Chapter 53
|
Noah remained in the medical wing for the rest of the night, sitting in a comfortable leather chair beside the boy’s bed, listening to the steady, rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor. It was a sound that grounded him, a digital proof of life. Around dawn, as the blizzard finally broke, giving way to a brilliant, blindingly clear winter morning, the boy slowly began to stir.
His eyes fluttered open. They were a striking, piercing green, immediately wide with absolute, unadulterated terror.
The boy tried to scramble backward, his back hitting the headboard. He grabbed his left wrist, panicking when he didn't feel the heavy metallic band.
"You're safe," Noah said immediately, keeping his voice incredibly soft and remaining seated to avoid appearing threatening. "No one is going to hurt you here. You are in a medical facility. My name is Noah."
The boy stared at him, his chest heaving as he scanned the room. He looked at the warm lights, the clean thermal blanket, and finally back at Noah.
"Where is the camera?" the boy whispered, his voice incredibly hoarse, cracking from disuse and cold.
"There are no cameras in the patient rooms," Noah assured him gently. "We value privacy above everything else. You collapsed at my front gate last night. We brought you inside to warm you up."
The boy closed his eyes, a shuddering breath escaping his lips.
"They will find me," the boy murmured, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. "If I am not on the grid, they send the extraction teams. You have to let me go. If they find me here, they will destroy this place. They destroy everything."
"Nobody is going to destroy this place," Noah replied, projecting an aura of complete, unshakeable strength. "I promise you. But I can't protect you unless you tell me who you are running from. What is your name?"
May you like
The boy hesitated for a long time, evaluating the sincerity in Noah's eyes. Finally, the exhaustion overrode his fear.
"My name is Julian," he whispered. "And I escaped from Apex Horizons."
