Bianca slams her head back into Derrek’s face, and he drops the gun, but his grip on her arm doesn’t relent even as she rushes away. Something cracks. Bianca cries out as her arm breaks, and Derrek’s fist connects with her stomach. She skids across the floor on her back, one arm at an unnatural angle.
Derrek stalks toward her, picking up his gun from the floor and cocking it. In seconds, he will be in point-blank range to kill her. The muscles in his arms tense and twitch.
Seconds. I can’t stand by and do nothing.
“Stand down and come with us,” Forrest says again. “And your friends can go.”
“Don’t do it,” Enid says softly, glaring so much hate at Forrest I wonder if it will burn him alive.
“That’s your sister.” I yell the words at Forrest, utterly disgusted that he would allow her to go through this.
Derrek stops over Bianca, holding his position. We are outnumbered and overpowered. There’s no way we are getting out of here. What choice do I have?
“I never said this was easy,” Forrest says. “But sometimes, it’s necessary to push to the limits of what we, as people, are capable of to achieve the greater good. No one can stand in the way of that.”
The words are so cold a chill rolls down my spine.
Bianca turns her head, meeting my gaze. Tears roll down her temple, and she shakes her head. Even from more than twenty feet away I can see her tensing her muscles, preparing for another strike.
“Take him down,” Dr. Cass says. “We will deal with the rest later.”
Guns click above us.
“RUUUN!!!” Bianca screams the word as she kicks out, sweeping Derrek’s feet from under him.
A shot fires.
49
Miller jumps in front of me, and the force of the gunshot kicks him back against me moments before his body falls to the ground in a heap. The force knocks the extinguisher out of my hand.
Another shot. Bianca’s scream turns into a gurgle.
Enid grabs my arm, yanking me back. Blood seeps out of a wound in Miller’s shoulder, and his body begins convulsing. Above, security guards cock their weapons to fire.
Celeste shrieks, raising her arms in the air.
“Celeste, I said go!” I’m torn between my desire to rush to Bianca’s side and my need to help Celeste.
Light bursts out of Celeste’s body. A massive ray of pure cosmic energy shoots out in all directions. Enid tackles me to the floor where we huddle together as the beam continues to rocket over our heads. The floor begins to quiver. The building groans in protest. Something steel snaps, but it’s hard to tell where it comes from.
I turn on my stomach, army-crawling toward Miller with one arm protecting my head, careful not to lift my body too high as the cosmic ray seems to go on without end. I have no doubt it will completely obliterate anything it touches.
Miller convulses on the floor, electric energy sparking and zapping all around his body. I can’t get close enough to check his vitals, and the endless roll of thunder from the cosmic ray makes his screams almost impossible to hear. But his mouth is open, straining, and there’s no doubt he’s screaming.
Another groan from the building. If Celeste doesn’t stop, she’ll bring the whole tower down on us all. Something crashes nearby.
The assault from Celeste’s ray stops. Debris, massive chunks of concrete, fall from the ceiling of the lobby five stories up.
And all the stars shall fall.
Security is gone. Whether Celeste destroyed them all or they escaped, I know, and I don’t care. It’s time to get out of here.
I scramble to my feet, turning to take in the wreckage as the smell of burned flesh fills the air. I gag on the aroma.
Where is Celeste? I spin in a circle, seeking her out, but there isn’t a trace. She can’t have just disappeared from the center of the lobby. Part of me fears that debris crashed down on her, but I can’t hold that thought for long.
Derrek is gone, as well. The only remaining traces are his ankles and feet.
Bianca lies on the ground nearby in a pool of blood, hands pressed to her gut. I rush over to her side, leaving a seizing Miller on the floor—there’s nothing I can do for him right now—and drop to my knees at Bianca’s side.
The wound is bad. So bad. Her hands are covered in blood, which continues to pour out between her fingers. Bianca reaches a shaking hand up, grabbing my shirt and pulling me closer. I press my hands to the wound. I don’t even care about the blood.
