by Amy Miles
“The blood sample analysis from Avery that was sent to us was hardly enough to synthesize a cure. Many of us even debated whether it was a false positive and some held out hope, but I don’t live my life based on fantasies or lack of vital information.” Iris plows straight through my comment without an outright admission of guilt. “But then Avery showed up on our doorstep in the flesh and gave us exactly what we needed to not only discover the virus’ origins but also supply us with the promise of a future.”
When Nox turns to glance at me, he looks physically ill. “That’s why Cap kept pushing us to follow her trail, even after we lost good men on the mission.”
“We had to have her and no sacrifice was too great for the task. The last reports we had were that she and her group were heading south. One among them had an intimate knowledge of this locale so it was safe to assume that he would lead them here.”
“Yeah, well he didn’t make it,” I spit out.
Nox hugs me closer. “That’s enough, Iris.”
She offers an indifferent shrug and rubs her wrinkled hand across the mattress. “Either way, fortune smiled on us. Avery has proven to possess a rare form of immunity that does not resist the alien virus but instead melds with it so completely as to create something entirely new.”
The light of crazed passion returns to her eyes when Iris leans forward.
“The girl you hold in your arms is no longer fully human. She is the first of her kind that we have seen, but we have barely begun to run tests. There is a whole world of knowledge that we must still delve into with her.”
A knock at the door causes Iris to rise and she steps back when Brian enters with a stack of files in his hand. This time, he does not bother to try to offer a warm welcome when he towers over me.
“The boy you helped to escape is still missing. Where is he?”
“How should I know?” I curl my knees up into my chest at the breeze of his passing as he moves toward the bed to lay out the files. Although the air feels cool and the tile is frigid against my backside, I soak it in like a man lost to a scorching desert heat would devour water. The ties of my gown are loose at the back and I adjust so that patches of bare skin press against the wall as the throbbing in my head continues.
“We know that you helped conceal his escape with your little screaming antics earlier,” Brian continues. “We also know that this entire facility has been locked down with zero access to the hotel above, so he has nowhere to go.”
“And yet, despite all of your guns and big brained cronies, you are still utterly incompetent enough to allow a teenage boy to best you.” I snort and push my hair back from my face. Bruises line my hands from multiple IV sticks and I see Nox’s jaw tighten when he notices them. “That’s not saying much for your security protocols, does it?”
A muscle along Brian’s jaw flinches as he swallows down his frustration. “You have two options. Either give up the boy’s whereabouts and he will be returned to his room without harm to resume testing, or we will remove all of our personnel to the topside and let the Flesh Bags out to find him.”
“But there are other people down here!” I protest.
“Yes.” Brian nods in instant agreement but looks no less determined. “I’m sure once those monsters are done with the patients they will clean up the mess you’ve made.”
“He ran before Nox found me. There is no way that I can possibly know where he is at this exact moment.”
Brian turns his gaze away from me and slowly flips open a couple of files.
“Poppy and Willow, twin sisters from the Charleston Safe Zone where Flynn is from, came in with the newest group. They’ve proven to be real screamers.”
When he pauses to look at me over the tops of his glasses, I feel my stomach churn with revulsion. “It would be a shame for Flynn to have to listen to their shrieks while they are torn apart, limb by limb, just because you remained silent.”
“Stop this!” Nox roars and pushes up to his feet. “How can you stand there and talk about this like those two girls are things that can be cast aside without thought? They are people, Brian. Little girls who are probably scared and alone. Doesn’t that matter to you?”
Brian smothers over a smile and taps a file with his finger. “They showed promise in the initial testing stages, but when introduced with the virus we watched as their cells began to mutate, giving way to the stronger host. They fought the desecration better than most and for a while we wondered if they might make a new link in our chain of understanding, but this morning while Avery was foolishly trying to escape, they took a turn for the worse. It would appear that they don’t have much time, either way, but I assure you a bullet to the head would be far less cruel than leaving them for the Flesh Bags to gnaw on.”
“You’ve murdered them!” Nox starts forward but the door to the room suddenly swings open and two men enter with guns raised. Cap and Jax look deadly serious as they train their sights on Nox. “Is this how it’s going to be now? You turn on your own man, your brother in arms, for the sake of insanity?”
Jax leers at Nox but Cap stares back for a moment before lowering his gaze. “What they are doing here is going to save the world, Nox. You have to understand that,” Cap says.
“Bullshit!” A vein pulses down his forehead as his clenches his fists at his sides, leaving me in his shadow. “They are torturing little girls. How does that make us any better than the monsters that we kill each day?”
Cap swallows hard but his finger on the trigger doesn’t waiver. “I have my orders.”
“From who? Iris? Brian? They aren’t your commanders! They are two sick puppets with their finger on a trigger button and every reason to push it! You can’t let this happen. It’s wrong and you know it.”
