by J. A. Huss
“Lincoln?” I call out. The maze is just as dark as it was the first time I was back here. But the center light that illuminates the statue in the middle is on. I can see the glow. “Lincoln?”
I can see tall shadows moving in the middle of the hedge.
“Jesus,” I mutter. “You’re gonna make me work for this, aren’t you?”
But I smile. I can find my way in. I think. That makes me laugh.
I kick the stand down, swing my leg over the bike, and take my helmet off and place it on the seat. OK then. Into the creepy hedge maze.
The lengths I will go to for this guy. Gah!
I consider cheating by walking around to the back of the hedge the way I came out last time. I think I can remember the way. But he’s probably expecting me from this end. And whatever he’s got planned, I know it will be good. I don’t want to ruin it.
So I walk in, buzzing with anticipation. I picture myself last weekend, floating through this maze in that ball gown. God, one week ago I knew nothing. My memories were still lost and Lincoln was just a glimmer of something I knew I was missing.
I never want to go back to those days. Ever.
And even though I learned a lot of disturbing things today—Old Man Montgomery is my father! Atticus is my brother!—Lincoln’s reassuring words on the phone are the only things that matter. It will take a lot longer than a few hours to make sense of all this. And tonight I just need what Lincoln wanted last night. To forget about the past and just be together.
I come to a dead end in the hedge and have to retrace my steps and start again on a new path. I’m about one quarter of the way in when a little laugh comes from the center.
“Lincoln?”
Then soft music starts. It’s a waltz, and I am reminded of the dance I had with his friend Case at the party. His sad story of that lost girl. Even though the temperature is mild tonight and I’m wearing a leather jacket, the memory sends a chill through my body.
I quicken my steps, find myself at another dead end, then turn back and take another path. I go right, then right again. Trying to find the place in the maze when Lincoln started telling me how to get to the center. I pass by a cutout in the hedge and glance over into the shadows. He was watching me that night. I know it. Is he watching me again?
I stop and peer into the darkness. “Lincoln?” I whisper.
No answer. Just that soft music.
My heart starts to beat faster. God, this maze is creepy. It was creepy when there were other people here for the party, but now, it’s eerily disturbing.
A memory flashes in my head.
“Alpha?”
“Keep walking, Omega,” he says from somewhere in the interior of the hedge.
“It scares me,” I say back. My voice sounds small.
“It’s not scary, Omega. It’s just a bunch of bushes. They want you to feel lost and afraid, but I’m here and that means nothing will ever happen to you. Now keep walking.”
I take a deep breath, trying my best to push that memory away. It wasn’t OK that night. I remember that much. Prodigy used the maze at the school to teach us how to fight. They ran us through that maze like rats. We weren’t children to them, we were experiments. And there were plenty of things inside that maze that could hurt me. They planted traps in the corners. If you found a dead end, there was always something nasty to teach you not to do that again.
Stop it, Molly. This isn’t Prodigy School. This is the headquarters for SkyEye and Thomas Brooks made this maze, not those mad people at Prodigy School.
Lincoln is in the center waiting for you, Molly. Just concentrate on seeing him and how safe you feel in his arms.
I swallow hard despite myself, and I have a moment of panic where my feet freeze and I cannot move.
I want to get the fuck out of this maze.
“Lincoln,” I yell. “Answer me or I’m going home!”
The music gets a little louder, but other than that, nothing. I’m almost to the center, I know it. Just keep going, Molly.
I come to the fork where I was at when Lincoln called out the solution to me last weekend and his words come back to me. Go left. Then take the first right, go past the second alcove, and then turn right again. I’ll meet you there.
I’m practically running now. I want nothing more than to be in the center where the light is. The stone path under my feet is getting brighter and brighter and I’m rushing forward faster and faster.
Just get me the fuck out of this maze!
The music is getting louder and when I take that final corner and see the center statue bathed in light, I have an immediate sense of relief. Lincoln has his back to me. He’s wearing a tux.
