I'm being pulled left, right and all over the fucking place, an Enforcer on each arm, my weapons ripped out of reach, a gun pressed to my back.

Riley is being thrown around the same as I, hauled back towards the wall, no doubt to face the wrath of my fucking sister before being tortured to death. She'll stop at nothing, I've known that ever since I saw her shoot my best friend's wife.

Her and Jordan were friends. She was as close to him as she was with Anna. Yet she still shot the love of his life without a second thought. She's an absolute fucking bitch, and I'll end her before I let her hurt any of my family again.

Maybe that's what I can achieve from this? I'll be shot as soon as I do it, but maybe... just maybe... I'll be able to get close enough to kill Gia.

Suddenly, the Enforcers push Riley and I forward, in front of them, the metal of their guns still digging into our spines as they force us towards the grey wall.

"Zac," Riley hisses quietly. "I have a plan."

"You do?" I retort, eyebrow cocking at his words. How in God's name does he have a fucking plan right now?

"Yeah." He nods. "We're both going to die at this rate, right?"

"For sure," I retort and he grimaces.

"I thought so too," he replies. "I need you to do whatever I tell you."

"I don't take kindly to orders."

"You're such a fucking idiot." Riley rolls his eyes as I smirk, the muzzle of the gun harshly slamming into my back.

"Keep it moving!" the Enforcer snaps and I grit my teeth before turning, the metal gate getting closer and closer.

"You need to trust me, Zac," Riley says. "I know that you aren't going to like this but..."

"What?" I shoot him a side glance out of the corner of my eye. He raises his coat, finger pointing towards the round object in his pocket.

"What the fuck? Riley!" I hiss and he shoots a wary glance behind us.

"I'm not letting you use it," he says with a shrug.

"You're not fucking blowing yourself up!" I retort and he smiles.

"I wish we had a choice."

"We do-"

"No we don't!" Riley rolls his eyes. "As soon as we get beyond that wall and into the North, we're dead fucking meat. You need to get to the South, you need to bring down the State."

"We can do it together," I snap and he rolls his eyes.

"That's wishful thinking." He grins. "We don't have time to argue. Don't fight against them until I'm far enough away that you can run."

"Riley!"

"You were a good friend, Zac." He smiles at me and before I can react he's gone. He ducks under the aim of the gun, catapulting off to the left.

The Enforcers clearly don't expect one of us to flee, all of them yelling out and heading after him. Only three are left circling me. Fucking idiots.

I hate what I have to do, Riley's eyes meeting mine as he glances back, the Enforcers circling in on him as he secretly readies himself to pull the pin out of the fucking grenade. He sends me a barely visible nod and I return it, unable to convey my emotions in the tiny gesture.

He was the man who gave me half of my tattoos, the one who I used to drink under the table at the club. He always challenged me to an arm wrestle whenever we saw each other, and he helped look after Emilia when I was gone. Not that I'm sure if giving her a tattoo is really helping, although he's adamant it is.

Him and Kayla have been getting closer the last few weeks, the two annoying the shit out of each other, reminding me of Emilia and I. I finally forced him to admit his feelings for her last night, his exact words being, 'I'll tell the girl when we return from the South. There's no better sex than that which comes after a hero returns from a fucking war.'

He won't tell her, he never got the time too. He'll never drink with me again, he'll never arm wrestle and lose, just like he always did. The tattoos on our skin will always be a reminder of him, one that will never fade.

Pulling my hand forward, I take a deep breath before launching it back, straight into the ribs of the Enforcer behind me. He lets out a loud groan before the other two launch into action, reaching for me. My other arm swings around, colliding with the Enforcer's face, sending him flying back onto the ground. He curls up into a ball as my knee shoots up into the stomach of the second guy before I manage to wrench his gun from his waistband. I don't hesitate, letting the bullets soar into his torso.

Looking around, I grab a riot shield from the floor before jogging as fast as I can away from them all. The shield is angled behind me to stop their gunshots as they begin to shower around me, a few Enforcers turning away from Riley, their attention moving to their second escapee.

With quick calculation, I determine that there's only a few seconds to spare and I grit my teeth before running faster. Sharp pain shoots up my legs and I force them on with all my strength, my life depending on it.

I hear the sudden, loud boom from behind before the shock waves reach me, catapulting me headfirst into the ground, my face smacking into the dirt as heat surrounds me.

My ears are ringing as I attempt to blink the dust away, my hands on the ground as I push up, slowly standing onto my shaking feet. Glancing back, I see the small billow of smoke from the explosion still filling the air. A pile of bodies surround the scene, some still standing, a few Enforcers screaming before they collapse.

I can't quite comprehend the picture in front of me. The idea that Riley was in the middle of it all, sacrificing himself to save just one of us. Me.

Looking up at the dark sky, I grimace before shutting my eyes, attempting to ignore the smoky smell in the air that reminds me of what just happened. You'll always be my brother, Riley.

With a final deep breath, I glance over at the destruction once more before turning and setting off in a run, desperate to get far enough away before they remember that there were two of us. My legs are begging me to stop but I ignore them, pushing through the fucking pain as I follow no mans land to the South. The sandy, mud ridden ground squelches under my feet from the frequent English rain.

I'm out of breath by the time I finally stop, feeling like it's been hours. I rest my head back against the cold wall before sliding down to the ground, allowing myself to rest for a few minutes, not letting myself think back over what just happened.

