Benji scanned the room, sickened by what he saw, until his eyes fell on the middle-aged man on the table. His eyes bulged. "Dad?" he cried. He immediately began disconnecting the man from the attached IVs and wires.
Bryn rounded the corner and rushed to her dad's table, her wrists still bound together. "Daddy?" she shrieked. "What did you do?" she screamed at Brahmberger.
He began to cry and backed away, sitting on a nearby stool. "What I thought...what I thought was right in the name of science."
"Dad?" Benji said, slapping the man's face lightly a few times. "Dad!"
Brahmberger went to a tray and picked up a syringe. "Here," he said, flicking the tube twice.
"Don't touch him!" Benji said, pointing Bryn's gun at him.
Brahmberger ignored him, pushing whatever liquid was inside the syringe into the hep-lock IV still taped to the man's hand.
We watched for a few seconds, waiting for whatever Brahmberger had done to him to be revealed.
The man blinked.
"Daddy?" Bryn said.
The building shook again, this time causing a bit of the ceiling to crumble to the floor. The steel frame creaked and moaned.
Benji helped his father from the table.
"C'mon! Bryn, help me!" Benji said.
I took a scalpel and cut the cords around Bryn's wrists.
Together, she and Benji lifted their father to his wobbly feet. Benji wrapped his father's arms around Bryn. "Get him out of here!"
"Benji?" he said, reaching for his son.
"I'm here, Dad, but you have to go." Benji hugged him once and then signaled for Bryn to go on without him. "Take him south, Bryn! Don't stop until you can't see the fires anymore!"
Bryn pulled her dad's arm tighter around her neck and bore most of his weight as she walked him out as quickly as she could.
Another explosion. This one rattled my teeth and sent me to my knees.
Benji helped me to my feet. "We've got to get out of here, too, Rory!" Benji said, tugging on my arm.
"The kids," I said, reaching back.
Brahmberger shook his head. "They can't be moved. They're both in a persistent vegetative state, as is the woman."
I took the 9mm from Benji and pointed it at Brahmberger. "You did that to them?"
"They came to us that way. I don't know why. I haven't asked many questions since joining Majestic. I've learned it is better not to know." He looked down at the girls. "I'll stay with them," he said, sitting back down on his stool in the corner. "It's the least I can do."
Rendlesham grabbed a few things as if he were about to leave, but Benji swiped the gun back from me and fired. I jumped, and Rendlesham was on the floor with a blown-out knee, next to a writhing Tennison.
"They should all stay with their patients," Benji said, his voice breaking.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the plastic tarp.
A loud clanging behind Benji and me didn't faze us, but the yells from Dr. Brahmberger did.
I turned, seeing Brahmberger backed against the clear plastic wall, his stool on the ground. He was staring at Tsavi, who was twitching and jerking in an unnatural way.
I took a step, but Benji stopped me.
"She's alive!" I said with a hopeful smile. "She woke up!"
Benji nodded to Tsavi's arm. When Cy had rested her back on the table, her arm had fallen onto the table the rock was perched on.
Thick dark red mucus was draining from the pores in the rock. At first, the substance appeared to be snaking up Tsavi's arm and entering her wounds, but when I looked closer, I could see it was not the mucus moving, but small creatures inside the red trail. They were slug-like in texture and appearance, each one about as big as a human thumb.
Tennison stood and pulled the pen from his eye with a yelp. Holding his wound, he approached Tsavi's twitching body with wonderment. "It's happening. It's the alien carcass! It has drawn them out!"
"We should go," Benji said quietly.
"What are you waiting for, Dr. Brahmberger? Get us a sample!" Tennison said.
Brahmberger fetched a petri dish and nervously scraped at the red matter.
"This is it," Tennison said, his hand hovering over Tsavi. "What we've been working toward for three years, Brahmberger."
Tsavi's back arched, and then her neck turned to the side. Her eyes were no longer slits. They were wide, bloodshot, and weeping the thick red mucus.
Brahmberger screamed, dropped the petri dish, and backed away as Tsavi rose from the table, her head, shoulders, and wrists twitching.
