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It couldn’t be the end.
I had to get myself out of here. Fire was one weapon that didn’t care who you were. Scourge, hunter or human, it turned everything to ash. I couldn’t be Sam’s mate if I was ash. I couldn’t give up now. I had to make it back home.
Buoyed by the thought of Sam in my arms, I rolled, putting the flames out. More came to lick at my body as I crawled toward the door. But it was no use; the darkness was too heavy. It weighed me down, holding my arms and legs like a suit of lead. It snuck in uninvited at the edges of my vision, taking over everything until there was nothing else. Then there was no more.
Chapter 25: Sam
“You have to let me in there,” I pleaded. But Mo stood planted firmly in front of the door.
“I think it’s best you don’t see him right now. These hunters are crazy strong, and the other hunters are sure he’ll make nearly a full recovery, but you really don’t need to see him like this. Trust me. It looks bad.” He grimaced. “Man, I wishIhadn’t seen it.”
Kat elbowed him hard. “You’re not helping,” she hissed. She turned to me. “Kan’n is going to be fine, Sam. I’ve seen these warriors come back from a lot, lot worse. But it really is best if you wait and let the medical unit do its work.”
With one of the motherships out of commission and the medical wing on the other one completely full, Kan’n had to rely on using several handheld units at once to heal. In fact, between him and Terrance, there wasn’t a single unit left.
It had been Pip who’d come back to get help. He’d landed in the parking lot in front of our base, his speakers blaring like the siren of a cop car. When I’d heard that Kan’n was injured and stuck inside a burning building despite the door being wide open, I freaked out.
Harb’k and Nov’k had gone out to retrieve him. Then they’d carted him straight into this room, and no one had let me in, no matter how much I begged or pleaded. They’d all assured me that his injuries were not life-threatening, mostly skin andmuscle, but that they looked horrendous, and it was something I really shouldn’t see.
I didn’t care. I wanted to be next to him while he healed. I wanted to be the person he saw when he first woke up. I don’t know when it had clicked into place, but I really cared about him now and I couldn’t imagine losing him. Not when we finally understood each other, and were working on building something good together. Something amazing.
Mary came with little Mina to distract me, offering me tea.
I shook my head. “I know you’re trying to help, but no, thank you. I don’t think I could stomach anything right now.”
She stayed for a while but left again when Mina started to fuss.
I paced the hallway in front of the makeshift hospital room, wondering if I’d be able to climb in through the window from outside even though it was on the second floor.
Aanya was the next to try. She came to me with a glass of juice.
I sighed and took it from her. If I just took one sip, maybe they’d stop trying to offer me things to drink. I made a big show of having some of the juice. It was only when I swallowed that I realized it tasted funny. Not horrible, just different.
How old was this stuff, anyway? Safe to drink didn’t necessarily mean palatable. There was expired, and then there wasexpired.
Once Aanya left, I put the glass down on the chair and continued to pace until I started feeling drowsy. I eyed the drink. Shit. Really? They’d drugged me? “What part of I don’t want to go to sleep do you not understand?” I mumbled.
“Sorry, Sam. We had to do it,” Kat said sheepishly as she and Mo helped me into the room next door. “You’ve been pacing forhours and haven’t had anything to eat or drink since last night. The last thing we need is for you to pass out and smash your head. Seriously, we don’t have any more medical units left. And Kan’n would be upset if he found out we let you hurt yourself. We donotneed him to go all Loose Cannon on us.”
She handed me a glass and ordered me to drink. This one tasted like plain water, but the damage was already done.
“I hate you all,” I slurred.
“I know you do, hun. We love you too.” She kissed me on the forehead with a big smack, like she was saying good night to a little kid.
When I woke again, who knows how long later, Kan’n’s door was no longer guarded. I was about to push it open when Harb’k’s voice sounded from behind me.
“Just so you know, his injuries are still apparent, but they look a lot better. He’s still unconscious and will be for some time. You can go in, but as a warning, many of us temporarily lose our memories after an injury. It’s normal, and he will most likely regain everything in a few hours.”
“Thank you,” I said as I stepped into the room.
I’d been around enough injured hunters to know about them losing their memories when they were healing. Even armed with the knowledge, though, I knew that I’d worry if he did not recognize me when he woke.
I cringed the moment I saw him. No wonder they’d prevented me from coming in earlier. It was clear from all the new, angry red skin that he’d had a lot of bad burns. Luckily, skin-deep and even flesh-deep wounds healed easily for hunters. They’d been engineered for that. Bone-deep injuries or extensive nerve damage were the bigger problems.
Still, knowing he’d been hurt so badly made my chest ache.
There were IVs hooked up to him, feeding him something through tubes in his arm. That was something I hadn’t seen here before.
