Harold steps out of the cell, sizing up the Volones, glowering at him. Harold’s usually covered from head to toe. They’ve taken his mask and helmet. Harold’s ginger beard brushes his chest. Ice blue eyes peer at the alien giant towering over him.
“You once had a twin Creation?” the Volones asks.
“Yes,” Harold responds simply.
“What was the reason for your implant?”
“Not to have my twin killed by the Vojin who we thought wanted to help the Earth, not destroy it!” Harold says through gritted teeth.
The Volones lifts his hand and Harold smacks it away. “Hell no! I’m not going out that easy!” he snaps. Harold throws a punch at the Volones’s stomach, but it has no effect. The Volones doesn’t move from the attack.
His hand shoots out, grabbing Harold around the neck, and in a blink, he erupts like Cory. There’s a small pop, like a bubble bursting. Unlike Cory, there’s no blue and green dust. Only flickering atoms that dissolve in thin air.
I swallow hard. Glancing over from my cell, I see Jord’s wide eyes and knit brows. As he stands back from the bars, I can see the fight in his eyes. The second his bars rise, he’s planning to fight to the death, and I understand. We’ve learned: avoid the touch.
I expect the Volones to come in my direction, but he heads the opposite way, down the hall.
My face is pressed to the bar as I watch the Volones stop in front of Luke’s cell. “Step out,” he orders once the bars rise.
I’m barely able to see Luke when he steps out of his cell, only hearing his steps cross the floor. There’s a drumming in my ears that makes it hard to hear, my face is burning, and my hands shake. A feeling is sinking in my stomach that makes me heavy.
“What was the reason for your implant?” The Volones asks Luke.
“To replace my parents and enforce change on Earth at the point of the Vojin’s takeover,” Luke answers truthfully.
“Ah,” the Volones says, understanding. “Your parents are diminished?” Dead.
“Yes. However, the—”
“Luke!” I shout, cutting him off. “Just yes.” You cocky bastard, don’t let your mouth get you killed.
“Is that your Creation twin?” the Volones asks.
“Yes, I am,” I answer for Luke. “How about you come down here and talk to me.”
The Volones looks to be lifting his hand. He says, “We have no use for any of you.”
“Hey!” I shout. “Wait!” I tug at the rigid bars that have grown warm from my sweaty palms. “Don’t you lay a finger on my brother!” Ramming my fist against the glass, I shout, “You hear me?!” The glass doesn’t budge or crack.
“Don’t beg, Ky,” Luke scolds.
“Shut up, Luke! I swear if you kill my brother, you lanky light pole, you’re going to wish you took me first.”
What feels like a sonic blast blinds me. A crack of thunder is quick to follow as a gust of wind smacks into me, and I fly back, hitting the floor. The glass bars of the cells are vibrating, causing a hollow ring to echo in the hall. It only lasts a second before a hush falls over the area.
The Volones stammers over his words, managing to say, “What kind of creature?”
I scramble to my hands and knees and crawl to the bars. “Luke?”
I try to shove my head through the bars, but I can’t. I use the bars to pull myself to my feet, my knocking knees and numbing legs making it a chore. “Luke!” I shout. “Answer me. Please?”
I ram my fist against the glass again.
“Luke!” I scream. “Please answer me,” I whisper but know he won’t.
The door to the hallway slides open then whips closed. The lights dim. It’s dark again.
Crumpling to my knees, hands sliding down the bars as I fall, I gasp for air. My chest caves, and my stomach tightens. I drop back down to the floor, legs giving out. “Luke?” comes out croaky. I tug myself onto my knees, short-winded. Looking to Jord, I ask in a hoarse voice, “Please tell me my brother’s okay. That he’s just passed out.”
Jord’s gaze drops to the floor, and his shoulder’s slump inward. “I’m sorry, Kylie.”
I turn my back to them and scream through my clenched teeth, wrapping my arms around my aching stomach. I wail and heave for air. “Dammit, Luke!”
Chapter Five
I pick myself up from the floor when the door slides open again. My breaths are deep and slow, awaiting the gray shine of the Volones to brighten the hall, for him to come and finish the job.
