by Keri Lake
An electric jolt of terror seizes my muscles on watching Atticus rush forward toward the monsters.
“Hello, Thalia.”
A scream flies out of me, and I spin toward the familiar voice, but find only the bodies suspended in their glass compartments about the room.
“Show yourself, Jack.” The nervous wobble in my voice matches the tremble moving through my body, as I slide along the wall to hide behind one of the capsules.
“It’s fascinating how predictable you are. I knew you’d come. I don’t know how, but … I had this strange feeling.”
“You killed my father.” The room stands still, save for the occasional twitch of the encased bodies, as I scan for him.
“Yes. I confess. But what does it matter now? He’s gone, and when those mutations finish off your friend, you will be, too.”
I kick my head to the side, listening for the thumps and grunts on the other side of the door that tell me Atticus continues to fight them. “You underestimate the Alphas.”
“And they underestimate the advancements we’ve made in the last couple of years.”
The sound of Atticus’s outcry proves the point, sending a wave of fear through my muscles.
“What do you want?”
“What I’ve always wanted. Power. Respect. You.”
“Me?” Lips crimped with disgust, I shake my head of the grotesque thought. “You arranged to have me kidnapped by a psychopath.”
“I made a deal with a criminal I shouldn’t have trusted. I realize that now. He wasn’t supposed to touch you, but I suppose I’m not the only one who was tempted by your beauty and innocence. In my defense, I did send Will to retrieve you.”
“You sent Will on a death mission, and you know it.”
“Partly true, yes.”
“Why? How did you possibly justify his death in your head?”
“Fairly easily, actually. Particularly with you as a prize. I’ve watched you grow from a child. This sassy, wild spirit that couldn’t be broken by anyone. Not even the church. How much I wanted to break you myself.”
“Show yourself, coward. I want to look you in the eyes as you confess these things to me.”
Lights flick on inside a room that’s separated by glass, behind which, the silhouette of a man stands looking out. His lower half is blocked by the back end of a panel that cuts across the window. The soft glow of screens on the wall behind him suggests it might be a control room. One I didn’t take notice of the last time we were here to rescue Atticus, with all the fighting and flying of bullets.
With the added light, I scan the room in search of something I can use as a weapon against him, my heart rising up into my throat when I catch sight of the capsules at the opposite side of the room. Eyes fixated on them, I pad carefully toward where my mother and Grant float, suspended in fluids, a mask covering their faces, just like others.
Tears gather in my eyes as I approach the two of them, who appear to be sleeping.
“What have you done?”
“It’s been hell for them since you left. The community frowns upon anyone who attacks a man of the cloth. Including the family of said attacker.”
“Why are they here?”
“They were exiled. I brought them here to give them a chance at survival.”
“What have you done to them?”
“Nothing yet. They’re merely sedated, at the moment.”
I exhale a relieved sigh, catching a quick glimpse of my mother. “What is it you want with me?”
“I want all manner of things with you. As it happens, I’m in love with you, Thalia. I have been for many years. And with the scarcity of women these days, I’m not ashamed to admit I laid claim to you when you were quite young. No more than a child.”
The thought of such a thing stirs a sickness in my stomach. “That’s why you killed my father.”
“No. Your father was a power move. A means for me to get ahead.”
“And this?” I lift my gaze to my mother’s face, so innocent and calm, absent of the usual lines of worry.
“This is another power move. It seems you command the Alphas better than I ever could. Tell him to stand down. To surrender himself. And I will release your mother and brother.”
“Who?” I ask.
“Don’t play games. I know of the Alpha you’ve taken up with.”
“I don’t know where he is.”
“You’re lying. Have you forgotten that I know when you’re lying, Little Mouse?”
There was a time the nickname was endearing, but now I realize the meaning behind it. I’ve always been the bait. The food for the snake.
“Even if I knew, I wouldn’t surrender to you.”
