Emerged In Darkness

Chapter 8

After a while, Saran pulled away and wiped at her itchy eyes and runny nose. As much as she wanted to stay in Ethan's arms and cry it out, they had to get out of there. And that meant she had to put her grief and anger aside for the time being. At least for now.

She breathed in deeply and sighed. Ethan looked over her in worry and concern.

Saran knew at the moment he thought she was fragile. Ready to break at a moment's notice. And the truth was, he was probably right. With everything that had happened, Saran was surprised that she hadn't lost it completely. It was good she hadn't. If she managed to survive and get this far, then she could be strong. She could do this. Mason would have wanted her to do this. He would have wanted her to get out alive. So, for him, she would.

With a determined look, Saran straightened up and began walking toward the only other opening in the room. Just as she stepped in the doorway, she remembered she had no gun.

Saran looked over her shoulder at Ethan.

"Do you have my gun?" She questioned, quietly.

Ethan looked over her cautiously. A frown pulled his lips down and he opened his mouth to speak.

Saran could feel annoyance swell up in her chest. A lot of things had happened to her but she wasn't unstable. She could still handle a gun like nobody's business. Besides, even if she was, Mason had taught her how to handle a gun and that alone was justifying. But if he wanted to play this game then they would.

Saran turned to face Ethan fully and put her hands on her hips, her brows lined with annoyance.

"Ethan, the gun, please. You aren't always gonna be able to protect me if you're trying to do what you need to and help Mia ya know."

She watched as his blue eyes glanced from her to the ground and back. Finally, he sighed and walked up to her. Ethan pulled a gun from his waistband and handed it over. Saran gave him a tiny, satisfied huff and turned back to the door.

"Thank you. Now, let's go. Lucas has something that belongs to us and we're going to get it back."

She felt more than saw Ethan smile in amusement and pull out his shotgun.

Slowly, she walked through the open door.

Black plastic covered the floor and walls. Streaks and dots of dried white paint lined the crinkly material. It looked as if someone had haphazardly thrown the paint here and there, hoping to accomplish something. Boxes filled with painting supplies were tossed into the corners, tucked away out of sight.

Her nose wrinkled at the smell of the old paint, dust, and stale air. Although the hall looked harmless, Saran knew better. Lucas was running the show here and that in itself was dangerous.

She kept her eyes peeled as she walked down the hall and turned the corner.

At the very end was a bunch of crates blocking the darkened hallway. Luckily, though, there was a door right beside it.

Saran and Ethan silently walked down the hall and into the door.

Inside the room looked like everywhere else. Plastic everywhere, lingering paint smells, and a bunch of shelves.

On one of those shelves, she noticed some shotgun shells and handgun ammo, along with some of the medicine bottles and rolls of gauze.

Saran began walking toward the shelf, only for Ethan to jerk her right back. She turned to glare at him and opened her mouth to say something when he pointed in front of her with a stern face.

A thin red laser crossed from one side of the room to the other and on the end was a bomb. It was triggered to detonate if someone walked through it. Ethan had just saved her a world of pain.

She closed her mouth and gave him an appreciative look.

"Thank you.." She mumbled quietly.

Ethan nodded at her and motioned for her to stand back. She did as he said and waited.

He took two or three steps back himself before aiming his gun and shooting the bomb. It was only a small explosion, not enough to damage any of the nearby objects. But it was still powerful enough that it could have seriously hurt either of them. And Saran knew just who put them there.

Lucas.

"That sadistic psychopath!" She thought angrily.

When she got her hands on him, if she ever did, Saran would make him pay. Her angry thoughts were cut off by more tiny explosions.

"All clear! Come on Saran!" Ethan called to her.

He had made his way around the shelves she was going for and to the other side of the room. She heard him open a door and walk a few steps out.

Saran grabbed the ammo, bottles, and gauze from the shelf and shoved them in her bag. There would be no telling when she and Ethan would need these.

After setting her bag on her back again, Saran followed after Ethan. She kept an eye out for any more of those bombs but luckily there were no more. Thank goodness for that, She thought. Saran didn't feel like having tiny bits of shrapnel being embedded into her skin.

Distant booms broke the silent air as she walked through the doorway and down the steps. Ethan must be taking out all the bombs. A feeling of gratefulness washed over her. He was being safe and making sure that neither one of them would be hit. Well, at least until she heard his cry of pain and a thump.

She rushed down the stairs and in between the last couple of steps, Ethan lay, cursing.

"Are you okay?!" She asked as she rushed over to him. He grunted in response and slumped back on the stairs. Blood speckled his face and arms. A broken box lay at his feet, shattered to pieces. From the way his wounds and the box looked, Saran guessed that he went to kick it open and it exploded on him. Another one of Lucas's tricks. She sighed and slung her bag off her shoulders. A single hand reached into it and touched around until she found what she was looking for.

Saran pulled the green bottle from the bag and turned toward Ethan. Nothing too serious. His hands and arms had taken most of the damage.

She grabbed a piece of the dirty blue button shirt she was wearing and tore a piece of it off. A corner of the fabric went into the bottle to soak up the medicinal liquid and then to Ethan's hands. Gently, she brought his large hands over to her lap and began to dab at the cuts and gashes on the palms of his hands.

After a dab or two, the wounds closed up, leaving only blood behind. She spent a handful of minutes making sure to get all the wounds in his hands. Then, she moved onto his arms and did the same. Finally, she reached up and softly dabbed along his face, making sure to get the cuts there too. When Saran was finished, she leaned back on the balls of her feet, inspecting Ethan. All the wounds were closed and healed nicely. She frowned when she noticed something on his face.

There was a scar that she hadn't noticed before. It was faint, and almost hard to notice if she hadn't been looking at it while he was directly in the light. It ran from the left corner of his mouth all the way to almost the middle point of his cheek. Almost like someone had taken a knife, put it in his mouth, and cut. She'd ask him about it later, but right now, they had to go.

Saran stood up and helped Ethan to his feet. He gave her a grateful look.

"Thanks. I appreciate it," He mumbled, giving her a small smile.

Saran gave him a tiny one back and shrugged her shoulders.

As she went to move forward, something grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from Ethan. A door slammed shut between them.

Sara could barely hear Ethan's outraged cries over the blood rushing in her ears. Slowly, she turned around.

Dark ocean eyes glared back.