That woman.

I immediately moved towards the door and twisted the doork.n.o.b. It wouldn't budge. Elle was holding it tightly on the other side.

What was she up to?

I gripped and re-gripped my axe. I was dying to use it. I wanted more than anything to bust through that door and decapitate the lot of them. But Elle obviously had a plan of some sort that she didn't confide in me and I didn't want to risk f.u.c.king it up.

I muttered her name like it was a cuss word. It took everything I had to just stand there and wait until the opportune moment to make my move. I would have to read her mind to know when to make my entrance, and unfortunately for us both, I wasn't gifted with ESP.

"h.e.l.lo there." That voice-it was the one Elle feared most. What was his name? Oh yeah-Leonard. My axe became an extension of my arm.

"Leonard," Elle said. I put my ear up to the door and closed my eyes. She was only inches away from my touch. I thought I could hear her breathe, steady, sure. Be brave, Blondie.

"Have you changed your mind?" He moved closer. My teeth were grinding against each other; my nails silently dug into the wooden door. "Where's your little boyfriend?"

"He's not here," she said a little too quickly. "The sandstorm got him."

"You're lying," Leonard drawled. I heard the other men-two of them-snicker. "We saw men's clothing by the waterfall."

Elle loosened her grip on the doork.n.o.b, but she didn't completely let go. I took that as a sign and readied myself.

"I'll go with you if you leave him alone and promise not to hurt him."

It was silent.

"We have no use for him. We would, however, love to make this our home."

Elle! This was going way too far. I could only imagine the look on that son of a b.i.t.c.h's face. He was probably drooling over the thought of having her all to himself. She was readying herself like a cow for slaughter. I couldn't just stand there any longer and listen to them talk about this s.h.i.t. Pretty soon, he'd be speaking about the children they'd make together. I leaned over and dropped my head between my knees. I felt like retching.

I was tired of waiting and guessing when to make my move. I quietly moved across the room, silent and deadly. The window was open, so I slipped through it. I held my axe with both hands and edged myself around the cabin, ducking under windows to keep from being spotted.

I stood on the other side of the back door, hoping that they hadn't noticed this entrance yet; it was pretty well concealed by the wardrobe. My hand steadied over the doork.n.o.b.

"I said I would come with you, not that you could touch me!" Elle yelled and there was a loud bang, like something was thrown against the bedroom door.

Those words were all it took for me to make my move. My blood began to boil in my veins, making my heart pump faster, my hands grip tighter. I busted through the door and I a.s.sessed the situation. Elle was sitting against the door, looking confused, messed up. Leonard was above her, holding her by a hunk of her white-blonde hair. The dark-skinned man stood beside the loveseat. The other guy remained missing, but I couldn't process that at that moment. I ran towards the couch and readied my axe.

The dark skinned man turned around just in time to see the blade slice through the air and meet his neck. He dropped to the ground, his head hanging on by raw sinew. Blood poured and spurted from the mortal wound. He twitched for a few seconds until he finally stilled. It didn't faze me for a second. Maybe it would later, but I doubted it. My eyes found Leonard.

He was slack-jawed. His face filled with blood. My smile was deadly.

"Gabriel!" Elle screamed.

I had forgotten about the absent man. His arm was around my neck and the barrel of his pistol was pressing into my skull.

f.u.c.k. I'm sorry, Elle.

Chapter 22.

[ Gabriel ]

I was paralyzed. I wanted to move; I wanted to turn and swing the blade into the man's gut, but I knew I wouldn't be quick enough. He'd pull the trigger before the axe could even hope to meet his stomach.

I looked at Elle. I wanted her to be the last thing I saw. Her eyes-wild, large, and intensely green. Her lips-full and parted. Her hair-everywhere. Her skin-pale and flushed.

She mouthed my name.

Chapter 23.

[ Elle ]

The first thing I noticed was Gabriel.

The second thing I noticed was Leonard's gun, sitting snug in the back of his jeans.

The third thing was the scar on Morris' face, the creep who was holding my man against his will.

The fourth thing I realized was how well two and three could go together in order to save the life of one.

The problem was: I wasn't sure if my aim was quite good enough.

"Orders, Leonard?" Morris asked, his finger resting on the trigger.

Chapter 24.

[ Gabriel ]

I watched in slow motion as Elle grabbed the pistol off of Leonard.

There was a gunshot. I squeezed my eyes shut.

Chapter 25.

[ Elle ]

He was dead. I watched Gabriel hit the floor as he was pulled down by Morris.

For a second, I thought I had missed my target and shot Gabriel, but he stood up. There was blood trailing down his neck. I didn't know whether it was his blood or from the man on the floor, who was missing a chunk of skull.

"Thank G.o.d," I breathed, lowering the gun.

I shouldn't have let down my guard. I had momentarily forgotten about Leonard behind me. I was about to turn around when Gabriel shouted at me.

"Get down!"

