Desolation

Chapter Forty Seven

((hey guys! I am SO sorry that I have not updated in forever, but here is chapter 47!! i hope that you all enjoy this chapter and please vote and comment! this book is nearing its end, there will be a few more chapters, but don't worry; there's going to be a sequel! yayyyyy!))

At first, I am so distracted by the fact that Ian is alive that I don't even register what he is doing.

"Ian!" I shout out, relief flooding throughout my entire body.

But then, I look at him and when I see what he is doing, a wave of nausea passes over me.

Ian is kneeled on the floor, cradling Tessa #2's unconscious body in his arms.

What. The. Hell.

He looks up at me and furtively drops her body back onto the floor.

"What are you doing?" I ask quickly, trying hard to keep my voice level.

"I...um...this looks weirder than it really is," Ian mumbles.

"What is going on? Why were you holding her in your arms?" I ask again, taking a step towards him.

"I...I just wanted to see if she was okay," he says.

"Why? She's not real!" I exclaim angrily.

Just yesterday he told me never to go back into this room ever again. And now here he is, cradling her unconscious body in his arms to see if she is okay.

"What do you mean?" Ian asks.

"She's my clone; she's not a real person!" I exclaim lividly.

"Sorry," Ian says bluntly, standing up.

I swallow hard, composing myself.

"It's okay," I say.

But I don't really mean it. Something about the way he was holding her body in his arms weirds me out. I shudder, trying to shake the disturbing thoughts from my mind.

"Is everyone okay?" Ian asks, walking towards me.

I nod.

"Yeah, everyone's fine. Tristan's a little banged up but other than that everyone made it," I say.

When Ian reaches me he puts his hands on my hips and gives me a small smile.

"I'm glad you're okay," he whispers.

"Me too. And um...I think we should get out of here," I say.

"Right. Probably not safe being in an underground room that could crumble at any minute," Ian says, laughing.

I force myself to laugh slightly, despite the fact that my heart is still pounding in my chest.

"C'mon let's go," he says.

We turn around and walk towards the door. Just before we leave Ian turns around, looking one last time at Tessa #2. She is sprawled out on the floor, immobile with her skin white as a ghost. I eye him sharply as he continues to stare at her for a few moments. Finally, I grab his arm and pull him out.

In a deafening silence, we walk towards the ladder. Smoke and debris are still swirling around in the air, causing my lungs to burn again with every breath I take. When we finally reach the ladder I climb up first, followed by Ian. Once we emerge up and out into the fresh air, I take a huge deep breath, sucking in all of the fresh, clean air that I can.

Damn, it feels good to be outside again.

"Ian!" someone shouts.

I turn around and look to see Nikki and Dylan rushing over towards us.