Pablo
?
The outdoors are underrated.
When you were outside, there was space to breathe, and powerful smells spread out into the air. Inside, you couldn’t let your ass fizzle a quiet one without it getting noticed. Pablo’s nose hairs were singing to his watery nostrils, and the trees left no apologies for it. This place smelled more like a forest than an actual fucking forest did.
Pablo had spent way too much time climbing stairs and trying to roll wobbly barrels into corridors, lobbies, and passageways. In every corner of the building were huge rooms with indents in the floors where chairs might have been. Not anymore. Whoever left the steel shit behind should have left Pablo a goddamn place to sit. Glass windows where you might have been able to see planes taking off down those runways they left the truck on. It was quite a distance below. Don’t think about jumping out the second-story window. Too late. The sound of the plunk played in his head. Fuck. Shouldn’t have looked. Good thing Pablo didn’t have breakfast, or he might’ve spewed it up.
He sighed an exhausted, dramatic sigh into the wall. Half-hoped Emi might hear it as he went into the lobby, but she kept going from outside to the computer as if she were too busy to know what to do with herself. Someone should tell her that ‘busy’ requires actually doing something. Not just walking back and forth.
The last barrel was placed and ready for lighting in a hallway that Miles had obviously been in. It was a bit of a surprise. Dust everywhere, like flour shaken out of a buffer rag, packed into the cracks and making his eyes water. Neither Emi nor Zax would have made such a mess.
Not sure when Miles could’ve beat the shit out of the unseen baked goods, but he wasn’t in the building anymore. Nope. Didn’t even want to think about it. Not how he threw himself over the stair railing, nearly giving Pablo a heart attack, and slid down the base of the wall without a sound. Then proceeding out the front door to talk to none other than… Cass.
Bastard was trying to be stealthy, but he didn't seem to catch Emi’s attention, so it worked. It did catch Pablo’s, though, so he kept watching.
Miles, tapping his foot. Miles, reaching for something in his pocket and giving it to Cass. Miles, taking Cass’s hand and walking away for a romantic midnight stroll through the land of nothing. Poor idiot's determination was receding faster than his old man’s hairline. That was fucking scary.
The last thing Miles had said to Pablo was over a text.
Miles
Found sum mite not be back dont miss me too much.
Delivered 2:52 AM
The fuck?
Sent 2:55 AM
Miles
Sorry LOL I thot I was gonna die. Im ok will sho u later
Read 3:05 AM
Miles always told Pablo that HE had a flair for the dramatic. But today it was all Miles.
Pablo pressed the keys on his phone, leaning against a wall that hugged the corner of the main lobby. Hidden near the Vocate, who’d just grunted like he’d opened a box of Skrootles and gotten too many purple pieces in his candy mix.
Come bak soon I have ?s.
Sent 3:23 AM
“Hurry!” Emi shrieked from outside, trying to deafen anyone who was left in the airport, apparently.
“Hold on!” the Vocate answered. Pablo slowly crept from the wall across the floor to the glasses geek, the only other person in the empty lobby. He was shuffling, staring at that screen. Deeply engaged in the meeting, he was having with that tech box in the counter that was too large for the poor fool to carry with him. Might’ve been attached to the floor, but he still could’ve asked Garrett.
His large head was in the way of the computer, but it wasn’t only numbers anymore. The display had turned white. Mostly. There was some text, but also some images. The pictures flashed too fast to make sense of—mostly a vibrant blue. A distinct blue.
Pablo exhaled through his teeth, giving himself away to the prick so he knew he was there watching. He had answers. Just needed to know what the hell was going on. The Vocate swung his head around like a fucking owl when they do that head-spinning thing. Knew he wasn't human.
Pablo bent over the counter, resting his chin on his hands like he was interested. “What is that?” he asked. Politely.
The Vocate spread his arms across the monitor, as if he was covering something naked. Probably the truth. “Go do something helpful.” The Vocate said, trying to repeat what Emi told Pablo earlier, but without the actual threat. This guy wasn't able to snap a carrot in half. Probably got Emi and Sansi to open jars of preserves so he could spread jelly on bread he didn’t make.
“I am being helpful,” Pablo said, smiling as wide as he could force. They both knew he wasn’t.
