The Providence Trilogy Bundle: Providence; Requiem; Eden

by McGuire, Jamie

  We made the jump four times and then descended a set of stairs that led us to another series of corridors.

  Jared hunkered down, letting Kim catch her breath. “We’re in the Christian Quarter. The Sepulchre is two klicks away. We’re going to take the western bypass and make a path. It’s a high traffic area for tourists, with high rock walls on each side, so we’re going to have to mow a path.”

  “Copy that,” Ryan said, cocking his rifle.

  Jared began to speak again, but a small group of young men shot at us from above. We ran again, dodging shells and bullets. Bex followed up the rear, turning and shooting as he ran. Ryan and Claire were at the front, their rifles against their faces, pointing the barrels in every direction they looked. As many times as I had tried to imagine it, we really were in the middle of a war. The sounds of the AK-47s trading shots and the bullets ricocheting off the walls and roads, just made me run faster.

  Already exhausted, Kim had trouble keeping up, and Bex kept encouraging her to keep moving. We took cover behind dumpsters and parked cars every few seconds, and the noises around us paused every so often when we hunkered down, and began sounding like a familiar beat.

  Claire and Ryan reloaded at nearly the same time, and then we started again. Jared dropped a clip and reloaded as we ran, and Bex did the same. At one point, Bex pulled a second pistol, turning to provide more cover fire until Jared yelled for him to keep up. He was next to Kim in less than a second.

  Shells that were unarmed simply tried to grab us, but the demons were still human on the outside, and Ryan quickly learned how to incapacitate them. He would use his elbow or the butt of his gun, shooting the ones he didn’t have time for. I noticed most of his bullets landed in their kneecaps or shoulders; Ryan was hoping to give them a chance once the demons let them go.

  In the court of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a large crowd obstructed the two giant wooden doors that led inside. They stood like statues, their arms calmly at their sides, their black eyes and ashen skin confirming control by the demonic. Some of them were civilian, but most were in fatigues, holding AK-47s. The building itself was massive, much larger than I had imagined, and made of stone. I suddenly felt much better about being holed up in there for the next sixty days or so, but the high rock walls made it impossible to do anything but initiate a head-on invasion.

  “Should we wait until dark?” Bex asked.

  I grabbed his bloodied shoulder, pressing my palm against it. “You’re hit.”

  He winked. “It’s not bad. So . . . should we wait?”

  Jared shook his head. “We just need to get in there.”

  Kim sighed. “But how? There are hundreds of people out there.”

  Claire pulled a pin from a grenade. “Like this.” She rolled it into the crowd, and in seconds, a large explosion blew people and body parts in different directions. A huge brown cloud of smoke filled the area, and Claire and Ryan ran full speed into it.

  Jared grabbed my sleeve and we followed. We didn’t get five steps before a hail of bullets rained down on us. Jared was hit several times and faltered. A bullet ripped through my arm. At first, it didn’t hurt, but the closer we got to the Sepulchre, the more the burning surged through my veins. The memory of the pain in my leg at the Japanese restaurant in Providence immediately came to the forefront of my mind. Jared flipped around and emptied his pistol into the dissipating cloud. He pushed me forward, and Claire and Ryan took me into the church.

  “She’s hit!” Ryan said.

  They had already cleared the main room. Ryan tied a piece of cloth around my arm while Claire took out the shells in the rest of the church and secured the entrances. Jared, Bex, and Kim came into the doors as one unit, with Kim sliding in on her knees. Bex slammed the door closed behind them and immediately covered the window.

  After a few minutes and sporadic gunfire, Claire returned. “We only have a few minutes before they reorganize. The barricades won’t hold for long. We need to get underground.”

  I winced as Jared tightened Ryan’s tourniquet. “I thought they couldn’t come in here.”

  Jared frowned at the dark red saturating the cloth on my arm. “It’s the tomb they can’t violate. The basilica itself is fair game.”

  Bex glanced back from the window. “Whatever we’re doing, let’s do it fast.”

