Page 113 of The Last Hope
He’s not.
He deserves a better death than that.
Zimmer falters. “Today…” His voice breaks. “… death…” He must still see the warning and fear in my searing eyes because he grabs the handle. Backing up from me.
“Conserve air,” Court cautions me. “Do… scream.” I think I must’ve missed the wordnot.
Donotscream.
I hold my breath, my pulse lodged in my throat.
Mykal tries to breathe for me, but his strong inhales are only a sensation. It’s not real.
Though it comforts me.
Stork lets go of his support, unsticking his feet, and before the turbulence tosses him like a doll, he clutches my handle with me. Body pressing up against mine, he assesses the damage of my helmet up close.
And then his hand rises to the buckle of his helmet.
I shake my head. “You can’t wear my cracked helmet!” I’m not sure how much he can hear through the spotty signal.
He holds up one finger.
And then five fingers.
And then makes a zero.
One hundred and fifty.
He will die at one hundred and fifty years. He’s saying he’ll survive this part, and since he acts more like a Fast-Tracker than an Influential, I know he cares little about injuries.
I ease back, and his lip quirks before he unbuckles his helmet and pulls it off his head like he didn’t need one in the first place.
“Hold…” Gem says.
“… breath… hold,” Padgett tells me.
“Don’t… bre…” Kinden instructs.
I hold my breath and pop the buckles of my helmet. Using both hands to remove it.
Stork pins me to the wall with his muscular body, and quickly, he situates his helmet on my head and locks it onto my suit.
I breathe a lungful.
Mykal and Court relax back, and Zimmer nods in thanks to the gods or Stork. I can’t tell which.
Stork fits my cracked helmet on himself, and I try to catch my hot, ragged breath.
He knocks lightly on my glass visor to grab my attention.
I’m all anger and guilt.
His face glows red from the emergency lights. “I…” His lips move, but I hear nothing else.
“I can’t hear you!” I shout. “Save your breath!”
He tries again. Yelling, “I can’t…” I see the shape of his words:I can’t die!
