A STUDY IN BLACK ✓

XXXI

By the time Dallon got to Josh, clutching onto the bending catwalk for dear life, the whole building had begun to collapse on itself. The metal beams holding the wall together started to pop out of place, steam and heat filling Josh's lungs. The wood around him splintered in the heat, the catwalk he was standing on pulling out of the wall almost completely, leaving him dangling.

He was seconds from ending up like Tyler when Dallon finally found him, sobbing with a stab wound that refused to heal. They got him out, putting him in a black van with Jenna, who had a shock blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

When Josh entered the van, Jenna's face lit up, only to drop again when she realized he was alone. She opened her mouth to speak, but Josh just shook his head, knowing if he spoke he would never stop crying.

"Don't worry," she said, letting him lean against her for support. "He's with the angels now."

That only made him cry harder.

Josh got a shock blanket of his own. Three, in fact, because he accidentally ripped the first two. Pete sat to another man, the same police officer he met on the staged suicides case with Tyler.

"Officer Stump, right?" Josh croaked.

He earned a small nod. "Call me Patrick."

Pete set his head on Patrick's shoulder, and Josh's stomach ached with unfamiliar wanting when he saw their fingers interlocked.

"You were in Alpha Two, right, Pete?" Josh asked.

"I was," he replied.

"What happened to Alpha One?"

Patrick tapped his badge. "I'm the last one. I'm sure you can guess what happened to the others."

Josh winced. "I'm sorry."

"Eh, don't worry about it, pal. It's all part of the job." Patrick sent him a sad smile. "Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt any less."

Dallon glanced over at Josh. "Are you injured?"

Josh looked down at his hands. The blood had dried, cracking where he kept clenching and unclenching his fists. "I got stabbed."

"What? Where?"

He pulled the collar of his shirt down. The knife hit just below in the middle of his collarbone. "It was poisoned. Tyler was stabbed too."

"What happened out there?" Jenna asked in a hushed voice.

"I- I couldn't catch him."

The pain suddenly hit Josh like a freight train, his chest feeling like it was being split open. He let out a loud groan, capturing everyone's attention. Jenna grabbed him and held him gently as his body started to shake.

"Josh?" Dallon faltered.

"He's not going to see the angels now," Jenna whispered. "Not when he has so much left to do."

Josh eyes rolled back, and he fell out of his seat.

He woke up in a hospital bed, connected to wires and tubes. Jenna sat at his bedside with her arms wrapped in bandages. She smiled when she saw he was awake, reaching over and squeezing his bicep gently.

"Hey, Josh," she spoke softly, her voice raspy.

"How long was I out?"

Jenna retracted her hand and tucked it into her chest. "Two weeks. The poison was blocking your regenerative factor. That's why my stab wound healed and yours didn't."