Page 66 of Echos and Empires
It was bad enough he’d hotwired a truck meant for medical emergencies. They were going to steal it, trash it, and hurt those who might otherwise need it.
Save ourselves. Worry about everyone else after.
The pressure mounted and Alex felt it in every rushed movement, every frantic breath. They were leaving everything behind, everything they’d fought so hard to build. His heart was a relentless, stuttering beat against his ribs, a constant reminder of how precarious things had become. They weren’t just running, they were running scared. The unknown was a dark and looming presence, one that threatened to swallow them whole. And it was Alex’s fault. He knew it. He could feel it twist inside him, a guilty knot that refused to be untangled. He should’ve skipped work instead of giving Will the instructions. Should have gone himself.
He watched Emma, the way she moved like she was underwater, slow and disoriented. It set his nerves on edge. He should have been able to fix this, should have seen the danger coming. Instead, they were fleeing, their carefully constructed lives unraveling with each passing second. It was all wrong. Alex’s hands shook as he tossed another bag into the car, the fear and guilt and frustration combining into a volatile mix. He needed to keep it together, needed to hold on until Chris and Bash returned with William. Until they had a plan. until the world righted itself.
Liam’s voice cut through the tension, sharp and raw. “This is fucked,” he said, shoving gear into the back seat with more force than necessary.
Alex nodded, unable to find words that would ease the strain, ease the pressure. It was a shared frustration, a shared fear. The tension between them was palpable, electric. It threatened to break them, to split them apart at the seams. But they didn’t have a choice. The danger was real, and it was close. Too close for comfort.
“Emma,” Alex called, trying to keep his voice steady, trying to reach through the fog that seemed to surround her.
She blinked, looked up at him with wide, uncertain eyes. It tore at something deep inside him. He went to her, hands brushing against her shoulders, her hair. She felt fragile and distant, and it made him feel impossibly far away. “We’ll be alright,” he said, though the words felt hollow, unconvincing. He wanted to believe them, needed her to believe them. He needed them all to believe they had a chance.
Liam slammed the trunk shut, the noise a punctuation mark on the urgency that clawed at their insides. “We have to move, Alex,” Liam said, the impatience in his voice barely masking the worry. “Ranger, come on boy!”
The dog flew through the air with the command, jumping into the back without fear.
Alex nodded, the pressure pushing him to the breaking point. But he wouldn’t break. Couldn’t. Not with Emma, not with Liam, not with the others depending on him. He swallowed down the fear, the guilt, the frustration. He’d carry the burden, shoulder the responsibility. He’d do whatever it took to keep them safe.
“Get in,” Alex said, voice tight, eyes scanning the horizon as if the danger would manifest right in front of them.
He watched Emma move, saw the uncertainty in her step, the way she cradled her belly as if she could shield the life inside her from all this madness. It broke him, shattered him. But he didn’t let it show. He couldn’t afford to let it show. Not now, not ever.
As they climbed into the car, the urgency and pressure wrapped around them like a noose, tight and unrelenting. Alex felt the strain, felt it settle into his bones, into his soul. They were all they had. And they were enough. They had to be enough. “We’re not far from where we were,” Alex said, more to himself than anyone else. “We’ll regroup. We’ll get through this.” It was a promise, a desperate hope. It was all he could give.
He started the truck, the engine a loud, jarring reminder of the life they were leaving behind. But it was also a promise of forward motion, of escape. Alex clung to that thought, let it anchor him, steady him. The responsibility weighed heavily, but he bore it with grim determination. The risk they’d put Emma in, the toll it had taken on all of them, was something he couldn’t forgive himself for. But he would make it right. He had to.
Somehow, no one had seen them or the truck, or perhaps they thought something was wrong with Emma and the pregnancy and didn’t get involved. Either way, Alex wasn’t going to question a blessing in this mess.
“Liam, all that plotting you did is paying off. You ready to navigate?”
Liam nodded and pulled the hand drawn maps from his pocket as if he carried them around all the time.
The road ahead was uncertain, but they had to keep moving. Had to stay ahead of the threat that was too close, far too close. He could feel it bearing down on them, an invisible weight that grew heavier with each passing second. Liam and Emma were too quiet in the backseat, the silence an oppressive force that pressed against his ribs. Alex had to make this right. Had to find a way out. The responsibility was a living thing, and it wrapped around him, tight and relentless.
The tension in the air settled into Alex’s bones, into his soul. They were running on empty, both figuratively and literally. The need to escape, to keep Emma safe, was an ache that wouldn’t go away. Wouldn’t ease, no matter how fast they moved or how far they got. It gnawed at him, a constant reminder of how precarious their situation had become. The guilt and fear were a volatile mix, one that threatened to explode if he didn’t keep it contained. But containment was getting harder and harder.
Alex saw the worry etched into Liam’s features, the tension in his shoulders as he sat next to Emma. The strain was evident, an unspoken force that stretched between them. They all felt it, but Emma’s silence was what scared Alex the most. She leaned against the window, eyes distant, a ghost of herself. It was more than he could take, but he had to take it. He had to bear the weight of their safety, their future. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, knuckles white, heart a frantic drumbeat in his chest.
The determination pushed him forward, past the doubt, past the fear. It fueled him, a desperate fire that wouldn’t burn out, no matter how dire things seemed. “It’s not far,” Liam said. “We’ll regroup, figure things out.” The words hung heavy in the air, like a promise that was too fragile, too thin.”Alex, Drop Chris a text with the coordinates when we’re further out, I left my damn phone, not that we can keep them much longer. That cavesystem is going to be our best bet and the farthest away making our meetings with the others much harder.”
“We’ll worry about that tomorrow,” Alex pressed his foot on the gas, sending the small SUV flying in a way the old military truck could never move.
As they drove on, the landscape blurring past them, Alex felt the pressure wrap tighter around him. It was relentless, unyielding. But he’d carry it, every last ounce. He took a deep breath, tried to steady his nerves, and grabbed his phone. The message to Chris was short, a set of coordinates based on Liam’s mapping system. An apology. A promise. Alex looked at Emma, at Liam, at the life he’d sworn to protect. The risk they’d put Emma in, the danger that seemed to close in from all sides, was a burden he couldn’t share, couldn’t escape. But he’d try. He had to. He sent the message, a small, desperate hope in a sea of uncertainty, and watched the road unfold ahead of them.
TWENTY-THREE
The cave openedup before her as if to swallow her—a vast, black hollow cutting into the earth, the cave’s breath curling cold around Emma’s ankles. It was different from living in the basement of her family home, or being on the run. It was less inviting.
Ranger trotted easily at her side, unfazed by the strange surroundings, his nose twitching at damp air that smelled like crushed stone. She clutched his leash, comforted by his warmth, but her eyes kept darting to the shadowy entrance.
The wind scraped at her cheeks, carrying whispers of unease and blowing them into her mind like cobwebs. She was close now. The thought should have soothed her, but her heart still clattered against her ribs, and fear coiled tight in her stomach. Liam stepped beside her, his face hidden behind a tangled mop of hair and wire-rimmed glasses. “Nothing to worry about,” he assured, though his smile seemed small in the great emptiness.
“Once we’re inside, we’ll light it up nice and cozy,” Alex added, confidence running through his voice.
He moved to Emma’s other side, matching her pace, a steady presence against the uncertainty. Ranger gave a short bark, straining forward, oblivious to Emma’s growing hesitation.
