A shelf crashed next to me as I pulled it to the ground, desperate to find where the stone was hidden.
Emori's condition was rapidly deteriorating, and while we had managed to get her bandaged up and on the gurney, she didn't have long unless we got her to Sanctum.
Jackson, Raven and Murphy scrambled around the room similarly to myself. Each of us ripped apart every square inch of the space, trying to find any secret passage.
Suddenly, the room feel quiet as we ran out of things to tear apart. I stepped back, wiping the sheen layer of sweat that had gathered above my brow.
"The piano." Raven whispered, her eyes locked on the instrument. "Jackson, Murphy move it out of the way."
Murphy didn't need to be told twice, before Jackson had barely even reacted he was already attempting to shove the piano across the floor. It moved rather easily, and once it had cleared the area rug below it, Raven and I were ripping the rug away.
As we cleared the space, a symbol was now visible on the ground. It was a handprint embedded into the symbol, a spiral in the centre.
"Why is the Azgeda sign in the bunker?" Murphy wondered as the four of us dropped into a kneel.
Raven shook her head. "Don't know. Don't care. What I do know, is that 'X' marks the spot."
"John, something's wrong." Emori's voice came out choked and pained, causing all of us to turn to her instantly.
She laid back on the gurney, gasping for breath as blood rapidly trickled from the wound and puddled on the floor beneath her.
Jackson, Murphy and I were instantly on our feet and rushing over to her, Raven declaring that she was going to get the gear that would allow us to break through the floor to find the stone.
"Stay with us. Stay with us, alright?" Murphy ordered as we reached Emori. Upon closer proximity, I could see that her face had rapidly paled, a layer of cold sweat covering it.
She looked up at us through tired eyes. "Echo's Azgeda, you should be worried about her too."
Jackson and I examined the wound while the two of them talked, and I knew what we were seeing wasn't good.
"I am." Murphy asserted. "Look, everyone else can take care of themselves for a while. You are more important than any other person in this universe."
Jackson looked up. "I need to repack this." He announced, pulling at the bloody bandaged.
"Hey, Thor!" Raven called, marching back into the room with three sledge hammers. "Let's go!"
Murphy gave Emori a teary-eyed smile. "Don't go anywhere."
"Avery," Jackson said as I passed him a pile of bandages. "Go help them. I've got this covered. The best thing you can do right now is get us to Sanctum."
I let out a shaky sigh as I looked down at Emori. She glanced up at me, giving me a lopsided smile. "Go." She nodded. "I'll be okay."
Reluctantly, I tore away from her, quickly making my way toward where Raven and Murphy were readying their hits. "Here." Raven declared, shoving a hammer into my hands.
"I hate to say this," We all turned to see Jackson who had taken a few steps away from Emori, his voice low as if he didn't want her to hear. "If we don't get her to Sanctum soon, she's not going to make it."
That was all it took, Raven, Murphy and I shared a quick, panicked look before we started hammering.
It felt like each hit jarred my bones, my arms screaming in protest only minutes in...but I wasn't going to stop. I couldn't. Because if we didn't find this stone, Emori was going to die.
---
Thirty minutes later and we had only cleared maybe a foot of the cement floor. The stone not even visible yet.
"Faster, Raven!" Murphy barked as he sent another hit toward the ground. "Avery, you too."
I sent him a quick glare as Raven let out a tired breath. "You try doing this with only one good leg."
"Look," I breathed, taking a moment to stop my head from swimming in exhaustion. "We're all doing our best, John."
"Well your best isn't good enough!"
His voice was tight and panicked, but I knew it wasn't us he was frustrated with. Instead, he was frustrated and heartbroken over the whole situation, needing to get his anger out in any way possible.
So, rather than responding, I resumed my strikes.
At some point, Raven and Jackson had traded spots, which left me and the two guys chipping away at the cement as Raven spoke to Emori. I couldn't hear what they were saying over the noise of our hammer strikes, but I prayed that Raven was filling Emori with hope, not despair.
"Agh!" Murphy disgruntled yell caused me to pause, panic rushing through me for a moment before I realized what had caused him to cry out.
As I looked down, I could see the barest part of the stone peaking through the rubble.
Jackson, Murphy and I dropped our hammers, the tools clattering to the ground as we all knelt down and began shoving pieces of broken cement aside.
"Yes!" Murphy yelled. "It's the stone, Emori! We're--" He cut himself off as I helped pull him to his feet, his eyes locking on Emori.
Mine did the same, and when they did my heart plummeted. Emori's face had gone ghostly pale, her head lolling to the side as rasped breaths fell from her lips.
"Emori!" Raven panicked, placing her hand in front of Emori's mouth. "She's not breathing!"
Murphy's hand shot out and gripped onto mine as Jackson rushed over to them. The panic surged between the two of us, each of us terrified of what was going to happen next.
"I can keep her blood circulating!" Jackson declared as he began compressions. "But we need to get to Sanctum!"
Tearing from my grasp, Murphy picked up his hammer. "Work faster. Come on!"
Raven rejoined us as I grabbed my hammer once again. "Jackson, let me know if you need me to take over!" I yelled, already swinging at the ground once again.
