The sound of rolling stones and rocks crashing filled my ears as my body tumbled uncontrollably. Frantically, I tried to tap into my power, but my head cracked on something sharp, and the pain was too strong to concentrate on anything else. My limbs flailed through the air as my body was tossed over rocks, the edges cutting my skin and squishing my bones, intensifying the pain tenfold.
I lost my orientation as stones thundered under and above me, and I prayed that I wouldn’t get buried alive. I’d rather have a stone knocking me out for good than slowly suffocate under a pile of rocks.
My body came to a halt before the roaring of tumbling stones ended, leaving my ears ringing. A horrible dizziness left me panting for air, and it took my eyes a full minute to finally rest in one spot. I blinked as something trailed down the corner of my eye—blood, probably.
A gurgled sound to my left made me remember that Cassie was still with me. I slowly turned my head, clenching my teeth as a stone poked into the first vertebra of my spine and took in the scene.
Cassie lay a few feet higher on the hill. She was on her back, one arm set at an unnatural angle. Blood trickled down her elbow, a heavy rock crushing it. Her breathing was erratic, and I called out to her, my voice nearly void of any volume.
“Cassie?”
“H-Haylie?” she rasped as her head twisted in my direction.
I looked down my body that had been tossed on its side, only to see two rocks burying my legs. Blood painted the stones red and soaked my pants. I tried to wiggle my toes and was surprised when they moved. However, I felt a stinging pain in my side where a rib or two were broken.
“You… -kay?” Cassie croaked, and I laboriously shifted my head in her direction again.
“Barely.” Cassie eyed the rocks burying me, and I anticipated her question before she opened her mouth. I shook my head. “Can’t…”
A nauseating headache started to spread, making it impossible to use my ability like this. The rocks were heavier than both Cassie and me together, and I doubted I could gather the strength to lift them off me. I’d only risk letting them crush down and ruin my legs for good.
Not that it mattered anymore because chances were low I’d live through the night.
“I’m sorry,” I heard Cassie rasping, and I glanced at her, tears streaming down her face. I gave her a reassuring smile, letting her know that I didn’t blame her. In fact, I was surprised we’d even made it this far. “I r-ruined this.”
“Ruined?” I repeated, eyeing the rocks covering us. I laughed at the irony of her words, and it didn’t take long for Cassie to join in as we somehow found humor in this hopeless situation.
“Well, it s-seems we h-hit rock bottom,” Cassie stuttered, causing us to snicker again.
After our hysteria was over, we both fell into silence. My thoughts trailed off to Dylan, and how devastated he’d be when he found out that a third Natural died under his protection. I hoped with all my heart he wouldn’t blame himself, but I came to know him pretty well by now and feared he’d never recover from it. Chris’ words from the night he’d revealed Dylan’s past to me rang in my ears.
“If he doesn’t succeed in keeping you alive, then I don’t know if we’ll be able to save him one more time.”
God, I prayed Dylan would be okay…
From the corner of my eye, I saw the sun setting, taking in the bright hues of purple and flaming orange painting the endless sky above me. Stars started to appear as it became darker, and the sight took my breath away. The unpolluted air made hundreds more stars visible than you were able to make out in the city. It suddenly didn’t feel that bad to take my last breath here, and I closed my eyes, accepting my fate.
A strange sound hit my ears, but my dazed state made it difficult to come back to reality. I didn’t want to, either way. My headache slowly dulled, and peace settled over me.
The sound grew louder, and I pried my eyes open to see lights swerving over the area above. Of course, Dorian’s people were still after us. I hoped they wouldn’t find us down here. We were covered in stones and dust, so we were certainly camouflaged well.
The lights stopped swerving, and I heard car doors closing and shouting voices. Cassie stirred, and my heart fluttered in relief. I wouldn’t want to see her die before my time had come.
“… down here!” someone bellowed.
I cursed their timing. If they’d arrived half an hour later, it would have been too dark to spot us. I’d rather die like I was doing right now than getting tended to by Gabby, only to be a puppet for more of Dorian’s experiments.
