Cade’s side hurt. It hurt more than she thought anything could hurt. And it hurt even worse as she lifted her rifle and stepped away from Ethan to join her cover fire with his. She still felt woozy, but she forced herself to put the dizziness aside, aim her rifle, and squeeze the trigger. The recoil jerked her shoulder back and twisted her side, and she bit back a pained whimper.
“Cade, go,” Ethan ordered, pausing to reload. The end of the alley slowly filled with infected, and they approached at an almost cautious pace. Their eyes glared hatefully at the man and woman standing defiantly at the end of the alley. “I’ve got it from here.”
“Not leaving without you,” Cade said, squeezing the trigger again, shooting down the infected as quickly as she could, despite the dizzying pain in her side.
“I’ll be right behind you,” Ethan insisted. He fired two more bullets into the growing crowd. Then he turned and pushed her toward the ladder. “Now go.”
Cade looked up and saw Brandt above her, beckoning with both hands. “Come on, Cade, get up here,” he called. She glanced back at Ethan and then started to haul herself up to climb the ladder.
Ethan suddenly grabbed Cade by the arm and pulled her back to him. Mindful of the wound in her side, he pulled her close and hugged her tightly. He pulled back after only a short moment. Cade felt a tugging at her hip, and she glanced down and realized that Ethan had taken the hunting knife from her belt and was even now gripping it, blade down, in one hand.
“Be careful. I’ll catch up,” Ethan said.
“Ethan,” Cade said almost desperately, shaking her head.
Ethan flipped the knife over to point the blade at the sky. “Go. I’ll track you down and give your knife back later.” He pointed to the ladder sternly. “Go. Now.”