Before I know it, the door swings open, but with the lighting, I can’t make out who the person is. I hyperventilate.
“Lexi. It’s me,” Cole says, his voice low as he approaches. “I want you to keep breathing, just like I am.” He grabs my hands and beckons me to inhale and exhale when he does. I hear the voices getting closer again. His sweaty hands drop mine and I can tell that his attention is directed toward the alley we just ran down. “We have to move.” He throws me onto his back. “Wrap your legs and arms around me. It’s the easiest way to hold you.” I cling to his neck, locking my ankles together above his hips. “Now, hold on.” He sprints down the alley.
He comes to a sudden halt and drops me to my feet. In front of us stands a chain-link fence. “Can you climb this?”
“I’ll try.” I climb, ignoring the constant throbbing in my ankle as I make my way to the top. I swing my leg over at the bar and start my descent, letting myself drop the last foot to the ground, and land on one leg to spare my opposite ankle any more damage. I look up, but Cole’s nowhere to be found. My heart races.
“I’m right here.” I turn and he stands parallel to me.
“Zeus?” I ask. “What about—?”
“Don’t worry about him. He’ll get back. He always does.” Cole looks down at my feet and sighs. “They could’ve at least given you sneakers.”
“Tell me about it.”
We move slower now but still at a brisk pace. I fight through the shooting pain in my ankle because I don’t want Cole to carry me. Without warning, a loud gunshot penetrates the area behind us. The bullet must’ve found its target because fiery objects fly in our direction. Before Cole gets me to the ground, I hear a loud concussion… and everything’s black.
*
My head pounds like a sledgehammer, making my thoughts hazy and my body stiff. I try to sit up but can’t seem to get my muscles to do what I’m commanding them to do. There’s a distinct smell of blood in my hair, but I can’t remember exactly how it got there.
Someone touches my hand. I pull it away and tuck it under my back.
“Are you all right?” Cole leans over me, his face coming into focus.
All of a sudden, memories circle in my brain, and the picture of Sarge’s body lying next to Zeus pops in front of my eyes.
The running and the chase. The blast… the flames.
“Was I the target?” My entire body hurts.
“I don’t know, but our timing couldn’t have been worse.” He looks down at the ground between his legs. My hands shake as the adrenaline wears off. Ironically, it’s not the blood that bothers me the most. It’s the violence, or at least my inability to protect myself, that bothers me.
Zeus licks my face and I’m not sure which is worse—dog slobber or blood.
“Dude, cut it out!” I wipe my face with my shirt. Cole reaches over and pushes Zeus’s head away, but Zeus refuses to budge.
“Zeus. That’s enough.”
“Was that normal? What just happened? Is that normal?” I ask.
“Well, not exactly. Fighting between citizens is normal, but lately there’s been more fighting with the guards,” he says, brushing off his pants. “But you. Well, you’re the prettiest girl they’ve ever seen, so instantly, you’re their greatest reward. I bet there’s countless bets going on that involve you… You’re the talk of the Hole… And they all want you to themselves. Some just want to kill you because that’s their passion. Others want to—”
“I get the point,” I cut him off before he talks about the color that’s branded on my neck. “Let’s get out of here.”
We jog to our quarters. My clothes are spattered with blood, dirt’s plastered in every crevice of my body, and my head thunders. My heart hammers against my chest. My ankle throbs and Zeus keeps running into me. The damn dog doesn’t watch where he’s going half the time. He grins at me with his huge tongue hanging to the side of his mouth. I can’t complain about him too much, though, since he saved my life once already.
He might be the most compassionate one here.
Everything looks abandoned. I glance warily around me while we run. The faint echo of a skirmish occurring in the background terrorizes me, and I don’t want to get caught in a situation like that again. As we turn into the courtyard of our building, a voice pierces the darkness.
“Skank. Skank! SKANK!” The voice yells louder each time. Cole grabs my arm roughly and speaks directly in my ear.
“It’s just Bill. He’s mentally disturbed but harmless. He screams something about your brand the very first time he meets you. It won’t happen again, at least not from him.”
I’m branded for life. I’ll always have lust tattooed on my neck in blue… It will happen again. I self-consciously pull some strands of my hair over my brand as we pass him. He sits on the cement pavement outside the entrance, inhaling a cigarette. His appearance is barbarous with wild, unkempt hair and missing teeth. His cackle disturbs me as I follow Cole into the building.
“Don’t take it personally,” Cole says.