The Carrier (The Carrier Series Book 1) (22 page)

Uncontrollable tears began to
fall from my eyes. What just happened? This couldn’t be real! A nightmare, this
had to be a nightmare.

Wake up, Ava!

I slapped myself in the face, but lost my balance
on the tree limb and fell backwards, narrowly missing all the branches on the
way down. My body landed with a thud on the grass and weeds below, and I let
out a groan as I rolled to my left. My right arm radiated intense pain.

Oh no! I probably broke it.

I knew I had to get out of there before someone
else came. But should I run after Nolan’s captors or toward my parents’ house?
I wasn’t prepared for any kind of fight so I painfully set off in the direction
of Capital Street. I scrambled about four steps forward before I heard a loud
crack and felt a sting in my back, sending me instantly to the ground.

I’d been shot, too. What kind of evil world
would bring us together only to rip us apart time and time again?

Well, at least I could join Nolan in heaven.