At a hard thunk against the door, I snap my attention to where the metal has bent, taking the form of a deformed claw.
Oh, no. Atticus.
“I told you they weren’t to be underestimated. We’ve made them stronger. Faster. And it won’t be long before they break through that door. There is an out, though. Come to me, and I’ll ensure your safety.”
Another thunk, and the dent takes on a new form, its contour cast deeper into the metal. Another thunk follows that. And another. Through the window, I can see the bald crowns of three mutations scrambling at the door.
“Those doors are fire rated and strong, but they were not designed to hold back three creatures at the same time. Come with me. I’ll take you back to Szolen, and we can have a beautiful life together. I’m certain your mother would bless our union.”
A familiar repulsion bubbles up from the pit of my gut, his voice sounding too much like Remus’s. “Fuck you.”
“As I said … predictable.”
Movement beside me draws my attention to the capsules, where my mother and Grant twitch and writhe in the water. Swirls of red cloud their eyes and nose, pouring out from the top of the mask at their faces. Red ribbons of blood dancing through the water.
Fear vibrates inside my chest. “What’s going on? What are you doing?”
“I’m told the poison works in a matter of seconds. As I understand, it causes total organ shutdown.”
Oh, God. Red Lotus.
“Stop it! Stop!” I dart behind Grant’s capsule and throw the lever that lowers the water level, then do the same for my mother’s capsule. “Stop this! I’ll do it! I’ll go with you! Please! Just stop this!”
“I’m afraid it’s too late. The lethal dose of the poison is very small. But no worries. I’ll honor your wishes, and we’ll return to Szolen.”
Ignoring his taunts, I unlatch the door to the capsule, and as I open it, a wave of fluid pours out, pooling at my feet. Grant falls like deadweight into my arms, and when I remove his mask, blood trickles from his mouth.
I jump to my feet and unlatch my mother’s capsule. Just like Grant, she collapses into my arms, still twitching. When I remove her mask, her eyelids flip open to show bloodshot whites, and she lifts a trembling hand to my face, cupping my cheek. Her chest rises and falls in panting breaths, and I cradle her head in my lap, gently pushing the hair from her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Momma. I’m so sorry. For everything.” Through a shield of tears, I stroke the top of her head and plant a kiss to her forehead. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“Proud.” Her voice is a tight rasp, and with the laxness of her muscles, I pull away to find her eyes are closed, a drop of blood trickling down her temple like a red tear.
“Momma?” I give a light shake, but her body only jostles with the movement. “Momma, wake up!” Panic curls in my stomach as I set her down and scramble on hands and knees toward my brother. “Grant? Grant!” Giving a shake of his arm, I stare down at the white pallor of his skin, the blue hue of his lips, the telling signs of his death. “No! No!” Falling forward, I bury my face into his cold neck and drag him onto my lap, as a long, agonized cry breaks from my chest. A shiver of disbelief spirals through me, my chest turning cold, as the room spins too fast in my periphery. Rocking bac
k and forth, I hold my brother’s lifeless body in my arms and bend forward to kiss his wet hair. “Look out for Momma, okay?”
Icy tendrils climb the back of my neck, and I lift my head to find one of the mutations crouched over my mother’s body. Strings of drool dangle from its mouth, where sharp teeth peek through. It turns its gaze from me to her, and lifts her head up off the floor.
Every muscle in my body locks up in fear, watching it tip its head, as if studying her.
Not a breath later, it twists her neck, popping her head from her body in one snap.
A scream tears from my throat, and I drop Grant, kicking myself away from it, eyes glued on my mother’s severed head.
The creature lurches toward me, and I dare a glance over my shoulder, toward the control room, where Jack smiles down at me.
“I was going to offer you safe passage, but I’m afraid I can’t risk that thing following in after you now.”
“Open the door, Jack.” My jaw is so stiff, I can barely push the words past the hard clench of my teeth. “Please.”
“I’m sorry. Truly. Your death will be my greatest tragedy.”
