Kingdom Fall

Only one came at me at first. The first punch snapped my head back and I was fully awake. I fought back, punch for punch, knuckles busting from the force of it. There had been an unspoken rule not to hit where bruises could be seen. But Payne was gone and none of the former rules applied.

I wasn’t the six-year-boy they’d ruined all those years ago. Half my life had been spent at that school, and I’d used my free time preparing for the reckoning. I hadn’t been able to save Lonnie, but I fed on my fury over his needless death.

Punching, kicking, biting, none of it was off the table. I used it all until my opponent was on the ground. The other five just watching.

We didn’t have an audience. Silence cheered my win as they glanced at the boy on the ground, at me and then themselves as if to decide what to do next.

There was no one but me to inflict pain. They’d never foreseen an outcome that would leave me the victor.

Though the rules had changed with Payne’s exit from the school, they gave me the spoils of war. They stepped back, expanding the circle around us as the boy I’d beaten whimpered.

I was filled with so much hate, I heard Payne’s “finish him” in my head.

In that moment, I could have given that boy all the pain he’d inflicted on me over the years. Instead, I saw a broken boy filled with tears and curled in a ball, waiting for my worst. Was he a victim too? One who’d chosen the dark side as a way to survive the next night?

I ended up in my room, dry heaving after everything I’d eaten for dinner had spewed out of me. Could I live with my choice? Could I survive another six years, or would I end up like Lonnie?

A warm hand on my shoulder jerked me out of my head. But it wasn’t the six I saw.FourteenLizzyWhen he nearly levitated out of the chair, I had to rethink how I would wake him from his bad dreams.

“It’s just me,” I whispered.

He blinked several times before nodding.

“Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll watch the wheel.”

“I’m fine,” he said.

“You’re not. You need sleep, and you’ve shown me enough of these instruments. If trouble happens, I can handle it until you make the twelve feet back over.” When he didn’t look convinced, I added, “I know about nightmares. In my experience, the more exhausted I was, the more vivid they were. Go get some rest.”

Finally, he bobbed his head and got to his feet. Before he left, he pressed his lips to mine in a quick kiss.

“I can get used to that,” I warned, bringing something of a smile to his face.

He looked far too pale, and I couldn’t wait for us to be back in the States. Though if Griffin understood my message, we would be heading to Ireland and that flat Bailey had stayed in. From our video chats, I thought it would be relaxing for me and the big guy too.

Everything was fine—boring but fine—until heavy clouds rolled in as if they were chasing us.

“Striker,” I called, still finding a hard time calling him Connor.

Within thirty seconds, he was next to me. I moved over to the other seat, giving him the captain’s chair, and pointed to the clouds coming in from the east which may have indicated the hurricane had arrived.

“Can you make me another sandwich?” he asked. “I think we should eat.”

I knew he wanted to get rid of me. He didn’t want me to panic. Too late for that. If the hurricane had caught us, it might be our last meal. The water was choppy, but I managed to cut up cooked chicken breast for the both of us.

In the quiet, I heard him speaking softly. “This is the SS Elizabeth. We’re about ninety miles from the coast.”

Was that really the boat’s name or had he made it up, using mine?

The radio crackled. “What’s your—”

He turned it down and I looked away before he caught me paying attention. I was pretty sure they were asking for our position, especially when he gave out longitude and latitude coordinates. I could also guess he was talking to the Coast Guard, or whatever authority ruled the waters we were in.

I managed a smile when I brought over the sandwiches. “Are we okay?”

“I hope so. Just in case, I let the Coast Guard know where we are.”

The fact that he hadn’t lied had me launching over and kissing him.

“What was that for?”

“For being you,” I said before kissing him again. “Now eat.”

For the next twenty minutes, we were fine. Then lightning lit up the continually darkening sky.

Striker said, “Check the lower deck in the bedroom closets. See if you can find scuba gear.”