The Vocate growled again. It was starting to sound cute how easily this guy got riled up and pissed off, like a yuppy pup that only knew how to bark. He grumbled, and the monitor went black. With one movement, he yanked something from the terminal too quickly for Pablo to tell what it was. But it was small enough to fit in his hand.
CLANK.
FUCK.
Goddamn Favored.
A bag crashed down on the counter beside Pablo, sparking a surge of electricity to his heart. The canvas bag had several objects protruding through it. Pointy things of some kind. Knives?
Looming over him, quiet and ghostly, his presence barely factoring in was none other than Zax. Somehow, he could stand right in front of you, and you'd miss him, even though the guy stood as tall as Garrett, but thinner like a tree. Today, it wasn’t just the bag that drew attention. It was the smell.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
He reeked of sweat. That suit he never took off didn’t help.
Zax looked down at Pablo, mask covering his expression, eyes a piercing blue. Dangerous. His hood was set loosely as if he had thrown it on a moment ago, his blond locks darkened with hair grease and splitting with uneven edges at his forehead.
“You uh, find anything good?” Pablo pointed to the bag and directed his gaze to it instead of Zax, who was still staring at him. Could never look at Zax too long. Felt weird. There was an awkward silence while shuffling came from the computer area, and the Vocate threw his tech stuff together and set off for the door.
Shit. He was leaving?
"Hey!" Pablo shouted at him, but the Vocate must have been pretending he’d lost his hearing from Emi’s pterodactyl screech earlier. Fucking dick.
The phone on Zax's arm lit up in the corner of Pablo's vision, too bright to ignore. Zax shoved it in Pablo's face to read it.
“Test” it said.
Huh. Was he talking about Cody? No, that would be too on point for Zax, surely he meant...
“You mean like, this building?” Pablo asked, inching away. Slow enough to hopefully withdraw from their proximity unnoticed, and away from the odor-stained suit Zax was wearing.
Zax noticed. Misunderstood. He nodded and went back to staring at his phone, shifting closer with every inch Pablo gave up. God damnit.
“Glad I’m not the only one who thinks the geek-twins are fishy as fuck.” Pablo said. Shit. Shouldn’t have said that out loud. Zax and Emi were getting kind of tight lately in a strange and cliquey way, like a mob-boss and her Capo.
Zax didn’t seem to care. He was too deep in a staring contest with his phone, and winning.
The fumes from the wood were sharp. Overpowering. Any air Pablo breathed froze his nose and burned his throat, as everything around him started to blur. Had to get the hell out. It was rare that Zax ever wanted anything, so he must have something important he needed to tell Pablo, or they'd both be out the door by now. He wasn’t even typing yet. Pablo rolled his palms over the counters, fingers outstretched. He set them down again before he tapped them in the same way Miles did when he was impatient. Favored, this was taking a while. Something must have clicked because Zax pressed a key and then another in total sloth mode.
He held his phone out again.
“Found 4 u.” Zax removed his arm so fast Pablo barely had the time to read it.
The clinking started as Zax rummaged through his bag, which probably had more metal than a steel hole. Something for Pablo? Weird. Zax always seemed obsessed with anything silver and shiny, which wouldn't exactly hold Pablo's more sophisticated interests. Since when had Zax found anything for him? Oh, safety pins? Maybe. Shit, if Zax found tape that actually worked, paper clips, or nails, that would make life so much easier.
“Yeah? What’ve you got?” Pablo leaned in. In the bag, steel objects sat on top of each other as Zax pushed them aside. His hands slowed, and his gaze chilled the back of Pablo's head. Was Pablo too close?
“We’ve got fire!” A deep, rough voice rumbled louder than it needed to.
Garrett was standing in the entrance holding the door frame, ready to make another quick exit as his other hand balled into a fist at his side. Tense.
“What? Already?” Pablo asked. The hell were they thinking prepping for the fire while he and Zax were still inside?
“Yeah. So hurry your asses up.” Garrett left as quickly as he came. Pablo was on his toes. There was no reason to be inside anymore and no time to waste.
Zax’s bag clinked as Pablo rushed out the entrance, leaving the last echoes of their footsteps behind them.
“Move out of the way!”
What?
The light from the fire stung Pablo's brain, eyes still adjusting to the dark.
Yeah, yeah. He knew the drill.
Pablo stepped aside and in front of Zax to give the fire a clear opening to the building. Made it in time.
He strolled toward the others, watching the blaze spin in slow motion.
Just then, Pablo’s foot didn't lift.