  The cloud from the grenade had cleared, revealing dozens of mutilated corpses on the ground. More shells were crowding the Sepulchre and were now climbing its walls and beating on the doors.

  Jared lifted Kim off the floor. “You have the book?”

  She nodded, breathing hard.

  “You ready to do what you came here to do?”

  “Yes, and it’s about damn time, Ryel,” she said, tightening her grip on the pack.

  We retreated into the church, passing extravagant garnishes of gold, marble, and artwork. Candles lined altars with pictures of the crucifixion of Christ hanging above them. We passed a set of stairs that made Claire pause before advancing into the Sepulchre of Jesus.

  “Where do they lead?” I asked.

  Jared glanced at the stairs only briefly. “That would be the stairway to Calvary. Christ climbed those steps on his way to be crucified.”

  We continued through a large room to another room that held a smaller room within it. You could walk around this room, but Claire advanced inside.

  “Is this it?” I asked.

  Jared squeezed my hand. “The Holy Sepulchre.”

  We filed in and everyone dropped their packs. I was confused. The adornments around the room signaled a holy place, but all this time my mind pictured an underground cavern.

  “This can’t be it. How can we protect ourselves in here?”

  Claire sighed. “Not in here.” She pushed the altar to the side, revealing an ancient steep staircase. “The true tomb is hidden below. It’s hidden from the public.”

  “I’m having my baby in a hole,” I said, more of a statement than a question.

  Bex laughed once. “Uh . . . is there room in the inn?”

  My stomach lurched and I grabbed Jared’s arm.

  “Nina?” he said, immediately worried.

  I grabbed my belly with both hands and groaned. “Give me a minute,” I said, panting.

  Claire took a few steps down. “We don’t have a minute.”

  “Let’s get her downstairs,” Bex said, checking outside the room. “They’re coming.”

  Claire clicked a flashlight onto her rifle and ducked down the staircase. Ryan followed, and then Jared, Kim, and I went down next, with Bex closing the opening behind us. The stairway opened up into a stone hallway that led to a massive cavern. It was damp, dark, and drippy, just as I had imagined.

  “Feeling better?” Jared asked, touching my protruding belly.

  I nodded, still looking around the room. The flashlights illuminated giant stone arches lining the vast space, accessing lateral halls.

  “Where do they lead?” I asked.

  “Tunnels. Two hundred yards either way isn’t protected. They won’t come down here, but don’t wander.”

  “I won’t.”

  Kim pulled the Naissance de Demoniac from her satchel and pointed her flashlight around the room, settling on what looked like a formerly adorned altar. She walked over to it slowly. Even in the dim light, I could see her body shaking uncontrollably. Ryan and I walked behind her, watching her hold the book in front of her.

  “I did it,” she said, staring at the book in awe. “We’re free.”

  Ryan put his hand on Kim’s shoulder as she placed the book on the altar. She fell to her knees and we fell with her. In the next moment, the ground began to shake, and small bits of rock fell to the floor. A piercing roar echoed through the tomb, causing us all to cover our ears. It was one voice, but also many—wailing, yelling, cursing utter foulness—and then it was over. Silence.

  Kim looked back at Jared, and he offered a knowing smile. She had completed her mission and freed her family o
f the duty of protecting the Naissance de Demoniac from a constant, powerful enemy.

  “I guess I can go home now?” she said.

  “You can,” Bex said. “But you’re on your own, and this place is crawling with shells.”

  “We could use you here,” Jared said, “to help with the birth.”

  Kim smiled at him. It was a relief to finally see the two come to terms. The air was immediately lighter between them.

  “I wonder if you still have your superpower,” Ryan said.

  Kim punched him in the gut, and he doubled over. “It would appear so, she said.”

  “That wasn’t what I meant.” He coughed.

  19. Trapped

  It’s hard to keep one’s days and nights straight when underground. If it weren’t for the family full of Hybrids, I would have been alone while keeping my strange hours. Whether it was the baby or the less-than-comfortable blow-up mattress we slept on or the constant dripping in the background, it was impossible to sleep. Regardless, I took naps for one to three hours at a time, around the clock.

