"We lost."
Adam didn't respond.
He heard Grace's words—they were so clear, almost to the point that it rang through his ears and pierced through his skull. But even then, he didn't understand them.
He refused to.
His breath turned heavier, uneven. His fingers started to twitch, wanting to reach for something—anything—to distract him. His eyes moved everywhere, searching, desperate.
And then, he saw it. The steel pipe resting beside Grace.
He quickly let go of Grace's hand and grabbed the pipe instead. He squeezed it so tight that he stretched the skin of his palm, almost.
"Where… where is it? Where's the crystal?" His voice trembled, the words coming straight from his throat.
"Where's—"
Before he could finish his words, Grace pulled him down.
Her arms wrapped around him before he could escape again, like a mother calming a child after a nightmare.
A nightmare…if only that was all this was.
