Chapter 137
The military van rattled over uneven pavement, its shocks doing little to cushion the impact. Inside, the air was thick with exhaustion and unease.
Civilians, soldiers, and the wounded sat shoulder to shoulder, the weight of the past few days pressing down on them like a suffocating blanket.
Zara sat in the back, Leo wedged securely between her and Winter. The child had woken up an hour ago, but his fingers still curled tightly into Winter’s sleeve, refusing to let go. Winter, for his part, had drifted into a half-conscious state, head tilted slightly toward Zara. His breath was steady, but the deep lines of fatigue around his eyes hadn’t faded.
Zara was worried, she knew he wasn’t physically injured again, she might have taken a peek while winter was out but that was besides the point.
Like he said, there was no injury there again. So why was he so exhausted? Maybe the pay off for using the healing was that the person’s energy was converted into healing energy?
Something about the warmth of Winter’s body, the way his exhaustion mirrored her own, made her stay still. A strange sense of protectiveness stirred inside her. He looked too pale, too damn fragile, and she didn’t like it.
The van suddenly jerked, lurching forward as the brakes screeched. Hands shot out to grip whatever they could, weapons clanking as soldiers tensed.
"Shit," one of the soldiers near the front muttered.
Ahead, another van had come to an abrupt stop. The convoy stalled.
Zara straightened, eyes sharp. A checkpoint loomed in the distance.
Towering walls, floodlights slicing through the dim evening, and guards clad in full tactical gear. The entrance to Sector 2.