Chapter 13 Southward

"We should put our masks on." I said as my light swept over a familiar, spider like fungus sprouting from the walls of the tunnel. Sam eyed it suspiciously and reached for his mask. I secured my own and glanced at our new traveling companions. "Unless you want to slowly suffocate to death."

Trailing behind Sam through the silent tunnel, I shared my previous encounter with those wretched abominations, omitting the terrifying details of seeing Senya there. No one else needed to know that.

Danila whistled. "Ah, no. We don't want that." The mask muffled his voice as he strapped it over his face.

"Why were you in the sewers? Is this a habit of yours?" Nikita asked.

I skewered him with a glare. "Long story and you don't need to know."

"I could see you skulking around in places you shouldn't be."

"You know nothing about me." I snapped.

"Stop it." Danila hissed as I quickened my pace to fall in next to Sam. "Are you trying to piss her off?"

"Didn't need to do much."

Sam sighed as he looked at me. "Ignore him. We need them."

"We don't need him."

"How do you tolerate her, American?" Nikita asked, as my blood boiled.

Sam ignored him, glancing sideways at me.

"Because, I mean, she doesn't have much of a personality from what I've seen, so she must be a good fuck."

"Nikita!" Danila said incredulously.

I spun and leveled my revolver at the asshole. "Do you want to see how good? I'll fuck you up right here."

He raised his bastard gun. "Go on, let's find out who's quicker."

Sam charged forward, his Kalash raised to stand at my side. "Yeah, I wouldn't do that." And suddenly we were in a fucking standoff.

Danila stepped between us, throwing his hands up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! We don't have time for this! You are bleeding, if you'd forgotten, and we have an entire clan wanting us dead. We have more pressing matters!"

"Yeah, her fucking friends." Nikita flicked his gun at me.

"Clearly not." Sam growled, still sighting him.

"Nikita, shut your mouth. And put your guns down! Sam, what was it you said a few minutes ago? Something about not adding to those that already want us dead?"

Sam's jaw flexed, but he lowered his Kalash. Nikita didn't move.

Danila spun on him and forced the gun down. "Do I need to take this off you?"

"What am I, a child?" Nikita yanked the gun away from him.

"I was wondering." I said, glaring at him.

Sam continued to glare at Nikita as he put his hand on my shoulder, steering me back up the tunnel. Danila forced Nikita to the back, and he and Sam stayed between us for the rest of the slog through the sewers. Mercifully, the roar of waves on rocks ahead signaled the end of the tunnel. Moonlight filtered through a metal grate and briny sea air whispered across my face. I pulled off my mask, brushing aside the stray locks of dark brown hair that were plastered against my skin, and breathed the fresh air deeply. Finally.

My heart sank when I pushed against the grate, and it didn't budge. I could feel the weight of disappointment settle in my chest as my efforts to move the grate proved futile. No, we didn't have time to be trapped! Would we have to go back? I tried again, kicking it as hard as I could, pain shooting up my leg. The whole thing jolted in its frame. Maybe another kick.

"Here, let me." Danila said, slipping past me. It took him three hard kicks for the rusted metal to relent. Splinters of concrete and metal flew as it burst outwards with a loud crash. I hoped the waves would mask the sound.

We staggered back as an enormous wave surged over the jagged rocks, sweeping in through the opening. Freezing water splashed over my legs and soaked my jacket, turning my bare skin underneath to ice. My breath caught as I steadied myself against the slimy wall and shivered. Sam flattened himself against the wall, clutching at his stomach with a grimace. He didn't have long. We needed to leave, but where were we?

Clenching my teeth together to stop them from chattering, I forced my frozen legs to move, peering outside. We were facing out to sea; the moonlight turning the crests of the waves silver in the darkness.

Danila appeared next to me, gingerly climbing out onto the rocks. He craned his neck to see around the corner. "I think it's taken us back out to where you landed your boats."

"Really?" I hurried to follow, my boots slipping on the rock as another wave washed over them.

"Careful." Danila said, catching me by the arm before I could slip.

"Thanks." I said awkwardly.

He nodded and pointed. "See, right there. We'll sneak over and take one."

My eyes followed his outstretched arm to the boats moored along the docks. Yes, luck at last.

"But we first have to get there." He said, glancing up at the ten foot vertical outcropping above.

"You want to climb that?" I asked skeptically, clinging to the rocks as another waved crashed into us.

"I don't fancy swimming. You felt how cold that water is, and I bet there are strong currents here."

I sighed. Yeah, thinking about it, I didn't want to swim either. I was already cold and wet enough. "I guess we're climbing then." Sam appeared at the mouth of the sewer, peering at the rocks. "Do you think you'll be able to climb?" I asked him.

"Yeah, like he has a choice." Nikita cut in, appearing behind Sam.

I curled my lip at him. "I will throw you off these rocks."

Nikita snorted. "As if you could."

Sam exchanged glances with Danila." I'll be fine." He said.

