Free Bound to Ashes (The Altered Sequence Book 1) by Maranda Cromwell Page B

still functioning, they still act like they have something to hide, they don’t wear their emotions. Not like the young kids and teenagers nowadays, they’re brunt and expressive, probably without meaning to. They have no weird societal expectations or standards to cling to. Girls fight till they’re bloody, boys cry without fear of looking weak. They have no time to waste beating around the bush, they can’t afford to worry about stuff like appearances. Not when strangers will kill you and you have to fight every single day. Dev is doing the same thing. His heart’s on his sleeve because no one told him it was wrong. We’re more alike than he thinks, and I hope more than anything that he’ll realize that in the end.
     
    [Dev]
    I can’t stop thinking about Alessandra’s dead body with an entry wound in her forehead. Cain is not going to be pleased. He might even turn on me, too. But that would be fair. Because to him, I’m the traitor, bringing the enemy past our lines.
    Would the humans rally their remaining forces and come after us for killing their leader? It would still be all my fault.
    The highway fades into smaller roads as Alessandra leads us down the highway exit. We’re still ages from where we need to be. Every step closer feels pointless. We won’t make it in time.
    Cain said one day and one night. But who knows, he might have a change of heart and cut out early. But where would they run to? They wouldn’t go back home. Not if my situation was compromised. They wouldn’t... leave me. No. Of course not. At least Jules and Ashton... right?
    If I were them, I would have left me long ago.
    At the end of our narrow road, lined by buildings, the horizon shimmers. The washed out sky bears no clouds and the land blends into featurelessness by the uniform yellow dust coating it. A dark blemish forms in the mirage on the horizon.
    It’s usually so quiet in the middle of the day. Too hot for anything to be up and moving, and animals are smart enough to stay hidden. That can only mean....
    “What? Why’d you sto—”
    I shush her and close my eyes to listen.
    Skittering, breaks in the pattern. Stepping on asphalt.
    A heat-distorted form shimmers on the horizon. It flickers in and out of sight with the mirage. Am I imagining it?
    A bullet buries itself by our feet. Alessandra jumps and cries out.
    She runs for cover down an alley— good idea. Our backs hit the side of a brick building one after the other and she’s already craning her head around the corner.
    “Who the hell was that?”
    “No idea,” I admit, but a thousand ideas are flying through my head. It’s a trap. Maybe one of Heydrich’s men who survived. They caught one of my friends and got them to talk, they knew where we were going and met us halfway. Vengeful, angry, armed.
    “Hey!” Alessandra hisses at me. I snap to. She looks at me like she’s been trying to get my attention for a while. “Got any bright ideas?”
    I scowl at her and say, “No. Wait, didn’t you say you—”
    But she’s already loading a small handgun, little hands working like nimble insects, unlocking the safety and pulling back to load.
    “Give me that.” I snatch it from her and move out of the alley. I’m assuredly a better shot.
    She sputters, empty hands clutching air, and says, “Where are you going ?” She won’t fight me for it. She stays behind the alley. Her uneasy feet shuffle under her like she wants to follow, though.
    My feet pound on the hard asphalt and the figure is closer, less of a silhouette now. It’s tall and lanky, more of what I know. He lowers the rifle.
    “Hey!” I shout, slowing to a jog and waving my arms.
    He approaches me, rolling gait slowing to a stop. His white knuckles grip Cain’s rifle. Sweat beads on his brow.
    I smile. A heavy weight lifts away from me just seeing a familiar face. All the shit with the humans, Alessandra, the deal, the uncertainties— fade into nothing. Because he’s safe.
    “Hey,