  Ryan and Kim didn’t seem to have the same problem. Even though Ryan’s mattress was noticeably close to Claire’s, she made a point of keeping her distance now that we were all safe. As the days wore on, Ryan grew less happy about her cold demeanor, and the grumbling turned into full-blown arguments.

  It was difficult—after we’d spent so much time dodging and preparing—to sit and wait. As much time as they spent planning our escape into this tomb, no one, it seemed, had planned for the suffocating time spent underground.

  Jared and I tried to make the best of it: talking to my belly, spending quality time together, and discussing the birth. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Jared delivering our baby, but of all the people trapped in the tomb with us, Jared was my top pick.

  After thirty days of darkness, tasteless rations, and the same close company, life in the tomb began to wear on all of us. Even Bex’s bright and cheery demeanor began to show signs of waning. Poker and gin rummy only entertained us for so long, and radio reception was hopeless in the deep Israeli rock. Stories in the evenings were something I looked forward to, and they gave me a chance to get to know everyone better.

  “So that was the first time I bested Dad; although I’m pretty sure he let me win,” Bex said with a broad smile.

  “I remember that,” Claire said. “He didn’t let you win. He wouldn’t stop talking about it after you went to bed.”

  “Really?” Bex said, his eyes bright.

  “Really.”

  Bex’s smile faded. “He died four days after that.”

  Everyone lowered their chins, unsure how to advance the conversation.

  Jared finally spoke. “That must’ve been hard on you, Bex. I don’t think I ever asked you if you were okay.”

  Bex shrugged. “I was, I guess. What else could I be?”

  “In pain,” Claire said. “We were all so wrapped up in our own grief we didn’t even try to help you through it.”

  “I missed him. And then . . . I missed you guys. I was glad when Jared brought Nina around. The family kind of came back together, then. Now we have Ryan.”

  “We don’t have Ryan,” Claire said.

  Ryan shot her a dirty look and then softened his features for Bex. “Yes you do, man. I’m here if you need me.”

  Claire rolled her eyes. “What would he need you for? To help with a school bully?”

  “To talk to,” Ryan said. “You know . . . what we used to do before you became so hateful and mean.”

  Claire crossed her arms over her knees. “You don’t give me a choice,” she mumbled.

  “What?”

  Ryan’s acerbic tone lit Claire’s eyes. “You don’t give me a choice!”

  “C’mon, guys,” I said. It was far too claustrophobic, even in the large cavern, for anyone to fight.

  Ryan stood. “What kinda choice would you like? The one that includes you stalking me all day without us talking? Or the one where we get along?”

  “We can get along without you trying to land the unattainable blonde!”

  Ryan’s mouth fell open. “Is that what you think I’m trying to do?”

  Claire stood, meeting his glare. “Just back off.”

  Ryan took a step forward. “I love you. I love you, and you act as though I’m some random frat boy trying to get lucky.”

  Jared sighed. “I should have packed ear plugs. I have nowhere to go.”

  “You just . . . .” Claire trailed off.

  I knew she must care about him. She had bit her tongue to keep from hurting his feelings, which Claire never did.

  Ryan took another step. He was only a few inches from her face. “Say it.”

  “I’ve told you a million times! It’s not going to happen.”

  He shook his head. “No, say you don’t love me. Say you don’t see me in that way and that I’m just a helpless human to you. Say you hate me! Say something! I’m tired of your vague excuses!”

  “I don’t need excuses!” she yelled. “I don’t want that!” She pointed to us. “I don’t want a family like the one I had or they have! You want children! You want a normal life, Ryan. I’m not it!”

  “I just want you! Whatever that is, I want it!”

  Claire frowned. Her body shook with anger. She grabbed his collar with both fists. Ryan leaned away slightly and winced, waiting for her to land a punch on his face. Claire’s lips pursed together, and then she pulled him to her, pressing her lips against his, hard.

