AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Samsidestepstheswing,Alex releasing the pole in his hand when he hears Sam’s voice. It clangs to the floor, sending my shoulders to my ears, not seeing where it went.
“Fuck, man,” Alex gasps. “How’d you even—?”
I scramble toward Sam as best I can in the dark, the red lights from the hallway blinding us every few seconds. The alarm sounds, but there are no words, no announcements. It has to be just like the Thalassa, herding the people like cattle toward something unknown.
“Hey, Row,” Luke says. He’s wading through the chaos of this event with an easy demeanor, but I hear the hitch in his voice. He’s scared, knowing this adventure of ours is coming to a head.
“Where are the kids?” I ask him.
“With Lori and Frederick,” Luke says. “They brought them by our quarters, which is weird since Frederick’s supposed to own her now.”
“And you left her?” I smack Luke on what I think is his shoulder, but in the dark, it’s closer to his ribs.
“I went to collect Sam from medical,” Luke explains, rubbing his side. “This whack job Eminent whipped him like we’re in the eighteenth century. Seriously, I’ve followed you guys since the Houdini trick when the Thalassa caught fire, but I pick the next stop. You all suck as travel agents.”
“I broke your bones,” Sam says. “That wasn’t a magic trick.”
“I’m talking about Rowan’s visions,” Luke says.
“Enough,” Alex grumbles, not taking Luke’s last comment seriously, I hope. “Were there guards when you got here?”
Sam shakes his head. “No one. We fought the flow of people getting to you. Everyone was on their way out.”
Alex pushes past the guys. “We should be too. I… think.”
“Have you had a red out? Does the Eminent call you somewhere?” Luke asks.
“We’ve never had one. Not even after the cave in,” Alex says as we tumble into the open hallway. “We’re supposed to go to the holding floor, the um, prison. They’re reinforced, but I didn’t even know it could happen down here.”
“What do you mean?” Sam asks.
“It’s something they did at AOE compounds. They built it into the safe havens, gave us the fire drill, but I didn’t think they would do it.”
We reach the elevator only to find it’s not working. “I thought it was a military thing,” I say to Sam and Luke.
“I thought it was a naval thing,” Sam says to Luke.
“I don’t fucking know, man,” Luke says. “When a captain tells you to do something, you just do it.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I brush them off. “Stairwell. Where is it?”
We jog along the corridor, using our hands to guide us down the hall until we reach the exit to the stairwells.
“Any idea why he pulled the alarm?” Luke asks Alex as they go through the doorway.
“Who’s he?” Alex smarts back. “Could be your old friend Dean that did it.”
Luke stops short, everyone slamming behind him just as we start down the stairs. “What the fuck?” he seethes. “You all are terrible pilots.”
“We know, Luke,” I agree. We continue on the steps, Luke grumbling up front when I remember. “Wait!” I yell. “We need to go up.”
“No,” Alex says. “My wife and the rest of your family are down. It’s just a few floors, Row.”
“We have to go up,” I beg. “The boys, they came to me. They said we have to go up.” I’m pleading with Sam and Luke, knowing they’re the only ones who will understand.
“Are you crazy? I’ve been with you every minute,” Alex argues. He takes a step toward me and yanks me by the wrist. “We sleep in the same bed. We’ve been together every day. You’re losing it. Let’s go.”
Sam stiffens at his words, but I pull away from him and place my hand on Sam’s chest to calm him, still speaking to Alex. “Alex, I trust you. Do you trust me?”