"Well, I'll go after you in case you slip."

Nikita pushed past me, throwing me off balance, making a disgusted sound in his throat. "I don't want to watch you two."

I grabbed Sam's arm to steady myself as my stomach jolted. Waves washed over my feet. "No one told you to, asshole."

Danila muttered a curse as Nikita climbed up the slippery rocks. I glared after him, hoping he would fall, but it was an easy climb, the large rocks forming secure footholds, stable shelves, and he was on solid ground in five minutes. Pity.

Danila followed, equally unphased and Sam readied himself.

"Be careful." I said, brow furrowed.

"I'll be fine." He said again, reaching up to the closest hand hold. I watched him nervously, picking his way over the rocks. He seemed like he was managing, until he got about half way, where he slumped against the wall on a flat shelf just big enough to sit on.

With a sharp inhale, I quickly climbed to him, sitting beside him. "Are you alright?" I asked, searching his eyes.

He groaned, resting his head on the rock, his hand bloody. This wasn't good. My brow furrowed as I glanced around. Below us, waves relentlessly battered the rocks, the odd one reaching high enough to spray us with icy mist. And they were steadily getting worse. Out to sea, dark clouds gathered across the horizon while the wind gusted around us.

"Sam, we can't stay here!" I urged, turning back to him.

"Everything alright?" Danila called from the top.

"Hold on, he just needs to rest." I put my hand on Sam's arm, peering at the blood soaking his front. "There's a storm coming. We have to go. I'll wrap that properly when we get to the top."

"I'm not sure I can," he said through shallow breaths.

I looked into his pain-filled eyes. "You've got this. It's not much further."

He held my gaze for a moment, then clenched his eyes shut. Every part of me longed to help him. It was terrible to be so powerless. Finally, he nodded, drew in a breath, and winced. I wrapped my arm around his waist to help him stand, taking his weight, ignoring how close my boots were to the edge. "Come on, Marine." I said.

He faced the wall and gingerly pulled himself to the next rock shelf above. My eyes never leaving him. He rested again before continuing slowly, and I followed him, monitoring him every few seconds. A piece of rock broke off under his boot and he slipped, my heart jolting. I quickly climbed the few feet between us as he righted himself. He nodded to me to say he was alright, but he looked exhausted and I knew he wasn't. But he was almost there. Danila bent down to offer his hand. As Sam stretched to grab it, he slipped again, but I was there and grabbed his boot, holding it in place as Danila dragged him over the edge. I gritted my teeth as I pushed his weight up onto solid ground. He and Danila fell onto the damp dirt. I eyed the smear of blood he left on the rocks as I climbed up after him. Too much blood. I refused to think about how much he had lost already. He couldn't afford to lose any more.

I knelt next to him as he rolled onto his back. "We need to wrap that before he loses any more blood." I said to Danila.

He was already reaching into his pack. He retrieved a patched canvas bag and opened it, tossing me a thick wad of gauze and bandages. I cut my make shift bandage away and threw it in the dirt, grimacing at the amount of fresh blood. Danila covered it with the gauze, but the blood instantly soaked through.

I shook my head. "It's not enough. We'll have to close it."

His brow furrowed as he reached for more gauze. "I don't know how, do you? Maybe we should wait until we find the group on Russky Island."

"He'll never make it." I frowned at him, concerned. "And it's not guaranteed they'll help us. No, we have to do it now." Sam eyed me with concern and pain. "I'm sorry." I said to him. "There's no choice." He closed his eyes, and I glanced at Danila.

Danila nodded reluctantly and pulled a suturing kit from the canvas bag. "Do you know how to, though?"

"I've repaired enough gear to know how to sew properly, and I watched someone do it for me." I said uncertainly, taking the dented metal tin from Danila.

Sam swore. "I'm not a torn gun strap."

I eyed him, forcing a half smile. "Well, I could knock you out." Danila frowned, taken aback, and exchanged glances with Nikita, who gave me an expression as if to say I'd lost my mind. Sam eyed me, bemused. "Not so funny now. It's your turn, huh?" I said, inspecting the needle I found in the suture tin.

Danila continued to stare at me with a bewildered expression, and I shot him a grin that seemed to confuse him more. "We've been here before, but last time it was me who had the wound and he was a jerk." I rolled up my sleeve to show him the fugly bite. It was healing after Ed had closed it, but the angry red ring around it told me infection had set in.

"You've been through the wars." Danila observed with a grimace.

"Yep." I raised my eyebrows as I helped Sam into a sitting position to remove his vest.

He groaned, shifting his weight uncomfortably, and steadied himself. "Look, I'm sorry I said that."

"Oh, I bet you are now." I replied, unbuckling his vest and slipping it off to set it on the ground. It hadn't helped at all. Klim had stabbed him underneath where it ended.

"What did you say?" Danila asked, glancing at Sam curiously.

"She probably deserved it." Nikita added, setting his pack on the ground and rolling his shoulders while scanning the shadows.

