Until We Break by Scott Kinkade Page B

due to the shock of his experiences. No one but Hades himself can pass through his dimension unharmed. I’ve never heard of anyone surviving it before. Quite frankly, Ev should be dead.”
          
    “You sound almost disappointed,” Maya said. She wished the physician would show a little more happiness at Ev’s continued status among the living.
          
    “I’m merely trying to keep you from getting your hopes up. I don’t know if he’ll ever recover from this. Hades’ realm has wrecked his body and I may not be able to fully repair the damage, though I’ll do what I can.”
          
    Maya’s heart sank. “So then…Ev might stay this way for the rest of his life?”
          
    He nodded grimly. “There is a strong possibility of that, although I can’t say for certain. The effects of Hades’ realm on other life forms have not been studied because no one has ever emerged from it before. Ev may recover quickly or not at all.”
          
    “Damn you!” Maya yelled, and they had to hold her back. “You say these things as if you don’t care! Doesn’t this bother you even a little?”
          
    “I assure you, I have only the utmost concern for Ev’s life, though I don’t show it. I learned long ago that a doctor must avoid showing too much emotion for his patient. Getting excited won’t help Ev.”
          
    Maya managed to calm down. “Fine. But don’t you dare give anything less than your best when it comes to treating him.”
          
    Brandon came rushing into the room, nearly knocking everyone else over. “I heard what happened. Where is he?” They directed him to where Ev lay, and he staggered over to him. “No! Oh, Ev. This is all my fault,” he said, agony etched on his face. “I shouldn’t have listened to Bethos. I should have gone after you.”
          
    Freya put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself. You couldn’t have gotten there in time to save him.”
          
    “But I could have! If only I’d left as soon as I found out he was missing.”
          
    “You didn’t even know where he had gone,” Jaysin said. “For all you knew, he had gone somewhere else.”
          
    Brandon shook his head. “No. I knew. We all did. We just chose to not do anything about it.”
          
    “Dammit, Brandon, Bethos was right. It would have been suicide to go charging into Upton. You’d be lying dead beside everyone else in that town,” Freya said.
          
    Brandon stared at Ev in silence. He knew she was right, but he would continue to blame himself for this. Maya decided right now she had to be strong. “So what’s our next move?”
          
    Freya explained, “The president is summoning all alumni and former faculty members. Once they arrive, we can plan our attack. Until then, I don’t want anyone running off and getting themselves killed. Is that understood?”
          
    Maya nodded.
          
    “No worries there, mate; I have a very strong survival instinct.”
          
    “Good,” Freya said. “In the mean time, I want everyone training for the coming battles. Spread the word.”
          
    “Right,” Maya said.
          
    “And away I go,” Jaysin added.

Chapter V
     
     
     
    Six hundred miles southwest of Vinguard was Brazo Mountain, a heavily fortified military installation. Built decades ago through tunneling and explosives, the complex continued to act as the Morovian military’s heart and brain during crises.
          
    Right now, Joe Lambda and his staff were inside an elevator heading down into the deepest levels. “Are you going to tell me what we came out here for?” he asked his Secretary of Technology.
          
    Cid Larson adjusted his thin brown glasses. In his mid sixties, Larson still had a mostly full, albeit gray, head of hair. He was short and stocky but with a sharp mind. “We’re here so that I can show you our