AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He lunged forward, swinging the whiskey bottle at Pierce’s head. Pierce dodged to the side, the bottle whooshing past his ear and shattering against the wall in an explosion of glass and amber liquid.
Screams erupted from the onlookers. Alan’s wife gathered her boys close, shielding their eyes. Dottie shouted for Dean to stop, but he was beyond reason.
He threw himself at Pierce with a guttural roar. The two men grappled—Pierce trying to subdue Dean without hurtinghim and Dean fighting with the frenzied strength of a rabid animal. They crashed into a display of novelty shot glasses, sending shards of glass flying. The crashing sound made Rhiannon’s hearing aids screech painfully. She winced, her hands instinctively flying up to cover her ears as the two men continued to struggle, toppling shelves and scattering debris.
“Stop it!” Fear and frustration made her voice higher than usual. “Both of you, stop!”
Dean managed to land a wild punch, snapping Pierce’s head back. Blood spurted from his nose, but he didn’t make a sound. His face hardened with grim determination as he slammed Dean against the wall and pinned him there with a forearm across his throat.
Dean’s feet scrabbled against the floor as he clawed at Pierce’s arm, his face turning a mottled red. Just when he looked like he was going to pass out, Pierce released him and paced away, shaking out his bruised hands.
Dean slid down the wall, gasping and coughing, his hands massaging his throat. The wild, crazed look hadn’t left his eyes. He glared up at Pierce with pure, vicious hatred.
“You see?” he rasped. “He’s a killer. A trained killer. Only a matter of time before he turns on the rest of us, too.”
Pierce met his gaze evenly, his bloody nose dripping onto his torn shirt. But he didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he turned to face the rest of the group, his hands moving in slow, deliberate signs as Rhiannon translated.
“I know you’re scared. We all are. But turning on each other is not the answer.”He motioned toward the hallway.“There are supplies back there we need, and maybe, if we’re lucky, there’s another way out through the loading dock. But we won’t know until we dig out a path and look.”
“It’s a good plan,” Gareth said. He’d hung at the back of the crowd during the fight but now stepped forward. Everyone parted for him, their eyes wide with a mixture of fear and awe.
Gareth’s wounds had healed at an astonishing rate, leaving only faint pink scars where deep gashes had been just days before. It was unnatural and had not gone unnoticed by the others. Whispers and sidelong glances followed him as he moved to stand beside Pierce.
“Clearing the hallway is our best shot at finding more resources and another exit. We should focus our energy there, not on fighting each other.”
The situation was already a powder keg ready to explode at the slightest spark, and Rhiannon wasn’t sure if his endorsement would help or hurt Pierce’s cause. She held her breath, waiting to see how the others would react.
Finally, Alan stepped forward. ”I don’t know what to believe anymore, but I do know we can’t stay here indefinitely. If there’s even a chance of finding more supplies or another exit...” He trailed off, glancing back at his wife and sons. “I say we give it a shot.”
“Are you insane?” Dean, still slumped against the wall, let out a harsh, humorless laugh. “You’re all gonna follow the freak and the killer? Why don’t you just tell us what you really are, freak?”
Gareth ignored the taunt and turned his piercing gaze on the others. “Pierce and I will lead the effort to clear the hallway. Anyone who wants to help is welcome. The rest of you should focus on conserving resources and maintaining order here.” His tone left no room for argument.
Rhiannon let out her breath in a rush as a few people, including Alan, stepped forward to volunteer. The rest of the group dispersed, murmuring among themselves but no longer openly hostile.
Dean glowered from his spot on the floor but made no move to interfere again. For now, at least, the immediate crisis seemed to have passed. But it was only a matter of time before tensions boiled over again.
Pierce caught her eye and tilted his head towards the back of the store, a silent invitation, but before she could follow, a deafening crack split the air. Everyone froze as a violent shudder rocked the entire shop.
“Aftershock!” Gareth shouted.
Rhiannon stumbled, nearly losing her footing as the floor heaved beneath her. Screams erupted from the others as they scrambled for cover, certain the ceiling was about to come down on their heads.
But it wasn’t the ceiling.
It was the floor.
With a thunderous groan, a jagged fissure split the concrete, zig-zagging from the front doors all the way to the hallway at the back. The ground buckled and warped, sending displays crashing to the floor in a cacophony of shattering glass and twisting metal. A hand clamped around her arm, yanking her backward, and she collided with a solid chest. Pierce. He wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her steady as the building shook itself apart.
Dean wasn’t so lucky. Still unsteady on his feet, he stumbled right into the path of the widening fissure. The concrete crumbled beneath his feet. A scream ripped from his throat, raw and terrified.
“Help! Oh God, somebody help me!”
chapter
twelve
Pierce let goof Rhiannon’s waist and lunged toward Dean. The floor continued to pitch and roll, nearly sending him to his knees, but he managed to keep his footing and reached the edge of the fissure just as Dean lost his grip and started to slide toward certain death.
