Page 174 of Envious Of Fire
Maybe Freedom, Maybe Hell.
—·—
The engine of the bus roars in Kyle’s ears.
Not unlike a lion.
His brother’s head is cradled in his lap, the rest of him stretched out on the seat with a jacket draped over his body.
Kyle stares ahead at the dark road, the vast emptiness of the night that surrounds them, stretching on forever. Even with Elias driving the shuttle bus as fast as he can, Kyle feels like it’s not fast enough. Until they’re back in Nowhere, until his Kaleb wakes up, until that protective barrier stands between them and the vampire world, nothing is okay.
“I still can’t believe it,” says Elias from the driver’s seat. “Your brother. This whole time. Alive. I just can’t wrap my head around that.” He peers partway over his shoulder, eyes still on the road. “You have to be feeling so many things right now.”
Kyle gazes down at his brother. With the bandages over his face, it’s easy to think this isn’t real, this isn’t him. Maybe a part of Kyle is still in denial any of this is happening at all.
“And Tristan,” sneers Elias, as if in response to a bad taste in his mouth. “Just one more reason on top of a mountain of reasons to despise that twisted fucker.”
Kyle can still see the tears in Tristan’s eyes. Hear the sound of Tristan’s voice—his real voice. Feel Tristan’s soft arms squeezing around him from behind, not wanting him to go, desperate for the good days they had together in that cabin …
All of those days, when Tristan secretly knew Kaleb wasalive.
All of those kisses they shared, when Tristan knew Kaleb was rotting away in a cell, alone.
All of those years of life, decades that were stolen from Kaleb.
Because of Tristan.
“Once I’m home,” says Kyle, feeling as if his words are meant for Tristan, “I’ll never have to see or hear the likes of anyone from that place ever again.”
“Got that right.” After a second, Elias adds, “Well, assuming we get back in time. Fuck. I told them to wait on the spell,” he explains over his shoulder again, “but no one wanted to risk the vampires coming back in the meantime to finish the job. Cade and Layna, Chief Rojas … they were all so freaked-the-fuck-out.”
Kyle nods. “I understand.”
“I told Cade I was coming after you. She said she had some vision of fire and demise. It terrified her. I left anyway.”
As if Kyle needs any more proof of Cade’s abilities. Even still, he suffers the stench of smoke and fire on his skin, in his clothes. He could take ten showers and still reek of it. “You’ve always been reckless,” he says, distracting himself from the thought, “since the day I first laid eyes on you through a police station window.”
“Good thing I am.” Elias smirks. “I’m so reckless, I stole one of the hotel’s airport shuttles right out from under their noses.”
“Borrowed,” corrects Kyle, “and it’s a hotel your family owns. Let’s not pretend we’re committing grand theft auto here.”
“What? Can’t I be your badass boyfriend who just rescued you and a bunch of people from an evil vampire castle? Let me have my moment of unhinged heroism.” Elias puffs up, his grip on the wheel tightening. “Not gonna lie,” he adds with a smirk, “but I feel pretty fucking sexy right now.”
Kyle appreciates Elias’s energy. Elias likely senses the kindof night Kyle has had, yet can only begin to imagine the true terror of it, and is trying to lighten the mood.
It’s exactly what Kyle needs right now.
“We could’ve fit even more people,” points out Elias.
Kyle glances over his shoulder at the others. After securing the bus, a number of the survivors opted to find their own ways to safety, among them being the bigger guy who was hell-bent on going straight to the cops. Only ten of the humans chose to come along, including 4 and her boyfriend, two teen boys, the freckly guy, Doctor Mei, an older lady and her friend, and an elderly man who hasn’t stopped praying.
The tenth human passenger is Nico, who picked the seat directly across the aisle, staying close to Kaleb and appearing just as invested in his wellbeing as Kyle himself.
How can Kyle even begin to imagine the life his brother has lived over the past quarter of a century? The friends he may have made among the other prisoners? The battles he has had to take on by himself? Despite his academic accomplishments, Kyle always saw his brother as someone who was looked after at all times of the day, with hovering parents, involved instructors, and no freedoms of a typical teenager. Kyle figures a life spent in a harsh dungeon would have destroyed his brother.
But what if the opposite is true? What if Kaleb has found a new strength inside of himself over the years? When he finally wakes up, will Kyle even recognize him?
“Can’t believe I’m sitting next to Kaleb’s real-life brother,” says Nico after a while. He and Kyle have already chatted quite a bit over the past hour they’ve been on the road. “This guy … there’s something special about him, real special. Kaleb and I are super tight. We had each other’s backs.”
