Lawless

Chapter FortyFour

I briefly hear Max shouting behind me but it's drowned out by the continuing gunshots.

"Stop shooting!" Max tries to demand from the Class men but it's no use. They continue to shoot, not taking Max's orders, even though the title will now be handed down to him, being Jace's right hand man.

Most of them are shooting into the bush with the hopes of hitting Sage but a couple are shooting in my direction.

The bullets fly past me and land in the dirt or connect with the fence, causing a spark as it bounces off.

It becomes apparent to me that they're not shooting to kill me, only to stop me.

The ripping of my dress is heard as every now and then a bullet pierces it.

I risk a look behind me and note Max and Ma are lying on the ground, covering their heads, doing their best to stay out of the cross fire as the Class men drop one by one.

I get sent to the ground as I trip and notice it's the dead body of the guard that once stood guarding the fence. His eyes lay open, nothing behind them. It's the same guard that almost caught me crossing the fence with his dog, thankfully the dog is nowhere in sight.

I pull away automatically as someone grabs my arm, attempting to pull me up.

"Come on, Dove!" Penelope screams out over the gunfire, her hair in a wild mess while she is still dressed in her maid uniform.

I allow her to help me up as we run together to the fence, only another ten metres away.

I stagger as a bullet grazes my thigh, beneath the dress, the heat radiating off it getting hotter and hotter, the trickle of blood runs down my leg and hits my foot.

We both reach the fence, our hands grabbing at it. The alarm starts ringing in our ears loudly, deafening anything else.

I lift a foot and start the climb, knowing Sage has my back and won't let anyone shoot me off. I throw a leg over the top, sitting, one leg in Class and one in Lawless.

I look down at Penelope and watch as she looks back towards the shooting, contemplating what to do.

"Penelope, c'mon!" I yell over the noise, she looks up at me. I bend down so my torso lies flat on the fence, making it harder for Class to shoot me.

A bullet ricochets off the fence, millimetres from Penelope's head; it snaps her out of contemplating as she starts to climb.

The bullets aim to kill her as she is only a maid and that meant disposable.

"Dove!" she screams in panic. Her foot slipping on the fence, her eyes full of terror.

"Hurry!" I reach down and clasp her hand as she reaches the top.

"Jump!" I scream as I pull her over the top. The both of us don't think twice about it before jumping down, my dress flies up, blinding me with white until we hit the ground, knocking the wind out of the both of us.

I do my best to ignore it as I stagger to my feet. Penelope rolls onto her hands and knees and tries to catch her breath.

"We've got to go" I say as I grab her hand, pulling her up from the ground. My white dress starts to turn red from my thigh, the blood and dirt mixing together, ruining the dress.

I limp into the bush as Penelope is bent over, her lungs still winded. The bullets are few and far between now, giving up once we had passed over the fence, now they all focus on the north and east side of Class.

I drag Penelope behind a bush allowing her to catch her breath. I start ripping the dress in hopes of making it easier to move around in. The layers fall as I pull at it with my hands, the veil joining them. The dress now falls flat along my body, in a silk slip. The spare pieces I rip and use to tie around my thigh, in an attempt to stem the bleeding.