The beeping gets louder, faster. I hear Wren screaming my name. Luka cursing up a storm. The doctors shouting orders.
And then…
Silence.
Complete and utter fucking silence.
Am I dead? Is this it? The big nothing everyone’s so afraid of?
But wait… there’s something. A rhythm. Faint at first, then stronger.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
My heart. The stubborn bastard’s still going.
I feel a warmth on my hand. Soft, familiar. Wren’s touch. And suddenly, I know.
I’m coming back. I’m going to open my eyes, see her face, hold my son.
Blyat, I’m going to live.
Iwantto live.
But as I claw my way back to consciousness, my entire body goes rigid. It’s like someone’s dumped a bucket of ice water down my spine. That survival instinct that’s kept my ass alive all these years? It’s firing on all cylinders.
The darkness shifts, and suddenly, I’m standing in the middle of a room.
The coppery taste of fear floods my mouth, my heart kicking into overdrive. Something’s coming. Something fucking bad.
The stench of blood is thick in the air.My heart hammers in my chest.
Wren’s voice is gone. Luka’s, too.
It’s just me now.
No, wait.Yob tvoyu mat’, I’m not alone.
A face. Grinning at me from the shadows. Faces I thought I’d never see again.
Elena. She’s standing there, eyes wild, mouth twisted into that sick grin of hers, blood dripping from her fingers. She’s holding something. No, someone. My gut twists as I realize it’sWren.Her throat slit, blood pouring out, soaking the floor beneath her feet.
No. Fuck No.
I try to move, but my feet are stuck. Can’t move. Can’t scream. All I can do is watch as Zimniy steps out of the shadows, his face a twisted mask of triumph. His hand moves to Wren’s hair, yanking her head back, and her lifeless eyes meet mine.
“You can’t protect them, D,” Elena hisses. “Not her. Not your son. You’ve already lost.”
I scream. I roar, rage tearing through me, but it’s like I’m underwater. My fists slam against nothing. Wren’s body drops to the floor, limp. Then Zimniy steps forward, his eyes locking on me, and everything I love dies right in front of me.
I can’t save them. I can’t—
The ground beneath me shifts suddenly. It cracks open like the floor’s falling away. My vision blurs, twisting around me. It’s like being yanked backward, hard and fast, out of the nightmare. I’m tumbling through shadows, spinning violently until—
Cold.
Wet.
What the fuck?Govno,my face… it’s wet.
