“I can’t feel that,” I tell him. He’s holding it, and I can’t even feel the wind that is blowing on my face. “Are you trying to heal it?” I ask, noticing the light radiating from our clasped hands.
“Yes. It’s not working?”
“I feel nothing. There are small pricks scattering over my arm, but I’ve lost all feeling.”
He breathes heavily. “Your eyes are turning bloodshot red. The veins in your eyes are even darker,” he says, looking away from me to something across from us. “Pull your goggles on. I’ll call out to them and ask what we are to do to keep you from changing.”
“What makes you think I’ll change?”
“It’s enough we aren’t average Creations or complete Vojin. Now consider the way you were affected by the vaccinations. You turn into one of those things, Ky… I’m going to shoot you.” He points to my forehead, leaving his finger there. “Head shot, no questions, no hesitations,” he says.
I swat his hand away. “What do we do? I can’t battle like this.”
“We’ll have to separate, but they aren’t going to let us do that, and it’s not safe for two against the millions of these things in this city. Let’s go off with four of us. I’ll get separated, and you’ll think I’m lost. If they need to make an appearance to fix you, that’s what they need to do. I don’t want to lose you.” He rubs my shoulder. “And they’re the reason the Zombies are here,” he continues. “We must have some type of clearance, something that keeps us from turning into Zombies, especially with us helping the Vojin.”
I grit my teeth, clutching my arm to my chest. Through my teeth, I ask, “What happens if they decide not to help?”
“If you turn because they refuse to help, I’ll go there and make them regret that decision.” Luke throws up his hands, cutting me off. “I have to stop talking about it.” His face has flushed red with anger. “First things first. Let’s go back, and I’ll tell the group what we’ll do.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Ky and I would like to check over another area,” Luke says to the full group. “Any twins want to come with us as backup?”
“Yes,” Marc says, along with Carla and Katy.
“The six of you will be better than four, Luke,” Jord starts. “We meet at the black building nearest the lake, don’t forget. The two of you should know how to get there,” he says to Marc and Sean.
“We understand, sir,” Luke says, looking at his watch. “Three hours.”
“Everyone else, we are heading toward the fountain,” Jord commands. “Head out.”
“What is it that you wanted to see?” Katy asks.
“Over there.” Luke points to a cluster of buildings with train tracks overhead.
“Good idea,” she responds with interest.
I head for the overpass.
“We have three hours,” Luke starts, coming next to me. “Three hours to clear this and that, then make it to the rendezvous.”
We always have our hands full during any mission. “I got it, Luke. Back off,” I tell him, frustrated. I’m more irritated with myself and the pain in my arm. My head’s spinning, and most of my focus is on hiding my discomfort from the others. I feel as though I’ve spun in a circle for sixty seconds and started on my way.
Luke falls back, giving me my space.
The others laugh and talk about the city and their memories together. My arm goes limp, and the only thing keeping it from dangling at my side is my hand being stuffed into my pocket.
Something scurries in the shadow of a nearby building. I pull my gun out with my left hand and scan the area.
“What is it, Ky?” Sean asks.
“Something,” I respond, zoning out his smart remarks. “Hush,” I growl, seeing another scurry past my other side. I stop, realizing. “They’re surrounding us.”
We fall silent, continuing onward, cautiously.
Out of nothing, no sound or sight, they pour out—lines of Zombies. We disperse, all headed in different directions, shooting, dropping the ones getting too close.
I sprint to an opening, a blocked off alleyway. I’m alone, grimy walls to my sides and back. Snarls erupt from behind me, echoing in the closed off opening.
I turn on my heels, gun raised, and fire. The clicking of my empty clip joins the echoes of the rumbling snarls. My heart pounds, and my raised arm lowers.
I’m done for.
The one before me doesn’t attack. She just stands there, dead, breathing roughly. She was a Creation, joints in her arms and shoulder bent in the wrong directions, eyes bloodshot red, neck leaking tar-like fluid from a gash.
