Fractured by N.O Darling

Chapter 301

**|osie’s POV **

| can’t think of my daughter living in this place for weeks, and the thought of other kids living here even longer is

breaking my heart. Children need warmth and a clean living space. They need a safe place to sleep that is not a

thin mat on a filthy floor underground. All these teens should have been at the academy, where they could be

free

to roam with the sun on their faces. Their biggest worry should be what's on the menu in the academy dining

hall.

| doubt any of the kids are here by choice. | just can’t imagine any of them choosing to live this way, and I'm not

going to stop until we have saved every one of them.

Luke ports out with another two teen boys as we move into the next tunnel. | pull open a curtain and find the

small cut-out space empty.

“Clear,” | say to my guys as | move to the next one.

| reach out for the next curtain and as | pull it back, something lands on the top of my head, my knees buckle

under the weight and it takesa moment before | realise what is happening. The tunnels are collapsing and

burying us alive inside. | open my mouth to shout a warning, which is a huge mistake because | end up silenced

by a mouth full of soil.

| try to move, but quickly realise | can’t. | am completely engulfed in the earth. Even breathing is difficult. Panic

floods the bond and everyone talks at once in a chaotic blur of noise.

“Everyone calm down, we are going to get out of this, but we need to work together,” Deacon shouts into the

mind link.

“Easy for you to say, you can port out,” Theo snaps back.

“I'm not going to do that, not yet at least. If I do, I'll not be able to cback, and I'm not leaving anyone

behind. Mason, Josie, start moving the earth. Go slowly in a horizontal path. I'm going to go vertically. If | can get

to the surface, | can see where we are and bring in more molecular manipulators to open up this whole area. We

have no idea how much of the underground system has collapsed or if there are still teens trapped down here,”

Deacon explains.

“Okay,” | say, fighting off the panic attack that is trying to claw at me.

Axel and Theo need me. They can’t get out of this without us. They never mastered the porting and manipulation

skills.

“Axe, are you good?” Mason asks.

“Yeah, | was right behind you,” he responds.

“I'm not sure if | got turned around. I'm going to start slowly moving the earth out in a circular pattern around

me. Tellif you feel any movement, so | can work out which direction you are in,” Mace says.

“I'll do the same,” | tell them.

“No rush, Babe, I'll just be here chilling in the dirt right next to the huge pile of mud, you can’t miss me,” Theo

huffs.

| flare my eyes, so | can see and begin moving the earth, slowly opening up a circular cavern around me. | am

not as skilled at this as Mason, but | have a stronger gift for it than he does, he just wields it better than me. |

have a tendency to overdo it. My gift is too powerful for my limited experience of using it. There is not really a

place | can

practice this level of gift without causing mass destruction

“| feel movement,” Axel says, and | stop what I’m doing, waiting to see if it'sor Mason that is moving the

surrounding dirt.

“Do you still feel it?” Mason asks.

“No.”

“Okay, letgo back... how about now?” Mace asks.

“Yes, | feel it,” Axe says, and | let out a relieved breath, this is progress.

A few moments later Mason has Axel free, and I'm more determined than ever to get to Theo. We can do this, we

aren't going to give up until we are all safe.

| continue moving, making the cavern larger. | find one of the makeshift beds, and as | open up more space,

movement in the dirt catches my eye.

At first, | think it's skind of underground creature like a mole, but as the dirt falls away, | realise it's a hand. |

step back with a gasp, startled at what looks like it should be in a scene of a horror movie.

“Theo, is that you?” | ask into the mind link as | reach for the hand.

“Is what me?” He responds, but | already know it's not him as soon as | touch the hand that gripsin

desperation.

“I've found someone,” | say as | frantically start moving the earth around the hand to reveal an arm and then a

body, then the blue glow of their eyes.

When | completely free the person from the dirt, | have no idea if it’s someone | know or not, but when they

throw/ their arms aroundin a desperate hug, | return their embrace. They're so filthy, and it’s so dark that |

can’t make out any of their features. | think it’s a teen boy by their stature, but | can’t be sure.

“Thank you,” they say in a raspy voice before breaking down in floods of tears. “I thought... | thought... | was

going to die like that, buried and abandoned.”

“It was scary, | know, but I’m going to get you out of here. What"

“Harrison,” he says.

“I'm Josie. Do you know Harper?”

“Yes, not well because she hasn't been here long,” he says.

your name?” | ask.

“I'm Harper's mum and her dad’s are here too. We are going to get everyone safe. | promise. Just stay by me

whilst | keep searching. Were you alone when it collapsed?” | ask.

“Yes, we were told to hide. | ended up alone,” Harrison says.

“Okay, do you know how many are down here?” | ask as | begin moving dirt again.

“No, swere ported out already. | have no idea how many were left,” he explains.

“I'm out,” Deacon says into the mind link, “I'm going to port back and get shelp to move this ground

faster.”

We all acknowledge his words and then something dawns on me, | have not heard Luke since the tunnels

collapsed.

“Luke?” | ask into the mind link, trying not to let everyone feel my dread as | realise | can’t feel my connection to

Luke at all.

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