Page 45

Jaxson

I frantically pulled away shattered pieces of timber and buckled corrugated iron, blocking my access to where Blade and Viper were trapped in the water below the floor of the old warehouse. “I’m coming! Just hold on!”

Onyx barked as if telling me to hurry. She was above the men, looking down at them and wildly scratching her nails over the floorboards they were trapped beneath.

A massive timber beam barricaded the access point that the Onyx had wriggled through.

I gripped the wood, splinters bit into my palms, and every muscle screamed as I threw my weight backward.

A primal growl tore from my throat as I channeled everything I had into one desperate heave.

The wood creaked, resisted, then finally surrendered.

I dragged it aside, opening a gap barely large enough for me to fit through. Dropping to my stomach, I crawled into the narrow space, and my flashlight cut through the oppressive darkness ahead.

Blade and Viper’s fingers stuck up through the splintered floorboards, waving weakly.

“I’m coming!” I called, my voice cracking as I scrambled closer.

The gap narrowed the deeper I went, and sharp edges of wreckage scraped against my arms and shoulders.

Another wave surged in, flooding the tight space. The water rose quickly, swallowing their faces, submerging them beneath the floor again. They were getting too tired to hold their faces to the tiny gaps in the floorboards.

Terror washed through me as I stretched my arms forward, desperate to reach them.

“Hold on! I’m almost there!” I shouted as my outstretched fingers reached the floorboards above them. I dug my fingers into the gap between two boards and hauled myself forward.

My breath caught. Their pale faces were just above the rising waterline. Blade’s lips moved, but his whispered croak was barely audible over the crashing waves and the groaning wreckage.

“We’ll get you out. I promise!” I said, forcing calm into my voice even as panic clawed at the edges of my mind.

Onyx barked sharply, her tail stiff, her body coiled with tension as she hovered near the edge of the floorboards. The water sloshed higher with every wave that surged beneath the floorboards.

My pulse thundered in my ears.

They don’t have much time.

I grabbed my comms. “This is Jaxson! We’ve found them! Repeat: Blade and Viper are alive! Trapped under the floorboards, partially submerged. We need immediate extraction!”

“What do you need?” Captain Watts’s voice crackled through my mic.

I swept my flashlight over the cramped space. The floorboards were old, warped and splintered, but as unyielding as iron, and pinning Blade and Viper beneath the rising tide. The water lapped at their chins.

The wreckage groaned louder, and the sound reverberated like thunder overhead. It felt like the entire structure was planning on burying us alive.

“I need to cut through the timber floorboards to get their heads above the water,” I said into the comms. “Get me a chainsaw. ASAP.” Adrenaline surged through me as I adjusted my grip on the mic. “I’ll send Onyx back to you. She’ll lead you to me.”

“Understood,” Watts replied, his tone all business. “Hold tight. We’re moving. ”

Onyx let out a sharp whine, her paws clawing at the floorboards as if she could dig through them herself.

“That’s right, girl,” I said. “It’s your turn.” I tapped my chest twice and gave the command. “Come.”

Onyx trotted toward me, her ears pinned back but her eyes locked on mine, waiting for the next order. I cupped her head with one hand, meeting her gaze. “Good girl. Now, go to base.”

She released a noise like she was not happy with the plan.

“Onyx. Go to base.”

She whined again as if pleading with me to let her stay. She leaned forward and tried to lick my arm, her tail low and hesitant.

“Onyx,” I said firmly. “Back to base. Now.”

She let out a low growl of protest, but her resolve settled as she obediently turned away, squeezed past me, and slipped through the narrow gap. Then with one last glance over her shoulder, she vanished into the rubble.

I pressed the comms button again. “Onyx is on her way back to you. Let me know the second she gets there.”

“Copy that,” Watts replied.

Below the floorboard, the water crept higher, licking at Blade and Viper’s bottom lips. My stomach twisted with panic. Fuck, this is going to be close.

Blade’s head turned toward me with sluggish movements, and his eyes narrowed as if he wasn’t sure I was real. He pushed his trembling fingers through the gap in the floorboards again.

“I’ve got you, buddy.” My voice cracked as I wrapped my fingers around his.

His return grip was weak at first, but then it tightened to rock hard. It was more than just a grip, it was a lifeline and a silent plea to get him the fuck out of there.

“I’ve got you,” I yelled over a crashing wave. “I’ve got you, Blade. Just hang on. Help’s almost here.”

Beside him, Viper’s head lolled, and his lips parted as though he wanted to speak. But no words came out, just a faint rasp that barely rose above the sound of the waves. He looked worse than Blade. His face was as pale as death, his breaths shallow, and his red, glassy eyes were unfocused.

