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Thoughts of what the others would say raced through my head. Everything in me wanted to protect her, to keep her from this, and I knew they’d want the same. But I couldn’t cage, Finley. She was as strong and capable as I was of doing this. Maybe more so. Taking a long, stuttering breath, I opened my eyes and pulled her close to me, kissing her deeply.
“Be safe, Fin.” I bit back everything else I wanted to say, hoping by not doing it, I’d have another chance, that the universe might owe me for once, for all the bad shit in my life before her.
“You too,” she said, squeezing my hand as she took her own breath before she darted out, heading for the closest cover. A bullet whizzed past her, but she was able to dodge it. I looked in the direction it had come from, but nothing was making sense. Each shot came from a different angle. He either had multiple hidden shooters, or he could move and shoot from various locations without being seen. Neither seemed possible, but my eyes couldn’t find a person to make sense of it.
When Fin took off for another section, I held my breath as she made it. She had only one more area before the security office, and then she’d have to open the door. I couldn't stop the shooter, but maybe I could draw their focus away. As she steeled herself for the last leg of her journey, I stood up, taking in the area. I wanted to paint a target on myself and get a lay of the food court, so I knew where to go.
A loud pop sounded next to me, and I ducked back down, yelling as the thing I’d been hiding in front of was filled with bullets. Quickly, I moved over to a new section just as Fin made it into the office. Blood trailed on the ground, and I hoped it wasn’t crucial. I couldn’t let myself focus on it right now. She had her job to do, and I had mine. I’d seen three more people that needed medical attention when I stood, and I was all they had.
Crawling over, I made it to the first victim and began to clean and dress their wounds. I was down to two first aid kits, making it even more vital that help arrived soon. Over the next few minutes, I zeroed in on what I needed to do and tried to let everything else fade away. Fin would figure this out. I had faith in her.
The second person I came upon looked at me, shaking their head as they pointed to a small child.
“Help… her.” I looked over and saw she had been shot, and I wondered if this person had tried to cover her with their body. MKG might’ve thought people would turn over Fin to save themselves, but if anything, I saw countless acts of heroism as mere strangers sacrificed themselves for others.
My hands started to shake, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I breathed. Taking out some tweezers, I motioned for the woman to hold the little girl down while I searched for the bullet fragments. The man who’d saved her closed his eyes, happy that she was safe, and I shed a tear for him. Focusing on the little girl, I concentrated, wanting to make his sacrifice worth it.
Finding a few shards, I pulled them out and then used the sewing kit to stitch her up for now. It wasn’t ideal, but it would work for the time being. The woman thanked me, tears streaming down her face. Nodding, I wiped my bloodied hands on my jeans, trying to clean them as much as possible as I peeked around for the last person I’d seen.
When I got there, I didn’t know where to start. This had to be one of the first victims, as multiple wounds were bleeding. None seemed fatal, but it wouldn’t matter if she bled out. Focusing on the worst of the bunch, I cleaned and applied pressure, working through them as I used stitches and pads to hold off the worst of it.
“Thank you,” the teenager said, and I prayed that help would be here soon. I didn’t know how long these people had if it wasn’t.
Slowly, I turned, looking at the door Fin had gone in. It was still closed, with no movement, and I had to believe that meant she was still safe. I debated where to go when the PA system came on again, this time, his voice a little frantic.
“Very well, Oblivion. We’ll have to continue ourgameat a later date. I see you’ve gained some new skills. I’ll keep that in mind. Enjoy this parting gift.”
Just as he finished, I could make out sirens in the background, my body relaxing, knowing that help was coming. Fin opened the door, a smile on her face, peeking out and looking for danger. I smiled at her, so proud of her for managing to do it.
“You did—”
A loud explosion sounded behind me, throwing me forward, and everything went black.
Thirteen
FINLEY
The thrillof cracking Obsidian’s position raced through me as I hit some keys. The tricky asshole wasn’t even here, but he’d managed to place drones in various places and he was shooting remotely. The jerkwad was still hiding behind his computer somewhere. Tapping into the remote frequency, I used one of the new apps from The Order on my watch and located their positions. Shutting them down, I pumped my arms into the air in victory.
Exhilaration surged through me at having solved this and hopefully saved some more lives. I didn’t want to think about the guilt I was sure to feel later.
Cohen: Sweetheart, you okay?
ME: I shut down the drones. We should be clear of danger now. ETA?
Cohen: Soon. Good job, sweetheart.
“Very well, Oblivion. We’ll have to continue our game at a later date. I see you’ve gained some new skills. I’ll keep that in mind. Enjoy this parting gift.”
With Dex’s retreat, I stepped out of the booth, the sound of sirens making my heart slow. We’d made it. We were safe.
Instantly, I spotted Milo, a massive smile on his face. He was covered in blood, and I hoped it wasn’t his.
“You did—”
His words were cut off as a massive explosion rocked the space behind him. His body flew forward, and I stumbled from the aftershocks. My heart thumped in my ears as I ran ahead, slipping every few feet on debris and falling rumble. I focused on him, needing to get to Milo.
When I reached his body, I grabbed his wrist, remembering some of the first aid training we’d received. My eyes scanned him, looking for any signs of injury. He had a cut on his head, my free hand shook over it as I debated what to do.
