"Do you want to take a shower?" Nathan asked.
I looked at Nathan with a raised eyebrow and quickly shook my head, letting my hair fall loose from the bun on top of my head. He chuckled and got up from the bed. I frowned when I saw the messy sheets.
Murphy spoke in a lazy tone, "I'm sure there's more of you on these sheets than inside you." He pulled the sheets off the bed. "You'll need some assistance to clean up."
"No!" I half shouted, twisting to push Nathan's quickly advancing form away from me. "Let me go—alone!"
He bent over, forcing his shoulder against my hips and lifting me up. I squealed as he stood, wrapping my hands around his waist as he walked us into the makeshift bathroom. A pump was hooked up to the stream, forcing the freezing cold creek water into a rapid heating heater and out of a waterfall shower head.
Nathan stood me up and turned the shower on, letting me fall beneath the water. I held his hands in mine, tipping my head back to get clean. Murphy stepped in behind me, quickly grabbing a bottle of shampoo as Nathan eagerly dragged a loofa across my skin.
"How long?" Murphy asked into the air. I jumped when Bradley's voice boomed through the room. "Four minutes. We need to move carefully."
Six minutes later, we were fully dressed and wildly climbing the side of the canyon in my purple Jeep. I sat in the back, clutching Brad's hand in mine, as Murphy forced the gas pedal down as hard as he could manage. The big tyres slammed through the thick terrain and smoothed over the holes with purpose.
"Shit." Nathan twisted his head and stared back from where we came, his eyes narrowed in barely concealed anger. "Gun it."
"We go any faster, we flip."
Bradley's leg bounced in angst, and he twisted his hands across mine before bringing them to his lips to kiss gently. I smiled at him, swallowing the lump in my throat. He gave me a thin smile and looked away quickly, focusing on the back of the seat in front of him.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Murphy glanced at the mirror, a smirk on his lips. "Nothing."
"Bradley..." I started, shaking his hand. "What's wrong?"
He shook his head at me, offering me the same smile that didn't reach his incredible eyes. "Nothing."
"Don't hide things from me."
Nathan swung around in his seat with a piercing glare. "Oh, so you expect to know everything when we've known nothing for months?"
My teeth ground together in annoyance. "I won't apologise for trying to fix this."
Bradley yanked me across the seat, forcing me to straddle him. I gripped his shoulders, squeezing my legs around his waist. My breath trembled out of me as his hips rolled against mine. His cock pressed against my ass, the rod twitching underneath me.
"What needs to be fixed, Ivy?" He whispered, leaning until our foreheads were pressed together. "We're happy. We're okay with this. Why can't you be?"
Tears gathered at the edges of my eyes. "This isn't right. You deserve the chance to have your own life."
"You don't think we have that already?"
"I-I.."
My sentence cut off as a loud whistle echoed through the air. Bradley locked his arms around me as a missile struck the ground directly in front of the Jeep. A second one followed quickly after. Murphy swerved the vehicle, cutting across the edge of the cliff, too close. I screamed out, latching onto Murphy with a death grip as the Jeep tilted and rolled down the hill.
The cage protected my vehicle, allowing us to flip until we rested at the base of the cliff, sinking into the thin sands. Murphy and Nathan were out before I could think, each one taking a side to turn the vehicle right side up. They had just jumped back inside, buckling their seatbelts, when bullets peppered the passenger side.
I clutched closer to Bradley, practically disappearing against his chest. He growled low in his chest, speaking rapidly to Murphy and Nathan. Murphy spat back, gunning the engine to get the Jeep moving. Suddenly I was lifted and moved to my seat, Brad's hair tickled my face as he buckled me in.
"I can't feel Will, Camron, or Finch." I whispered, staring up at Brad. "Where are they?"
"They're fine." Nathan snarled, "keeping us as clear as they can."
My eyes caught Nathan's as he muttered fuck under his breath, and he reached down. I knew he was reaching for the gun compartment hidden securely under the seat. He quickly assembled the Timber.45, then followed with the second just as quickly. His eyes scanned the area as he tossed the third gun to Brad.
Murphy stopped moving, freezing in his seat, then spurred into action.
"What..?" I begged, "You have to tell me."
I hated that I was blocked out of the minds of the others. Obviously, I wasn't the only one who had learned a few things during my time away. Will, Finch, and Camron were out of my reach, dancing on the outer edges of my consciousness. They could sense and hear me, but their current whereabouts were inaccessible.
I'd have to remedy that if we made it out of here alive.
We drove out of the canyon, trying desperately to stay ahead of the helicopter on our tails. A gunman sat on the side of the opened door, an AK47 in his hands, aimed at us. The bullets came harder and faster, ricocheting off the side of my car as we flew through the last few miles leading to the highway.
"Thirty seconds." Bradley muttered. It was the longest thirty seconds of my life.
A metal barrier came into view, leading along the sides of the road to a wide bridge. Murphy swerved again, backtracking half a mile to enter the highway. No other traffic was on the road. I sighed heavily, thankful we wouldn't be putting innocent people at risk.
"Ten."
I glanced around. Why was he counting? What was coming?
My head turned, glaring into the distance, and my heart stopped. Standing in the middle of the road was a man with a grenade launcher perched on his left shoulder, aimed at my Jeep.
"Now!"
Bradley quickly unfastened my seatbelt and yanked me from my seat, holding me close against his chest. Meanwhile, Murphy skillfully maneuvered the vehicle around a sharp turn. The car skidded momentarily before regaining its grip on the road, but then it suddenly lifted into the air. In an instant, Bradley flung the door open, and both of us were propelled out of the car.
I clung to Bradley, his strong arms wrapping around me to shield and safeguard me as we descended back to reality.
My body was thrown over his shoulder, and he began to run in the opposite direction, thrusting us under the cover of the bridge as the first grenade struck. We were facing the west, heading towards the dying rays of the sun, when I saw the man's face again. Quickly, I was forced to the centre, hidden by the hulking bodies of Murphy, Nathan, and Brad, as the first machines crossed the barren wasteland.
"Tear them apart," my hands tightened on Bradley's shirt, "then bring her to me."