Black Holes - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 3

Chapter Three

The meeting room was already full when Jared and Tai got there. Or at least, as full as could be expected.

The fight that had broken out at the rebels base had cost many lives. Leah, Marco, and Riley had been killed alongside fifty others, and of the scattering that had returned, several had accidentally run into ghosts this last week and dissolved into nothing.

Jared was almost envious.

Several people glanced up as Jared and Tai entered, watching as Jared stalked to the back of the room, taking an empty spot along the wall and letting Tai slide in beside him.

Jared lent against the plasterboards, scanning the people around him. Shoulders had grown tense, conversation hushed, and he knew every single one of the S.I.S members in front of him was aware he was there, that their backs were unguarded. It made his heart thud, made him feel as unsafe as they clearly did.

"Okay everyone, quiet down."

Andrew's voice cut through the chatter, silencing it, and Jared looked up, watching as Andrew walked onto the platform, Sophie Azemar beside him.

"We'll keep this brief," Andrew said. "As many of you know, we've been unable to clog the portals. No matter what's thrown at them, they keep opening up and ghosts keep coming through. Half the world has gone into lockdown and the other has descended into chaos. Unless we figure out how to re-stabilise the dimensions, we need to fear the worst."

Andrew swallowed, a sign of nervousness Jared knew he hadn't meant to display, and Jared glanced around. Everyone was staring at Andrew, their expressions defeated, but then one pair of eyes broke away and met his.

Seth Azemar didn't just look empty, but emptied; like some psychopath had ripped his insides out and stuffed the skin. Jared tore his gaze away again, his vision spotting with the sudden movement.

"Leah's death has sparked a chain of events no one could have predicted," Andrew continued. "None of us believed that if the world started collapsing, we'd have time to fix it. But we do. So, now we need to fight harder than ever. If you don't think you can do that and want to spend your final days with loved ones, leave now. We won't stop you."

The room fell eerily silent, and Jared's muscles twitched, begging him to speak up, to walk away and never return.

He didn't want to hope anymore. He didn't want to fight, or try, or bleed.

He wanted to go to the world of dead and say his goodbyes and pray that when this all came to an end, the void he'd be thrown into, half dead and half alive, wasn't as horrible as he expected.

But the silence dragged, and no one spoke. Not even him.

"Good," Andrew said, and Jared blinked, surprised to still be standing there as Sophie stepped forward.

"Andrew and I have organised those of us that remain into strike groups," Sophie said. "Each group will use a different method to tackle the portals and the ghosts. If one is successful, it'll be communicated to the others, but if not, the groups will continue to operate separately. We've plastered the assignments onto the notice boards around the building. You all have two hours before we depart. If your name isn't listed under a team, please return to your room. Andrew and I will come around and give you instructions."

Her gaze travelling around the room, snagging on Jared before she moved on and nodded.

"You're all dismissed," Sophie said. "Thank you for coming today. And thank you, deeply, for your sacrifice."

...

Jared followed the crowd to the notice boards, squinting at the list of names. Unsurprisingly, his name wasn't there, and he wandered back to his room and sat down, unsure what to do with himself until Andrew or Sophie appeared.