Shattered World (Shattered #3)

Chapter Nine

T he sun was beginning to set over Lake Michigan as we walked down Navy Pier. If Chicago had been bustling, this area was a wasteland. The familiarity of the emptiness, the silence that carried over on the cold October breeze, sent shivers down my spine.

Every shop and restaurant was closed down, not a soul walking the paved path. Farther ahead, the looming shadow of the ferris wheel sat, the seats swaying in the wind.

“What are we supposed to look for here?” Mina whispered, her arms folded tight over her coat.

We hadn’t been stuck outside with the elements since the weather began to drop and to say we weren’t prepared for the chilly night was an understatement. Even with the extra coats we brought, my face still burned from where the cold air touched.

“An entrance maybe? I honestly have no clue,” I responded to Mina, tilting my head to look inside an abandoned restaurant.

Caroline could have been a little more helpful in her instructions. Why she thought sending three clueless girls out into the city with no instructions was a good idea was a mystery to me.

Sasha stepped off the main path, cupping her hands over her eyes as she stared into another building. “If there is some sort of secret entrance, we aren’t going to find it in the dark. May as well find somewhere to sleep for the night.”

Mina and I voiced our agreement, all of us ready to get away from the wind, the breeze stronger near the water than it had been back in the city. Sasha twisted the knob of the door, letting out a quiet cheer when it swung open.

The three of us hurried through the door, the immediate reprieve from the wind relieving. The temperature inside wasn’t much warmer, but it would do for one night.

Spotting several booths in the back corner of the restaurant, we situated ourselves for the night, settling our bags behind our heads for cushions. Sasha pulled the gun from her waistband, setting it on the table above her head.

Silence permeated the air as we all attempted to fall asleep, but I knew, at least for me, trying to rest would be a struggle. A million thoughts ran through my mind. The most pressing one what would happen if we didn’t find the entrance to the bunker.

Caroline may seem like she was trying to help us. To find the entrance to the bunkers before the effects of the meteor, allowing others a chance to save themselves. But if we didn’t, she still had an escape plan. Her life wasn’t on the line, not like ours were.

“If we don’t find the bunkers, we’re going to die, aren’t we?” Mina’s whisper trailed through the quiet room.

Her mind must have been on the same wavelength as mine and when Sasha sighed deeply, I knew hers was as well. When there was always another task, another sliver of information learned, it was easy to forget that our days were numbered.

We didn’t talk about the death that most likely awaited us. We may have been closer to the root of the solution, but safety had never felt further from my grasp.

Our silence was the only answer Mina needed. There were some things you couldn’t voice aloud, even under the cover of darkness.

“Tomorrow we’ll find that damn entrance,” Sasha said with all the conviction she could muster, and I so desperately wanted to believe her words.

Eventually, even with the thoughts racing through my brain, sleep found me. And yet with all the questions bombarding me, I didn’t find the energy to ask the most important of all. Why would the door be unlocked?

I should have been used to noises waking me in the middle of the night. Used to the sheer terror of footsteps on the floor, breaking into the peace that found me as I slept. And yet, nothing could prepare me for the way my eyes snapped open, my heart pounding so loud I was sure anyone in the room could hear, as the door creaked open.

Instinctually, I rolled off the booth I laid on, softly landing on the tiled floor beneath the table. Low voices met my ears, boots shuffling against the floor as the intruders walked further into the restaurant.

Crawling on my hands and knees, I moved from under my table to the next. Sasha and Mina were on opposite booths, their wide eyes already open as I slithered under the slight cover the table’s surface gave me.

“Who is it?” Sasha mouthed, but I knew the question was rhetorical.

I had absolutely zero clue who was inside this restaurant and I had zero plans to figure it out. My hands shaking from the fear, I pressed them against my thighs, trying to figure a way out of here.

Ideally, the people inside wouldn’t stay for long. As long as they didn’t creep into this corner, they wouldn’t see us. Eventually, they would leave and after a suitable amount of time, we could run our asses out of here. I didn’t care that it was dark and we were likely to get lost once again. At least the city had more protection than this ghost town.

