Chapter 333
[ 491 words ]
Chapter 333:
Caroline sighed in relief, recognizing the awkward but harmless young corporal from the medical bay.
She stepped out of the shadows, wrapping her arms tightly around herself, her teeth chattering audibly.
“I got turned around,” she admitted, her voice trembling. “I was trying to find Dr. Reed for some spare scrubs.”
Evan, still staring resolutely at the wall, stated, “Ma’am, you’re in Sector 4. This is the restricted armory wing.”
He respectfully offered to escort her back to the medical facility, maintaining a strict five-foot distance from her.
Caroline agreed, taking a step forward, but a violent shiver wracked her small frame, making her stumble.
Evan heard her teeth chatter. For a split second, his innate decency overrode his paralyzing fear of the Colonel.
T𝗵𝖾 𝗯𝖾ѕ𝘵 𝗋𝖾a𝖽іո𝘨 e𝗑р𝖾𝘳𝘪eո𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝘯 𝗴а𝗅𝗇о𝗏е𝗹𝘴.𝖼оm
He looked down just enough to see her pale, goosebump-covered skin, realizing she was literally freezing.
Without overthinking the suicidal impulse, Evan unzipped his heavy, fleece-lined tactical jacket and shrugged it off his shoulders.
He stepped forward, keeping his eyes respectfully averted, and held the jacket out to her.
“The corridors are kept at sixty degrees for the servers, ma’am,” he stammered. “You need to cover up.”
Caroline looked at the thick jacket, deeply touched by the young man’s genuine chivalry.
She took the jacket, thanking him softly, and draped it over her shoulders.
The heavy garment was long enough to cover her bare thighs completely, instantly trapping her body heat.
Evan let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, relieved that she was at least decently covered now.
He gestured awkwardly toward the end of the hall. “We need to move before a full patrol comes through.”
Caroline nodded, pulling the lapels of Evan’s jacket tighter around her chest.
They began walking down the corridor, Evan falling into step a respectful three paces behind her.
They walked in silence through the echoing halls, with Evan maintaining a rigid, respectful distance behind her. The immediate, heart-pounding tension of the lockdown began to recede, replaced by the simple, cold reality of her situation.
Suddenly, the heavy steel doors at the far end of the corridor burst open, slamming against the concrete walls with a deafening, metallic crash.
The echo of the slamming steel doors rang through the corridor like a gunshot.
Caroline gasped, stopping dead in her tracks. She clutched the lapels of Evan’s jacket, her knuckles turning white.
Jarrod Romero stood in the doorway. His chest was heaving, his dark eyes burning with an absolute, lethal fury that seemed to suck all the air from the hallway.
The temperature in the corridor seemed to plummet instantly. The air became thick, heavy, and suffocating.
Jarrod’s predatory gaze snapped from Caroline’s pale, shocked face down to the oversized tactical jacket draped over her shoulders.
He instantly recognized the rank insignia and name tape stitched onto the chest: CPL RILEY, E.
A terrifying, low snarl escaped Jarrod’s throat, a sound more animal than human. He moved forward with terrifying, ground-eating speed.
Evan’s survival instincts screamed. He snapped to attention, his entire body trembling, trying to salute his commanding officer.
.
.
.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.