Love Among The Ruins-Chapter 99

NADINE’S P.O.V

We stopped by to grab our supplies first, and then we were on our way to their community.

"Do you think I made the right decision?" I asked Rowan who just shrugged. "What if we’re heading into another bunker type of place?"

"I don’t think Jennifer would thrive in a place like that and she looks happy."

He had a point.

Jennifer and her friend walked ahead of us and they looked completely at ease with each other. He was stoic and stone faced, whereas she had a small smile on her face, almost as if she was floating on air.

Occasionally, they would glance back at us to make sure we were still following, but it was as if they were in a world of their own. I was glad that she seemed happy and a part of me wondered if they were together.

I kept my questions to myself knowing they probably wouldn’t appreciate it. We walked through the woods, not even stopping for a minute. My head was still pounding, but it was more like a dull thud and I wanted to get to safety more than I wanted to take a break.

We walked the entire day.

I knew the moment we got to their community.

Unlike the rest of the town that looked abandoned, this place looked lived in. I’d expected some abode in the woods, but they’d chosen a part of this town, a real gated community and made it their own.

There were people in the trees and bushes, watching us. I could see them, see their drawn weapons and the distrust with which they watched us.

"This is their safe place?" Amy whispered. "It’s so open."

"They’re hiding in plain sight." Rowan sounded almost proud. "it’s either very smart or very stupid."

"You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, Rowan?" Jennifer mused. "It’s easier this way. We can see everything before it happens and we can kill those bastards."

My lips tugged. "You got your wish after all. You get to hunt them."

"It feels refreshing. Now they’re the prey." Her grin was wicked. "We’re heading straight to the meeting circle. I hope you have good information because while I may like you now, the people here definitely won’t. They’ve all been scarred by your father one way or the other."

Rowan squeezed my hand, letting me know that he was there, but that did nothing to ease the worry that gathered in my gut.

It was another ten minute walk to the meeting circle.

It was a small fountain right in the open. A few people were already gathered there- mostly men- but there were a few women too. They all wore hand stitched clothes and they had their own weapons.

A man stood as he saw us approach. "Did you take their weapons?"

Jennifer hesitated. "No. You’ve never asked anyone to disarm themselves before."

He rolled his eyes and took a step forward, stopping in front of me.

Up close, he looked scarier. He had a long scar that ran down his temple, his hands were covered in bruises and he was built like a fucking horse. "I know exactly why you are, Nadine Tyler."

"Good, because I don’t know who you are." I crossed my arms over my chest.

If his tactic was to intimidate me, then he was failing badly. I’d gone through so much, seen so much, that there was no man who could scare me.

"Step back before I make you."

Gasps ran through the air.

I could feel Rowan’s pride radiating off him. It was the only thing that gave me the confidence to keep standing.

I didn’t blink, keeping the stare of the mystery man in front of me and for a minute, I thought he’d lose it, but then, his lips curled.

"You have a lot of balls on you," he drawled. "I’ll hear you out. What do you have for us?"

"Information."

"I’m willing to hear it."

"I need a deal first."

His brows rose. "You’re in no place to negotiate."

"Believe me, we are," Rowan cut in. "You’ll want to see what we have."

He was silent for a moment. "What do you want?"

"A safe haven for all four of us."

A woman next to him laughed. "We can take you and the pretty girl with blue hair, but those two should go back to their fathers."

"All of us or none of us," Rowan’s voice was firm. "Take it or we walk out of here, but know this, you’ll never be able to get rid of the monsters without us."

He turned to the other people around him and dropped his voice to a whisper. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was clear that we didn’t have a lot of fans. Their tones were angry, frustrated and I could bet my life on the fact that at least one person suggested that they just kick us out to die.

Jennifer still stood next to us and she gave me an encouraging smile. It was more than I’d expected from her but I appreciated it.

"We’ll hear you out," the man said finally. "If what you have is good enough then we will let you stay."

Rowan pursed his lips, clearly not pleased with the deal but we knew it was the best we’d get. I turned to the others, a silent question in their eyes. Amy just shrugged, she didn’t care much. Joshua hesitated for a moment and nodded.

"You have a deal," Rowan told the man and he smiled.

"Get our guests some chairs. My name is Solomon. Tell me what you have."

"We set the fire that you sent Jennifer to investigate," Rowan began and murmurs went through the crowd. "The fire was set in Trent’s lab."

"The General?" a woman from the back asked and Rowan nodded. "Why would you burn his lab? Is this some kind of rebellion?"

"Not exactly, we found out that he created the monsters."

You could’ve heard a pin drop from how silent the entire place became. Even Jennifer stared at us with disbelief in her eyes.

I watched the faces of everyone. Their expressions ranged from shocked to confused. Solomon on the other hand seemed intrigued. He leaned forward on his elbow, almost urging us to keep speaking.

"He sent the monsters to kill us. It was the only way we could get out alive," Rowan finished. "Before we left, we grabbed some files. They may hold some information."

"May?" Solomon asked and Rowan shrugged.

"We haven’t gone through them yet but there are notes on how he created them and pictures too."

"How did you find out? What made you look into Trent? Did he send you to win our trust?"

"I saw him," I began and they all turned to me. "In the bunker, I made a wrong turn and I saw a lab with one of the creatures in a large glass container. They were experimenting on it. I wouldn’t have said anything, but he saw me. He knocked me out, beat me up, tied me to a tree and left me in the forest at night covered in blood. I was pregnant."

I exhaled deeply.

"I know what Trent is, and I’m not asking you to trust me because I don’t trust any of you. But I trust Jennifer and if she says that you want to kill the monsters as much as I do, then we have to work together because we could kill every last creature on this planet and he will make more."

"What are you suggesting?" Solomon asked.

"I want us to kill Trent."