By the time Gary opened the door in the morning, Syd had finally managed to take a small nap. She jerked awake when the door creaked open. “Ugh,” she croaked.
“Wake up,” he grunted at her.
“I am.”
“You’ve got about ten minutes to clean up.”
“Before what?” she slid off the cot and stretched.
“Moreno.”
“What the hell does he want?” She grabbed some clean clothes and shuffled out of the closet.
“He found another…person.”
She froze, then turned slowly around to face Gary again. “He kidnapped someone else?” Gary nodded. “Are they…sick too?” Gary nodded again. “You should try to get them to the hospital.”
Gary snorted with derision. “Even if I could get around Moreno, or my boss, to make it happen, what do you think would happen to me? The cops would be on us in an instant.”
Sydney knew trying to get Gary to take the Berserkers to the hospital was pointless, but at this point, she would try anything. She knew that Xander, Shay, Zak, and ET were trying to get their story online and if she could get one of the Berserkers examined, maybe it would help get national attention. “I’m just saying,” she shrugged.
“Hurry up.”
“What does Moreno want me to do?” she asked, but headed for the bathroom.
“I don’t know.”
Cleaned up, wearing a red sweater, black jeans, and boots, Sydney rode the elevator with Gary to the same floor where the jogger was held. When they stepped off, they found Moreno and Oscar sitting in chairs outside. Before they got too close, Sydney felt Gary slide something into the back of her pants. “I told you to keep this on you.”
“Sorry,” she muttered.
“Good morning, Sunshine,” Moreno called to them. “Come. Look what I have for you.”
Sydney’s heart sank when she saw the young woman in the windowed room. “What happened to the jogger?”
“He is in another room,” Moreno assured her.
She didn’t know if she should be glad or not. “The Dyian still hasn’t…hatched?”
“No,” Moreno’s brow wrinkled with concern. It caused the scared side of his face to pucker grotesquely.
“Weird,” she muttered. What does that mean? She wondered. Did her scratch kill the alien? If so, why were the hosts clearly still…infected? Or affected at least. Did she control the parasite and the parasite control the host? Or was she controlling the human and overriding the alien? Her head throbbed, but she didn’t have time to worry about it now.
“Right!” Moreno recovered. “Well…”
“Well what?”
“See what you can do with this one.”
“What is it you think I can do?”
“The other one. He listened to you. Make this one listen.”
Sydney glanced at Gary, but he only looked curious too. She took a deep breath and turned back to the woman inside the room. She was early twenties with long blonde hair and she was staring at all of them like she was a hungry bear. “Jesus. She’s going to try to kill me.” She tried to stall for more time. “Where did you get her? How?”
“It was pure luck, actually,” Moreno laughed. “We were out last night. Blowing off some steam. She came at us when we were on our way back to the car.”
What the hell does “blowing off steam” mean? She wondered. But was afraid to ask. Sydney wanted to avoid going inside the room. If the woman attacked her she would be forced to either kill her with the knife, or scratch her. If she stabbed her, then all hell would break loose. She almost wished Gary hadn’t given her the knife. If she scratched the woman and the poison worked on her too, then she was still screwed. There was no telling what Moreno would ask of her if he knew she could control berserkers. She hoped Gary would help her somehow, but one look at his narrowed eyes and she realized he wanted to see what would happen too. This was his test. He wanted to see if the same thing would happen with a second person. No matter what, this wasn’t going to go well for Sydney.
“Go, go!” Moreno waved his hands at her. “Go work your magic.”
It took a lot of effort for Sydney to not scream at Moreno. She wanted to tell him to go fuck himself. But that wouldn’t get her anything but more trouble. She weighed her options. Stab the berserker? She, and maybe her friends, would be killed. Scratch the woman? Then Moreno would figure out what she could do and plan to use it somehow. But, at the very least, that might buy her some time. “Fuck it,” she grunted. “Let’s do this.”
