by Rina Kent
“Well, I didn’t.” He wiggles the timer. “So now, let’s play a little game. Your nurse is on the cliff. Let’s see if you can reach her in about...” He clicks something and the time starts blinking in red. “Three minutes and counting. Tick tock.”
I sprint up the dirt path, leading to the cliff. A rush of adrenaline overwhelms me. My muscles contract and every ounce of my body leaps to attention.
Despite the rocky path and the high hills, I don’t stop. My steps are large and fast. One thing on my mind: get Eloise safe. Because the alternative, thoughts about her being hurt, aren’t allowed into my focus zone.
I’ll get her back.
Even if it’s the last thing I do.
Exhaustion and pain shred my muscles when I finally arrive at the cliff, and it’s the first time I wish I’m on Omega to get to her faster. I glance at my watch. Two and a half minutes. I don’t have much time.
“Eloise!” My frantic eyes search for a trace of her.
A strange feeling tightens my stomach as I run in all directions. The more the seconds tick away and I don’t find her, the more that feeling intensifies.
Then, I realise that the feeling is fear. An emotion I’ve never felt in my entire life is now turning into pure fucking terror at the thought of never seeing Eloise again. Or the mere image of her being hurt.
It horrifies the fuck out of me.
“Eloise!” I call again, hoping she can hear and reply.
Barks come from between the trees, not far from the cliff.
Cheerio.
I bolt in her direction. I push the entangled branches away to find a body huddled between the bushes. Dirt and leaves cover her creamy skin and strands of hair camouflage her unconscious face.
A vest bomb is strapped to her chest. The timer has only ten seconds left.
Fucking hell.
I run to her, already counting the ways I can remove that belt. Hopefully, it’s not the type that goes off when I remove it, but if I don’t—
BOOM.
I freeze in place, my heart falls to my feet.
The place in which Eloise used to be lying turns into a thick fog of smoke and there’s no trace of her.
My vision turns red as I roar. “ELOISE!”
16
Eloise
Shouts filter through my ears in a long ring. A strong smell of smoke permeates my nose. My lungs suffocate, and I gasp for breath.
“ELOISE!”
Someone roars my name. A tightness forms in my chest and behind my closed lids. He sounds so familiar. So hurt.
Crow.
My eyes snap open. Fog surrounds me, thick and suffocating. I can’t even make out my own hands.
Then, as I try to move my arms, I realise that my hands are tied behind my back. I strain against the bindings. The rope cuts into my skin, but doesn’t loosen.
Something heavy covers my chest, but I can’t make it out in this fogginess.
I attempt to sit. Pain explodes in the back of my head like it’s been pounded on. I groan, and memories rush back in.
Xavier. That bastard. Who knew that underneath that refined persona and charming smile lurked a monster?
Has he hurt Crow?
Deep terror settles in my stomach as I stand on wobbly feet. My head still throbs. A sticky liquid trickles from the back of my head to my neck. My shoulders ache from being tied in an uncomfortable position. Dirt covers my skin and insects crawl up my arms and legs, but they’re the least of my concerns.
I frantically search my surroundings, moving from one direction to the other as if that will somehow dissipate the fog.
“Crow?” I call, but my voice comes out in a trembled whisper.
No answer.
Tears stream down my cheeks. My teeth chatter as if I’m coming down with a cold.
No.
I won’t cry. Crow will be fine.
He has to be. I have lost so much to death already. Not him, too.
And yet, I can’t help the overflow of tears or the sinking feeling in my gut. What if something happened to him? What if I—
“Eloise!”
My heart thunders to life as I’m being resurrected. “Crow!”
The fog dissipates, and Crow appears a few metres away. Although shrouded in smoke, he seems fine. No stains on his leather jacket.
I almost fall to my knees with relief.
He’s fine. He’s alive.
“Fuck!” He runs towards me. His large hands cage my face and he kisses me so wildly, it knocks the breath out of me. It’s desperate and rough and full of countless emotions. Love. Anger. Relief.
