Page 30 of Craze

Then he crawls to each of my sisters and realigns several broken augmentations, wraps injuries with scraps of fabric from a bag beside Tangle, and asks them their names. He cares for them like Titans always did—with respect, humility, and prompt solutions.

I guess they don’t hate us all for the actions of the few. CSP members will forever be on my shit list for turning on the best of us.

Craze shares a concerned look with Tangle. I can’t hear what they say as dusk grips the moon. The silence is comforting until Craze shakes his head and cradles a woman.

Dread weighs down my body. Rain sprinkles us from clouds that thicken overhead. Tasha blinks and clumsily reaches toward the sky.

Craze>>Pellucid: Severely damaged human. Death imminent. Please address.

I crawl toward them.

“Tasha?” I call to her.

“Navi.” She looks at me. Her head bobbles. By the blood staining her chest, Craze is right. She’s not going to live. “I’m so cold.”

Craze glances at me then supports her from behind. “Pretty big middle finger to the enemy to take a bullet to the heart and keep going. Guess you really wear your heart on your sleeve.”

I scowl at him.

“It’s okay, Navi.” Tasha coughs weakly. “Sweet. True.”

Craze>>Pellucid: Permission to keep her warm until she departs.

His gesture makes my eyes tear up. In this moment, I am glad I don’t have to use my voice. My throat aches as I watch the last breaths of one of the nicest and quietest members of our group.

Pellucid>>Craze: Granted.

He draws her into his lap and folds himself around her. Craze’s voice is a low, soft rumble that is both comforting and menacing. “I think you’ll like our den. We have a big fire pit and lots of blankets. Tangle has rigged up a water pipe through the rocks so you can have a shower. And we have plenty of food.”

She isn’t going to make it to the den. But I guess even false hope can look pretty in the end.

I don’t want her to die in the darkness. I’ve come close too many times. Watching a Titan hold my friend with such tenderness and disappointment isn’t easy. Yeah I can’t tear my gaze away. He smiles at her, but in his magenta eyes is a mixture of something darker.

“You just rest. I’ve got you. You’re safe with us,” Craze quietly adds.

The relief in Tasha’s eyes is something I haven’t seen in a long time. Her gaze drifts from Craze up toward the clouds that begin to dump on us.

Tasha stills, and I know she is gone.

Craze studies her like he isn’t ready. The quirk in his brows and slight sway of his body convey his frustration.

I close her eyes with a hand and encourage him to lay her back.

Pellucid>>Craze: We started with twenty-one of us. I knew we would not all survive. But they wanted to die trying.

I wish all had made it. Every life lost feels like my fault.

Craze>>Pellucid: The only kind of death I accept is that of natural causes. And that hasn’t been the way of things in decades.

The cold shadows of a tunnel close around us. Craze’s eyes and digibadge gleam hot pink, giving those of us on the platform something to focus on as he sets Tasha down and folds her arms over her chest.

The other women hold each other, some crying, others moaning in pain. A few stare at me.

We are free of Solcrue for now, but this isn’t what I wanted for them or what they hoped for. I wonder if they blame me.

Infrared vision switches on, glazing my sisters in green hues. It’s something new I haven’t experienced before.

Craze checks on Siom who lies beside Tasha. “What happened to all of you?”

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