I raise my left hand in surrender; my right is heavy and useless. They may be dead, but something tells me they aren’t stupid. “If you turn me into one of you, my brother is going to kill me,” I tell it. “I have instructions to do away with all of you. Back off,” I say, low and kind.
The one in front of me stops snarling. Color returns to her pale skin and her face brings forth a sincere smile. In a kind tone, she says, “Let me see your hand, Kylie.” The snarls remain heavy behind her.
“Your name?” I request with skepticism.
“Lafren. Once I remove the infection, you will be free to end us without our attack. That only goes for us here. Others of us will still attempt to attack and turn you and Lukahn.” The name doesn’t sound familiar, but I take it she’s okay because she knows Luke.
I step to her, using my left hand to lift my right arm by the elbow. “What’s the cause of all this? Why has this war and destruction been engaged on our home?”
Peacefully, she answers, “This is not your home, Kylie Alexander. Your home is with us. You feel attached to this…place because you have spent your early life here, but this is not where you belong.”
“But why destroy it? There is beauty here.” I point around me, but around me, there are only moldy walls, dark shadows, litter, and graffiti. “Well, not in this alley but in this world.”
“There is no beauty here. There is hate, there is death, and there is already destruction. The people who walk this planet are their own destruction. They cannot handle this gift. They do not deserve it. As instructed, we are ridding this planet of its infestation, and when our Instructor is ready, a new beginning will dawn. What will happen from there is unknown.”
“And what will happen to us, Luke and I?”
“This body will go, along with everything else; your implant will be restored. Another option is, you may move on to your next mission as long as this one is fulfilled accordingly, but we have no use for this body.”
I narrow my eyes. “No growth?”
She slowly shakes her head, lifeless, gray eyes narrowing in on me. “No, not in this body and not on this planet. It will not be long before it is nothing, so if you are so enraptured in its beauty, enjoy it while you can. Do not forget your mission.” She steps toward me. “Now, your hand.”
I give her my hand, and she places hers over it. I feel nothing at first, then tingling follows a sweltering sensation that radiates from my hand to my elbow. The pain leaves, and my feeling is restored.
“Thank you,” I say, removing my hand from her rough, cold skin.
She backs away and nods once. “You are welcome.”
The group of Zombies part, allowing me to pass. At the end of the alleyway, I throw a grenade into the crowd and walk away as it explodes.
I follow the wall of the building to an opening and post up with my back against the wall as I stretch out my fingers and look over my healed hand. Alone, I stand, reloading my weapons, recalling what Lafren said.
There is no avoiding the inevitable. This planet, what we have known our entire lives, Luke and I are helping destroy it. This is not what they told us we were sent here for. The Vojin are supposed to be protectors of this planet. Sure, after being treated with little to no respect for decades, they took it upon themselves to take over, but not destroy. Now, Luke and I are supporting their beliefs by working for the wrong team
but we are on the right team. Creations protect this country. That’s the mission. There’s no intent to overthrow our leaders, only keep this place safe and balanced.
Now, what’s the right thing to do?
Gunshots ring out as I pull off my goggles and lean against the wall, seeing this small alley as a safe spot to catch my breath for a moment.
Which mission do we stick to? Follow the Vojin or stop them?
She said to me, “Enjoy it while you can.” They will attempt to take us from here or do away with us, like scrap paper. Or try to take us out of the beautiful bodies Luke and I have worked so hard to maintain and keep healthy. Maybe their plan is to remove the implant and insert it into another brain of a new species with a new subconscious and mission.
If this is their plan, it will put Luke and I in serious danger. They won’t find that disgusting implant still attached to us. We removed it years ago. And for them to discover we’re no longer being controlled by our hosts… We’ll be accused of treason and exposed to the Vojin as Rebellious Hosts and to The America as Alien Implants. Both are punishable by death.
