Semua Bab The Clandestine Saga: Bab 451 - Bab 460

The scent of mildew mixed with the taste of aluminum and stale vomit, and Paul felt his stomach lurch as a searing pain shot through his head, centered around his brainstem and his right eye. He fought to open his eyes even a crack, scraping off the pain in order to try to focus long enough to remember where he was, what had happened. The last thing he could remember, the team was loading into the van, ready to go on a hunt. After that, everything was… hazy, just like his vision.His left eye felt swollen and puffy. He pried it open just a slit, but his right eye stung so badly it refused to budge out of a tight squint, opening only enough for tears to pour down his cheek. Everything looked foreign. A bare light bulb flickered, swaying on a chain a good three feet in front of him, casting shadows around what appeared to be a small room made entirely of concrete. Trying to lift his arm to wipe at his eye was futile, and he realized he was chained to the wall. His biceps

“Don’t worry. I had a large pizza for lunch,” Brandon replied. Cassidy turned, gaping at him in surprise, and he shrugged. “I’m a stress eater.”“Dax, how are you doing?” Cadence asked, hopeful that she had his name right since she hadn’t checked her IAC to make sure.“I’m okay,” he replied, managing a smile. “Still… overwhelmed. And tired.”“I can imagine.” She gave him a sympathetic grin. Her IAC began to light up, but she ignored it for a moment, trying to focus on the young man in front of her. “I promise, there are dull days around here. Hopefully, you’ll see that soon enough.”“Dull days. Dull people. Dull-witted people,” Elliott mused, grabbing a bag of Cheetos out of Cassidy’s bag when she wasn’t looking.“I brought those for the kids,” Cadence scolded him.“When have I eve

The Vampires who had escaped the holding cells seemed more powerful than usual, but nothing compared to Bonnie. Whatever was happening had given them enough strength to temporarily overpower the Guardians on duty down there, though there were only a couple, and then they’d come up the stairs. Bonnie had been waiting for them in the hallway, and she had been the one to tear the necks out of most of the Guardians they encountered in the hallway. Another Vampire, a big brutish man named Hal who had been here for decades seemed more powerful than the rest of them and he got a few shots in himself. When Cassidy entered the building, the rest of them had fled while Bonnie headed straight for Faye, taking out a few Guardians along the way, including the one who’d accidentally shot Lena before Bonnie chased him down the hall and left him in a pool of his own blood.Aaron shook his head and ran his hand along his throat, thinking about what it had been like to come around

“Hey, this is Paul. I’m really sorry for taking off like that, but something came up. I wanted you to know that I’m okay. I’ll… I’ll be in touch in a day or two, but… I just had to go. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”“Paul, where the hell are you?” Aaron asked, shocked to have heard from the Melbourne Area Leader at all. “We’ve been worried sick.”“Are you all right?” Cadence asked.“Yeah, I’m fine. But my IAC isn’t working right. I’m going to switch it off. Just… wait for me to call, okay?”“Paul, I need to know where you are.”“I’m on my way to take care of a family problem. It’s fine. Really. Talk to you in a few days.”“Paul? Paul!” Aaron’s cries went unanswered as the other

The stinging in his ribcage on the left increased as Paul fought his way back to consciousness. His mind pleaded with him to just fade away, back to oblivion, back to where the pain was just a distant annoyance, like the itch of a mosquito bite, but determination to look his assailants in the eyes was winning out, and the closer he came to the shores of awareness, the more the pain intensified. Even though he had some powers as a Healer, nothing he was capable of could fix this.It wasn’t just his ribcage that burned. He was missing several digits on both hands, the excruciating pain in his abdomen served as a reminder of the drilling sound he’d heard just before he passed out the last time, and he was fairly certain he was missing his left kneecap. The agony came from all directions as sweat poured down his face, clouding his vision out of his one working eye, and Paul did his best not to scream as he felt the doctor’s fingers slide something hard beneath h