Battle for Rockhold by Ike Hamill

Author:Ike Hamill [Hamill, Ike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-08T23:00:00+00:00

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I waited at the door, tapping my foot and looking up at the clock.

“You okay, Delaney?” I called over my shoulder.

I could hear her shuffling across the floor. She joined me at the door, wrapped up in one of the blankets.

“I tracked dirt on your floor.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I looked up at the clock again. It had been six minutes. I don’t know why I was bothering to count. It’s not like some magic force was going to make him reappear when the time was up. The whole thing was a promise written in smoke.

“They’re so young. It’s disarming,” she said.

“Who?”

“Those people out there. None of them looked much older than Robert. It was hard to see, of course, but I think that they’re all kids.”

“There’s nothing more dangerous,” I said.

The bushes rustled and my hand went for the door. It wouldn’t open. Delaney reached past my hand and unlocked the door. It flew open.

“Steve?” I called.

I was slipping on the deck again. I had waited all that time and I still hadn’t bothered to put on shoes.

They emerged together—Steve and Jonas. Their arms were around each other, like they were staggering home from a bar. I tried to convince myself that Jonas was leaning on Steve, but it was obviously the other way around. Once they were on the lawn, the last of the strength went out of Steve and he began to collapse. I was in the grass again at that point, once more running to the unconscious shape of someone I loved.

This time, I could tell that it wasn’t going to be okay. The color was gone from Steve’s face. His lips were pulled back from his teeth and one of his arms was contracted with his hand at his shoulder. His breath came in short gasps.

“Help me get him inside,” Jonas said.

I wedged my hand under his folded arm and struggled to lift him. More hands joined mine and I nearly tripped over Thunder. Delaney and Andrea helped us carry him across the lawn and up the stairs.

“I think he’s having a heart attack,” Jonas said. “Put him on the floor.”

His body shook before it stiffened. We barely got him down as his mouth fell open and the air left him. He stank of hot urine soaking through his pants.

I went through the steps—tilting his head, clearing his airway, and beginning chest compressions. Delaney took over when I was too weak to continue. I don’t know how long we went. By the time we gave up, everyone was standing around looking down at us.

Caden and Clint stared down at their lifeless uncle. Jonas had his hands around them, gathering them in towards his sides.

Andrea was holding Thunder and had an arm around her brother.

Delaney hugged Joe.

I was the only one without someone to comfort.

When I tried to start the chest compressions again, many hands pulled me away.

The doorbell rang. Hope flared and was snuffed immediately by logic. It didn’t matter who was there. Nothing would bring him back.

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