Page 102 of Our Little Monster
“But we were careful. We made sure she didn’t tail us,” Thorne chimed in, throwing his shirt on over his head.
“Serina is too smart for her own good. I don’t know how, but she had to have figured it out,” I gritted, doing the same and grabbing my shoes before slipping them on quickly.
“Fuck, let's go,” Thorne cursed, and we hurried as one out of the front door as we poured out into the night, the urgency propelling us forward, our bodies moving as fast as they could go.
The woods blurred around us as we shot through them, our feet barely touching the forest floor. We soon reached the warehouse with hearts pounding against our ribs, yet everything before us seemed disturbingly undisturbed.
“It’s too quiet,” I muttered under my breath, eyes darting from one dark corner to another.
Nox nodded, his gaze as sharp as knives.
Thorne surveyed the perimeter, his jaw set in a hard line.
“Look,” Nox's voice cut through the silence. He gestured toward the bushes where two guards lay lifeless, staked with brutal precision. My gut twisted at the sight; Serina was here.
“Inside. Now!” I commanded, and without hesitation, we moved toward the warehouse. I was sure our minds were entwined in shared dread.
We hadn't taken more than a few steps when the world erupted into chaos. A booming explosion thundered beneath our feet, shaking the ground and sending a searing heatwave across our faces, blasting us backwards.
Flames roared into the sky, consuming the warehouse with voracious hunger.
“Serina!” we all screamed, our voices swallowed by the inferno.
Vampires burst from the building, their figures blurred as they scattered into the safety of the woods, fleeing from the destruction.
“Damn it!” Thorne cursed, his expression twisted with fury and fear.
Nox's hand clamped down on my forearm, helping me to my feet, grounding me even as despair clawed through my veins.
“Inside,” I choked out. “We have to get inside.” The words tasted of ash. We couldn't afford to think, only to act—to find her, to save her.
We plunged into the burning maw of the warehouse, the heat oppressive, the smoke blinding. Every flame licked at my skin. Somewhere in this hell, Serina was waiting for us, and I swore by every star that shone unseen above that I would reach her.
“Serina!” Our voices melded together, three parts of a shattered whole, calling out for the missing piece that completed us.
Each step forward was a battle against the blaze, against the very real possibility that we might be too late.
I pushed onward. If she was gone, the echo of her laughter, the warmth of her touch, the ferocity of her spirit—it would be the end of all things. For Nox, for Thorne, for me.
“Keep looking!” It was Nox's command, but it was unnecessary.
We were beyond commands, driven by something primal, something that defied words and reason. The thing we never got to say.
The fire raged. The building groaned. And somewhere amidst the chaos, our hearts refused to concede to the flames that threatened to consume the very reason we lived.
Debris crunched beneath our shoes as we battled the flames, our eyes scanning desperately for any sign of her. The heat was a monster, clawing at my skin, but it was nothing compared to the cold dread that had settled in my chest.
“Over there!” Thorne’s shout pierced through the crackling chaos, and all semblance of restraint vanished.
My body moved on instinct, hurtling towards the still figure crumpled on the ground amidst scorched rubble and splintered wood.
The sight of Serina, lifeless in a darkening pool of her own blood, was a cruel strike to my fucking soul. Agony seized me, a visceral twist in my gut, as I fell to my knees beside her. My hands trembled as they hovered over her fragile body, afraid that even the slightest touch could shatter what little hope remained.
“Serina,” I choked out, my voice raw with terror and need.
Nox and Thorne were by my side in an instant, their expressions mirroring the torment that ripped through me.
She was our anchor, our light.
