Cipher Code {complete}

Chapter Ten: A Sick Minister •EDITED•

She quickly went in with Corey in tow.

Her fingers brushed away the stray strands of hair that hid his face, and her hand traced his chiseled features for a moment before she reluctantly pulled away.

Dawn sighed as she propped him against the metal wall of the descending lift and pressed her finger on a shiny button on the panel until an eight flashed in front of her eyes.

Eight floors should be enough.

She didn't want to take too long.

Corey's cheeks were tinged blue and his skin felt cold to touch despite the warmth in the air. She was used to the signs by now but she couldn't help but wince each time she saw them.

Dawn gritted her teeth and looked away, not daring to stare at her friend in such a weak state.

"You just had to push yourself."

With her eyes brimming with coldness, the most powerful woman in the north found herself dragging the minister out of the elevator as she made her way to her own room. All the while, she ignored the strange glances from the occasional officers she passed.

In response to their murmurs Dawn only smiled amicably and patted her unconscious cargo on his backside as she replied the questioning stares calmly.

"Don't mind me, gentlemen." She grinned and hoped they couldn't see through her mask of deceit. "Your minister is in good hands."

All onlookers present had long decided that they could not ignore the woman who they had witnessed disgracing their beloved minister too many times to count in the past. Instead they all returned the smile, some choosing to brief the vice minister on the minister's condition and others concluding that they should call in a team of doctors and MEDs.

Both choices were right courses of action for a situation like this but Dawn herself didn't care to be bothered with them, her mind was only fixed on Corey. She knew better than anyone the state he was in right now and her heart was gripped with undescribable fear as she raced down the underground hallway habitually like she had done so many times before.

"Don't you dare die on me, Corey. I won't let you." she said finally, when there was no one around to see her.

If this wasn't just an anomaly, a simple lapse in his health, then there was something bigger going on, something she couldn't have predicted.

Dawn wasn't prepared to lose her best friend to a mistake.

She carried him all the way to her room.

This was not the first time Corey had almost killed himself with overwork, and only a handful of people knew the true reason why it happened. All the others thought it was a running gag between the two of them-the way the minister seemed to pass out every three months and how she always came to his rescue.

It must seem comedic, Dawn realized. But no one would ever be able to guess the truth behind it because reality was far stranger than the rumors and Corey had all intentions of permanently keeping it as a joke.

In the end it was true what they said, that all heroes died young but no world could advance without one. And Dawn knew that in North's story there were many people who were willing to be forgotten.

Corey Roya was one of them.

†

What a confusing chapter, right? Corey is spitting out blood and Dawn is worried out of her mind. This has happened before but somehow this time is different. How?

Who are the Order of the Code and why are they screwing up our minister?

But most importantly, are Dawn and Corey really 'just friends' or something more?

Wonder, ponder and think bigger.

Thank you for reading and have a good day.