Page 54 (1/2)

We walked like that for over seventy paces, the entire ti followed, until at last, a splinter of light fractured the near-total blackness But it was enough, and I could see a set of crude steps that led up to a fissure in the ceiling above us I wasn’t sure where the opening would lead, but it seeo first, just in case, but I knew Angelina would never allow me to leave her alone in the sewers, so I pushed her ahead of ht behind you," I vowed

She scrae, and she disappeared through the gap before I could insist that she wait for me I was less steady on the uneven steps, and I released a relieved breath when I finally surfaced on the other side

Angelina was already reaching for me

"I’nize anything"

The area we found ourselves in was e darkened warehouses and storage depots I couldn’t see any of the destruction from the bombs in this section of town, so I assumed that there were no h was just that, a crack in the ground, but thankfully there was no one around to witness our erasp of time, other than that it was late, which was confirht that surrounded us I didn’t know if it was before or after curfew, so we’d need to be cautious I had to assume the worst, that the sirens had already sounded and that ere breaking the law by being out here

The first thing I are of was that electricity had been restored and that streetlaured our best bet was to just choose a directioneventually soelina was tired, and I would have carried her, but I was afraid she would fall asleep in ain For now, it was better that she walked

After a while, we began to see wholesale ht, would have been open for coht="0eople in front of a small café that ere safe to be out The café was loud, tee with activity

I heard the fa them, and I realized that we must be near the west side of the city These were my people

No ot limpse of the devastation caused by Xander’s bombs; almost an entire city block had been annihilated The acrid scent of se, while black pluht sky I silently prayed that no one had been wounded--or worse--in these explosions

Soldiers and guards, their blue and green uniforms now covered in soot, worked to clear away the rubble I kneould be faster if we navigated through the debris, but instead I tugged Angelina’s hand, signaling her to keep pace with ht notice us, so we cut left, taking the long way around the wreckage

When we reached the other side of the decinition