A high-pitched chuckle escapes Collins. Sets of footsteps smack the glass floor as the others enter the hall.
Though my cheeks are streaked with tears, I turn around to see the four of them coming down the hall. I study each face, memorizing them and picturing how I’ll murder each of them.
I clear my throat when Collins meets my gaze.
“What’s wrong with you, Ky?” she asks with a nagging edge to her joyful tone. “You sad? Finally seeing the bigger picture?” she taunts, bottom lip poked out.
“Yes,” I answer calmly. “Yes, I am sad.” I drag the back of my hand across my tear-drenched chin.
She stares at me blankly for a second. Then she begins to shift her gaze up and down the hall. She rubs her right arm up and down and her chin trembles. “Why are you sad, Ky?” she asks with less sarcasm.
I ignore her.
Collins stomps her foot and shouts with more emphasis. “Why are you sad, Kylie?”
“Because,” I start, as my tears return, skating down my face and falling onto my arm. Though I cry, I keep my facial expression calm, muscles remaining relaxed. “My brother is dead,” I say peacefully, glaring at her.
Her gun hits the floor, and her mouth falls open. Raising her hands to her mouth, she lets out a wail that echoes off the walls. There’s plenty I want to say, but I don’t. Instead, I turn my back to her and lean against the bars. She goes on for a while, and when she finally quiets, I calmly inform her, “I’m going to kill all four of you.” Turning around, my gaze instantly meets Marc’s, and I say, “Especially you.” Tears continue to fall from my eyes. “And I can’t wait for that moment.”
Collins cries again, falling to the floor. Her arms are splayed out at her sides, and her back arches inward as she wails for my brother’s death.
“Shut up, Collins!” I shout. “You wanted this! You wanted all of us to die, remember? Why are you crying over him? You want Marc, don’t you? He’s alive. For now. Enjoy him, and don’t weep over my brother like his death is some big damn deal to you, you fucking traitor! Every death that happened in here is on you four,” I say, waving in their direction.
Marc takes a step toward my cell, and I warn, “Don’t come near me. Ever.”
He retracts.
The door slides open, and my stomach drops again, waiting for the gray hue to wash the hall. It’s pink, but the relief never comes.
The female Vojin comes down to my cell. The bars rise and Noranti says to Marc, “Go in with her.”
“No!” I shout, backing farther into my cell. Marc steps in, and I shove him out. “I said no!”
He pushes me back so hard I fall over, and in the time it takes me to regain my footing, the bars shut, and he hands his guns over to Sean.
We meet in the center of my cell. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hands, needing clear vision to knock him out. I charge forward. As I raise my arms for an attack, he snatches them by my wrists. I yank them from his grasp, forcing him to bend over, and I drive my knee into his chest.
He grunts and stands, keeping me tight in his grasp. Twisting me around, he has my arms crossed in front of my chest as my back is to his frame. His hold on me grows tighter now that his arms are wrapped around me.
I struggle to get loose, and realize all the times before, he wasn’t using half of his strength in our fights. He starts forward, forcing me to walk to the other end of my cell. Once there, he loosens his constricting hold.
I break out of it and shove him away from
me.
He grumbles, his face contorting into a scowl and his shaggy hair swaying around his head. Charging for me, he shoves me against the wall and pins me there. “Stop it, Ky.”
I huff and puff, grunt and growl, all as I’m trying to break free. “Get away from me, Marc.”
In a tranquil tone, with a soft, concerning knit to his brows, he says, “Kylie, stop and listen.”
Droplets of sweat bead my forehead as anger raises my temperature and my hands and knees continue to shake. “If it wasn’t for you turning on us, he wouldn’t have been killed, Marc! What did you do?” I thrash forward, but he keeps me pinned. “Let me go!”
Marc’s breaths rush harshly against my arms. He’s using all his strength to hold me back, and the second he gets tired, I’m breaking through. He sandwiches me between his body and the wall. His head moves beside mine, and as he exhales, his even breaths brush across my neck. Gently, he sighs and drops his head. He whispers, “I’m so sorry, Ky.” His beard scrapes my skin.
