“Okay—so if I’ve got this straight,” Elliott was saying from his position across the tunnel from him. “They think the next two times the portal opens, it’ll be into outer space or someplace too tricky for us to get out. So when the portal opens the third time, you expect Jame and I to just plow out of here, full steam ahead, and leave you behind, hoping you can get out. That right?”
“Yeah, I’ll bring up the rear. If Cadence’s plan works, Stewart should be in here somewhere, and then I’ll be able to follow you out.” They’d learned from their own abduction by the portal that just because there was one opening that didn’t mean they’d all end up in the same place on the inside.
“No, I don’t like it,” Elliott said with his arms crossed. “I don’t think any of us go until all of us can go. Once we see Dr. Stew in here, we go together.”
“By then, it might be too late. Listen, Elliott, you have a kid out there now, one who needs you. Cadence and Cassidy need you. Jamie, you know Ashley’s gotta be barely holding it together. I’ll be fine.”
“I think if anyone should stay behind, it should be me,” Jamie argued. “At least I can heal myself. If something gets ahold of you before we can get you out....”
“I’m really good at avoiding danger,” Aaron pointed out.
“The hell you are A-A-Ron,” Elliott shot back. “This is not a good idea.”
Ignoring the pronunciation of his name he’d just as soon never gained social media popularity, Aaron said, “Elliott, this isn’t debatable.” He looked back at Jamie. “These are orders. As soon as the portal opens the third time, the two of you will get out of here as quickly as you can. I’ll get out, too.”
“And if you don’t?” Jamie asked.
“Then... the portal will open again eventually.”
“Don’t. Like. It.” Elliott growled.
“That’s okay. You didn’t like me either when we first met, as I recall,” Aaron reminded him.
That got a chuckle out of his large friend. “Nah, I did. That was the problem. I remember the two of you swaggering into that poolhall. Jamie was afraid to touch anything, like he was gonna get kooties. Which is weird since you’re the germaphobe, Aaron.”
“It was gross in there,” Jamie said in his own defense.
“Damn, if those bikers hadn’t stacked my tires on my car, I probably would’ve never seen you folks again. Never would’ve met Amanda. Never would’ve had Brandon or met Cadence or Cass. Who knows where I’d be now.”
“Probably working for some black market Cheetos swindlers,” Jamie mused, making them all laugh.
Thinking about how he’d first met Elliott made Aaron emotional, and he didn’t have time for that. He had already lost his best friend once, and he wasn’t about to let this portal keep him for any longer than he had to. He should’ve made them both leave with the others. “Listen, guys. I know this isn’t easy for either of you. But I need you to get out of here. I know I’ll be out soon enough, but having both of you out there, where you can take care of Cadence and everyone else, it’s just the right thing to do.”
“We ain’t gonna talk you out of this are we?” Elliott said with a humph.
“Nope.”
“Damn. All right.” Elliott shook his head but his assurance wasn’t convincing. Aaron just hoped when the time came, the thought of freedom and seeing his loved ones again would be enough to propel his friend out of the tunnel. He had a feeling Jamie would go without a lot of prodding since his relationship with Ashley was fairly new, and he had to be missing her like hell.
“We’ll get you out, too,” Jamie promised him, and Aaron nodded, knowing it was true. As long as these two were breathing, they’d come back for him. That with the fact that Cadence wasn’t ever going to give up on him either let him know he’d be all right, so long as he could avoid the demons and their hunters. Not an easy task but easier to do when all he had to worry about was himself.
* * *
The view from the window of the SUV was breathtaking as tips of golden paintbrushes illuminated the Roman cityscape. Cadence had always wanted to visit the ancient city but had never imagined it would be to collect three members of her team spit out from a portal.
She hadn’t gotten another message from Aaron on the flight. It was getting difficult to keep track of the time now that it was almost noon in Rome but it wasn’t in the Central Time Zone, the one she was tracking for the portal opening. It was only 5:00 back home in Kansas City, which meant she might get another message in an hour, but Christian and Ward seemed to think the portal opening would be out of position for the next two openings, until Stonehenge. It would be midnight when the portal opened there, thought it would only be 6:00 PM in KC. Numbers weren’t her strong suit, but she thought she had that all correct. At any rate, she hoped her phone would buzz in about an hour not just so she could check on the three remaining Guardians but because she wanted to make sure they knew the others had gotten out safely.
Christian was driving the SUV they’d taken from the Rome team at the airport. It would be a tight squeeze for all of them to ride back together, but leaving Cale at the airport with Dr. Stewart made it a slightly better fit.
The headquarters building was in downtown Rome and looked nothing like what Cadence was used to. The building itself was the same limestone many of the other older buildings were constructed of, and it was hard for her to envision coming here to work every day. It was her understanding that the forty-seven members of the Rome LIGHTS team lived in apartments nearby and that this building was used primarily for meetings, practice, and equipment storage. LIGHTS had been present in this part of the world for centuries, so it had been one of the tamer locations, and Lex was an excellent leader who ran a tight ship, along with the local Guardian Leader, a woman Cadence had hardly even spoken to by the name of Gia who also happened to be a Healer.