Then, the young boy began to twitch...and scream. Now that the parasites had found a familiar host, they were trying to embed themselves in the others. The humans.
My heart began to pound. Tsavi was now the host of the parasite. Tennison was right. It was happening. We were out of time.
"Babe," Benji said in a low voice, slowly tugging me back toward him.
I nodded, walking backward, trying not to attract their attention with any sudden movement.
Together, we walked calmly to the stairs despite the horrific shrieking coming from the plastic room.
"Shit," I said, staring at the huge piece of concrete blocking the stairwell and trying not to yell. "Shit."
"Is there another way to the roof?"
I swallowed. "On the other side. There's an elevator."
"C'mon," Benji said, pulling me by the arm around and to the other side. He pushed the up button.
I shook my head. "I can't do this."
"What?" he said, turning to me.
The shrieking was growing louder.
"I don't do elevators. I can't..." I was breathing harder, my anxiety level climbing as the elevator neared.
"I'll be with you. We can't stay here."
The elevator opened. I looked around. "Maybe there's a window. I could climb up."
Benji stuck his foot in the doorway and cupped his hands over my shoulders. "It's just one floor."
"My parents were murdered, Benji. The men who killed them--they worked for Majestic. They got on the hotel elevator with us. They held a gun to my head and forced my parents to lead them to our room where they raped my best friend and tortured us before leaving us all to die. I haven't been in an elevator since." I sucked in air but still couldn't breathe. Just the thought of walking into that box terrified me.
"Rory, I need you to come with me--right now." He wasn't looking at me. He was looking past me.
I turned to see Tsavi standing behind me, twitching. The red mucus was pouring from her nose, eyes, and ears. I screamed and fell backward.
Benji pushed the button and then aimed his gun, shooting at Tsavi, keeping her back until the doors closed.
The elevator creaked upward, and Benji pulled me to his side with one hand, holding on to the rails of the ancient elevator with the other.
"Sorry," he said. "This probably isn't the best one to start off with."
"Just get me the hell out of here," I said, trying to stay calm.
The doors opened, and immediately, hot wind whipped across my face.
Benji pulled me along with him onto the roof. I fell to my knees, sobbing unlike I had since the moment I realized my parents and Sydney's deaths weren't a horrible nightmare.
Benji leaned down and lifted me into his arms, running across the rooftop to where Cy and Apolonia were kneeling over a canister, furiously trying to activate it.
An explosion set ablaze the field just one mile to the east. I could feel the heat against my face. My hair blew into my eyes from the firestorm raging just a mile away.
Cy stood, taking my cheeks in his hands. He looked to Benji with a frown. "Is she hurt?" he yelled over the roaring fire.
Benji set me on my feet. "Tsavi..." he said, breathing hard.
Apolonia stood, desperation in her face. "Is she dead?"
I shook my head. "Yes, but the rock...it...she's a host."
Apolonia's expression crumbled, and she walked away, screaming into the sky.
Her body shook as she yelled, and then she leaned toward her father's ship, shouting something beautiful and full of rage in Ahnktesh.
"Will he see her?" Benji said.
"The canister is an energy source," Cy said, shaking his head in despair. "They must have harvested it from the Nayara. We could have signaled Hamech with it, but it's damaged. We can't get it to open."
Apolonia stood at the edge of the roof, tears streaming down her face, and then she took out her sword. Benji stood in front of me protectively.
"Hamech will not survive learning that he was responsible for my death," Apolonia cried.
Cy's hands went up to his head, and his fingers knotted in his hair. "We have to let him destroy the parasites."
Apolonia looked up at her father's ship and then back at Cy, nodding.
"I failed," Cy said, letting his hands fall to his thighs. "I failed you, Rory." He turned to his betrothed and took her into his arms.
"Will Hamech stop once he destroys the warehouse?" Benji asked. "Because if Hamech is going to destroy Earth anyway, instead of just waiting here to die, we should all get a fighting chance."
Cy nodded once. "He's been making his way here from the Nayara. He knew Majestic was headquartered here. Once he knows he eliminated those he thinks killed his daughter, he'll go back home."
