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Mike laughed again, and Saff’s eyes shot back to him.
“Ya know, I realized the other day,” he said, the rifle in his hands rising, “there’s something way worse than dying now.”
He let out another low chuckle that sent ice through her veins.
“Dying and knowing it’s all done with ain’t so bad. Maybe a gift, even.”
He shook his head slightly, the gun now fully pointed at the center of her chest.
“But what really fuckin’ sucks is knowing you’ll turn into one of them when you die.”
He smiled so wide then that every one of his stained teeth showed through.
Then she caught a small movement out of the corner of her eye.
The glint of light on Maddie’s gun as she moved out past the wall, her entire body now unprotected.
And she caught the exact moment when Mike saw it too, his eyes darting wildly to her.
Saff froze, and everything moved in slow motion as she watched the tip of his gun swing to Maddie instead, who already had her shotgun pointed in his direction.
And not one single thought went through her as she lunged toward Maddie, right as both guns exploded with two deafening cracks.
***
The crushing impact of her body hitting Maddie’s as she threw herself in front of her was nothing compared to the impact of hitting the ground.
Pain shredded through her stomach, pulling every ounce of oxygen from her lungs along with it.
And for a second, for some incomprehensible reason, her body refused to move. Refused to do anything at all, even as Maddie tore from her arms, shoving up onto her side.
Saff sucked in a painful breath, hissing at even the slightest movement.
Something stung in her side, but she forged on, shooting a shaky hand out to grab Maddie and push her back against the wall.
“Are—are you—“ she gasped, trying to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out.
Instead, her eyes scoured over every inch of her, searching for any sign that the bullet had found its mark.
Maddie cradled her bandaged arm close to her stomach. “Is he—“ she started, her own voice rattling with fear.
Saff blinked, her brain not working the way it usually did. As if it was trying to run through waist deep water.
Then Maddie’s words finally broke through, and she was suddenly ripped back into reality.
Mike.
She grabbed her rifle, then tried to stand, but her body screamed in protest.
She collapsed back, hissing in pain.
If Maddie’s shot had missed—if Mike was still there—
She waited a moment, listening as she adjusted the rifle beneath one arm, while the other kept Maddie pinned against the wall.
But she couldn’t hear anything.
No sign of Mike, or anything else.