“Haylie?” a familiar voice reached my ears, and I smiled at my delirious brain making it sound like Dylan’s. “Jesus, Haylie!”
Damn, this sounded just like him. I closed my eyes, wanting to pretend a little longer that Dylan’s voice was joining me on my final journey to beyond.
“Chris, watch out!” another man shouted, and I frowned as I recognized Scott’s voice, but it was Cassie’s cry of horror that made me open my eyes. A rock was coming loose from the top, and it started to roll down, slowly at first but quickly gaining speed.
And it sure as hell was going to hit Cassie’s face.
“No!” I cried out as I shot my hand forward, ignoring the agonizing pain in my side.
Clumsily, I tapped into my power and directed it at the advancing stone. It was small, but even a rock the size of a handball would crush her face with the speed it was coming at her.
It took my last thread of strength to make the rock skid to a stop a few inches in front of Cassie’s face. Her head was turned to the other side, but the way her shoulders heaved, I knew she was scared to death.
“H-Haylie? Are you k-keeping that rock from cr-crushing my face?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. The grunt escaping me from the effort it took to keep my arm outstretched was my answer. “Please… d-don’t let go,” she pleaded, and it took everything to hold the connection.
“Fuck, hold on!”
Chris. Jesus, they were here!
“Hurry,” I tried to shout but just managed a feeble croak.
“Let me,” Cole threw in, and suddenly, a figure blurred down the hill, snatching away the rock threatening to turn Cassie’s face to mush. I groaned in relief and let my hand go limp. “I need to remove these rocks, but I can’t do it on my own,” Cole yelled.
“Hold on. Scott, fetch us some ropes from the back of the car!”
A minute later, Dylan and Chris rappelled down the ditch. They were careful not to push away from the rocks too hard in case another avalanche happened, and Cole got into a protective stance in front of Cassie. As soon as they reached her, Chris came to Cole’s aid, lifting the stone crushing her arm.
Meanwhile, Dylan continued his descent until he reached me. “Haylie,” he muttered, and it felt so damn good to hear his voice after all this time. He crouched low, trying to keep steady on the rocky terrain. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”
“D-Dylan?” I asked tentatively, still unsure if my mind played tricks on me. I extended a trembling hand, wanting him to take it. A choked laugh escaped him as his hand found mine, pulling my upper body to him until I was finally in his arms.
I could tell he held back, trying not to jostle me too much, but I just tightened my grip on him as my arms wound around his shoulders.
I didn’t know what relieved me the most as I clutched at him with my remaining strength—the feel of Dylan’s protective body molding into mine, the Connection activated by my fingers clawing at his bare neck, or the way his face nuzzled my neck, deeply buried in my disheveled hair and dirty skin. My lungs constricted from the countless emotions surging through me at the moment.
I was slightly aware of the others digging out Cassie as I pulled away, only to grab Dylan’s face, needing to assure myself again that he was really here. It was too dark to take in his features, but the Flare in his appion eyes I came to crave so much shut off any rational thought.
I crushed my lips on his in despair, bracing myself for the Connection I slowly familiarized myself with. At least I wouldn’t die with Cassie being the only one I’d kissed after the Awakening. That would have been a shame.
I gasped as tingles bloomed into intense currents washing over me in powerful waves, drowning out the pain of my mangled body. The amazing feeling only intensified when I heard the low rumble in Dylan’s chest.
It didn’t take long for his hands to shoot out and cling to my face with equal need. Our lips didn’t move but were glued together like two magnets as we bathed in the blissful moment.
As soon as the first wave of initial shock evaporated, I pulled back, gasping for air. “Sorry,” I mumbled, on the verge of tears as I took in his bewildered expression. “I just needed—”
My next words were silenced by his lips colliding with mine again, and this time, his tongue coaxed my mouth open with an urge that left me breathless. He forgot all about being gentle as he deepened the kiss, and soon, we were grabbing faces and harsh exhales. It was amazing how a single kiss from this man could tend to each of my wounds in seconds. There was no pain, no sorrow, not even a tomorrow.