I bite my bottom lip and hate the tears for returning and the hurt that washes over me for being so mad at Marc. “I don’t want your I’m sorry.” This pain and the loss of Luke bombard me. “It feels like I’m being stabbed in my neck, my back, and my stomach. They killed my brother.” I sniffle. “And it hurts, Marc. It hurts everywhere.”
I sob. And all at once, it comes crashing down on me. I collapse against Marc’s shoulder, crying because I’m imprisoned, because I lost my twin, and because even though I hate Marc I still love him and want him to hold me until it all passes.
Marc hugs me to him, squeezing me as though he’s trying to soak up my sadness. We sink to the floor, and he finds a way to wrap every limb around me as I bawl against his chest. I release it, loosening the knot tightening my stomach.
This is my destruction.
Chapter Six
I adjust and find myself secured by warm arms wrapped around my chest and strong legs enveloped around mine. I blink. As if Marc knows I’ve awakened, he hugs me, saying, “I understand you’re confused about me right now. But I’m here for you, and I love you. And I’m not allowing anything to convince you otherwise.”
I crawl out of his grasp and climb to my weak legs. They’ve fallen asleep from the awkward position I was in for who knows how long. I turn my back to Marc and cross the cell to the bed. “Me leaning on you in that moment of weakness was an accident. Don’t take this as an opportunity to speak to me and feed me more lies, Marc.” I sit on the bed and lean over on my knees, taking my aching head between my palms. Every breath scratches my sore throat. Likely from the crying and the sore realization I’m solo forever now. They killed my brother, and it feels like I’ve lost the entire left side of my body. I can feel his presence no longer exists, and it slows me down. So many accomplishments left to me to achieve. I won’t let him down. I won’t let my parents down. I’ll never let myself down. Our name will be upheld, and we’ll be remembered for all our hard work and efforts. For Luke.
I push my hand over my messy hair, sighing. I’ll get through this. I can do this.
Noranti remains outside of my cell, standing in the middle of the hall, facing the entrance. Her attention seems otherwise occupied. She may be using her telekinetic ability to tune into other things going on around her base. She may also be looking out while Marc takes up space in my cell.
“Kylie,” Marc calls in a weak tone that causes his raspy voice to crack. I keep my back to him. “In order for us to get out of here, somebody had to remain outside of these cells. It was a dead cert we were caught. They were onto us days before we left the base. It was a whole thing, Ky. They threatened me and nearly killed Sean. My hands were tied. I. I,” he stammers and sighs. “I needed to save him this time. And hurting you is tearing me apart, but my brother needed to know I had his back.”
My back is to him. I prop up my right foot on the cot and draw my knee to my chest. I couldn’t care less about his reasons for his deception. Whatever would have happened, I would’ve preferred to get caught and die before siding with our enemy, or shit-face Collins.
“Ky, can you listen to me?”
“I don’t have a choice, Marc.” I lean my shoulder against the gray glass wall and rest my head against its coolness. My muscles relax. Gah, that’s nice.
“Trust me, Ky. When the time is right, we’re getting out.”
Calmly, I reply, “I know that, Marc.” Facing him, I say, “That’s not my concern. We were going to get out with or without you turning your backs on us. Now, my informant over there,” I gesture in the direction of Noranti, “has let me know you’re needed in order to do that, and that’s fine. I accept it.” I shrug and shake my head. “But I’m alone now.” Narrowing my eyes, I stare at him. “Can you understand that? Forget everything else. I lost the most important piece of me. Now shut up about trusting you. Okay?” I look away from him to the corner of my cell where the bars meet the floor. “Because a true friend, or whatever you call yourself, wouldn’t have been standing on the outside of those bars looking back at me. He would’ve been inside, and we would’ve been working on a plan to get all nine of us out alive.”
“I am sitting on the inside of these bars trying to talk to you about a plan to get us out,” he states matter-of-factly, his tone growing harsh as though I’ve angered him.
“Yeah, after we lost three lives, Marc. Stop talking to me for a while, okay? You pushed me off when you were determined I was a traitor. Now I’m pushing you away because I know you are one.”
