Wither With Me

CHAPTER 44 - EXTRACTION

[Happy. Safe. Happy. Safe. Happy. Safe.]

Nora opened her eyes and looked down, at Lilian, who rested her head on her chest. She was unsure when had she fallen out of that dreamlike experience; the line between real and unreal was thin, almost imperceptible. She could recall every single word, but for some reason, they didn't manifest in the shape of memories, but emotions, seeded deep in her heart.

'Lilian... I'm not imagining things, am I?'

As if answering her thoughts, Lilian tightened her grip around Nora's waist, creating a tingling, warm sensation in her brain. Nora smiled and reciprocated the gesture.

'I understand.'

While caressing her sister's hair, she glanced around the hallway. Much of the noise had gone away over the previous minutes. The constant hammering of gunfire had dropped to occasional shots with long periods of silence in between. She also noticed a slight smell of smoke lingering in the air.

There were several familiar faces around, but Claire and William were missing. She vaguely remembered Claire sitting by her side, then saying something and going away. William's absence was a mystery.

'Oh, dear... How long have I been out of the loop!? I hope everyone is safe.'

Something moved within her peripheral vision, catching her attention. A group of people were approaching them.

Amidst several unknown faces, she recognized the young boy, Ethan. With a contorted facial expression and taking huge leaps towards them, he looked both scared and relieved at the same time. She also recognized Marcus and another one of those soldiers. They were both carrying an apparently unconscious person. Nora's heart froze, overcome with fright as soon as she laid her eyes on him. She felt her heart rate and breathing accelerating.

'No... Not again... Why? Why!?'

Something warm touched her face. She looked back at Lilian. Her sister was now staring at her, drilling her with those shining black eyes of hers. The sight evoked a complex set of emotions in her mind, manifesting into words.

[He can't hurt us anymore.]

Nora took a deep breath and averted her eyes from Logan. Over several seconds, she continued taking one deep breath after another, focusing on Lilian's presence, clinging to it, letting it scare the bad memories away.

******

"Attention, everyone! Get ready, we'll be leaving soon!"

"Captain Isaac!" said Jameson. "The stingers have ceased in their efforts to climb the building, sir!"

"I've noticed! I've seen them jumping out the windows. That young woman's idea worked; the smoke is driving them away!" Isaac helped Marcus lay the unconscious man on the floor and grabbed his radio. "Charlie team, this is Captain Isaac of Alpha team! Do you read me!? Over!"

"Captain Isaac, we hear you! What's the situation over there!?"

"We've managed to start a fire, and the smoke is clearing the building of stingers. However, we aren't safe yet! If the fire dies, they'll begin swarming us again. If it persists, the entire hospital will go up in flames. Where are you!? We need an extraction now!"

"We have visual contact with Saint Marie, but we can't get any closer! All those stingers are piling up on the streets, there're probably thousands of them! HQ, this is Charlie! Should we engage the hordes!? We have no means to—! Huh!?"

Charlie's transmission was unnaturally interrupted, as if something within their perception had caught them by surprise.

"Charlie!? What's the matter!? Respond!" said Isaac.