And God, I never wanted it to end…
Reality brutally caught up with me, though, as I shifted and pain shot up my shin. I cried out, bringing an abrupt stop to our heated moment. Dylan switched to business mode a blink later, his head jerking to where the rocks kept me immobilized.
I turned in time to see Chris removing dangerous stones surrounding Cassie before Cole swept her into his arms. She was on the verge of dying but still managed to snap, “Who the h-hell are you?”
I heard an arrogant smile lacing Cole’s voice. “Your personal hero, as it seems.”
Cassie scoffed, but I didn’t catch the end of their argument as Dylan assessed my buried state and asked, “How bad is it?”
“I think it looks worse than it is. I can feel my toes and move my legs.”
“All right. I’ll remove the rocks now, okay?”
He waited for me to nod, and I braced myself for another wave of pain. I wasn’t disappointed. I grunted in torture as the weight lifted, rivulets of blood trailing down my crushed shins.
Okay, I had it wrong the first time. It was worse than it looked, and gathering from Dylan’s cursing, he knew it, too.
“Get Gabby down here!” he shouted, and I whirled my head around to see a slender figure rappelling down with help from Scott.
“Gabby?” I asked in disbelief.
“Lay her down next to Haylie,” Gabby instructed with a nod to Cassie in Cole’s arms. No one questioned her as Cole knelt down and held Cassie firmly. I saw her face contorting in pain as she held her mangled arm to her chest, but she swallowed it down well.
“Gabby,” Cassie muttered, equally baffled.
Gabby gave us both a reassuring smile as she squatted down between the two of us. “We don’t want to stay here longer than necessary, so I’ll do a rough healing. Just enough to make them transport safe and ready to be thoroughly treated when we arrive at your compound.”
Dylan nodded before cradling my head to his lap and putting a water bottle to my lips. I groaned in relief as the liquid wet my parched throat. Gabby pulled out a little flashlight from her coat, quickly assessing our injuries. I was dying to know how Gabby had ended up here but was too overwhelmed at the moment to form a coherent sentence.
“Multiple fractures of lower arm bones and femur fracture,” Gabby mumbled to herself as she listed Cassie’s injuries before focusing on mine, her hands probing various parts of my body.
“Concussion. Two cracked ribs. Tibia fractures in both legs. Multiple lacerations.” Dylan’s grip on my hand tightened with each indication Gabby rattled off, and I more felt rather than saw him slowly slipping into the Bluster.
“Hey, I’ll survive,” I assured him, and his eyes softened immediately. It was strange saying that when five minutes ago I’d already dreamed of shiny golden doors swinging open to greet me in Heaven.
Gabby heaved a sigh. “I can’t fuse all the bones right now, but I can heal the swellings, lacerations, and bruises. You said you have a skilled Regenerator in the compound?” Chris nodded. “Call her and tell her to be prepared. I might not be able to do a complete healing for both of them on my own.”
We watched in amazement as Gabby extended a hand over Cassie’s and my body simultaneously. As soon as she closed her eyes, I felt the heat building, a dull pounding going off in my head. The sensation was bearable until Gabby’s healing flowed through my shins and ribs, and I cried out in agony as the scorching heat seemed to burn me from within.
Dylan pressed his cheek against mine, holding me close while whispering soothing words into my ear. Cassie cried out with equal volume, and at some point, her hand found mine. We clutched at each other, sharing the torture.
Eventually, the pain ended leaving us sweaty and panting for air. Chris helped Cole and Cassie get chained to the rope before they slowly made their ascent. A few pebbles broke loose, but Chris and Dylan were quick to shield me from them.
“Gabby?” I had to ask.
Dylan gave me a forced smile. “I’ll tell you everything when we’re safely in the car. Let’s get you out of here first.”