Similar to my relief, but so much more intense.
He pulls away to rest his forehead against mine. He exhales harshly while I try to catch my own breaths.
Mon Dieu.
He retrieves a knife and cuts my bindings. I flex my hands from the numbness.
“I thought you were dead.” His whisper is so pained as he closes his eyes. “I thought you fucking died in that explosion.”
“I’m fine.” My fingers sink in the back of his leather jacket as I cling to him, needing to feel him alive.
I don’t want to imagine the scenario where he could’ve died.
A shadow creeps from between the trees. “Gag.”
My entire body tenses at Xavier’s view. He’s leaning against a trunk, arms crossed, and some device dangling from his hand.
Crow’s back snaps upright. A deadly look settles in the icy depth of his eyes as he cages me behind him.
“My bad. That was a mock-up, not the actual bomb.” Xavier smiles, devils swirling in his eyes.
I can’t believe I never saw them before. His French is like the natives’, so I never suspected he was English. Or a killer. Either he was so good at hiding his true nature or I was too numb to notice.
Or both.
“The next one will be for real.” Xavier lifts a hand, palm up, as if in promise.
Crow faces me with a concentrated expression. His fingers and the knife roam all over my torso. Realisation dawns on me. The weight strapped to my chest is a bomb. Wires and blinking red lights stare back at me like those bombs they show in spy films or terrorist attacks.
This time, it’ll blow me up.
I quiver uncontrollably.
Crow will be blown up with me. That’s even more terrifying than death.
I’m about to push him away when Xavier says in a bored voice, “Stop it, Crow, or you will both go Boom.”
Crow freezes, slowly releasing the vest and turning to face Xavier. “What the fuck do you want, Storm?”
“How about another game?” He taps his temple as if in deep thought. “Precision.”
Crow’s body tenses as his arms cage my waist. “You and I can both go at a shooting competition for hours and no one would win.”
“Who said it’d be you and me?” He points the device in his hand at me. “She’ll be your target.”
Huh?
“Go stand at the cliff, Eloise.” Xavier – or Storm or whatever the hell his name is – orders. “We will place something on your head and see if Crow’s precision skills are still any good.”
“She’s not going anywhere!” Crow shouts, his fingers digging into my skin so harshly, it hurts.
“I’m tired of repeating this, but I have the boom option here.” Xavier shakes the device of what I suppose is the remote.
Trembles don’t leave my body. My teeth go back to chattering, but I attempt to peel myself from Crow’s hold. He can’t be near me or the bomb will kill him.
I’ll run to the bastard Xavier and blow him up with me. If he made a terrorist bomb, then I’ll be a kamikaze.
Despite my logical, brave thoughts, sweat breaks all over my skin, forming a thick sheen. Terror of losing my life now that I finally want to live draws at my spine. But I have to do something. I can’t lose Crow.
“Let me go,” I tell him.
“Shh.” Crow’s fingers dig deeper into my side, his
attention on Xavier.
“Please.” I’m a sobbing mess now. I don’t want to leave him. I don’t want to commit suicide, but I will if that will keep him safe.
“I love it when you beg, Nurse Betty.” He throws me a warning look. “But not now.”
“Just leave me, damn you!” I hit his chest, pouring all my anger on him. He’s making the whole kamikaze mission a lot harder. “Why can’t you leave me alone?”
He brushes his lips against mine. It’s short and tender and tastes like sweet surrender. When he pulls away, his eyes drip with affection. “Because that would mean abandoning myself.”
“If you’re done being disgusting.” Storm strolls to the cliff’s edge. He picks out a branch and draws an X mark. “Stand here, Eloise.”
My teeth clatter no matter how much I tighten my lips.
Crow’s arms wrap around me, and for a second, I feel safe, like nothing will ever happen to me.
God. Why didn’t he come into my life any sooner so I’d get my fill of him?
I heave, burying my face in his chest. If there’s a resurrection, I wish to meet him again for all lives to come.
