Chapter 44 #2
I rushed forward, carefully but swiftly carrying Emma in. I laid her in one of the seats, as gently as I could with my hands shaking, then strapped her in tightly. The sound of the rotors pounding above us, the wind whipping around us, everything blurred as my focus tunneled solely on her.
Before shutting the door behind me, I took a seat next to her, not willing to leave her side for a second. Sean followed on the other side, dragging the heavy load with him, securing it inside with a grunt as the door slammed shut.
“Go, go go!” I shouted in a hurried voice, after noticing a swarm of black dots gathering at the foot of the mountain.
As the helicopter lifted off the ground, I looked down at Emma’s pale face, my heart still pounding in my chest.
“We’re not out of the woods yet!” Sean shouted over the roar of the blades, his voice grim, though I could see a flicker of hope in his eyes—the same hope that had begun to ignite inside me.
“How do you plan on destroying the Amplifier?” I yelled back, struggling to be heard above the deafening whir.
“I’m not! We’re heading to Oman Deep. We’ll bury it in the ocean.”
What? That was his plan?
“It’s been activated!” I snapped, hardly keeping it together after these past few hours. “We can’t just throw it out there! It could still cause catastrophic damage if we’re not careful!”
Sean shot me a sharp look, his grip tightening on the controls, knuckles white against the strain of both flying and the enormity of what we were facing. “You got a better idea?” he barked, his attention briefly shifting to glare at me.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to think. My mind raced through possibilities, scrambling for a solution that wouldn’t involve more risk than we were already taking. “Maybe,” I muttered, an idea forming in the back of my mind. “How far is the nearest airport?”
Sean glanced at the gauges, his brow furrowed. “About a half-hour flight in this thing.”
“Then drop me off with the Amplifier,” I demanded. “You get as much distance between us as possible, then portal out the second you’re in the clear. Get Emma to a Healer, and I’ll deal with neutralizing this fucking monstrosity.”
Sean’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What? Are you out of your godsdamn mind?”
“McGrath,” I growled, “Emma needs medical attention right the fuck now, or she’s not going to make it, and that is not something I am allowing to happen. You get her to safety and you find her a Healer or you and I are about to have a fucking problem.”
He stared at me, jaw clenched, searching my face as if trying to find a crack in my resolve.
“And you’ll be okay on your own?”
“I’ll be fine,” I hissed, though the pit in my stomach told me this was a gamble. But it wasn’t about me—it was only about her. “I’ve got this. Now go.”
For a moment, he hesitated, his eyes flicking between Emma’s still form and the raging storm of glacial death behind us.
But he nodded, determination hardening his features.
“All right,” he said, voice tight with clear frustration about my command, which I couldn’t care less about.
“I’ll get her out. But you better nex me the second you’re in the clear, Caden. You hear me?”
“Yeah.” I squeezed Emma’s cold hand one last time, letting the warmth of my grip linger before releasing her. Then I turned toward the nuclear weapon, realizing how fucking insane I was for doing this. “Now get moving.”
The helicopter tilted slightly as Sean adjusted its course. Without wasting time, I grabbed a duffel bag from behind the seat, the worn fabric rough against my fingers, and stuffed the Amplifier inside.
When the chopper touched down, I didn’t look back before jumping out.
Sean’s face was etched with concern, but there was no time for words.
I slung the pack over my shoulders, feeling the uncomfortable weight pressing into my back, and sprinted toward the nearest building.
My heart pounded, but my mind stayed focused. There was no margin for error now.
As I ran, my thoughts flashed to the days spent preparing for the Great Exposure, immersing myself in all things human.
Emma had helped me learn, bringing me devices like regular cellphones to dissect and study.
By now, I could take one apart and put it back together faster than most humans could send a text.
I needed that skill now. Most of all, I needed a phone, and fast.
It was a long shot, but there was one person I knew might be able to help—the one person whose contact information I had committed to memory, just in case anything ever happened to Emma.
I skidded to a halt outside the building and spotted an old payphone—rusted, not entirely functional, but it would have to do. My fingers fumbled with the buttons, dialing the number I knew by heart. Each ring of the phone felt like a countdown, the silence stretching painfully between the tones.
On the first ring, the call connected.
“Walker,” I rasped, my voice hoarse but filled with urgency. “I need your help.”