Rise [Bruno Mars]

Chapter forty-five

[I'm trying music. I'm a big fan of Twilight's film score. For Android users, there will be a speaker icon for when to begin in the most updated version of the app. For non-android users, I've done a YT link (God please work). When you see '//' start playing! I hope you enjoy.]

Chapter forty-five

I gasped, out of sleep, then in pain as frigid air stole into my chest.

Bruno was merely a silhouette when I turned my head to him. My gaze traveled over the slanted walls of the tent, falling back on him again. I leaned forward, my mouth bumping against his nose. I tilted my head lower. His mouth was already parted. I pressed mine to his for erasure.

His lips closed. I laid my head back down, knowing his consciousness, and asked quietly, "What do you think the Dev's are like?"

I thought of the Dev's constantly, them explaining the cure to us. Injecting Bruno with a pointed needle filled with the physical embodiment of 'to save', or presenting him with a single pill on a small, glittering china plate. They became my shadow. Frequently, I tasted the ghost of the word congratulations! on my lips, yearning to be told to Bruno, who would be normal and happy, happy and normal. My belly flipped and became overwhelmed with so much joy at the fantasy of Bruno barbecuing with his family while underneath the Hawaiian sun, the verity of an envisaged year long tour settled snugly in millions of minds across the universe.

It took awhile for his reply. "Kind."

"I can't believe we're halfway there."

"It feels like. . ." I heard his swallow. It did nothing to clear the rasp from his voice. "When you told me about Ellen and Rev."

My mother made me promise not to tell anyone. And I hadn't, except for Bruno. "Like the idea didn't quite sink in yet?"

"You're shaking." He braced my chest firmly to his to get me to stop.

"It's cold," I pointed out, to which he didn't respond.

Dawn arrived, and as we drove the horses closer to our destination, Bruno suddenly stiffened. He pulled back on the reins, forcing our mare to a halt. Goosebumps rose on my arms.

"Where are you taking us?" he called out to Langdon and Galina. "Where?"

Langdon glanced back in surprise and signaled his horse to stop moving. The rest of his crew followed suit, swiveling their animals in our direction. Langdon said a few words to Galina, then trotted up next to us.

"Why, to the Dev's."

"Something's not right, where you're taking us."

Langdon bristled with suspicion. He sat straighter, squinting. "Have you been here before?"

"No. We haven't."

Suspicion still brewing, Langdon's tone of voice dipped, "Then how do you know? Ah, surely you must have heard of the death rampant on the Dev's trail?"

Of course. Of course Bruno and I heard, from several sources, of the uncanny mystery surrounding the Dev's. How everyone who attempted to find them were never heard from again. Certainly, me and Bruno's situation was different. No one had been fetched by the Dev's before.

That must be what Bruno was sensing. The enigma of those who searched.

Bruno understood the same moment I did. His shoulders slackened. "I'm sorry, man. It's a premonition. All those stories. . ."

Langdon gave a single understanding and sympathetic nod. "They do get to you, don't they? But do not fret, daughter and daughter's lover, you are safe with us."