Living in the Shadow of Death by Donna Augustine

Author:Donna Augustine [Augustine, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-05T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

The camp was quiet, everything calm, Charlie’s breathing steady beside me in the tent. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Widow Herbert dying. I heard myself frantic and screaming, and then seeing Charlie looking at us.

If we hadn’t come, she’d probably be alive. She was older, but she might’ve had a few more years left. How many years had she lost? What if she’d had a decade? People lived till over a hundred every day. She might’ve been okay with meeting death, but I wasn’t good with being the one who’d escorted her to the door.

My chest was tight, and growing worse, like the pressure was building and was going to explode. I’d been holding it in for hours, and I was down to minutes now. I had to get away from everyone before they saw the mess I was about to become.

I crawled out of the tent, slipped on my boots, and tiptoed around the guys who’d formed a circle around the tent. Duncan’s spot was empty. This wasn’t the first time I’d rolled over and seen him gone, though.

I kept looking back, making sure I didn’t lose sight of the fire, but I had to get out of earshot. My body shuddered, and I stopped, leaning against a tree as the day’s events finally overwhelmed me. The fear, guilt, and doubt all meshed inside and spilled out of me in a ball of emotional turmoil. I knelt on the ground, my breathing ragged as I tried to retain some amount of control.

Why did the world have to go to shit now? I was too young and stupid to make these choices. I’d gotten Widow Herbert killed, and I still had a five-year-old to take care of.

I was bent over, feeling like I might vomit, when a hand closed over my mouth. Another wrapped around my upper body. I was lifted off my feet. My arms were useless, but I kicked back with everything I had. There were shadows moving on either side of me, so there were at least three people.

I tried to bite the hand covering my mouth, but it was planted too firmly. One good scream and the guys would hear, but I was getting carried farther away.

I didn’t stop kicking, but the man carrying me was at least a foot taller and had arms like tree trunks. If I could get out of this grasp, get free to scream for one second…

My captor stumbled on something, and we both fell to the ground. He let go on our way down. I took the brunt of his weight as he fell on top of me, knocking the wind out of me. He wasn’t there for long before his body went flying.

There was scrambling, and I looked up in time to see Duncan looming over the man on the ground. There were sounds of running as the other two fled the scene.

“You okay?” he asked, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet.

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