“It’s okay. We’ll get you to Rosie, and you’ll be fine,” I say, choking back the tears. “You’ll be fine.”
Bianca shakes her head, face contorted in agony. “I can’t…”
“Yes, you can.” I can’t accept it, even if she’s right. I can’t lose her and my dad on the same day. “Bianca…”
“Go.” The word is so small. Bianca pulls me closer, kisses me, then lets go of my shirt.
I shake my head, but nothing comes out of my mouth except a croak.
The building groans and glass shatters, raining down from somewhere above, striking the ground like thunder and chimes. Blood gurgles from Bianca’s lips as her back arches.
“Ugene,” Enid stands at my shoulder. “The building isn’t stable. We have to move.”
I nudge Enid away and scoop Bianca up in my arms. My body shakes, resists, completely exhausted, but I won’t leave without her. Not like I did to Dad. I can’t.
“Rosie can save her.” It’s all I can manage to say, and the words repeat like a broken record with each labored step toward the exit. It’s so far away. Across the massive lobby riddled with debris.
One of the Strongarms remains, holding Miller over his shoulder like a flour sack. The two of them are already at the door.
I glance around one more time for Celeste, but there’s no sign of her. Did she already leave? I can only hope.
Bianca’s body has gone limp in my arms, and it makes her weight even more cumbersome. The exit is still more than halfway across the lobby. A chunk of concrete falls, blocking our path. I stumble and lose my balance, falling and dropping Bianca on the ground. Enid is right there, pulling me to my feet again. Her hands slip on the blood coating mine, but she doesn’t let go until I do. When I reach for Bianca, my hands quivering like never before. Her chest isn’t moving. What have I done?
“We can’t bring her with us,” Enid says in the gentlest voice I’ve ever heard her use. “She’s gone, Ugene, and we won’t make it to the exit with her.”
Too stunned to speak, numbness spreading through my chest, I gaze at the exit, frozen. It’s still so far away. Fifty feet at least. More concrete falls across the room. And more nearby. Enid is right. But can I leave Bianca?
“Go,” I tell Enid, nudging her toward the door, staring at Bianca’s body. So much blood.
Enid grabs my hand in one of hers—it’s so cold—and uses the other hand to turn my face to her. “Not without you. I’m so sorry, Ugene, but there’s nothing you can do for her. But you can for us. Please. I’m not leaving without you. I… I can’t. Please. Let’s go.”
Enid doesn’t let go, and she tugs me toward the exit with her as more of the ceiling rains down. My steps, my limbs, my chest—everything is numb. Bianca’s body remains where I left it… left her. I watch until we reach the doors and slip into the fresh night air.
“A kiss of death. And all the stars shall fall,” I mumble, again repeating Celeste’s portentous verse to myself, following Enid into the street. Our feet crunch on broken glass. Enid guides me along, and I let her, unable to think any longer.
50
Paragon Tower continues to groan as we escape along the street, but somehow the building remains standing. Most of the lower floors are nearly hollow, just steel frames and remnants of debris beneath 195 stories of the untouched tower.
The late-night streets are empty, and the familiar smells of the city—fried foods and flowers—provide no comfort as we slip along the edge of buildings away from t
he groaning tower. Once, these compressed buildings reminded me of the bright potential of the future. Now the compressed structures offer no escape between cafes, restaurants, and specialty stores.
We pass a closed flower shop, and the storefront feels familiar. It’s the same one I spotted after Career Day. The flowers are colorful and beautiful, creating a stark contrast to the feelings welling inside of me. The colors are insulting instead of breathtaking. The scent of roses, orchids, and lilies turn my stomach. How can something so beautiful dare to exist in this dark world?
Few people are out in the streets so late at night. Elpis is dangerous in the middle of the night. A more than one ally catches my attention, the occupants trying to hide behind dumpsters in their grubby clothes. How have I never noticed the homeless before? How can they still exist in a city that thrives on everyone working together? No one pays us too much attention, either because they live in their own worlds or they are afraid of us. Our appearance makes that a real possibility.
