Jack Thompson's Arc

Chapter 10 of 25

Jack pulled the dice from his pocket as they hit the street. The black faces were split now, a jagged red seam bleeding faint light through the crack. Blackjack had found the bridge from the other side. He was pushing. "He's testing it," Jack said. His fingers tightened. The seam pulsed warm against his palm. "We need to get to Amelie. Fast." 13 didn't ask. He just moved, boots hammering the cracked walk. They cut across to the old meat packing plant Amelie had marked — red brick, tall chimneys, a worn loading door cracked open for them. Jack limped hard on his shotgun, the dice burning hotter every block. Inside, Amelie was already talking to someone. A red-haired woman with rabbit ears and blue fire on her hands. 13 stopped short. "Seven." The woman smiled small. "Knew you'd come here." Amelie turned to Jack, calm. "She left the Red Hounds. Said Luna Eclipsed will turn on them when the targets run out. And she follows him" — a nod at 13 — "not them." Jack held out the cracked dice. The light bled between his fingers. "He's coming through. I can't hold this much longer." Amelie took his wrist and pressed his hand flat to a workbench. "Then stop holding. Listen." She set her own hand over his. "The bridge isn't the dice. The dice are just where you learned to stand. Breathe with him. Match him." Jack breathed. The seam pulsed once, twice, slower. The light dimmed. The dice were still cracked — they would always be cracked now — but the pushing stopped. The bridge held in him, not in his pocket. He set the dice down on the bench and they didn't drag him after. For the first time, he had walked off the bridge and left it standing.