Page 30 of Ravaged By the Dark

“Well, it certainly did that. Nothing like a little public foreplay in a public place to spice shit up a bit from the mundane bills,” she teased. “Besides, it wasn’t all bad.”

He managed to give Renee a smile, but his heart hurt at the thought of never coming back, never kissing those lush lips, or never learning more about her. Hell, it hurt to think about never seeing J.J. again. Reaching out, he ran his hand through J.J.’s curls, wishing that they could all go inside and sleep peacefully.

He needed to get the hell out of here. It was obvious he was in over his head, and he needed to stop before he drowned.

“See you around, Renee. Take care of yourself,” he said and jogged down the stairs to his Hummer and slipped back inside. She was still staring at him from the landing. She looked confused or maybe hurt. He didn’t know, and he couldn’t contemplate it, or he’d march back up the steps. He swore every swear wood he knew as he backed up.

He had to leave her alone. It was the right thing to do.

The building roared like a monster around them as the walls shook violently. Arek covered his head as pieces of the ceiling crumbled to the floor.

He jogged to the far end of the building to see if there was a way out. That last RPG was too fucking close. He peered out into the narrow alley, and there wasn’t anyone in it, but there was a door to the next building. Time to move.

He ran back toward the rest of the guys as they continued to exchange gunfire with shooters in a building across the way. A sharp whistling sound pierced the air, the hair raising on the nape of his neck.

“Get down!” He screamed over the noise. The explosion hit, and the way he’d just come crumbled like dominos, and the walls began to fall toward him.

“Run! Go! Go!” he shouted as he waved his arms, trying to get their attention over the sound of guns and other blasts that made the crumbling building just another noise amongst the many.

“Watch out!” Arek looked to his left just in time to see Scooter running at his side.

What the hell was he doing?

Scooter’s body slammed into him, sending him flying sideways. He landed hard and rolled with the impact.

The dust was so thick in the sudden quiet. His ears were ringing, and he coughed, trying to see through the impenetrable haze of beige sand and grit. Arek rubbed at his eyes, and they cleared a little. The part of the building he’d been running from lay in ruins, a pile of rubble that completely exposed the other half. He looked up, and only by some small miracle, the half they were under hadn’t fallen.

He looked for Scooter.

What the hell had he been thinking?

His friend was lying on his back.

No, no, no.

His brain caught up to what his eyes were trying to understand. Arek tried to flip over and winced and looked down. His leg was caught.

Arek leaned as far as he could to grab his fallen rifle, his hand clawing at the sand to reach the gun. His fingertips snagged the strap, and he quickly sat and yanked it over. Not wasting any time, he shoved it under the heavy piece of rock that was lying on his ankle and pulled down hard on the other end. He grunted with the effort and sheer force it took to get the weight lifted enough off his ankle that he could pull it free.

The heavy slab smacked back into place as he pulled himself and the rifle free. Flipping on his stomach, he crawled to Scooter, who was staring at him. Arek grabbed his outstretched hand and stared at the rock.

“Don’t worry. I’m going to get you out of there. I just need to get a couple of the guys, and we can do it.”

Scooter gripped his hand hard and shook it until he looked down into his eyes. Tears cleared little paths through his dirt-stained cheeks.

“Don’t, there’s no point,” Scooter said and then gasped.

“No, I’m not giving up on you.”

“Arek! Look at me. I can’t feel anything from the waist down.” Scooter stopped to cough, and little splatters of blood flew out of his mouth.

“Look at this.” Scooter wiped his mouth and showed him his hand. “I’m done.”

Arek lifted his friend’s head and placed it in his lap. They hung onto one another. The quiet and lack of gunfire was now as loud as the explosions had been a moment ago.

“I didn’t think I’d be scared. You know?” Scooter said. Arek nodded. “I knew when I signed up that I could die, but not like this, not trapped like a rat.”

“You saved me,” Arek said, rocking Scooter back and forth a little.