Kingdoms of Gold

40 | Minor Inconveniences

A few days later and the underground camp was practically silent. The open floor, which had once been bustling with life, now felt dead. The only noise came from the medical tents. Tomorrow we raided Gehenna.

Valentino walked by my side as we tried to find something, anything to help with for the past hour. Neither of us were good with anything medical. Valentino was too squeamish around blood and I was good at harming not healing. Any supplies was already set out and distributed. It was really serving food now, but that was covered.

It left the two of us wandering while my other mates ate.

I wasn't sure how any of my mates could eat at a time like this. My stomach was knotted and cramping.

Eventually we found ourselves back at our rooms, recounting supplies. An array of guns and blades scattered the floor and bed. There wasn't too much space in the small room to allow all the weapons to be on display. A few more were tucked under the bed.

"Why don't you take a break?" Valentino tucked some weapons aside, making room on the floor with me.

My hands shook as I set the knife down. "I'm only double checking everything."

"Well, you've double checked our stock three times now." He unrolled the cloth knife case, organizing the blades by size. "Take a deep breath. Everything will be all right."

As soon as the words left Valentino's mouth, the entire room shook. Furniture rattled. The bedside lamp tethered on the table, sliding until it was centimeters away from falling. It lasted only a few seconds, but that few seconds was enough to have me standing in haste.

He shoved me behind him, cracking the door open. We both peered out into the hall. It was empty. Everyone tended to be in the main halls this time of day.

The walls shook once more. The ground beneath us to swayed and, this time, the lamp did fall, shattering on the ground. The seams of the door split, bending the frame. 

Valentino pushed me further into the room, away from the walls. Fear seeped into the room. 

A crack parted the ceiling. I watched as it danced its way to the center of the room. Dirt sprinkled to the ground as it reached the over head lights. The bulb exploded. Valentino let out a small yelp, covering me from the glass. Darkness enveloped us.

The ground finally stabilized enough for Valentino to let out a small breath. He dragged his hand up my body to grip my chin. "Our gear is still on the bed. I'm going to grab it. Don't move."

He waited until I nodded before letting me go. Within seconds he was shoving clothes at me.

I struggled to change into the skin tight clothes. The pants were more difficult to button up without any light and I guessed which was the front side of the shirt.

I could feel each of my mates through the bond. It kept me sane.

It was less than two minutes after the lights had gone out when a small fizz went through the electrical. Low lights lit the room in a soft, red glow. It was only bright enough to make out the objects of the room.

The alarm started seconds later.

Valentino was already dressed. He'd managed to strap all his holsters on in that short amount of time. He pushed my holsters to me and started strapping weapons to himself. "Whatever you can't carry on you, goes in my bag."

He mostly had guns on him. There were a few knives he had hidden if all else failed. A rifle was strapped to his back. I had a variety of different weapons. Most were small handguns and knives. There were so many I lost count as I hid them across my body. Anything left over was stuffed into our bags.