Hit, after hit, after hit. Each time my hammer collided with the ground, I could feel it reverberate through my entire body. But we were getting closer...it was working.
"Avery!" Jackson called, his breath slightly laboured. "Switch me."
I dropped my hammer, instantly rushing toward Jackson and Emori. "Are you okay?"
He nodded me toward him. "Take over compressions. I need to repack the wound."
Seamlessly, we traded spots, me taking over compressions as Jackson reached for the gauze.
"There's one symbol still covered!" Raven called to Murphy, causing me to glance over my shoulder. She had pulled on the helmet meaning they were closer to getting us to Sanctum.
Murphy's grunts filled the air as he continued to drive his hammer into the stone, trying to free the final symbol.
"That's it!" Raven yelled in excitement. "I can see the final symbol!"
I felt the smallest sense of relief flood my body as I turned back to Emori. My arms ached in agony but currently they were the only thing keeping her alive. "Come on, Em." I whispered, my words catching in my throat. "You've got this."
Suddenly, a scream came from Raven as a whirring sound echoed through the room. I looked back just in time to see the stone fly upwards, a green vortex soon opening behind it.
They did it.
"We got to go!" Murphy screamed, he and Raven rushing toward us. "Now!"
Instantly, I hopped onto the gurney, straddling Emori as I continued compressions. "Go!"
Murphy paused for a moment, looking to Jackson. "Thank you."
Jackson nodded as he piled the supplies next to Emori. "We're not losing anyone else."
"We'll come back for Miller." Murphy assured, not wasting another second before driving the gurney through the portal.
---
"Almost there!" Raven yelled, wheeling the gurney through the Reliquary toward the operating theatre.
We had rushed through Sanctum, desperate to get Emori to the place where Jackson could hopefully save her life.
"Stay with us!" Murphy yelled to Emori, his voice rough and panicked.
"Slow. Slow!" I ordered, almost tipping off as Murphy shoved the gurney into the OR.
"I got it!" Murphy assured, bringing us to a halt in the middle of the room.
Jackson was already rushing around the room. "Raven, get the defibrillator."
"Where?"
My eyes found it quickly. "There." I nodded, still keeping with compressions.
Murphy arrived by Emori's head. "Come on, baby. Stay with me. Stay with me."
Raven set the defibrillator down at the end of the gurney. "Good." Jackson breathed as he joined us with a handful of supplies. "Now--"
"I know how." Raven assured. "I've used one on myself."
I pulled myself off of Emori, continuing compressions and letting out a small breath of exhaustion as Raven hooked up the pads.
"Jackson, what can I do?" Murphy wondered, his face desperate.
"Nothing right now."
"It's set!" Raven announced.
Jackson pulled away, causing me to do the same. "Clear!"
The electricity buzzed through Emori, her back arching upward as the shock hit her body. But she didn't wake.
"COME ON!" Murphy screamed, his voice coated in anguish as tears filled his eyes.
I stepped back, my chest feeling like it was tightening in on itself as I watched Emori's lifeless body.
"One more time!" Jackson announced. "Raven, clear!"
The shock hit Emori's body again, and I swear you could feel everyone in the room hold their breath.
Suddenly, Emori let out the smallest of breaths. If we were any further from it, we wouldn't have heard it.
I let out a relieved sigh, my hands dropping from where they had been resting atop my head.
"Good job." Murphy whispered, pressing a kiss to Emori's temple.
"Her pulse is weak." Jackson announced, but his eyes were full of the slightest bit of hope. "She's lost a lot of blood."
Murphy instantly pulled up his sleeve. "She can have mine."
"Mine too!" Raven added.
I shook my head as I grabbed some supplies Jackson was handing to me. "Rave, you can't. Murphy's a Nightblood, you're not."
She looked dejected. ""Wha--"
"Just go back for the others." Jackson ordered, and I could tell his worries about Miller were rising once again.
"I can't just leave her like this!"
Turning away from them, I sat Murphy down and prepared to extract as much of his blood as I could without killing him. His breathing was rapid as I pulled up his sleeve, tying the tourniquet right above his elbow.
"Unless you've done abdominal surgery on yourself, there's nothing you can do. Avery and I will get her stable and then take out the bar." Jackson argued with Raven.
Murphy winced as I inserted the IV needle. "Raven, his right. They could be trapped. You got to get them out."
Raven looked to me. "Alone? H-how?"
I gave her an apologetic look. As much as I wanted to offer to go with her, there's no way I could leave knowing I could help here.
"I don't know." Murphy breathed.
"Never mind, I'll figure it out." Raven snapped. "Just-just save her."
"Hey!" Murphy yelled as Raven began marching for the door. "Once our friends are safe, you have to go after Madi, okay? You have to stop Cadogan."
With a final stern nod, Raven was gone, leaving the four of us alone in the OR.
Jackson prepared Emori for surgery while I sat with Murphy, ensuring that he was okay as I drew his blood.
"Collins," he breathed, causing me to look down at him. "Thank you."
I gave him a small nod, reaching out to give his hand a squeeze. "Of course."