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Hunt turned to Emma, seeing her handing something to him. “Here, I checked it. It’s fine.”
Hunt looked down to see that it was a half-eaten sandwich, left in Conan’s bag. Hunt let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the hunger had gotten to him. “Thank you. Oh man, thank you.”
As he took a bite, he felt his body begin to restore itself. His magic would find the energy it needed to refill. Each of their stops allowed them an hour of rest, so they would be ready to face the group when they got there. Since Hunt had the most fighting experience among them, it fell to him to come up with the plan.
“Sly, you’re going to go ahead and scout the place out. You have speed, and we don’t care much about you. So, sneak up to the exit, see what it looks like, and then relay the information back to us. If it’s Garret, we can’t take the fight. We have to find another way. We’ll have to figure something out if it’s Conan and his men.”
“Can we workshop that idea?” Sly asked, chuckling nervously.
“No,” Hunt replied.
He turned to look at Emma as she ran a hand through her hair. Three days down in the sewers had its effect on a person. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were filthy. Hunt realized he could do a little something for her. Using the dagger he had found in the bag, he followed some of the piping that ran along the roof of the tunnel until it was a junction, where the joint would be weakest.
“Hey Emma, want to take a shower?”
She raised an eyebrow, watching in shock as he threw the dagger, bursting the pipe. He gave her some privacy and walked off into the distance, allowing her to take a shower. As he did, Hunt smiled to himself. He had seen the look on her face when she saw the water. She needed the shower, and he had given it to her.
Hunt felt a warmth in his heart, one that eclipsed the feeling of dread and resentment he had held on to for so long. As nighttime arrived, Sly announced that they were close to the hatch.
“Well, it’s best we go right now,” said Hunt.
“Are you crazy?” Sly asked. “It’s almost midnight, they’ll be right there! This is the worst time to come! We should wait till morning, when they’re tired, we could sneak past them.”
Hunt shook his head. “They would be expecting us to do that, which is why we have to go now. Go ahead, go scout on things and then hurry back to us. Regardless of what happens, we leave this level tonight.”
Emma walked up to Sly, her face imposing as she growled at her. “I know you’re a selfish bitch. But if you try something stupid, I’ll kill you myself. Do what’s right.”
Hunt watched as the Vixen nodded and rushed off. There was a chance that the creature would betray them. Her chances of survival were slim. But then again, Vixens had a very high chance of survival, and there was always a chance that she would survive somehow.
“We have to make a plan without her.” Hunt turned to Emma. “In case she doesn’t come back.”
“She’s going to,” Emma said, stunned.
“There’s a chance she won’t,” Hunt replied. “But on the chance that she doesn’t, we need to come up with something. Distance to the hatch is about an hour. So we have time.”
Emma nodded. “So what do we do?”
Hunt began walking back and forth, thinking about the best move to make. The Wyverns would be spread across the entrances, but they were fast enough to get organized. Hunt had gotten enough rest to face off against a few of them. But he was running low on supplies. He would have to rely mostly on his physical strength and fighting wit.
“You take it,” Hunt said, holding up the map to Emma.
“Okay, why?” Emma asked, holding the map. She slipped it into the bag, confused.
“Garret wants this, right?” Hunt began. “If he gets it, we lose. We have to make sure he doesn’t win, no matter what. Once we get to the Wyverns, you need to get out of here and find your pack.”
“What are you saying?” Emma asked, getting closer to him.
“I’m saying we have to be smart about this. You’re fast, get out of here. As I said, the doors are off to the side, you’ll be able to get to the higher level. From there, look for a manhole and you’re free,” Hunt finished.
“What about you?” Emma asked, the worry showing on her face.
“You don’t need me anymore. You have something that Garret wants. He is going to come to you,” Hunt said. “What’s important is that you get this out of here.”
“Hunt…”
He raised a hand, stopping her from continuing. There was no need for her to make it harder. If it took sacrificing himself then he would do it. It was the least he could do to atone for the things he had done. Emma had reached his heart, shown him that he could be better, and this was the way he would do it.
As he turned away, Emma grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. He steadied himself, standing inches away from her face. Emma let out a breath, kissing him across the lips. Hunt wrapped his hands around her, kissing her back. There was no reason for him to hold back, no reason for him to hide how he felt.
