AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A low groan from across the room caught their attention. Dean was stirring, his face contorted in pain as he clutched his stomach. He rolled onto his side, retching violently.
Rhiannon instinctively moved towards him, but Pierce caught her arm, his grip firm but gentle. He shook his head, a warning in his eyes.“Don’t. It’s not safe.”
She hesitated, torn between her instinct to help and the very real danger Dean presented.
Dean’s retching turned into a series of painful dry heaves. His bloodshot eyes snapped open, darting wildly around the room before settling on Rhiannon and Pierce. His lip curled into a sneer.
“What are you two”—he made a bunch of meaningless hand movements in front of his face—“about? You’re planning something. You’re gonna get yourselves out of here and leave the rest of us to die, aren’t you?”
“What?” someone demanded and moved into the light. It was Alan, the father of the young twin boys. He’d mostly kept to himself, staying with his wife and sons, but now panic flashed across his face as he looked between Dean and Pierce. “Is that true? Are you planning to leave us behind?”
Pierce’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing as he shook his head emphatically. He raised his hands to sign, but Dean cut him off with a harsh laugh.
“Oh, sure, deny it all you want, Mr. Strong and Silent,” Dean spat, struggling to his feet. He swayed unsteadily, one hand still clutching the whiskey bottle. “But you’ve been over here all morning digging out that hallway.”
“I’m trying to get to the supplies in the other stockroom.”
“Oh, sure, keep pretending you can’t talk,” Dean spat before Rhiannon could translate. “Just like he pretended he couldn’t hear when we were first trapped.”
“That’s true,” Alan said to the growing crowd. “He made us all think he was deaf.”
Pierce’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle in his cheek jumped. His hands moved swiftly to sign a denial, but Dean cut him off with a harsh laugh.
“Yeah, real convenient, isn’t it? Nobody can understand your little hand signals except her.” He jerked his chin towardsRhiannon. “For all we know, you’ve got some secret way out, and you’re just waiting for the right moment to make your escape!”
The accusation hung in the air, heavy and poisonous, and tension crackled like electricity. Rhiannon saw fear and suspicion blooming in the eyes of the other survivors as they looked between her, Pierce, and Dean.
“That’s ridiculous,” she said, fighting to keep her voice steady. “Pierce has done nothing but help us. Yes, he’s been working on clearing the hallway, but he’s just trying to get to the supplies in the back storage room.”
“There’s more water back there,” Dottie confirmed when several people looked in her direction. “And food.”
Murmurs of uncertainty rippled through the group as they glanced between Pierce, Rhiannon, and Dean. The seeds of doubt had already taken root.
Dean’s face twisted into a triumphant sneer. “See? They’ve been hiding supplies from us! Planning to take it all for themselves and leave us to starve.”
“No one is hiding anything,” Rhiannon said, but even as she spoke, she could see the tide turning against them. Fear and desperation were potent catalysts for paranoia, and Dean’s words had struck a chord. People were starting to look at Pierce with open suspicion, edging away from him as if he might suddenly turn on them.
Pierce remained stoic and silent, his hands still at his sides. But she knew him now, and she saw the tension coiled in his shoulders, the frustration in his eyes as he glanced at her.
They were losing control of the situation and fast.
“He’s not being secretive,” she said, her voice rising to be heard over the growing murmurs of unease. “We just didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up until we knew for sure there was a way through.”
“Bullshit!” Dean snarled. He took another unsteady step forward, the whiskey bottle sloshing in his grip. “I bet you two have had this planned from the start. Probably been sneaking off together this whole time, haven’t you? Playing house while the rest of us rot?”
Pierce moved then, placing himself between Dean and Rhiannon. His eyes were hard, his stance braced, arms crossed in a clear warning.
“Ooh, tough guy. What are you gonna do, huh? Take a swing at me?” Dean spread his arms wide, the bottle dangling precariously from his fingers. “Go ahead. Show everyone what you’re really made of.”
“Stop it!” Dottie snapped.
Dean ignored her and took a stumbling step forward, jabbing a finger at Pierce. “I say we tie him up. Make sure he can’t sneak off?—”
Pierce’s hands flew into motion, signing rapidly. “I’m trying to help, to find a way out for all of us.”
Rhiannon translated aloud, her voice shaking slightly. “He says he’s not trying to sneak off or hide anything. He just wants to get us out of here safely.”
But Dean wasn’t listening. His eyes had taken on a wild, fevered sheen, the paranoia, and desperation twisting his features into something ugly. “Liar! You’re all liars!”