I ignored him, turning to Danila. I told him the story of how I got the still healing wound on my arm and having Ed stitch it up, including how Sam left me for the fugly. Danila whistled. "Then he said he could knock me out," I finished, as I pulled his hooded jacket carefully over his head.

"I was only trying to make it easier on you," Sam said with a wince.

"Bullshit, you wanted to punch me," I retorted.

"Well, in my defense, we weren't exactly friends then."

"Still, not nice to want to punch someone, Sam."

"Oh, like you've been miss innocent this whole time." Danila glanced between us with an arched eyebrow, clearly wanting to know what we were talking about, but smart enough to realize I wouldn't tell him. He watched me curiously as I slipped off Sam's blood-stained shirt, exposing his torso. I hesitated, my eyes taking in the rigidly defined muscles in Sam's abdomen, and sliding over his chest to his hard biceps.

Oh, damn.

I had imagined this moment several times, although never with this much blood. Even so, it exceeded my expectations... and this really wasn't what I was supposed to be thinking about. I shook my head and Danila chuckled, knowing exactly what had just happened. As I helped Sam lie back down, I narrowed my eyes at him, then scrubbed the dirt off my hands with the moonshine to cover my embarrassment.

Sam met my eyes. My heart stuttered at the pain, and I put my hand on his shoulder. "I don't think I have to tell you this next part is going to hurt." He set his jaw, shutting his eyes. I reached over and grabbed his hand. "Are you ready?"

"Just do it." He grunted without opening his eyes, taking several sharp breaths. With a deep breath of my own, I lowered the bottle and tentatively poured the alcohol over the wound. He arched back with a stifled scream and clenched my hand. I tried not to wince as his firm grip constricted my fingers.

"I'm sorry." I said again, wiping away the red rivulets cascading down his skin with the gauze Danila had handed me. The blood washed away, revealing the depth of the wound. Klim had driven the entire knife into Sam's stomach. I breathed in, feeling sick, uncertain if I could manage, but time was running out. If I didn't do it, he'd die, and I wasn't about to let that happen.

Taking another steadying breath, I threaded the needle, then ran the flame from my lighter over it as Ed had done for me. "You'll be alright, you're tough." It was as much to calm my own nerves as it was for Sam's. I held the wound closed gently and Sam sucked in a sharp breath as I passed the needle through the fold of his skin. I found it surprising how tough human skin could be. Sweat poured down his face, and he writhed in agony as I did another stitch and pulled on the thread.

I paused to avoid misplacing the needle. "Danila, could you hold him still?" I cupped Sam's cheek with my hand. "I'm sorry." When Danila had Sam's shoulders pressed to the ground, I continued a quarter of the way through. As I got just over halfway, Sam's body fell still and my heat jolted. My eyes widened in fear as I looked over at Danila.

He had his fingers pressed to Sam's neck. "He's alright." I blew out a slow breath, relief washing over me. This way, it would be less difficult for him. I finished the last few stitches easily, sitting back to examine my work. They were as neat as I could manage, passable, but I was no doctor. They would do for now, though.

Danila handed me the moonshine, and I grabbed it pouring over the closed wound. The remaining blood washed away, mixing with the dirt. Danila handed me more gauze and a roll of bandages, watching with a grimace. He helped steady Sam into a sitting position so I could wrap the bandage around his torso. His paleness shocked me. It was as if all his colour had vanished and he looked half dead. I was terrified he wouldn't wake up. What would happen if he didn't?

Again, I poured moonshine on my hands, washing off the blood, shaking my head to clear it. I leaned over him and tapped his cheek with the back of my hand, hoping for a response. When I didn't get one, I tried again with a slightly harder tap, until finally, his brow furrowed and his eyes eased open, taking a long moment to fully wake up. "Come on, Sam, don't you dare leave me here with these two." I said quietly so only he could hear.

"What happened?" He groaned.

"You passed out, but everything is alright. It's closed."

"It hurts like hell."

"I know." I met Danila's worried expression. "How do we do this?" I asked him, as I helped Sam back into his shirt. "I don't think he's walking anywhere."

Danila glanced across the docks to the closest boat, two hundred yards downhill. There were two guys on the docks, flash lights sweeping over the docks. They had their faces covered against the icy ocean gusts, so I couldn't make out who they were. Better not to know anyway. They would make this difficult, and the boats were well lit. The two men paced in front of the docks, one scanning the boats, while the other searched the narrow gaps of the containers with his flashlight.

"You guys need to distract those guards, or we're not going anywhere." I said. I wasn't going anywhere without Sam.

"We're not distracting anyone," Nikita said. "If we go, they're dying." They were looking for us, already alert, and would be hard to sneak past. Of course, they had to die. It was too risky. I shut my eyes. I didn't want them to die. They had once been my allies, barely an hour ago.

Danila eyed me. "It has to happen, Nat."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "That's Natasha to you."

He held up his hands. "Fine, but Nikita is right, distracting them won't be enough."

