by Aaron Hodges
The Chead didn’t hesitate. They retreated down the corridor without looking back and disappeared into their cells. The doors remained open, but none of the creatures so much as poked out a head to check on them.
As Ashley turned back towards Sam, he caught a last glimpse of the glow in her eyes. Then she blinked, and it was only Ashley looking back at him. She slumped suddenly, and stepping forward, he caught her as she fell.
“What the hell was that?” he asked as she draped an arm over his shoulder.
Ashley gave a dry laugh. “I’ll tell you when I figure that out.”
“You do that,” he smiled and they started towards the exit. He ignored the grey eyes watching them as they walked past. “What are you, Lord Commander of the Chead now?”
“Really, I have no idea,” Ashley wrinkled her nose, “I just…acted on instinct.”
“Good instincts,” Sam snorted. Ahead, the exit loomed. “Guess we’ll figure it out later. Let’s just get out of here, before we run out of luck.”
Moving through the door into the narrow hallways of the facility, Ashley seemed to recover enough to stand. Taking back her arm, she shook her head. “We can’t leave yet. Chris needs us.”
Grimacing, Sam glanced across at her. Despite her show of strength against the Chead, she was clearly exhausted. Whatever they’d done to Ashley over the past four weeks had drained away her strength. And if anything, Sam was in even worse shape.
Yet however desperate they were, she was right. They couldn’t leave Chris behind.
Nodding, he gestured towards the corridor. “Lead the way.”
Chapter 28
“No, no, no,” Chris was on his knees, crouched over his grandmother, shaking her with a desperation born of despair, “Nana, no…”
Liz could only stand and stare in horror at the body of her friend. She couldn’t look away, couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything other than watch, helpless. The Director towered over Chris and his grandmother, a triumphant grin on her face as she looked around the room. Slowly she turned the gun until it was pointed at Liz.
“I guess you’re next,” she said softly.
Staring down the barrel of the gun, Liz didn’t move. She was still reeling, struggling to comprehend everything she’d seen.
Chris, alive, waiting on the other side of the doorway. Chris, kissing the Director.
Jonathan, taking the precious pendrive from her pocket. The Director, crushing it beneath her boot.
And Maria, reeling backwards as the bullet tore away her life.
Slowly she shook her head as a tear streaked her cheek. “You’re…vile,” she grated, “You’re sick, twisted. You’re worse than Halt.”
“Halt was an animal,” the Director smiled, the expression cold, devoid of emotion, “This? This was all just necessary.”
“Necessary?” Liz looked around as Jonathan’s voice carried across the room. She clenched her teeth as he walked towards them. “How was any of this necessary?”
Frown lines criss-crossed the Director’s forehead. “Jonathan?” she raised an eyebrow, “What are you doing?” She still held the handgun pointed at Liz, its tip unwavering.
“What’s necessary,” Jonathan replied.
“What?” the Director blinked, “What are you talking about?”
Jonathan’s lips drew back in a sneer. “You finally made a mistake. All this time, I’ve been waiting for my chance. All I needed was an opening, a single chink in your armour. And you’ve finally given it to me,” he smiled, though his eyes were sad, “My family will have their justice.”
“Justice?” The Director was shaking her head. Slowly she turned the gun on Jonathan. “Justice? We already gave them justice, Jonathan.”
“False justice.” Jonathan stared her down, unflinching.
The Director slowly curled her finger around the trigger. “So you wish to betray me? You have a poor choice of timing, Jonathan. What brought about this sudden death wish?”
“You still don’t get it, do you?” Jonathan slowly shook his head. “Six weeks ago, I held the cold, lifeless bodies of my wife and daughter in my arms, and swore I would do whatever it took to avenge them. At Independence Square, I saw my chance, realised you were my gateway to the truth. And now you’ve admitted that truth to the whole world.”
Liz stared at the man, unable to understand what he was saying. The Director took a step closer to Jonathan.
“What are you talking about?” She hissed.