Enid and I sneak down the steps to the metro. We are the last to arrive on the platform. Neither of us speaks. I check for Celeste, but she hasn’t joined the group. Did I leave her behind, too? Is she dead?
One of the gates that allow passengers on the metro is open. Someone probably did something to permit everyone through. I don’t really care. I follow Enid through.
Other test subjects sit on the floor or benches, leaning against columns or walls. Everyone appears an inch from death. I wish for that final inch to disappear and for death to just take me. Only a handful of people are in the metro station with us, and they all crowd on the other side of the platform away from us. The bright lights and dingy walls of the metro were once an exciting sign of independence, but now they remind me of how broken this world is.
Boyd rushes over as we reach join the group, and I manage only a few steps before he pulls me into a hug. “We were so wo-worried when they sh-showed up carrying M-Miller. They said y-you were coming, but then you di-didn’t and—”
He pulls back, looking at the blood on my hands and shirt. Bianca’s blood.
Enid leans toward Boyd and whispers something in his ear. Boyd’s expression falls. There’s no doubt what Enid told him, and I step around them to wait at the edge of the platform for the metro before he attempts showering me with condolences. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t think I can handle hearing it.
The metro arrives—thankfully with only two other passengers because it’s so late at night—and everyone boards. The people waiting at the other end of the platform don’t get on. Maybe the sight of us is too much. Maybe they’re afraid of what we will do.
Wheels grind against rails and the carriage rocks ever so slightly, rhythmically, as it carries us away. The motion lulls some of the other subjects to sleep.
I begin counting heads. Sixty-five. A little less than half of us made it out of that tower. Half couldn’t be saved.
Rosie kneels beside Miller, her hand on his forehead. His chest rises and falls in slow breaths of sleep. I sit on the bench beside his head, not making eye contact with anyone else. I lean my head against the window as the tunnel whizzes by, flashing red lights at regular intervals on the tunnel wall as we pass. The clink-clink of the wheels on the tracks dominates the sullen silence that’s settled over us.
“I’m sorry about Bianca,” Rosie says, her hand sliding off Miller’s slumbering body. She pulls her feet under her and sits on the floor.
I don’t respond. The pain of losing so much has been replaced by an impenetrable numbness.
Sho, Leo, Enid, and Boyd sit nearby, and I can feel their eyes on me, but I refuse to engage. I don’t need their pity.
We’ve escaped Paragon, but at what cost? After everything we went through and how hard we fought, we’re left with nothing but death and tenuous freedom. And for what purpose?
No one else speaks as we bumble along the rail line. Paragon will probably hunt us down. Hunt me down. My presence will only cause these people more trouble. They need a safe place to hide—away from me.
I glance down at a slumbering Miller. The wound in his shoulder is healed, but I can’t cast off the image of him screaming and seizing on the floor after they shot him. It reminds me of the videos.
“What is it?” Rosie asks, gazing up at me.
“Nothing. Everything. Who knows?”
“His Powers are gone,” Rosie says. “I don’t know how. I can’t do anything about it, though. Sorry.”
I nod. “I know.”
Miller took that bullet for me. Paragon weaponized a serum that strips people of their Powers and used it to fire at all of us. Miller lost his Power because of me. I owe him so much. But there’s only one thing I know that Miller wants—to find Murphy. And I will… somehow. We don’t know where Murphy is, or if he’s alive, but maybe that drive might tell us something.
We may have lost half our number, but at least we escaped with the evidence. That copy drive is my lightning rod, and I will use it to stop Paragon from hurting anyone else.
A half an hour passes in silence. Just the rumble of the metro rolling along the tracks and coughs or snores of the others in the carriage with us. The holocasts are quiet at this time of night, with so few people still awake to see them, so when the news chime sounds in the carriage, everyone jumps and turns their attention to the holocast as it appears against a flat white metal panel every ten feet on the wall.
