Joe hesitated.Are you sure you want to know?
“Yes.”
Don’t freak out.
He let the image unfold—his true form, unhidden. Wings. Multifaceted face. Four arms ending in claws. Two spindly but strong legs. Large, unblinking eyes. Blue, scaled skin that caught the light. Spikes on his back. Spikes on his arms. One spike on his curved tail. And his wings. He’d loved his wings.
Then he waited for fear, for revulsion.
“Oh,” Kaden breathed. “You’re beautiful.”
Joe’s hearts trembled. Beautiful? He had never—never—been called that.
“You’re like an armour-plated dragonfly crossed with a…scorpion.”
Does it disturb you?
“No.” A soft pause. “Thank you for showing me.”
Kaden fell quiet after that.
Not even thinking.
Just…being.
And for the first time since the journey began, Joe felt something close to stillness settle inside him. It was fragile and no doubt fleeting, but real.
This had to be done and Kaden had to live.
As Kaden walked into the hospital, he kept his hoodie pulled low and his head down, shoulders hunched like he was trying to fold himself into the fabric. Joe knew he was trying to avoid being caught by the cameras, but he wondered if Kaden felt hewas heading to his doom? If so, he was hiding it. Joe made it feel as if he was holding Kaden’s hand.
“I’ve tried to think of everything you might need,” Kaden whispered.
Inside the backpack slung over one shoulder was another backpack, a tatty one, carefully filled with a T-shirt, underwear, jogging bottoms and a towel. There was also a small amount of cash. Most importantly, there was a plastic envelope holding a signed letter from Kaden stating that Jalis could stay with him, a utility bill to prove Kaden was resident at that address and a note saying he couldn’t afford to completely support him. That would ensure his eligibility for the grant.
“How did you get those if we hadn’t met?” Kaden asked.
You posted them to Afghanistan. The energy bill is from a couple of months ago. That will work.
“Okay. If they ask where you got the backpack and the clothes from, say a charity shop.”
Yes.
Kaden began a thought and then snapped it off.
What were you going to say?
“Look for all the routes out of here.” Kaden barely moved his lips. “And any cameras that might be watching. You remember where the police station is, right?”
Yes. You pointed it out. But I’ve had a thought too. Perhaps you ought to hide the letter, the bill and the note. It links us and linking us brings too many questions if either of us are injured.
“Okay. That’s a good idea. Except I don’t know where I can hide them.”
Kaden went to three different bathrooms before choosing one on the third floor. The first two had been busy. This one was empty. There was no out-of-order sign to use. Joe could feel Kaden’s heart beginning to hammer. He tried to calm it,to smooth the rhythm from the inside, but his own hearts were racing too, overlapping pulses of fear and urgency because no matter how much he knew what he wanted to happen, he couldn’t be sure of the outcome.
How about hiding them in that gap at the bottom of the sink pedestal?
“The one at the end. Okay. I’ll do that.”
