Revolution (Collide, #4)(70)

I cursed again. "What color are they?"

"Most are white, but one's red."

I thought hard. "Red would be my guess."

He looked over at me. He was lying in a large puddle that couldn't be avoided to reach the box. I had a bad feeling, but it got worse when he smiled. "In another life, we might've been friends."

"Maybe," I mused. "If you weren't trying to steal my girl, you wouldn't be so bad."

"I'm not sorry I kissed her."

"I didn't expect you to be."

"But I am sorry that my time is over." I frowned. "I would have loved to have gotten to be a real human."

"Come on, man. Stop talking like you're not crawling outta there."

"I'm not. This is the vision I saw." He took a deep breath, laying his head back for a few seconds before lifting it back up. "Tell Lillian she doesn’t have to be sorry that she couldn't love me. I know she'll be in good hands."

"What… I don't know what-"

"Goodbye, Cain." And then he flipped the red wire switch.

Everything sparked and lit up. I gasped as I fell back and watched as the water sizzled for long minutes. Then it quieted and I could see through the haze. Daniel was lying there, motionless. How had he known that was going to happen? He…saved me by punching my jaw.

I wanted to go and see if he was alive, but saw the smoke coming off his boot. I knew he was gone, but I still called out his name anyway. When he didn't answer, I got up and ran to the Gremlin.

I sat in my seat in a slump, letting my head rest against the steering wheel. That just happened. Daniel, the Lighter who hated my guts, saved me. He could have let me go and I'd have died instead. He knew he was going to die and…he still did it.

And he told me that I had to make it back as quickly as possible to help…with the war. Then something was going down soon.

I sat up, jerked the car into gear and pressed the gas as hard as it would go.

His sacrifice wouldn't go unnoticed. I'd tell everyone about the Lighter who risked his life to save the humans. The Lighter who won us this war.

This Is Our Town



Chapter 28


Merrick



"I didn't bring them here," Chesser said pleadingly and then winced when one of the Enforcers bumped him in the head with the butt of his gun.

"Shut it."

"Well, what have we here?" the Lighter in front spouted and smiled halfway.

Sherry's hands on my back tensed. She peeked around my shoulder and before I could say anything she told him, "We were trying to see if you have anything to steal. You're kinda starving us, you know."

I felt my eyes bulge. What was she doing?

"Oh, it's obvious you're a bunch of thieves. Hungry thieves at that," he said and chuckled. "All skin and bones covering that pretty body of yours."

I tightened in anticipation of slamming my fist into his face. Sherry's arm squeezed mine. She was trying to tell me something, but I wasn't getting the message.

"Well, I guess we can leave now. Nothing was stolen, so no harm no foul, right?" she ventured and smiled.

"Not exactly, pretty one." He grinned evilly. "You broke our door, public property." I was so glad that Ellie was with us. This whole conversation would be going differently if he knew two Keepers and a…whatever Ellie was, was right there.

"We don’t have any money," Sherry told him.

"Let's go," he ordered and ticked his head to the door. "Breaking and entering gets you a night in our nice county jail, run by Enforcers of course."

I kept Sherry right behind me the whole time as they herded us out. It was then that I realized what Sherry had been trying to do. They were taking us outside and completely oblivious to the video tape we had planted. Even if…we didn't make it, at least the tape would play tomorrow morning.

We followed them outside to a van they had waiting for us. I wasn't going to any enforcement facility and neither was Sherry. I'd die first. They opened the door and I saw Miguel getting ready to start swinging. But then one of the Lighters to the front of the van jerked and turned to his co-workers. Marissa slipped back from the front of the van just as the man jammed the butt of his rifle into the other man's face. Blood gushed as the man went down. Then the Marissa-compelled gunman went for another one, but he didn't get him before the Lighter took his head in his hands and broke his neck. He fell to the ground along with his comrade.

He turned and Miguel was ready. I pushed Sherry back a little and met Miguel just as he tried to stake him. The Lighter was ready for Miguel though, but he wasn't ready for me. He backhanded Miguel, but I got my stake deep in his gut. I flinched back from the lightning and knew we needed to get out of there soon. Ryan quickly put the other Enforcer in the sleeper hold and threw him to the ground indignantly.

All right, we really needed to get out of there. The others would have seen the Lightning and known what it meant. Marissa and Jeff came around the van and he barked basically the same thing. I turned to grab Sherry, but she was gone. I did a quick circle to find her and saw her little head bouncing as she walked between the cars. I blurred to her and started to ask what she was doing, but she picked up a can of black spray paint under the graffiti at the side of the club.