Chapter 35: STOP! I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT!
Kaelan rose slowly, brushing Nate's blood off his hand with the back of his sleeve. His eyes never left Skylar. For the first time since entering the bookstore, his expression changed. Not softer, just sharper, more focused.
"So," he said quietly, "you carried all that gear yourself."
Skylar nodded once, even though her throat felt too tight to breathe.
Kaelan clicked his tongue. "Then prove it."
He snapped his fingers. Rourke and another man lifted Nate's limp body and dragged him to a nearby table, letting him fall onto it like a bag of meat. Nate groaned faintly but didn't wake.
Kaelan walked toward Skylar with slow, heavy steps, the kind that made the floorboards creak.
"Stand up."
Her legs trembled, but she obeyed. Her stomach still burned from the kick. She felt like she would fall apart just from breathing.
Kaelan stopped right in front of her.
"Since you're so strong," he said, "let's see you hold something."
He nodded toward Rourke. The big man pulled a metal crowbar from his belt, long, thick, heavy. He shoved it into Skylar's hands.
"Arms straight out," Kaelan said. "Hold it."
Skylar lifted the crowbar in front of her, arms shaking almost instantly from exhaustion and fear.
But she held it.
Kaelan circled her the way a wolf circles a trapped animal.
"You slit Pierce's throat?" he asked.
"Yes," she whispered.
"So you're the one who escaped the south fence?"
"Yes."
"You memorized my guard shifts?"
"Yes."
"You stole from me?"
Skylar lifted her chin. "Yes."
Kaelan nodded.
Then he punched her in the ribs.
The blow knocked the air out of her. She dropped to one knee, but she didn't drop the crowbar. Her arms were shaking wildly now, the metal rattling in her grip.
Kaelan crouched beside her.
"If you lie to me now," he said, voice soft but cold, "the boy dies. Not quick. Not clean."
Skylar forced her legs to lock and pushed herself upright again. Her ribs screamed with every breath.
She lifted the crowbar back into position.
Rourke laughed. "Look at her. She'll snap in half."
"Let her," Kaelan said.
Then he walked back to Nate.
Nate was unconscious, barely breathing. Blood leaked down his arm, dripping from the table like a broken faucet.
Kaelan snapped his fingers again. One of the men handed him a long, thin screwdriver.
He rested the tip on Nate's thigh.
Skylar felt her whole chest tighten. "Please… please don't…"
Kaelan didn't even look at her. He pressed the screwdriver down, breaking skin. Blood welled up around the tool.
Nate didn't wake.
Kaelan pushed harder.
The screwdriver sank into muscle with a wet sound. Nate jerked violently, waking with a scream that cracked in the middle.
Skylar cried out, "STOP! IT WAS ME! EVERYTHING WAS ME!"
Kaelan twisted the screwdriver.
Nate screamed again, louder, teeth clenched so hard they almost broke. His leg shook uncontrollably, the table rattling under him.
Skylar's arms shook like branches in a storm, but she held the crowbar up, tears streaming down her face.
Kaelan finally looked at her.
"You stole the gear," he said. "Fine. If you really carried everything, you should still be strong enough to hold that crowbar."
He stepped closer until he was right in front of her.
"Drop it," he said quietly, "and I put another hole in your friend."
Skylar's arms burned like fire. Her vision blurred. Sweat dripped down her temple. Her ribs throbbed from his punch. Her stomach felt like it was tearing itself apart.
But she didn't drop it.
Kaelan walked back to Nate, still bleeding from the shoulder wound and the stab wound. Nate's breaths were fast, panicked, wet with pain.
Kaelan pressed two fingers into the bullet hole again.
Nate screamed so sharply it didn't even sound human.
Skylar shrieked, "STOP! I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT!"
Kaelan pulled his hand back and wiped it again.
He faced her.
"Tell me how you killed Pierce," he said.
Skylar tried to think through the pain in her arms. "I followed him into the armory. I used a Combat knife. I… I cut deep and fast so he couldn't scream."
"Which side of the armory was his body when you…?" Kaelan asked.
She didn't even hesitate. "He was by the entrance, I dragged his body to the corner to avoid anyone seeing him quickly. After that I cleaned up the blood by the entrance."
Kaelan narrowed his eyes.
"And where did he keep the ammo storage key?"
"In his boot," she said, breathing hard.
Rourke's face tightened in surprise.
One of the other men muttered, "She's… right."
Kaelan didn't look at them.
He walked up to Skylar.
She stood there with the crowbar held in shaking hands, tears running down her face, blood on her lips, her body trembling from head to toe.
Kaelan studied her for a long moment.
Then he slapped her.
The hit spun her head sideways. Her cheek burst with pain. Her arms almost dropped the crowbar, almost.
