Breaker (Unmasked #3)

52. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Breaker

15 Years Ago, September, Age 13

W e’ve walked for miles today, Viper pushing us to move faster after what we saw. He’s got this frantic energy to him that tells me he’s scared. I don’t he’s scared for his life. He’s terrified that something going to happen to us. That whoever killed that man is going to get ahold of Striker and me and gut us. Skin us. Rip us apart and leave us for the animals to eat.

“Do you think if we head further west, we’ll find the cave Hunter mentioned?” I ask.

Viper’s heavy footfalls stop, and I crash into his back.

“What cave?” he asks, turning slowly to face me. His blue eyes land on me, lit with anger. “Please, tell me now about a fucking cave.”

I glance at Striker who’s sinking to the ground, weary from walking. His eyes have that lost look to them he gets when he’s starts spacing out.

“You know, the cave that what Hunter told us about before they left,” I say, backing away as Viper takes a step toward me. His face turns hard, angry. I take another step back. “When he was packing to go on their mission.”

“Hunter told you about a cave?” Viper asks. The way his voice dips reminds me he was named Viper because he’s mean as shit when he wants to be. “And you’re just now telling me?”

“I didn’t think about it,” I stammer, backing away some more.

Viper drags a hand down his face, casting a worried glance in Striker’s direction. “Tell me what he said.”

“They stayed in like a cave, an alcove he called it. There’s water—”

“Dammit Breaker, I’m going to kill you when we get out of here.”

“—he said to head west. That the alcove was only a few miles from the lodge.”

“At least we’re going in the right direction,” Viper snaps, pulling Striker to his feet. “But we could be miles off since we can’t assume that they dropped us off in the same location as Hunter and Reap.” He looks around, keeping a hand on Striker’s shoulder. “I say we keep heading west. We’re bound to find something.”

“If we head west, we may run into the lodge,” Striker says. It’s the first time he’s spoken since we left that body behind hours ago. “Don’t you realize that’s where they are?”

They. The people who killed that man.

I feel the blood drain from my face, fear making my palms feel tacky. I rub them on my pants.

“But it’s also where they’ll go,” Viper says. “We have to find it so they can find us.”

“Who?” Striker nearly shrieks. This is the first time he’s freaked out. I have so much for so long I feel numb inside. “No one is coming for us, Viper. We’re out here and no one knows it.”

“Hunter and Reaper will come,” Viper says with such conviction I want to believe him. “Maxy sent us out here. You heard what those guys said.” His eyes collide with mine. “And what di Maxy say before he drugged you?”

“That he can’t wait for Fallon to know his son is out here.” I say. “Do you think maxim dumped us out here to piss off Fallon?”

Vipers jaw tics. “Yeah.”

“Do you think…” Striker doesn’t continue speaking. But he doesn’t have to. We’re all thinking the same thing.

We’re in the wilderness years too early, with a dead man tied to a tree a few miles back. Maxim didn’t bring us here just to piss Fallon off.

He brought us here to die.

The realization settles in my gut, making me feel sick all over again. Panic needles at my arms and I take a deep breath, trying to breathe through it as it wraps around my throat.

I don’t want to die, even though everything about me is a sin and I deserve it. My name. My skills. Even how I was born was wrong. My life was created in violence. My birth caused a death. The boy I like is my brother and that’s a sin all in its own. To have this want inside me whenever he looks my way.

I scan the woods around us. The trees are thicker, but spread further apart, the terrain changing from rich to rockier as we traveled. We don’t know the terrain, but it feels like it’s getting colder, like maybe we’re climbing higher in elevation. I glance up at the darkening sky. We’re going to have to find a place to sleep tonight, but the thought sends a chill down my spine.

Someone killed that man. And they may still be out here.

That’s when I see it.

A flash of red, like a scarlet web strung on the low branches.

“Come on,” Viper says. “Let’s keep moving. If we can find the truck or the cave, we can regroup and form a plan.”

Striker nods, and moves ahead, but my feet are rooted to the ground.

