The military vehicle was loud, but Derek didn't really care. He floored it. In what felt like seconds, he was back where he'd left Nell.
He succeeded in running over three men and knocked over two others before he crashed into the truck they'd used to get to this neck of the forest. He was relatively certain that he'd been able to take out all of the men, but he took a gun from the ground anyway.
Behind the tree was Nell, right where he had left her, but she had a bloody nose, two black eyes that puffed out, several lacerations on her face, and her jaw was swollen. The girl was slumped among the oak's roots. She gave Derek a look of disdain, and pointed. He followed her finger and saw a sixth man running. Derek shot him three times, and the man went down.
"That all of them?" He asked.
Nell didn't answer. "You rat bastard," she said, but she didn't sound surprised.
"I didn't think they'd find you."
"You're an asshole. I thought you were just leaving me."
The Afterdark chuckled. That would have been funny. "You're lucky I didn't. Does your face hurt?"
"Yeah," she said. Blood spilled out.
"It's killing me." He took a moment to laugh heartily at his own joke. "But really, I'll help you get cleaned up when we get home. Get up."
"Can't. You left, remember? That guy beat the shit outta me," she snarled. A wave of fresh blood poured out of her nose, and she coughed.