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IT DIDN'T TAKE US LONG to make it to the prison that was just outside of town. The water was as high there as it was everywhere else, but luckily the prison sat on top a large hill, too high for the water to reach. We anchored the boat at the bottom of the hill and climb out onto a dirt road that wove up the hill and to the prison. Max and Finn helped cart a still unconscious Drax out of the boat and each helped carry him up the hill with his arms slung around their shoulders.
Colt and I carried the supplies. The hill was a lot steeper than I anticipated and I wondered how any cars ever even made it up the old road.
"Are you sure we can trust this guy?" Colt asked. The question made me uneasy, it wasn't like Colt not to trust someone, or at least try to see the good in them.
"You're the one that can read minds, you tell me." I whispered back.
The last thing I wanted to do was put anyone else in any more danger than I already had. I didn't want any re-runs of the Bobby situation, but I also didn't want to shut anyone out. It was a constant war that raged on inside of me.
Colt was about to say something when there was a loud rushing sound, like when the tidal wave came through.
"Oh no." I froze. I expected to see another huge wave coming straight for us, but instead all of the water was receding. It was flowing back to wherever it came from in huge waves. Our boat now sat in the middle of the, surprisingly dry, gravel road.
I looked at Colt with a smile on my face. "That's good right?"
A wave of hope finally started to flow through me. Maybe we would make it out of there after all.
Colt shook his head. "That just means we survived phase one. There are three more to go."
There was a light buzzing overhead. I squinted to try to see it on the horizon. The most annoying thing about the trials was all the stupid drones, always trying to catch video of us. Like the people of New York City didn't have anything better to do than watch us kill each other and eventually ourselves.
I finally spotted the drone and my heart stopped. It wasn't a normal camera drone, this one had ammo blasters strapped to it.
"Go go go go go!" I yelled.
Up ahead Max and Finn didn't even ask why, they just broke out into a full sprint. A spray of automatic bullets showered down behind us. I whispered a silent thank you to the universe for technology lag and ran as fast as I could. Up ahead the prison came into view. I couldn't grab my weapon because it was tangled up in all the other supplies that I held unsteadily in my hands.
We finally made our way to the gates and pushed through them. The drone let out another spray of bullets and A red hot pain sliced through my arm. I didn't think I just reacted, dropping all of the supplies on the ground. I stopped to grab them but Colt grabbed me by the arm pulling me out of reach of another spray of bullets just in time. Up ahead the guys had already made it inside the cement building and were standing in the doorway motioning for us to come inside. We ran as fast as we could and sprinted through the doorway. Max shoved the thick steel door tightly. We could hear the spray of bullets slamming against the door, but it was secure enough to keep them out.
"Are you okay?" Max grabbed my arm.
"Yeah, it's just a surface wound. We need to focus on Drax." I made my way to his body slumped in the corner and shook him, but I didn't get a response.
"This is a prison. Prisons have infirmaries right? We need to wake him up."
"She's right." Finn backed me up. "Phase one is over, which means phase two is on its way. And the drone knows where we are, which means soon every contender that's left in the trials will too. If we're not ready, we're toast."
I was a little surprised that Finn jumped at the chance to have my back, but my worry for Drax trumped everything else at that moment. I carried what was left of the supplies so Colt could help carry Drax. We made our way out of the dust covered waiting area and managed to pry the door open that lead back into the holding cell and inmate areas. Just like the hotel everything was covered in a thick layer of dust that made my lungs scratchy with every breath I took. We finally found the infirmary, which was really just a glorified closet that had a cot and a few straggling bits of medical supplies left. They flopped Drax's body down on the cot and Colt rummaged through the medical supplies.
"Smelling salts." He pulled out a tiny white stick and broke it in two before waiving it underneath Drax's nose. After a few seconds his eyes popped open and he sat straight up.
"Where the hell am I?" His eyes were wide. It took him a second of looking around the room frantically before his memory started to slowly seep back in.
"I'm not dead?" He smiled.
"No, just having withdrawals." Max said matter-of-factly. "What was it, ice? Or something stronger?"
"Max." I scolded, but Drax held up a hand stopping me.
"Ice." He said quietly.