"I know that." I snapped before exhaling sharply. "Just do it cleanly. They don't need to suffer."

Nikita snorted. "They're trying to kill us, but you don't want them to die. Hmm, makes sense."

Danila shot him a glare. "Not helping."

He shrugged. "Not trying to." He turned his frown on me. "How do I know that this isn't some elaborate trap? That they're not about to ambush us?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I scowled at him. "They were shooting at me, shit for brains."

"I know nothing about you, apart from you being part of their clan. You could still be with them."

"What? Nikita, that's stupid. That makes no sense. Why would she be here if she was still with them? We can't be that important." Danila glanced at me and Sam. "I assume they wanted Sam dead for working with Tom, and she chose him over them. Correct?"

I nodded. "More or less. Close enough for you anyway."

"Right." Danila's jaw flexed. "We are wasting time we don't have. There won't be an ambush. They don't know we're here. We'll deal with them quietly, take a boat and get the hell out of here."

I glanced at Sam. "Well, hurry. He doesn't look too good and if he dies because you were fucking around, I'll kill you." I directed this at Nikita, who sneered.

Danila glowered at us and shook his head. "Enough of this, Nikita, just go." He turned to me." Stay here, and keep out of sight. We'll bring the boat here to pick you up, but be ready if things go sideways."

"I'm always ready for things to go sideways."

He nodded. "Good, see you soon." He followed Nikita along the pier, sticking to the shadows as I settled in next to Sam behind the crates. I shivered. Now that I wasn't moving, my skin was turning to ice, as if the water and wind had stolen the warmth of my blood. My soaked clothes and the leather of my armour seemed to hold the cold against my bare skin. Hunkering down by the crates, trying to keep out of the wind, I attempted to breathe some warmth back into my fingers, but it wasn't enough.

This should not be happening. I shouldn't be here. I should be inside the port with my brother and the clan celebrating our achievement, reveling while he smiled at me with approval for my bravery and boldness. It wouldn't happen, even if I were still part of the clan. I had never seen him smile, definitely not at me, and he would never approve of me. That was a fantasy. All I did was anger him, as if I lacked something, and now it's impossible. After all, I meant nothing to him.

A forlorn emptiness swelled inside me and I pulled my legs up to my chest, resting my head on my knees.

Beside me, Sam eased himself into a sitting position with a sharp breath. "Are you alright?" He asked. The question startled me, and I sat up to look at him. His eyes were heavy with pain, but alert and edged with concern. For me? He was in danger of dying from blood loss, and he was worried about me? A strange, uncomfortable warmth rose in my stomach. I didn't know how to answer him. I definitely wasn't alright, but having him here eased some of the worst of it.

"I don't know." Was all I could manage.

He nodded. "I thought little of them, but it must be hard for you." I stared at the ground again, forcing back the despair. What was I going to do now? "They must have really cared about you to turn on you like that."

"It was completely justified. I betrayed them." I said.

He scoffed. "I wouldn't go that far."

"I helped you and you turned out to be a threat. I chose you over them." Facing such overwhelming uncertainty, I was sure now it wasn't the right choice, but I had been powerless as if my actions weren't my own, but that of some unknown force stopping me from pulling the trigger, forcing me to disobey Yuri despite his ultimatum. A strange spark had ignited and took hold of my chest, one that one that grew every time I looked at Sam. I had never been so confused.

"Do you regret that choice?" He asked. "Do you think you should have shot me instead?" I shut my eyes. Did I think that? It certainly would have been easier, and it was what I was supposed to do, but something in me hurt when I thought about him dying.

"I don't think you do, not really." He answered for me. "Not after what you just did for me. You're confused, and I don't blame you, but your brother was always going to treat you like shit. I don't think you would be better off staying with them." He shifted uncomfortably again. "Anyway, thank you for helping me. You saved my life again." He lapsed into silence, head sitting back against the wall, hand over the wound. I peered over the docks, my mind a jumbled mess that I had no chance of unraveling.

I fidgeted with a stray thread on my trousers, feeling incredibly awkward. "I don't regret that you're alive. You actually saved me back there, too."

"Pulling you out of that group of mutants?"

"Well, that too. No, I meant before that. Ivan, the guy who actually betrayed us to Tom, attacked me and he could have killed me, but I remembered your advice and stayed calm long enough to disarm him and turn his own gun on him." I said with a flicker of pride.

"So you can listen." He arched an eyebrow at me, with a hint of a smirk.

The wind gusted suddenly, and I winced at its icy bite, pulling my legs and arms in tight to my body. Where the hell were those two? We needed to get out of this damn wind.

"You're freezing." Sam said with a furrowed brow.

"It's nothing."

"Nah, you've probably got hypothermia. You're soaked." He sat up with a grunt, sliding closer to me, and stole my breath as he put his arms around me, sharing his body heat. My eyes widened as that near constant spark in my chest exploded, flooding my entire body, like electricity across my skin. I wanted him closer, wanted him all around me. I leaned into him, careful not to touch the knife wound. His warmth was the best sensation I'd experienced in a long time, even if slightly uncomfortable.

