Asael and the boy moved through the tunnels.
Asael killed every enemy he found.
He moved through the tunnels with his weapons ready, taking down anyone who stood in their way. Every time he found another group of soldiers, he killed them and kept moving.
He had a plan.It was not a good plan, in fact it was a dumb plan and Thistle would say as much if he was here.But he wasn't, but he would be with them in a bit...With Bethany.
He was going to blow the entire base with himself in it.
Asael had nothing to live for anymore.
Bethany was dead. Root was dead. Biggy was dead. The rest of his squad was gone.
There was nothing left for him.But the strange boy did.
The boy had a life ahead of him, even if Asael didn't understand where he had come from or why he was here.
So Asael decided he would get the boy out first.
As they moved through the tunnels, Asael tried making small talk.
"Where are you from, kid?"
The boy answered.
"I lived in—"
The rest of his words became strange.
It sounded almost like water static, as though the words were there but Asael's ears simply could not hear them.
Asael frowned.
"What?"
The boy looked at him.
He didn't seem to notice anything strange about what he had said.
Asael decided to leave it alone.
They kept moving.
Along the way, Asael killed more soldiers and picked up bombs whenever he found them. He began latching the bombs onto himself, one after another, until he had enough.
He was turning himself into a walking bomb.
Eventually, they reached the place where most of the soldiers were gathered.
Asael looked at the boy.
"Go the other way. Find the exit."
The boy looked at him.
Asael pointed.
"Go."
The boy started moving.
Asael turned toward the soldiers.
He threw the vest of bombs he had collected at them.
The men blew up.
But not before one of them threw a grenade at Asael.
Asael saw it.
Before he could move, the strange boy returned.He came back to protect Asael.
The boy grabbed the bomb.
Asael's eyes widened.
"It was—"
Asael ran.
He pushed the boy away and threw himself onto the bomb.
Then he lay flat on it.
The explosion came.
Asael felt the rumble travel through his entire body.
Then everything went black.
For a moment, there was nothing.
No war.
No guns.
No blood.
No pain.
Then Asael opened his eyes.
He was in an unbelievably big library.
And the first thing he heard was—
"Oh fuck."