Killer Empire

Chapter 11

THE WIND WAS knocked out of Devora's lungs when she caught sight of the limp figure that laid on the ground. With crimson red blood seeping through the blades of grass and dirt, Devora could feel the contents of her stomach begin to rise up and out her mouth. She hadn't even eaten much in the last few days but the acid and water mixture was still threatening to surface as the little girl's dead eyes bore through her.

From a distance away, she could faintly make out the wailing cries of Leah tearing through the clearing of trees like a banshee in the night. From beside her, Travis stood with his eyes blank, jaw clenched so tightly that his teeth were at risk of shattering from pure force.

"You monster!" Leah screeched, struggling against her captor's hold. She kicked at the dirt, desperately trying to gain the upper hand and break free but her attempts were futile. "She was six! Only six-years-old! You would even kill a child?!"

Travis, on the other hand, looked calm and collected. His face was emotionless as he stared straight at his sister's killer, those once bright green eyes darkening into an emerald that had seen a storm. On the surface, he seemed unbothered but if the tight clench of his fists meant anything, it surely showed that he was only trying to keep himself from lashing out into a disadvantageous fight right there and then. There was no way Travis could win in a fight against those brutes. It would've been a road straight to death's doors.

Behind her, Devora heard the rustling of leaves and the swaying of grass. Nathan had caught up, coming to a stop right by her side. She felt his hand hold onto her elbow, his touch featherlight and barely there. However, there was still slight warmth in those fingers of his. He gently tugged at her arm, trying to get her to look away from Tammy's dead body.

"Come on," he murmured, mirthless unlike before. "Time to head back to civilization."

Devora hardly even had enough time to panic before she realized that Nathan had begun to lead them towards the group of fierce-looking men. As they neared, she could feel her heart in her throat, clogging up her airways and making it immensely hard for her to breathe. She was practically gasping for air by the time they stopped near the helicopter, her hands finding Nathan's and squeezing them so tightly his wrist turned white.

"Boys, stop scaring the poor kids please."

Slowly, her hands were pried off his arm. Their positions were now swapped with Nathan's hands tightly gripping onto Devora's upper arm, holding her in place and almost cutting off all blood flow in that limb. Hesitantly, she turned, eyes wide with horror at how casually Nathan had addressed the group of men. She had suspected it but a part of her prayed that what she thought wasn't true. Unfortunately, her worst fears were confirmed.

He was one of them.

"Nathaniel. About time you damn showed up. You took too long, punk."

The man who had killed Tammy let out a grunt, followed by a sinister grin as he lowered his gun. When his dark, menacing gaze dropped down to Devora, scanning her from head to toe torturously slow, he scoffed. The small action made Devora instinctively move closer towards Nathan. Or at least, as much as his grip on her allowed her to.

The man sneered, looking back at Nathan as he spoke.

"I see you got the girl," he said.

"Julie did say that he wanted her the most," Nathan calmly replied.

Devora fell forward on all fours when Nathan shoved her. Caught off guard by his harsh actions, she slammed to the ground, sending specks of dirt flying into the air. The sudden movement had tugged at her injury, causing her wounded leg to flare up in pain all over again. She didn't even need to turn and look behind to know that Nathan was wearing a smirk at the moment.