We sat in silence until my shivering eased. His warmth helped, but I was still too cold. He felt good, though, and I sighed in disappointment when he let go and sat up, frowning towards the docks.

"There's only one now." He said. I followed his gaze. He was right. Only one gunman patrolled the docks. Danila and Nikita must have taken the second out while I focused on Sam. It was a good sign that they did it quietly enough for no one to notice. I didn't even see a body. They must have dragged it out of sight. Who was it? I shook my head. I couldn't think of that. It didn't matter.

As we were watching, Nikita darted from the shadows behind the second guy and, in one swift, clean motion, slashed his knife across his neck. He caught the dead weight by the shoulders and dragged the body behind the containers.

"Huh, at least he's efficient." Sam said. I frowned. I guess I could give him that. Danila appeared with him, motioning to the boat, and they hurried off towards it. Which is when I saw light coming from the containers where they hid the body.

Oh, shit. There was someone coming, and they were about to find their dead guard. There was no way to warn them. I glanced at them as my heart raced. They were going to be seen. The guy stepped out into view and I knew who it was. Both of them. Andrei and Viktor joined him a moment later. My eyes widened as Viktor spotted Danila and Nikita jumping into the boat and throwing off the line. They hadn't seen him, though.

Without thinking, I pulled my revolver and fired it once into the air; the shot reverberating loudly in the silence. All four of them spun in my direction, and Danila finally saw their company. He sprinted to the wheelhouse as Nikita took cover at the bow, shooting at them. Andrei and Viktor separated, using the containers as cover. Andrei focused on Danila and Nikita, while Viktor turned in our direction, looking straight at us. Sam and I made ourselves as small as possible, hoping he couldn't see us in the dark. He clenched his jaw as he met my gaze.

Instead of coming towards us, Viktor pulled his radio and bellowed orders. Nothing came through my radio, which meant they switched channels, so I couldn't listen in. Of course they did. Moments later, several more clan members ran out from the containers as Danila got the boat started. If they didn't know someone was stealing a boat before, they did now, as the engine growled to life in the silence. Bullets peppered the hull of the boat, forcing Nikita to stay hunkered behind the gunwales, and Danila to crouch as he reversed the boat away from the mooring. Too slow.

But we had problems of our own. Viktor had evidently called for people to investigate my shot, as three guys, three very familiar guys, headed in our direction. My chest heaved as Kostya, Anton, and Anatoli moved closer.

"Oh, shit." I gasped. I really didn't want to face these three, but they were close, their lights sweeping over every inch of ground. It wouldn't be long before they found us. Then what would I do? Could I kill them? Sam followed my gaze, then gestured back towards the rocks we had climbed. We hurried through the shadows, but as I glanced back over my shoulder, my eyes locked with Kostya's as he spotted me. He paused, eyes wide and Kalash half raised, as if he couldn't decide what to do. Anton and Anatoli stopped beside him. I stopped, staring at them wide eyed. Sam crouched next to me, urging me to move, but I couldn't. They were my friends. We had been working together barely an hour before.

Anton's face contorted into a hostile scowl and he raised his Kalash to shoot, but Kostya grabbed it and forced it towards the ground. "What the hell are you doing?" Anton growled. "She's a fucking traitor."

"This is Natasha, I can't." He shifted his gaze to me, disbelief and hurt in his eyes. He shook his head and pulled his radio. "There's nothing here. They must have run." He gestured to Anatoli, and they turned away.

"You can't be serious." Anton said, throwing his arms out to the sides. "She's right fucking there!"

Kostya pushed him back the way they had come. "We're letting her go, and you won't say a word." He turned back to me, warning in his eyes. "Just this once." He jabbed Anton's shoulder again, forcing him to move. They argued as they walked away. I stared at them, mouth agape, heart wrenching in two. They were letting me go. Anatoli paused and watched me with a grim expression that broke my heart. So someone still cared about me.

"Tolya, let's go," Kostya called to him, and he sighed, reluctantly turned away, jogging to catch up. I continued to stare after them, heart aching as if someone had driven a knife through it. Sam let out a breath from where he was crouched beside me, his gaze burning a hole in the side of my face. I slumped against the rocks. How could I overcome this?

Gunfire continued to boom through the docks, reminding me we were still in trouble. At least a dozen men fired at Danila and Nikita as they sped away from the dock. Nikita was doing a decent job holding them off, but they didn't stand a chance against them. My heart thundered as they turned towards us. This would be close. We would be lucky to escape, but we had to keep going. I finally met Sam's gaze. He was still too pale, his eyes still full of pain. I had nothing else. He had to survive this.

