Chapter 191
- Evan -
I stepped outside to cool off for a second. I didn't mean to fly off the handle and hit Duke where it hurt most. I am just tired of everyone putting the pressure on me.
Sometimes I wish I had never been made a waymaker and could just spend my time with my friends. With Kaysi, like a normal person.
They want me to lead, but I don't match the job criteria. I mean, yeah, sure, I have more experience than the rest of them, being raised by Duke and all, but that doesn't mean I should lead.
I barely found the end of the hall when the alarms started going off.
"Shit," I muttered under my breath.
Here we go again...
Micah and Baby intercepted me in the hallway.
"Perfect...timing."
Micah paused when she saw my expression.
"Is everything okay?"
"Duke is pretty worried when they brought you by ambulance. "I guess Duke gave you a good talking to," Baby half-joked.
"I don't want to talk about it," I muttered.
"Good, we have other things to worry about." Baby half-jokingly chirped. "The basement is starting to fill with water. Thankfully, that's just parking, but it looks like the water is still moving slowly, and we need to move the people before it picks up or starts blocking us in."
Becky and Josh met us in the middle, heading back to my room.
"Elevators are already down; the system is feeling the heat," Becky interrupted.
Duke's voice echoes down the halls. "The weaker should be first to get out." Duke turned his head as a nurse ran around the corner.
Josh looked into the room.
"Are we rescuing babies?"
"Absolutely, the big, scary Waymakers are helping tiny babies." Becky elbowed him.
"I have a reputation to keep, you know!" He argued as Becky handed him a baby. "Two arms, two babies."
Micah approached the nurse. "How many do we need to transport?"
"Thank goodness you can help. "23," the nurse replied. "Some of them still can't breathe on their own; we will have to move the incubators."
"We can lend a hand," Frank said, coming from behind us with Elia, Jakeh's wife; Mary Maxwell, toddler; and newborn.
"Why are you here? I thought you would be in City 5 by now."
"We were heading there, but Jakeh wanted to make a detour to get his wife and newborn a check-up before anything got any crazier."
Micah turned around. "So, everything okay?"
"Yes, Momma and baby are doing just fine!" Elia elbowed Jakeh; my brother was worried for nothing."
"I wouldn't think that now we are here at the right time to help. I call that divine intervention!" He smiled.
Mary stepped forward. "Sorry, our little evacuation became something more. Our people have been here for over 100 years with only minor issues."
"I think it would have stayed minor, but those 5 rogue hackers have been pulling the strings."
"I was so close to catching them before everything blew out of the water," Frank admitted.
"No sense in dwelling in the past." Duke grabbed a small infant and handed it to me.
"We're moving out in groups. Stay with the person next to you. No running or panicking, we'll take our time and all get out safely.
Everyone, including the nurses, straightened in fear and met direction.
That's the direction the people need right now, not me.
Kaysi moved ahead of me, crouching in front of a small girl clutching a small bear.
"What's his name?" She asked the little girl, pointing to the bear.
"Sweetie pie, huggy bear."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Bear. Can you help me get him to safety with his family?"
The little one nodded and switched into a brave face.
Kaysi smiled. "Stick with us, alright?"
The building groaned a low, deep reminder, and the emergency lights came on red all over the halls.
Josh shoved a piece of fallen debris aside with a grunt.
"Path clear!" He called back.
Another piece of the smaller ceiling broke loose. Josh shifted out of the way of the large debris as it hit the ground to shake.
I moved to get Kaysi and the little girl out of the way, but before I could make it in place to save them, Kaysi's sword was released, and she cut the debris in two.
She moved faster than me... I was at a loss for words.
Kaysi looked back at me with an expression unreadable.
"You're still injured," she snapped, then lowered her voice. "You're not alone. You can lean on us...on me!"
Her eyes burned into my soul, sending a shiver all over. I listened really well this time, as I replied with a nod.
"Careful," Becky spoke as she kept moving, squeezing between us like she didn't see a thing. "The floors are slick."