Something hard blocked it from moving further.
Something.
Someone.
A heavy boot pressed into Pablo's foot. Zax.
In an instant, an immense pressure struck Pablo between his shoulders, thrusting him forward and making him plummet toward the ground.
What the fuck, Zax?
Lungs in his throat, Pablo caught himself just before he hit.
It didn’t matter.
BOOM!
His body slammed into the rocks below as Zax’s weight dive-splashed into him.
A roll of dust swept the ground in a tidal wave, forcing Pablo to close his mouth and eyes before he choked on it.
Shards of glass and splintered wood shot through the air. Pablo hadn’t been facing the airport, and something still swiped across his cheek, the air stinging where it had scratched.
Zax’s body felt like bricks on top of him.
“What happened?” Pablo asked no one, but his voice was muffled as though it came from underwater, everything else a high-pitched, constant ring that didn’t waver in its tone.
When the dust settled, quiet crashing noises continued to resonate in Pablo’s skull, muted by the ear-splitting explosion.
Pablo pushed his palms into the dirt and started to lift himself.
Zax didn’t want to get off.
What in the living hell was he doing?
Zax rolled off him as Pablo got to his knees. Limply. Too limply.
Pablo's cheek stung more than before. He went to rub it, and his hand came back with a trail of blood.
What happened?
“Zax?” Pablo asked.
Eyes closed, Zax lay there facing him, his pack keeping him on his side with his arm raised to his chest. Too still.
His hood collapsed to the dirt, hair falling into his face. Mask still on.
Pablo braced a hand on his thigh and pushed himself up.
That’s when he saw it.
Deep red soaking into Zax’s coat beneath him, spreading like ink.
No... Not Zax.
Someone should help him.
Emi. Sansi. Miles.
Someone.
Pablo stood, squinting through the dust.
Zax lifted an arm and undid a button on his coat. Thank steel. He was alive.
Then he held his phone in front of him and stared at it as he always did, but didn't type anything.
Emi wasn’t far from Pablo, close to the airport and on the ground, holding her head as though she thought something else would fall on her.
The others were gathered further away, but covered in dust and rubble. Sansi's arm flailed into the air. That expressive movement, like a flag, specifically for Pablo to let him know she was okay. Had to be it. Everyone else looked the same, huddled together in their dusty, matching uniforms. Even Garrett, with his brutish body, looked small compared to the wooden slabs and beams that spotted the ground.
The airport was engulfed in flames. Just scaffolding, walls, and boards, resting at angles they would easily topple from once the fire took them.
The blaze burned brighter than anything he'd seen before.
Black smoke snaked into the sky.
Pieces of scrap and rubble were piled along the building at crooked angles, blasted into place where they didn’t belong. Among them, a small broken piece of equipment with a long wire attached, coiled like rope. A camera.
Pablo stood still, staring at it, waiting for something else to come crashing down.
-
-
-
'The Watcher'
Had to hand it to Spring. It only took them a couple of hours to break through the encryption.
The watcher leaned back in their chair, slipping a hand into a small box of roasted walnuts, and dropped one into their mouth. It broke apart, crumbling easily, tasting of earth candy.
Images flashed on screen from one window to the next. Research protocols. Detailed analysis. Trials 1 and 2. Whoever was on the other end was taking the task seriously, scrolling too fast for full capture. Not that it mattered, though. They didn’t have long. As long as they fulfilled the rest of their assignment, their actions were still in line.
Perfect.
The program collecting the computer’s data went dark, and the camera at the airport streamed another person in grey leaving the building. The Vocate. Still with his hood down and easy enough to distinguish.
The screen flickered white for a moment, and the contrast brightened the picture from corner to corner. Damn. The watcher quickly navigated through settings to dull the fire’s brilliance. Couldn’t see what was happening. As suddenly as it appeared, the white light shot across the display.
The visual shook, then quickly turned. Dizzying.
It showed a view of the sky, spinning until all that was left was the roofline.
That was when the camera’s feed went black.
Too fast for fire.
*** Character-specific extras included in post author's note*
Before the Fire ends with the next one.
Thank you for reading,
Pablo Says:
***Author's Note:
I'll be updating again next weekend with an 'Extra' on 3/15 that's going to sit nicely between this chapter and the next. So that's something for your radar.
Threshold, the final chapter of Before the Fire, will be published 3/22.