Page 105 of Desecrated Saints

The line goes dead.

“What the fuck just happened?” Enzo exclaims.

Just as Hunter’s mouth opens to speak, the sound of two gunshots explodes from outside of the small church. The grand, arched doors slam open, leaving two crumpled bodies to collapse inwards. The men are bleeding from smoking bullet holes shot at a perfect, point-blank range.

Too perfect.

Something evil is here.

Everything happens too quickly. Hunter and Enzo pull their weapons with practised ease. They train their aim on the gate-crasher, along with the other two agents boxing us in. Kade roughly shoves me behind him.

“Who are you?” Hunter bellows.

Dressed casually in a thick parka, plain black clothing, and a scruffy baseball cap, the silent, brown-haired man enters the church. His sunken face is covered in stubble, adding to his roughened exterior. He looks homeless. In his eyes, no emotion awaits.

Enzo hobbles into the aisle. “Stop right there.”

He keeps walking regardless of the guns facing him. Each step stamps our death certificates. When the man pulls his hand from his pocket, we all spot the small black detonator. Every second is a revolving door of quick-fire developments.

The crash of bullets pierce his chest.

Enzo’s gun recoils from the blasts.

The detonator slips for an alarming second.

Bancroft’s monster recaptures his prize.

“Who the fuck are you?” Enzo repeats.

Head cocked, he smiles. “Patient Beta.”

His thumb collides with the detonator. Survival instincts kick in as a thunderous boom echoes throughout the church. The man explodes in a blinding torrent of light. Bricks, pillars and slabs of stone fly everywhere, propelled by fire and hot ash.

Reality comes in sharp, painful fragments.

All I can hear are the panicked shouts and screams of our group. I’m knocked off my feet by Kade’s weight. He takes the full force of the blast, his body shielding me from harm. Pain still sizzles through me as I impact with the stone floor.

My ears ring, obscuring my stunned senses.

I can hear Seven screaming my name.

Darkness is swallowing my vision.

The last thing I remember is the look on Kade’s face when I finally told him that I loved him. I want to see that smile every day for the rest of my life. Not just on him, but all of them. Even if I have to die and leave reality to do that.

CHAPTER 22

BROOKLYN

TERESA - YUNGBLUD

It’s times like these that I miss Blackwood. Don’t get me wrong, it was a miserable hellhole. But at least the horrors were predictable. I could steel myself for more torture and bury my vulnerabilities to survive. I can’t do that out here.

The blows just keep coming.

Real life is a cruel motherfucker.

Dabbing the swollen lacerations on my face, I grit my teeth through the pain. I’m resolutely ignoring the whispering shadows behind me. Fear and pain bring out the worst parts of my traumatised brain.

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