“You had nothing to do with your mother’s death,” Crow murmurs in my ear. “It was all on Storm. Don’t blame yourself for it. Besides, there could be something… anyway, it’s nothing on you.”
I’m baffled by his statement, but a sense of guilt pushes off my chest. I try to look at him, but his arms wrap around me tighter.
“Do you trust me?” he whispers in my ear.
I nod in his chest, sniffling. But he won’t have to test my trust with his precision skills. I’ll take Xavier down with me before the game even starts.
“When I push you, stay down.” It’s then I realise that he wasn’t only digging his fingers in my side, he was fiddling something with the vest. It’s so discreet, even I haven’t noticed it.
I open my mouth to ask, but he shakes his head.
What is he planning?
Doesn’t matter. My plan is a lot easier and logical.
“Are you coming or not?” Xavier is wiggling that remote again.
Crow takes my hand in his bigger one and leads me to where Xavier is standing, stance wide, with a stupid grin on his face. But there’s a glassy look in the depth of his eyes, robotic, unhuman. I can’t help thinking that maybe all he’s doing is because of the drug he’s been taking for decades.
I would’ve felt bad for what my father had inflicted upon him if he weren’t so bent on hurting Crow and me.
Crow puts me on the cross Storm marked at the edge of the cliff. Pebbles escape from under my feet and fall to the dark water below. Wild waves hit the gigantic, fragmented rocks. Even if the bomb doesn’t kill me, the fall will.
My limbs start trembling again, and it takes everything in me not to break into tears.
“Don’t look down,” Crow murmurs, standing between me and Xavier. “Focus on me.”
I do, and the softness in his tame blue eyes soothes me. He considers me with a deep sense of longing as if he’s regretting nothing and everything all at once.
When I had wished for death the first time I met him, I never thought we would end up here. Or that he’d be fighting death with me.
“Je t’aime,” I whisper. If I don’t tell him this now, I doubt I’ll ever have a chance to.
His brows pinch together and his lips open to say something when Xavier cuts in. “Go to the tree, Crow and – ”
It all happens too fast.
Crow pushes me to the ground. The sting rips a wince from me. Then, the weight is lifted off my chest.
My eyes widen as I make out the vest held in Crow’s hand. Xavier lunges forward, but Crow blocks him, pushing himself and Xavier towards the edge.
“No. No!” I spring to shaky feet, sobbing.
“Stay down!” Crow shouts, struggling to keep Xavier under his clutch.
“No!” I run towards him, tears blurring my vision. “Don’t do this! Don’t!”
“My life never had a purpose anyway.” Crow smiles, holding a struggling Xavier at arm’s length. “It’s my honour to die for you, Eloise.”
“Noooo!” I shriek, holding out my hand only to catch thin air.
Crow and Xavier fall off the cliff.
My heart sinks with them.
A black hole punctures my chest and robs my breaths. I drop to my knees close to the edge, ready to follow him when something hits my neck.
It’s as painful as a bee’s sting. A needle?
The world goes black.
17
Crow
Death.
What a strange sensation.
I knew I would die one day. During an operation. Because of Omega. Whatever it was, they were all dull and vain reasons. Nothing memorable to stay with me.
I never thought I would die for the one woman who showed me meaning in life.
What a glorious way to die.
I would do it a thousand times over to keep her safe.
Eloise’s sobs carry through the wind and slice through my chest. It’s so raw and guttural, it burns a hole in my heart. I told her that I don’t deserve her tears, but that stubborn woman never listens, does she?
Then, the sobbing stops, and I’m grateful, not for not being able to hear her voice anymore, but because I’m hoping she’s not seeing my fall into hell.
She’s witnessed enough death already. Now is her time to live.
As we free fall from the cliff, I hold Storm’s body close to mine, the vest squeezed between our chests. If he detonates the bomb, we’ll both go to pieces. It’s not fun to die hugging him, but it’s fair enough. Storm and I are cut from the same cloth. Two drugged demons in Hades’ hell. We killed enough for a lifetime.