Moreno giggled and Gary moved to open the door. As she slid past she glared at him. More likely than not, this was the end of whatever friendship they had. But, she realized, if this does work, then I’ll have control over two berserkers. Maybe. I just have to figure out how to use it. She stepped inside the room and the woman swung to face her.
“Hi,” Sydney said softly. The blonde continued to stare at her but baring her teeth was the only reaction she gave. “Are you OK?” The woman still didn’t answer, but she tilted her head and considered Syd. “I’ll help you if I—”
Sydney’s words were cut off when the woman lunged at her. She tried to move out of the way but wasn’t fast enough. They got tangled and both fell with teeth rattling force. The others had gone for the kill right away but this woman seemed to want to hurt, not kill Syd. The blonde slapped at Syd with her fists instead of punching her. Apparently having an insanity inducing alien inside you doesn’t make you a good fighter. Sydney put her hands over her face and tried to roll away from the woman but when the berserker got a handful of her hair and began yanking, Sydney had to go on the offensive. She didn’t even intend on scratching the woman. It just happened when she tried to extract her hands from the tangles they were making in her hair.
Chapter Thirty-One
The blonde sucked in a shocked breath and Sydney pulled away from the bite and yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. "Get off!"
The berserker's stunned silence only lasted a moment. She squealed and Sydney rolled away from her. She climbed to her knees and once she could see that the woman wasn't getting back up she took a deep shuddering breath. Gingerly, she touched her face where the blonde had punch-slapped her. She could feel the heat already rising. She was going to have some nasty bruises soon. Not to mention a bald spot. She winced as she pulled out strands of loose hair and let them fall.
The sound of the door opening caused her to jump—but it was only Gary until Moreno pushed past him. He leaned over the berserker who was wallowing on the floor making mewling, whining sounds. "You scratched her?"
Gary glanced at her but she avoided his eye. Truth? "I had to," Syd tried to avoid directly answering the question. "She was pulling my hair out."
"But you did this to her?" Moreno motioned towards the convulsing woman.
"I don't know."
"Give her a command."
"She's not going to listen to me." It was true, she assured herself. The jogger went catatonic. She was pretty sure this woman was going to go the same route.
"Try it anyway," Moreno was losing his temper.
"Do you even know her name?" Moreno only shrugged. "Dammit!" Sydney stood and would have fallen over if Gary hadn't steadied her. "Hey," she called. "Hey!" The blonde woman continued to convulse and shudder on the floor. "I don't know what you want me to do? She's not listening to me."
"Is this what happened before?" Moreno asked Gary.
The older man glanced from Sydney to the blonde back to Moreno. "I don't know. I didn’t see what happened. By the time I got there the jogger went from this to..." as Gary spoke the woman's guttural cries grew quieter until she was silent and motionless. "...to that," Gary finished after a moment.
"Is she alive?" Moreno looked alarmed.
Gary rolled his eyes but bent over the woman to feel her pulse. "Yeah. She's alive."
The Colombian giggled. "Excellent. Just like last time!" Fuck, Sydney muttered to herself but stayed quiet. "We need to
celebrate! My dear, I had no idea the gift you would bring me. This is better than I could have dreamed!”
Sydney finally met Gary's eye and was relieved that he returned the look. He seemed just as worried and cautious as she was. "I'll take her to get dressed," Gary told Moreno.
"Make sure she has something nice to wear."
Gary pulled her out of the room in his usual fashion. Sydney started to speak but he cut her off. "Just shut up for now."
Sydney glared at him but listened and kept quiet until they were on the elevator. "I just defended myself."
"Cut the bullshit."
She stared at him with her mouth open. Sydney couldn't think of a single lie she thought he might believe, so she didn't say anything. The elevator doors slid open and Gary dragged her out and down the hall towards her closet. Jason was still nowhere to be seen and Sydney worried that her scratches had made him sick. Not because she cared about him. But because she was afraid of what it would cause Gary to do to her. He opened the closet door, pushed her inside, and then shut the door behind them. "What are you?"
