Page 200 of Stormbreaker

It’s then that I remember the blood on Knox’s knife.

He hurt Rook.

I’ll kill Knox.

I want to ask if Rook is okay, but I can’t. How bad is it?

I watch as he strips off his shirt and quickly wraps a thick bandage around his midsection. Then he finds a clean gray shirt and tugs it over his head before pulling on his jacket.

He scoops me off the bed. I dangle from his elbows like a newborn kitten as he kicks open the door, pausing to listen. When everything seems quiet, he hauls me against him, and then we’re leaving.

“I hope this will wear off soon,” he says.

He sounds almost panicked. Nothing like the coolly composed man I’ve come to know over the last several months. Is he worried about me? Himself? Or something I can’t even begin to imagine? Why doesn’t he just leave me behind?

He took a knife for me.

Instead of turning back up the stairs, he heads deeper into the building.

“We’re going through the tunnels,” he says, anticipating the question I can’t ask. “There’s a secret entrance that leads into the Wastes.”

What?

“They’ll spot us if we try to leave over land,” he says, still talking. “We’re too exposed out there.”

If I thought I had questions a minute ago, now they come rushing at me like water through a shattered dam. I whimper, frustrated that I can’t voice a single one.

“Don’t worry,” he says, breathing heavily. “I don’t think they know where we went.”

No. I want to scream. Tell me what’s going on.

Rook grunts as we turn another corner, arriving at the entrance we’ve used before to access the tunnels. He sets me on the ground and drops the bags to the bottom, where they land with heavy thumps.

He places his hands on his knees, assessing me. “I’m not sure how to do this.”

Just as he finishes the thought, he’s hauling me up and approaching the ladder. Anchoring me to his front with one arm around my waist, he uses his other, jumping between the rungs to lower us. I hear his pained grunts. See the wince in his features. He’s badly hurt, while I flop in his arms and hate how useless I am.

Rook groans as he bears his weight and mine, his forehead shiny with perspiration. I’m not sure I’ve actually seen him break a sweat before.

What a strange thing to notice.

Maybe I am losing my mind.

Somehow, we make it to the bottom, where he again sets me on the ground and wastes no time closing the hatch, then slinging the packs over his shoulders. A moment later, we’re delving deeper into the tunnels, lit only by the occasional dim light.

If the power goes out, we won’t be able to see anything at all.

A few minutes later, I curse my prescient thoughts because the lights flicker, and we’re plunged into the darkest black.

“Shit,” Rook hisses as he nearly stumbles.

I wonder if this is a real outage or if they’ve purposely cut us off.

“I’m going to set you down again, okay?” he asks.

I blink, but I don’t think he can see it. Nevertheless, he gently places me on the ground, leaning me against a wall. A light flares a moment later, courtesy of his phone. He uses one of the backpack straps to attach it to his shoulder.

Then he picks me up with a wince, and we continue through the tunnels lit only by a small circle. The darkness presses in on us, and my breathing turns shallow as I imagine us buried alive.