Hunted (A Sinners Series Book 2) by Abi Ketner, Missy Kalicicki

hitches.
    Everything moves in slow motion.
    One of the dogs staggers, then moves slowly away.
    The other collapses to the ground.
    I cover my ears to drown out the sound of my own screams.
    It’s Zeus. Oh God. Zeus.
    I shove my gun into its holster and rush toward him. He saved us. He saved me. He’s swerving this way and that, losing his balance. I wrap him in my arms. “It’s okay, boy. You’re going to be okay.”
    Zeus’s breathing is labored, his eyes are starting to gloss over. Cole looks wounded, crushed.
    “Go! I’ll carry him,” Cole says. He pushes me gently away and lifts a whimpering Zeus into his arms. From this vantage point, Zeus’s torn flesh is more evident.
    The other dog sounds just as bad; his crying and whimpering hits a soft spot in my heart.
    “Hold on,” I say. The other dog shakes his head. “He’s suffering.”
    “Look away,” Bruno says as he aims his gun at the poor dog. I turn away, close my eyes, and cover my ears. I can’t watch. Grace does the same. When Bruno fires, the dog makes one last yelp, and it makes me jump. I open my eyes and uncover my ears when I feel Bruno’s hand lightly pat my back. “Now he feels nothing. Now run!”
    The guards are coming. Their shouts and the sound of their feet tromping on stones give away their position. They’re close.
    We run alongside the long, sleek body of a newly polished railcar as the alarm blares, disorienting us. I dart between cars, hop over tracks, and check every door. My breaths are bursting in and out of my chest, and adrenaline pushes me to keep going. Please, let us find an open car.
    Finally, I reach a long passenger car used to transport Sinners, and I dig my fingers into the door handle, managing to slide the heavy door open. My hands shake as I hold it open for Bruno and Grace.
    Suddenly, the train creaks to life, jerking beneath my feet. I grab on to the doorframe, panic ripping through me. Where are Cole and Zeus? My shoulders tighten. Gunshots rebound around us, coupled with the whirring of wheels. I lean out the doorway, my hair flying in my face, obstructing my view.
    “Where’s Cole?” Bruno asks.
    The train picks up pace, clicking along the track.
    “Damn it, I don’t know.”
    Pulling my hair away and gritting my teeth, I’m about to scream when Cole rounds the corner with a lethargic-looking Zeus in his arms.
    Cole’s knees look like they’re about to buckle from the way he’s staggering. His eyes lift to mine, desperation crossing his face.
    “Come on,” I say. He stumbles, almost dropping Zeus. “Cole, push yourself. You’ve got to get on.”
    I glance ahead of the train, as the barbed-wire fencing comes into view, knowing we’ll soon be out of the rail yard. Focusing back on Cole, I notice guards following him, guns drawn. They fire at him, but somehow he finds the strength to run.
    I reach out my hand, but he’s just beyond my fingertips. Sweat pours off his forehead; Zeus lies limp in his arms.
    “Hand him over,” Bruno says. He moves behind me, reaching out his corded arms.
    Cole’s boots stomp to keep up, his face turning red and veins popping out of his neck as he struggles to keep up with the train.
    “Come on man, a little closer,” Bruno says. By now, Grace stands at his side, her hand on his shoulder for support.
    Cole lifts Zeus up, his limbs dangling and kicking at the air awkwardly. One paw hits Cole in the face, but he just clenches his jaw and scrunches his forehead with determination.
    “Grab him,” he says breathlessly.
    “I got him,” Bruno says. He pulls Zeus into the train car just as the train picks up speed.
    Cole just barely touches the ledge where I stand, his legs struggling to keep up. I lean out, my fingertips catching his. They brush each other, then air separates us.
    “Cole!” I scream. “Get on the train!”
    Bullets skim off the metal of the car, forcing me back for a minute. The black fencing surrounding the rail yard enters my peripheral vision.