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I don’t know what had happened for him to scrape the bottom of the barrel like this.
After all, he had once been a captain of his own ship and crew.
Perhaps they had grown tired of him and finally refused to follow him and declared a mutiny.
Whatever it was, he’d clearly suffered hard times, although not hard enough for him to reform his ways…
I focused on the scene.
Thisscene.
Not the one from all those years ago.
Layla’s clothes were torn and she had a cut to her neck, not deep but enough to draw blood.
I let my eyes flick over to her face and saw an expression I hoped I would never have to see again.
The blood drained from my face.
It was the same expression my wife had worn all those years ago.
When she was being held hostage.
It was crazy to think that the similarities of these two scenes hadn’t occurred to me until this very moment.
There was the same look of hope in her eyes, the same fear.
A constant shifting of complex emotions that made it virtually impossible to ascertain exactly how she was feeling right at that moment.
I wasn’t even sure howIwas feeling at that moment.
“Are you… okay?” I said, unsure what else to say.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m fine and dandy.”
I had no idea what “dandy” meant but I supposed it was positive.
“Just hand over the Orb and I’ll let her go,” the scumbag said.
“Negative,” I said. “If I hand it over, you could do us both.”
“If you don’t, and your buddies come before you give me the Orb, I guarantee I will.”
Silence passed between us like a river.
How much longer until my squad showed up?
Five minutes?
Six?
Whatever it was, it wasn’t enough.
How was I going to get Layla out of this situation?
How was I going to ensure she survived it?
I’d prefer to keep myself alive through it too, if possible, just so I could spend whatever time I had left with her.
