Miscreants: Next Generation by Natalie Bennett (essential reading .txt) 📗

and then took a sharp left turn. Seeing what was up ahead, I sat up taller.

A four-lane road had become more weeds and grass than pavement, and there were various vehicles that looked to be abandoned blocking our path. Aside from that, four proselytes stood off to the side just a few yards away.

“We have to walk from here. They’ll take the trucks around the other way and meet back up with us,” Mal explained.

“Why didn’t we take that way to begin with?”

He put the SUV in park and opened his door. “Because it’s a main route, and I wasn’t putting you at risk. This is the back road. Still dangerous but less so.”

“You didn’t have to do all that for me,” I protested.

“Get out,” he replied, exiting the vehicle.

I dropped my head back and sighed, taking a minute to obey his command. I prepared myself for the heat and followed everyone else’s lead.

It didn’t take long for our group to assimilate and switch off with the waiting proselytes.

“How long will it take us to get through this maze of rusted metal?” Takara asked.

“Not long, if we keep a steady pace,” Rory answered her.

I took in everything as we made our journey onward. While it seemed the majority knew their way around, this was all new to me. The roadway was practically in half, tarmac splitting apart, allowing dirt to show and endless vegetation to grow.

The abandoned cars were in a variety of conditions. Some couldn’t have been here that long, while others were so rusted, they’d begun falling apart, covered in overgrowth.

I wondered what the story behind them was. There were enough that we had to weave around a husk every couple yards. A few had old remains inside, piles of dusty weathered bones no one cared about.

We were nearing an overpass when Samael abruptly stopped walking. Before I had a chance to ask what was going on, he was shoving me into Aurora. I smacked into her chest, taking us both to the ground.

At the same time, Jin demanded everyone get down—a mere second before gunfire blasted through the air.

“Don’t move,” Aurora barked, covering my body with her own.

“What the hell is happening?” Takara yelled from nearby, hiding with Amo.

Bullets pebbled what remained of windshields, pinging off the bodies of so many cars it sounded like it was raining metal. The bullets were coming from above us—from the ivy-covered overpass with a rusted fence. I didn’t know who the fuck was shooting or why, but we would never make it back off this road if it kept up.

The rounds stopped abruptly, and a heavy clanking sound echoed.

“I think they’re reloading,” Poet remarked from wherever he’d taken cover.

Excellent, I thought grimly, wiping sweat from my brow. We were too exposed, huddled behind raggedy-ass cars like sitting ducks just waiting for a bullet to the head.

“Why’d they stop shooting?” Cherry asked after the longest five minutes of my life.

“They don’t need to waste the ammo. They’re probably waiting us out,” Aurora replied.

“Is everyone good?” Brody called from his hiding spot further back.

“In five,” Mal replied.

“What happens in five?” I whispered to my sister.

“We need to move,” she replied, still hovering above me like a shield. Her giant tits were pressing into my back.

“Move where exactly?” I asked loud enough for him to hear me.

“We go left. Use the other cars as shields. Once we hit the tree line, we’ll be fine.”

“The fuck? Or they could just shoot us down over there instead.”

“Watch your mouth. The watchmen only patrol roads. They’ll let us go once we’ve cleared it. They weren’t supposed to have tagged up this far yet.”

His calm demeanor made me want to shake him. My head spun with all this new information. How did he know all these things? Unable to ponder it properly, I peered around Aurora to see the path Mal suggested we take.

Freaking how?

“You want us to go left? You want us to run across three lanes of traffic while dodging bullets?” I couldn’t catch the laughter that followed.

“Just run really, really fast,” Amo cut in sarcastically.

“Three,” Mal called out.

These crazy fucking assholes.

My heart was pounding so fast I could hear it in my ears. This damn anxiety was making me sweat more than I already had been.

Aurora shifted so that she was beside me and offered an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to cover you.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because you’re my baby sis,” she replied matter-of-factly.

Well, that made me feel like an epic level bitch. It pissed me off, too. I wasn’t made of glass, yet we were on this road because Samael saw me as fragile. He called for us to move, and, without hesitation, I launched myself forward, feeling a satisfying burn in my calves.

For a total of three seconds—I know because I counted—nothing happened. The shooting started again directly after.

In order to not get riddled with bullets, we ducked and weaved around the cars. More than once, I swear I’d almost gotten struck. I could hear the bullets whizzing by. Aurora stuck with me, unnecessarily doing as she said she would. Mal purposely stayed further back—also doing something unnecessary and stupid.

Takara and Amo made it first, Brody and Jin right on their heels as they all four disappeared into the trees.

“Move that ass, Lils,” Mal shouted.

“Shut…up!” I breathed. I was doing well considering how much strain I’d put on myself the past two days.

We were a few strides away when a screech sounded from behind us, nearly causing me to trip over myself.

I glanced back, seeing Cherry, holding the side of her face and no longer attempting to run, ducked behind an old pick-up. I couldn’t risk going back to