“Them not being able to listen in is one thing. They could still try to track my number later on. It just depends on what type of devices and skills they have access to.”
“Right…”
“Let’s go,” Severo said, before asking, “Would you like to put the baby in her seat?”
He shook his head. “I want to hold Skya for now.”
“Suit yourself.” Severo shrugged.
Despite the world not being as lifeless as Preston’s was…it was still disconcerting, and holding her was the only thing keeping him grounded.
Not to mention, he felt slightly shaky after almost dying inside a fiery car crash. Seri wasn’t sure what the people chasing them had been thinking. It was a bit hard to believe they’d escape that unharmed. Though, safety features were pretty advanced now. Seri wasn’t really into cars, so he honestly didn’t know. But still?! Who crashes a car with a baby in it?!
Shaking his head, he followed Severo as he started off back down the road. The further they walked in the weird bluish realm, the more Seri’s paranoia started to flair.
Any perceived movement, real or not, out of the corner of his eyes, had him flinching. His vision playing tricks on him, Seri kept thinking he saw something in the deep, dark indigo shadows… It didn’t help that Skya randomly reached upwards, as if trying to touch something, when there was nothing there.
Fuck, he was really losing it…
“How…how long are we going to stay in here?” he asked.
Severo glanced over at him, a smile on his face. “I’d like to say until we reach the closest town…but I doubt it will be safe there. So, for now, until we deem it safe enough to leave?”
Was it even safe in here? Seri debated on asking the next question or not, but in the end, he gave in to his fears. “What if…Preston gets in?”
The Dweller’s head tilted, a frown slipping onto his face. “He can’t get in here unless I let him in.”
Seri frowned. “Are…are you sure?”
“Yes. Entering into another Dweller’s Shadow Realm without their permission is not an easy task to accomplish. It would take skill and age. While Preston is older than me, he isn’t that much older.”
Seri stopped walking, his heart speeding up. “So, if Preston wanted to, he could…trap me in his forever? And no one…could get me out?”
Severo, who had stopped walking when he had, grimaced. “No… You’d eventually die. Shadow Realms are not meant to be lived in by non-Dwellers. He could keep you here for a while, but not forever.”
“Slightly…less terrifying,” Seri slowly said with a sigh, before starting to walk again.
“If you were trapped, we’d break you out.”
How would they know though? Why would they even care to?
Seri didn’t ask any of that, he just kept walking, trying to not freak out at all that his mind kept imagining.
His gaze slipped to Severo. Was he really just going to keep following this man? Should he? Was this the best option? What was the alternative? Going on alone?
Yeah, that had worked out sooo well the first time, he thought with a huff. Seri could reach out to his strangers again. Maybe they could help? But what if they couldn’t? Staying…was the best thing he could do right now. And if he came to the conclusion that it was too dangerous to stay with this man, then he’d head off on his own.
Though, there was another factor to consider… Preston would find out, if he hadn’t already, that his first plan had failed. Seri didn’t want to know what plan came next. At least if Seri stayed with Severo, whatever Preston tried to do, he wouldn’t be alone when it happened.
Preston stared out of the window in his office, facing away from the rest of the room. “Whose idea was it to crash a car with my Seri and my child inside?” he asked calmly.
There were croaking noises, the sound of spittle flying, but no response otherwise.
Tsking, he slowly spun his chair to look at the five men collapsed on the floor of his office. The shadows held their throats tight enough to stop them from speaking, but not to kill them…yet.
Preston’s gaze flicked to the five guards that stood to attention near the door, unmoving, not even blinking at the scene in front of them.At least some of his men were trained, he thought with a sigh.
Looking at the downed men, he tsked again. The five—the Sheriff and the four who decided that slamming into the vehicle carrying his beloved family was a good idea—were all sniveling, faces turning interesting colors of red. It was…mildly entertaining, he’d admit. Out of the human and four Cryptids, he only knew one of their names. Joc, Head of Acquisitions. Well…former Head.