Time to join the real hell.
Perhaps take over the whole fucking thing.
I close my eyes, but instead of demons, an angelic face forms behind my lids.
Eloise. She’s smiling at me with that warmth that melted my cold heart.
“Live, Eloise,” I murmur.
The world crashes down.
18
Eloise
I’m drowning.
Thick black water suffocates me. My nostrils clog and waves crash around me.
I don’t even thrash or gasp for air.
Why do I need to live, anyway? I’ll follow Papa and Maman. I’ll be somewhere safe where nothing can hurt me.
I won’t have to say goodbyes or see people I love die.
Something tugs on my ankle like it’s pulling me down. I remain suspended mid-water, floating, drifting.
It doesn’t matter. It’ll be over any minute now.
A voice calls for me. It’s rough and deep. A jolt surges from deep within me.
“Live,” it whispers right into my ears. Strong hands haul me upwards, shouting. “LIVE, ELOISE!”
I gasp, air shooting to my lungs.
My eyes snap open, and the dark water fades into familiar white walls. The smell of detergent fills my nostrils, and a sense of relief covers me.
The hospital.
What am I doing here? What happened?
I try to turn sideways. Sharp pain assaults my head.
I run a hand over my forehead and my fingers connect with a thick bandage. The inside of my mouth is so dry, it’s like tasting sand and paper.
Two people gape down at me like I’m an alien. The man is wearing a doctor’s blouse. The size too small, making his muscles strain against the fabric. He has striking olive skin with piercing brown eyes. Even the thick-framed glasses can’t hide their intensity or the odd golden ring surrounding his irises.
The woman is dressed as a nurse. Her lips are painted in a sickening orange colour. Other than that, she’s stunning. Her mahogany-coloured hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail. She’s also wearing glasses. Only hers are non-framed, showcasing her green eyes, but they seem... fake. Like it’s isn’t their real colour.
And they’re both watching me as if I
’m their guinea pig.
I’ve never seen them in the hospital before.
“Do you think she’s hearing us?” the nurse asks in English, running her hand in front of my face. “Sod it. Come on, Ghost. I have things to do. Like killing Aaron and the rest of the entertaining stuff.”
“We have to take of this first, Celeste,” the doctor says.
“I don’t take orders from you, Ghosty.” Celeste places a hand on her hip. “I’m not one of your Team Zero bitches.”
“I’m your mentor, brat.”
“And that’s important because...?” She opens her hands in a wide gesture.
“I’m paying you, so shut up.”
“Much better.” Her attention goes back to me, and I just stare like I’ve been caught in a freak show.
What’s happening? How did I end up here with these two staring at me?
“You think Storm punched her hard or something?” she asks.
It’s like being hit by a lightning bolt.
Xavier. The kidnapping. Crow. The bomb.
He fell. Crow fell off the cliff with a bomb strapped to him.
I jerk up so fast, both of them flinch. The nurse reaches for something in her blouse. A knife.
They must be Crow’s colleagues. They’re the only English speaking people I’ve run into since Crow.
Dread forms at the back of my throat. I open my mouth, but no words come out. I’m terrified to ask the question. Tears stream down my cheeks because somehow, I know. I absolutely know the answer.
I just refuse to believe it.
“Crow.” My voice is a haunted whisper plagued by tremors. “W-where is he?”
“Bonjour.” The fake doctor switches to French. “My name is Julian.”
“No, it’s not.” The fake nurse talks in perfect French, too. “It’s Ghost. You don’t have to lie to her.”
“Where’s Crow?” I repeat, this time much louder. They’re being so casual about this, I want to grab and shake some sense into them.
“He’s gone.” She says it with such finality, my heart stops beating.
My nails sink in the mattress. “G-gone?”
“Yeah, you saw him.” She motions in the air. “That dickhead Storm and his sodding games got them both breaking on that shore. We saved you in time. There was...”