05-30-2019, 03:45 PM
She glanced up at the brick walls, contemplating the question. Memory sparked and fizzled against her skin, firing a panic that threatened to seize her limbs. Every instinct baulked from the thickening scent of smoke. “No,” she said. No extraneous explanation followed, though behind the glaze of her eyes she was thinking of the heavy dustfall in the tunnels below Moscow. The building was already burning, and she would not risk aiding its collapse. Not when she knew where Jay was likely held, if he was here at all. “But to get us out? Maybe.”
Laurie found them a door. Axel’s warnings pierced, but not very far. The corridor split, and Natalie’s gaze lingered in the opposite direction to the one chosen. Her chest already banded tight, railing against the cloying air, but it was that single moment’s decision which brought a grimness to her expression. They didn’t have time to sweep the school under Axel’s protective wing, and Natalie had an advantage the others lacked. “I’m going to get Cay. Go find the basement. Find Jay.” The words felt like barbs; to leave that task to another. But the decision was made, and she turned without waiting for acknowledgement.
A sense of other channelers muddied her awareness, confusing what should have been a simple task. Yet it was still the best clue she had to navigate the chaos. She ignored distant clusters, presuming the recklessness of Cayli’s intentions, until a lone channeler flared delicate recognition and slowed her pace to stillness. The door was one of the only flung wide open.
Natalie’s stomach sank.
Blood slicked a widening pool as she dropped to her knees to untangle the bodies inside the threshold, her heart in her mouth. Her body shivered cold despite the burning heat as she searched for a pulse in either girl. Blood roared in her ears. Even the shrill alarm seemed distant. Then Cay took a sudden breath, clawing at her neck. Comfort was rarely Natalie’s first instinct, but her arms wrapped without thinking, stalling the first confused sobs as Cay’s eyes widened and the immediate past caught up and took a bite.
Where was Jensen?
“Are you hurt? Can you stand?” She smoothed back gold hair, tugging Cay’s gaze away from the dark-haired body beside them. Realisation must have still stung, because the girl suddenly struggled. A string of words punctured from her aching throat, lost beneath the siren’s wail. The confines of Natalie's world narrowed to a single moment and a single task, it took her a moment longer to realise it was not the dead girl at all claiming Cayli's attention.
Laurie found them a door. Axel’s warnings pierced, but not very far. The corridor split, and Natalie’s gaze lingered in the opposite direction to the one chosen. Her chest already banded tight, railing against the cloying air, but it was that single moment’s decision which brought a grimness to her expression. They didn’t have time to sweep the school under Axel’s protective wing, and Natalie had an advantage the others lacked. “I’m going to get Cay. Go find the basement. Find Jay.” The words felt like barbs; to leave that task to another. But the decision was made, and she turned without waiting for acknowledgement.
A sense of other channelers muddied her awareness, confusing what should have been a simple task. Yet it was still the best clue she had to navigate the chaos. She ignored distant clusters, presuming the recklessness of Cayli’s intentions, until a lone channeler flared delicate recognition and slowed her pace to stillness. The door was one of the only flung wide open.
Natalie’s stomach sank.
Blood slicked a widening pool as she dropped to her knees to untangle the bodies inside the threshold, her heart in her mouth. Her body shivered cold despite the burning heat as she searched for a pulse in either girl. Blood roared in her ears. Even the shrill alarm seemed distant. Then Cay took a sudden breath, clawing at her neck. Comfort was rarely Natalie’s first instinct, but her arms wrapped without thinking, stalling the first confused sobs as Cay’s eyes widened and the immediate past caught up and took a bite.
Where was Jensen?
“Are you hurt? Can you stand?” She smoothed back gold hair, tugging Cay’s gaze away from the dark-haired body beside them. Realisation must have still stung, because the girl suddenly struggled. A string of words punctured from her aching throat, lost beneath the siren’s wail. The confines of Natalie's world narrowed to a single moment and a single task, it took her a moment longer to realise it was not the dead girl at all claiming Cayli's attention.