Primal (Alpha Unknown 1)

“Adeline,” I whispered. “Come back to me.”

The first time I laid eyes on her, I knew she’d be the one to save us. She was still going to, dammit.

A new energy swept through me, a power that solidified in the center of my chest. It was staggering to feel my new strength. I managed to prop us up with one foot. The pain was gone, but the threat was still imminent. Adeline. I was going to bring her back.

I took one last fleeting glance at Zane’s pathetic body, left burning and discarded like an animal carcass. As long as the realm was inhabited, his soul would stay in the ether of this place, designing new doors for us to get lost in. This place was a death maze. Lucky for everyone, we were leaving.

Slowly, I fought through the fire, skin protected by the reflective light. I walked back to the trail, cradling Adeline’s body. When we arrived at a burnt clearing of vibrant ashes, I dropped to my knees and set her against the soil.

I tore my hands through the dirt. I could hear the others coming, their wild steps rumbling across the land. Pain. It wouldn’t cease.

Shaking, I held my hand to her heart. “Feel me one last time.”

The two stood above me. Cadmar dropped his hand to my shoulder. “The gateway to the portal. It will close on us soon,” he said.

I shot back a furious stare. I was lost. Just so fucking lost. I didn’t want to leave without her. She was the only one who understood us. And me. To her, I wasn’t worthless. I wasn’t only defined by my outside strength and ability to fight. I was so much more, a human being deserving of a real life.

Unable to let myself give up, I kissed her cold lips. My skin was pulsating, and I felt my eyes shift. Alien and strange, a feeling I had yet to ever feel, my neck locked and drew back. My eyes opened, and my vision began to shake. A bright light poured out of me like an infinite sun. Fingers locked, I couldn’t let go of Adeline, and so I held her close to me. The words ran through my head: “She might be the one to save us, but I’m not giving up my life for some woman.”

That came from the old me.

I was a hardened man from a dead-end town. A military man, turned private. I used to value being a hermit. It was I against the world. But, fuck, what was the point? I wasn’t the man I used to be. Neither was Cadmar. Donovan either.

I didn’t need to put up any fronts anymore. My pain, caused by the betrayal of our leaders whom we trusted, and the phenomenon this place offered had humbled me.

“You guys,” I said. “I... um... I think I’m going to hang back.”

“Don’t joke, Mag,” Donovan said. “Not now. Not with her body in front of us.”

But as my skin pulsated and emanated strange colors, the others took a step back. I held my hand against Adeline’s and let my health flow through her. We switched places, she and I. My energy drifted into her, and I grew weak.

“Mag, what is happening?” Cadmar asked.

The feeling was intense. “I... don’t... know.”

I drifted into her, into her world. Again, I fell inside her experiences, witnessing the purity of her soul. I felt the last moments of her death as if I had become her. She had been lied to. Zane, her father, and the whole goddamn CIA built a world of lies. Nobody was safe, and everyone was dealt a bad hand.

The light took hold of Adeline, lifting her above us. Only, I wasn’t there anymore. I was staring from another vantage point, outside my body. I was still controlling it, but everything felt so different. It felt like... destiny.

I suddenly knew how to save her. She wasn’t going to die, but it wouldn’t turn out how I had planned. It did not matter. Life was like that, chaotic and offhand.

From the outside, I controlled my body, lowering my hand to remove the blade from my pocket. She gave her life for our freedom. Now, I would do the same for her.

I turned the blade as she had, but I did not hesitate or give my actions an ounce of thought. Slowly, I sank the cold knife into my left breast, piercing just past my heart. I felt no pain, only sadness.

“Mag!”

I could hear their screams, but the light surrounding Adeline and I grew in intensity and strength, blocking their path. They couldn’t stop me. Not even I could, at this point. What was done was done.

I pulled out the blade, blood dripping onto the ashy soil. I tossed it aside and took both hands, pulling the wound apart, screaming furiously. My body was frightened. I was so close to death it was confused and reacting erratically.

I reached inside my own chest until I touched life itself, the heart. I couldn’t believe it, but I felt the rhythm of my own heartbeat against my palm. And with the skill of a surgeon, I removed it, holding it high into the air.

“Adeline, I live for you,” I said. Darkness would not prevail. “End this place. Take it away, forever.”

I put my heart in place of hers and felt myself grow even weaker than before. My vision was waning. I staggered back, falling over like a helpless animal. Soon, I’d be gone.

I blinked my eyes and felt my consciousness realign with myself. Suddenly, I could feel everything. “Donovan,” I managed to croak. “She needs you now. Keep her happy.”