Entanglement (YA Dystopian Romance) - By Dan Rix Page 0,91
right?”
“We ran out of time,” Buff said quietly.
“But—” Aaron paused, and his throat kinked up as those terrifying last few seconds replayed in his mind. “I . . . I couldn’t cut the last strap.”
“No one could have,” said Buff.
“Where is she?”
He shook his head.
Aaron closed his eyes and counted to five, but nothing changed. No—he leapt off the bed, swatted the curtain aside, and hurled through the sterile corridors. He spun around a corner and collided with a nurse.
He grabbed her arm. “Where is she?”
“Pardon?”
“Amber Lilian—where? Quickly!”
“D-d-down the hall,” she said.
He sprinted, and his heart thudded in the pit of his stomach. He pushed through another curtain, and there she was. Unconscious, pale, wrapped in sheets.
The steady beep of her heart monitor was the only sign of life. He moved into Amber’s room and knelt by the bed. She appeared normal, untouched. Perfect. The ordeal could have been a dream.
A stiff hand landed on his shoulder. He whipped around, ready to fight.
***
It was Dominic, badly bruised. “He’s dead,” he said, coming in to stand next to Aaron. “They’re collecting his body.”
“Dr. Selavio. I know. I killed him,” said Aaron.
“No, Clive.”
Aaron stared at him. “Clive’s dead?”
“The machine was off balance. Apparently, it severed his half completely.”
“Why didn’t he stop it? He knew what it was doing to her.”
“I think he wanted more of her clairvoyance. We found him with the vial. He must have thought he could drink it or something—”
“I don’t care what he thought.” Aaron fell to his knees again beside Amber. “Just tell me she’s okay.”
“I’m not going to lie to you.”
Even though the words sank in, there was nowhere for them to go, no place in his brain where they made any sense. They were in love with each other. Everything was perfect. It was all a bad dream.
He kissed her forehead, and the salty taste of her skin seared his lips. “We’re going to make it out of this okay, I promise,” he said. “Just open your eyes—” That was when he noticed the odor of singed hair rising off her pillow. A spasm shot through his lungs. “Amber—”
The beep of her heart monitor continued, unfluctuating, mechanical, without a jitter to indicate she knew he was there. He realized he was crying when a tear fell on her sheets.
“Amber, please—” A heaving in his chest sealed his lungs and choked off his words, silencing him. His hands trembled.
Dominic grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t do this to yourself, number eleven. You know as well as I do what happened. Even if she wakes up, there’s not going to be much left. She’s severed.”
Aaron swatted his hand away. “Can’t you just leave us alone for two fucking seconds!” Tears burned in his eyes. He turned his back on the rugby player and wiped them away. “Wait outside,” he said, failing to keep his voice even. “I just want to be alone with her right now.”
Dominic retreated a few feet behind him.
Shivering now, Aaron studied the curvature of Amber’s cheeks, glistening and sweaty, statue-still; her eyelids, still closed. And he would have given anything to see them open, to see the spark in her green eyes one more time. “I couldn’t cut the last strap,” he whispered. “I couldn’t get it in time.” Another spasm shot through him. “Amber, all you have to do is open your eyes.”
His closed his fists on the sheets to stop his hands from shaking. Another teardrop tumbled into the fabric. He folded the damp spot under, and he felt the material rip under his thumbs. Aaron cupped his hands over his face, loathing each breath that slipped through his fingers, giving him life that didn’t belong to him. Life he should have given to Amber.
It was impossible to think that he would have to go on without her, that she could just be gone. She looked fine, untouched. Aaron turned to Dominic, his sinuses ringing. The ceiling reeled above him. Gone.
“Why didn’t Clive stop it?” he said. “He was supposed to be her half, why didn’t he try to save her?” Aaron sniffled. “And why isn’t he here right now?”
“He’s dead, fuckface, they took his body.”
“Who took it?”
“It was that guy we met. The Brotherhood’s not going to be happy about losing Dr. Selavio and their heir, trust me.”
“What guy we met?” said Aaron. “Quit sidestepping and spit it out.”
“Chill. It was that priest,” said Dominic. “Dravin, I think.”
The curtain rustled, and Buff squeezed into the room, followed by Tina.