There’s a shuffling before his heavy boots plod across the glass to my side. In a hushed voice he says, “I pushed you away because I had chosen you over my brother and knew I’d do it again. I blamed it on you being a traitor. But as it’s been revealed to you, I didn’t care about any of that. I don’t care about what’s on your inside, what your genetic makeup is or whose side you’re on because I’m on your side, Kylie.”
I crane my neck to look up at him. His stoic expression brings me a comfort I reject. When our eyes meet, his shoulders slacken, and he exhales as he rolls his eyes to look away from me. “When you were ordered to execute Luke and I, had that Vojin not interrupted, you would’ve done it. No?”
He shakes his head. “Never.” His answer comes out as a whisper. “I knew he was going to be interrupted. Only recent events had not gone as planned. Everything else was as we expected.”
I wave my hand dismissively.
“Tonight, Sean and I will help you, Jord, and Seits escape. As soon as the lights dim. The night guards will have other arrangements this evening.” He flicks his gaze to Noranti, and she nods, agreeing. “With our alliance, they’ll free all of us and lead us through the halls to our exit. The room we’ll have to pass through will unfortunately alert those gray Vojin, so one of the blue ones has agreed to sacrifice itself for our freedom. We’ll shoot him, and he’ll explode to kill the others, even the one responsible for killing Luke. I’ll get your mask for you and make sure you have your weapons before you leave your cell. Once the gray Vojin are out, we’re home free. We’ll get back, save our country,” he scoffs, correcting, “our world, and be done with the whole thing.” He goes silent, and then asks, “You in?”
“Duh, Marc. I wouldn’t choose to sit here.”
He sits beside me and grabs my hand. “When we get home—”
“When I get home, just stay away from me. I know my mission. I don’t need help from you to accomplish it.”
Fool me twice, shame on me…
Grumbling, he stands. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“That’s right,” I call behind him as the bars rise. “You go keep up appearances.”
He halts, back to me. His head bows forward as he groans, and then he continues onward, and the bars close behind him.
Chapter Seven
My eyes droop.
I snap up, refusing the sleep my body craves. The lights have dimmed, and if Marc was right, any minute now, he and Sean will be walk
ing through those doors to break Jord, Seits, and me out of here.
“Kylie?” Jord calls from his cell. “How are you holding up over there?”
I stand to wake myself up. “I’m fine.”
“You’re a fighter, Kylie,” Seits says. “Don’t dwell on your loss while you’re here or when we get back. Keep pushing until you fall. Fight everyday with your all as if you had a twin.”
I snort a laugh and mumble under my breath, “Luke wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I cross the floor to the bars and look at Cory’s empty cell. It all happened so fast. Cory, Harold, and Luke did not go out the way they deserved, and it’s not fair. I press my forehead against one of the cool, glass bars and try to keep my gaze from focusing on the green and blue particles stuck to the glass floor. Cory’s words weigh heavy on me. I knew you and Luke were mixed and Your parents where implants for the Trade. Does that mean he may have been responsible for putting those letters on Luke’s and my beds? And if he knew this entire time, why’d he take so much smack from Luke and I? He could have hung this over our heads and had us dancing in his palm if he wanted. I would’ve loved to learn more, and maybe I could have if I weren’t so unforgiving.
At least Cory and I were able to share a laugh before he went. At least he finally told me the truth. Turning my attention back to Seits and Jord, I say, “Cory said there were implants inserted by the Trade among the Vojin. He thought the Vojin may be in close association with the Guidance.”
Jord rubs his hand over his chocolate bald head. His brows knit as he meets my eyes. “If they’re working together—”
Seits cut in, “What does that mean for back home? Does the Guidance know about the Zombies? Are they going along with this proposed theory?”
“Better question. Does the Guidance agree with the elimination of Creations? If so, that’d put us all in a tight spot.”
The door swipes open, and the dim hall lightens with a pink glow. The pink Vojin is joined by another that is blue. They shade the hall in purple. Marc and Sean are on their flanks. The four of them stop at Jord’s cell first, freeing him and Seits. They come to mine, and I barge out before the bars make it into the ceiling.
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