Page 65 of Visions of Darkness

Pax’s attention whipped down the hall as the voice continued to carry: “On your knees! It’s the last time I will warn you.”

Then those gray eyes were back on me, and he stretched out his hand. “Aria, we have to hurry.”

The sharp edge of his voice knocked me out of the stupor, and every molecule in my body snapped into action.

Running forward, I took the hand he had extended.

Energy streaked at the connection.

Staggering.

Light flashed behind my eyes and surged through my body when we touched. A shock wave that shot through me and shook me to the core.

But we didn’t have time to stand there and process it.

Pax pulled me out into the hall, and his head swung in every direction as he calculated how to get us out of this.

Shouts and yells came at us from every side. A security guard stood at the head of the hall. His Taser was drawn, his stance one of protection, though I could physically feel him shaking with the horror of what was happening.

Three people were behind him, peering out from the barricade he’d created with his body. An older woman whom I didn’t recognize, plus two nurses working the night shift, Jill included.

My stomach lurched when the vile man who’d sneaked into my room climbed to his knees, trying to get the rest of the way to his feet.

He swayed with the wickedness that oozed from his being, and I could almost hear the Ghorl raging in his mind, their commands for him to get up, to finish the job, to end me, as he wheezed, “You bitch. Little whore.”

Pax lifted his free hand. A hand I hadn’t realized was holding a gun. He brought it down hard at the base of the man’s skull. A crack echoed through the air. The monster gave, his body jerking before he fell flat against the floor.

“Motherfucker,” Pax spat before his attention whipped both directions, his jaw set tight as he realized the only way we could go was deeper into the facility.

“This way.” He tugged at my hand, quick to step over the man. Bile burned in my throat as I hopped over him.

I struggled to keep up with Pax, who started to run, hauling me along behind him as the staff began to chase us.

My bare feet smacked against the cold, hard floor, and blood barreled through my veins. A thunder that raged and a chaos that trounced through me in a violent, hammering storm.

“I have you,” Pax promised in the same rough voice I recognized all the way down to my soul.

Together, we raced down the hall with his hand firmly wrapped around mine. It was something we’d done so many times before, only this time, we were the ones being hunted and not the other way around.

“Stop!” The single word wobbled from the guard, the command ignored as Pax drove us faster.

My heart hammered.

Confusion, hope, and horror clanged with each erratic beat.

“Stop. Both of you. There is no way you’re getting out of here, so don’t make this harder than it has to be.” The guard’s voice was in the distance but growing nearer, and I could hear the clatter of multiple footsteps as the rest followed.

A crush of adrenaline and desperation hurtled down the hall and pressed at the walls.

“Aria Rialta, you must end this. You have no chance of getting out of here. You’re only going to make it worse for yourself.” The unfamiliar woman’s voice carried, hooks that threatened to impale.

Other patients had begun to emerge from their rooms, and they stood gawking in their open doors, still half-asleep as they peered out into the commotion.

Their confusion turned into shouts, some of them cheering on the mayhem, while others shrank back into the safety of their rooms.

“Don’t slow, Aria,” Pax murmured quietly. Harsh with the plea.

We came up to the end of the hall, and Pax took a sharp right. We spilled into the open space of the cafeteria.

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