Read Online Dark Grace by M. Lauryl Lewis - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: M. Lauryl Lewis
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gone,” I said flatly.
The rain was getting heavier and the three of us were getting drenched.
“I heard a gunshot, are you all ok?” shouted Nathan from a distance.
“The two in the woods rose,” Gus called back. “We’re ok.”
What had just happened was a blur.
“I got the girls over to the boat. We’re low on fuel so I want to find the boat those bastards used to get here and siphon its tank.”
Boggs nodded. “I’ll help with that.”
“I thought maybe we should load our supplies into their boat then drive it back to ours. Zoe, Gus, I know you want to bury Em. I’m really nervous about staying here, though. I think we should take her with us and bury her at sea,” suggested Nate.
My heart sank at the idea. She was far too beautiful to send to a cold, watery grave.
I felt Gus drape his arm over my shoulders. “He’s right, Zoe. We need to leave.”
I looked at him. As badly as I wanted to cry, I couldn’t spare the tears at the moment. I nodded in agreement. He embraced me and held me close, and kissed me on the cheek.
Before long, we were carrying essential supplies down to a small motorboat that was partly on shore, listing to one side as the tide was receding. The boat wasn’t large enough to have a below-deck of any sort, so Gus and I stayed back to organize things the best we could while Boggs and Nathan returned to camp for Emilie’s body. The two men had insisted that since we had been closest to her, we be spared having to prepare her body for burial. At one point I almost lost my composure. Gus held me close and whispered that we would mourn later. He said there’d be time for tears.
At long last, Boggs and Nate came into sight, carrying a human form wrapped in a blanket. I had to close my eyes and sit down. I set my head in my hands and focused on just breathing. How could she be gone? I could feel my heart break in half as my chest tightened and raw pain ran up my neck and jaw. I wanted to scream. A part of me wanted to die.
CHAPTER 5
We left the island in silence, aside from the sound of the boat’s motor. The rain had stopped when we shoved off shore. Our clothes were wet and the combination of that and the wind had me chilled to the core. Boggs had wrapped one of our blankets around me to help shelter me from the elements. Gus and Nathan had decided to send Emilie to her watery grave in the Sound before we got back to Susan and the girls. Nathan stopped the boat once we were well away from shore. I stayed in my seat while Gus checked the rope that Boggs and Nathan had tied around the blanket that covered her. He had insisted that he be the one to make final adjustments. I felt numb, inside and out. How he had the strength to do what he was doing was beyond my comprehension. Nathan offered to place rocks within her shroud to make sure her body sank to her final resting place, but Gus refused to allow anyone to help. Instead, he took the stones from Nathan and Boggs and tucked them under the folds of the blanket. I could tell that it was taking all of Gus’ strength to not break down. He took about fifteen minutes to make all of the modifications to her shroud, and then announced he was ready. I, on the other hand, was far from prepared to say goodbye. Boggs offered to say a few words, to which Gus was agreeable as in his grief he was unable to speak himself.
“Emilie found us one night,” Boggs began. “She was almost lost to the Runners, and we’re all so glad she found us. She was a sister to us all. A lover to Gus. Spirited, funny, sweet. Strong. She was always so alive and optimistic. We’ll all miss you, Em. More than we can say.”
Nathan and Boggs both moved toward her shrouded body and began to lift her.
“Not yet,” I managed to squeak out. “Just let me kiss her good-bye? Please?”
They paused, setting her back down. I walked to her body, to where I knew her head was located under the blanket. The rope around her neck was deeply disturbing. I
The rain was getting heavier and the three of us were getting drenched.
“I heard a gunshot, are you all ok?” shouted Nathan from a distance.
“The two in the woods rose,” Gus called back. “We’re ok.”
What had just happened was a blur.
“I got the girls over to the boat. We’re low on fuel so I want to find the boat those bastards used to get here and siphon its tank.”
Boggs nodded. “I’ll help with that.”
“I thought maybe we should load our supplies into their boat then drive it back to ours. Zoe, Gus, I know you want to bury Em. I’m really nervous about staying here, though. I think we should take her with us and bury her at sea,” suggested Nate.
My heart sank at the idea. She was far too beautiful to send to a cold, watery grave.
I felt Gus drape his arm over my shoulders. “He’s right, Zoe. We need to leave.”
I looked at him. As badly as I wanted to cry, I couldn’t spare the tears at the moment. I nodded in agreement. He embraced me and held me close, and kissed me on the cheek.
Before long, we were carrying essential supplies down to a small motorboat that was partly on shore, listing to one side as the tide was receding. The boat wasn’t large enough to have a below-deck of any sort, so Gus and I stayed back to organize things the best we could while Boggs and Nathan returned to camp for Emilie’s body. The two men had insisted that since we had been closest to her, we be spared having to prepare her body for burial. At one point I almost lost my composure. Gus held me close and whispered that we would mourn later. He said there’d be time for tears.
At long last, Boggs and Nate came into sight, carrying a human form wrapped in a blanket. I had to close my eyes and sit down. I set my head in my hands and focused on just breathing. How could she be gone? I could feel my heart break in half as my chest tightened and raw pain ran up my neck and jaw. I wanted to scream. A part of me wanted to die.
CHAPTER 5
We left the island in silence, aside from the sound of the boat’s motor. The rain had stopped when we shoved off shore. Our clothes were wet and the combination of that and the wind had me chilled to the core. Boggs had wrapped one of our blankets around me to help shelter me from the elements. Gus and Nathan had decided to send Emilie to her watery grave in the Sound before we got back to Susan and the girls. Nathan stopped the boat once we were well away from shore. I stayed in my seat while Gus checked the rope that Boggs and Nathan had tied around the blanket that covered her. He had insisted that he be the one to make final adjustments. I felt numb, inside and out. How he had the strength to do what he was doing was beyond my comprehension. Nathan offered to place rocks within her shroud to make sure her body sank to her final resting place, but Gus refused to allow anyone to help. Instead, he took the stones from Nathan and Boggs and tucked them under the folds of the blanket. I could tell that it was taking all of Gus’ strength to not break down. He took about fifteen minutes to make all of the modifications to her shroud, and then announced he was ready. I, on the other hand, was far from prepared to say goodbye. Boggs offered to say a few words, to which Gus was agreeable as in his grief he was unable to speak himself.
“Emilie found us one night,” Boggs began. “She was almost lost to the Runners, and we’re all so glad she found us. She was a sister to us all. A lover to Gus. Spirited, funny, sweet. Strong. She was always so alive and optimistic. We’ll all miss you, Em. More than we can say.”
Nathan and Boggs both moved toward her shrouded body and began to lift her.
“Not yet,” I managed to squeak out. “Just let me kiss her good-bye? Please?”
They paused, setting her back down. I walked to her body, to where I knew her head was located under the blanket. The rope around her neck was deeply disturbing. I
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