Unbind me

chapter 15

He takes a slow, shaking breath.

"For taking care of James."

Kenji raises an eyebrow, glancing at Adam through the rearview mirror. "So, you trust me now?"

A beat of silence. Then a quiet sigh. "Maybe."

Kenji smirks, the corner of his mouth twitching up. "I'll take a maybe."

He grips the wheel, turns the key, and the engine roars to life beneath us. The low hum vibrates through my seat, a stark contrast to the chaos we just escaped.

Kenji exhales, shifting into gear.

"Let's get the hell out of here."

· · ────── · ❈ · ────── · ·

I watch the barren streets blur past us, each building, each empty shop a hollow reminder of what once was. Ghosts of the past linger in every shadow, their stories locked away, buried beneath silence.

The rustling of fabric pulls me from my thoughts. Juliette is digging through the bags, her hands moving with quiet urgency. I glance over my shoulder just as the glint of a blade catches my eye. She's cutting through sweaters, tearing them into strips, draping them carefully over Adam's exposed skin.

"Kenji—does this car have a heater?" Her voice is steady, but I can hear the edge of worry laced within it.

"It's on," he says, adjusting the vents. "But it's shit. Barely doing anything."

"How much longer?"

"Not too long."

She hesitates. "Have you seen anyone following us?"

Kenji checks the mirrors, scanning the empty roads. "No." A pause. "And that's what's weird. We're flying through the streets after curfew, and no one's even looked twice. Something's not right."

"I know."

Kenji exhales sharply. "Either they really don't give a shit about me, or my tracker serum actually isn't working. And if it isn't—well, I have no idea why."

Juliette frowns, deep in thought. "Where did you guys come from—" she hesitates, casting a quick glance at me. "Before you found us?"

"Uh—some huge field. Pretty much empty. But there was some crazy shit growing there."

I hear Juliette inhale sharply. "An empty field? Completely abandoned?"

"Yeah."

Adam's voice cuts through the quiet, hoarse but certain. "The nuclear field."

Kenji stiffens, his knuckles whitening around the steering wheel. "Holy shit," he breathes. "You're telling me I could've died and I didn't?"

Juliette barely acknowledges him. "Then how did they find us? How did they know where you live?"

"I don't know," Adam sighs. "Maybe Kenji is lying to us."

"Come on, man—what the hell—"

"He's not lying." The words leave my mouth before I can think twice. My voice is quiet but firm. "I was with him. The whole time. He's not lying."

Silence. I can feel their eyes on me.

"Okay," Adam finally mutters. "Then the only other option is that they got to Benny."

Juliette's breath catches. "No."

"It's possible," Adam says, his voice grim.

The weight of his words settles over us like a stone, pressing against our ribs, making it just a little harder to breathe.