Sorrow's Gift

Chapter Eighteen: Noah

Noah held his fingertips to Crash's neck and felt for his heartbeat. It was weak, but there.

"Can someone find a flashlight, please," he said. "I need some light."

Behind him, someone tripped over something and cursed. Karmen. A few seconds later, she turned on a light and shone it toward him.

"Thanks," he said. He glanced down at Parrish. She was still sitting on the floor beneath the desk, rocking back and forth, tears streaming down her face. He wanted to comfort her, but he also needed to make sure Crash was okay.

"What's wrong with him?" Karmen asked. She moved beside him and shone the light toward Crash.

"I don't know. I guess the strain of trying to keep all this going was too much for him," he said. "He's probably going to need to rest for a while. I'm going to move him to the couch so we can keep an eye on him."

"Do you need help?" the other girl said. They still didn't know her name, so in his head, Noah had just been calling her the girl. He didn't know what else to call her.

"Would you mind clearing those backpacks off the couch?" he asked. "Karmen, just shine the light on the floor from here to the couch so I don't trip over anything."

Noah put one arm under Crash's legs and lifted him from the chair. He was thankful for his extra strength, because even though Crash wasn't a huge guy, he still had to weigh at least a hundred and seventy pounds. Noah lifted him like it was nothing, and carried him to the couch.

The girl grabbed a blanket and spread it across Crash's legs and chest.

"What do we do now?" Karmen asked. "We won't have any power until he wakes up."

"We don't really need power," Noah said. "Not right now. We just need to sit tight and make sure everyone is okay."

"This place feels weird in the dark," Karmen said. "I don't like it. And listen. Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" he asked.

Karmen pointed toward the ceiling. "Someone's walking around upstairs. One of them."

Noah grew still and listened. She was right. Now that the power was off and the loud computer fans weren't running, he could hear the sound of footsteps shuffling against the floor above them.

"We're safe down here," he said.

"For how long?" Karmen asked. "You heard what he said earlier. There's some kind of witch or assassin looking for us right now. What if they find us down here? What happens then? We're like sitting ducks in this place."

"All you ever think about is yourself," Parrish said, finally crawling out from the under the desk.

Karmen swung the light toward her and Parrish held up a hand to shield her eyes.

"I do not," Karmen said.

"Yes, you do," Parrish shouted back. "Ever since that first night we got attacked, all you've ever talked about or cared about is what's going to happen to you. You don't even seem to care that your parents never came home. Did you even stop to think that maybe they're still alive out in California? Just because they couldn't catch a flight home doesn't mean they're dead. Does that even matter to you? Or is getting to a safe place where you can feel like you're being watched out for the only thing that matters anymore?"

Noah stood and walked over to her, but she held up her hand to keep him away.

"Stop," she said. "I know what you're going to say, but I don't want to hear it. I'm tired of walking on eggshells around here, trying not to upset anyone. Life sucks, okay? We are in danger and you know what? There's nothing we can do about it. There's nowhere else to go that's going to be safe. The safe zones the government set up are all destroyed. There's no one left to help us. We're probably all going to die, just like your dad. Just like all our parents. Just like my sister."