Chapter 77: The Chase

Caspian pulled me with him as he sprinted across the streets of New York. The tall buildings blurred around us as we zigzagged past pedestrians. He didn't bother stopping to catch his breath, which meant I was forced to match his pace. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my breath was beginning to become jagged. I pulled on Caspian's hand to stop him.

"Please," I rasped, putting a hand on my chest, just below my throat. I took deep breaths until I felt capable of stringing together a sentence. "His phone could have been stolen," I reasoned.

Caspian's hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, and I was glad that I wasn't the only one suffering from all this running. He shook his head. "Have you ever heard of anyone who stole something from a Stinger and lived to tell the tale?

I opened my mouth to say something, but shut it again, knowing this was one argument that I couldn't win.

"Something must have happened," Caspian explained.

"So, where are we going?" I enquired.

"To Fourth Avenue," Caspian replied.

I nodded my head, and Caspian held his hand to me. I wrapped my fingers around his and we proceeded at a slower pace than previously. People gave us funny looks as we passed and I wrote it off as our heavy breathing, because we weren't dressed that differently from the New Yorkers.

"You should go ahead," I told him, worried that my inability to run for long periods of time, would be fatal to Lewis and Rosalind.

"Have you ever watched a horror movie?" Caspian didn't bother waiting for a reply. "That's not a smart idea."

A lady with long black hair passed us, and I had to give her a second look to make sure it wasn't Janet. Her nose was too pointed, and she was a bit too chubby to be the girl we were looking for.

We passed a shopping mall that spewed people out onto the streets. There were more people in that mix, than the whole of Sunset Coast put together. Confirming that our town was one of the smallest and dingiest towns in the US. It was the home to murderers. The town of Sunset Coast was where criminals like Janet and Newton sprung from. It was where they plotted all their plans to take over the world. Ok, maybe that was a bit too extreme. It was where they plotted their plans to commit mass murder and get away scot-free.

"Look." Caspian pointed towards the place where multiple police vehicles and ambulances were packed. It was a collection of red and white stripes, like the American flag. A symbol of unitedness to connect the dead with the living. Stretchers carried bodies that were covered in white sheets. The sheets were stained red with blood.

I took a deep breath as the presence of death surrounded us. A stretcher whizzed past us, but not quickly enough. I was able to see the light blond hair that peeked out from under the sheets. My legs gave way under me as Rosalind's body was taken further away from me.

Caspian caught me before I hit the ground. His strong hands were the only thing that kept me upright.

"It's all my fault."

I hadn't realised that I had said it out loud until Caspian objected. "It's nobody's fault."

I shook my head and dried my tears. I looked at the water droplets on my palm and it was then that I realised I had shed tears for Rosalind, but not for Asher. I had cried for Asher only a very long time after he had died. Crying made the pain so much more bearable.

"We should probably identify the bodies, " Caspian said softly.

Body," I corrected. "Lewis might still be alive." I hung to that last string of hope, knowing all too well that I would probably be disappointed.

Caspian didn't disagree with me, but he didn't agree either. He simply just walked towards one of the ambulances, once he was certain I was capable of standing without aid. His strides were evenly paced, and he seemed so confident. I don't know where he got his courage from, but yet again death seemed to be a normal part of everyday life, especially if you were a Stinger. I watched the back of his head as he chatted to a police officer in white uniform. His blond hair was like a beacon against the metal-grey sky. He was my Sun. The only source of light, and the only thing that I could depend on to constantly provide me with light.

Caspian walked back over to me. I could tell from the way his eyebrows furrowed, that he had no good news. He took one of my hands in his, and I looked down at our enjoined hands. I allowed a single tear to fall on the back of his hands, before quickly brushing it away with my thumb. It was funny the way tears relieved you from pain. You had no way of controlling who you wept for and who you didn't. It was one of those things that was triggered automatically by your body.

Caspian pulled me towards his chest and buried his face in my hair. "I would say 'Sorry," he said. "But I don't think that's something that you want to hear right now."

I smiled weakly at the fact that he knew me so well. In a way he knew me even better than Asher. Asher had known me my whole life, and yet it seemed like Caspian knew me even deeper. 

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