Crazies

Chapter Twenty-Six

~Chapter 26~
(Edited)

I'll be here. Waiting.

My promise echoes in the dead silences around me as I stare down at the SAT phone clenched between my fingers.

How many times will I have to say goodbye before we met again? My mind conjures the image of all nine of my boys, each one giving me an encouraging smile.

Silently trying to raise my crushing hope.

Only, their stunning smiles morph into gaping mouths with blood spilling past their cracked lips. I violently shake my head of the images conjured from my nightmares.

"Stop thinking like that," I whisper to myself as I look over the edge and find Axel and Corey looking up at me. I pull in the calming ocean scented air and allow myself just a few seconds to get myself together again.

Time to get moving. I lift the SAT phone up and mouth a thank you to Corey before turning back to the control panel. I unplug each item from the metal box before placing them inside the duffle bag again, making sure to include the SAT phone and carry it back to the edge.

Axel moves closer to the wall and raises his hands, silently telling me to drop it down to him. Feeling cautious, I kneel down by the edge and lower the bag as far as I can before releasing the strap. I hold my breath as I watch the bag free fall the short distance to Axel, only for it to be released on a long sigh when he easily catches it.

That bag holds the last of my hope. I can't lose it now.

I tear my attention away from the bag as Axel steps away from the wall and heads back over to Corey. Feeling that they're at a safe distance away, I stand up and prepare myself for the drop, but hesitate when Axel simple hands Corey the bag and moves back over to the wall.

"Just drop down," he says while raising his hands towards me. "I'll catch you."

The complaint must have shown on my face because his dark eyes narrow at me behind those black-rimmed glasses before I could say anything.

Daring me to defy his orders.

I huffed under my breath as I shift to swing my legs out, perching my butt right on the hard edge of the roof.

"You sure you'll be okay catching me?" I voice my complaint anyway as I look the few feet down to his stern face. "I most likely won't hurt myself if I just drop down on my own."

"That most likely isn't very reassuring," he says while indicating for me to hurry up with his fingers, "let's go."

Okay, I tried.

I quickly count down from three before pushing myself off the wall. The wind rushes around me as I fall the few feet down to Axel.

His hands unintentionally slide across my butt as he catches me, causing my face to heat up at the touch. My heart unexpectedly skips a beat when Axel slowly lowers me down to the ground, barely allowing a breath of space between us. His cedarwood scent begins to surround me, and I quickly step away before it does that weird hypnotic thing again.

"So, what's happened?" I question as I nervously fix my bulletproof vest from where it slid up during my close encounter with Axel.

"Not sure. Raven just gave the signal that we need to leave." Axel's hard voice wavers slightly as he looks down at me with this odd look. The strange intensity within his dark eyes has me averting my own down to his chin. I can almost hear Mr. Blackbourne's reprimanding tone about looking away like this, but I just can't handle any more weird feelings right now.