We turned to the boat, drawing up the pier ahead, and he nodded to me. It was time to go. Taking a deep breath, I wrapped my arm around his waist again to help him up and we hobbled out of the shadows as Danila brought the boat alongside. Nikita had switched sides and was now firing from the starboard rail, crouching low and leaning out to fire when he got a chance. A bullet caught him in the shoulder and he grunted, sinking to the deck. He swore as he replaced his empty magazine with a furious motion. Sam stumbled, and I gritted my teeth as his weight dragged me down.

"Natasha!" Danila yelled as I tried to stop Sam from collapsing. "To your left!" Three guys closed in, trying to flank us a few meters away, and I fired my revolver without aiming, refusing to look them in the face. All that mattered to me was Sam's survival.

They scattered into cover and Danila ran to the rail, covering us as I helped Sam into the boat. I fired another few rounds until the dreaded click told me I was out, then vaulted over the side. Sam slumped to the deck with a grunt. As Danila hurried back to the wheel, he tossed me a magazine for my Kalash and I moved to the bow, propping the gun on the rail. The boat reversed, churning the water into a boil, making it difficult to aim, so I lay down a blanket of fire to keep them in cover.

When we were clear of the pier, Danila swung the boat around hard and I moved to the stern alongside Nikita, who was bleeding heavily from the bullet wound in his shoulder, but was gritting his teeth and shooting. Someone on the edge of the docks fell, followed closely by another. Even with an injured shoulder, he was an excellent shot. He narrowed his eyes at me and went on firing. As I returned my attention to the docks, my eyes flared, spotting Viktor walking into the light, his Draganov raised to sight down the scope.

"Everyone stay in cover!" I yelled, throwing myself onto the deck. I glanced at the wheelhouse where Danila stood exposed. "Danila, get down! Sniper!" At my warning, he immediately dropped, but still throttled forward, driving blind. The boat picked up speed towards open water.

Crack.

A bullet hit the engines, chased by a second, as another boat roared to life at the docks. Viktor was trying to take out our engines so their boat could finish us. Nikita fired back, but he didn't have a scope, so his shots missed. His bullets forced Viktor into cover, giving us a reprieve. Someone fired from the bow of the boat and we ducked to avoid their bullets as they pursued us.

"Get them off our ass!" Danila shouted, tossing something to Nikita. I glimpsed a bright orange handgun with a short, stout barrel as Nikita caught it. Before I understood what it was, he fired off a blinding green flare at the pursuing boat. I squinted against the light as it burst across the bay in a low arc straight into the wheelhouse, engulfing it in fire. The old wood caught like tinder, and the flames spread quickly. Men scrambled over the edge into the water moments before the flames reached the engines and exploded, sending flaming debris raining down around them.

I ducked below the gunwales, chest heaving and ears ringing. All the fight I had remaining, vanished. Nikita ignored me as he checked his wound. The bullet had gone straight through, leaving a large exit wound in the back of his shoulder. I didn't care about him. The boat pitched as I went to stand and I stumbled into the rail as Danila steered us around the rocks we had climbed, heading south. I struggled around to the port side where Sam was still sitting and collapsed next to him. He opened his eyes as I lay my head back on the side of the boat, exhaustion and uncertainty overcoming me. The world I had known crumbled around me, and I had no idea what to do next. I shut my eyes with a heavy heart.

After a moment, a gentle hand brushed my cheek, and I startled, turning to look into Sam's sympathetic eyes. He pulled my head over to rest on his shoulder, and I sighed. My eyes closed again, feeling his warmth melting into it, that spark in my chest now a raging inferno that dampened some of my despair. We sat in silence until I felt sleep tug at me.

I jolted awake a short time later as the boat slammed against the waves. I sat up, rubbing my neck, glancing across at Sam. He had his eyes closed, but the steady rise and fall of his chest told me he was alive. The wind gusted furiously from out to sea, whipping the waves and tossing the boat around like a child's toy. My stomach roiled from the relentless movement and I had to stand up, but the boat pitched to the side and staggered into the rail.

"Hold on, she's a little choppy." Danila yelled over the wind.

"Thanks, I hadn't noticed." I made my way to the stern, peering back towards the port where the flaming hull of the boat was slowly sinking beneath the waves. That way was certain death. We had only just escaped, and I wasn't sure what would have happened if Danila didn't have that flare gun. The impending storm was possibly the only reason they didn't pursue us.

I watched the port until we circled the headland, and it disappeared behind the rocks. Danila turned the boat south and the giant suspension bridge that once connected mainland Vladivostok to Russky Island loomed ahead. It was now impassable, with large sections missing and rubble strewn in the water. The island was inaccessible except by boat, resulting in its isolation. What waited for us there? And most of all, would this unknown group help us, ignore us, or try to kill us? Who were they, and how did they remain hidden for so long?

