Page 117 of Not How I Saw That Going

My fist connects hard with his cheekbone, but I don’t feel the sting in my knuckles. Don’t register the blood on my hand. The world is evil. Taking the lives of my friends, my brothers. I can smell the blood as it mixes with the dirt and see the faces of those who killed my comrades on his. Another crack to the cheekbone.

His body goes limp. I raise my fist again.

“Ward! Stop!” A voice reaches through the fog in my brain.

I drop my fist and pull back, blinking until the rage is gone. A new emotion overwhelms me instead.

I drop back to my heals.What did I just do?

“What’s going on?” the chief demands.

I jump up, aware of how bad this looks. More than anything, I’m aware of how I almost lost myself there. “I think he’s Lyndi’s ex. He tried to take her. She’s in the alley. I have to get back to her.”

“I’ll take the perp,” Roxy’s date says and rolls the man to his side.

I start to turn away, but the chief stops me with a hand on my chest. “I know what happens to your brain after war, but you can’t let it control you, son.”

I feel like a five-year-old, caught in the act and completely reprimanded. I’m embarrassed and ashamed, but I don’t have time to dissect my actions with him.

I nod, and take off. I fly through the alley, praying that Caleb got to her in time.

What if Rodney had an accomplice waiting nearby to take her?

I leap over a curb and sprint to the alleyway.

Please tell me I didn’t make a mistake leaving her.

“Lyndi!” I throw a plea into the night sky.

“Ward! We got her.” Caleb calls from up ahead.

My lungs fill with air, and my world spins faster. Lights illuminate my way until I find Lyndi. I rush to her, falling to my knees beside her limp frame.

“Lyndi.” I grab her face between my hands, searching her for injuries. Her cheeks are bruised and swollen, and her ripped dress is dotted with blood. She looks okay, but looks can be deceiving.

Her eyelids flutter open. “Ward,” she whispers. Then she jerks upright. “Crew! Is Crew okay? Where’s Rodney?”

“Hey, hey.” I grab her arms, trying to keep her calm and still. “We got Rodney. Crew is safe. I just talked to Maddie, but I’ll call her again.”

She swallows, her eyes pleading with me to hurry. She won’t be fully relaxed until she knows for sure.

“Maddie,” I say the second she answers.

“Did you find Lyndi?” Maddie’s voice is loud and panicked. “Is she okay?”

“She’s okay. Rodney was here. I’m sending someone to come get you and Crew.” I motion to Caleb. He doesn’t ask any questions before sprinting to the parking lot. He’s the only one I trust right now. Lyndi relaxes in my arms, and I hang up. I look down, but her eyes are closed.

“Lyndi, darling,” I brush her cheek. “Please be okay.”

“The ambulance is on its way,” Roxy says.

I sniff. “I love you.”

Forty One

Lyndi

Ithinkanelephantis sitting on my head. I need drugs, not the kind my ex sells but—