Free Broken Ties: A Tale of Survival in a Powerless World (Broken Lines Book 3) by James Hunt

blue bruises were blotched along her rib cage. She managed to roll onto her back. Her hands found her face and she ran her fingertips across the lumps and welts, wincing with each touch.
     
                  The last thing she remembered before she blacked out was a fist slamming into her cheek and her body hitting the ground. She lasted a long time, and she didn’t break. She didn’t give them anything.
     
                  It was hard though. The hardest thing she’d ever done. There were times where she wanted to give them all the answers to the questions they were asking.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
                  When she raised her head from the ground to get a better look at her surroundings, she saw the door to the interrogation room was open and the room empty. The only thing in there was her blood staining the floor.
     
                  Kalen flipped to her belly and crawled to the front of the cell. Her neck strained as she looked down the halls, trying to see where they took Mary.
     
                  “Mary?” Kalen said.
     
                  Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper. The exertion of speaking was painful. Her ribs felt razor sharp, stabbing her insides with each breath, word, and movement. She squinted her eyes shut, trying to block the it out.
     
                  Kalen focused on figuring out where she saw Mary last. Did she see her when she came out? No. Her last memories before her blackout were still in the room.
     
                  The hardware store? No, they were dragged to the sheriff’s office together. The cells. She remembered Mary being thrown into one of the cells as she was taken to the interrogation room.
     
                  “Mary?” Kalen repeated.
     
                  Another shot of pain went through Kalen’s stomach; guilt. She was the one who convinced Mary to come. She was the one who gave her the gun. Whatever fate Mary had run into was because of her actions.
     
                  Kalen rested her back against the wall. She placed her right hand on the cell bars and gripped the metal tight. Her arm started to shake.
     
                  Don’t break. Don’t give in. Fight it. Fight it!
     
                  She held the tears back. She wasn’t going to cry. She wasn’t going to show weakness. If the bikers came back in they wouldn’t find a self-pitying girl wallowing in tears. All they would see was her resolve and the lumps across her face.
     

Night of Day 13 (the Cabin)
 
                  Nelson pulled the sheets over Sean. He bent down to kiss his forehead, brushing the hair out of his eyes. He dimmed the candlelight in the lantern and shut the door.
     
                  He walked down the hall quietly. When he reached the living room, Ray was on the couch, his leg propped up on a few pillows as he flipped through the pages of a hunting magazine Freddy had brought up for him from the basement.
     
                  Nelson leaned back in the armchair across from the couch slowly and let out a sigh. He closed his eyes and rested his head back on the cushion behind him.
     
                  “Crazy day,” Ray said.
     
                  “Yeah,” Nelson answered.
     
                  “Any reason you didn’t go with Mike?”
     
                  Nelson opened his eyes. Ray had set the magazine down and was looking at him.
                  “What are you getting at?” Nelson asked.
     
                  “Well, I know why I didn’t go,” Ray said, gesturing to his leg.
     
                  “We couldn’t send everyone,” Nelson answered.
     
                  Ray turned back to his magazine.
     
                  “I’m not a coward,