Danila stopped the boat a few metres from the bridge, and I turned. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Too much rubble through here." He replied, pointing under the bridge. It had suffered significant damage, with multiple sections collapsing and fracturing into uneven pieces that resembled enormous, jagged teeth jutting out from the water. Long lengths of steel cable dangled from the supports high above, waiting to snare a boat propeller, and the rusted hull of an unfortunate container ship remained half crushed by chunks of concrete, its containers rolled around by the waves and strewn on the banks of the island. I grimaced. Yeah, too much to damage the boat. It wasn't worth it, especially with the coming storm. We couldn't afford to be slowed down any further.

Thunder cracked behind us as we left the shadow of the bridge, turning around to try heading south east. I glanced over my shoulder. A thin slash of light crested the horizon, foreshadowing dawn, but the dark storm clouds threatened to choke it out. Sheets of rain were already falling further out to sea and I expected it to reach us within an hour.

Great.

The boat continued to struggle against the waves, heading along the front of the island. I had been here once as a very young child, and although I remembered very little of it, I remembered it being bigger. The tsunami had completely wiped out the lower-lying towns, the shells of buildings sticking up out of the water. The higher areas and the mountains remained intact and were all that remained.

I scanned the sheer vertical cliffs above us, topped with trees and messy bushes, finally coming to rest on an old gun battery on the plateau at the top. Six massive guns pointed out to sea, tucked behind a thick concrete wall and overgrown with vegetation. Russky Island had a system of gun batteries and forts left over from a war long ago, but now they were relics of the past, overgrown and left abandoned like the rest. They would be an excellent vantage point, though, and my unease grew as I remembered Danila saying they could see anyone coming in from the mainland. Were they watching us now?

Feeling vulnerable, I scanned the concrete structure, but it looked abandoned, even as the sensation of being watched sent chills down my spine. I hated they had all the advantages. "Do you think they would use that as an outpost?" I asked Danila, stumbling over to the wheelhouse.

"Yes. They use all the old forts here." He said, craning his neck to peer up at the battery. "But I couldn't tell you if they would be there right now. They're elusive, don't want to be seen." Well, that might explain why I hadn't heard of them before. It would be easy for them to stay hidden here.

"So they could just batten down the hatches and pretend not to be here?" I frowned.

"Perhaps." He said, unsure. That didn't bode well for us. I moved around the wheelhouse to check on Sam. He looked miserable, sick and exhausted, peering up at the cliffs from where he sat. His hands were over his stomach and concern swept over me again. What if they wouldn't help us?

"So, how do we find them?" I asked, watching Sam.

"We don't. We fire a flare and they find us."

"I hate everything about that." I scowled back at the gun.

"I know, but it's the only way. I told you they don't want anyone to know they're here. It's how they've survived. If we just went up to one of their bases, they wouldn't shoot us and advertise their presence, they'll lock them up tight and wait for us to leave. No one is getting inside those forts. They were built to withstand bombardment from the sea."

"And you expect them to help us?" I threw my arms out to the side in exasperation.

"No, I said they might, but we didn't have that many options, Natasha." He said, guiding the boat a few hundred metres from the cliff. Waves pummeled the rocks, creating powerful currents and eddies that we needed to avoid if we didn't want to end up smashed against the face.

I huffed, glaring up at them. "How do you know these people, anyway? Why do you even think they might help us?"

Danila was silent for a long moment, staring ahead of him. "An explanation for an explanation." He finally said, fixing his grey eyes on me intently. "If you want to know that, then you must tell me what the deal is with you and this other clan, and why they want you and Sam dead." I frowned, considering dropping my question, but it burned a hole through my chest. If we were seeking help from these strangers, then I wanted to know everything I could.

The cliffs slipped by as the boat continued along the coast. I stared at them, unsure of how much to say. "I thought you worked it out." I said.

"I only guessed, but I want the truth. The whole truth."

With another sigh I said, "well, you made a good guess. It was at least partly right."

"And?" He pressed. After I didn't answer, he heaved a sigh and turned back to stare out at the waves in front. "I won't tell you to trust me, because I know that won't happen anytime soon. But we are now stuck together, at least for the time being, and we all have to live with the consequences of what happened back there. If they pursue you, we all deserve an explanation. I give you my word that I'll tell you what I know of this group after you have caught me up with your situation."

Clenching my jaw, I glowered at the waves. "I'm not sure why you need to know the details. Knowing they're enemies isn't enough?"

"No. I want to know if they have a personal vendetta against you and how bad it's likely to be."

"Just tell him, Nat." Sam said, shifting uncomfortably. "It's not like it's some big secret."

"I know it's not. I just don't want to talk about it right now."

Nikita appeared on the other side of the wheelhouse opposite Sam. Stained bandages constricted his shoulder. "Everyone's doing things they don't want to do right now, princess. You either tell us or we'll leave you to fend for yourself."

"Go ahead, I don't need you." I bluffed, anger boiling under my skin. Nikita snorted. "Your boyfriend does."

"Stop it." Danila barked. "No one is going to throw anyone overboard to fend for themselves, and I'm afraid you do need us, Natasha. None of us will survive on our own. I think you know that already, or you wouldn't have come with us." He glanced over his shoulder at me. "I understand you don't want to talk about it, so as a show of good faith, I will go first, but you will tell me your story right after. Agree?"

