The Girl With The Crimson Eyes

40: Emeralds And Shadows

Remnya

A yellowish lamp flickered on the cracked ceiling, devoured by moisture and time. Zeo looked away while Remnya changed into the clothes he had found for her: old sweatpants, his shirt, and worn-out shoes that loosely fit her feet. Using a piece of broken mirror, Remnya looked at her face, noticing the cuts around her mouth along with her swollen lips, forehead, and eyes. The metallic taste of blood reminded her that she was lucky to be alive.

Zeo stood still, facing the locked door. A ragged T-shirt covered his scarred torso, and blood-stained jeans completed his gloomy figure. Remnya stared at him for long silent seconds, admiring and fearing what her best friend had become. A true warrior.

But at what cost?

"I am ready," Remnya said, limping forward while pain traveled from her legs throughout her entire body.

Zeo rushed to her side and offered his shoulder to lean on. Reluctantly, Remnya wrapped her right arm around him, and he held her by the waist, easing the effort from her weak legs.

"I can carry you if you want. I don't mind," Zeo admitted, glancing at her with a smile.

"Hell no!" Remnya snapped, pushing him away. "I can walk!"

He chuckled. "As you wish, but we need to hurry. Danny told me he would do his best to distract Alayna's soldiers, but there's always the risk we run into them, so we better be ready."

Remnya sighed and shook her head in frustration. "Wish I could be more useful, instead of a burden for you."

"Shut up, Rem," Zeo joked, squeezing her side gently.

Ignoring the pain, Remnya smiled and allowed Zeo to help her walk toward her fate. He unlocked the door and craned his neck to look into the dark corridor. He glanced left and right, and silence answered from every corner, assuring them it was safe to move.

Together, they took the first step.

A heavy atmosphere lingered in the shadows, accompanied by the scent of damp and decay from crumbling walls. However, a strange sense of freedom filled Remnya's body; for the first time in her life, she was the owner of her fate.

The underground looked like a maze of life and death, but Zeo knew where to go and guided her confidently. At the end of the last corridor, a spiral staircase emerged in front of them. They halted to inspect it, and Remnya witnessed an endless ascent through the bowels of the earth. Rust covered the metallic handrails, and the cracked wooden steps looked on the verge of falling apart. How was she going to climb that death trap?

"Get on my back," Zeo said casually, releasing her waist.

Remnya widened her eyes and stuttered, trying to understand his words, "Uh . . . What?"

"You're too weak to climb, so I'll carry you upstairs. This the safest way out of here." Zeo furrowed his eyebrows, his gaze deep and sharp like a knife.

"No way—"

"Rem, there's no time to be embarrassed now!" He took one step forward, making Remnya flinch. "You can yell at me all you want once you're safe."

"Zeo, I can do it myself!" Remnya retorted, scowling at him. "I'm not a weakling!"

"I know that very well. If you weren't hurt, you'd be way stronger than me, yeah." He leaned closer and frowned. "But you're not right now."

"Ugh!" Remnya groaned and whirled, trying to climb the stairs, but Zeo snatched her arm, stopping her. "Let me go!"

Zeo let out a sigh of frustration, and quick as lightning, he pulled Remnya toward him, causing her to lose balance. She gasped and landed on his arms. Zeo picked her up and dashed down the stairs, carrying her like a scared little girl.