Page 34 of Exit Strategy

I blinked slowly. I had never thought of that.

“Oh,” I murmured, taken aback.

“It’s been a long day. I’m going across the parking lot to that diner over there and getting us some food. You rest now.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “Kurt!” I called as he was halfway out the door. He leaned back and looked me over. “Thank you.”

He smiled, nodded, and went out. I got up and locked the door behind him and waited nervously in the chair at the little desk for him to come back.

When he went to open the door and it caught, he cursed.

“Call—?” I had the door open before he could finish my name.

“You said it was a bad area,” I said and shrugged weakly.

“I did, that was good of you.” He nodded his approval.

We shared a meal, and I was ravenous, something that seemed to encourage Kurt.

“Get some rest. Showers in the morning before we leave.”

I nodded.

“Okay.”

I was feeling much more myself and though the prospect of permanent brain damage was scary, everything seemed a lot less scary with Kurt by my side.

* * *

We wereboth sound asleep when it happened. The door came crashing in on its hinges and what could only amount to a tactical strike team entered the room. Kurt sat up, gun in hand but was shot immediately. The gun was loud and fired in a burst of hellfire and smoke. I jerked and screamed as blood arced movie perfect from Kurt’s beautifully muscled and broad chest and he collapsed onto his back in the bed. Somehow feathers were flying, falling like snow, and the person who came in behind the one who had shot Kurt came fully into the room. Their mask and gear a black carapace, rendering them faceless, genderless, a modern horror as they advanced, arm outstretched to snare one of my wrists in their gloved hand.

I screamed, and drew in tighter on myself, squeezing my eyes shut and already curling into a ball to ward off the coming blow.

“Callie!”

I jerked and chest heaving opened my eyes.

Kurt’s face was inches from my own, stricken with worry.

“Kurt?” I asked in soft disbelief.

“Aye.” He nodded fervently.

I felt my face crumble, the tears that welled in my eyes, ones of relief.

“Oh, there you go,” he said as I unclenched my muscles one by one. “A bad dream is all.”

I sobbed a little, and in a desperate bid to ward off the nightmare, practically crawled into his lap to hide from it.

He gathered me up and hugged me tight.

“That’s it,” he said gently. “You’re alright now.”

I cried.

Was I? Was I really? Would we ever be?

The answer to that was a resoundingno. Not as long as New Eden and Arik Rex were looking for us. I had zero doubt in my mind that they were and that eventually we would be found.

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