to death.
We reach the compound as dusk settles over the city. There is still smoke billowing from the building even though it’s been over a day since I left.
There are no signs of life.
No people digging through the rubble. No squatters. Nothing but death.
I lead Enzo and Siren back to the spot where I last saw Liesel’s body, but we find nothing.
“Are you sure this is where you last saw her?” Siren asks.
I nod and kneel down to get a better look. I find a few strands of her blonde hair, just like before. But this time, there is no body attached.
Enzo and Siren pick up pieces of fabric, threads of shirts similar colored to the ones Corbin and Maxwell were wearing, and hand them to me.
All signs that they are indeed dead.
“The fire must have raged so intensely that it burned their bones,” Enzo says.
I nod. It’s still hot.
“We need to find Liesel’s father. We need to make sure he’s dead.”
We walk through the debris, spreading out to look for any clues as to who lived and who died.
We don’t find any bodies, though. They all burnt up.
I walk to the far edge of the wreckage when I finally spot a body.
The body is badly burned. I can’t make out any facial features, but once again, there’s a clothing thread. I pick it up, adding to the collection of other items we can test for DNA and bury to give our lost ones some type of burial. It’s the thick dark fabric of Liesel’s father’s coat.
“Did you find him?” Siren asks.
I nod.
“We should go back home,” I say.
I hold all the items in my hand—the three pieces of fabric and a lock of Liesel’s hair.
I scan the debris one more time, but these are the only personal items we find. A strange feeling overcomes me.
Strange that in a field of debris, we only found items belonging to the four people whose living status we need to know.
Strange that we found no bodies.
Strange that we found no evidence of anyone else.
Strange that it feels like this evidence was planted.
Strange.
And hopeful.
I don’t think Liesel’s father is dead. I don’t think Corbin or Maxwell is dead. I don’t think Liesel is dead.
I stare at my friends. They won’t believe me. They’ll think I’m delusional and I’m inventing theories because I can’t handle my grief. I need more proof.
I grin. I’ll do whatever it takes to find the truth. I’ll search to the ends of the earth. My huntress is alive. She lived. Now it’s my turn to hunt for her, to survive long enough to save her like she’s saved me.
21
Liesel
I have no question who set off the explosion—my father. He’d rather see us dead than let us escape.
I cough up blood and soot after the explosion knocks me to the ground.
Declan.
Langston.
I don’t process the damage done to my own body. All I care about is whether or not my boys made it out. I force my head up to try to look to the door, but I can’t see anything through the billowing smoke.
They had to have made it.
I remember the last thing I saw was them exiting through the door. It was several seconds before the explosion happened. They are safe.
My head collapses, and my face hits the ground with a thud. I don’t feel the sharp pain of the rocks sticking into my face. I don’t feel anything.
I’m dying.
Even before this happened, the wound in my leg was a death sentence unless I got medical attention fast. Whatever damage added to my body will just quicken my death. All I can wish for now is confirmation that Declan and Langston made it out alive before I slip away.
As if the universe decides to answer my wish, Langston appears before me. I must be hallucinating, but then I feel his touch against my hair.
I don’t move.
I don’t breathe.
I beg my heart to stop beating.
He can’t know I’m alive. I have to stay here to ensure my father is dead with whatever little time I have left, and he needs to get Declan out of here.
Langston stays for a moment. I can hear his sobs and feel his pain emanate off his body as he continues to touch my hair. He must think I’m dead. I don’t want to imagine what the rest of my body looks like for him to assume that so easily without checking for breathing or my pulse.
I could put Langston out of his misery. I could