Page 22 of Sink With Me

I shift my hips on the creaking table flicking my gaze to all my men sitting on gurneys, beds, and chairs around the open area. A nurse rushes out of one of the rooms lining the wall, drawing my attention. My shoulders straighten only to slouch back.

The smell of sterile equipment and smoke taints the infirmary, itching the hairs in my nostrils. “Take another breath.”

I look over to the nurse holding a mask over Sam's mouth.

“I wasn’t even on the fucking beach. I shouldn’t have to get checked!” Baxter yells from across the room, reluctantly plopping down and the blue sheet lining the bed.

A nurse comes to my side, pushing the blanket from my shoulders. My jaw clenches. Rubber gloves stick to my skin examining each small bruise and scar.

“How much smoke did you inhale?”

I unintentionally ignore her, looking around the room for any sign of her.

“Okay… what about water?”

“I just need a breathing treatment and warm fluids.” My back straightens as I try to look over bobbing heads. I lean forward trying to peer into the cubicles that surround mine, separated by thin blue curtains. Have they already put her in a room? The nurse pulls my arm brushing her thumb over a vein bulging in the crook of my elbow, preparing to insert my IV but a gurney rushes past with thick aluminum blankets covering the expanse, cuffs link her wrists to the rails and her body jolts with a sudden bump in the floor.

Pulling my arm away I move to stand, a gloved hand presses against my chest encouraging me to glare in the direction. Lora locks eyes on mine with a cocked brow, her short copper hair is pinned back and her large, framed glasses fall to the tip of her nose exposing her ebony eyes. Without looking down she pushes the metal stick in with practiced ease.

“Ouch.”

She smiles brightly.

“You can go to war, but you can't handle a little pinch?” She teases. I turn my attention to a large wood door opening and Cordelia's body being wheeled in behind it. There's a quiet huff.

“You can see her later.” The once light tone hardens drawing my narrowed eyes in her direction. “She's being watched closely. She'll be well tended to and if anything changes, you'll be informed.”

I nod. Despite her words I can't help but look back to the door.

Date: 4-30-2024

Time: 1932

The smell of the ocean fills my nose, a subtle hint of tobacco and cologne lying beneath the brisk air. My skin carries a light layer of dew, shimmering beneath the red and orange hues that paint the sky, mirroring in complexion the man beside me.

“Alright now, you think you’re a man? Pull it.”

Pull back the slider.

Click.

Bang.

The sound vibrates across the waves, carrying the noise into the water as my first body falls to my feet.

“I’ve been a man pops, this doesn’t prove otherwise.” The red that sinks into the sand should disgust me, but I feel nothing. Most would’ve presumed I’d killed many by the age of 22, but I’ve never had an interest in my father’s line of work.

“That’s my boy. You need to learn that no matter what, this blood will forever stain your hands. No matter how many times you wash them, it’ll always be there. This is what it’s going to take to keep the world safe. Harmony, if you will. A boy will let these demons haunt him; a man will feed them to–”

“The sharks and move on. I know.”

Loud banging mixes with a rapid beeping and shallow breaths forcing my eyes open to the ceiling. I groan, shifting to sit up and ease the ache in my muscles. My lungs scream in protest to suck in a full breath of air.

I look at the metal cuffs clanking against the white bed rails, slowly dragging my gaze up until I'm staring into ocean blues. There’re those eyes. I smirk, leaning forward to pull a strand of her hair between my fingers.

“Hello, Delilah.” I hum. Twisting the short soft strand between the tips of my fingers. She jerks, trying to pull away but I tighten my grip. I tsk and shake my head.

“I don’t like this color on you,” I brush the pad of my thumb over it once more, dropping it to the pillow below. I cross my arms over my chest and lean back in the seat, she thrashes her arms and kicks her legs. “And it’s shorter than last time.”

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