“There is no right or wrong in this world anymore,” I whisper from behind him and everyone turns to look at me. “Isn’t that what you said just after you told me you were going to put me down, Cap? It’s just us versus them now. I guess at least now Nox knows whose side you are really on...your own.”
“I looked up to you, man! You were the one guy who I could trust to always do the right thing.”
“One man’s perception of what is right can vary greatly from the next,” Brian responds.
Nox’s eyes narrow and his chest rises and falls as he struggles to hold back his anger.
“Stand down, soldier,” Cap says as he takes a step forward. “Those girls’ lives are not worth losing yours over.”
Before I can yell out a warning, Nox turns and slugs his commander, sending the man staggering back several steps. “You’re no better than they are!”
Blood seeps from Cap’s nose as Nox stands up straight only to find Jax’s gun pressed to his heart. “Do it. I know you want to.”
“Yeah, I really do.” Jax’s finger twitches over the trigger and the smirk on his face tells me that he’s been itching for this moment. Whatever the beef is between them, it definitely runs deep. My guess would be Jax was overlooked for leadership, too, when Nox arrived on the scene. That means Ryker and Jax both hold a grudge that I’m not sure Nox can survive now that he knows the truth.
“Enough,” Brian calls out with a bored tone. He makes a show of stacking his folders, turning them this way and that as he straightens them as Jax backs down but not without a hard jab to Nox’s sternum first. “He has made his bed. Now he gets to lie in it.”
“Sir?” Cap wipes at the blood that continues to pour from his nose.
“Leave him with the girl. We will deal with him after the cleansing.” Brian smiles at Iris and then ushers her toward the door. I look up to see Ryker standing guard when the door opens and feel the salt in the wound deepen further when he grins at me.
“You son of a bitch,” Nox lunges forward but I grab onto his arm.
“He’s not worth it.”
“Indeed,” Brian agrees and
slides past Ryker and then allows Iris to move past him. “Sound the alarm and evacuate the floor. Release the hounds once everyone is clear. We don’t want any accidental deaths today, do we?
“These are your orders, soldier. Sacrifices must be made for the good of all,” Brian says when Cap hesitates to follow. “Don’t worry about them. This room is impenetrable. Nothing will be getting in or out until we open the door.”
Cap presses back his shoulders and a blank expression falls over his face. “Aye, sir. I’ll see to the evacuation.”
“Oh, and Cap,” Brian turns back when he reaches the door. “Everything needs to be removed from this room. Let’s not take any chances with these two, shall we?”
“Of course.” Cap waits for Brian to exit and then calls on his radio for assistance.
Beside me, I can feel Nox seething with anger as two soldiers that I’ve never seen before soon make quick work of eliminating everything from the room.
“You need to remove your clothing, sir,” a young, pimply faced kid says with a slight hesitation in his voice.
“Like hell I will!”
“We both know that you are still armed, Nox. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Cap and Ryker step forward and make their presence and their guns well known.
I lower my eyes while Nox begrudgingly strips down to his tank and boxers.
I have no clue what on earth they think he is capable of doing with his socks but even those are added to the pile.
“You disgust me,” Nox spits in Cap’s direction as the man turns to follow the soldiers out.
But the commander pauses to look back over his shoulder. “It’s nothing personal, Nox. You know that I’ve always liked you. I had high hopes that you would see things our way.” He turns to glare at me. “I guess sometimes it’s hard to think with your head when you’ve got a pretty little piece of ass like that standing next to you. I guess I don’t blame you. I’d have taken my shot with her if I’d had the chance.”
“You bastard!” Nox lunges forward but the door locks in his face and seals the room shut with a hiss. He slams his fists against the metal door when Ryker glances at him through the glass and then walks away.
“It’s no use,” I say, resting my head back against the wall.
“You’re just giving up?”
“I’m being realistic. Didn’t you hear that hiss when the door closed? Those aren’t normal locks on that door and I’m guessing this room was designed like a safe room. Brian was right. Nothing is breaking in and we sure as heck aren’t going to find an easy way out.”
“So we are trapped.” Nox turns and begins to pace. I understand his need to move but don’t have the energy reserves to manage it myself.
“You didn’t really think they would let anything get in here and chew on me, did you?” I laugh bitterly. “I’m too valuable to them alive.”
“And me?”
“My bet is that you’ve become a liability that they are unsure of how to deal with. They will probably head up those stairs and spend their time discussing your fate while ignoring the screams from below.”
A low rumble rises in his throat just before he turns and slams his fist into the wall. It doesn’t even crack or dent. Rising unsteadily to my feet, I walk over to him and take his hand in mine, brushing my fingers over his split skin. “Hurting yourself won’t help.”
“It makes me feel better.” He breathing hitches when I lace my fingers through his and he curls his hand around mine. “I’m sorry that I didn’t come for you. If I had known—”
“You would be dead already.” I look up into his face and see pain, regret, and a dozen other emotions tangling together. “There was nothing you could do for me back then, but there is something you can do for me now.”
