The Initiation by Chris Babu

Author:Chris Babu [Babu, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Permuted
Published: 2018-01-08T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Pain.

A sharp throbbing in the back of Drayden’s head, and his back. Ringing. Something was ringing.

He was lying face down. What the hell was going on? And what was ringing?

When he opened his eyes, they immediately burned and watered. It was so smoky in here. The smoke burned his nostrils with each breath, made difficult by his runny nose. His face was an inch from a cement floor.

Bright red ink covered it.

Or was that blood?

Drayden started to prop himself up on his elbows.

Pain exploded in his back.

He cried out and dropped his head back down.

Wait. The bomb.

Tim.

“Tim!” His throat burned like acid, sound barely escaping his lips. He touched his nose.

His fingers came away dripping with blood.

He managed to rest his chin on the cement so he could see in front of him. Lifting his head at all aggravated the stabbing pain in his back. Where was everybody else?

Catrice.

“Catrice!” he tried to yell, only managing a whisper. He squinted to glimpse through the smoky white haze.

Bodies lay on the ground.

They’re dead. No, there’s movement!

Hands clutched heads. Someone got on their hands and knees. Another stood up shakily and stumbled toward him.

“Who is that?” Drayden rasped.

The figure was ten feet away…five.

Drayden drew in a quick breath. Oh my God.

It was Sidney. Blood dripped down her face from the top of her head. She wiped it out of her eyes. “Drayden! You’re alive! Thank God. Don’t move.”

He could barely hear her. The ringing. His eardrums must have been damaged.

Kneeling by his head, she stroked his hair, smearing it with blood from her hands. “Can you get up? What’s hurt?”

“My back, my head. Mostly my back,” he groaned. “Tim. Where’s Tim?”

Sidney looked beyond Drayden. “Oh no. Dray, sit tight.” She rose and stumbled behind him.

Drayden couldn’t turn his head. “Sid!” he struggled to yell. “Is he okay? Tim!”

Sidney returned and slumped on the ground, facing away from Drayden.

“Sid, where’s Tim? Where’s Tim!”

She faced him, her hands clasped over her mouth, her eyes red. She whimpered, tears forming streaks of exposed pale skin on her bloody cheeks.

“No, Sid. No! Tim!” he cried.

“He’s dead, Drayden,” she whispered.

“No, he’s not. Tim!” Drayden burst into tears. “Sid, go check him again. Please, go check again.”

“He’s dead! He’s gone. He’s not breathing, he has no heartbeat, he’s got…terrible injuries.” She buried her face in her hands and sobbed, blood and tears dripping all over her hands.

Drayden forgot everything. His pain, the Initiation, Catrice. He wailed, crying raw, savage tears. He shook uncontrollably, moaning. Tim couldn’t be gone. He was just there. And it was Drayden’s fault. It was his fault Tim entered at all. His fault Tim died. Drayden had screwed up. He didn’t deserve to live. He should be dead, not Tim.

He bawled unashamedly.

“Drayden?”

The ringing dissipated. He peered through his fingers.

Catrice’s hair had turned totally pink from blood, which also splotched her face.

“Catrice, you’re injured,” Drayden whispered. He wiped blood and tears from his eyes.

“It’s a cut on my head, that’s all. Probably looks worse than it is.

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