The door to the supply room, with the hatch to Doctor Levin’s lab, is blocked by the beast, so no chance of escaping there. Even if I could get to it, I’m sure the mutation would swipe me up before I hit the ground level.
Three more mutations crawl out from behind capsules they’ve broken open, and it’s right then I notice where they’ve fed on the bodies inside. One of the mutations drops the man whose throat he chewed to shreds of meat, and the naked human twitches on the floor, bleeding out.
“Jack!” I twist to find him staring down at me, eyes lit with morbid fascination, and yet unwitting to the massive figure stalking toward him from the shadows.
Titus.
He grabs Jack by the throat at the same time that one of the mutations lunges toward me.
I roll to the side, just missing the swipe of its claw, and scramble toward the other wall. “Titus!”
The echo of gunfire steels my muscles, but I don’t dare look back.
The mutation’s claws scrape over the polished floor as it charges a second time, and I manage to slide beneath a bench adjacent to the door, before it lunges again. The crashing overhead rattles my nerves, and I let out a scream, crawling on hands and knees toward the opposite side of the long bench. A hard thud behind me is the mutation leaping off the table onto the floor. I back myself to the corner, watching the creature prowl toward me.
There’s nowhere to go. Nowhere left to hide.
It bounds for me, and a blood curdling scream rips from my chest.
The door to the control room flies open, and Titus dives forward, taking hold of the creature’s hind claw, as it scratches at the floor toward me.
“Get inside! Now!”
I skirt the mutation that’s tethered in Titus’s grasp. It swipes out at me as I pass, and even though it misses, my feet fly out from beneath me as a streak of fire zips up my leg.
Hard tiles crash into my breasts, and I flip around to find the other mutation tugging me toward it.
A hard body slams into the monster, knocking it off balance. This time, it’s Atticus.
Free of capture, I dash across the room for the door, while the two Alphas hold back the mutations that seem hellbent on having me.
The muscles in Titus’s arms tremble and flex, as he grips the creature by its throat, its tongue lashing out like a snake’s. “The knife … take it!” he grits out.
Eyeing the blade at his hip, I slide the weapon out and slam it into the eye of the mutation. A loud screech echoes inside the room.
Two more mutations scamper on all fours toward us. “Get inside and lock the door!”
“I’m not leaving you!”
“Go! Now!” A hard shove sends me flying backwards onto my butt, and the door slams shut.
I twist around for the staircase, jogging as fast as my legs will carry me for the control room.
Jack is nowhere.
I thought for sure Titus had killed him.
Below the control panel, lies a mangled-looking handgun, one I’m guessing Titus destroyed before coming after me.
A glance down at the room below shows two of the mutations dead, their headless bodies twitching on the floor, while Titus and Atticus go for the other two.
The weight of the knife in my hands seems to grow heavier, and I turn toward the hallway.
Stalking out of the control room, I head in the opposite direction, where Jack must’ve run off to, taking light steps. Doors stand on either side of the hallway. At the end of the corridor is an exit sign, and as I make my way toward it, I scan the rooms that appear to be offices. Fluorescent bulbs buzz overhead. Every nerve in my body is a livewire, and my hands tremble, the business end of the knife leading the way. As I near the exit door, the hum of growls and hard thuds against the panel of it tell me Ragers pace on the other side.
No way he’d have gone out that door.
That cold feeling skates across the back of my neck again, and I turn to find a shadowy figure standing behind me.
“There’s no escape for you and I.”
The metal screech of a door snaps my attention from him, and he strikes, like a snake. The back of his hand knocks my cheek, knuckles rattling my bones, and the pain shoots up into my sinuses. My body whirls around, and in a matter of seconds, Jack’s chest is pressed into my back, the blade propped at my throat.
At the opposite end of the hall, Titus strides toward us, his skin covered in blood.
“Step aside. Let us pass, and I can assure you I’ll not harm her,” Jack says from behind.
