Fall of Hope (Book 1): Real Heroes Don't Wear Capes by R.M. Grace Page B

across the patterned carpet, so whoever made this mess must
have failed to stay on their feet. The curtain rail has fallen to the
floor and the material bunches together, covered in glass and more
liquid.
    Gunner
heads through the room and into the ajoining bedroom. As he follows,
one single bed comes into view, then another. The sheets of the first
are in disarray with purple and pink flowers beneath more stains. The
other bed's sheets have fallen to the floor between the two.
    The
lamp on the side table dangles from the cord with the light still on.
Clothes lie on the floor in a haphazard manner like his bedroom was
as a teenager.
    Passing
both beds, Gunner disappears into a smaller room where dark liquid
stains the tiles. When a snivelling noise comes from inside, Blackout
realises someone is in there—the person Gunner heard crying.
    Standing
at the door frame, Blackout attempts to take the scene in as Gunner
assesses the situation. Crouching on his knees, he talks in the
smooth, calming voice he uses when consoling survivors. Blackout has
also been on the receiving end of that voice many times after
missions have gone wrong, or when he has wound up with a knife, or
bullet buried in his flesh.
    The
mirror to his left is smudged with blood and what could be make-up.
The substances distort the view of himself and he is thankful not to
see the horror imprinted there. Various products also crowd the sink
like hair spray, a wide-tooth comb, several hair bobbles and clips
and a toothbrush with the words “ Purrrfectly clean ”
coming from a jolly cat's mouth.
    Inside
the ceramic basin, thick wads of blood and toothpaste slide down the
plug hole. He has seen many men he has worked with spitting blood, or
with their guts torn from their breathing bodies. He has seen men
blown apart to leave nothing besides a red mist, but what he is
looking at is thicker.
    It's
congealed.
That's
impossible, unless . . .
    “ Coban,
get the hell over here.”
    Shaking
his head, Blackout passes the sink, but struggles to remove his eyes.
There has only been one other time when he has seen anything similar.
    And
that did not end well.
    “ Come
on, apply pressure here.”
    The
girl slumps in the corner with her yellow hair covered in sweat and
blood. Her whimpers are forlorn within the quiet room.
    “ Get
a move on, she's fading.”
    Gunner
points to the scrunched, orange material he is holding on her leg.
The liquid spilling beneath is soaking up the cloth at a rapid pace.
    “ Now!
I've gotta grab something to hold this! She's got another wound
here.”
    As
he props her arm to sit on her lap, milky flesh tears away in a chunk
where an open wound sits. Blood spills onto her dress and forms a
puddle on the floor beside her.
    She
squeezes a pair of black handled scissors within her fist, but he
doubts the object caused those wounds.
    “ Quick.”
    Blackout
rushes to his knees where he allows Gunner to remove his hand. He
replaces it with his own and applies pressure to the orange material
which looks like a child's jumper.
    Gunner
rushes to his feet. “Gotta find something to hold it.” He
barely considers before he is unbuckling and tugging at the black
leather around his waist.
    “ Listen
mate, I don't know about this.”
    “ She's
gonna die if we don't do something. And now!”
    Blackout
watches the frustration in his worn face as his mouth breaks into a
scowl when the belt gets stuck. His eyes remain calm despite the
rolls of hardened wrinkles at his brow.
    Has
he seen the blood?
    “ Something
isn't right here.”
    “ Just
hold that still,” Gunner commands as he pulls it free and drops
back to his knees. “Give me your shirt.”
    “ Where
are her parents, hey?” Blackout glances towards the door
because he can feel eyes crawling all over him, yet no one else is
present.
    Something
crazy is going on here.
    “ S he
hasn't got long left, don't you fucking understand?”
    Looking
back to the girl who has fallen silent, they watch as