I laugh. “You told me not to dress up!”
But something about his body is wrong. He’s too thick, not tall enough, too—
“Molly,” Alastair Montgomery says as he slowly turns to face me. “I’m afraid you didn’t pass the test, darling. Your time in the maze was pathetically slow.”
My childhood flashes before my eyes. I see him. A younger, stronger, and even meaner version of the man standing in front of me now.
“Where’s Lincoln?”
“You mean Alpha, don’t you.” He smiles as he looks up at the statue.
What was a boring copper satellite dish last weekend is now a long-tusked boar standing on two legs, wearing a vest and trousers, pocket watch in a cloven hand, with a chain dangling from a slit in his waistcoat. The boar is holding the large satellite dish sculpture that really belongs there high above his head like a trophy.
“He thinks he’s taking me down tonight,” the Old Man says, pointing up at the dish.
The soft white spotlight shining up on the centerpiece changes to blue, and when I look back at the Old Man, I can almost see the resemblance.
He steps forward.
“Stay the fuck back, you crazy old man.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he says, clicking his tongue against his teeth. “You don’t talk to your daddy that way.”
“Daddy?” I shiver. That word is revolting in every way imaginable. I don’t care whose genes I have, this man is nothing to me. I might throw up, that’s how disgusting he is. “What the hell do you want?”
“I want what’s mine, Omega, dear. I want what’s mine. You were always special to me, Molly. Even after you ran away.”
“You’re a sick piece of work, you know that? And if you think I’m still that frightened little eight-year-old you can make cower, you’re mistaken.”
“Oh,” he says with a slight chuckle. “I know exactly who you are. Did you really think you got away?”
“What?” I reach for my gun, but I never put it back on when I changed. He starts coming towards me, and even though he’s in his late fifties, he’s still an imposing and formidable man.
I back away, stumble on the uneven stones under my feet, and recover without ever taking my eyes off him. “Lincoln’s coming,” I say, forcing myself to act brave. “He’ll be here any minute.”
“Lincoln left you running in the woods, Molly. He doesn’t even know who you are.”
“He does,” I growl back. “And if you come any closer, I will kill you with my bare hands.”
“Oh?” He laughs again, an evil fucking laugh. “I’d really like to see you try.”
“What?”
Just then a motorcycle whines near the entrance to the maze. Lincoln. I rush the Old Man, knock him down on the ground and immediately get sick. I double over, coughing and retching, as the pain floods through my body.
“Silly girl,” the Blue Boar says. “Did you really think I wouldn’t take precautions with my investments? You can’t fight me any more than Lincoln can fight you.”
I roll on the ground, the cramps in my stomach so severe, I feel like I’m dying.
The motorcycle is getting closer and closer as it winds through the maze. “Lincoln,” I call out. But my voice is weak with pain and suffering.
The Blue Boar kicks me in the st
omach, and I double over again, clutching myself and trying to curl up into a little ball.
Lincoln roars into the center of the maze, the blue light casting the shadow of his bike across the tall green hedges. He has that dark, murderous look to him as he comes at us. His jaw is grinding, his hand gripping the throttle, revving the engine.
“Ah, the hero has arrived,” Montgomery says as he bends down to grab me by the hair and drag me closer to his disturbing alter-ego statue. “But he won’t save you, Molly,” he says, whispering as he leans into my ear. “He can’t save you. Because I’m his Omega too.”
Lincoln jumps off the bike and it goes skidding into the hedges, sparks flying as the metal grinds on the stones. “Let her go,” Lincoln growls. “This fight is between me and you, Old Man. You might’ve started it, but I’m gonna finish you off—”
“Lincoln, no!” I yell, trying to warn him of the inhibitor.
But it’s too late. Lincoln charges like a bull, hitting the Blue Boar in the stomach with his head. The Old Man goes flying backwards and lands in a heap on the stones. But Lincoln is already feeling the effects. He’s on the ground, doubled over, retching and coughing.