Titus snarls, and I catch the curl of his hands into fists.
The blade angles upward, lifting my chin higher. “I have no doubt you’re capable of unimaginable pain. But all it takes is one slip of this blade, and she’s done.”
Still, Titus doesn’t answer, and when Atticus strides up next to him, I can feel the tremble in Jack’s muscles intensify. When the two of them get their hands on him, there will be nothing left but blood and bits of scattered flesh.
He might just slice my throat before then, though.
In the pause, I think of my mother. My father. Grant. Their lifeless bodies.
Rage curls like a black poisonous smoke inside of me, and my training with Titus snaps to mind. In one fluid motion, I spin away from the knife, and before he has a chance to react, I twist, knock his arm out of the way, and hammer my fist into his throat, just as the Alpha showed me. A move we practiced so many times, it’s like instinct.
Eyes popped wide, Jack drops the knife on a gasp and stumbles backward, holding his neck.
Of course, he wouldn’t expect me to fight back. The girl he knew wasn’t raised to defend herself.
“Go to hell!” I slam a hard kick to his groin, and with a stunned expression, he loses his balance, falling backward through the exit door and over the banister of the stairwell. With a hard crack, the concrete hits his spine, and he gasps again.
The Ragers cluster around him, growling and clicking.
One scrambles up the staircase for me, where I remain on the landing, but as Titus steps beside me, and Atticus stands on the other side, it halts and backs itself down the stairs, hissing.
Below us, Jack screams, as the Ragers close in on him. The sound seems to excite the Ragers, who growl louder. Only his legs stick out from their huddled bodies, twitching as the infected eats him alive.
I should be relieved to know my father’s killer is no more, but the world feels heavy all of a sudden, and it’s then I realize, for the first time, my whole family is gone. All of them, lost to this man’s violence.
My knees buckle beneath me, my body caught by strong arms that pull me in, and I let Titus lift me up, cradling me like a child, as he carries me down the stairs, through a sea of Ragers.
Chapter 46
“How do you live with the pain?” I lie on the floor against Titus, watching
the orange glow of embers crackle in the fireplace. “When does it go away?”
“It doesn’t. I still think about my family. My mother. My sisters. The good stuff. Not the bad.”
A tear trickles down my temple, and I turn to face him, burying more tears into his warm skin. “I’ve never felt so alone in my whole life.”
“You’re not alone, Thalia. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You’re all I have left, and I can’t bear the thought of something happening to you, too.”
“It’s you and me. And I’ll never leave you alone in this world.” He rolls over top of me, his arms like the bars of a steel cage closing around me. A cage from which I never want to escape. “I had that sick fear in my stomach again, when I saw him with the blade to your throat.” The corner of his lips lifts for a solemn smile. “But you were so strong. My brave little Viper.”
“You’re not mad at me? For going against your orders?”
“I’m not your father. Or your general. I had no right to make any demands on you. And I had no doubts you’d defy them, anyway.” His comment draws the first urge I’ve had to smile. “From now on, I promise to have your back. No matter what.”
“You always have.” I brush my finger over the signature stern brow that is as much a part of Titus as his scars. “And how lucky am I to have a god watching out for me.”
“I’m no god. I’m just a man. A man who would tear down this world for you, if you asked me to.”
“How ‘bout if we start with a kiss and see where it goes from there?”
Pressing his lips to mine, he slides his hand up to my jaw, cupping my face, and dips his tongue past my teeth. “What have I done to deserve this life with you?”
The question brings a somber smile to my face. “I ask myself, sometimes. I often wonder if Remus killed me that night and this is all a dream.”
Falling onto his back again, he tucks his bent arm beneath his head and draws soft circles with his fingertips over my shoulder, staring off at the ceiling. “I’ve had those thoughts, too. Maybe it was me on the other side of that gate, trapped inside Calico. And you’re just a vision of Heaven to me.”
