Brave Fear (boyxboy)

Chapter 38

The only sound Zane was aware of was Trip's agonized screams. They reverberated inside his mind and dug deep, digging furrows into his thoughts and blowing all rational thought out his brain. He didn't hear the glass shattering and scattering across the floor. He didn't hear the whir of the plane as it hovered just outside the window. There were only Trip's screams. He felt the need to scream with him, contribute to the agony.

Marlene was dead.

Zane had only known her for a few days, but already she was the mother he'd never had. Or, at least, she had been. Already he was familiar with the soft, gentle smile and the nervous laugh. He knew he was one of the reasons she'd died. Without him, she might still be alive. The realization weighed on him heavily, and he couldn't ever imagine it leaving. The foster mother who cared for everyone but herself was gone.

He felt the urge to destroy.

Anything and everything.

He had the power to do so.

Trip scrambled forward, held back by Jonas, surprisingly strong. Tears streamed down his face, tracking through glass shards and collecting droplets of blood drawn by them. His tears hit the ground pink.

Anastasia was facedown, her usual confident demeanor darkened into a silent scream, her mouth wide open. Daisy was desperately trying to calm her down, but Daisy was crying too.

Zane felt nothing but rage as he surveyed the scene around him, the total and complete agony Wawrzynski had just caused. Joseph was rigid, his back pressed painfully against a steel bookshelf. His eyes were closed and he was drawing in deep breaths as he struggled to contain his sorrow. Zane tried to talk to him, tell him something, but the screams were too loud. Instead, Zane pulled Joseph's head against his shoulder and sobbed with him. Joseph, his attempt at calm forgotten, gave in and tears began to stream down his cheeks.

Another explosion rocked the skyscraper, many floors beneath them. The building shook precariously and Zane spread his feet apart to brace himself. The maps shuddered and slipped to the floor. The shelves creaked.

Marcus's body was shaking and Mallory was wrapped around him, either embracing him or restricting him from moving. Zane couldn't tell which. Marcus's face had gone completely red, engulfed in anger, and his green eyes flashed, appearing black. His mouth was slightly open and he was breathing viciously through his teeth.

Zane knew the jet had left, but he didn't dare leave the relative safety of the shelves. He didn't want to end up like Marlene. He didn't want to be a body on the sidewalk below.

Trip was now clawing at Jonas, desperately trying to free himself. "Let me go!" he screeched. "I have to save her!"

Jonas pulled him back. "You can't save her! She's dead!"

"No! She can't be! It's not possible!" Trip broke free and dove over to where Marlene had stood. His slicked back hair was in disarray and his jean jacket was covered in a mixture of blood and tears. He slammed his fist into the ground, over and over, pounding down on the glass shards, tearing open his hand. "No!" he screamed. "Why Marlene?"

The building shuddered again, but this time it didn't stop. It continued to tilt dangerously, and the maps began to roll across the floor. Trip had to lean to maintain his balance. Jonas stood up shakily. "We've got to get out of here!" he yelled.

"How?" Zane demanded. "The lower floors are probably destroyed!" He too stood up, feeling the need to move. A shelf near the end of the room fell over and crashed through a window, tumbling through the air like Marlene only moments before.

The others scrambled to their feet at the cacophony of shattering glass. Trip began to slide toward the exploded window, his feet scrabbling for purchase, his bloody hands clawing for any possible handhold. Zane held on to the end of a tall shelf as his body threatened to do the same. "Trip, grab my hand!" he yelled, extending his arm out, his hair prickling in nervousness and anticipation.