Free Minds

Chapter 91.

    The pitch blackness that I regained consciousness to meet had me debating for the next few seconds whether or not I'd gone blind. That thought, however, was short-lived by the brain-damaging headache that appeared to be bursting open the back of my head.

   As I soothed away the agony with one hand, my eyes began to make a gradual adjustment to the dark. So much so that I could make out the presence of an immobile frame not too far from where I was.

   I was starting to miss not seeing anything.

"Dorian? Rav?" I gave a soft call while crawling toward what I prayed was a living body at a snail's pace, being careful not to trigger the headache that was just starting to feel less like hell.

   I let out a huge, relieved sigh when a throaty, masculine groan and slight movement came from the figure I was inching toward.

"Rav, Dorian?" My sight still wasn't good enough to recognise who this person was. "Please tell me you're okay."

"Beth?"

   The voice that came out from this person threw me off guard. That was not Dorian or Rav. Then the sad realisation dawned on me. My hope that it was only the three of us that were caught by the Yunies was immediately crushed.

"Is that you, Beth?" The person tried again.

"Yes, Landon." I reached out for the hand he'd stretched out in the dark. "It's me."

   I spent the next minute listening to Landon's narration on how he'd ended up here.

"Camila and I had succeeded in taking the Yunies to the football pitch," he said. The outline of his frame was becoming more visible with time. "We were on our way to the Tunnel when... when..."

   I patted Landon's shoulder as he stopped talking to rest his head into his hands with a miserable sigh.

"I swear I didn't see any Yunies behind us but then everything went black before I knew it. I don't know what happened after that," he later remarked. "I can't even tell you what happened to Camila because she was nowhere in sight when I was attacked. I just hope she's okay."

   My thoughts travelled to Dorian and Rav. They were the ones I was with the last time I was conscious. I don't know why I was here, but they weren't, and that was pretty unnerving. I just hoped, like Landon did for Camila, that they were okay.

"What the hell?"

   Landon and I exchanged a sharp look, automatically confirming that neither of us said that. By now, my head had cleared up enough to recognise the owner of that pained groan.

"Rav?" I called out, forcing my eyes to see beyond the darkness I'd gotten used to. "Rav!"

   Before I could take a step to try and trace where his voice came from, my wild glances around caught sight of his frame shuffling toward us. I didn't give myself a chance to be patient, breaking into a proactive run and engulfing him in a huge hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay," I whispered into Rav's chest.

"I wouldn't call my head feeling like an exploding grenade okay," I felt his wince when he used a free hand to brush over the back of his head. "But I've had hangovers worse than this."

   That last statement, in spite of the current situation, brought a laugh out of me.

   Of course he has.

"Will you let go of me now?" He tapped my back. "The last thing I need is Lover Boy on my ass."

   For a moment, I frowned because I thought he was referring to Landon, but that went away when I felt a tug on my arm. I didn't make myself question how or from where Dorian popped up, allowing myself to get lost in the embrace he wrapped me in an instant. Looking over his shoulder, I see Landon asking Camila whether she's okay.