Page 62 of Forever Midnight

“Stay on the phone with me, Tru.”

“’Kay,” he whispers, but his voice is weakening. “Just gonna close my eyes a little bit.”

Fuck. “I will not lose you. I cannot survive it.”

“No, you won’t lose me. Just find me.”

The sound of his shallow breathing spurs me into action. In the common area I find everyone, including Yves, Viv, and Viper. Everyone stops speaking as soon as I enter.

“Tru is in trouble.”

Yves is on his feet in seconds. “Where?”

“No clue. He was taken somewhere by Vinni. He said it sounds like a warehouse or an abandoned building with water dripping.”

Bowie approaches me. “Did he tell you anything else?”

I shake my head. “He’s still on the phone but I think he’s falling asleep.”

“Can I talk to him?” Bowie asks, reaching for my phone.

“Yeah.” I hand it to him, pacing with nerves. Viv walks over to me, rubbing my back.

“Tru?” Bowie says into the phone after hitting the speaker button. “Tru, can you hear me? It’s Bowie.”

“Bowie?” Tru whispers.

“Yeah. You remember me, right? I’m friends with Midnight.”

“Yeah, his brother.”

“Yep. Listen, Tru. Can you tell me anything about where you are? You hear water dripping. Can you turn your location services on?”

“Can’t read screen.” His voice is so weak I want to tear walls down to find him.

“That’s okay,” Bowie says. “Can you hear anything else?”

“Um…hold on.” We listen as Tru shifts, grunting as he moves. “Train,” he whispers. “I can hear a train.”

I nod, hearing it in the background.

“Okay, you’re by the train tracks,” Bowie says. “And there’s water dripping.”

“And the doors are metal and slide I think,” Tru says. “I heard it when we got here. The drive is gravel too. Pretty sure.”

Bowie shifts his eyes up to me. “The old flour mill on Ninth. It fits the description.”

“We’ll be there soon, Tru,” I say. “Just hold on for me. Okay?”

“Holding on, mon prince ténébreux.”

Syn and Yves both startle at Tru’s endearment.

“I know. It’s the second time he’s said it. By the way, he has no idea where it came from since he doesn’t speak French.”

“Curiouser and curiouser,” Thorn whispers.

“No time to waste,” I announce. “Let’s go find Tru.”

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