“What’s the point of being alive if I don’t have you with me, though? You’re kind and gentle, strong and loving. You spoil me and you would have given up your life for me if it meant you could save me. How am I supposed to live without you?”
Her voice was light as it resonated close to his ear, as though the air itself was whispering to him. Her words were like mist and running water—there was no way to hold onto them or for him to keep them.
“Mason, if you can’t be selfish, then you shouldn’t be saying these to me in the first place.”
“Okay. We’ll be together forever,” Mason promised as he quirked his lips into a feeble smile. He raised his brow slightly as he looked at her and a somber look passed over his face as he went on to say. “I was going to say that if we die, we would die together, because you’re mine, and mine alone. But I couldn’t bear to say this, so I asked you to leave me behind instead.”
He was afraid that if he had said those, she may really think of him as selfish.
Upon hearing that, Janet broke into a small smile. “I like it when you’re selfish, and of course I’ll be yours forever.”
When he heard that, Mason froze. Then, he took her face in his hands before he kissed her hungrily.
After what felt like a long moment, she broke away from the kiss and gazed at him while out of breath.
He was pale from the effort of staying awake and he was also weak. She could not help but say, “Why don’t you take a nap for fifteen minutes? I promise I’ll wake you up after.”
She cupped his hand in her hands, her face insistent.
Mason shook his head. “No, we have to keep moving.”
“We can’t,” Janet countered. She bit her lip and forced herself to be firm. “If you won’t take a nap, then I won’t speak to you anymore.”
He blinked after hearing her threat. After a while, he twitched his lips in slight disgruntlement and quietly leaned his head on her shoulder.
It did not take long before she heard his steady breathing and by then, she knew that he had fallen asleep out of exhaustion.
She also knew that he would lose consciousness the moment he fell asleep—it was the only way for his body to preserve oxygen and strength.
Once he fainted, he could only regain consciousness through special procedures.
She never intended to wake him up in the first place. It was a lie that she would wake him up, but she did not regret her actions because she did not want to see him struggling.
Janet’s heart wrenched at the sight of the exhaustion that etched onto the hard planes of Mason’s face.
She was the one who caused him to suffer a lot, so she ought to be the one to bear the brunt of it all.
With that in mind, she rose and pulled him up before hoisting him over her back.
He was six feet two of pure muscle and she staggered slightly under his weight.
Having gone without protein for some time, she was drained of energy. Carrying a large man on her back while looking for an escape route was going to put a strain on her.
However, she would not throw in the towel.
With a deep breath, Janet began to march out from beneath the shade and into the hot sun.
Meanwhile, on the other side, it was 3:00PM and the sun was beating down mercilessly with the highest temperature of the day.
Lara and her crew had arrived at Ebony Town, but upon seeing what was left of it, her face fell. The glorious building no longer existed; it was now in ruins and rubble.
“What happened here?”
So, Ebony Town really was torn apart by the explosion, which means Janet and Peter really did perish in a fire. There might not even be bodies for us to find…
Just as she dwelled in the darkest of her thoughts, she heard a familiar voice calling out from behind her.
She turned and saw that Desire was making her way over with her crew in tow.
Upon seeing her, Desire rushed over and was out of breath when she asked, “Lara, where’s Janet? Did you find her?”
Lara paused, her expression grim. “Ebony Town has been blown up. She could well be buried under all this rubble.”
There was barely any air underneath the collapsed structure, let alone food or water.
Even if Janet and Peter survived the explosion, they would have suffocated to death by now.
Desire could not believe that a formidable person like Janet, a leader of the MX and of their generation, was gone just like that.
She could feel the fear and panic starting to set in with the reality of the situation. She glanced at Lara, her eyes brimming with tears as she asked in a choked voice, “Lara, what should I do?”
Lara bit on her lip and said firmly, “Go through the rubble.”
She knew that it was nearly impossible to sift through all the rubble and the ruins of Ebony Town, but she did not want to throw in the towel—even if there was the slightest glimmer of hope that Janet could have survived.
The MX could not continue without a leader—and they could not do so without Janet.
“Got it.” Desire nodded and turned to order her crew. “Everybody, listen up! I don’t care what it takes—I want all of you to find Janet before sunset!”
