Page 96 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire

Moving too quickly for me to react, she cups the back of my head, forcing me to my knees, her palm sliding over my lips, the blood pooling into my mouth.

"F-Forest-"

"Quiet," she yells, pressing harder.

The veins of her skin glow, the blood slowly seeping into my system, my throat forced to swallow. Watching her eyes lower, something about the way the blood is working through my system feels enlightening, my vision growing spotty the longer I consume the blood.

"Rest easy, big brother," Forest whispers, her lips grazing my ear.

"Welcome to the winning side,"she whispers in my mind.

The darkness greets me moments later.

Chapter thirty

Forest- Years Ago

The lights blare.

The sirens shake my eardrums, jolting me awake from my semi-peaceful sleep.

Falling off my bed, I clutch my head, doing my best to focus on what the hell is happening around me.

Surrounded by mostly darkness, the only light in the space emits from the red warning lights flashing through the glass window to my space. Stumbling toward my door, I jiggle the lock, half expecting to feel the normal resistance I would at this hour.

Melanie never leaves my door unlocked past-

Feeling it open, the metal door slowly swings open, creaking as if it has not been used in years.

Taking a step forward, something warm and wet touches my sock.

The stench of iron clings to my nose.

Blood.

A hell of a lot of it.

Looking around for some indicator on where the source of the blood is, I meet nothing but dead ends.

For many years it has been quiet.

Day in and day out, refining my abilities, becoming something worthy of the cause Melanie is fighting for.

Worthy of taking down the Prophet.

Though mostly divided by the concrete wall, I hear Xavier in my mind, seeing him in the stolen moments we manage to slip outside, or whisper to one another in our minds.

Seeing the wreck before me now, Xavier is the only person I want to get to.

Trying not to slip on blood, I run toward Xavier's room door, slamming my fists on its metal surface.

"Xavier," I whisper, getting no resistance from his lock like I had mine.

"F-Forest?" he questions with uncertainty, his energy radiating from the other side of the door.

"Yes," I hiss, looking around for something to get this door open.

On the inside of the room, a noise plays at a low frequency 24/7, diluting out abilities, making it impossible to open the door from our side.

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