Page 65 of On Fire

Chapter Seventeen

Nic Silvano

The moment I see Keller’s face, I know I have to stop him. I stare at him, not moving a muscle, willing a kind of psychic connection. Somehow it works. He sees—me, something in my face. I avert my eyes over to the trip wire on my right. He puts a hand on Finn’s shoulder, holds him back, and then points in the same direction.

As I start to sag with relief, the searing pain in my arms makes me maintain my position, though every minute that ticks by, I grow weaker. I know I won’t be able to stand on tiptoes much longer. But I have to now. I can’t catch a deep breath—countries who use this as a form of torture are in violation of the Geneva Convention.

They all need to leave. Now. This thing on my chest could blow up any moment. Graham could be anywhere, watching them, his finger on a remote trigger.

But they don’t leave. Instead, they enter, carefully but fast, looking for more trip wires. Bryce has a pen light out to catch any reflections. In a moment, the gag loosens around my mouth and then Keller is standing in front of me, Finn to one side.

“Jim Graham,” I manage to say, hoping they caught the name. Then with every breath I take, I try to get them to leave.

But they don’t.

I’m in near panic mode. All my friends are here, all the people I love. Finn is going to be a father. Mateus is already stepping into that role with Cory. Bryce and Chloe want to marry. Luke and Devon restarted their lives. And those not here, Jackson and Tory, Travis and Maya. George Hamilton.

And then there’s this man, who’s trying to get me to look at him.

Fear and pain and shock send a wave of tremors through my body I can’t control. I know Mateus and Bryce are right on either side of me, trying to defuse the bomb. We are all so close together.

Please go.

My hearing wanes, but Finn says clearly, “Still here.”

Still here.

I have to just keep breathing. Keller suddenly wraps an arm around me. My mouth tastes of iron.

“I’ve got you.”

I’ve got you.

“We need you to hold very still.”

Still.

I try as hard as I can to breathe and be still. My body shakes, shuddering in waves. Then I’m lost in Keller’s eyes.

He presses me to him. I can barely keep my eyes open. Then his lips press to mine.

Suddenly, he steps up, moves his head through my arms and lifts me slightly. And that terrible pressure is gone. Mateus, Bryce, and Finn are clustered around us. There’s the sound of ripping material and my body jerks one direction as Keller rises all the way, I’m off the hook, and then my arms are around the back of his neck.

The sudden release pressure is excruciating. There’s movement—we’re moving, outside.

I can’t make anything out.

The ground shakes and I feel Keller on top of me.

And that’s all I remember. His smell, the dirt under me, my shoulders, not caring if I die, just wanting to sleep, to breathe, to not breathe. The effort is too much.

΅

When I wake up, I feel like I’ve been out for days. I’m in a hospital bed. An IV snakes from my arm to the saline. I try to move but can’t. The anterior muscles along each side of my ribcage scream and my head throbs with the worst headache I’ve ever had.

I close my eyes. That helps.

There’s movement in the room and someone drags a chair over. I try to move my head, but neck muscles lock painfully and a spasm shoots down the trapezius. I lie motionless.

Someone takes my hand, the one without the IV.

It’s Keller. I can tell from the weight, the sheer meatiness of his grip. In this moment, I sink slightly into the pillows, enough tension releasing from me into him to allow a small movement of my head and I open my eyes.

His face is red, his eyes bloodshot. He looks like hell. He takes my hand and presses it to his lips for a moment and then closes his eyes and rests his forehead against mine. I can’t speak—it feels like sand in my throat. I must have been on a ventilator.

I don’t know how long we stay like this, but it’s long enough for me to doze off. This time, though, I’m not in some drug induced horror story. I’m with my lover, my partner, my boyfriend who is holding me. My body floats, my mind slips away, and I sleep.