Page 65 of Elas

I wave my hand vaguely. “This destroyed planet. This never-ending hostility. This… just all of this.”

“Perhaps you’re correct,” she says, her voice so quiet it’s nearly a whisper. “Perhaps we do deserve this.” She doesn’t speak for another few seconds before she shakes her head, seeming to snap out of it. “I expect this to be done in a week, Mr. Beckett. Not a day longer.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She hesitates, on the verge of saying more, but instead gives me her usual clipped nod and walks off, leaving me to stare at the mess with a sigh.

The morning ticks away in a state of preoccupied impatience. Every thirty seconds, I stop to listen for noise outside, and it seems like someone is always lingering in the hallway or close by. Lunch passes, and as I leave the break room, Chief Aeliphis pops her head in.

“Some idiot just rolled a van with six people inside. I need all hands on deck.” The other medics in the room stand as one, and I hesitate. “Sorry, Mr. Beckett. I can’t have anything slowing us down right now.”

“Understood, ma’am,” I say, and they disappear around the corner.

This is my chance.

I attempt to walk normally as I head back to work, glancing over my shoulder and straining my ears for signs of someone approaching. The hallway is empty as I swipe my card to access the file room and duck inside, listening again but finding silence.

It’s all very anticlimactic as I pull the files from their hiding spot in the back shelf and head back to the storage closet. As soon as I close the door behind me, I pull a large cardboard box of paper towels off the highest shelf. The files get buried underneath the rolls, and I replace the box, tucking another in front of it.

An entire weekend’s worth of stress was spent over something that took less than two minutes.

The rest of the day crawls by at a snail’s pace, and no one bothers me as I work. It surprises me I’m being left alone, knowing there’s a target on my back. But there’sonly one way out of this hallway, and I suppose that was the chief’s primary purpose in placing me here.

I lose myself in the mindless work, and by the time there’s a gentle knock on the door, I’ve made adequate progress. Sure, there are boxes and bottles spread out on the floor, but disassembly is a crucial part of developing a system.

Elas steps inside, glancing around with an amused grin. “You and Ronan would get along, strictly based on your love of organization.” Nostalgia colors his expression for a fleeting moment before he meets my eyes, asking the silent question.

I nod, glancing towards the door. “No one is coming,” he says, and I pull the box with the hidden files to the ground. Elas doesn’t say a word as he shoves them into the messenger bag slung over his shoulder, and I put the box back into place.

Everything is as it should be.

He leads the way as we weave through the hallways, and I’m in awe of his confident strut. He’s someone with nothing to hide, despite carrying evidence that could damn us both. My gait is more unsure as I hurry to keep up with his long strides, but no one spares us a glance. We’re almost at the exit when someone calls my name, and we both turn to find Chief Aeliphis striding our way.

“I believe you’ve got something of mine,” she says, and my veins freeze to solid ice.

Did someone see me?Hearme?

Was I not careful enough?

“I… what?” I breathe, and Elas tenses beside me. Her brow lifts in that practiced arch, and I realize I’m not breathing, my lungs refusing to inhale the oxygen I need.

“Those are my spare scrubs, are they not?”

Relief makes a rapid-fire sprint through my body, and a slightly hysterical giggle leaves me as she becomes increasingly bewildered. I clear my throat, attempting to steady myself. “Yes, ma’am. Unfortunate accident with my breakfast, I’m afraid. I’ll have them laundered and returned tomorrow.”

“Very well,” she says after a pause. “See that you do.” She glances at Elas and nods before turning and walking away. Autopilot kicks in as Elas’s hand gently touches my forearm, steering me towards the exit, and I blindly follow him out into the sun. He could lead me straight off the edge of a cliff, and I’m so distracted I wouldn’t notice until I was a puddle on the ground.

Elas doesn’t turn in my direction, but he gets close enough that our arms bump as we walk. “I need you to breathe now, baby.” He’s calm, while I’m fighting the bile climbing the back of my throat and trying not to collapse. “Come on… in and out. As much as I’d love to give you mouth-to-mouth, the tusks might get in the way. I’ve never tried, and this doesn’t seem like the time for experiments.”

A surprised laugh bubbles out of me, still slightly hysterical, but it snaps me out of my fog. I brush my hand against his, grounding myself with his warmth. “I’m sorry… I’m not very good at this.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” he says as he briefly wraps his pinkie around mine. “Let’s just make it home before we have another panic attack, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I say with a snorted laugh. “Yeah, that’s fair. I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask for, doc.”

Elas

“Makesurethedooris locked.” August’s hands wring as he glances around the barracks, like he’s waiting for someone to jump out and drag us away. “Should we jam a chair under the handle? Is that a thing? I read it in a book once, but I’ve never tried it. Maybe we should try it.”

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