the pickup?”
“About twenty-six hours. Going topside is too risky right now. This place is better fortified.”
“What if they bomb again?”
“Let’s hope their ordnance isn’t strong enough.”
“Have you told Shalana?”
“Not yet.” He glances around. His lips purse to one side as he thinks. “I’ve inspected all I know of this little city, but she can tell me what I don’t know.”
I see Hyde gesture with a wave, and Shalana meets us halfway.
“That wasn’t a fucking earthquake!” She hisses, keeping her voice low.
“I know,” Hyde says immediately.
“They’re hunting you!”
“They’re hunting all of us, Shalana. And you’re out of time. You want to stay here and die? Kill them all?”
There’s a war in Shalana’s mind; I can see her emotions scattering all over the place. But finally she sighs. Her shoulders deflate somewhat. “I’ve had men checking all the passages, but we’re sealed in tight here.”
“No tunnels or shafts that are exposed to topside?”
“No,” she says. “This pocket we’re in was reinforced because of the building on top of it, so when the earthquake hit, everything around it collapsed.”
“Evie,” he says, “can you help them clean up as much as possible? I’m going to take Shalana and explore.”
I watch them leave. A headache forms at my temples, and I wish I could care, but my emotions are frozen. Exhaustion creeps up on me, so I disregard the favor Hyde asked, and I leave. I walk toward the small tent assigned to us, surprised to find it still standing, but very glad it is. I enter it and leave the world behind.
The bowl of water I used to clean Hyde is still there, mostly. A small amount of tepid water remains, enough to wash myself down with, so I quickly disrobe, letting my hair fall free in hopes of easing my headache, and use the washcloth to wipe the sweat off my body, as well as the remains of my time with Kris.
The water is cool against my skin. And suddenly the ice melts and I break down. Sobs rack my body, disabling my ability to stand. All I could see in my mind is Isabel’s face and how it looked in death. Everywhere around me is death. I hate it here. I hate this broken city.
And then Hyde is there, and he cradles me in his arms. He wipes my face free of tears. “Stop it. You’ll make yourself sick.”
“Get out!”
“When you stop crying. There wasn’t anything you could have done.”
“But why not? She was so little, Hyde. And we only had another day until she would’ve been safe.”
“I don’t know, Evie.”
He holds me until my tears run out, until there is nothing left inside. I will never understand why Isabel died, but I have to believe her death happened for a reason. It’s the only solace I know, this power of mine.
As I take a deep, calming breath, it suddenly dawns on me that I am naked. And that Hyde is very aroused. My blood heats, my nerves sing, and cream floods my center.
“Let me go,” I mutter.
“No.”
I struggle, but it’s halfhearted at best. “There’s no time for this.”
“No time for what? For me to comfort you? For you to break down? I get it, Evie. She was a little girl you couldn’t save. But honey, you can’t save everyone.”
He caresses my cheek, and before I quite know what I’m doing, he lifts my face up and kisses me lightly on the mouth. It’s sweet, if not overwhelming, like Kris’s kiss, but it touches the ache inside my soul. When he breaks the kiss and leans back, I keep my eyes shut because then I can pretend it’s Kris holding me, being tender and loving and gentle.
And then he kisses me again, harder, parting my lips, and his tongue takes possession of mine. I felt so lost and alone only moments before that the heat pouring through me makes me feel so alive. I grab it. I grab on to Hyde as I push aside the voice of reason that reminds me that perhaps I’m not all that stable enough right now to be making this decision.
I just want to be warm
“About twenty-six hours. Going topside is too risky right now. This place is better fortified.”
“What if they bomb again?”
“Let’s hope their ordnance isn’t strong enough.”
“Have you told Shalana?”
“Not yet.” He glances around. His lips purse to one side as he thinks. “I’ve inspected all I know of this little city, but she can tell me what I don’t know.”
I see Hyde gesture with a wave, and Shalana meets us halfway.
“That wasn’t a fucking earthquake!” She hisses, keeping her voice low.
“I know,” Hyde says immediately.
“They’re hunting you!”
“They’re hunting all of us, Shalana. And you’re out of time. You want to stay here and die? Kill them all?”
There’s a war in Shalana’s mind; I can see her emotions scattering all over the place. But finally she sighs. Her shoulders deflate somewhat. “I’ve had men checking all the passages, but we’re sealed in tight here.”
“No tunnels or shafts that are exposed to topside?”
“No,” she says. “This pocket we’re in was reinforced because of the building on top of it, so when the earthquake hit, everything around it collapsed.”
“Evie,” he says, “can you help them clean up as much as possible? I’m going to take Shalana and explore.”
I watch them leave. A headache forms at my temples, and I wish I could care, but my emotions are frozen. Exhaustion creeps up on me, so I disregard the favor Hyde asked, and I leave. I walk toward the small tent assigned to us, surprised to find it still standing, but very glad it is. I enter it and leave the world behind.
The bowl of water I used to clean Hyde is still there, mostly. A small amount of tepid water remains, enough to wash myself down with, so I quickly disrobe, letting my hair fall free in hopes of easing my headache, and use the washcloth to wipe the sweat off my body, as well as the remains of my time with Kris.
The water is cool against my skin. And suddenly the ice melts and I break down. Sobs rack my body, disabling my ability to stand. All I could see in my mind is Isabel’s face and how it looked in death. Everywhere around me is death. I hate it here. I hate this broken city.
And then Hyde is there, and he cradles me in his arms. He wipes my face free of tears. “Stop it. You’ll make yourself sick.”
“Get out!”
“When you stop crying. There wasn’t anything you could have done.”
“But why not? She was so little, Hyde. And we only had another day until she would’ve been safe.”
“I don’t know, Evie.”
He holds me until my tears run out, until there is nothing left inside. I will never understand why Isabel died, but I have to believe her death happened for a reason. It’s the only solace I know, this power of mine.
As I take a deep, calming breath, it suddenly dawns on me that I am naked. And that Hyde is very aroused. My blood heats, my nerves sing, and cream floods my center.
“Let me go,” I mutter.
“No.”
I struggle, but it’s halfhearted at best. “There’s no time for this.”
“No time for what? For me to comfort you? For you to break down? I get it, Evie. She was a little girl you couldn’t save. But honey, you can’t save everyone.”
He caresses my cheek, and before I quite know what I’m doing, he lifts my face up and kisses me lightly on the mouth. It’s sweet, if not overwhelming, like Kris’s kiss, but it touches the ache inside my soul. When he breaks the kiss and leans back, I keep my eyes shut because then I can pretend it’s Kris holding me, being tender and loving and gentle.
And then he kisses me again, harder, parting my lips, and his tongue takes possession of mine. I felt so lost and alone only moments before that the heat pouring through me makes me feel so alive. I grab it. I grab on to Hyde as I push aside the voice of reason that reminds me that perhaps I’m not all that stable enough right now to be making this decision.
I just want to be warm
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