Obsidian

Chapter Ten

"Dr. Russell, we can't let you go with them. We can't give up."

I stepped in, giving the untamed-haired, soft-framed man with a heart of gold a tight hug, "Carl, I want you to remember something: You are one of the smartest people I have ever met. When the time comes, I want you to think of the answer to a riddle."

Carl stepped back to look me in the eye.

"It is not a key, but it can open doors when used properly. It is not reliant on one, but many."

Carl squinted. I smirked at him, "You will know when you need to."

I moved on to the dreaded statements I would have to resist when speaking to Tori. Jade-green eyes, glossy and looking like the Northern Lights, "Davis, you left me once. I didn't think you would do it again, and so soon."

I could see Woods looking at us, yet his eyes were not his own. There was fascination behind the film that belonged to the unseen creature. I looked back at the beautiful woman that stole my heart and surprised me since the day I met her, "Tori, I will always be with you. I want you to have every precious moment with Kyle. You deserve that."

She had tears streaming down her cheeks after hearing her son's name aloud. She raised her hands and wrapped them around my neck. She pulled me in and rested her lips passionately against mine. They felt like a hot, baked potato, causing my lips to melt like butter. If I had to sacrifice my life so they could live on and would be rewarded a kiss like that, I would make the same choice, over and over. I had to force myself to break my lips away. Still nose to nose, I whispered, "I would never give you up."

I patted her side, below the hips, causing her to tilt her head slightly in confusion. Before I let her read into the statement, I turned towards Woods, "Okay, big boy. Let's go."

I walked towards the Woods-host and turned back to my friends. The sight of the four people I traveled with on this stressful, intense, incredible journey, caused me a wave of emotion. Before I could react, I felt the meaty hands of Woods grab me by the shoulder.

"Whoa, what the hell? I told you I would go with you. You don't need to get rough."

Still facing my friends, I saw their faces get flushed and a moment later, I saw four people, two on each side of the wall openings behind me, start to move in tactically towards my friends.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I exclaimed. "We had a deal. I would go with you, and you let my friends live their lives."

One of the four strangers, on my left side being propelled forward by another one of the gooey tentacles, was a man with a dark, olive complexion, holding a gun. He responded, "Davis Russell, I do remorse but if I let the other beings go, they will notify others of my whereabouts. We can not risk having an interruption of the extraction."

Sebastian looked at his fellow Costa Rican, understanding it was no longer a brotherhood of humanity shared between them. He rapidly berated some words that sounded very harsh in his native tongue. Before I knew it, I saw him raise his zombie bat and lunge at the gunman tethered to a slimy, organic extension of the uni-host's true form. There was really no chance Sebastian pulled off the violent blow he was intending. Before even fully pulling the weapon over his head, and no more than three steps toward the recipient, the olive-skinned Costa Rican pulled the trigger, causing a shattering echo within the walls.

The old man, who held a cheery attitude and never complained once about the situation my friends and I thrust him into, was halted by the intensity of a forty-five caliber bullet to the chest. I was in shock and could not speak. I thought I heard a stifled scream from Tori's direction. I watched as Sebastian looked down at the gaping wound, a steady flow of dark blood pushing out. He smiled, toothless yet charmingly, and looked up at the opponent that just fired a round at him. With every ounce of might that he could muster, he flung the bat down and threw it toward the man with the gun.