Page 104 of Sin Like the Devil

Imposing footsteps thump away. Each whack of the heavy soles on what sounds like tile or linoleum is a thunderclap. I want to cover my ears, but moving doesn’t seem like a possibility. Not even my eyelids will lift.

“Your friend’s an asshole.”

Huh. Rae.

“Yeah,” Raine responds tiredly. “That he is.”

“You can go. I’ve got her.”

“No, I want to be here.”

“At least sit down. You look half-dead.”

Chair legs scrape across the floor. Plastic cushions creak. I think I hear Rae sigh. They don’t talk, their silence allowing me to hear the sounds of the medical wing. I’m certain that’s where I am. It’s a tiny corner of the institute.

I don’t know how long it is before Rae speaks again.

“The guards track those bastards down?”

“I don’t know.” Raine sounds so exhausted, his voice raspier than usual. “I’m not sure what wild goose chase Ripley sent them on.”

“We’ll hear soon enough. I hope they’re all transferred or sent to prison.”

“That seem likely to you?”

Rae definitely sighs this time. “Nothing does anymore.”

Lapsing back into silence, it’s a long time before I hear Raine’s rough voice again. It’s thick with emotion now.

“I let her down.”

“Come on,” Rae sympathises. “That isn’t true.”

“I was passed out while that lunatic carved her up like a piece of meat. Ripley needed me. I’m fucking useless.”

“Ripley would never admit to needing anyone, even if it meant life or death. She doesn’t let anyone get close.”

“What about you?” Raine asks.

Her pained chuckle hurts my soul. “Not for a lack of trying. I think she needs a friend. But after a year of back and forth, she still holds me at arm’s length.”

“I thought you were her friend.”

“I’m not sure she has any of those. That would give her too much to lose.”

Their murmurs are interrupted by a door creaking open. Shoes squeak across the floor, and from the swish of hospital scrubs, I’d guess it’s a member of staff.

“Alright. Time to go.”

“We’re staying,” Raine replies firmly.

I hear Rae hum in agreement.

“She’s on strong pain medication. The blood transfusion will go on for a few more hours. Go get cleaned up.”

“But—”

“Go on. Scram.”

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