Exposure (The Fringe Book 2) by Tarah Benner

Author:Tarah Benner [Benner, Tarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-03-06T05:00:00+00:00

fifteen

Harper

Out of nowhere, the ref dives in to break up the fighters. Someone blasts an air horn to signal a technical knockout, and the ref yanks on Angel’s arm to pull him off. One of Eli’s gloves is still pinned to his face, but his other arm is lying useless at his side.

When the crowd erupts into boos and cheers, I realize I’ve been gripping Miles’s massive bicep in panic. I let go and clamber into the ring, where a guy dressed like Blaze is already running up to check Eli’s vitals.

He’s stirring, but he doesn’t look right.

“Eli! Eli!” I barely recognize my own frantic voice.

His eyes drift around, but he’s still lying on his back. He knows I’m there, but he doesn’t make eye contact.

Kneeling down in front of him, I’m shocked to see how bad of shape he’s in. His face is swollen and bloody, and one of his eyes is so puffy he probably can’t even see out of it. I shake his shoulder, but he’s still out of it.

The guy with the med kit helps him sit up, and I want to demand this kid’s credentials. There’s no way he’s Health and Rehab, and Eli needs a real doctor.

“We have to get him to the medical ward,” I say in an unsteady voice.

Miles is right beside me, and I can see Blaze’s worried face swimming behind him. The two of them grip Eli under the arms and hoist him onto their shoulders. He groans as he’s carried out of the ring and into the jostling crowd.

The spectators are growing more restless, jeering and yelling and checking their interfaces for their winnings. Some are already trying to push their way out of the confined space, but traffic is bottlenecking near the narrow shaft.

“Get out of the way!” I yell, ducking around Miles to shove people out of our path.

I get lots of irritated glances from ExCon guys, and a few of them even spit at Eli’s feet. He’s in no shape to retaliate, so I settle on elbowing them all out of the way as hard as I can.

As soon as we enter the narrow shaft, my lungs seize, and the walls seem to be closing in. It doesn’t help that there’s a solid mass of people in front of us and behind us. Their voices are magnified in the narrow space, and I’m struggling to get enough oxygen to my lungs.

It’s all in your head, I think. You can breathe just fine. We’ll be out soon.

Finally the crowd breaks free, and we spill out into the main tunnel. Blaze and Miles look tired from carrying Eli, but they don’t look even half as bad as he does. One of his eyes is fully swollen shut now, and his nose is engorged to twice its normal size.

They drag him up the emergency stairwell and the escalator and onto the megalift, which is mercifully empty. The doors give a friendly ding as we arrive at the medical ward, and my eyes go instantly to Sawyer at the front desk.

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