The Fortunates (Unfortunate #2) - Skyla Madi Page 0,85

John shouts one last time. “You’re the only one standing out there. You need to—”

I shut him out as my gaze catches something for the briefest second. I watch the curve of the hill, hoping to see the bob of a head again. Hope builds in my chest, ballooning rapidly. A smile of relief inches across my lips.

“Mummy?”

I frown, my smile rapidly receding, as a little girl bounces over the top of the hill, appearing out of nowhere. Her pretty flower dress is covered in blood and it sticks her curly, brown hair to her round face.

A woman breaks out of the crowd and I glance over my shoulder as she rushes forward. “Mya? Oh, my baby!”

The Fortunate lady scoops her child into her arms and sobs, apologising and thanking the universe. Despite my disappointment, my heart swells. I can’t imagine how distraught she must have been without her daughter.

“Where’s your brother?” the mum asks, brushing Mya’s hair out of her face.

“He’s hurt,” Mya replies, her lips pinching into a pout. “The man is carrying him.”

“What man?” I cut in, frightening the little girl.

She wraps her tiny arms around her mother’s neck as I step closer.

“The man,” I say calmly. “Where is he?”

Pouting, she points over the hill and I follow her arm to the opposite hill. My heart splinters and all I can do is stare…

…no.

Chapter

Twenty-Three

Kade

The young boy was lifeless in his arms. Kade didn’t know if the kid was dead or alive, but his little sister begged for him to carry her big brother. He couldn’t say no to her or her large, green eyes. Groaning, Kade hugged the boy closer to his chest and forced himself to go faster.

The moderators behind him stopped shooting a little while ago. He didn’t know why, but he definitely wasn’t going to complain about it. In the madness, he lost Oliver and never found Anna. Dread punched him in the stomach. He hoped she made it.

Kade glanced up from the dry grass at his feet and hope ignited as the pointy roof of the Unfortunate camp came into view. A few more metres and he’d be at the top.

Dropping his stare, he grunted and groaned. His bones creaked and cracked. There was no doubt about it. After tonight, Kade would be sore, the sorest he’d ever been.

“Kaden?”

He paused as the sweet tenor of her voice breathed life into him. He lifted his gaze and there she was…covered in mud and scratches, splattered with blood and who knows what else. Her ponytail was loose, allowing strands of hair to stick to her cheeks. He made it.

She made it.

“Fynn?” the woman beside Anna gasped, cradling the girl he’d found sitting beside her unconscious brother on the outskirts of the town. “No…”

John Milano and an unknown moderator rushed out from the camp and took the boy from Kade’s arms. Without the extra weight, Kade felt as though he was going to float away.

Before his heart had a chance to beat its next beat, a new weight was in his arms. A weight he welcomed. Hers. Anna cried into his shirt. He couldn’t tell if they were tears of joy or tears of sadness. He guessed both were valid emotions.

Kade wrapped his arms around her shaking body and held her tightly. They did it. They escaped the town and found their refuge in the Unfortunate camp at the top of the hill. The easy part was over and now the real battle was about to begin.

Anna pulled away from him, her swollen eyes wide and fearful. “I thought I lost you.”

He couldn’t imagine how she was feeling. If it was anything like the pain he’d felt, he wondered how she was still standing. Kade cupped her face in his hands and pulled her forward, kissing her deeply. She kissed him back, bunching his shirt in her fists, and pulling him harder against her.

Leading up to today, he thought he’d miss his home. Freeport was where he grew up, after all, but as he put Freeport behind him and carried that boy and his little sister as far as he could, he realised his home was with his wife. Wherever she was, he was content. Seeing her face as he forced himself over the curve of the hill was all he needed to realise that.

Pulling away, Kade took her hand in his and led her inside the Unfortunate camp. It was huge with plenty of space to house everyone. He supposed it had to be to