"Excuse me?'
"Don't play dumb. I want the whole damn story. Now."
Her mind raced as she tried to decide how much, if any to tell him. "Moreno is crazy..."
"Clearly. But he's not completely crazy. You know what is going on." Unable to stop herself, Syd harrumphed and Gary glared at her some more. His ice gray eyes pinned her to the spot.
Finally, Sydney gave in. "I really actually don't know much," she sighed and lowered herself to the cot. She didn't look away from Gary as she told him her story. She didn't tell him everything though. Just the most important parts of the story. She left out the amnesia and Don. She also didn't tell Gary how close she and her friends were. It was none of his business. She told him about the nosebleeds, the dreams, the glowing orbs, the hosts that everyone else called berserkers. She told him about Doc and being kidnapped. With one last great sigh, Sydney told him about killing Doc, being abducted, then returning, being found by her friends, then ending when Gary arrived to take her.
Gary stared at her for a long moment. Then he turned on a heel and left the room. Sydney gaped at the door stupidly for several beats before barking out a humorless laugh and flopping onto her back. Of all the responses Sydney had tried to anticipate, this hadn't been her top pick. But, Gary wasn't gone long. She heard his footsteps and sat back up. He stomped into the room carrying a bottle of whiskey and a folding chair. At the sight, Syd started laughing and didn’t stop until she had to hold her stomach and lay down again.
She heard Gary crack open the bottle, tip it up, then take several gulps. "Here," he said, breathing out the fire of the whiskey.
Sydney raised her herself, wiped tears away, and held out her hand for the bottle. She took a deep breath before knocking the bottle back. Never much for liquor, she shuddered and wretched a little before regaining her composure. "Damn, I needed that," she wheezed.
"You're serious aren't you?"
It wasn't really a question, but Sydney answered anyway. "Yep." She could already feel the whiskey swimming in her head and belly.
"Fuck," Gary breathed. "What's going to happen to Jason?"
"What do you mean?"
"You scratched him. You...did something to him, right?"
"I don’t think so."
"But you don't know?"
"Nope. I honestly don't. I'm learning as I go."
"This can't actually be happening..."
"Unfortunately, it is."
"How did you get one of these...?”
"Dyians?"
"Yeah. How did you get one of these Dyians in your head?"
Sydney finally looked away. "I'm not 100% sure."
Gary had to know she wasn't telling the whole truth, but he let it go. "What is your end game in all of this?"
Sydney held his eyes for a long moment. "To do what I can to stop these things. But, most of all?"
"Yeah?"
"To survive."
Chapter Thirty-Two
It turned out, Moreno's idea of celebrating was looking for more berserkers. He did, at least, first take her for food. They went to another nice restaurant where everyone stared at them partly due to his exuberant and flamboyant personality, but mostly because of the scars on his face—and probably her black eye as well. Moreno, for his part, paid no attention to them. Sydney talked only when she had to respond to questions from Moreno, otherwise she stayed quiet.
She sipped her wine, ate her rare steak, and tried not to notice to the people staring at them. Gary had done her a favor of finding a simple red dress and low heeled pumps. She would have felt uncomfortable for a plethora of reasons if she were in stilettos and a skimpy dress. As Moreno droned on about how honored he was to be a part of the Coming, as he called it, Sydney tuned him out. His voice became the loudest warble in the cacophony of noise of the restaurant. But a shift in his energy jerked her out of her stupor.
"...army--"
"What?!" Sydney went alert.
"Your Dyians."
"My Dyians?"
"Yes. Your disciples."
Sydney stared at him in shock but Moreno obviously misinterpreted her alarm. "Won't it be exciting? Together, you and I, will bring the Dyians into their rightful place," he continued.
