Page 60 of Their Will be Done

Closet is a bust.

I haul open the drawer in his nightstand. A bible, a spiral-bound notebook, hand lotion, condoms—

I freeze.

Condoms.

Condoms?

What the fuck—?

There’s no time, Trinity!

I slam the drawer shut, and try to will the sight of that black-and-gold packaging from my mind. I shove my hands under his mattress and shuffle all the way around the edge, grunting at how heavy it is.

Nothing.

I stick my head under his bed, and then crawl under when I realize it’s too dark for me to see.

I try not to imagine that there’s someone already under here, all the way at the back, reaching for me like I’m reaching for them.

Condoms?

Fuck it, concentrate!

Nothing. Bed’s a bust.

I’m about to crawl out again when my hand brushes against something.

A thousand spiders burrow into my hair. I let out a strangled scream and have to force myself not to cannon out from under the bed, yelling.

It’s just a bag, Trinity.

A baghidden under his bed.

Jackpot!

I ruthlessly suppress the part of me that wants to wet itself and grab a fistful of the cloth bag, dragging it out with me as I crawl backward.

The closer I get to getting out, the more convinced I am that Gabriel is already standing in the room, waiting for me.

My heart is seconds away from exploding. I clear the last few inches and throw myself onto my back, clutching the bag to my chest like a shield in case Father Gabriel decides to pounce on me.

The room is empty.

No spiders in my hair.

Just condoms in the drawer.

I shove away the thought as I roll onto my knees and zip open the bag.

Gloves. A soft hat. A carton of cigarettes. A moleskin journal. Rolled up cables. A laptop.

A laptop.

I rip it out and flip it open. It doesn’t look new, but since I’ve only ever used the library’s clunky old desktop computers before, I wouldn’t wager anything on my knowledge of this shit. But to compare it to the sleek, black machine Apollo was setting up yesterday? Yeah, this thing is ancient.

The screen is blank. I hunt around the machine, finger raised, until I spot the power button.

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