Chapter 131: Chapter 131

NADINE’S POV

My heart hammered loudly against my chest. It knocked against my ribcage, rattling so hard I could almost feel it about to fall.

None of us said anything as we quietly made our way back to the now exploded bunker, and even though I tried so hard not to show how fucking scared I was, Rowan must have seen something on my face because he reached out to hold my hand.

I squeezed, grateful for the contact. He squeezed my hand back too, and even though I had a bad feeling about all of these, even though dread was rapidly spreading across my body, even though I was trying so fucking hard to stop thinking that we were likely walking to our deaths, I was glad that I was here.

With him.

I knew Trent wasn’t a father to him in all the ways that counted, but somehow, a part of me felt sorry that he was about to go through the ordeal of killing his own father.

“Breathe, princess. Nothing is going to happen to any of us. I’m right here,” he whispered into my ears, and his voice jolted me out of my spiraling thoughts.

By the time we made it to the bunker though, the dread that had been rapidly spreading across my body intensified.

My entire body tingled as we looked around. The entrance to the bunker had blown in and was destroyed completely. The explosion had trapped and killed everyone left behind there.

Everyone, including Ezekiel.

I tried not to think about that laughing, easy going man who sacrificed himself just to save all those people.

“There’s nothing here. There’s no trail, no sign that the general is hiding anywhere close to the bunker,” Jennifer said after a while, stopping to run a frustrated hand through her hair.

She was right.

If Trent had been anywhere close to the bunker when it exploded, the man was definitely long gone.

A sudden sense of trepidation filled me, and I slapped a hand to my mouth as realisation slammed into me like a boulder.

“Shit. Shit shit shit,” I muttered as my chest heaved, as I tried to breathe. Rowan was at my side immediately.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice coated in worry.

Guilt and regret slammed into me over and over, turning my bones into mush as I realised how utterly, awfully wrong I had been.

How had I not seen it?

“This was a mistake. This was a fucking mistake. We should not have left all those people. We should have fucking gone with them. Shit.”

Rowan grabbed my shoulders and gently shook me. “Talk to me, Nadine. What is going on?”

I shook my head as I tried to explain what I was feeling. “I was so shaken by Camden’s accusation, so tired and sick of all those people looking at me like everything that happened was my fault when I just saved their fucking lives. I was desperate. I wanted to prove to them, to Camden, that I wasn’t a traitor. Which was why I suggested that we come back here to look for Trent.”

I paused, my eyes as wide as saucers in my head.

“But Rowan. The general is not here. He couldn’t possibly be. There’s nothing left for him here anymore. But he could have followed all of those people we just saved. He is probably trailing them right now, and when those people lead him back to the community, he is going to kill every single one of them.”

The silence that stretched between us three was thick and foreboding. I waited for either of them to speak, to counter my words. I waited for Jennifer to sneer at me and tell me that my theory could not possibly be true.

But her expression only became more horrified, and her jaw dropped open as she processed my words.

“We have to get back. Now!”

Rowan gripped my hand tightly, his expression pinched with worry, but neither of us said anything as we started to run back.

Leaving those people to come back here had been a horrible, horrible mistake.

The guilt that spread across my body became more intense as we ran, my chest heaving as I tried to breathe.

Breathe, Nadine.

Breathe.

I tried to think of something else, of a way to warn all of those people. I might be wrong, but they had to stay alert just in case.

But no matter how hard I tried to concentrate, my brain was too scrambled to work.

“Nadine! Focus!” Rowan snapped, and the hard edge of his voice jolted me out of my head again.

We didn’t stop running, even when a stitch grew in my chest and it felt as though I was about to keel over and faint.

We were too far.

Too far.

If Trent had indeed gone after them, there was no way in hell we could get to the community in time to warn everybody.

Unable to help how frustrated I was, tears sprang into my eyes as I skidded to a stop. I gasped loudly as I tried to breathe, but we had been running for a while, and the stitch in my chest only grew tighter.

Rowan gently patted my back as I sobbed and tried to force air into my lungs. I tried to stand, but my legs decided to turn to jelly, and they gave out on me.

“I’m sorry. I just…I need…I can’t breathe,” I wheezed, black spots shining behind my eyes.

Rowan crouched before me. “Follow my lead, baby,” he stated softly. I focused on him, and when he inhaled, I followed his lead.

A few more times of breathing in and out with him, and the stitch in my chest slowly went away.

“This is taking too damn long. I know a shortcut. Follow me,” Jennifer snapped, and without waiting for us, started to run away.

Rowan helped me to my feet. “Can you walk? Do you want me to carry you?” he asked.

I took a deep breath and shook my head.

“No. I can walk. Let’s go.”

And just like that, I pushed past the pain in my chest, my entire body, and started to run again.

We had to save those people from Trent.

We had to.

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