SMOKE (The Aurum Trilogy Book 2)

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Daniel

My immediate reaction was to save her. I rushed amidst the retreating crowd, taking blows from here and there. I pushed body after body, my eyes focused on Lauren's limp figure hanging by a rope. I reached the stage and pulled out my pocket knife, severing the rope looped around her neck. Lauren's limp body fell into my arms, and I carried her amidst the deafening sounds of bombs and shrieks that filled the air. 

What was going on?

I do not know, and I do not care to know. Right now all I wanted was for Lauren to be safe. God, please let her be safe. I don't want to lose her yet. I just found her, and I don't want to lose her. I don't ever want to lose her. 

I looked at her, her eyes closed and the blood drained from her face. Her skin feels cold when I touch her forehead, and I press my lips against her, hoping to pass on my breath to her, hoping to give her more pallor, more life. I watch her chest rise and fall, thankful that she's alive, yet scared that she might slip away from me anytime. 

Boom!

More bombs explode, and the platform behind me collapses. I run as fast as my legs could carry me, and I spot a trail of watchmen coming after me. I'm scared that I might not be on time to save her. 

"Hold on, Lauren." I muttered, dodging a corpse of a woman lying on the ground. I know she is stronger than this. I know she'll survive. I believe in her, but I don't trust myself. I don't want her to die in my arms. Shots fired in the air, and I clutch Lauren tighter as if my body was enough protection from those bullets.  I watch people scream and fall to the ground as my eyes scan the area for shelter, for somewhere safe I can take her. 

Underground.

The answer is almost as clear as ice. The sewers would be a safe hiding place for the both of us. I'm sure that Argentum wouldn't even bother messing with pipes and drainages. They're too valuable to keep the city's system running. 

Argentum. 

The word burns through my skin like a flaming arrow piercing me from within. The word is enough to bring back a world I cannot return to, a world that wouldn't spare me the next time we meet face to face. I was an enemy of the state now because I chose to save her, because I chose to follow her and be with her. If there's one mastermind behind these bombings, it would be Argentum. I know their strategy, their tactics. I know when they would attack or when they chose to remain silent. I know that when they see the time is fit, the seize every opportunity they can get, and apparently, Lauren's execution paved the way for a huge distraction. All of Aurum's eyes were looking at her and waiting for her death. 

But no. She would not die. Not today. Not in my arms. We will get through this. We will get somewhere safe and get out of this alive. 

A sudden blow causes me to fall to the ground. Lauren's limp figure topples off my arms and rolls on the hard ground. I could see people running, stomping on her with heels, boots and shoes of sorts. I could see her fair skin get bloodied and bruised, but I could make no attempt except to reach for her and fail miserably. Only do I realize I'm shot on the side, and blood is oozing from my shirt. My arms are grazed by different cuts from glass and gashes from wood. I close my eyes and the rush of pain surges in my veins, impaling my skin with more than shards of glass and splinters of wood. I realize that if I'm to die, this would be the happiest death heaven could grant me. My happiest death would be with her. Saving her. Saving and telling her that I love her till my last breath. Loving her and not having to go through the bitter end. 

I open my eyes. I'm badly wounded. I'm guessing a bomb has exploded, and Lauren and I managed to escape in the nick of time. 

Lauren. 

New life consumes me, and I feel a charge of energy that has quelled the screaming sores in my body. I feel instantly healed by just thinking about her. I feel her hands bandaging my wounds, her fingertips lingering on my skin, her lips whispering secrets to my ear. I feel her smile against my lips as we kiss, her heartbeat racing against my chest, her hands slightly trembling from an emotion I cannot read. I have to save her. 

But the next time I look at where she is, she's gone, and I realize I failed. I closed my eyes, and she's gone without me knowing if she's dead or alive. Either way, I know, she's lost to me forever.