Chapter 50 A Crack in the Walls
Pierce sat at his laptop, staring at the screen without seeing it. He'd been looking at the same document for twenty minutes, the words blurring together.
All he could think about was Elena's voice yesterday. The way it had cracked when she'd told him what being trapped here was doing to her.
A knock on the office door pulled him from his thoughts. Derek stood in the doorway, arms crossed, expression serious.
"We need to talk about Elena, Boss," Derek said.
Pierce's jaw tightened. "There's nothing to talk about."
"With all due respect, boss, those are lies." Derek stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "I've been watching this for four days and I can't keep quiet anymore."
"Derek..."
"You're destroying her." Derek's voice was firm. "And yourself."
Pierce stood, defensive. "I'm keeping her alive."
"You're keeping her breathing. That's not the same thing." Derek moved closer. "I've watched her got worse since we got here. She's not eating, not sleeping. Yesterday I heard her crying in her room for an hour straight."
Pierce flinched.
"She's falling apart," Derek continued. "And you're so focused on protecting her from Rodrigo and Xander that you're not seeing what this bunker is doing to her."
"What do you want me to do?" Pierce's voice rose slightly. "Let her leave and get killed?"
"Find a middle ground." He said.
"There is no middle ground...."
"Then make one!" Derek's voice was sharper than he wanted. "Because if you keep this up, you're going to lose her completely. If you haven't already."
"I've already lost her." Pierce's voice went hollow. "The night I told her what I was, the night she walked out, I lost her then."
"Then stop making it worse." Derek's expression softened slightly. "I know you love her. I know you're trying to protect her. But you're suffocating her in the process."
Pierce sat back down, running a hand through his hair. "I can see what it's doing to her. Every day she looks more broken and I..." He stopped.
"Then do something about it." Derek said calmly.
"Like what?"
"I'm not going to tell you how to fix this," Derek said. "But you need to find a way to give her something. Some freedom, some air, something that reminds her she's still alive and not just existing in a concrete cage."
He left before Pierce could respond, closing the door quietly behind him.
Pierce sat alone in the office, Derek's words echoing in his head.
You're destroying her.
He knew he was destroy her. He had seen it in her eyes yesterday when she'd told him how the bunker was breaking her piece by piece and he'd done nothing except stand there and apologize, which wasn't enough.
Sorry would never be enough.
But maybe there was something else he could do. Something small that wouldn't fix everything but might give her a moment of relief.
Pierce pulled out his phone, hesitated before texting Derek.
Can you take her outside for an hour? Stay close, stay alert. But give her some space.
Derek's response came immediately.
She needs more than an hour.
Start with one then we'll see.
Pierce stood, steeling himself, and headed upstairs.
He found Elena's door closed. Raised his hand to knock, then stopped.
She probably didn't want to see him. Probably wanted to be left alone after yesterday's conversation.
But he knocked anyway.
"What?" Elena's voice came through the door, muffled.
"It's me." He said gently. "Please open the door."
Silence and then footsteps. The door opened a crack and Elena looked out, her eyes red-rimmed, her face pale.
"What do you want?" Her voice was tired.
"I'm taking you outside," Pierce said. "For an one hour. Derek will be with you."
Elena's eyes widened slightly. "What?"
"You'll get Fresh air, trees, sky. Whatever you need." Pierce kept his voice steady. "Derek will stay close but he'll give you space."
"Why?" Elena's voice was suspicious. "Why now?"
"Because I can see what this is doing to you." Pierce met her eyes. "And I can't...I can't watch you fall apart anymore."
Elena stared at him, searching his face for the trap, for the catch.
"When?" she asked finally.
"Now." He said. "Get your shoes."
Elena didn't move for a moment, like she was waiting for him to take it back. Then she opened the door wider, grabbed her shoes from beside the bed, and slipped them on.
"How long do I have?" she asked.
"One hour."
Elena followed him downstairs where Derek was already waiting by the door, jacket on, clearly briefed.
"Stay within sight of the bunker," Pierce said to Derek. "And keep your phone on."
"Got it." She said, almost excited.
Pierce looked at Elena. She stood by the door, arms wrapped around herself, looking both hopeful and terrified.
Derek opened the door and Elena stepped outside.
The first breath of fresh air hit her like a drug.
Elena stood on the bunker's front step, eyes closed, just breathing. The air was cold and crisp and real and she'd never felt anything so good in her life.
When she opened her eyes, the forest stretched out before her, trees and sky and open space.
She walked forward slowly, like she was afraid it might disappear. Derek followed at a distance, giving her space like Pierce had promised.
Elena kept walking until she was surrounded by trees, the bunker barely visible behind her. Then she stopped and just looked up.
Sky, the real sky. Not the tiny window in her room but endless blue stretching overhead.
Tears burned her eyes and she didn't try to stop them. She tilted her head back, feeling sunlight on her face for the first time in days, and something in her chest loosened.
She could finally breathe well.
Elena walked deeper into the forest, her feet crunching on fallen leaves. Everything felt sharper, more vivid. The colors, the sounds, the way the wind moved through the trees.
She'd forgotten what it felt like to be outside. To be in the world instead of locked away from it.
Derek stayed back, leaning against a tree, watching her but not getting too close. Elena was grateful for that. Grateful Pierce had told him to give her space.
She found a fallen log and sat down, pulling her knees to her chest, just listening to the birds, wind, the distant sound of water.
They were normal sounds, real sounds, not the hum of the generator or the echo of footsteps on concrete.
Elena sat there for what felt like both forever and not nearly long enough. The hour passed too quickly and too slowly at the same time.
When Derek's phone buzzed, Elena knew what it meant.
Time to go back.
She stood slowly, taking one last deep breath, trying to memorize the feeling.
"Ready?" Derek asked gently.
"No." Elena's voice was quiet. "But I guess it's time."
They walked back to the bunker together. Elena's steps got slower the closer they got, dreading the moment she'd have to go back inside.
When they reached the entrance, Pierce was standing in the doorway, waiting.
Elena stopped a few feet away, looking at him.
He looked like he hadn't moved since she left. Like he'd been standing there the entire hour, waiting for her to come back.
"Thank you," Elena said quietly.
Pierce nodded, his eyes scanning her face like he was checking to make sure she was okay.
"Same time tomorrow?" he asked.
Elena's breath caught. "Tomorrow?"
"It will be like that every day." He said quietly. "For One hour. As long as we're here."
"Thank you," she said again, meaning it more than she could express.
Pierce stepped aside to let her pass. Elena walked into the bunker, and for the first time in days, it didn't feel quite as suffocating.
She headed upstairs to her room, and when she closed the door, she leaned against it and closed her eyes.
One hour of fresh air didn't fix everything.
It didn't change what Pierce was, didn't erase the lies, didn't bridge the fundamental divide between them.
But it reminded her she was still alive, still a human, still capable of feeling something other than trapped and desperate and broken and maybe, just maybe, that was enough for now.
Downstairs, Pierce stood in the office doorway, watching the stairs Elena had just climbed.
It wasn't enough. Would never be enough to fix what was broken between them.
But seeing Elena's face when she'd come back, seeing that tiny bit of life return to her eyes, made it worth it.
Even if she never forgave him.
Even if they stayed broken forever.
At least she could breathe and for now, that had to be enough.