Page 62 of When Monsters Fight
I’ll need to tell her how short my shelf life is, but that can wait. For now, it’s enough that we have a place to stay. A home for all our people.
“Thank you.”
“I’ve assigned you quarters, and your friend, Bee, once she’s ready, will get her own also. But there’s a spare room in yours she can bunk in for now if she wants. I understand that she was a scout at your previous base?”
“Yes.”
“We could use her here. I’ll fill you in on our security protocols and get you a pass for the computer labs. I’m sure you’d like to go over the schematics you found on your flash drive.”
“That would be great.”
She smiles warmly. “I’m glad you found us. Now let’s hope that your friends find their way back from Gehenna soon too.”
“Bastian,wake up. You’re burning up. Hey!” Something cool kisses my forehead.
“Bee?”
“You have a fever.”
“I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” My vision is blurry, heart racing, but it will pass…I hope.
Bee smooths the damp cloth over my face. “Is this…is it the serum?”
“Yeah. I’ll be fine. It happens.” I close my eyes. “It’ll pass, and if it doesn’t, then…then tell Rue that I love her.”
“Shut up. You’re going to be fine. And then you can tell her yourself when she gets here.”
I hope. I wish. “I want to hold her one last time.”
“You will.” Bee squeezes my hand. “You fucking will.”
I need to believe that. I need to hold on. The simmer in my blood ebbs then dies, and my heartbeat slows. “I’m okay.” When I open my eyes, her face is clear.
“You fucking scared the life out of me,” she says. “I heard you groaning and?—”
An alarm blares, cutting off her words.
“What’s that?” Bee demands.
“That means we have a breach.”
Alarms blareas we run toward the safe point on the far east of the base. Tumiel lies unconscious on his bed that has wheels, thank fuck. We’ve strapped him down so we can move fast. Still, the damn thing is difficult to maneuver.
“You’re sure it’s this way?” Bee asks.
“Positive.” Storm showed me the spot earlier after she gave me a tour of the restricted areas of the base.
We hit a flight of steps that lead down to the safe bunker. A place built to withstand fire, flood, and hopefully celestial attack. It connects to an evacuation tunnel. One which the citizens have never had to use, but which Storm says will take them three miles away from this base and five miles from their next potential base.
Gabriel thought of everything, it seems.
Two uniformed guards stand at the door, ready to usher us inside.
I’m unstrapping Tumiel to haul him down the steps when someone calls my name from behind.
“Bastian!”
I freeze, my heart stalling for a moment before my pulse breaks into a gallop. Bee lets out a soft squeak, and I know…I know I’m not hearing things.
