Inside Access

Chapter 22: Bond

Chapter 22: Bond

 Warren decided his life was perfect. This revelation came to him as he was taking the garbage out back. Garbage from his fiance's mini-baby shower. Coffee cake and fruit juice, was there ever a more perfect combination? Warren certainly couldn't think of one.

It was as he was contemplating this that Warren realized something was wrong.

There was no change in the night air around him. Everything was just as still, just as silent as it had been a moment ago. The feeling was coming from inside Warren. Something was wrong. He knew it with a certainty.

Brooklyn.

Her name flashed in his mind. Brooklyn needed him.

Dropping the trash, not caring that it wasn't in the trash can, Warren turned back to the building and charged inside.

Brooklyn was trouble. He could feel it. There was no need to question the feeling. He was a haltija, if his vaki was in danger he would feel it.

He ran full speed into the library running into Kieth who was rolling a cart laden with books from behind the front desk.

“Whoa, what the-” Kieth grabbed onto the cart to keep it from toppling over.

“Kieth, where's Brook?” Warren demanded to know.

“What-”

“Where?!” he cut him off urgently.

“In the back.” Kieth pointed behind him. “She was looking for a book. Why?”

Without bothering to answer him, Warren ran around him and the cart and charged through the isles calling out her name loudly. His voice echoed back to him somehow louder in the normally quiet library. He heard a pair of footsteps running just behind him and knew Kieth was on his tail.

Warren turned down the last isle and almost turned to run back because there was no one there when he noticed a book laying on the ground spine up. It had fallen open onto the ground and a few pages were sticking up at odd angles.

“Oh, man...” he heard Kieth say behind him. The book was enough evidence as to what must have happened. There was no way Brooklyn the librarian would ever treat a book so carelessly.

“Is there an exit back here?” Warren asked looking around.

“There's a fire escape that way.” Kieth pointed behind him.

Warren turned and saw the green letters of the glowing exit sign like a beacon.

Without waiting to see if Kieth would follow or not, Warren pushed past him and slammed open the exit. His fears were confirmed when no alarm went off after opening the emergency door.

“The alarm...” Kieth murmured behind him, echoing his thoughts.

“Go find Jack.” Warren ordered as he looked around the mostly deserted parking lot. “Tell him to lock down the complex.”

“On it.” Kieth said as he turned to obey the order.

Warren called out her name knowing it probably wouldn't do any good. His nerves were humming. She was near, he could feel it. She wasn't dead, he would know. He had to find her.

The only questions was where she was...

Warren scanned the parking lot quickly. He recognized all of the cars in the lot and none of them were big enough to hide two adults without some sort of sign that they were there.

Warren.

Warren's feet felt like they were moving by themselves as he ran around the complex. It hadn't been a voice that called out to him, there had been no unusual sounds. It had been his own power as a haltija reaching out for Brooklyn. He heard her calling to him and his instincts knew the way even if he didn't.