Page 56 of Death Match

“Hold on to me,” I yelled at her. In my chest, my hear felt like it was breaking in two. I couldn’t let her drop to her death. How could she even ask that of me?

Her smile continued to tug at the corner of her mouth. She knew her fate, and she had accepted it. “It’s okay, Jade,” she repeated. “Save him.”

Angry tears burned my eyes. This couldn’t be happening. I had to save them both. I had to…

“Save him,” she whispered. Then, she closed her eyes and fully let go of my hand.

“No!” I watched as she fell, the wind tossing up her hair and clothes. The entire time, there was a serene expression on her face, and it wasn’t long before the mist swallowed her up completely.

“Save him.”Her last words to me.

“I-I will…” I choked back, the anguish of losing her too great to process in the moment. I clutched Zach closer to my chest, making sure he was still safe in my shirt, and listened. All I heard was the roar of the tumultuous but unseen waters below. No splash. No thud. No cries. But my heart knew the truth.

She was gone.

Ripping my gaze off the mist, I continued up the bridge, using the planks like a ladder, with Zach tucked into my shirt. Like before, he seemed to be enjoying the constant swaying motion as I climbed, and it took everything in me to focus on getting him out of the gorge instead of losing his mother. It was hard enough when Kay’s face kept resurfacing and my heart kept seizing, but I couldn’t break down. Not yet. Not when getting Zach to safety had to be my number one priority.

One foot in front of the other. That was all I needed to do right now. One foot in front of the other. Keep moving. Don’t look back.

The moment we reached the cliff and I pulled us up onto solid ground, I carefully took Zach out from under my shirt and held him in my arms. On my knees, I stared down at his tiny face and big brown eyes, seeing my friend in so many of his features. He stared back at me, slight confusion in his eyes, as though he wasn’t quite sure why I was watching at him so openly. Tears accumulated in my eyes, but I tried to blink them away. As silly as it sounded, I didn’t want him to worry.

I couldn’t help it then. The tears just started flowing; the sobs wracking through my chest and making me choke and hiccup. My entire body shook from the force of them. I wanted to be strong for him, but I couldn’t. If Kay were here, she’d be strong. She’d be bubbly and positive, even in the bleakest of moments.

Me? I was a blubbering, helpless mess.

I felt like I was dying. No this was worse than dying. I was a pro at dying now. This was worse. Like being ripped apart piece by piece. It was complete agony, emptiness, and guilt all rolled into one terrible feeling.

I stayed like that for a long time, unable to control myself or the pain ripping through me. But when I finally peeled my eyes open again and stared down at Zach still in my arms, Kay’s voice replayed in my mind.

“It’s okay… You can let go… Save him… Save Zach…”

And I had. I had saved him. But it still didn’t feel like it had been enough.

If only I could have saved her, too.

I’m so sorry, Kay.

Still in my arms, Zach reached up and his little fingers grabbed my chin. I sniffed and smiled through my tears. Despite everything Kay and Laurence had been through to have him, he was really perfect in every way. He cooed and my heart melted. To think, I might have never heard that sound again.

A true little miracle.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered to him, my voice hoarse from all the crying. I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right, if I was saying the right thing. I tried to think of what Kay might do in this situation. I was no mom, by any means. I didn’t know what having a baby entailed. But please let me do this one thing right. I owed it to my friend. “I’m here. I got you.”

Zach babbled happily, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that had just occurred. That made my heart break even more.

“Save him.”Kay’s voice floated to my ears again, making my chest pinch with agony.

I will,I promised her silently.Whatever it takes.

I let out a slow, shaky breath. I needed to carry on. I still needed to move. Shifting to stand, I realized my promise would extend beyond this moment. To save Zach—truly save him—I’d have to win this war and stop the apocalypse. I’d have to beat these Trials. I’d have to become an Archangel. I’d have to save the world.

And that was just what I was going to do.

Suddenly, the weight in my arms lightened, and baby Zach’s form started to fade away. Terrified, I grasped at the air, trying to hold onto him, but in a blink of an eye, he was gone.

“What? No—”

That’s when the familiar gray fog began to creep along the ground, rising up and surrounding me. Signaling the end of my third Trial.

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