19
Evelyn
“Grab the girl!”
“The hall’s collapsed, you can’t go out that way,” Seven chokes, rising to his feet. “I told you this place was a fire hazard.”
Dante immediately slams the doors shut again, replacing the metal bar across them.
“Where’s Luci?”
“We got separated, but I think he managed to make it out the other way. He should be waiting for us with a car.”
Dante glances around the room before crossing to one of the doors at the back of the room.
“Damn it,” he growls, stopping just short of the doors, “the keys …”
His jaw tightens in frustration as he hangs his drops his head and closes his eyes, his hands slowly clenching into fists at his side. When he finally looks up again, his eyes have gone completely black, his face twisted with rage.
He lets out a roar of anger before cocking his fist back and slamming it into the door. I can’t help but scream as the door splinters around his fist. I scramble backward over the bed in fear, only to be pulled off from behind as Seven’s arms wrap around me, trapping me against his chest momentarily.
“Stop struggling,” Seven snaps before setting me down on the floor and then immediately bending to spin me around and throw me over his shoulder.
“Get her out, now!” Dante orders, breaking apart the door until it’s wide enough for us to step through.
“Dante—” Seven starts.
“Here,” Dante says, grabbing his pants off the floor and digging through a pocket to toss Seven his set of keys. “Get her to safety, that’s an order.”
“Dante!”
“Go, now!” Dante shouts, grabbing the back of Seven’s head as he shoves us both through the door.
Seven growls in frustration as Dante disappears from the opening in the door, but turns to do as he’s been told.
We race through a pitch-black tunnel, the scent of smoke and fire growing stronger with each step. The ceiling groans and creeks above us, and I can’t help but wonder if we’re racing toward our death not from it.
“Seven,” I cough, as the smoke grows thicker.
“Don’t open your mouth,” Seven orders, crouching lower in an effort to help us breathe better.
My eyes are burning in the pitch black, my throat parched from just saying Seven’s name. Suddenly, the whole tunnel shakes around us as we hear a rumbling crash from somewhere behind us.
“Shit,” Seven curses, his grip on me tightening as he slows to a stop. I can’t see anything, but from the way his fingers tap against me, I can only assume he’s contemplating a decision.
“Hey!” I cry out, startled as I suddenly find myself pulled from Seven’s shoulder and lowered to the floor.
He grabs my hand, pressing what I can only guess are Dante’s keys into my hand.
“Evi, you need to do exactly what I tell you.”
“What—"
“There’s no time for questions.” I hear him flip through the keys in my hand before re-adjusting them in my hand so I’m now pinching a specific one in my fingers. “Use this key on the door at the end of the tunnel.” Grabbing my shoulders, Seven guides me sideways before grabbing my free hand to press it against the wall. “Follow the wall.”
“Where are you going?” I ask, panic wrapping around my chest until it’s almost impossible for me to breath.
“I’m sorry, Evi. I have to go back. I can’t leave Dante to die. Not like this.”