Day of Reckoning

Chapter 8

Dawn

Has it been days or only hours? I lose track of time as I drift in and out of consciousness. I don"t want to be awake. Every time I open my eyes, the pain is new, fresh. I know I should ask Gabby where the others are, but I"m afraid of the answer. I don"t know how much I can handle right now. Drew. I just found you. What am I supposed to do now?

I"m alive and Drew is gone. I"ve lost him. The first person who ever made me feel like I was worth something, the first person who ever made me feel beautiful, is dead. Never coming back.

Fresh tears well in my eyes, but I wipe them away.

I"ve been told that we"re in a place called the Republic of Texas. The existence of Texas was kept out of our lessons in London. It"s in the Southern part of the colonies; Gabby knows that much. This city, Vicksburg, is apparently the capitol. They say we"re safe because the city is walled. Walled from what?

I only remember bits and pieces from the night we were brought here. It usually comes back to me in my dreams. Fire and smoke. Sam. One of the best friends I"ve ever had. Gunned down right in front of me. In slow motion, I see the bullet. Sam"s body hitting the ground. My screaming. Running. It"s the same every night.

Gabby is sitting across the room when my eyes snap open, my fists clenched. “Sam! Drew!” It"s okay. Gabby is here. She sits on my bed and dabs my forehead with a cool cloth. Once I"ve calmed down, I truly look at my sister for the first time since I came out of the coma. Something is weighing on her. There"s something she isn"t telling me.

“Okay,” I say. “Tell me.”

“Tell you what?” She looks away.

“I"m not daft, sis. I know there is something you"re not saying. Is it about that night?”

“I was waiting until you were stronger.”

“You were stalling,” I state. “Gabs, I need to know where everyone is.”

“Let"s talk about this when you"re feeling better.”

“No.” My tone makes her visibly start. “It"s not fair to me. I need to know.”

The silence stretches between us before she begins. “I was with Jeremy and Lee. We were running and being shot at. I got separated from the two of them before I ended up outside the forest with the Texan soldiers. I don"t know what happened to them. The Texans only found two bodies in the woods. Drew"s and -”

“Sam"s.”

“You knew?” she asks, sounding a bit relieved.

“I saw it happen,” I say bluntly.

“Oh,” is all she can manage.

“I hope Lee and Jeremy are okay.”

“Yeah, me too.” I see the pain dance across her face before she covers it up. I reach out my arms, beckoning her forward. She sits on my bed and hugs me. “I"m so glad you"re okay, sis,” she whispers.

“You"re not getting rid of me that easily.”