An urgent news report begins, and Elpida Theus—famous newscaster—reveals her smooth, sand-colored face and perfectly styled golden hair. And behind her, the looming remains of Paragon Tower, still standing. She reports an unexpected explosion resulting from one of their controlled experiments that quickly cascaded into devastation on the lower five floors of the building. “Though the building has been stabilized, Paragon urges all non-essential personnel to stay away until the debris has been cleared. The dangerous explosion claimed only a handful of lives, valiant security guards who managed to usher volunteers to safety.”
Everyone on the metro is watching now, sneering or chortling at the news. Valiant security. Is that what Paragon, what Forrest, will tell Bianca’s parents? It fills my stomach with fury as Elpida is joined by Dr. Cass, with Forrest and Hilde standing in the background. All three survived Celeste’s cosmic ray. There is no such thing as divine justice.
“This tragic accident has displaced dozens of our generous volunteers,” Dr. Cass says. I can’t help but notice she has changed and looks fresh. That was fast. “Until this accident has been cleaned up and repairs are completed, these volunteers are free to return home and will be shown every courtesy by Paragon employees. We encourage the public to support these volunteers during this terrible transition.”
The report continues, talking about how the accident happened and how long repairs are expected to take. Paragon has spun the situation to their advantage, and for despite some of the apparent lies, everyone on the train begins talking excitedly at once.
We ride away from Paragon with permission to return home without retribution. We’re publicly declared free.
“Where are we headed?” Leo asks.
“Salas borough,” Sho says, nodding to the map on the wall.
Boyd whistles. “Nice p-place. What’s there?”
“Home,” I say, drawing looks from most of those around me. I don’t meet their gazes, but I see one of the ads on the metro’s boards. Red, bold letters practically popping off the surface, calling for attention.
IVD Veritax: Why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary?
It’s already begun.
51
Nothing ever offered so much comfort while feeling so alien as walking down my own street. Familiar scents of sarsaparilla and milkweed fill the air. Streetlights cast long shadows as I walk past the line of trees and see Bianca’s house—wholly dark and as devoid of life as she now is. She died a hero. That’s what Paragon will tell her parents, and they aren’t wrong. But it also doesn’t shield us from t
he truth.
She died.
The other test subjects—former test subjects—wait for me at the park five blocks up. The same park that set me on this path. Returning home is risky, but I have to check in on Mom. Enid wanted to come along, and she tried so hard to convince me, but this is something I need to do alone.
Across the street from Bianca’s house, the living room light and front porch light are on in my own. Mom is awake even in the middle of the night. Is she waiting for Dad to come home? I don’t have the heart to tell her what happened. Though a part of me hopes that when I walk through the doors he will be there, and his death was just a trick of the simulation.
Unfamiliar vehicles are parked on the street, and despite Dr. Cass’ announcement that we are free to return home, I can’t help but feel a little paranoid. Instead of walking through the front door, I slip through the trees lining the street and use shrubs as cover while I make my way to the backyard.
The kitchen light is off. I use the darkness in the backyard to tiptoe up the stairs and try the door. Surprisingly, it’s unlocked. I sneak through, giving one more glance to make sure the coast is clear.
The pristine, modern kitchen is illuminated only by the light filtering through the open doorway from the living room. Mom appears from that door, her face cloaked in darkness.
“Ugene.” In seconds, Mom’s arms wrap around me, careful not to touch the blood on my clothes. “I was so worried,” she says. “I shouldn’t have been. You’ve always been my tough guy.”
I hug her back carefully, not wanting to get blood on her. For the first time in months, I feel like I’m home. But I can’t help peering over her shoulder, hoping to see Dad walk into the room.
Mom pulls back, brushing hands down the sides of my head and smiling despite the tears in her eyes. “He said he would get you out of there.”
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