Page 96 of Gates of Tartarus

“Not now. Just... not now.”

She nods miserably as I watch the shadows in front of me, waiting anxiously for the women to be found. Half an hour later, the men walk out again, shaking their heads regretfully at me.

“There’s no one there, Reed,” Maddox calls. “It’s completely empty. Solid cement floors, no furniture, nothing. Four open floors of nothing. Just some false feedback maybe. It happens to everyone.”

Hideo shakes his head slowly. “Kailani doesn’t get negative readings, Maddox. Ever. If she says someone is there, someone is there. But,” he calls, turning to me, “Maddox is right. We cleared everything. No one is inside. Any ideas, Kai?”

“Have her pull back a little,” I answer, indicating Gemma with a jerk of my head, watching the men. Smith and Walker turn slightly to face Hideo, who gives a minute shake of his head. Smith frowns deeply, clearly thinking through his options.

“No, Reed. Can’t do it. You stopped breathing. We can’t risk that again. We’ll get a back-up team in and have them sweep again. But for now, we need to head to the hospital and get you patched up.”

Closing my eyes, I try to take a calming breath.

“I’m telling you, by the time you get permission to get a secondary team back, it will be too late for some of those women. There’s already death in the air. It’s dropped below freezing the past two nights and is closing in on it now. They don’t have the luxury of time.”

I can tell, even with my eyes closed, that he’s shaking his head.

“I hear you, Reed. I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to get people out tonight. But we’ve cleared the buildings. We’ve checked the foundations – there are no entrances at the back, or indications that there are any lower levels. There are a few piles of trash around, some broken pieces of furniture, and nothing, and I meannothingelse. And I have a responsibility to report back as soon as possible and debrief so we can hopefully salvage something from this clusterfuck of a night.”

With that, he turns and walks away. Hideo looks at me apologetically and says softly, “I’ll try to talk to him, Kai.” Following after Smith, he leaves me alone with Gemma and Walker.

Walker sits next to me again and almost unconsciously reaches out to grab my shaking hands.

“You cold?” he grunts.

“Cold. Tired. Angry... playing all the hits tonight.”

He lets out a short bark of mirthless laughter, shaking his head. Still holding my hands, he stares out at the factory, just a dark outline against a darker sky. Absentmindedly drawing his thumb in small, soothing circles on the back of my hand, he sits in silence, occasionally glancing over to where Hideo and Maddox now stand, deep in conversation with the EMTs and small group of police.

“Reed,” he asks quietly, still staring straight ahead, unblinking. “How sure are you about what you felt?”

“100% Walker, but what can I do?What can I do?”I almost weep. “I know you don’t believe me but…”

He interrupts me. “I saw you drop. I was watching you, and it was like all of the color had been sucked out of you. You went grey, like a corpse, and you screamed... Jesus Christ. I haven’t heard a person sound like that who wasn’t dying. And then you just... you disappeared. And every time you surfaced, there was less of you there… there was nothing but complete terror. I may not understand what you do, but if you say someone is in that building, I believe you. Let’s go.Quietly,Kai, but let’s go.”

He pulls me to my feet. My legs can barely hold my weight, and I lean heavily against him. He calls out over his shoulder that we’re going to sit in the car to warm up. Hideo starts towards us but is pulled back by Maddox into the conversation. Gemma floats beside us, eyes darting between us and the other group nervously.

“Umm... Kai? I think... I mean…”

“Shut it,” Walker snarls at her. She winces and stops walking, staring down at the ground. Walker reaches behind him with the arm that isn't supporting me and growls, “Uh-uh, Pixie. You’re with us. Keep your mouth shut and keep blocking Reed.”

Gemma’s trembling now but moves around him and grabs my hand. I move to pull away from her, but she says softly, “It’s easier to block you if we’re touching.”

I nod, not able to process what she’s telling me.Later, later, later. Just get through this and deal with the rest later.Shoving all other emotions into a little box and burying them deep inside my mind, I focus entirely on the building in front of me.

“I need to feelsomething, Walker.” Grimacing, I try desperately to straighten up and convince myself that I can do this. I feel like I ran a marathon and then was hit by a semi at the finish line, but I have to try.

He shakes his head. “Walk around, look inside, see what you can see, and then you can do your thing. Last resort, Reed. Use your brain and eyes before your heart, yeah?”

I smile slightly. Barely there at all, it still turns the corners of my lips. Hearing Walker talk like this is surreal. He’s clearly shaken by the earlier events,and his reaction is completely unexpected. We move past the cars and, as quickly as our odd group can, walk into the yawning, broken doors of the warehouse. Maddox was right. While the floor in front of us stretches into darkness, what Icansee is bare. Other than some random trash – magazines littering the ground, empty cups tossed into corners, there’s nothing. Walker flips on his flashlight, and we start walking the perimeter of the room, all searching for something that isclearlynot there. By the time we near the far end, I’m panting slightly and leaning heavily against Walker. I’m truly not sure if I’ll be able to drop my shields and still remain upright.How could I have been so wrong?

Looking around again,helplessness overwhelms me as the back wall comes into view. Nothing.Nothing! Just more trash scattered around, a few thin boards leaning against the wall in the corner, a broken chair dumped on its side under them, and a couple of empty boxes thrown in with the rest. Walker glances at me sympathetically, the kind look out of place on his combative face. “Nothing here, Reed.”

I shake my head. “I know what I felt, Walker. I…” Feeling completely vulnerable and exposed from the evening, my eyes well up, and I angrily blink back the tears.

“She needs to ease up a little. I have to try.”

He sighs deeply and nods. “Can you just pull back slightly?” he addresses Gemma with concern. “She can’t go through what she did before. Just… justbarely, okay?”

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