Page 96 of Grim

A whimper. Soft. Broken. Barely there.

The sound hit him like a blast wave. For a split second, the hallway wasn’t a hallway — it was a sand-blown room overseas, dim and choking with dust, where he’d once found a civilian girl curled behind a broken cot, making that same small, broken sound. Same fear. Same silence. Same too-late feeling clawing up his throat.

His vision tunneled. His pulse spiked. His body moved before thought could catch up.

His breath caught. His chest tightened. His vision blurred at the edges.

“Sophia…” he whispered, the name cracking in his throat.

He moved faster.

Down a hallway lined with rusted pipes that dripped water in slow, rhythmic taps. Past a room filled with broken crates and stained mattresses. Through a corridor that smelled like fear, sharp, acidic, unmistakable.

The sound came again.

A small, choked sob.

Grim’s heart stopped.

Then he ran.

A Reaper stepped into the hallway, blocking the final door.

Grim didn’t hesitate.

He grabbed the man by the vest and slammed him into the wall so hard the drywall cracked. The Reaper slid down, unconscious before he hit the floor.

Grim didn’t look at him.

He was already at the door.

His hand shook as he reached for the handle.

Stone’s voice was behind him, low and steady. “Grim—”

But Grim was already moving.

He slammed his shoulder into the door.

It ripped off its hinges, metal screeching as it crashed to the floor.

And there she was.

Caged, bruised, terrified, curled in on herself like she was trying to disappear.

Her hair hung in tangled waves, matted with sweat and dust. Her cheek was swollen, a dark bruise blooming across her skin. Her wrists were raw, angry red marks from restraints. Her knees were pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped around them like she was holding herself together.

Her breathing was shallow, too fast and too light, the kind that came from panic and exhaustion and pain.

Her eyes — God, her eyes — were wide and glassy with fear, pupils blown wide, darting around the room like she expected another blow.

She looked up at the sound of the door crashing open.

Her breath hitched.

“Maddox…”

Grim fell apart.