I huffed, watching Nikita curl his lip in disapproval. I guess there was no getting out of it. "Fine."

"Very well." Danila said, taking a deep breath, staring ahead of him. "I believe they will help us because I helped them after their ship run aground when the bombs fell."

"Oh, you knew them back then?" I asked, some of my irritation slipping and I found myself suddenly eager to hear his story.

"Yes. A friend of mine and I were taking a fishing trip to Reineke island, out there on the other side of Russky." He pointed further south. "Their navy corvette was patrolling offshore, and we were watching it, marveling at how close it was. It was beautiful, anyway. We were getting ready to leave, but the waves were a little rough, so we delayed and later that day, the bombs fell out to sea. The moment we laid eyes on them, we knew we had to find shelter. We quickly made our way to a nearby building, where we found another group of campers also seeking refuge. One was a young doctor, her name was Alina. She was on holidays with her husband and baby." He broke off, gaze heavy with memory as he steered the boat around a chunk of rock that had broken from the cliff.

After a moment, he went on. "We watched the corvette get hit by the shock waves from the bomb and lose power. Then the tidal wave that followed crashed them onto the rocks on the other side of the island. We rushed to higher ground to avoid being swept away, but some weren't so lucky. Alina's husband, I can't recall his name, threw his baby at me as the wave swept him away. Even now, I can still recall his terror and the baby's screams." He stopped again as a sprawling ruin and an open marsh spread out in a semicircle before us as we cleared a headland.

"That's the university campus. They will have a scout post here, and will probably be our best chance." His voice was sombre, and I exchanged a glance with Sam. Danila turned the boat towards the expanse of swamp and continued. "When the things settled again, the ocean had swallowed most of the island and our campsite and boat were gone. The ship suffered heavy damage from the rocks, needing immediate assistance. I told Alina to stay behind with her grief, but she insisted on coming, saying they would need a doctor, and they definitely did. There were many wounded and dead, but we did as much as we could. Their medic had survived, but he was overwhelmed, trying to save his shipmates. He was very thankful for our help."

He eased the boat up a narrow channel in the swamp until a violent shudder ran through the hull. "Shit." Danila said, pulling back into reverse. The propellers struggled in the muddy water and sputtered. "No good. We've run aground." I grimaced at the brackish water around us, dreading the thought of having to wade through it.

Danila heaved a sigh before switching off the engine. "Well, we have to go on foot from here, I'm afraid." He peered at the line of tall, tiered buildings uphill to the right, where the water hadn't reached. "If I was setting up an outpost around here, I would choose that one on the end, closest to the water." I followed his gaze. Several identical buildings stretched off into the distance around the swamp. They appeared to be apartment blocks or something similar, with multiple stories and lots of windows. The upper floors would give excellent views of the bay and anyone arriving. The rubble blocking access under the bridge made these marshes the most likely entry point to the island. Danila had said they would see us before we saw them. I hated being so exposed, especially to unknown, possibly hostile people. It contradicted everything I had been taught.

Danila's voice brought my attention back to him. "Let's head uphill for starters, away from this muck." Well, at least I agreed with that. With a resigned sigh, I slipped Sam's vest over my jacket so I didn't have to carry it and picked up my pack, before helping Sam carefully to his feet. Wading the few hundred metres through the swamp to higher ground would be slow and painful, and that wasn't even considering the threat of snipers from those buildings. Danila and I helped Sam off the boat. Icy, brackish water rushed into my boots as I stepped off the boat into the knee high swamp, not helping my mood. Anger flashed through me, and I narrowly suppressed a scream. This was a fucking nightmare.

I distracted myself by steadying Sam, and we hobbled after Danila and Nikita. Danila broke a branch off a skeletal tree and submerged it into the water, feeling for any holes before we could walk into them. We stayed on his heels. Falling into deep water was the last thing I wanted.

A slow, painful half hour later, we reached the incline and dry land where Sam's legs buckled. His weight dragged me down and I stumbled over to a tree, lowering him to the ground. "I can't go any further." He grunted through clenched teeth, slumping back against the trunk as I pulled my arm away. A sheen of sweat covered his pale face. The trek through the swamp had taken any energy he had left, now too weak to stand.

I peered towards the looming buildings hopelessly. Dread, fear and despair wrestled within me as Danila continued uphill for a few metres before firing his flare. I sat on the damp ground next to Sam, my eyes following the streak of green into the sky, hoping. The flare finally burst into a bright flash that anyone in the area would see. What waited for us now? Sam had little time. If this group refused to assist us, Sam's chances of survival would be slim, leaving me stranded with people I didn't like. Alone. Exiled from everything I knew. And it was all my fault. If I had just killed Sam like I was supposed to, none of this would be happening. I pulled my knees up and rested my forehead on them, clenching my eyes shut, waiting for what came next.