Wings

Blake shivered as she glanced out of her tent and withdrew inside only once she was certain nobody would bother her. She swiped the book off the shelf and opened it, dumping the contents of the makeshift safe onto her cot. Her fingers tumbled over the bills that she’d accrued over the past six months, wrapping the small ones over the large ones.     Tomorrow was it: the perfect opportunity for her to escape. They’d be attacking a train bearing cargo for the SDC. She knew there would be innocent casualties at Adam’s hand, but she’d hopefully be able to save at least some of them and herself with her plan.     She just couldn’t take it any longer. Adam had gone too far too many times. He’d taken too many innocent lives and forced her to do the same. Men, women, children… It didn’t matter; as long as they were humans, they were cattle ripe for the slaughter. She still didn’t care for them, but harming innocent civilians that didn’t even have their auras activated was too far.     Her ears stood straight up and she froze when she heard footsteps outside her tent. Her heart pounded against her ribcage and she could only pray it was Adam’s guard to keep her in her tent and not him or Ilia. Seconds of silence stretched into a minute and she let out a small sigh of relief. It was just surveillance and not someone seeking her for Adam. If they’d come in, she knew he’d never allow her out of her sight again.     She finished rolling the bills and tucked them carefully along a hem she’d sewn inside of her shirt. This was beyond risky and she knew it, but she just couldn’t take it anymore. She wouldn’t be able to stand up to another one of Adam’s angry assaults…     She turned her head and looked up at him, her ears pressed against her skull. The wind whipped around them, muffling her hearing. “Goodbye.” The connector severed and she backed up a step as she felt Adam’s malice surge forward.     “You’ll regret this, Blake! I’ll destroy everything you love!” His snarl carried over the deafening wind and a tremor went up her spin. She knew he’d make good on the promise because he always did. She knew his malice better than anybody—in all forms. Being the target of his anger was a death wish and she had just signed her own certificate.