was bad news—that was one of their favorite spots to bring us for discipline because it wasn’t under any kind of camera surveillance.
There was no thud of the electronic lock, just the scrape of the manual one as the Reds shut us in for the night. So…the power was out completely. No backup generator kicked in; not ten minutes later, not twenty, not a half hour.
Then, without warning, our world exploded.
The bunks actually shook, jittering and shuffling across the floor, the way everything trembles under the force of an oncoming train. The roar of the explosion shredded the quiet murmur of the storm. I was on my feet, stumbling against the nearest wall as the ground shuddered violently, rolling some of the girls out of their beds.
“What the hell?”
“Was that—?”
The questions were choked off by the familiar whip-crack of gunfire. I pushed past Vanessa toward a small window, only to find that, whatever the blast was, it had knocked the thick sheet of plastic out of its frame. We had a clear view of the Red stationed nearby as she took off at a run in the direction of the camp’s entry gate, her gun already up and aimed.
Someone’s here.
“Everyone—shut up!” Ellie had been the one to take charge when Ashley disappeared. She was only beginning to wake up from the shock of that loss now that Ruby was back—there was just the smallest possibility that Ashley was out there, too. “Come here, come here!”
I wanted to stay by the window, but Vanessa dragged me with her toward the center of the room.
“Circle up, come on—whatever it is, it’ll be over soon,” Ellie said.
And what if it isn’t? I thought. What if we need to protect ourselves, not curl up into little balls?
The shots got louder, splitting the air, making it impossible not to flinch with each one, until they finally knocked against our door.
And nearly blew it off its hinges.
It swung in, still smoking, as two figures dressed in head-to-toe black rushed in. The taller of the two tugged up his mask—and the face there was young, so much younger than I was expecting. His blue eyes scanned our faces frantically as the girl beside him lifted her mask and reached for her radio.
“Negative on Twenty-Seven,” she said, voice harsh. There was a static response I couldn’t hear over the drumming in my head. Her hair was tucked up into the ski mask, but a single vivid purple strand escaped as she unleashed a torrent of cussing.
“Ruby?” The boy was Southern, his words curling in a familiar way that made something inside me ache. His movements were jerky, frantic, and he seemed to forget he still had a gun in his hands. “Where’s Ruby?”
They’re here for her? Amazement stole through me. People had broken into the camp. And if they were here for her, did that also mean they were here…for the rest of us?
These were kids. They were like us. And they were…they were…
“She—they took her out of the Mess Hall. Out back.” Ellie barely managed to get the words out. “It’s the big building to the right of the camp’s entrance.”
The girl raised a dark brow at the boy. “Go ahead. I got them.”
The boy threw us one last look over his shoulder before rushing back out into the rain.
“All right, ladies, listen up because I still have ten more cabins to clear and do not have one more goddamn second to waste. Pull on your big girl panties, grab your shoes, a coat, whatever, and follow me.” The girl was already at the door before she realized none of us had moved. “Why the fuck are you all staring at me like that? You want to stay in this shithole and get flushed with the PSFs?”
“We’re…leaving?” Ellie managed. “For real?”
“For-fucking-real, girl,” she confirmed. “We’re taking you out of here to your families. But we aren’t going anywhere if you keep staring at me like this place fried your brains. I’m not going to let anything happen to any of you. You’re Ruby’s girls, and she’d straight-up murder me.”
That, at least, got us rushing back to our bunks for our shoes and sweatshirts, assembling into the usual line. The girl gave us a look of disbelief, shaking her head as she waved us forward—outside.
I was the first one out the door, grabbing the front of her bulletproof vest. The girl’s eyes narrowed as she wrenched herself out of my hands.