Page 119 of Midnight Sanctuary

Elle’s face ripples with determination. “No, you’re not. I’m going to be with you. I won’t leave your side.”

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to,” Dr. Grigory says gently. “No one is allowed in the operating room except medical staff.”

“Can’t you make an exception?” Elle demands. “She needs me.”

“I’m afraid not,” Dr. Grigory insists as I’m transferred onto a gurney.

“But—”

I grab Elle’s hand and squeeze as tightly as I can. “It’s okay,” I tell her. “I’ll be okay. I can do this.”

She doesn’t look confident. She looks ghost-white and fidgety. “Alyssa—”

“This is for my babies,” I choke out despite how much energy it’s costing me to speak. “I can do this… for them.”

A tear slips down her cheek. “W-what about Uri?”

I know what she’s asking and the simple truth is, I don’t know. I don’t know if telling him I need him is the right thing—or if telling him to fuck off forever is better. I’m too emotional and in too much pain to decide what I really want or why I really want it. And that’s assuming the universe even gives a damn about whether or not I want what’s coming. It might just force it on me anyway.

I keep my eyes on her. “I’ll be fine,” I promise as they wheel me out of the room.

My head lolls back against the pillow and I keep my eyes on the moving ceiling. No, wait. The ceiling isn’t moving;I’mmoving. I can hear beeping in the distance, voices raised in urgency, the tangy smell of Lysol and dirty mop water.

It’s the same smell that invaded my nostrils every time I stepped into the hospital with Ziva. I still remember her leaning over to me with a secretive, ghoulish smile and whispering in my ear,It’s the only way to cover up the smell of me rotting from the inside out.

No.

I refuse to think about death anymore. There’s going to be no more death, no more loss. I may be months early but my babies will survive. I’m going to keep them both alive with the sheer strength of my will.

I couldn’t save Ziva.

But I’m gonna save them.

The doors slam open behind me and I feel as though I’m being attacked by light.Why the hell is it so bright?

And cold?

By the time my eyes adjust, I realize I’m being wheeled onto something. I look around in panic, trying to find a familiar face.

“W-where’s Dr. Grigory?” I ask.

“He’s riding in the front.”

I turn to the nurse who just spoke. She’s the one I noticed earlier, the one with dark eyes and jet black hair and the nose ring. “R-riding in the front?” I ask in confusion. “I-I thought you were taking me to the operating room? My babies…”

“Oh, don’t worry,” she replies with a smile that’s decidedly un-nurse-like. “Your babies are okay. And you’re not going into labor. Not yet anyway.”

My heartbeat feels like it’s marching to the beat of a dirge. Slow, thudding, confused. I try to get up but the black-haired nurse pushes me down roughly and grabs my right hand. She binds it to the gurney with a leather strap while another nurse does the same thing with my left hand.

Though “nurse” might not be the right term for these people, I’m just now realizing.

“What’s going on?” I demand weakly. “Where are you taking me?”

The black-haired not-a-nurse gives me a leering wink that makes my stomach flip. “I wanna tell you we’re taking you someplace safe, but… that would be a lie.”

She punches her palm against the ceiling of whatever vehicle we’re in and just like that, we start rolling away from the hospital.

Away from Uri.

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