"You're sure?" Benji said.
"I'm sure that the parasites must be destroyed."
Benji tensed and then held out his hand for mine. I took it, both of us staring up, waiting for our impending death.
Apolonia's long hair blew in the wind, dull and dirty, like her skin and clothes. We were all filthy, sweaty, and exhausted. Cy held her jaw, and she looked him in the eyes, tears glazing over her ice-blue irises, as her father's ship maneuvered, readying itself to fire on the warehouse.
She spoke in Ahnktesh. He replied in English.
"This isn't the end, my love," he said, broken and exhausted. "We'll see each other again soon."
APOLONIA'S FACE HARDENED, and her jaws worked as she clenched her teeth. "I can't give up."
She took her sword, swinging it toward me. Benji pushed me out of the way, and I fell to the ground.
The sword landed against the canister with a spark.
"We've already tried that," Cy said, holding his hands out.
Apolonia swung again. "I! Am going! Home!" she said, grunting as her sword hit the metal.
The canister finally opened, spraying an incandescent but luminous pink light into the sky. The warship was nearly on top of us.
A shriek sounded from down below. The parasites were infecting the dead soldiers in the courtyard. They were spreading.
"Hamech!" Apolonia screamed, waving at the massive vessel. She spoke in their language again, waving her arms in the air.
Benji helped me to my feet as Cy joined his betrothed in trying to get Hamech's attention.
"Look!" Benji said, pointing to the ship.
The entire ship lowered slowly, stopping just ten feet above us. A large square door opened, and a bridge lowered to connect the ship to the rooftop.
A man in blue robes, massive and as beautiful as his daughter, walked out. When he saw Apolonia, he ran for her, his arms wide open, followed closely by a small army of guards. She matched his pace, throwing herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly, his body shaking with relief and tears.
He didn't look at all like someone who had just murdered thousands of innocent people.
I smiled, seeing how safe Apolonia looked in her father's strong arms. I missed that feeling of security and surrender so much, and I was glad that she still had it.
The shrieking from the courtyard was getting louder, but another noise overwhelmed the awful sounds below. It popped and then sizzled.
"Incoming!" Benji yelled, using his body to shield mine.
The underbelly of Hamech's ship, fifty yards from the bridge, exploded, and then the AK-47s began to fire in a steady beat.
Benji crawled on his belly to the edge of the roof. "It's the other soldiers! They're back!"
Bullets sparked and ricocheted off Hamech's ship, and I covered my head with my hands and instinctively curled up into a ball.
And then, all at once, the shooting stopped and screaming began. Benji sat up on his knees, and I ran to stand next to him. The infected from the courtyard had overtaken the Humvees, and the soldiers were now on the ground, writhing and twitching, as the parasites overtook their bodies.
One of Hamech's men approached him and spoke quickly. The king's eyes flickered, and he spoke something I didn't understand.
Cy responded, his head slightly bowed, and then he looked back to me. "The ship's weapon is no longer functional. It has been damaged by the missile, Rory. We must leave. I can't leave you here to die. I won't."
Hamech spoke to Cy, and he appeared to argue but not for long, and then Cy gestured to Benji and me.
Hamech nodded to me and then spoke when he looked to Cy.
"He is asking about your character," Apolonia translated. "Cyrus had to reveal that Benji is Majestic."
Cy looked at me, sad. "Come with us, Rory. We're no longer able to save this place."
"What are you talking about? There are only six of them right now. We can destroy the warehouse."
He shook his head. "Not without the ship's weapon. By the time we return with a capable ship...Earth will be overrun."
"No," I said, looking at Cy, Apolonia, and her father. "No! We can still do this. Don't give up on us!"
Cy had sadness in his eyes. "You can come with us. Hamech has ordered that Benji be left behind."
"You know I won't leave him," I said.
"Rory," Cy began.
"We're worth saving! You know that! At least try!"
Cy looked to Benji. "Convince her."
Benji looked at me, his eyes full of conflict. "Go," he said, placing both his hands on my cheeks. "There's a reason you don't need anyone here. Because you're meant to go with them."