I watch in horror as the Blue Boar gets back up and slowly pulls a gun from under his jacket. “You were always weak, Alpha Three. So attached to your pretty little killer. So filled with love and compassion. Did you really think I didn’t plan it that way? Did you really think I made her by accident?”
And then he points the gun right at Lincoln’s chest and pulls the trigger.
Chapter Forty-Six - Lincoln
I kick out, swiping my foot into the Old Man’s ankle, and he stumbles. The shot rings out and chips of stone fly up and cut my face as the bullet hits mere inches from my body. I roll, missing another shot. The inhibition poisoning is in full force and I’m doubling over on myself as the stomach pain takes over.
“Did you come here to save her, Alpha Three? How ironic. After all those years of staying away because you thought you were keeping her safe, all you did was buy me time to put my plan in action. And then, just when I thought she might need to be culled from the program due to her breakdown over Will’s death, you come through again and deliver her into my waiting arms.”
“Fuck you, you bastard.” I growl it out, my eyes trained up at his. He’s standing over me now, and even though everything in my body wants to rip his throat out, the sickness does its job. It kicks my ass and makes me heel. I am nothing but his dog.
He points his gun at my chest again, a glint of triumph in his eyes. “You did your job well, Alpha Three. But I’m afraid you’ve outlived your usefulness.”
“Stop!” Molly screams. “Stop! I’ll go with you, Montgomery. Just please, don’t kill him!”
The Old Man kicks me in the stomach to make sure I’m not recovered enough to act. He looks at her as I cough and spit blood on the stones. “You’ll come willingly?” he asks her. “No fighting? No protesting? No last-ditch effort to save yourself and this mistake who is too weak to even get up off the ground?”
“I p-p-promise,” Molly sputters. “I promise! I’ll do whatever you want.” She gets to her feet and puts her hands up. “I won’t fight you. I won’t do anything but what you tell me to. Just please.”
“Lincoln!” Case yells in the maze. “Lincoln!”
I can’t even answer him, but when I turn my head to see the dark spot where the maze dumps out into the center, he and Thomas come running into the courtyard, guns drawn.
The Old Man squats down and looks me in the eyes. “They can’t help you either.” And then he stands and raises his voice so everyone can hear him. “I’m in control here, Alphas. Did you really think I’d breed monsters capable of such evil and not have a way to keep you under my thumb? But by all means, boys,” he says, shaking his gun in the direction of Case and Lincoln. “Give it a try. You’ll end up on the ground like your little attack dog here.”
Case and Thomas stop short. I can already see the signs of inhibition poisoning on their faces just from their traitorous thoughts.
“Good boys,” the Old Man says with a snide laugh. “Molly, you offered to be cooperative if I spared your lover here?”
“Please,” she begs again. “I’ll do whatever you say.”
“Well, there’s the problem with your offer, honey.” She recoils at his term of endearment. “I don’t need you to promise me anything. I own you, Omega Three. I have owned you since birth. My will is your will. And believe me, I am one hundred percent in control of this situation. So I’m going to decline your offer and cut my losses while I’m ahead.”
He points the gun at me.
All three of my friends protest with yells and screams. Case even runs towards me, but he is quickly overcome by the inhibition poisoning for approaching the Blue Boar. And the last thing I see before the bullet strikes my chest is Case’s body falling to the ground.
The impact hits me so hard, I feel like I meld into the stone pavers under my back. The pain erupts like a volcano. My mind swims like never before and the world begins to fade.
I hear voices yelling, hands on my chest. “Lincoln.” Case calls my name from somewhere far away. “Get Sheila!” This time he’s right over my face and his voice reverberates in my head. “Get Sheila!”
“Lincoln,” Thomas says, a hand pressing on my chest. It feels squishy and empty. My life is flowing out of me in rivers of hot stickiness. “Open your eyes, brother. Open your eyes.”
