Page 106 of The Light Within

They stumbled away from the car, the frigid air hitting their faces as they scrambled to safety. The strange sound of something hissing and sputtering from the engine only intensified their desperation.

Hitting a tree line, Julien slowed, turning back to survey the mangled wreckage from a distance.

Julien’s heart stuttered as he took in the horrific sight: his once sleek black Mazda, his beloved pride and joy, was now a crumpled mess of twisted metal and shattered glass. The car was half-buried in snow, its front end smashed against a cluster of gnarled tree trunks, while black smoke now billowed from the broken engine.

There was no further warning.

The black smoke thickened into an ominous cloud, and then, with a thunderous roar, the car exploded in a blinding flash of orange and red. The shockwave rocked Julien back, the heat and debris sending him stumbling as his hand shot out to find Cinn’s arm.

They both ended up on their backs on the soggy ground, breathless and disorientated, inhaling air thick with the acrid smell of burning metal.

Julien pushed himself up to stare at Maz, alight with flickering flames. At least she went out in style.

“My poor baby.”

Cinn grunted in annoyance. “Yeah, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. Just bleeding from my head wound over here.”

Julien captured Cinn’s face with two icy hands. “My poor, poor baby.” He kissed his forehead, his lips meeting the coppery taste of Cinn’s blood.

In unison, they turned back to face the hypnotic blaze, flames dancing wildly in hues of orange and crimson. The fire licked greedily at the air, casting flickering shadows that seemed to writhe and twist with a life of their own as it devoured everything inside.

“Well,” Julien said. “At least we don’t need to worry about burying those bodies any longer.”

Cinn let out a sharp, hysterical laugh, the sound echoing strangely in the thicket of trees.

A sudden thought burst into Julien’s mind, sending him flying to his feet. “Putain! Your Walkman! Your cassettes!”

He took a step towards Maz. Maybe they could still be saved. Maybe he could—

Cinn yanked his arm backwards. “Are you mad? Julien, your car is on fire.Mazis on fire. Who cares about a music player?”

Julien wasn’t fooled—the strained edge to Cinn’s voice was a giveaway, as was the sad look in his eye. “You!” he cried. “You care!”

Cinn smacked him on the arm. “Stop. The only really important thing is standing right here with me.”

Julien’s heart squeezed itself into a tight ball. “What, your beanie hat?” Julien tugged on it, resulting in another smack.

“You’re such a dick.” Cinn slid away from Julien to fold his arms. He nodded his chin at what was left of Maz. “Didn’t you think to build some sort of anti-explosion device into her?”

“Well, I have to say, I didn’t expect to get entangled in a high-speed car chase, resulting in us being driven off the road into a tree. To be honest, I mainly concentrated on the clarity of the sound system, and her ultra-smooth suspension.”

“We better get moving. The SUV could still find us here.”

“Once we’ve ripped the number plates off Maz, yes. I’ll cool her down with some of this ice once I get my strength back. Though there’s something even more important I have to do first.”

A small frown split across Cinn’s forehead, and Julien smoothed it with his thumb. His other arm snaked around him, drawing him close. The warmth of Cinn’s body seeped through the coldness, quickly embedding itself in Julien’s bones. As he lifted Cinn’s chin, his mouth fell open in a small circle of surprise.

“I think this could probably wait,” Cinn muttered, jerking his head towards the billowing plumes of smoke that choked the air.

“Non!” Julien declared dramatically, enjoying Cinn’s look of alarm as he brushed some of the ash that clung to his cheeks away, marking Cinn with grey war paint. His head pounded, his muscles ached, he’d quite like to lie down on the ground, but goddammit! “It will not be said that I made you wait a second more than I had to.”

Confusion and mild annoyance flickered across Cinn’s face as he tried to pull away.

“Since you’ve apparently tried to tell me this three times in total, I’ll do the same.”

Un.“Je t’aime.” Julien kissed Cinn’s forehead again.

Deux.“Je t’aime.” He trailed his lips down to press them to his cheek.

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