If we’re to be discarded, what have Luke and I been working so hard for? Why are we trying to be the highest ranked in our division? Become leaders of Separation and guide our fellow Creations into a war meant to protect this world?
Or are we just aliens, foreign to this land, which is why we look like the humans and Creations, first here as a mission to become their leaders, and now, instead of protecting, we will lead them into destruction? Was this our true mission?
Running footsteps hasten in my direction. They’re ordered instead of dragging like the Zombies’. I press myself against the wall, so whoever it is will run past me instead of stopping. Unless it’s Luke.
Or him.
I grab Marc’s arm as he turns the corner and nearly passes me. “If I was a snake, I would’ve bit you,” I tell him.
He stumbles to a stop, taking quick breaths. “Right. I was looking for you.”
“That worried thing again?”
“Right.” He catches his breath, stroking the back of his neck. “But you’re fine. Luke’s looking for you too. He took one way. I took the other.”
“I want to ask you something.”
Before he agrees, he checks our surroundings, ensuring nothing’s going to come up on him. “Okay. Why are you just standing here?” he asks, brows knit so tightly I can see the wheels turning as he’s trying to make sense of my actions.
“I thought I was hurt,” I begin quickly, speaking too fast, “but I’m fine. I wanted to catch my breath, and nothing was over here. Well, they were here, but now they’re gone. Can you kiss me? The Zombie things came, and when everyone dispersed, I ran this way and threw a grenade and cleared out this—”
“Stop,” he interrupts, throwing up his hand. “What?” he asks, dumbfounded.
“When they came running, I ran this direction and happened upon a few Zombies. I killed them with a—”
“No, not that.” He grabs my arm and drags us around the corner to the alleyway I came from.
There’s no residue from the blown-to-bits Zombies, and that proves who’s behind this. For the Vojin to go this far, it makes me doubt what we have fought so hard for and what we are supposed to be working toward. It’s all been for nothing.
Enjoy it while you can, is what she said. Maybe enjoy this world while we’re still here or while it’s still here.
Once my back is against the wall again, Marc’s rough hand slides along my neck to its nape, awaking tremors through me. I request again, “Can you?” Blood’s rushing through my lips as they crave to be pressed to his. I stuff my nerves down, not allowing them to get the best of me.
“You sure?” he asks, eyes shifting from mine to my lips and back. I nod. “I will, but I have an issue with jealousy, and I would need to be the only guy you kiss.”
I nod. “Okay,” I say. My legs shake, and I resist the urge to chew on my lip. He tugs me from the wall. There’s a short stall before our lips meet.
My legs stiffen, and my body goes numb.
Marc’s only a little taller than I am, and a small rise to my tiptoes gives me enough leverage to lean into his kiss and feel more of him.
He steps forward, squishing me between him and the wall. My tongue grazes his lip, and he meets it, causing the air around me to heat. It circles around us, hot as fire, rushing my heartbeat. I know I should stop, but our bodies act as if they have known each other for years and are not just meeting for the first time. I’m diving in, mission forgotten.
I familiarize myself with the smoothness of his lips, the softness of his thick tongue, and the scrape of his stubble against my chin.
Seconds tick by as we kiss, and I drown in him with every breath I take.
A low snarl echoes in the alley’s opening, stopping me from touching him. I dread the ending of our embrace. But Marc doesn’t stop, and I won’t make him. This is a moment I never want to end, and if it takes being bit by a Zombie, I’ll risk it.
It’s fast approaching, footsteps shuffling across the ground.
As if Marc has an eye in his gun, he raises his free hand holding the weapon and fires. Head shot. The Zombie drops.
Marc’s lips never left mine, and the feeling in his kiss never receded.
He leans back, and I go in just once more, missing his lips the instant they pull away. He nods, gaze dropped to my lips.
“What?” I ask.
He looks over his shoulder and back to me. “Nothing. You ready?” He turns away, heading toward the exit.
Frozen, I stare with wide eyes. He has nothing to say about that, just are you ready? “You have no…” I stall. “Comments, thoughts, or questions?”
