Page 29 of Glass

12

POPPY

“Poppy!”

My eyes jolt open, but I struggle to focus on what’s in front of me. I feel like my brain is wading through quicksand trying to make sense of what’s happening. My ears ring so loudly I’m surprised I can hear Felix saying my name over the sound.

Felix.

I blink rapidly until my double-vision clears.Oh my Goddess, the kids.

A wave of nausea washes through me as I turn my head, but I do it anyway to check on the kids. On one side of me, Corey stares back with wide, fear-filled eyes. “It’s okay,” I mutter to him even though this moment is anything but. I force my head the other direction, only belatedly realizing that Lane is plastered up against me, though amazingly okay.

I don’t trust it, the fact that they’re somehow not hurt when my ears ring and my neck aches from where it snapped to the side on impact. “Are you okay?” I croak out in a hoarse voice to him.

He nods pitifully, the rims of his eyes wet with unshed tears.

I try to turn enough to get a look at the other three in the backseat, but a hand clasps my shoulder. “Don’t turn. We’re okay,” Shelby rushes out in one breath.

“We have to go right now,” Felix urges in a hard voice.

I blink a few more times, desperately wishing my brain didn’t feel fuzzy around the edges. My eyes re-focus on something beyond the smashed front windshield of the SUV. There are people advancing slowly toward us from farther up the road. Based on our current circumstances—I don’t think they’re friendly.

“Gun,” I mutter.

“I don’t have a gun,” Felix spits out. “The kids can shift. I’d rather risk exposing us all than not keeping them safe.”

I shake my head, desperate to clear the ringing from my ears. “There’s a gun under your seat.”

The older shifter who brought the SUV, Joss, quietly warned me before we left. It’s obvious there’s danger amongst The Lost that I don’t know about because Joss seemed certain we should have it. He thought Felix would argue so he didn’t tell him, but he was kind enough not to let me take my siblings in the car without a heads up.

Felix shakes his head like he doesn’t understand.

“Felix, just reach under the seat, please!” I feel every bit as desperate as I sound. There’s no way we’re getting all five kids out safely, much less having them shift and start running without a plan.

I finally get through to him with pleading eyes, and he leans forward to retrieve a handgun. But he shakes his head again as he holds it up. “I’ve never shot a gun,” he admits. “Never needed to.” He takes a deep breath like he’s preparing himself, but I can’t watch this.

I carefully extract myself from Lane and push the button to free my seat belt. I lunge forward,carefully taking the gun from Felix’s hand. He looks at me questioningly.

“My brother Gabe taught me to shoot. It’s a long story.” I look to Corey. “Hold your brother,” I tell him, shoving him toward Lane as I slide around him toward the driver’s side back door. My adrenaline is sky-high, and I shove the door open harder than intended. I wince as I step out and it bounces back into me.

The driver’s side door opens.

I open my mouth to protest but Felix is quicker. “You’re not going alone.” The people approaching are getting far too close for comfort with the kids still in the SUV. Felix looks in at Corey. “Get everyone ready to run if they need to. You know what to do.”

Corey nods even though his chin wobbles slightly. He’s not old enough for this, but from the way Felix looks at him, I have a feeling they’ve practiced for an emergency.

I have to hope it’s enough.

“Where the fuck is everyone?” Felix mutters as he takes his place by my side. I clutch the handgun close to my chest as I take in our surroundings. There are small houses dotting the side of the road here, but no one has come out despite how much noise the crash made. There’s no way they didn’t hear us.

“If I spent all my time waiting for someone else to step in and help me, I wouldn’t have made it this far,” I mutter as I stride forward.

“Wait.” Felix grabs me by the waist seconds before gunfire rings out. “Get down,” he urges needlessly, pulling me to the ground with him. He covers his body with mine as he shouts back to the SUV, “Everybody get down!”

I peer out from under Felix’s shoulder to see the two men ahead of us drop like literal dead weights on the road. It’s impossible to tell where the gunfire is coming from because my head is spinning and there’s no sign of anyone else out here with us.

We might be about to die.My stomach turns. My wolf itches to be allowed to shift, but I don’t want the last thing I do before I die to be exposing all of shifter-kind.