  “Agh,” Jared said, turning.

  Ryan paused in shock, and then his body melted against hers. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, and she wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck. The kiss was so intense that it looked nearly painful.

  Bex giggled, but they didn’t hear him. After a minute or two, it was uncomfortable to watch, so we all meandered to the other side of the cavern and sat down. Jared seemed to be in a foul mood, which bothered me. Why he was so against Claire and Ryan was a mystery to me. They were perfect for each other and clearly loved each other.

  “I wonder if that will happen for me,” Bex said, glancing back.

  “Don’t look. No telling what’s going on back there,” Jared said, picking up a rock and throwing it.

  “It might,” I said, smiling. “Don’t listen to Jared. He knows I’m the best thing that ever happened to him.”

  Jared grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Of course you are. Why would you believe I’ve thought otherwise?”

  I shrugged. “You’re so against them”—I gestured behind us—“as my mother was so against us because it makes things hard.”

  Jared pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around my knees. “I just don’t like Ryan. It has nothing to do with you or us.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you like him?”

  Jared shifted nervously. “Ryan is the closest I’ve come to losing the love of my life. That’s not something you get over.”

  I touched his face. “I love you. Ryan loves Claire. Get over it.”

  Jared laughed once and looked to Bex. “I hope it happens for you. I really do.”

  Bex rolled his eyes and stood, walking to the back of the tomb where the altar held the book. Kim spent a lot of time in that area and even slept there. Bex sat next to her, and their voices became a stream of quiet conversation.

  I balanced on all fours, trying to navigate my large body to a standing position. Just as I pushed myself from the rock floor, my stomach clenched, and I stumbled. Jared caught me, but I couldn’t stand straight up.

  “Contraction?” he said, frowning.

  “I don’t . . . I don’t know,” I said, breathing through the pain.

  Bex and Claire were immediately at our side, with Kim and Ryan trailing behind.

  “The baby?” Bex said. “Should I set up?”

  “No,” Jared said. Let’s let her rest. See if it eases up.”

  Claire nodded and assisted Jared in he
lping me to our makeshift bed. My feet up and relaxed, I tried to think about something else other than whether that pain would return. Labor was going to be a nightmare if I had to look forward to hours of that. I had hoped that my new abilities would anesthetize the pain a bit, but if the previous encounter with contractions had been any indication, I was screwed.

  The pain crept up again like a wave swallowing me whole.

  “Breathe, sweetheart.”

  I sucked in through my nose and blew out from my mouth, but it didn’t help the pain. A large fist had gripped my uterus and was digging in its fingers while I suffered the worst case of food poisoning ever recorded—that’s what it felt like.

  “Should we set up?” Bex said again.

  “No,” Jared said firmly. “We’re just timing them now.”

  We waited several minutes, and then I felt another contraction, but it wasn’t nearly as painful. They became less frequent and less painful before stopping altogether. Everyone in the room breathed a collective sigh of relief when Jared deemed the event a false alarm. He wouldn’t allow me to sit up, though, or even leave the bed after that. He or Claire would walk me to the hole in the floor if I needed to relieve myself. It was half-humiliating, half-frightening. My body hadn’t felt like my own for quite a while, but now there was no control over the situation.

  We had no idea what went on in the world aboveground. I wondered what Beth and Chad were doing, if they worried about us, and about Cynthia and Lillian, if they leaned on each other for support, waiting to hear if their grandchild had been born and that all of their children were alive. Even though I knew I needed to stay positive in those last difficult days, lying bed with nothing to do but read the same magazines or think, my mind effortlessly traveled to less trivial things.

  Checkers and chess were no longer entertaining. Even watching the others play cards irritated me. We were nearing the end of July, and I was so large I could barely maneuver. I had to let my mind wander to get away from the darkness of the tomb, from the fact that we were living in a tomb at all, and the dripping. For the love of all things holy, the sound of the dripping alone nearly pushed me out of my mind.