Chapter 12: Escape

Jake’s legs felt like they were about to give out, but he didn’t stop running. He couldn’t. The shattered streets of Galewood stretched endlessly in front of him, littered with debris, the buildings on either side reduced to smoldering ruins. The air was thick with dust and smoke, burning his lungs with every ragged breath, but none of it mattered.

All that mattered was getting Levi out of here.

Levi’s weight sagged against him, his body limp, trembling with every step. Jake tightened his grip around Levi’s waist, gritting his teeth as he half-dragged, half-carried him through the wreckage. Levi’s breath was coming in shallow, uneven gasps, his eyes glazed and distant, but Jake didn’t dare look too closely. He couldn’t afford to think about what was happening to Levi right now. He just had to keep moving.

They needed to get out of the city—away from the destruction, away from the chaos. Jake didn’t know where they were going, didn’t even know if there was anywhere left to go, but he couldn’t let Levi stay here. Not like this. Not with the city crumbling around them.

“Come on,” Jake muttered, more to himself than to Levi as he stumbled over a pile of rubble. “Just a little further.”

Levi didn’t respond, his head lolling to the side, his body still trembling with small, involuntary shudders. Jake could hear the faint, broken whimpers escaping his friend’s lips, the echo of something Levi was trapped inside, but Jake didn’t stop. He couldn’t. Not until they were far away from this place.

Jake’s heart pounded, not just from the physical strain, but from the storm of emotions whirling inside him. He could feel the weight of everything pressing down on him—the destruction, the deaths, the terror that had swallowed the city whole. He had caused this. All of it. And the guilt gnawed at him like a living thing, threatening to tear him apart if he let it.

But there was no time for guilt. Not now.

“Levi…” Jake’s voice cracked as he glanced down at his best friend, his body slumped against him, barely able to stand. “I’m here. I’m not leaving you, okay?”

Levi didn’t move. His breath came in short, ragged bursts, and Jake could feel the tremors wracking his body. Whatever Levi was going through—whatever the explosion had done to him—it was eating him alive.

Jake’s grip tightened on Levi’s arm as they stumbled over another pile of debris. His heart ached with the knowledge that he couldn’t reach Levi, couldn’t pull him out of whatever nightmare he was trapped in. But he had to do something. He had to give Levi something to hold on to, something to pull him back from the edge.

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He’s an empath. Jake reminded himself, pushing back the panic that was bubbling inside him. Levi could feel emotions, could sense them from other people. And if Levi was drowning in the fear and pain of the dead, then maybe—just maybe—Jake could send him something else. Something positive.

It was worth a shot. At this point Jake was beyond desperate.

“Come on, man fuck,please” Jake muttered under his breath as he forced his mind to focus. He didn’t know how this worked, didn’t know if Levi would even be able to feel it, but he had to try. He had to give Levi something that wasn’t fear. Something that wasn’t pain.

Jake closed his eyes briefly, tightening his hold on Levi as he focused all his energy on one thing—love. The love he had for Levi, the loyalty that had always held them together. Every stupid damn memory, every fight, every laugh they had shared over the years. It was all still there, buried under the chaos, but it was real. It was solid.

“Feel this,” Jake whispered, his voice barely audible as they moved forward. “I’m here, man. I’m right here with you.”

Jake focused harder, pushing every ounce of emotion he could muster toward Levi. Love. Friendship. Loyalty. He wasn’t going to lose his best friend to this,to his own damn mistakes,—no matter what. Levi wasn’t alone. He wasn’t ever going to be alone.

They stumbled again, Levi’s body jerking slightly in Jake’s arms, but Jake didn’t stop. He kept moving, his feet slipping on the broken ground as he dragged Levi along with him. Every step felt like a mile, his muscles burning with exhaustion, but the only thing that mattered was getting out of the city. Getting Levi away from the destruction.

Levi’s breath hitched in his chest, and for a moment, Jake thought he felt something shift. It was faint—so faint Jake almost missed it—but Levi’s body seemed to relax, just slightly. The trembling in his limbs didn’t stop, but the wild, panicked jerks had lessened.

Jake’s heart pounded, but he didn’t dare slow down to check on Levi. He couldn’t afford to stop now. He couldn’t afford to focus on anything except getting them away from the wreckage. But deep down, he kept sending Levi every bit of emotion he could muster—every thought, every memory, every moment that mattered.

“I’m not leaving you,” Jake whispered again, his voice tight with determination. “You’re not alone.”

They passed through the wreckage of what had once been the outskirts of Galewood, the devastation thinning as they moved further away from the city’s heart. But the smoke still clung to the air, and the distant rumble of fires and crumbling buildings echoed behind them, a constant reminder of what had happened. Of what Jake had done.

He shoved the guilt down, forcing his mind to focus on one thing: Levi. The destruction didn’t matter right now. The deaths didn’t matter. All that mattered was keeping Levi alive.

Levi let out a small, choked sound, and Jake’s breath hitched in response. He glanced down, his heart racing as he saw the faint movement of Levi’s brown eyes—still distant, still unfocused, but not as wild as before. Levi’s body still shook with small tremors, but there was a slight slackening in his muscles, as though something was easing inside him.

Jake bit down hard on the rising panic in his chest and kept moving. He couldn’t stop. Not yet.

The further they got from the center of the wreckage, the quieter the world seemed. The thick smoke still clung to the sky, but the roar of destruction had faded to a distant rumble. Jake could feel the weight of exhaustion settling into his bones, but he couldn’t slow down. Not yet.

Levi’s breathing was still uneven, his eyes still darting around with that strange, glazed look, but he hadn’t screamed again. His body hadn’t jerked with the same violent force, and Jake could feel the faint tremor of his pulse beneath his fingertips.

“Just a little further,” Jake muttered, his voice hoarse as he kept walking. “We’re almost out.”

He wasn’t sure where “out” even was—he didn’t know what lay beyond the city. He didn’t know if anyone else had survived, if there was anyone left to turn to. But he had to keep moving. He had to get Levi away from this place, away from whatever was eating him alive from the inside.

Levi’s body sagged against him again, and Jake’s breath hitched as he struggled to keep them both upright. His legs were shaking, his muscles screaming for rest, but he didn’t stop.

He couldn’t stop.