24. Chapter 24
Josiah
Why the fuck didn't I just knock on the fucking door?
The sight of them entangled in each other was burned into my memory, but worst of all, the reaction I had to it was completely involuntary.
I didn't think. I didn't even realize what I was doing until it was too fucking late.
My eyes circled around the room, my room.
I had rifted—to my room—involuntarily. I choked back the bile rising to my mouth as I realized what I had just done.
I just sealed all of our deaths, over something so trivial.
She was not mine. Not anymore. What she did with her mate—was not my business.
I ran as fast as I could to find the rest of the team.
Jerrod and Camille would already know what was coming.
I saw it on her face when she looked at me in a shocked expression.
Jade and the others would be in the dark about the situation that was coming.
I sprinted to the loading dock of the ship.
I knew everyone was staying there for the time being.
As I rounded the corner, so close to the dock, a blaring alarm filled the air.
I flung myself through the door to the ship.
Jade and King Kian whipped their heads toward me, confusion evident on both of their faces.
"What in the god's names is happening? Why is there a siren going off outside?" King Kian asked in a tense tone.
I was slightly out of breath as I heaved out, "They're—coming—now!"
Their eyes widened in absolute horror. Their glances passed back and forth in a clear state of confusion.
"How could you possibly know that?" Jade questioned, uncertainty clearly etched on her face.
"I just made—a mistake. One that will cost all of us everything," I admitted.
"What does that even mean?" Veshkru asked as he walked into the room with Kresh and Ansel.
"I unintentionally rifted. We—we need to move—right now. There is no time to plan. No time to think. I… I'm… so sorry everyone. This is my fault," I choked out.
They didn't reprimand me or scold me in that moment. Their eyes all lingered for a brief second in a kind of acceptance. We all knew this day would come. We all knew it was likely going to lead to many losses. Many unnecessary deaths.
Ansel didn't say anything else and disappeared down the hallway.
I could hear him yelling in alarm at The King's men.
There was a lot of movement and shuffling around.
Everyone else got up and began gathering their weapons.
My breath caught as I heard the unmistakable sound of screaming innocence in the distance.
I didn't stop. I continued running on, preparing for what was clearly already here.
The scene outside of the ship was like that of a nightmare.
Everyone was running around aimlessly in chaotic terror.
I clearly recognized some of the instigators as our own—already infected unknowingly by a Gilarian parasite.
A sudden blast knocked all of us off of our feet and onto the ground.
Multiple buildings in our path detonated, pieces of the structure careening in every direction haphazardly.
We quickly righted ourselves and kept moving ahead.
"We must keep moving!" Ansel yelled from behind us, all of The King's men in tow. "We need to find Camille. Protect The King with your lives, men!"
The King scoffed, "Don't be insufferable, Ansel. My life is merely a speck in comparison to the greater picture."
Ansel grunted in disagreement, "It is my sworn duty, Your Grace."
"Come off it, old friend," the King huffed as we ran forward. "Protect the Goddess, her life is of more consequence. That is a direct order and there will be no arguments," he shouted loudly.
We all kind of gave each other looks of confusion.
I wasn't sure what had happened to The King but he had changed so much from our first meeting.
A man once pompous and selfish had become so much more in such a short span of time.
Camille seemed to have that effect on people around her.
Though I knew we were running to what was likely our deaths, I couldn't help but smile.
As much pain and discomfort as I had experienced since she came into my life, I just couldn't imagine a life where we never met. A life where I didn't love her.
As we rounded another intersection in the buildings, another explosion sounded in the distance.
I knew we needed to hurry faster to get to Camille.
I knew that there was a really good chance that Kyril may have already found them.
If he had, I honestly didn't have much hope for her or what would happen after that.
Ahead of us was a large opening and what used to be a public garden.
Nothing in the space was left but rubble and dirt.
The flowers were strewn chaotically around the area, roots laying exposed and the flowers all awaiting their own demise, which felt like an ironic fate in the moment.
I was about to make a hard left back toward Jerrod's living quarters, when my eyes fell on someone rounding the corner in front of us, obstructing our way.
My blood ran cold as my eyes met with Athia's honey colored ones.
The corner of her mouth curled into a sickening sneer of narcissistic satisfaction.
Strands of her blonde hair wisped across her face in the light breeze.
Smoke slowly spread through the open area as the sound of blasts and the crackling of fire filled the silence.
"Why are we stopping?" Ansel said, looking curiously over at the woman blocking our way.
She began to move toward us, black stilettos clicking against the pavement in front of her.
I wondered for a moment if I could just run up and slice her throat really quickly.
She was alone. There was nothing actually special about her.
She had no powers or skills to speak of that I knew of.
She couldn't fight at all and was on the side of helplessness.
But could I do that to Camille?
Could I be the reason her best friend finally left this plane of existence?
I got ready to break into a full sprint, gripping my knives from the sheaths attached to my pants, but her smile suddenly widened and I stopped in my tracks.
I looked behind me to see Kyril biting indiscriminately into Jade's neck and ripping out her throat with his teeth with an effortless simplicity.
Her silver eyes were horror stricken and wide as she gurgled on her own life fluids.
The others were squirming against an unforeseen foe, arms flailing on to the back of their necks.
Their eyes glazed over one by one. My eyes grew panicked as I took in the bottles on the ground—the broken vials that had held the Gilarian still in stasis.
My chest tightened like someone had sat on my chest. My mind raced in the horror of being worthless and helpless.
I did the only thing I could think of in that moment.
The only thing that might save me and get me back to Camille.
I rifted. I rifted to Jerrod's quarters and my legs moved on their own.
Without thought. Without a plan. I ran like it was the last thing I would ever do, hoping that fate would bring me to her.
I needed to get to her. I needed to get to them both and get us out of here.
I needed to find a way to prolong our lives so this wasn't the end for us .
My mind began sifting through all of the options, of all of the potential ideas left.
Fate had been kind in the moment though, and as I rounded another corner, there she was, in all of her perfection and glory. Jerrod was running with her and as their eyes met mine, I knew we were all in survival mode now.
"Turn around and go the other way," I screamed. "He won't be far behind."
"Where is everyone else?" Camille said as we all ran in step, none of us even sure where we were even going anymore.
"Dead," I said simply.
Camille stifled a gasp and a sob, but didn't stop moving.
"All of them?" Jerrod clarified sadly.
"Yes, every single one. We need to get out of here," I said. "I could rift us somewhere else. Anywhere else, honestly. Close to a ship, and we could escape on that."
"No," Camille said. "We will be running forever. We can't keep trying to escape him."
"We have to do something!" I screamed. "I refuse to let you die, Camille! I fucking refuse!!"
"This is inevitable, Brother," Jerrod said softly, keeping pace next to me. "The sooner you accept that, the better off we all will be. We either fight and win, or fight and lose. Those are our only options now. There is nothing else left."
"I don't accept that! I'm going to get a ship ready. I will rift back to you when it's ready and I will rift us right outside of it. We are almost to the human replica park. I will meet you there. Hopefully my rifting will confuse Kyril and throw him off of your path," I yelled to them.
I didn't ask permission. I didn't wait for a response from them. I was doing this because it was the only thing I could do. I rifted and had every intention of saving our lives. Nothing else on this planet or in this moment mattered now. Nothing.