The hall kept shifting under us like low quakes, not fully collapsing yet.
Just... Reminding us it could.
Every few seconds, a dull groan rolled through the building like something massive turning in its sleep.
Above us, red emergency lights pulsed against wet floor tiles and stainless steel doors—turning everything into warning signs.
People moved in lines now.
Not chaos or panic, only controlled urgency.
That was the only reason it was still survivable.
Kaysi stayed slightly ahead of me.
Not far.
Just enough that I noticed she wasn't waiting for permission anymore.
She was reacting and changing with all this, but that small change bothered me more than I expected.
Because it meant she was adapting to this life more... To us in this moment. I am not fully recovered, so I shouldn't take it to heart.
The little girl gripped her bear tightly, and Kaysi's hand tightened as they walked.
Kaysi kept walking but leaned to the side.
"You're doing really well," she said softly.
The girl nodded in response to the encouragement, but she didn't fully believe it—but she wanted to.
That's what really mattered right now: hope.
Another groan, this time closer.
The ceiling above the next corridor cracked—fine lines spread like spiderwebs across the concrete.
Josh looked up.
"...Yeah, I don't like that sound."
Becky, keep pushing forward.
"You don't like any sound." She joked.
"That's not true...I like silence."
"That's because you don't have to contribute to it."
"Ah...Rude," he joked back.
Frank took point with Duke behind him, coordinating movement through the shifting hallways.
Frank raised a hand.
"Stairwell A is the closest and most stable. We can rotate groups through there."
Duke nodded once.
"Good, keep things in order."
Frank hesitated slightly.
"...Feels weird taking orders again."
Duke looked over at him with a smile.
"Then pretend as if you were still working for the corrupted silent police again."
That earned a dry snort from Frank.
Elia elbowed him hard in the ribs. This one was only slightly poisoned. He's just about rehabilitated."
Frank let out a small cough. "Thanks, I think."
I stayed near the middle of the group.
Not leading nor pushing forward, just watching.
I still helped where I needed to. Trying not to think about that look Kaysi gave me earlier.
She acted like I was someone... Someone who believed only she could actually rely on.
That felt scarier and more dangerous than the collapsing building.
Another tremor, a bit larger this time. Lights flickered once, then stabilized.
Somewhere deep below us, metal screamed.
Water pressures were shifting; the leak was catching up slowly but inevitably.
Josh awkwardly adjusted the weight of the babies in his arms.
"For the record," he muttered, "I did not think today would involve this many infants."
Becky shot him a look.
"One day, you may have more than being a Waymaker to focus on as well." She joked, looking at the baby.
"I...I call that emotional manipulation!" He scoffed as the baby flinched.
"Oh... shhh...." He rocked the baby in his arms as the baby drifted back to sleep.
Becky smiled at him with an eyebrow raised.
Josh didn't say a word after all; she was probably right.
I looked at Kaysi, and the little girl then shifted my gaze to Josh. What would our futures look like? I am sure Josh will be a better father than our father was! And Kaysi might be a good...
A loud crash echoed from in front of us.
A support beam somewhere down in the stairwell collapsed before we made it there. Dust rolled through the corridor like fog.
Kaysi tightened her grip on the little girl's hand.
She didn't panic, but I saw it. The way her shoulders locked for a half second.
She felt the weight of it, not fear but responsibility.
"Move back; we need to go to the other stairwell." Duke's voice cut through the crowd.
People surged back as a shock wave of pressure shifted the air.
Kaysi looked up at the same time I did. Both her and my instincts were in tune for a moment.
She moved out of the way just as the ceiling above dropped in a chain reaction of metal pipes, blocking our path to the right of the evacuation route.
Josh moved first, moving and shoving the people hard out of the way.
"MOVE!"
Becky grabbed a nurse sideways.
Frank tackled a man out of the impact zone.
Duke stepped forward—
Then stopped.
Watching me.
Kaysi's sword drawn, ready to cut through whatever pipes lay in our way.