Chapter 10: Chapter 10

My legs turn to jelly as smoke invades my lungs. I want to run from the Foreigner, but I’m frozen in place. Beth’s cries are barely audible over the crackling flames.

The Foreigner reaches up, pulling his balaclava off. I can’t scream anymore. My vision is blurred with tears, but his face is clear. I’ve never seen a Foreigner’s face before.

Suddenly, I understand that perfection isn’t beauty. Because the only word I can find for the Foreigner’s face is ~beautiful~.

His skin is dark, darker than mine, but warm like the whiskey I used to sip, stretched tight over high, sharp cheekbones. His brows and lashes are thick and dark, and his jaw is chiseled, ending in a finely pointed chin.

His nose dips down between his eyes. What scares me the most is his hair. I’ve never seen hair so dark. It’s thick, long, and almost black.

I don’t have much time to study the beautiful foreign face. He quickly pulls his balaclava down over my head. He vanishes for a moment, then reappears as he fits it onto my face.

Breathing becomes easier through the cloth. I can tell he’s holding his breath now. I don’t know why, but I let him help me to my feet. When he realizes I can’t walk, he wraps his arms around me.

He lifts me up, Beth cradled to my chest, and he runs. Back through the flames. Toward the nursery, away from the burning plane.

His chest is broad, solid like most soldiers. His hair tickles my face as he runs. I focus on his Adam’s apple, frozen in place as he holds his breath.

Suddenly, we’re inside, sprinting through familiar hallways. He takes me away from the smoke and flames and deep into the nursery. The birthing area on the first floor is empty because everyone is in the basement.

The Foreigner finds a door and closes it. He places me on a bed and ensures the windows and door are sealed. Then he turns back to me. His dark eyes meet mine, and I feel the air forced out of my chest.

“You will be safe here,” he tells me in Albion English.

I stare at him, wide-eyed. His accent is so slight that I can barely detect it. “What?” I say, but it’s muffled by the balaclava. I yank it off my head.

He strides across the room and pours a glass of water from the sink. He pushes it toward me. “Drink.”

“What?”

“Drink!”

He thrusts the cup into my hand. Holding Beth with one arm, I sip, then gulp the water down. He watches me, and then, when I’m finished, he gives me another glass, which I drain again.

“I saw you fall. You breathed in a lot of smoke. Just keep drinking. You don’t have to worry. It won’t kill you,” he says, his eyes darting around the room. “Hopefully.”

“What?”

“The smoke. It wasn’t enough to kill you. It’ll just weaken you. You were keeping your baby from breathing as well, so it didn’t breathe in enough smoke to do much harm either. You’ll both be fine,” he assures me.

He seems sincere and serious. “But the toxic air…why didn’t it kill us?”

“What toxic air?”

“The air outside is toxic,” I inform him.

He hands me another glass of water. “No, it isn’t. Air in Albion hasn’t been toxic for generations. My sort of generation, not yours.”

He pauses. “It hasn’t been toxic for over a hundred years. Not since the last atomic bomb one hundred fifty years ago landed in London. Radioactive, yes, but these walls don’t stop radioactivity.”

I stare at him. “What?”

“I think you’ve hurt your ribs a little. And maybe your ankle. But I don’t have time to check. I need to go. You’ll be all right.” He starts heading toward the door.

“Go? You can’t go outside. The air! You will die! It’s toxic…”

“The air isn’t toxic.” He frowns at me and shakes his head slightly.

“Wait!” I cry, then cough. He pauses, standing by the door, facing me. “You saved my life,” I whisper. “Aren’t we enemies?”

“Are we?”

“Aren’t we?”

“You’re just an inbred uterus.”

“What?” I gasp.

“I need to go.”

“Why did you save me?” I cry.

“I saw you fall. I couldn’t—I don’t know.” He seems to lose his confidence for a moment. “I need to leave.”

“Foreigner!” I jump up from the bed and place Beth on the pillow before rushing to him. He’s tall, taller than Eric maybe. A lot taller than me. And wide and strong too. I look up at him. “Why?” I ask him.

“I don’t know!” he snaps.

I don’t have much strength. I feel my knees wobble again, and suddenly his arm is around my waist, catching me.

“I need to leave,” he says quietly. “They might catch me. I know where to go. Let me leave.”

His face is inches from mine, his eyes boring into me. I can’t tear my gaze from his.

“Leave?”

“I need to go now before the soldiers search this part of the building,” he explains. “Don’t mention me to them. For your own sake.”

“But you saved me.”

“Don’t tell anyone!”

“Then tell me your name,” I insist.

He looks at me in surprise. “Sanoske.”

“You’re Japanese?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Alexandra.”

His arm slips from my waist. His gaze holds mine for a moment longer, then he's gone, the door slamming shut behind him.

I pivot back to Beth, whispering softly as I draw her into my arms. I take another sip of water.