The chilly night air whipped past us, whistling through our ears. Our shoes slapped the pavement, the only sound at such a late hour while the stars seemed to grin from above, savoring in our panic.
I was running, not as fast as I could've, but damn close to it. My right arm was twisted about my back, clutching Carly's cold hand, while my left clawed at air, as if in a desperate attempt to paddle through it. All the muscles in my body were clenched, straining to go faster, despite the burning pain. I could feel blood seeping through my shirt where the glass had dug into my flesh. But I was ignoring it now. I had to if I wanted to survive.
And a single message screamed through my brain: Lydecker is back.
Eleven years earlier I had escaped him, with the hope of never returning. He was the man that in my eyes was no better than the devil at times. He created us, trained us, formed us into intelligent humans…all while killing us.
I never regretted my choice to leave Manticore. The only thing I did regret was that I hadn't left sooner.
As Carly and I whipped around a corner, she tugged at my arm, begging me to stop. I turned my head around to see, but didn't stop, only slowing down slightly.
"Zack, we can go back to my place."
"Where?"
"Keep on going," she said between heavy breaths as we slowed down to a walking pace. My muscles were trembling, and I was afraid I was going to go into a seizure right then and there. It took all the available strength I had to stop myself from falling to the ground, violently shaking. Carly must've noticed because she turned to me, sweat trickling down her face in the pale moonlight. "You okay?"
Grabbing my right arm and holding it close to me to stop it from twitching, I nodded faintly. "I'm fine." She couldn't see the blood running down my back underneath my leather jacket. Shadows obscured the puncture hole so that she couldn't have seen the rip. I wouldn't have wanted her to anyhow.
"You need a doctor."
"Do not."
"You're going to go into a seizure or something. Look at you, you can barely stand." She shook her head and sighed. "Besides, here we are."
It was an apartment building, squished between a deli and a laundromat. Like the rest of the buildings in the city, it was close to collapsing and aged terribly. But, I accepted her invitation. Lydecker would never find us here. And, like Carly had stated, and I refused to admit, I probably was going to go into a seizure if I wasn't careful. She entered first, but held the door open for me as I entered.
Due to such a late hour, no one was up and about, so we hurried up the stairs, since there was no elevator and headed down a long hallway.
Fumbling in her pocket for keys, Carly glanced up at me. "You sure you okay?"
"I said I was fine."
"Whatever," she mumbled, pulling out a clinking set of keys and unlocked her door. This time, she let me enter first, while she followed.
The lights snapped on, and I squinted, trying to adjust to the harsh light. Fortunately, my body was calming down, and I didn't have to clench my muscles so tightly. Yet, I was still afraid of collapsing on the floor and going into a seizure.
Carly pulled off her coat and threw it over a forest green colored chair that occupied the small living area. A kitchen directly connected with the living room and then there was a small hallway where I assumed the bedroom and bathroom were. "You can stay here, if you want," she told me.
"Thanks," I muttered, looking around, refusing to take off my own coat. It was then, perched in a tiny corner of Carly's apartment that I saw her.
She stared at me through never-blinking eyes, perched above her always smiling lips. With outstretched hands, she reached for me, beckoning to come to her. Slowly, I did. I walked like a lost soul to her, mentally pleading with her to take me away from all the pain.
"Zack?" Carly whispered quietly from behind me as she watched me approach her.
Her heart was blood red with the ever-burning flames gathered around it, yet she still managed to keep all her regal beauty.
I was shocked beyond all belief and fell to my knees, letting my head land against the plaster wall as my hands flew to my face to cover my emotions. Oh god, it was her. She hadn't left us after all. She would help us, she would in our moment of trouble.
The Blue Lady had returned.