It made sense now, the shivers and cold sweats, clammy skin. The guy practically jumped at every noise over the last few days. I should have made the connection. It was no secret that Drax liked to party, and I was positive he was an alcoholic, but the thought of him doing ice never occurred to me. That was a grade A, hardcore, magical drug.
A small piece of me got sad at the defeat in his voice, especially now that I got to know him more. His story was tragic, it was no wonder he turned to drugs and drinking.
"How about let's give him some air?" I asked. "We can go raid the building for weapons and make sure that it's locked down. The others are on their way, there's no doubt about it. The question is whether or not we'll be ready for it."
The guys nodded and started to file out one by one.
"Wait, Scar, will you stay?" Drax called out from the cot. I turned to look at him and his big eyes melted my heart. Who would have known that triad three's prince of mischief could ace the puppy dog eyes perfectly?
"Yeah." I said and closed the door.
I rummaged through the cupboards and found some medical wipes and sat down next to him. "No offense, but you're looking rough." I joked.
"None taken. I feel rough." He winced at the antiseptic wipe's sting against the small cut on his forehead. "You must think I'm some hardcore drug bum."
"Hardcore drug bum." I snorted. "That's the first time I've ever heard that one before. I must be really behind on the vampire terms.
Drax cracked a smile and some of the weight in my chest lifted. It hurt to see him hurt. I didn't necessarily understand how or why I'd bonded so quickly to the guys, but I did. And seeing any one of them hurt, no matter how big and bad they think they are, didn't sit right with me.
I dabbed a cut on the side of his temple and my eyes gravitated toward his. They were like two deep pools of sadness. I wondered what it was that was torturing him, but Drax was the type of person that hated to feel dependent on someone else. He hated talking about his emotions so he bottled them all up and trapped them inside. Maybe the only way he could let some of the pressure out was drinking. Maybe drugs were the only thing that made him feel alive. I wanted to know. I had to know. But there was only one way that I knew I would get a truthful answer.
I leaned in close and kissed him softly. Our lips brushed against one another's so lightly that it was like they were taking part in a delicate dance. But it was just enough contact for his power to kick in. Images flooded my mind of Drax. He stood in a party, surrounded by people that partied and smiled, but he looked so alone. I was drenched in a wave of loneliness that crept into every crevice of my soul. His emotions became mine and I felt like I was drowning in a sea that I could never swim my way out of. I watched him down drinks, and with each one he swallowed I felt a little number. I watched him do every kind of drug known to man, and by the time he was done I felt nothing. Which was a step up from the pit of despair that I felt before. Then an image of him now popped into my head. Him with his lips pressed against mine, and I felt something different. Something warm, and something fuzzy. The complete opposite of the cold and desolate loneliness of before.
I pulled away and looked him in the eyes. "Is that how I make you feel?"
He nodded.
"Then let's do it again." I smiled and pulled his face into mine. My lips devoured his. IT was like he was air and I just came up from near suffocation. I couldn't get enough. My hands roamed his body feeling every single inch of it and I smirked at the gasps he let out. Images flooded my mind every time I touched a part of his body. Pieces of his past, things from his present. I was learning more about him in those moments than I had over the last few days and I wanted more. I needed to know more of his body and I needed to know more of his past.
He sunk a fang into my bottom lip and a small drop of blood beaded from it. He licked it off and it drove me crazy. My clit screamed for attention between my legs, to which he happily obliged. I couldn't tell if the fireworks in my head were his or mine but I didn't care anymore. I pulled him in close and he pulled himself between my legs. Sometime during the process my armor had come off and I lay exposed on the prison cot. His mouth found its way to my nipple and he nibbled on it gently.
"God I want you inside me." I moaned.
"Your wish is my command." He looked down at me with a mischievous grin.
He pumped in and out of me, taking me to new heights of pleasure. I was ravenous for his dick, and he was just as ravenous for me.
"I'm almost there, I'm almost there." I moaned sinking my fingernails into his back before I reached the peak of my ecstasy.
He collapsed beside me and I stared at the ceiling with my signature sex smile plastered across my face.
I looked at him and sighed.
This could work. I thought. Maybe I can be his new drug.
I laid my head on his bare chest and his power transferred what he was feeling to me- in love.