Holy shit, Sydney felt the blood draining from her face. This is his plan, she realized. He wants me to help him raise an army of Dyians that I control. "I don't think I have control over the Dyians," she insisted, trying not to sound panicked. "I can control the berserkers—" Moreno made a face at the term. "—but I have no idea if I can control the Dyians once they hatch. If they hatch."
"Of course you can. You just have to have faith." Moreno ignored the question of the Dyians hatching at all.
Sydney felt like she was going to puke up her wine and food. She considered Moreno's plan. He would have to kidnap a large number of berserkers and she would have to scratch them. Then, if that even worked, she was somehow supposed to control them. "What do you want me to make them do?"
"Find more hosts," he laughed, as if it was the most obvious answer. "Help them rise."
Moreno would infect as many people as he could and not give a damn who was hurt in the process. "How many people do you think I can control?"
"I have faith in you."
"You would need thousands to take on even a tiny country's military."
Moreno gave her his shark grin. "Not if the Dyians—I mean you—control the right people."
Sydney was so stunned and appalled she couldn't respond. The right people? The president? Generals? This man is insane. At that moment, Sydney knew she was going to have to kill Moreno. She actually picked up her steak knife and wondered if she would be able to stab him with it. It wasn't big, but it was sharp. She wished she had the knife Gary gave her, but there had been no place to hide it in the dress. He happily cut away at his steak, oblivious to the fact that she was considering shoving the knife into his neck. But Oscar, behind him, caught her eye. As if he knew what she was thinking, he put his hand inside his jacket, then glanced around the restaurant.
Sydney got the message. If she attacked Moreno, even if she was successful, she would cause a lot of innocent people to be hurt. Moreno was a psychopath. He wouldn't hesitate to give the order to kill any of these people. He wouldn't care if he murdered innocent people. And he wouldn't care if he was on the run from the police. He already was and was eating in the middle of a crowded restaurant. She didn't doubt he would spare her to continue his delusion. But he would kill her friends. No, she decided. I have to be smart about this. Plan this better.
Syd took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down and not show her fear. "I don't know that it will work." She needed to maintain the illusion that she was accepting her role, even if slowly.
"Of course it will. It will take time. But it will work. Once you have laid the ground work, the Dyians will assume their rightful place."
"Aren't you worr
ied about what they will do to you?"
Moreno gave her a small, beatific smile. "I know my place."
"Which is?"
"To do what I need to do. Even if it costs me my life."
***
After leaving the restaurant, Moreno wanted to drive around the city looking for berserkers. Sydney preferred to ride with Gary, who was driving his sedan alone. She gave him a desperate look as Moreno guided her towards his SUV but Gary didn't break his stoic glare as they walked across the parking lot.
The end of Gary and Sydney's talk had been lackluster. Shocked, and disoriented, he wasn't able to offer much advice. "Just keep buying time," he had told her.
"Are you going to help me?" She asked.
Gary had looked at her for a long moment before shaking his head, nodding, and then shrugging. It was the least in control Syd had seen him. "Will you at least not tell Moreno?"
"Of that, I can give you my word." He had left right afterwards, giving her one last swig of whiskey before taking the bottle with him.
Now, Sydney sat with Moreno wishing she could tell Gary what she had just found out. On some level, she shouldn't be surprised. She knew Moreno was a power hungry psychopath. But suspecting he wanted to take over the world, and knowing it, were still two different things. Her heart thumped in her chest and she felt like her head was going to pop from her rising blood pressure. The one bit of luck she had was that they did not find any Dyians after driving around the city for hours. Eventually, she was able to convince Moreno she was tired and needed to go home.
Walking her back to the closet, Syd could tell Gary knew something was wrong. Her led her inside and shut the door. "What happened?"
By the time Sydney finished telling him, Gary had gone to retrieve the bottle of whiskey and they finished it off. "Will you help me now?" She asked.
Show No Fear (The Dyian Series Book 2) Page 18
