Free Web NovelChapter 73: Chapter 73 - On the Lead
"Adolf. Come on. Help put the animals in the truck."
The shout cut through the yard like a blade.
Iyisha stopped breathing.
Rhea did too.
They stayed pressed against the cold ground behind the stacked timbers, not daring to move even a finger. They listened to the goats cry, hooves scraping, metal clanging as the men dragged frightened animals toward the loading truck.
So that was the purpose.
"They came to take supplies," Iyisha whispered under her breath, barely forming the thought aloud. Her chest tightened. If Heart lost the livestock, winter would break them long before spring.
Only after complete silence settled again did she lift her head. She peeked over the timber pile. No movement. No shadows.
"We need to find the others," she said.
Rhea’s legs buckled as she stood. She let out a sob she tried and failed to silence. Iyisha grabbed her arm quickly.
"Come on. I got you," Iyisha said, though her voice trembled too.
Rhea nodded weakly, tears freezing on her cheeks. Her rosary hung from her fist, rattling softly with every shaking breath.
Iyisha’s mind raced. The hospital would be chaos. The residential building even worse.
She didn’t know where they could go but they can’t stay here.
They need to move.
The front path was too exposed, too open. Anyone walking through it would be spotted instantly.
"Let’s go behind," she murmured, pulling Rhea along the back side of the building. "Stay low."
The ground here was cluttered with discarded beams, broken crates, and piles of old timber. Enough cover to move unseen. They crouched, creeping forward, the cold biting through their clothes.
They almost reached the corner when Iyisha heard it.
Footsteps.
Close.
She pulled Rhea back sharply. They ducked beneath a slanted beam where thick boards created a dark hollow space. Snow brushed over their backs as they crawled into the tight shelter.
Iyisha pressed her hand over Rhea’s trembling mouth.
The boots stopped just on the other side of the wood.
Iyisha’s heart hammered so violently she felt it in her throat. Her breath came out in thin, shaky bursts she tried desperately to control. Rhea was trembling uncontrollably beside her, eyes squeezed shut, clutching the rosary so tightly the chain cut into her skin.
Voices murmured above them. A second pair of boots shifted in the snow.
They were waiting.
Deciding.
Too close.
Iyisha pictured them turning. Bending. Looking down. Finding two women curled under a broken beam like cornered animals.
Please. Please just walk away.
"Clear," a man called out.
Finally the boots moved. One step. Another. Then fading into the distance.
Iyisha sagged forward, a silent gasp breaking out of her chest.
But Rhea unraveled.
"I need to go to our room," she whispered, voice shaking so hard it barely sounded human. "My son. Iyisha, please. I have to go to him."
Iyisha froze.
The boy.
Six years old.
Always following Rhea, always tugging on her apron, always hiding behind her knees.
Iyisha swallowed hard. "Rhea..."
Rhea pulled away from her slightly, sobbing. "He is alone. He is alone in there. I need to go. Please. Please."
Iyisha grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at her.
For a moment she wanted to say no. The fear lived too close to the surface. Her legs trembled. Her breath shook. She was human before anything else, and every instinct inside her screamed to stay hidden, stay down, stay alive.
But she could not say no.
Not to a mother.
Not when a child was trapped in the next building.
She slowly let go of Rhea’s shoulders. Her hands dropped to her sides. A long, shaky sigh left her.
"How can I let you go alone," she murmured, more to herself than to Rhea. Her voice cracked around the edges. "You can barely stand."
She swallowed hard. Then breathed once. Twice.
"Okay," she whispered. "We go. But you do not make a sound. No matter what. You follow me."
Rhea nodded, tears still sliding down her cheeks. Her lips curled into a trembling shape that might have meant gratitude. Might have meant fear. Might have meant both. Iyisha felt a sick twist in her stomach.
This must be what Malcolm felt, she thought. Except Malcolm could actually lead. Malcolm had skill. Malcolm had calm.
Unfortunately Rhea was following someone who barely felt qualified to lead her own heartbeat.
Iyisha waited until the yard fell silent again. No shadows. No voices. No crunch of boots. She tugged Rhea forward.
"When no one is around," she whispered, "we turn that corner and run like hell for the stairs."
They waited. The silence felt wrong. Heavy. Smothering. Snow fell thick and fast, masking sound but not danger.
Then she moved.
They ran, crouched low, breath tearing themselves in half. The stairs rose like a dark throat waiting to swallow them. They reached the first landing. No voices. No footsteps. They climbed again, each step like a thunderbolt exploding in Iyisha’s ears. Her heart matched it, hammering out a frantic rhythm that seemed loud enough to summon every stranger in the compound.
On the second floor, the hallway stretched open and empty. Doors hung open. All of them.
Iyisha peeked into the first room. No one. Belongings scattered on the floor. Blankets strewn like someone had been dragged or forced out.
"They forced them to leave," she whispered.
Rhea choked a small sound as they neared her room. Iyisha grabbed her arm before the sound grew louder.
The door was open.
Iyisha’s breath stuttered. She peeked in quickly.
Nothing.
They stepped inside, slow and careful. The living area was empty. Chairs overturned. A cup broken near the sink.
Then Iyisha heard it.
A voice.
Soft. Sweet. Coming from the bedroom.
Her stomach flipped.
She looked at Rhea, who stared at her with eyes full of hope and dread at the same time.
Iyisha gave a pointed tilt of her chin toward the bat leaning beside the door. Rhea stared at it as if it were a lifeline. She picked it up, hands trembling so hard the metal made a faint tapping sound against the floor.
Iyisha winced.
Too loud.
Too dangerous.
She raised the gun slowly and stepped toward the bedroom.
The door was half-open. She nudged it with her foot.
Inside, a woman crouched near the closet, her back turned, coaxing a child out with a gentle voice. A voice too calm for this place. Too sweet for this moment. Too rehearsed.
"Come here, sweetheart. It is alright. Come out to me, come on."
Iyisha’s breath hitched. Her mind spun.
Now what. freёwebnovel.com
Was this woman helping him.
Was she from Heart.
Was she one of the intruders playing soft to gain trust.
Before Iyisha could decide, Rhea made a sound. Small. Heartbroken. Loud enough.
The woman reacted instantly.
She yanked the boy out of the closet and spun around, pulling him tight to her chest. Her arm locked across his small body. Her other hand rose fast, pressing a gun to the side of his head.
The child gasped. Rhea’s scream died in her throat.
Iyisha raised her gun reflexively, her whole body shaking so hard she nearly dropped it.
The woman’s eyes went wide with a cold warning.
"Don’t," she whispered. "One more step and the boy dies."
The room froze.
Time froze.
Iyisha’s heart slammed so hard she felt dizzy.
The child stared at her. Big terrified eyes.
God.
Help us.
