Red Skies | The Prime Archives #1 ✓

thirty-four

Chase and Stella raced after Kane as he darted off towards the Asclepius—wherever it was.

He'd taken them down a hallway, away from the fighting. No light entered the cavern. They were shrouded in darkness and silence, which was occasionally interrupted by the odd explosion or burst of gunfire.

They slowed up after losing track of him. He slithered out of their view like the snake he was. Their confusion only grew after seeing the hallway had split off into various directions. Stella theorized it had been used by the military in case a missile strike came in from overseas. From the looks of the place, she was right; it looked just like an underground bunker.

Chase continued his pursuit. He swore he saw Kane run down one of the corridors to his left. Beside him, Stella conjured a ball of light that trailed behind them. It illuminated their faces, a beacon in the sea of darkness.

''Hey,'' she said.

He peered at her curiously. ''You alright?''

She chuckled. ''I should be asking you that.'' She gestured at his shoulder.

Blood soaked through the black mesh of his mission suit. The wound wasn't as big as before, but it hurt just as bad. The adrenaline was starting to wear off as well. He was trying his best to ignore the pins and needles running down his arm.

''What if we can't stop him?''

Chase stopped. His hands curled into fists at his side. ''We can't think like that.''

''I know but...'' Stella stared at her shoes, her head slightly turned. ''I just can't stop thinking about it. I mean, you saw what he did to Cutter. How are we supposed to fight something like that?''

The image of the Atlas agent's body being tossed off the side of the ravine resurfaced. He blinked back a few tears. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was afraid. He was afraid of what Kane could do. He was afraid of what could happen if they failed. He was afraid they would fail.

What if he ended up like Cutter? With the powers Kane possessed, he could kill him with the flick of his wrist.

He swallowed the boulder-sized lump in his throat.

This might've been the last time he would see Stella. There was so much he hadn't told her yet, so much they hadn't done together. In fact, they weren't even together yet. He kept putting off asking her, as his number one priority had been taking out Kismet. But their futures were uncertain now.

They were running out of time. He wasn't going to have another moment like this with her again.

He took her hand. She looked up, a hint of confusion in her bright eyes. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead on hers. Their bodies touched; he could feel her heartbeat hammering away as her eyelids fluttered.

Chase leaned in, closing the small space between them. He breathed in the sweet, intoxicating scent of her hair. Stella stood up on her toes, draping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her slim waist, bringing her even closer to him.

Their lips fit together as if they were made for each other. Bodies melding together, their emotions flared as they lost themselves in the moment.

Then it was over. There were no sparks. No fireworks. Just the two of them standing in silence as they breathed heavily, gazing into each other's eyes like long-lost lovers.

Stella grinned at him before whispering, ''About time, Goldilocks.''

Chase felt his cheeks rush with blood, his face growing warm as he smiled back at her. ''Better late than never, right?''