Page 134 of Elas

“But maybe we could—” I start, but Xeni and Elas simultaneously twist towards the entrance.

“Incoming!” Xeni shouts as two guards charge through the front doors. They skid to a stop, eyes comically wide at the growing crowd of prisoners standing in the lobby. The siren blares overhead, but it doesn’t disguise Lillith’s guttural cry as she charges towards them. They’re so flustered they crash into each other as they try to run, and she catches them both by the back of their armor. Their feet lift off the ground, kicking and flailing as she thunks them together like a couple of rag dolls. When she stops, they hang unconscious in her hands.

She drops them into a pile and removes the guns slung over their shoulders. I cringe at the blood that coats their faces. With how they’re positioned, I can’t tell if they’re still breathing or not, but I decide now isn’t the time to let my morals get in the way.

Very few times in my life have I taken on a ‘them or us’ mentality, but this situation forces my hand.

“Here, I don’t need these,” Lillith says, passing the guns to Elas. He snorts and slings one over his shoulder, then eyeballs Xeni.

“Do you know how to use this?”

“Fuck you, blue man.”

“Can you even aim with one eye?” Elas asks, and Xeni pulls off a top-tier glare, despite the eyepatch. Elas finally relents and hands over the other rifle. “Don’t shoot me in the back.”

“Don’t give me any grand ideas,” Xeni retorts as he snatches the gun, but they both sling the weapons over their shoulders instead of pointing them at each other.

Small victories.

“The quickest way to the parking lot is through here,” Xeni says with a wave towards the medical hallway. I shout over to Taryn and Lillith to follow.

“We have to go!” I yell, but Taryn glances around at the chaos with her lip bitten between her teeth.

She shakes her head after a quick, wordless exchange with Lillith. “There’s too much that needs to be done here,” she shouts back. “We’ll catch up to you.”

My heart cracks at the idea of leaving her behind… of leavinganyof them behind. But Elas’s gaunt face and haunted eyes make him a phantom in the bright lights, and I’m positive he’s only on his feet through sheer stubborn willpower. The thought of him experiencing further pain isn’t worth the risk.

He needs to get out of here before he’s broken.

Before the pieces are too gnarled and mangled to ever fit back together.

“Promise you’ll come?” I ask Taryn, and her eyes soften as she smiles.

“Go give ’em hell, August.”

Xeni and Elas lead the way as I jog behind them, and the alarms blare so loud it’s hard to even think. Wecan’t hear anything past them, so Elas has no choice but to crack the door and peek outside. After only a moment’s hesitation, he throws it open and beckons for us to follow.

Lights around the compound are illuminated, shining off the black paint of the SUV that sits in the middle of the lot. Figures in the distance are mustering in groups, and there are no obstacles between us and them. Khors stands in the middle of the group, his eyes landing on us with a hatred I can feel even from here, and Elas curses as the first weapon fires.

Bullets whiz past as he grabs my wrist and ducks behind the row of vans that sit against the building. “Where do they store the keys to these?” he bellows over the racket, and Xeni tosses his head over his shoulder.

“There’s a set in Gale’s office,” he shouts back. “We don’t have time to get them! Please tell me you have your keys shoved up your ass or something!”

“They’re hidden in a flap under the driver’s seat!” Elas yells, and Xeni nods, craning his neck to peek around the van. “How the fuck are we going to get out? Even if we made it to the vehicle, we can’t just drive through that amount of firepower!”

Movement flashes in my peripheral vision, and I turn to find two guards right behind me. A gun jabs at my head, and I manage to dodge the brunt of the blow, but it still knocks me forward and sends me sprawling onto my chest. Elas roars as the world slows to a crawl, and the click of a trigger makes me freeze.

Cold metal presses against my skull as a foot lands on my spine, and I don’t dare to move my body as my eyes find Elas. He’s so close, only a few feet away… barely out of reach as my arm stretches towards him, my fingers clawing desperately for safety. His eyes are solid black and his lips peeled back in rage, and even with the sickly hue of his skin and hollow cheeks, he’s terrifying as he charges.

The weight lifts from my back as Elas grabs the guard around the neck. He steals the handgun in a fluid swipe and quickly puts a bullet through the second guard’s forehead. “Say you’re sorry to my mate,” he snarls at the one in his grip as I spin onto my ass and scramble backwards, dust kicking up under my frantic feet.

“I’m sor—I’m sorry,” the guard gasps.

“They’re getting closer!” Xeni shouts from his spot, and a few gunshots follow. “We need to fucking move!”

“I only wish I had time to make you suffer,” Elas growls, fisting the guard’s hair as he drops the flailing body to the ground. The monster’s knees hit the dirt as Elas’s fingers tighten. “This will have to do.” His boot meets the guard’s sternum with such force that his head separates from his neck with a wet rip of flesh. I roll to my side and retch as Elas pants, chest heaving as he holds the dripping head. Segments of spine hang from his bleeding neck, and I gag again as Elas tosses it aside.

“Are you alright?” Infinitely gentle hands rub up my back as he crouches beside me, concern softening his face despite the spray of bloody droplets across his cheek. I nod, allowing him to help me to my feet.

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