“What?” He steps closer, holding my hand now. “Name it.”
“Survive, no matter what.” I reach up and use my fingertips to smooth away his frown lines. “I’m going to need you when all of this is done.”
“For what?”
“Iris was right about me. I did help take down the St. Louis base, and after what’s just happened, I’m going to do it again.”
THIRTEEN
The Flesh Bags come down the hall with a thundering of feet and howls that set the hairs on the back of my neck standing up straight. Nox moves toward the door to look out and blocks the view of the window. I know that he is itching to be out there and fighting against this injustice just as much as I am.
He slams his fist uselessly against the door as the first scream comes from somewhere down the hall. “This is murder!”
“I know.”
Many more screams will follow and there isn’t a damn thing that we can do about it.
Nox presses his forehead against the glass as tears slip from my eyes with each cry of terror that suddenly cuts off.
“Those poor people are being torn apart. Can you imagine what it would feel like to see something eating you while you are still alive?”
I shudder at the thought. “I pray that they die quickly.”
He turns back to look at me. “How can you say that?”
“Because I know what the transition feels like,” I say simply. “It begins almost the instant after their teeth pierce your skin. It is horrific feeling your humanity begin to slip away.”
Nox swallows hard. “Do you...do you remember much of it?”
“Bits and pieces.” I lower my head and draw my legs up, hanging my hands over my knees as I focus on the floor instead of him. “There was pain and fear. I knew Cap would turn on me after you left, so looking down the barrel of his gun wasn’t something that I was afraid of.”
“What were you afraid of?” His hands are still white knuckled against either side of the window as he looks back at me over his shoulder.
“I’m terrified of becoming like them.” I slowly look up at him. “I can hear them, Nox, not with my ears, but with my mind as well. Somehow, I’m a part of them now. I can feel their rage and sometimes...”
“What?”
I close my eyes. “I feel their hunger too.”
His sharp inhale tells me all that I need to know. “You aren’t one of them, Avery. You can speak and think.”
“So can they.” I open my eyes. “You told me that night in the tree that they were smart, but you have no idea just how much so. They are intelligent, Nox. They can think, form plans, and they can hunt together in ways you never dreamed. It’s almost as if something is drawing them together. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I get a sense that something is leading them toward a purpose.”
“Like an end game?”
I nod. “All I know is that those things out there haven’t completely lost their memories. They blame Iris, Brian, and everyone else in this building for turning them into monsters. They want revenge and are more than eager to be given this opportunity to take it.”
Nox pushes off from the door and turns to face me. “But those people are innocent. They haven’t harmed anyone.”
“The Flesh Bags don’t care. All humans are the same now. And their hunger...” I chew on my lower lip. The instant I speak of it, I am struck with an awareness of him that I don’t like. I can smell him, hear the pounding of his heart, and within seconds, my mouth has begun to water.
“What? What about their hunger?” He hurries forward and crouches in front of me.
“It is growing with each bite they take.”
Nox struggles to hide his revulsion while I look away. I can’t admit to him that I no longer feel it as strongly as he does. He is silent for a minute, but that silence becomes a haunting symphony of screams for help that leaves me clutching my stomach.
“Did they do this to you? The effects that you’re feeling...will they be temporary?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper. “But I think that Iris
was right. I’m more than human now, Nox. I don’t know how to explain it. I’m me and yet something more as well. It’s all just really confusing right now.”
He places a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry.”
My smile feels forced as I look up at him. “Maybe it’s not all bad. It seems like I may have super strength now.”
“Really?” He sinks down onto the ground beside me. “That could be cool. Anything else beyond the scary as hell two-way radio you seem to have with the Flesh Bags?”
“Well,” I lean against him for support, “I think I can see in the dark too.”
“Okay, now that is cool. I may be a tiny bit jealous of you now.”
I know that he’s just trying to make me feel better, but I let it work. There is no way to block out the death screams that seem to come from all corners of the facility or the truth that somewhere among them are Eva and Zoey. Not even the growling in my mind is loud enough to save me from the horrors that lie just beyond our door, but somehow, just like before, Nox makes it all seem just a little less frightening.
“I’m glad you’re here with me.”
He smiles and leans into me. “Just like old times, huh?”
“We really need to stop meeting like this.”
My words have a sobering effect and guilt sweeps in to steal away my smile. What right do we have to be smiling when so many people are being torn limb from limb?
With a cry of surprise, Nox flinches beside me when a dull thud sounds at the door, and I look up to see the outline of a smeared handprint illuminated on the glass with each cycle of the red emergency lights. I know it is bloody, not because I can see its fresh crimson color but because of the way the curve of the palm drips slowly down the glass.
Lurking in the shadows of the hallway, I see a flash of white.
“You’re sure they can’t get in here?”
I nod and then realize absently that he isn’t looking at me. “I am.”
“Why? Because Brian and Iris need you? You’re willing to stake your life on that?”