I reacted instantly and crouched. Leonard had a concealed weapon: a knife. He would have slid it into me if not for Gabriel's warning. I guess he didn't care about keeping me alive any longer.

Gabriel picked up the dead man's gun and held it level to his eyes. He quickly walked over to Leonard, not wavering.

"Drop it," he snapped.

Leonard obeyed and the knife hit the floor with a light thud. I kicked it out of the way and stood back up. The mouth of his stolen pistol pressed into his skull. If he made one move towards Gabriel, I'd shoot him without a second thought.

"Any last words?" Gabriel aimed the pistol between Leonard's eyes.

"Let me go," Leonard pleaded. "I promise I'll never come back. Just let me go." The man, if you could call him that, was spineless. He was brave surrounded by his lackeys, but once alone, he was nothing but a jellyfish. How pitiful.

Gabriel, emotionless as he held the gun up to the man's head, held no pity for him.

"I call bulls.h.i.t. How about you, Elle?"

"I could smell it a mile away." I shook my head and jammed the pistol deeper into his flesh. "Besides, if you can't have me, you'll just take the next unsuspecting female that happens upon you." I spit on the ground beside him, showing my distaste for him.

"You've shown me that my ways have been wrong," he bowed his head. "I'm on my knees here-begging." His words were hollow. The back of his neck was covered in slimy sweat; his hair was thick with grease and dirt. He still smelled like garlic. For a moment, I felt like we should let him live; the lack of human life on this planet was probably greater than I thought, but in order to rebuild a successful society, there could never be people like him.

Gabriel and I looked at each other. It was a mistake; we had both taken our eyes off of our prisoner. Leonard must have had another concealed knife; I felt a sharp pain erupt from my ankle. I yelped, fell on my b.u.t.t, and pulled my ankle towards me, eager to nurse my wound.

And then he was on me, holding the blade to my neck. The cold steel gently pierced my skin. I gulped, which only made it worse, pressing my throat into the blade. Sweat broke out across my body and my heart beat rapidly beneath my ribs. It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

"Get off of her!"

Leonard didn't have a chance to make a second attempt; a bullet was placed between his eyes a second later.

He fell limp on top of me. I felt his warm blood drain over me. I pushed him off only to find my dad standing beside Gabriel-both of their guns drawn.

"Dad?" I breathed, bringing my fingers to my fresh wound. I winced from the sting.

And then it was all happening again. Larry barreled through the opposite door; he held his gun, looking as if he had nothing to lose.

CRACK!.

In slow motion, I watched Larry pull the trigger. The bullet flew smoothly through the air, its course straight and true. Gabriel was the target, but it seemed my dad wouldn't have that. Without a second thought, he stepped in front of Gabriel, taking the bullet that was meant for the man I loved. My dad fell to his knees. I screamed.

CRACK!.

I heard Larry drop and his gun scattered across the floor. My muscles were pulled tightly as I stood up. My legs brought me over to Larry, still alive and in immense agony. I picked up his gun and shot him in both of his knee caps.

He squealed.

I laughed.

I shot him in the stomach and said, "Say h.e.l.lo to Leonard for me." And with those last few words, I put a bullet through his forehead.

I felt so strong, so right in that moment. I had the power to not just take away life, but to cause him deserved pain before doing so. He deserved it ten times over. I would never regret my actions and I knew without a doubt I would do it all over again if I had to.

"Elle!" Gabriel's voice pierced through my thoughts.

I turned around. Gabriel knelt beside my dad's body. I made it in time to see the light leave my dad's eyes.

"No!" I screamed as I fell on top of him."Wake up, Dad!" I pressed my ear to his chest only to feel a single heart beat and then nothing. I looked at his face and touched his cheek. My dad's face looked so serene. His lips were even slightly curved into a faint smile. Maybe he finally found his peace, a peace only found in death, in self-sacrifice.

Gabriel closed my dad's eyelids with his fingertips. He stood up and pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry, Elle."

"Can it be over now?" I sighed and then broke down into an onslaught of cries and tears.

[ Gabriel ]

There was a shed behind the cabin, beyond a short pathway leading up from the garden. We hadn't noticed it before, but when we were looking for a place to bury the bodies-there it was.

Elle helped me dig the rectangular holes. We dug until we were too tired to continue, not caring if it was six-feet under or not. We dragged the bodies to their graves and kicked them in, except for Elle's dad's body, which was gently dropped into its resting place.

I enjoyed the moment when I dropped a load of dirt onto Leonard's face. It felt final. I resisted the urge to p.i.s.s in the graves of Leonard and his lackeys. They tried to take both mine and Elle's life. I thought we gave them the easy way out anyway; there was so much more I could have done to prolong the suffering they so richly deserved.

It made me think of all the other lives I had taken-all the lives I had to take in order to survive. It was a different world now and if I wanted to get out alive, I had to make difficult decisions and pick and choose my weaknesses.

[ Elle ]