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Ryder was currently out of commission, partaking in a struggle with a soldier. Both weapons had been dropped to the ground, and he struggled against the larger man, ducking before the man’s fist could connect with his face. Ryder wrapped his arms around the soldier’s meaty middle and tackled him to the ground.

But my moment of hesitation had cost me.

The man, the man with crazed eyes and a feral grin, the man with a malicious twinkle that made me think of serial killers and monsters beneath the bed...he was walking towards me, gun raised.

I was briefly reminded of an old western show I used to watch. Two men standing in a small, dusty town, tumbleweed emerging from behind a tavern of roughly hewn logs. His eyes twitched; my eyes twitched. His hand pressed down on the trigger; my hand pressed down on the trigger. Only one of us would survive.

I didn’t want to close my eyes, but at the same time, I didn’t want to see the bullet enter my chest.

A second later, a gun went off. Multiple times.

My eyes widened, and I stared at the man’s scrunched face. His mouth was agape, a soundless scream escaping his lips.

And then he dropped.

Addie stood behind him, holding the gun of the fallen soldier. Her eyes flickered to the gun, almost as if she didn’t recognize the object she held. One second she was standing, eyes widening almost imperceptibly, and the next she fell to the ground beside the dead body.

I ran towards her immediately, afraid she would accidentally set off the gun.

“Everyone okay?” Fallon asked gruffly. The gunfire had receded, and I turned to see that the battle was over. Asher was hobbling on a bloody leg, and Fallon’s hand was pressed against his bleeding shoulder, but they were fine. My family was fine.

A strangled sob came from further down the hall, and I turned towards the distressed noise, anxiety creeping up on me like a psychotic killer.

Doc.

He was clinging to Kai’s dead body as if his touch was capable of bringing the man back to life. But I knew, as did the others, that no amount of horses or men would put Kai back together again.

“We need to go,” Calax said, grabbing the doctor’s shoulder.

“No!” He struggled against the giant of a man, tears streaming down his face. He looked as if he had agedyearsin a matter of minutes. His face appeared sunken, eyes unfocused.

“Doc,” Ronan tried, crouching down on the other side of Kai. His eyes were sad as they flickered over the man. I wondered if he blamed himself - after all, he and Ryder were the ones who kidnapped him, brought him into our world. At the same time, it had been Kai’s decision to remain with us. That was what made us different from the Ragers and the men and women operating this facility: free will.

“Kai wouldn’t want you to remain here. He wouldn’t want you to die,” Ronan continued earnestly. “Fight. You have to fucking fight, Doc, because believe it or not, we need you. You’re a part of this family now, and we don’t leave our own behind.”

Doc blindly stared at him. Stared at him...but didn’t see him. I wondered if he even heard a word he said. He opened his mouth to no doubt protest when Calax whacked him over the top of the head with the butt of his gun.

“We need to go,” he said briskly, grabbing the man and slinging him over his shoulder. He struggled slightly under the weight before righting himself and moving towards the exit. It was still surreal to see Calax standing in front of me, alive and well, but I would marvel at that later. Right now, we needed to get out of here.

I scooped Addie up and nodded towards the exit.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”