But she held it up again, gasping.
Kaelan nodded slowly.
For the first time… not mocking.
Just thoughtful.
He stepped back.
"Rourke," he said. "Tie her hands. If she's lying, we'll find out."
Rourke grabbed her roughly, pinning her arms behind her and pulling rope tight around her wrists. The crowbar clanged on the floor.
She didn't fight. She only stared at Nate, who lay trembling on the table, blood dripping through the cracks.
Kaelan leaned one hand on the table beside Nate's head.
"If she lied," he said softly to his men, "the boy won't make it to sunset."
He turned to Skylar.
"And if she told the truth…"
He smiled, slow and cold.
"…then she's more useful than I thought."
Skylar swallowed hard, fear pulsing behind her eyes.
But she had bought Nate a few more minutes of life.
Even if she didn't know what would happen next.
Kaelen watched Skylar for a long moment, the campfire's dull orange glow flickering across his face. The other men stood behind him, weapons lowered but not relaxed. The air felt tight, almost like it was waiting to snap.
"Alright," Kaelen finally muttered. "You think you're convincing? Then prove it."
Skylar swallowed. Her palms were trembling, but she kept her chin high. Every part of her body screamed fear, yet she refused to look away from him.
Kaelen stepped closer until he was right in front of her. "If you really planned the raid… if you really killed Pierce… if you really carried all that gear out of the compound…" He looked her up and down slowly, searching for any weakness. "Then you won't mind another test."
The men whispered nervously. Even they weren't sure where Kaelen was going with this.
Skylar felt a jolt shoot through her stomach. She didn't know what he had in mind, but she knew she couldn't back down now. Nate, half-conscious behind her, lay slumped against the wall, barely breathing. He didn't even seem aware of what was happening anymore.
Kaelen crouched and picked up a heavy pack filled with cans, weapons, and ammunition, almost the exact load she had claimed to carry during her escape from the compound.
He dropped it in front of her with a loud thud.
"Lift it."
Skylar froze. The pack looked like it weighed as much as she did. Her arms throbbed just looking at it.
"You said you did it before," Kaelen said calmly. "Do it again."
There was silence except for Skylar's shaky breathing. She crouched, hooked her fingers under the straps, and tried to lift. The weight pulled her forward immediately. Her knees buckled. She gritted her teeth, tried again, and managed to get the pack halfway off the floor before it slipped and crashed back down.
The men snickered.
Kaelen didn't.
"Again."
Skylar tried until her fingers shook so hard she couldn't make a fist. Sweat rolled down her face. The pack wouldn't budge.
Kaelen let the silence linger, letting her failure hang in the air.
But Skylar didn't give up. She staggered forward, threw her shoulder under the pack, and dragged it an inch, then another. Her whole body trembled, but she refused to stop. Inch by inch, she hauled the bag across the floor, legs wobbling.
The men went quiet this time. Even they hadn't expected her to push through that much.
Finally Kaelen stepped forward and kicked the pack away from her before she collapsed next to Nate, gasping.
He stared at her.
Then he nodded.
"Alright. That's enough." His expression changed, not soft, but accepting. "You're coming back with us."
Skylar's head snapped up. "What about Nate?" Her voice was raw. "We… we can't leave him like this."
Kaelen eyed Nate's limp body. "You still care for this idiot? What do you want to do for him?"
Skylar looked desperate. "We found medicine in the clinic. Let us leave some for him. Just something to slow down infection… or help the wounds close. If rippers find him like this…" Her voice broke. "He won't stand a chance. Please."
Her shoulders trembled. "This happened because of me. At least let me do this much."
Kaelen stared at her for a long time. Behind him, the men shifted, uneasy and unsure.
Finally he sighed. "Fine. He'll be found by the rippers long before he can manage to escape. Leave him what you want. But hurry."
Skylar scrambled to the bag of medical supplies and pulled out a few vials, bandages, disinfectant, anything that might give Nate a fighting chance if he woke up again. She placed everything beside him, her fingers hovering for a moment over his cheek, but she didn't dare touch him. Not with Kaelen watching.
Minutes later, they walked out carrying everything Nate and Skylar had gathered, food, packs, tools, even the medicine they didn't leave behind. Even the M4 Carbine he was carrying was picked up by Rourke.
Strangely, Kaelen ignored the radios, the other electronics, the static-filled walkie. "Useless junk," he muttered. "No point hauling dead tech."
Skylar nodded silently. "Yeah," she whispered, holding her lie steady. "Just stuff Nate thought he could fix. None of it works."
The men wasted no time leaving the ruined building behind, marching back toward the compound with Skylar in tow, the girl who had almost convinced them all.
Behind them, Nate lay unconscious on the cold floor, surrounded by the little hope she fought to leave for him.