Everland(53)

Doc’s fiery eyes bore into Pete. He licks a bead of blood from his bottom lip and spits on the floor. “You’re a fool.”

Mole lifts his head, his arms still clinging to my waist.

“You’re right, Doc. For once you’re actually right,” Pete says, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. “I am a fool. I was foolish to bring a team into Everland with me. It was stupid to risk your lives, to risk Pyro’s and Jack’s lives. I should’ve just gone after Joanna myself.”

Doc wipes his mouth with the back of his arm, leaving a scarlet smudge on his disheveled white shirt. “No. You’re foolish to think you can save them alone.”

Pete’s eyes flash with fury.

I give Mole a reassuring pat on his shoulder and step over to Pete, placing a hand on his arm. “Come on, let’s get you warm,” I say, trying to defuse the situation.

Pete lets me guide him to the fire, where he squats and balances himself on the backs of his heels. His eyes fix on the dancing flames and glowing embers. “What are we doing? There’s nobody left but us kids and the Marauders.”

I crouch beside him, warming my chilled hands. “You don’t really think this is all that is left, do you? Hook, his army, and the Lost Kids?”

“Umm, guys,” Mole says. I glance toward him, noticing that he has moved to the doorway and is standing next to Pickpocket. Doc leans against a wall, rubbing his jaw.

“And you don’t?” Pete asks, wringing out his shirt. A pool of river water spills at his feet.

“No, I don’t. And frankly, even if I thought we were the last ones, I wouldn’t just give up on humanity,” I say.

“That makes two of us,” Doc mutters.

“Pete?” Mole interrupts.

Pete pays no attention to him. “Who else do you think is out there, Gwen? Our allies are gone. No one is left. If they were going to come to help us, they would have come by now. Everland is all that’s left.” The tone of his voice rises with each word, harsh and angry. “The only hope left for humankind is you, your sister, and Bella. That’s it. You are the last girls in the entire world.”

The last girls in the entire world. The reminder makes the back of my throat burn.

“Guys, we’re not alone,” Mole says, tilting his nose up in the air. “Someone else is near. Actually, there’s a lot of someone elses near.”

“Who’s coming?” Pickpocket says with worry in his expression.

“Death!” Mole squeals before covering his face with his hands. He squeezes his eyes shut as if closing them will make the terrifying images in his head disappear.

Doc pulls out two containers of water from his pack. “Hurry, put the fire out!”

The other boys reach for their packs and pour their water over the fire, sending it hissing in the humid, cramped room. They knock the rubbish bin over and stamp the leftover flames out.

The hallway grows darker as the last few flames dim before extinguishing, leaving a few red-hot coals behind. We are plunged into blackness. Pete lights a small emergency candle, shedding minimal light into the room. The entry door of the building bursts open with a loud explosion, sending Mole into a fit of tremors. Distant voices echo in another room; their familiar robotic dialect through their heavy masks sends chills through me.

“It’s Hook’s men,” Pickpocket says. “But how? How do they know we’re here?”

“I have no idea. They must have followed us or something,” Pete says. In the dark, I hear him fidget with his daggers.

Mole moves closer to me and twists the hem of his sleeve on his trench coat. “Anyone have a plan?”

“Unless there is an emergency exit in the back of the building, we’re going to have to fight our way out,” Pickpocket says. He pulls his revolver from the holster on his back.

Bouncing on his feet, Mole bites his lip. “Okay, I’m not liking this plan so much. Anybody else?”

“There’s no way the five of us are going to take out Hook’s army,” I say. “Someone better offer some ideas or we’ll all be his latest trophies.”

Pete runs a jerky hand through his hair. “Doc, you take Gwen and see if you can find another exit. Shout if you find anything. Pickpocket and Mole, you stay with me and we’ll hold them off.”

Taking a deep breath, Mole draws his spiked staff. “If I’m going to die, I will die with dignity. That’s what Dozer would want.”

Pickpocket glances at Mole and back to Pete. “You sure about this, Pete?”

Pete rolls his shoulders back and lifts his chin. “It’s been a pleasure leading you boys.” He snatches both daggers from their sheaths.

“No, wait!” I say, stealing a glance at the entry to the hall as the voices draw closer. “They don’t need you boys. They need me.” I bite back the dread threatening to scream from my throat. “They have to know by now that I am the cure. All these months with sick or dead girls, they must have figured out there is something different about me. They may be thugs, but I hope they aren’t blithering idiots.” I take in a breath, swallowing my fear. “You boys go and get out. I’ll turn myself over to them.”

Mole stifles a small whimper. “I was afraid she was going to say that.”

“That’s mad. Do you know what they’ll do to you?” Pickpocket says.