Gabby had healed most of my cracked ribs, so Dylan didn’t have much trouble easing me into his arms. I winced as my ruined legs swung with Dylan’s movement, though, but there was nothing that could be done now.
My hair flew freely through the air, and I glanced down to the ground to see bits of my hair clip scattered around. My heart broke in just as many pieces as I said a silent goodbye to the last thing from Shawna I’d had in my possession.
We ascended slowly as Dylan carefully put one foot in front of the other, skillfully climbing up the craggy ditch as if he’d done it a hundred times before. I marveled at his resilience. His biceps strained under the effort it took him to push us higher, but not one drop of sweat formed on his forehead.
God, I couldn’t stop staring at his face… I’d dreamed of it every night, but to see him for real took my breath away. My dreams hadn’t done his gorgeous features any justice.
As we finally reached the top, Scott’s face appeared above mine. “Jeez, girl, you smell awful.”
I managed a weak chuckle before someone else touched my hand, and I was surprised to see Lisa standing next to me. “Lisa, what… what are you doing here?” I asked in between a dry cough that tasted as if I’d swallowed stone and sand.
“They needed my help to find you,” she explained with a beaming smile on her face.
It was difficult to get us all comfortable in the car because I couldn’t bend my legs and therefore needed to be positioned across the back row. Dylan cradled my upper body in his lap while Gabby fumbled for the car’s first-aid kit. I silently watched as she cut open my pant legs and cleaned the wounds with gentle fingers.
“Gabby, how did you escape? What about Dorian? And… Oh, my God, Jimmy!” I exclaimed with a scared look at Dylan.
He put a finger to my lips to silence me, a smile playing on his face. “Jimmy’s fine. He needed surgery and is still in the hospital with Josh and Jared, but we expect them to arrive soon.”
As Cole sped the car through the desert, the crew filled us in on everything that had happened since I disappeared, starting with the failed mission resulting in Jimmy nearly losing his leg over Phil blowing up one of the compound’s entrances, killing half of Cole’s team, to how Dylan had made Doctor Simmons talk, and how they’d broken into Natcos.
I fisted my hands as they told me that he’d sold my samples to Dorian just because of a stupid cosmetics serum. Cole explained how Gabby came to help them, and that Scott blew the whole thing up by causing a destructive chemical reaction. Cassie asked if Dorian was still alive, but no one could give her an answer. Phil was dead, for sure, but none of them saw Dorian die in the explosion. With a little help from Scott and Lisa’s powers, they finally made out our location.
“I could trace your scent through the forest, but as soon as this canyon opened up, I lost track,” Scott confessed, seemingly disappointed.
“It was Lisa who felt your vibes eventually,” Dylan continued, the relief audible in his voice.
“Dorian took Cassie,” I mumbled, but this didn’t seem to be news to anyone.
“I know,” Dylan said, shooting Cassie an apologetic look. “Gabby told us.”
“Pregnant. Really?” Cassie scoffed, and her deadly glare was so comical, I started to laugh. Soon, everyone joined in.
“How the hell should I’ve known…” Dylan mumbled, embarrassed.
“He tricked us all,” Cole said with a final chuckle.
Dylan played absently with my hair the whole way back, and I couldn’t stop staring at his face—a face I’d dreamed about every single minute the last few days. A face I’d thought I’d never see again.
Dylan eyed me curiously with a smile forming on his lips and drawled into my ear, “Do you want to set me on fire with that scorching look of yours?”
I grinned at his playful tone, even if the movement hurt every muscle in my face. Whenever I could, I touched his bare skin—fingers, wrist, forearm, upper arm—trying to activate the Connection as often as possible. It was an urge I couldn’t explain, this need to feel him, as if it was nutrition my body craved and couldn’t live without.
Of course, Dylan noticed my attempts to be close to him and snaked a hand under what was left of my shirt, resting his palm against my hip. The touch reenergized me immediately. Dylan gave me a crooked grin when he noticed my surprised look and bent low to whisper in my ear, “I know you need it.”
