SILVER EYES (GXG)

Chapter 6: Unexpected (Part 2/2)

We arrived at the hangar of the Narval House and parked Emma in the leads area. It was really late, and everyone was asleep. The quiet of the night felt like a mockery of my tumultuous, aching heart. I'd rather face a brutal storm right now, hell, a hurricane would have suited the situation better.

And the truth was, besides the sadness of not getting any help, there was also a hint of disappointment over our brief moment of peace being shattered. I even felt a bit guilty. Crazy, right? Apparently, I wanted so badly to somehow get along with Heather, just like everybody else. But that didn't just depend on me, I guess.

When we got to the Narval House, I didn't even look at her and made my way toward the stairs.

"Thanks for..."

Nothing...

"...everything. Good night." I said.

"Grace, wait." Heather's voice cut through the quiet.

I turned back to face her and... brow slightly furrowed, tense skin, moist eyes, was she nervous?

"Come with me." She said, taking my hand in hers and pulling me hard.

My heart raced, but I followed her. What else could I do? She grabbed me firmly, which told me that whatever she was doing had to be done in a hurry and that there was no time for explanations. Besides, her hand was really warm, heat betraying her crime?

We descended to the underground floors, specifically to level minus two, a place I had never been before. It was dark, with only the emergency lights illuminating the surroundings. I could make out a gray hallway lined with metallic doors. Heather unlocked one of them with a key she had and stepped inside. Well, more like she dragged me in.

Once there, she turned on the lights, revealing an array of monitors and screens of various sizes. Two chairs sat empty in front of them. Heather took a seat and powered up one of the screens.

"What is all this?" I asked, confused.

"Shht." She said. "Lower your voice."

Heather grabbed a fancy keyboard infornt of her and entered a code. "Look at this."

Suddenly, footage of the gates showed up on the screen. Heather rewound them for a while with a strange slim silver pen that was tied to the keyboard.

"There." She said as she paused the image and played the video.

My heart sank. It was footage from the surveillance cameras at the border, the footage from that day. That horrible day I had tried to forget over and over in the past month.

The explosion.

I put my hand on my heart as if I could make him stop aching but no. No way. Like a painful stab in a fresh bruise.

"The attack was carried out by the Phoenix Group, just for the record. We had nothing to do with that," Heather clarified.

As if I cared who the culprit was, I had already guessed. I knew the Phoenix Group all too well; they were all anyone talked about on the other side. The rebels. The enemies of the Reg Society. Terrorists, depending on who you asked. The ones who wanted to see the Reg Society burn.

Suddenly, Michael appeared on the monitor. The air froze in my lungs, and I couldn't get it out. My eyes were glued to the screen. Even though I had lived that moment, I couldn't help but mentally plead for everything to unfold differently. Michael, run, hurry, get to where Grace is. No, don't close the gates yet. Run faster, get to Michael.

Stupid, I know. But the mere thought of everything being different made me feel peaceful. However, none of that happened. Michael didn't reach me. I didn't reach Michael. He didn't cross the gates.