripp

Her stomach churned. She hated violence and despised the idea of killing. But she couldn't be thinking about that now. Everyone in the place was holding children hostage, and they didn't deserve to live.

She threw it at them and turned, knowing precisely what would happen. The boom shook the ground, and her ears rang. She turned back to see the men that had been there weren't. Body parts scattered the ground, and blood covered everything. A few men yelled, trying to collect themselves, but they couldn't.

The damage had been done. There was no way for them to regroup that second and attack.

A fit of coughing turned her head, and she saw Gripp coming out with the kids. A single file line of children followed him out. Her stomach dropped, seeing the age range.

The youngest had to be only five, his dark hair was covered in dust, and he held a rag to his mouth, holding onto Gripp's hand. His eyes looked terrified, and he shook like a leaf.

The oldest among them couldn’t have been much older than thirteen years old. The last kid was skinny, unable to grow with no food. They all looked afraid. Her stomach twisted, and tears burned in her eyes.

The mine guards had damaged these kids, and even if they were free, the children would never be the same again. They would have nightmares about this, and their minds would never recover.

Rage burned, and she grabbed another stick, knowing full well there was no need. She didn't care. She wanted every last soul in that mine to die a painful death.

April lit the match and threw it at the gate. She waited until the boom hit. She smiled. "May all you suffer for what you've done."

While Gripp guided his group toward the orchard, she lit another stick to give them as much time as possible. She was taking every last part of this side of the mine down.

She threw several more sticks, being sure to watch the buildings crumble, shaking the ground violently. Her ears rang, but she didn't care.

If anyone ever wanted to rebuild, she was going to make it as hard as she could. She threw her last stick before she finally stood, proud of herself.

Then she turned and headed to the orchard. She cried, feeling so many emotions that she couldn't describe them.

How did they live in a world where this happened? How could someone do something like this to children? How was it that no one had stopped it yet? Why hadn't anyone done anything?

But she knew that wasn't entirely true. Wes had died. Whoever came in to find out the truth didn't leave.

She had to stop herself as a sob took over her. She didn't want to get emotional, but it was hard. The kids looked so frightened.

So many questions were going through her head. How many of them had been beaten? How many of them cried themselves to sleep? How many of them had possibly died working there? How many hadn't been saved?

April stopped herself and wiped at her eyes. She couldn't think about that. She needed to keep moving. The kids now depended on her for that.

TEN

GRIPP

They hurried through the orchard, Gripp leading the kids through the trees and onto a nearby bluff. April had just joined him and the children.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

He pointed up the hill. “Just over that rise, there is a monastery. It’s not far.”

“How do you know that?” April asked, not recalling that bit of information in her file.

Gripp raised a brow, seeing she was protective of the kids already. She was desperate to get them out of here. “It was on the intel that I was given by General Nydia when I was briefed,” he said. “The kids will be safe there … even these brutish assholes wouldn’t dare step foot inside the monastery. It’s protected by the Eblax government.”

“Okay,” April said, nodding. “How far, do you think? The younger ones might need a rest.”

Gripp looked around. She was right. Some of the smaller kids did need to stop. He didn’t like the idea, as they were still too close to the camp, but they had no choice.

While April and a couple of bigger kids went around and handed out water, Gripp did a quick recon. They were safe for now, but they had to get moving soon. On his way back, he collected some fruit and handed it out to the kids.

“We need to keep going,” he said. “It won’t be long until the surviving soldiers come this way. It’s getting dark too. That makes it easier for us to hide but harder for the kids to travel.”

April nodded. “Tell me what you need. I agree that we should get moving.”

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