I try, but it’s hopeless.
“Get that bike out of here, Case,” Thomas commands.
I swim in the dull gray world of in-between. My chest barely able to draw breath. My body limp and weak. My mind slipping…
“Sheila’s here with the car,” says Case.
I open my eyes a slit, just enough to see blurry motion all around me.
“We have to move fast.”
“He’s dying!”
My consciousness fades in and out as my body is lifted, set down, lifted again, and finally placed to rest. I will die here. In my own car. But then I think of Molly and the defeat I feel stops my heart.
“Breathe!” someone calls out. “Breathe, Lincoln.” Someone is pushing on my chest, and all I hear is the pumping of blood through my body.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
“Do not fucking die on me, Lincoln!”
“Do not fucking die on me, Lincoln.” Thomas is standing in my doorway as I pack one change of clothes. “I need you. Do not do anything stupid, you hear me?”
“I don’t take orders from you.” I growl it out. “I’m the only real Alpha here. You two don’t have an Omega. You have no idea how it feels.”
“They breed them, Lincoln. They breed them to control us. They have been programmed from birth to kill us.”
“Don’t lecture me, Case. I know what she is.”
“She’s your killer, Lincoln.” Thomas, ever calm, says it so matter-of-factly, we might as well be talking about homework and who we’re taking to the movies on Friday night. “He bred her to kill you. He’s manipulating you into loving her so when the day comes, you will submit.”
“I’m not leaving her behind.”
Case grabs his hair and lets out a frustrated sigh. “We need to get going, Thomas. If he wants to save her, we can’t stop him.”
“Is that why you insisted we use the inhibitor on ourselves?” Thomas is bright. I’m sure it surprises him that I got this far and he didn’t suspect it.
His hate for the Omegas is so strong he probably can’t even imagine the feelings I have for this one little girl. “What do you think?”
“You wanted to make sure I didn’t kill you over this.”
“Well, you’re not exactly known for your familial loyalty, Thomas.”
“She’s not my sister. She’s an engineered killer, Lincoln. Genetics don’t make a person family.”
“Did you hear that, Atticus?” I say, looking over to the tall golden boy who somet
imes rooms with me. He’s standing in front of the window, just watching. Noncommittal. He’s always been the favorite. He rarely spends time here at school. The Old Man keeps him at home as much as possible. “Thomas says Omega Three is expendable and she’s not his kin.”
Atticus rubs the slight yellow stubble on his chin. I know he doesn’t want to be here. I know he’d rather pretend none of this is happening. But I also know he won’t leave Omega Three behind. He’s been her brother since she was born. He loves her like a sister. He is as committed as Thomas is indifferent.
Two brothers. Two sides to every story.
“Kill her, Lincoln,” Thomas says.
“No,” Atticus says. “Get her out of here. I’ll do your part, Lincoln. I’ll help Thomas and Case and then I’ll go home and no one will ever know I was here.”
“I’ll go with her,” Will says from behind Case. He’s the smallest of us Alphas. A couple years younger than me. “I don’t want to kill anyone, you guys. I’ll take care of the Omega. I know a place.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Thomas snarls at Will. “I should kill you myself, you sniveling piece of shit. You’re gonna do your part, just like—”
“No,” I say, cutting Thomas off. “I like this idea. I’m not shoving her out a window and telling her to run without help. That’s a death sentence. She’ll die tonight. She has no bond to Will, he can help her better than anyone.” I walk over to Will and grab him by the shirt. “You better take care of her, Will. Because if I find out you fucked up and she got hurt, I’ll chop your goddamned head off.”
“I will,” he says, swallowing down his fear. “I promise.”
I look at my brothers one by one and then say, “I’ll meet you downstairs in ten minutes.”
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
“Lincoln,” Thomas says. “Don’t die on me, brother. I really do need you.”
“Change him,” Case says. I try to open my eyes, but it’s hopeless. “Change him, Sheila.”