“Breaker, come on.” Viper pulls at my arm.

My mind is too busy screaming in terror, to send any signals to my limbs. My feet don’t move. “Look,” I whisper.”

Viper turns, then stumbles back gripping my arm.

Striker hisses out a quite curse. “Tell me that’s not hair. I can’t fucking handle it, if that’s hair.”

We heard screaming last night. A woman. We found a man torn apart and tied to a tree.

Someone’s out here killing people.

“I know why Maxim brought us out here,” I hear myself saying a slight tremble in my words. “We’re his prey.”

***

A scream jolts me awake. A hand covers my mouth.

“ Shh ,” Viper whispers.

My heart clatters around in my chest, terror making my skin clammy. It’s almost pitch black, barely any moonlight slanting through the trees. I can hardly see a foot in front of me, but I can make out Striker next to me. He slowly stands, peering around the tree we’re hiding against. After hiking another hour, it was too dark to move safely, so when we spotted the upturned tree, we decided to stop. It’s thick trunk and large gnarled roots protruding from the earth providing a place to hide.

Except, I’m not sure if its proving to be more of a cage than a cover.

To our left, a cracking boom , ricochets through the woods, vibrating in my ears like when we’re at the range outside the school.

“Shot gun.” Striker presses his back to the tree and slides back down. “Close.”

“No shit,” Viper hisses, his breath fanning my ear. Finally, he lets me go and I turn to face him. His blue eyes look dull in the dark night, but I can still see they’re flooded with fear.

“We have two choices,” Striker says, weirdly calm. “We can hide here and pray they don’t find us or keep moving.”

“In the opposite direction,” I add.

“We need to find that fucking cave,” Viper says, peering up over the large root behind him. Not like we can see much. “If they are out here shooting, that must mean we’re close to the lodge, which means we’re close to the cave.”

“If we can make it to the lodge, maybe we can find a weapon,” Striker says. “They obviously have them.”

“That’s literally the last place I want to go,” I whisper. The thought of ending up anywhere near where those people are makes my stomach clench.

Viper rubs his eyes, moving to a crouch. Gripping a large root, he pulls himself up to look out. After a moment he crouches back down. “I don’t see any movement. When we get up, stick close to the trees. Go slow, watch for branches and roots. And do not lose sight of me, got it?”

Striker and I nod. Viper squeezes our shoulders, then climbs through the large opening. I follow Striker out, moving in behind him, my back pressed to the tree as I stand. When he makes sure it’s clear, Viper creeps to the next tree then the next and we follow. My heart hammers, the blue night enveloping us, but even with the veil of darkness, we’re still exposed. Every time the clouds clear, bright moonlight spills between the branches making it feel like we’re in a spotlight.

Viper creeps to the next tree, then the next, moving ahead of us to make sure it’s clear. Striker follows, me last. Viper stops about thirty paces ahead, smashing himself against a thick pine as Striker creeps toward him, exposed between the trees.

The clouds peel back away from the moon and suddenly the woods are thrown into bright white light.

Somewhere, far behind us, a twig snaps. The sound echoes in the darkness like the crack of a whip.

I fall to my ass, heart in my throat. Striker drops to his stomach splayed out on the ground.

A thunderous boom followed by debris hitting my face, makes me duck low. I cover my head on instinct, flattening myself to the tree.

Someone just shot at me.

Another heart shattering gunshot echoes through the woods, and more wood splinters, spraying me with rough chunks.

Fear strangles me, taking over all instinct. So I stand up and do exactly what I’ve been told not to do.

I run.

And run.

Then my boot catches on a root and I stumble. My nose hits the dirt, hands barely breaking my fall. Scrambling upright, I wipe my palms on my pants, smearing warm wetness across my thigh. My heart gallops in my chest, and I fall back down, recognizing the deep color and how it glistens in the moonlight. How it spreads thickly, smearing over my skin.

My eyes fall to the ground and find the pool of blood.

Don’t scream.

A hand covers my mouth, and pain explodes in my skull.

Then nothing.