Clashed

## Sophia POVEars ringing. Gasoline and wet rubber choking out the scent of rain.For a few terrifying seconds, the world was reduced to the high-pitched whine in my skull and the blinding, agonizing fire radiating from my left wrist. The SUV was tilted sideways, its front bumper pinned against the shattered base of a streetlamp. Steam hissed violently from under the crumpled hood.Beside me, Dante groaned—a weak, pain-filled sound, but he was alive."Everyone alright?!" Congo’s voice boomed from the front, heavy and breathless."I’m alive," the man in the passenger seat coughed, kicking his door open with a screech of bent metal.Beside me, the other man—Will—was already moving. He wiped a streak of rain and sweat from his forehead, his face pale as he looked over at me and Dante. "Sophia? Talk to me. Did Dante take another blow?""He's still breathing," I gasped, using my right hand to hold the bloody gauze tight against Dante's ribs. My left arm hung uselessly at my side, throbbin

Shadow of the Trench

Sophia's PovThe rain kept coming down in sheets, heavy and unrelenting, turning the grease and dirt of the alley into a slick, mirror-like surface. Every time Will tightened the medical tape around the improvised splint, a white-hot flash of agony shot straight up my arm to my shoulder. My vision blurred around the edges, but I forced myself to keep my eyes glued to Dante.His face was ghostly pale against the wet dark fabric of my jacket, his breathing shallow and rapid."Hold still, almost done," Will murmured, his gloved fingers surprisingly nimble despite the bone-chilling cold. He tore the tape with his teeth and smoothed the end down against my forearm. "That will keep the bone from shifting until we get to the safehouse.""Thanks," I rasped, my jaw aching from how hard I had been clenching my teeth.Down the alley, the SUV’s engine roared to life with a sick, metallic rattling sound. Congo backed the massive vehicle out of the smoking crater, the bent front bumper scraping alo

Blood on the pavement

ELARA‘s Pov*Keep moving. Don't look at the blood. Just keep moving.*The mechanical screech of the blast door locking behind me didn't mean I was safe; it just bought me three seconds. The emergency tunnel stretched out into the dark, slick with damp mold and lit only by the flickering amber strobes of the facility's secondary alarm.My lungs burned like I was breathing in liquid fire. Every time my left foot struck the cold concrete, a lightning bolt of agony shot straight up my hip and into my shattered arm.*One, two, three, four... just count the steps, Elara. Don't think about the Director. Don't think about Sophia. Just count.*Behind me, the heavy iron of the blast door shuddered. A loud, metallic *BANG* echoed down the tunnel, followed by the hiss of a plasma torch cutting through the reinforced seals. They weren't going to let me walk away. I knew too much. The code burned in my memory, and as long as I was breathing, the Director's entire operation was a ticking clock.*God

Lightweight

ELARA'S POV The rain didn't feel like water. It felt like someone pouring crushed ice straight onto exposed bone.*Keep moving. Don't look at the blood. If you look at the blood, you’re going to pass out, Elara. Just keep moving.*Behind me, the blast door locked with this awful, wet-sounding *clunk*. It didn't mean I was safe. It just meant I had about three seconds before someone came through it with a plasma torch. The emergency tunnel stretched out into the dark, smelling like wet rust and mold, flickering in and out of sight under the orange strobe lights.My lungs were on fire. Every time my left foot slammed into the cold concrete, a spike of hot agony shot straight up my hip, through my chest, and right into my left arm—the arm that was currently hanging like a piece of dead wood at my side.*One, two, three, four... count the steps. Don't think about the Director's face. Don't think about what he did to Sophia. Just count.**BANG.*The iron door behind me groaned. Then came

Saving Grace

The cold didn't just bite anymore; it sank deep into my marrow, turning my muscles into stiff, stubborn iron. Every ragged breath I dragged into my lungs tasted like ice and copper. I kept forcing myself away from the facility, dragging my left side through the thick brush and using wet tree trunks for balance whenever my knees buckled under my weight.The sirens had faded into a dull, distant hum somewhere behind the ridge, but the wild panic in my chest refused to die down. The drug they had pumped into my neck was finally wearing off, leaving behind a nasty, pounding headache that throbbed right behind my eyes in rhythm with my frantic pulse.I couldn't feel my feet anymore. That was the scariest part. I knew enough about hypothermia to know that when the burning stops and the numbness takes over, your body is starting to shut down.Just ten more steps, Elara. Then ten more after that.A sudden, sharp snap of a dry branch shattered the quiet of the forest.My entire body went rigid

All Chapters of Bound by Blood : Chapter 51 - Chapter 55

Clashed

Shadow of the Trench

Blood on the pavement

Lightweight

Saving Grace