He shakes his head. “Nope,” he states simply. “We should head back before the Zombies find their way over here.”
“You sure you have nothing to say?” I mumble too softly, discouraged, feeling a sting of disappointment once again from him.
He shakes his head again. “No,” he says more directly, there’s no tone; it’s just simply, again, no. “Why, do you?”
“I thought I did, but I don’t any longer,” I say, stomping past him, allowing the disappointment that’s reddening my face to sound in my tone. I’d usually hide it, but I can’t.
His arm wraps around my lower back, catching me before I get too far. He twists me around to face him, and the hand that held his gun now holds my neck, pulling me back to him. He kisses me again, stealing the oxygen in my body with a kiss more intense than the first. One I’ve only ever seen on the romance shows, one I’ve heard girls say they wish they could experience.
Before I can build up the courage to touch him and remove the thoughts of our bulky vests evaporating off us from my mind, he stops, pecks my lips once more, and says, “Is that enough words for you?” with his lips less than an inch from mine. He backs away not waiting for a response.
I touch my tingling mouth, as a cool breeze blows across them. I lick them before biting my bottom lip and holding it between my teeth for a brief moment.
Yes. More than enough.
He’s gone by the time I force myself to move. I walk on the same ground as I did before, but under my boots, it feels like a mattress instead of concrete. This feeling is new, and I can’t identify it, but the endorphins make me want to experience it over and over.
Luke spots me and gives me a tentative smile while wiping his arms across his forehead. Marc meets Sean. “Whew,” Luke breathes, grabbing my shoulder. “You’re okay?” he asks.
“Yes. All healed.” I wave my hands in front of him. “But we need to talk when we get home.”
He nods. “Okay. We have two hours left, and we have a long way to run.”
“Okay, let’s go. Chicago twins lead the way,” I snicker, eyeing Sean and Marc.
They give me insulted leers, conveying I’ve said something disrespectful. But I’m serious. “You’re identical and are from Chicago. It makes sense.”
“Hush, Ky,” Sean snorts. “Your jokes are less funny than mine.”
We run to the spot as Jord instructed. The six of us keep up with each other, hastening down empty streets and passing abandoned buildings. We shoot and toss grenades into groups of Zombies and X-Gens.
Before, I felt a little bad about killing them, knowing they were created by those who are like us, and I thought they held a greater purpose than to only attack people. But now, knowing their mission is just as pointless as mine, I’ll kill them with no remorse.
The buildings end on one side, exposing us to a park on a street called Lake Shore Drive. The wind is cool and steady, filling the air with the scent of lake water and trees.
“This is a building we used for training,” Sean yells out. “Come on, Ky. Check this out.” He jumps down to a ledge.
I follow him, doing the same, as he runs across paved ground to the concrete stairs of the building. “Oh, this is going to be fun,” I say aloud. It’s a mini obstacle course.
We race up two flights of stairs, maybe more interested about having fun than making it to the chopper. Luke and Marc yell for us to knock it off as they run down the less fun street beside us.
Up the stairs, we rush through a walking area where a course is inside the building. We flip and do unnecessary things like swing on the bars and flip through openings from the inside to the outside. We hoot as we parkour down a few flights of stairs.
The black building is in the distance with a transport copter arriving.
This city is beautiful—water to my left, beyond grass, trees, and a ledge I’d enjoy jumping from to the lake. Maybe on a good day, this park would be crowded with adults, children, and pets. Local Creations would attend to their needs and their safety. They’d all bask in the sun and soak up a glorious day of freedom and peace. That’s the kind of day I hope this world will see in its future.
Sean and I make it back to Luke and Marc on the street.
Many Creations in black suits are cheering, rushing toward us from a street we’re coming upon. Carla and Katy join them—more permanent residents of the city. They see Marc and Sean when our streets intersect, greeting them with hugs, high-fives, and fist bumps.
Imminent Threat Page 19
