When the Rain Falls by Sasha A. Linderson

Author:Sasha A. Linderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Linderson Creations Limited

Chapter Eighteen

Jess

Moonlight danced off the concrete buildings, bathing the night in a pale blue glow. The hardened prying eyes of shadows and darkness followed us with ease. I felt like we were bright beacons running through the streets, chased by demons with nowhere to hide. I never dared to look behind me. It was better not knowing what was there. If soldiers were chasing me, I’d rather not know. I preferred death as a surprise, a shot in the darkness. Unanticipated.

Our thundering footsteps on the concrete played havoc with my mind, and suddenly I was transported to the night of Leah’s death. The constant slap of boots on polished tiles as we fled from gunfire that left our ears ringing. Leah’s curdling scream as she collapsed to her knees, her eyes emptying of all light and leaving her face frozen in a grimace of pain. I slowed, trying to shake the memory, my breath coming shallow and uneven.

“Just wait,” I managed to gasp at Levi and Grace, bending over with my hands on my knees.

“Jess, we can’t wait, we’ll get caught,” Levi said. I felt Levi grab my wrist and pull me around the corner of a rusted tin shed. “Keep focused,” he warned. I nodded absently while trying to will my mind out of the dark. Grace stood beside me, panting heavily.

“What’s going on?” I said quietly in Levi’s ear.

“There was a loud bang in one of the buildings. It could be soldiers. We can’t afford to take chances right now,” Levi explained quickly.

Guilt washed over me as I came to the grim realization that Grace and Levi were actively watching out for me. Everyone knew I wasn’t focused. Especially Dylan. His speech earlier about Jennifer was aimed indirectly at me—a warning I had to remain heartless when we went on these missions, or risk putting everyone in danger. Unfortunately, that was what I had just done. My lack of concentration had potentially compromised Levi and Grace. I took a slow deep breath to clear my thoughts.

Levi listened intently to the silence of the streets. “It must have been a cat,” he said eventually. “Let’s go.”

We darted out onto the open street once more. The factory loomed dark and dead up ahead. Tall chimneys that once pumped acrid smoke into the air were still. The regular clanking of machinery and rumbling of trucks had been forced into silence. We ran the last few hundred meters to the factory. There we stood, in front of the large slate concrete wall. The coiled razor wire prevented any attempt to climb over it, and there was no gate on this side, so we began to follow the wall around the factory. As we came up to the first corner, I heard a noise. I stopped, silent. Grace stood impatiently behind me. Levi hadn’t heard it. I sprinted forward, grabbing Levi’s arm and dragging him back. He realized what was happening and mouthed a thank you. There it was again, the crunching of boots.

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