The footsteps came closer to our hiding spot, Mina squeezing her eyes shut, mouthing something under her breath. There was no way for me to share my plan with the two of them, not without the intruders hearing.

When Sasha moved her hand, I knew that whatever plan I had was about to fly out the window. She tried to be as silent as she could, her fingers sliding over the top of the table, and I knew she was reaching for the gun.

But in the silence, the damn silence that always seemed to breed trouble, the sound of the metal leaving the table echoed.

My teeth bit into my lip as a flashlight scanned the room, a deep voice calling out, “Who’s in here?”

Soft tears tracked down Mina’s cheeks, Sasha’s eyes closed as she gripped the gun like a lifeline. I counted two sets of footsteps as the flashlight wandered closer to our corner. One individual would have been better, but two wasn’t a death sentence.

Placing my hand against Sasha’s arm, her eyes fluttered open. I didn’t say any words, but when she nodded, I knew she saw my silent request.

Taking a deep breath, I steeled my spine. Crawling out from under the table, Mina followed my movements. Her hand reached for mine and I squeezed tightly, trying to imbed confidence into her, confidence I didn’t even feel myself.

Sasha moved out of her booth, the gun held in front of her as she stepped past Mina and me. Our movements were no longer silent and I was blinded as the flashlight fell onto us.

The crackling of a radio sounded before the same voice as before said, “We’ve got three more.”

An unintelligible voice responded, but the other two figures didn’t have a chance for more words. The notable pop of the gun sound, Sasha’s body shaking as she fired at the men before us.

“Run! Run!” She shouted and gripping Mina’s hand, I took off in a sprint.

One of the men was on his knees, groaning in pain, but the other reached for us as we ran past. Evading his arm, Sasha continued to shoot as Mina and I raced past.

In seconds, we reached the door, the glass thrown open as I shoved Mina through. But Sasha was still inside, firing blindly. She was no Rainer and her aim was worse as her hands continued to shake.

“Sasha!” I yelled, gesturing wildly for her to start running.

Shot after shot rang out as Sasha ran toward us. Mina softly cried at my side, begging for Sasha to hurry.

“Shit,” Sasha groaned as an audible click sounded, the ammo having run out.

The man who had fallen to his knees was now standing, both of them an imposing force, staring Sasha down. Maybe if I was a different person, I would have run with Mina, knowing that saving two was better than saving none.

But I had left two people behind before and I would never do that again.

“Hey!” I shouted, drawing the attention of one of the men, the other refusing to remove his stare from Sasha. “Don’t you want to know who sent us?”

The shorter of the two men widened his eyes, stepping toward us at the thought of answers. Clearly, from his earlier words, we weren’t the first ones to step foot on this pier. And I knew they were probably struggling to find out who was in charge of all these escapades.

His drawn attention was the opening Sasha needed. With a warrior’s yell, she kicked the man in front of her straight in the groin, sending him back to his knees. Throwing the gun with all her might, she hit the shorter man’s head, dazing him for only a second.

But a second was all she needed. Sprinting past the two men, she joined Mina and me and, without another word, the three of us broke into a sprint. For miles, we didn’t stop. The wind whipped at our cheeks, tinting them red, our breaths labored and struggling.

Eventually, when my legs wouldn’t pump any longer, when the breath in my lungs sputtered, we finally stopped. The pier was a distance behind us, towering buildings and twinkling streetlights a reprieve I never imagined I’d crave.

Hands on my knees, I bent over, dragging in as much air as I could. Sasha and Mina did the same, our panting sounds fighting for dominance with the howling wind. Several minutes passed, the ache in my side easing as I stood back to full height.

Twin sets of bewildered expressions met mine, all our eyes wide and dread in our frowns.

“We’re going to have to go back there, aren’t we?” Mina asked, coughing over another breath.

Sasha and I nodded in unison. There was no doubt in my mind that we had found where the bunkers were located. Now I only had to hope that we found the entrance before one of us was killed trying.