33. Grace

" We have to find the others!" I shouted as Anders dragged me to a nearby door. Shots rang out over our heads, and I yelped as Anders clenched his fist, his grip on my arm tightening. A man lurched toward us, blood foaming out of his mouth as he gasped for air. Sweat was beading across Anders's forehead, and his skin was ashen as we watched the man drop to the ground.

The possessed forklift hit the shelving unit behind us with a horrific crash, and I tripped as the floor trembled under our feet. Anders kicked open the door and cursed when it turned out to be just a utility closet.

"We need to get out of here!" he muttered, looking around quickly. I looked behind us, noticing a streak that looked like Erik running toward the far wall.

"That wa-" I started to point, but my body was suddenly shoved sideways toward the open door. I cried out when my ankle caught on something and I pitched forward, my head meeting the closet wall.

My ears were ringing, and I blinked stupidly, looking back at the now-closed door. Wha-?

I screamed when the whole wall shook, the door groaning from the blast that came from outside. I must have passed out, because when I woke, I was covered in dust, with a mop lying across my curled-up legs.

"Anders?" I croaked, coughing as dust streamed down from the ceiling. The floor around me was covered in debris, so I was extra careful as I pulled myself to my feet. My head was throbbing, and I was pretty sure I was concussed. It took a couple of minutes to find a safe path across the tiny closet, and I had to kick some stuff out of the way to get the door to open.

I stayed low as I peeked out of the door, blinking to get dust out of my eyes. There was a fire somewhere, a horrible black smoke filling the air. "Anders!" I called out, slipping out of the closet. I had to find an exit or I'd choke to death on the smoke.

Coughing and covering my mouth, I leaned on the wall and limped slowly toward the door I remembered seeing earlier. The smoke was getting thicker, burning my eyes as the heat grew more persistent. I limped around a pair of dead bodies, lying in pools of tacky blood—Anders's handiwork, I guessed.

I was close, I could see a light, steaming through the billowing smoke. I lurched forward blindly, stumbling until the wall beside me gave way to fresh air. I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as the world spun around me.

I had to find them, what if they were still trapped inside? What if they were looking for me, thinking I was still in the closet? But the ground was mercifully cool, and my head felt like it weighed a thousand tons. Whimpering, I tried to push myself up onto my hands and knees, fighting the increased gravity holding me down. I collapsed again, my chest heaving as I coughed so hard I wretched.

"She's not worth it!" someone shouted, and I groaned, squinting into the light. There were three men standing nearby, and I struggled to push myself up.

Anders, he made it out! I lifted my hand, trying to draw his attention. He finally noticed me, but to my horror, he just stared at me coolly for a long moment before turning and walking around the corner.

"We don't need her anymore, let Douglas keep her." Erik's voice echoed across the lot, and I struggled to understand what he was saying.

"Wait!" I rasped, fighting to stand up. "I'm here!" My world tilted on its axis as I watched them see me, I felt their eyes on me, but all they did was shake their heads once before they took off around the corner.

No, they wouldn't, they promised! A sob bubbled up in my chest, and I dropped down to my knees, the pain in my heart overshadowing everything else.

"Gracie, thank god!" Footsteps echoed behind me, and strong hands hauled me up off the ground, lifting me into equally strong arms.

For a brief moment, I thought it might be Levy. My sweet, broken Levy.

But only one person called me Gracie.

"It's okay, Gracie. We'll get them back for what they did to you," Douglas announced, hugging me into his chest.