"No." I shook my head, pushing away from him. "No!" I looked to Cy, grabbing his arms. "Help me," I begged. "We can think of something! Maybe the Humvees have explosives. Maybe--"
"Now that the parasites have adapted to the environment, they're multiplying. You won't make it ten yards on the ground," Cy said.
I looked down at the canister. It was sparking, and the pink light alternated between bright and dim. I pointed to it. "You said it was a power source?" I asked, rushing over to it.
"Yes?" Cy said.
"Can we overheat it? Use it as an explosive?" I asked.
Cy frowned, "It's a powerful energy source, so yes. What are you getting at?"
"Ask him. Ask Hamech if I overheat the canister's core to destroy the warehouse, will he spare Earth?"
Cy shook his head. "No. You wouldn't be able to get out in time, Rory."
I offered a small smile. "I've told you...I can't die."
Apolonia's eyes lit up, and she spoke to her father.
Cy became desperate. "No! Get in the ship, Rory. You're coming with us."
Hamech responded to his daughter.
"What's he saying?" I yelled.
"No!" Cy screamed back. "Apolonia, no!"
Apolonia let go of her father and walked over to me, cupping my shoulders with her elegant long fingers. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.
"Apolonia, no," Cy said, his voice low and stern.
"I'm sure," I said without hesitation.
Apolonia turned to her father, speaking the beautiful words I had fallen in love with, just as I had fallen in love with Cy and even Apolonia.
Hamech looked toward the edge of the roof just above the courtyard from where the shrieking could be heard, even louder than the roaring flames that were now a hundred or so yards away. Then, his eyes settled on me, a fatherly look of pride on his face.
He nodded.
"No!" Cy yelled. He reached for me, but Hamech's guards held him back.
Apolonia picked up the canist
er, manipulated its insides with little effort, and then handed it to me. "I see now why he feels so fond of you. It's been an honor, Rory." She leaned over and kissed my cheek.
"Rory, no!" Cy said, his voice breaking.
"Would you give him a lift?" I asked Apolonia, gesturing to Benji. "I know he didn't want to take him back to Yun. But just take him far enough away to keep him safe."
Apolonia nodded to her father's men. Just before they grabbed Benji, he pulled the canister from my hands and then shoved me into the arms of one of the soldiers.
"What are you doing?" I said, watching him pull his gun on the Amun-Gereb. The soldiers immediately pulled their weapons. "Benji!" I screamed, struggling in vain against the man holding me.
Benji smiled at me with so much love in his eyes that it made me choke back tears. "You were right, Rory," he said. "You can't die because I won't let you."
He turned on his heels and ran for the elevator that led downstairs.
"Benji!" I screamed so loud that my voice broke. "You promised you'd never leave me!"
Benji paused for just a moment, waiting for the elevator. He looked at me one last time and then stepped in. The doors closed in front of him.
Hamech gave an order, and the soldiers followed his daughter and her betrothed back to the ship, pulling me along with them.
"Benji!" I sobbed, fighting with every last bit of strength I had.
At the edge of the open door, the ship moved away from the warehouse and then sped off, quickly leaving it behind. The cold wind whipped around us, but I couldn't feel it. I wasn't sure I could feel anything. Within moments, the structure was engulfed in a huge ball of fire, dwarfing the inferno that was Helena.
The soldier finally let me pull away, and I fell to my knees. The ship slowed and then came to a stop, maybe ten miles from where the warehouse once stood.
Apolonia kneeled beside me, holding me, as we watched the warehouse burn.
"He died an honorable death," Apolonia said, touching her cheek to mine. "You were lucky to have him in your life."
I wiped my cheek. It felt gritty and cold. "He was the one I needed," I whispered. My lip quivered. "I should have known I would lose him."
HAMECH'S SHIP LOWERED just a few feet above a field, and I walked off the bridge to the grass below. A few days ago, my days consisted of being a bitchy, self-absorbed college student whose worst problem was an overenthusiastic admirer. Now, more alone than ever, I was left mourning that boy. The one who I had once foolishly wished would leave me alone...had.
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