Chapter 26 #3
Pesh tilts his chin up. I suddenly realize he is signaling to me and snap out of staring at him.
I grab the box and move it next to him. It opens automatically, and he grabs a blue liquid bottle.
He drinks the whole thing in one gulp, and I just stare in silence.
For some reason, this is sort of hot. He grabs a packet of white sand-like powder and rips it open with his mouth, while staring into my eyes with a steady glare.
His lantern jaw adjusts so smoothly as he spits out the torn top to the bed.
Even while he is healing himself, he is still so sensual and alluring. His muscles contract.
“Tavia.”
Oh, that’s me. I look at him and realize what he wants. “Oh.” I help him lift his shirt up, and my eyes are drawn to his chest as his body glides like a metal medallion in the sky.
“Tavia.”
“Sorry.” I snap out of it, my eyes colliding with his as he hands me a needle and syringe.
What is this for? Before I can think… he hands me something else—a bottle of silver, foamy liquid.
Before I can blink, he’s already mixing a different substance in the syringe.
After a brief mix, he begins to inject it into his arm aggressively.
Ouch! But he is untouched, his eyes merge with mine, a smile curling his lips.
I realize my hands are overfull and this bottle is about to slip out, but I still have to hold his shirt up and the injection stuff, and the bottle, and I think he is about to hand me another thing.
So, I grab a hold of his shirt with my mouth—in order to free up my other hand, keep the items separated, and avoid mistakenly jabbing him with the needle.
He looks at me, his eyes narrowed, watching me.
I gulp, looking into his eyes as his lips size mine up like its next meal.
I exhale as he takes the needle and syringe away from my hands.
I sit up and go back to holding his shirt up with my hands, since they are now free.
I inhale a deep breath as he completes healing himself with his ultra advanced equipment.
It all happens so fast. I can hardly keep up.
I look to the side to see that his equipment has disappeared back into the ground.
I’m not even going to ask. My eyes glide back to him, eying the glory of his sculpted chest.
“You can let go now.” He smirks.
I look at him with a smile.
“What if I don’t want to?” I flirt softly—I think I’m getting good at this.
His eyes twinkle with desire, suddenly sending shivers through my body. Instantly, I let go, keeping my head down. I forget that Doctor Val is still here.
“What’s happened to everyone?” Pesh asks, standing up.
We walk toward Pesh’s office and open his computer screen, trying to talk to the rest of the team through our wireless, invisible ear pods.
“Hey, Levon! Swin, are you there?” Pesh calls out.
Nothing.
“Levon! Swin!”
Nothing.
“Can you guys hear us?”
This time, I hear sprinting noises.
“Levon, you there?”
We hear what sounds like rustling before Levon’s voice finally comes through. “Yeah, we are close!”
“Oh no!” we hear Swin exclaim.
“What’s wrong, Swin?” Levon asks.
“The authorities,” Swin mutters.
“There are no officers, what the hell are you talking about?” Levon exclaims.
“I can see it through my 20/20!” Swin expands. “And I can hear them. They were sent by Londe to capture the student with The Begon. They must have figured that the decoy was fake!”
“Oh no!” Levon’s voice sounds distressed. “I forgot I have the Evaper tracker on me. They must have figured that I’m still alive and that I wasn’t blown up when the sub blew up—”
“You guys need to run!” Pesh shouts.
“But they’ll just come after us!” Swin sighs.
“Then what are we gonna do?” I can hear the panic in Levon’s voice growing.
“I need to stay,” Swin asserts. “That way, they can arrest me. Plus, I can buy you time to get to The Lawtem!”
“No! I can’t let you do that!” Levon screams.
“You sound like you’re in love with me or something. Get yourself into the effin’ bushes! You have to go. I’ll stay here until they get here. Trust me, it’s the only way!”
“What if they kill you?” Her emotions begin to break.
“Quick! Into the bushes!”
We hear scuffles—like Swin just pushed Levon.
“Swin!” Levon screams.
“For The Love of The Commoners,” Swin whispers.
I hear Levon sniffling like she is crying, but Swin is silent.
“For The Love of The Commoners,” Levon says, her voice breaking.
We hear Levon running through the woods, but we struggle to hear Swin’s responses through the ear buds due to the sound of the wind.
“Okay guys, I’m on my way right now!” Levon confirms, and we turn our focus to Swin.
“How far away are they, Swin?” Pesh asks.
“Um, there’s a band of twenty officers,” Swin responds, his voice now audible. “They’re all dressed in uniform and they are almost in front of me. Okay now they’re pointing their guns at me! What the fuck!”
“Put your hands up, Swin!” Pesh shouts out.
We hear the officer’s voices. “On my mark!” they scream. Getting louder now.
“What kind of a crime did this son of a bitch accuse me of?” Swin mutters, his voice full of shock.
“Sing The Commons National Anthem!” Pesh exclaims.
“What?” Swin whispers.
“Sing The New Commons National Anthem! Do you know it?”
“Yeah! Actually, I know it. But what the hell is that gonna do for me?”
“It’s a new bill that was just signed. If you sing The National Anthem of The Commons upon being arrested, they’ll think you go to The Commons and bring you back here for a fair trial before rendering a verdict!”
Swin mutters, voice shaking, “Okay, they’re here, they’re here, oh god, they’re here!”
We hear marching and wind sounds and screaming.
Then, we hear gunshots.
I think they just shot Swin.