The water climbed higher, washing over their mouths. Their cracked, bleeding lips trembled as they struggled to keep their faces above the rising tide.

“Don’t you dare give up!” I shouted. “You hear me? You’re not going out like this. Just hold on!”

Blade’s grip on my hand didn’t loosen, but his fingers trembled like sheer exhaustion was pouring out of him. Viper’s gaze shifted toward me before his eyes fluttered shut.

“Viper, stay with me, buddy! Open your eyes! Look at me!”

Onyx barked somewhere in the distance, sharp and insistent as if telling me she was still going. I squeezed Blade’s hand tighter as the weight of my uselessness crushed me. I couldn’t do anything but watch them.

Watch them drown.

Above me, the wreckage groaned again as the beams shifted dangerously, threatening to collapse under their own weight. Dust and debris rained down in choking clouds, but I didn’t flinch. I wasn’t leaving these men. Not now. Not ever.

“Hang on,” I muttered, trying to work out how long Onyx would take.

Blade’s bloodshot eyes flicked toward me, and his trembling grip weakened.

Fucking hell. He wouldn’t hang on for much longer.

Viper’s head lolled with the swell, and his spluttering breaths were shallow and uneven.

“Don’t you dare give up!” I bellowed, the words coming out harsh, angry. “I’m not leaving you here. You hear me? You’re going to make it.”

The wreckage groaned again, louder this time, and a fresh spray of dust rained down. I ducked, shielding my face, but I didn’t move from my spot.

“Just a little longer,” I whispered, gripping Blade’s fingers tighter. My knuckles were white, my fingers numb, but I held on like all our lives depended on it.

I adjusted my position, and jagged metal scraped against my side as I tried to wedge myself closer into the gap.

“Help is coming!” I yelled. The words felt hollow with the water rising around them, but I had to believe they heard me, that my assurance mattered. “Just hold on!”

The water sloshed higher, spilling over their ears.

“Listen to me!” I cried, locking eyes with Blade. “You survived this long. You can survive a few more minutes. Help is almost here!”

Blade blinked slowly, painfully.

“Can he hear me?”

The faintest ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of his cracked lips. It was weak and fleeting, but it was there.

Above me, the wreckage released a deep, bone-shaking groan that sent a cascade of dust and debris raining down on my head, and I shielded my face with my free arm.

Fucking hell. You hang on, you bitch!

Panic seared the edges of my mind.

Blade’s grip faltered and his fingers slipped below the floorboards.

“No!” I shouted into the gap between the boards, poking my fingers down to him. “Don’t you dare give up!”

Bubbles burst from Viper’s mouth as his head bobbed weakly in the rising water.

“Viper!” I screamed, my voice cracking. “Look at me!”

His face was pale, gray, ghost-like.

Oh fuck. Is he alive?

No. No. No.

Viper’s mouth parted, and his cracked tongue rubbed over his bottom lip.

Relief smashed through me. Thank God.

The water surged again, rolling over their faces. I lunged forward, my arm scraping painfully against the jagged edges of the rough wood as I reached farther into the gap. My fingers found Blade’s thumb, and I held on, refusing to let go.

“You’re not dying here!” I yelled, my throat raw.

The comms crackled.

“Onyx just reached us,” Watts said. “Rescue team is heading in. ”

“Tell them to fucking hurry!”

Water lapped at Blade and Viper’s noses. “You hear that, Blade, Viper? Rescue is on the way. Just hang on!”

The wreckage above gave a sharp crack that sent a shiver down my spine. I didn’t dare look up.

Another wave surged in, covering their faces completely.

My breath caught in my throat as I squeezed Blade’s thumb and screamed, “Hang on. You fucking hang on!”

Blade’s fingers tightened around mine, faint but deliberate, and his head broke the surface again, gasping for air. But Viper didn’t move.

No. No, no, no.

I stretched my other hand into the gap, my fingers splashing into the water as I reached for the top of Viper’s head.

“Hey!” I shouted. “Look at me, you bastard!”

My fingers brushed against him, but he didn’t respond. I tapped the top of his head, once. Twice.

Viper’s face rolled upward, and he sucked in a wet slurp of air.

“That’s it, buddy. Only a few more minutes.” I turned toward the gap where Onyx had vanished. “Onyx!” I whistled.

She barked in reply and sounded like she was ten miles away.

Another wave crashed over Viper and Blades faces.

“Rescue is nearly here,” I yelled down to the men. “Hold on.”

Onyx barked sharply, her paws skittering on the wreckage as she shot back through the gap and ran straight to me. She nuzzled against my face, her tongue swiping at my cheek.