Rules of Survival(31)

“If what you say is true and he plans to kill you, what’s it matter?” the old man said. He flicked off the safety and bobbed the gun. “Back in the house. They’ll be here soon.”

I took a step backward, over the threshold of the house, but Shaun didn’t move.

Gerald jabbed the barrel of the gun at him. “Git movin’, boy. Ain’t gonna ask again.”

“If I don’t?” Shaun asked, voice low. He had that look in his eyes. The same one I’d seen at the junkyard. “See, I don’t think you have the balls to pull the trigger, Gerald.”

The old man’s lips twisted into a cruel grin. He lifted the weapon higher, in line with Shaun’s head, and said, “She’s the one with the pretty penny on her head. Makes no difference to me if you’re around when they get here.”

Shaun’s jaw clenched, and he balled his fists tight. He turned to me, slowly, and said, “I meant what I said. I keep my promises.”

It all happened so fast. His arm came up, the one I was shackled to, and knocked the barrel of the gun to the left. There was a loud boom, and everything went into overdrive. Shaun yelled. A collection of sounds with no real distinction, because all of a sudden everything sounded strange. Hollow and watery.

He dove at Gerald as he raised the gun again, ramming the older man with his left shoulder. I was dragged by default, the three of us going down hard in the mud. I stumbled, slipping when I tried to stand. I almost made it, but Shaun inadvertently dragged me sideways, then down again.

He punched Gerald in the gut as the older man got to his feet, then kicked him as he bent to retrieve the gun. They were both yelling, their lips moving furiously, but I still couldn’t hear anything other than a horrific ringing in my ears.

“Shaun,” I screamed. I had no idea if he could hear me.

His head whipped around, and his eyes widened like he’d forgotten I was there. Gerald used the distraction to his advantage. Grabbing the gun, he squeezed off another round. Unfortunately this one didn’t miss.

Shaun’s mouth opened in a silent scream. He grabbed his arm and went down hard on one knee. Gerald, pleased with himself, let the gun fall slack and laughed. I saw his shoulders shaking, but there was no sound.

I took a chance. One good kick and the thing went flying from his hand. I didn’t wait around to see what he did next. I helped Shaun off the ground and we raced for the fence.

Past the barn and around an old rusted tractor, we ran across the open grass behind the house. My lungs were ready to burst, but I didn’t slow down. I couldn’t. Jaffe’s men had a head start on us. If Gerald had called them when he first left to find the saw, they could easily be here any minute.

I slid to a stop in the dirt in front of a wire fence and glanced over my shoulder. No sign of Gerald or anyone else. Pulling up on the middle wire, I slipped my right leg through, then followed with the left, taking care not to get my hair caught in the barbs. Once on the other side, I stepped on the bottom wire and pulled the middle section higher to make room for Shaun. He ducked through with care, favoring his left arm, and I tried not to worry. God. There was so much blood.

We kept going, deep into the woods that bordered Gerald’s property. When we’d put enough distance between us that I could look back and hardly see the house, I slowed a little to assess the damage. Shaun’s movements were becoming sluggish and I didn’t know how much longer he could stay upright. Since there was no way I could carry him, we needed to know how bad it actually was.

“That’s a lot of blood,” I said, catching my breath.

Shaun leaned against the nearest pine tree, then slid down the trunk to the ground. I went with him.

He hadn’t said anything and it was making me nervous. “Shaun,” I said. “Talk to me. How bad is it?”

He raised his arm and winced. “It looks worse than it is, I think. Bullet went straight through.”

I wasn’t convinced, but there wasn’t much I could do right here. I grabbed the hoodie and hooked the edge of my nail into the thread at the seam. Picking at it. Once I got it started, with a little effort, I was able to rip off the sleeve. “Let’s tie it off and get moving. Can’t stay still too long.”

He helped me wrap the material around his upper arm, cringing only a little when I knotted it tight.

I pulled him up and we took two steps, before he stopped, cursing softly under his breath. “This isn’t happening. You’ll never get away—I’m too slow. I need to—”

I slapped him hard across the cheek. Drastic, but the situation required focus. I couldn’t have him giving up. That was against the rules, and the rules were all I had now. “Shut up and move. Now!”

We continued through the woods, dodging gopher holes and rocks, and moving steadily toward the faint sound of gurgling water. Shaun was right, though. He was slowing us down. We needed to find shelter, because we weren’t going to outrun them. Not like this.

Through another wire fence at the edge of the property, and across a small wooden bridge, as we came to the water’s edge, Shaun tripped and went down hard, jarring my left arm backward and dragging me down with him into the mud. Water splashed in every direction as he struggled unsteadily back to his feet, trying to pull me upright as well.

“Go! Keep going,” he huffed. There were other people in the woods behind us. Every few minutes I’d hear faint noises. Voices. The sound of brush crunching beneath someone’s feet.