If he only knew how much more I needed from him…
By the time we arrived at the compound, I could barely keep my eyes open, but the urge to see Lauren kept me awake. It was a bit of a struggle to get Cassie and me down the ladder, but eventually, we made it to the main wing. Lauren and Sarah shot in our direction as soon as we rounded the first corner.
“Oh my God, oh my God,” Lauren whined, totally delirious. “Your legs,” she breathed, holding her hand in front of her mouth.
I swallowed hard, not daring to look at my crushed bones, but somehow, Gabby had managed to make my legs feel numb, sparing me the pain.
“She’ll be okay after we’ve healed her properly,” Gabby explained.
“Of course. You can bring her to my room.”
“She’ll stay with me,” Dylan interjected in a voice that didn’t leave room for objections, causing my heart to nearly shatter against my rib cage. “My room is just around the corner.”
He didn’t wait for anyone’s agreement but continued to stroll down the hallway. I wondered if he was afraid I’d get snatched away again and just felt safer with me close to him. I found no reason to complain. After spending the nights in a cold cell chained to the ground, and then in a cave cuddling with a woman I used to despise, lying next to the man who meant everything to me on a soft mattress sounded perfect.
“Thank you. Again,” I sincerely said as he eased me onto his bed, unconcerned about me staining it with blood and dirt.
“Thank the others. I wouldn’t have found you without them,” he said, voice thick with emotion. I wanted to say something comforting, but Gabby and Lauren were already busy shuffling around the room and retrieving towels, water, and medkits.
“What about Cassie?” I asked Gabby.
“Your Regenerator, Sarah, is tending to her. I dare say I’m the stronger one of the two of us, and as your injuries are far worse, I’m going to work on you.”
I’d already figured her ability was powerful when she used her healing on Cassie and me at the same time. I wondered which kind of injuries she’d had to deal with during her time with Dorian, but I guessed I was better off not knowing—not after seeing the pile of dead bodies rotting down there.
Lauren gave me a piece of fabric to bite down on while Gabby pushed her healing power into me. I was glad. Otherwise, I would have shattered my teeth from gritting them so hard.
Each time a bone was relocated or fused together, a wave of nausea hit me, making it impossible to reign in my screams. At some point, my stomach couldn’t take the torture any longer. Thankfully, Lauren was quick to fetch a bucket from the bathroom, and I threw up forcefully into it. By the time Gabby was finished, the bed sheets were drenched in sweat, and I felt as if a vampire had sucked me dry of all energy.
“It’s over, Haylie,” Lauren soothed, dabbing a wet cloth over my face. Still panting like a woman who’d just given birth to a baby, I glanced at Gabby who looked as exhausted as me.
“Thank you, Gabby.” She smiled weakly. “I’m glad you’re with us now. You’ll like it here.”
“I already do,” she said with a bigger smile, wiping a hand over her clammy forehead.
“I’ll put you in the shower and change the sheets,” Lauren said to me before facing Gabby. “You should go and get some rest.”
As I was barely able to stand, Lauren sat me down into the tub, gently rubbing my skin and washing my hair. I would have protested at being pampered like that, but honestly, I was too tired even to twitch a finger. Besides, worse things had happened the last seventy-two hours than my best friend’s hands wiping me clean.
Dylan came back at some point, helping Lauren with the bed sheets. After she’d dried me clumsily and shoved me into one of her jogging outfits, Dylan heaved me out of the tub against my protests, carried me back to his room, and lowered me down on the bed.
“You look as tired as I feel,” I muttered at seeing the dark circles under his eyes. Even the scar crossing his eyebrow was more pronounced than usual.
He gave me one of his crooked smiles before it vanished as quickly as it came. He studied me for a long moment as if he still found it hard to believe I was really here. I found it hard to believe myself. “I’m just taking a quick shower. Sleep.”
I was already half comatose when Dylan dimmed the lights. Warm and soft lips touched my forehead, lulling me into a deep slumber.