“Wait here." Before I know what I’m doing, I’m jumping from the car and sprinting up the hill. Every single muscle in my body is working on pure instinct.
Why am I sprinting?
I hit the top and double over, hands gripping my knees, heaving at the ground, because my body wants to be somewhere that my mind can’t see. I pant, looking at the foliage under my shoe… Daisies.
I'm suddenly blinded by the sun. I straighten up slowly. Coming to a stand. I raise my forearm to shield my eyes. Squinting, I search around the area, but I don’t know what I’m looking for. Or what I’m doing here?—
There…
Every cell in my body freezes at once. My heart thunders in my ears, breaking the serene silence of the daisy covered hill.
There… There is an open hatch between the foliage. And stairs. Stairs that lead down. Down into a basement. A dark. No light. Fucking basement.
I clench my teeth until they hurt.
Seconds pass, or moments, or an hour. Time has no structure right now as I stare at it.
I hear a small whimper.
Fucking move, Konnor.
Another whimper.
My entire body throbs with my pulse. Forcing my foot to take a single step, I peer down into the black hole. I attempt to lift my feet a second time.
Move. Move!
You can’t go down there.
I drag in fierce breaths.
There is a masculine moan.
And a feminine sob.
The words, “Thank you.”
The sounds reach me like they’re crawling up from hell, and I can’t make them out between the boy screaming in my head, and I can’t make my feet move, and I’m going to be fucking sick?—
My whole body throws itself forwards and down the stairs. As soon as I’m officially underground, the air becomes its own kind of entity, its own villain.
I get to the bottom.
And freeze.
Erik is on all fours overher.Blesk’s hands are pushing her dress down her thighs.Hisbelt buckle catches the light.Herface is turned away from him. Towards me. Eyes are filled with tears and?—
A bolt of heat strikes my temple, and everything goes pitch-black…
Then I’m on him. I don’t remember lunging or moving, but I’m whaling on him. My knuckles split open against his cheekbone, but I don’t feel it. He goes down. I follow him down. The sounds surrounding us are rhythmic and ugly, and my throat hurts. He tries to get up. His head snaps sideways. Snaps back. I keep going. Something gives under my fist with a sound like an axe making its first crack in a log, and my hand comes back warm and wet and crimson. I raise it again.
All I see is red.
Something guttural is tearing out of my throat. I don’t recognise the sound until my voice breaks. My fistsfind his face again and again. A crunch. Warmth spraying back across my knuckles, my forearm, my cheek.
I don’t stop.
Then the ground moves. My arms are gone. Jax has me from behind, both of mine locked up in both of his, and I’m still trying to swing with no arms, feet scrabbling for purchase, the whole basement lurching sideways.
