Who We Were | Book One

40. There's A Bargain

The following moments seemed to pass in slow motion as the gate opened and exposed Carnelian to the outside world. I watched Ben's face drop and his fists clench as three people stepped past the fence into the camp.

Apollo stood, gripping a large sledgehammer in two gloved fists, the head of which was already tainted red with flesh and blood, now dripping onto the concrete. Then there was the woman I knew from just her voice, the one I'd expected; Liz. She held herself taller now and the corners of her mouth were pulling into a smile as if she'd already won this victory. Her features were somewhat more pronounced as she held a large knife around the neck of the woman I'd only recently met, Zoe. She wore the same clothes I'd seen her in last, only this time, rips and tears had been pulled into her shirt, revealing small patches of pale skin beneath. Her body was shaking, and her hands had been pulled behind her back and bound with a black, tattered piece of fabric.

Ben pushed and locked the gate closed as the three of them stepped forward. I thought his gaze would be focused and unmoving on the woman who dared to harm someone close to him. For the most part, it was. But even I noticed his flickering pupils towards the girl with the dark hair. My chest tugged as I clenched my jaw and looked to Liz.

"Put your weapons down," she ordered, fighting to keep her grip around Zoe. There was silence and when nobody moved, she shrugged. "Or she dies."

"Do what she says," Will stated, nodding to the ground as his eyes focused on Liz. "I assume there's a bargain to be made here?" He questioned, choosing his words carefully as we dropped guns and knives on the ground.

"Let her go, she's got nothing to do with this," Ben spat. Will placed a firm hand against his arm and raised his eyebrows, ushering for him to keep his mouth shut.

Liz smirked. It was the result she'd wanted. "Lo, get their guns," she ordered before returning her attention to us. "On the contrary, she got us in here," her voice had a sneer that extended to her eyes as she gestured with the knife.

"Zoe?" Ben scowled.

Apollo said nothing as she moved along the group, picking up the weapons from the ground in front of us. The events that were unfolding felt surreal and there was static in my ears, like faint scratching against wood.

"It's not what it looks like, Will, I promise I wouldn't do that," Zoe urged. Her voice was shaky, and her eyes were mirrored with tears. "Ben was right," she continued. "Their camp's grown. They're closer than I thought they were."

"I knew something had happened as soon as the three of you didn't come back," Liz began, her lip curling. Her eyes grew sharper as they looked to Ben and her grip tightened around Zoe's neck. "We found Jack," she stated. "Did you know he was one of our best?" She smirked and nodded her head towards the woman she held. "Then we came across her."

Ben's body tensed but he didn't move. "What do you want?"

She smirked again, a sinister twitch of her lip as Zoe wriggled, jerking her body to try and break free. "I've found what I want," Liz spoke. "He's standing right in front of me."

"Why don't we take this inside?" Will suggested as the scratching grew in volume.

"No," Liz shook her head. "This can be resolved right here, right now." Her eyes narrowed as she looked to Will, nodding her head at Ben. "Hand him over."

"Why is he so important to you?" I asked, feeling the droplets of sweat form on my palms.

"You thought we didn't know who you were, Ben? Your family?" She spoke with a smile in her voice. "We knew. We just couldn't act straight away." She tilted her head again. "Jo knew what we were doing. That's why she had to go. Couldn't have her sending anymore secret little messages to her," she scowled, her eyes squinting like a viper.