Emilia and the others headed off in the truck only five minutes before Riley took his own life, yet they were in a fucking vehicle, long gone by now.

I don't have time to sit around, instead hauling myself to my feet and using the wall to trail my hand along, the lights from the Northern wall long gone, the area in complete, black darkness from the night.

It takes me ten times longer to walk in this way, the lack of sight ridiculously disorientating, my hand not daring to leave the cold surface, nearly tripping over various rocks along the way.

By the time the sun is coming up I'm exhausted and hungry, my body begging for food. There's no end in sight to this bloody no man's land.

The area is rocky, the sides laden with large stones and I make the decision to hide behind one, settling down for a quick nap before I get going again. I know that I need to preserve my energy, this stretch of the wall around thirty miles, before, according to Kieran, I'll come across a fork in the road. At that point I'll take the left track for a further ten miles.

The gate should be there.

*~*~*

I'm a sweating, dirty, exhausted mess by the time I eventually get there, staring at the gate in front of me like an idiot. I passed an abandoned truck only five minutes before, a sense of relief filling me from the realisation that Emilia and others truly made it.

What if I can't find them? They think I'm dead, it's hardly like anyone would wait around for a ghost. I have no idea which way to head, but I'm guessing London will be my best chance.

As soon as I've found myself some fucking food.

Grabbing onto the metal handle of the gate, I attempt to slide it open, the handle moving with ease, suggesting that it's used often. Well, that something to fucking bear in mind.

My eyes glance around, on the lookout, before I shove my entire weight against the door. The metal only shifts a centimetre.

I try once more, the door moving an inch, before I grit my teeth and take a deep breath, slamming myself against it as hard as I can. The gate finally swings open and I stumble slightly before regaining my balance.

The night is dark, yet an orange hue greets me as soon as I take a step through, the gate shutting behind me. I barely notice it, instead looking at the numerous people facing me. Mild shock instantly consumes my entire body.

Their weapons are all raised, aiming right for me as I raise an eyebrow, holding my arms up.

"I'm not going to fucking shoot you," I exclaim, my voice hoarse.

"Oh my god!" Emilia cries, her hand over her mouth before she pushes past everyone. I watch her long blonde hair as she runs, the stupid heeled fucking boots causing her to stumble slightly before suddenly she's in front of me. Her arms wrap around my torso, sobs wracking her body and she buries her head in my chest.

My arms instantly curl around her, head lowering to her hair and breathing in her familiar scent. The simple action warms me from the inside out, my grip tightening, never ever wanting to let go. She's here.

"Zac..." Kieran breathes out and I glance over at my friends, both mouths and eyes wide open as they look at me in shock.

"You're alive!" Emilia exclaims, pulling her head back to look up at me. Her face is streaked with tears as I grab onto her cheeks, lowering my face and pressing my lips to hers, tasting the salty substance which makes me wonder how long she's been crying. My poor girl.

"I am," I confirm, not letting go of her as I glance back towards the group. "Do we have any food? I haven't had anything and I walked a long way."

"Of course!" Sam exclaims, reaching into his rucksack. "Jordan and I found this today." He hands over a can of something and I grimace before nodding. Leading Emilia over to the fire, I sit down beside it, wrenching the can open and stuffing some of the food into my mouth.

Everyone else follows suit, their eyes still wide as they watch me, cautiously. I get it, I'm back from the dead, but can they stop looking at me like a fucking lab rat?

"Who's this?" I mutter, gesturing to the two strangers that appear to have joined the fucking group.

"I'm Jen," the girl mutters. "This is Myles."

"Fucking ace," I retort, Emilia's hand curling around my bicep, her body pressed against mine as I keep eating. "And how did we pick up two random strang-"

"Care to explain how the fuck you're alive?" Anna exclaims, cutting me off.

I grimace, shaking my head as I look over at Jordan. My expression says it all, his face dropping instantly.

"Riley's dead?" he asks and I nod, looking down at the half empty can as Emilia's arms tighten around me.

"He... he sacrificed himself so that I could get away," I announce, a small cry falling from Anna's mouth before she gets up, running straight for the trees. I shut my eyes, not wanting to relive the moment ever again.

"He was a good man," Emilia says softly and I nod, finishing the can and putting it down on the ground in front of me before gathering her into my arms.

"He was," I agree.

"So you walked all this way?" Heidi asks. "The entire-"

"What the hell do we have here?" A deep voice suddenly booms, all of us turning to see Anna in the grasp of another man. He holds her in front of him, a knife tight to her throat as she whimpers.

"Fuck!" Jen exclaims quietly. "Fucking slayers." I'm sorry, what? Slayers?

"Let her go!" Kieran yells, standing up instantly, his hand fumbling for his gun.

"You don't look like you're from around here," the guy retorts, his eyes trailing over all of us as I shove Emilia behind me. Two others join him, emerging from the trees, armed and ready as they grin at us.

By now all of us are standing, Jordan with a gun in his hand, the two strangers gripping onto their own weapons. Is that a fucking spear?

Emilia attempts to wrestle past me and I push her back, shooting her a warning look. Don't be a fucking hero right now.

"We don't like outsiders," the slayer announces with a grin before his knife begins to slide across Anna's neck.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I have a feeling that you're all going to like me again after this chapter... fingers crossed anyway!!

We'll see how long that lasts...

ZAC'S BACK!!!