But Jonathan was no longer looking at her. His eyes had travelled across the room to where Chris lay crouched over his grandmother’s dead body.
“I wasn’t quick enough to stop you,” he murmured, his lips twisting in a frown, “Or maybe I didn’t want too. After that, there’ll be no coming back for you.” He looked up at the Director then, his eyes hard. “The camera has been broadcasting this whole time. I switched it back on when you were distracted by the explosion outside. Everything you’ve said, everything you’ve done, the whole world has been watching.”
For a moment there was silence. Liz stared at Jonathan, her heart hammering in her chest. She hardly dared to breath. Could it be true? Her eyes travelled past Jonathan, to where a tiny red light flashed on the camera equipment. Easy to miss, when you weren’t looking for it.
“No…” the Director croaked. Her arm wavered, the gun shaking in her hand. “You’re lying.”
“See for yourself,” Jonathan replied, nodding at the camera.
But the Director didn’t move. The evidence was clear for everyone to see. Instead, her lips drew back in a mad grin and striding across the room, she pressed the gun to Jonathan’s forehead.
“You’ll die for this,” she hissed.
Jonathan only shrugged, his eyes sad. “Do it. It won’t change anything. It’s over. You’ve lost.”
“It’s not over!” the Director screamed. Suddenly she was behind Jonathan. Her arm wrapped around his throat as she put the gun to his temple. “Christopher! Help me!”
On the ground, Chris looked up from his grandmother’s body. Tears streaked his cheeks and there was no missing the hate in his eyes. He stared at the Director for a moment before turning to Liz.
“Kill her,” he croaked, “I don’t care anymore.”
Then he turned back to Maria, leaving Liz to face the Director alone. Taking a breath, Liz stepped towards the woman.
“If you kill me, Chris dies!” The gun left Jonathan’s head for a second and Liz ducked as she fired, but the shot was wild and went well clear. The gun returned to Jonathan’s head. He jerked as the hot barrel burned his flesh, but her grip around his neck held him in place. “The moment my heart stops, the signal goes out. He’ll die in agony!”
Swallowing, Liz came to a stop. A tense moment stretched out as they eyed one another, locked in a desperate stalemate. Then a sneer spread across the Director’s face.
“Good,” she hissed, “We understand one another.” She started to back towards the open door, dragging Jonathan with her.
Liz clenched her fists. Blood thumped in her ears, but she made no move to stop the Director. Silently she cursed herself for a coward. This was the moment she had been waiting for, her chance to end the woman’s tyranny—whatever the cost.
Yet Jasmine’s final plea was echoing in her ears, and Liz knew she couldn’t do it. Not if it meant losing Chris again, not after she’d just found him again. Her shoulders sagged as she realised the evil woman was going to escape.
Liz looked up as movement behind the Director drew her attention. With her eyes on Liz, the woman didn’t notice as Mira stepped into the doorway. The girl’s multicoloured gaze flicked around the room, taking in Chris and Maria, before settling finally on Liz.
Her racing heart froze as Mira smiled at her. It was a small, hesitant thing, as though the girl wasn’t quite sure of what she’d done, as if she was still wondering whether she could take back what she’d done.
Across the room, Liz started to cry out, but Mira
was already stepping forward, opening her arms to embrace the woman. And the Director was looking down, eyes widening as she saw the grey-winged girl for the first time. The chime of steel pins striking the concrete seemed unbelievably loud in the silence.
Then an explosion erupted through the room, swallowing the Director, Jonathan, and Mira in its fiery embrace.
Chapter 29
The girl was on all fours, lapping water from a stream running across the gravel as they entered, but when she saw them, she quickly darted back into the corner of the cave. Talisa strode after her, catching the girl by the foot and dragging her kicking and screaming across the sharp stones. The soldier still wore her green-and-brown uniform, but it was filthy now, the badges and insignia streaked with mud.
She gasped as Talisa threw her down at their feet, her green eyes casting wildly around the cave. Her auburn hair clung to her face, wet with sweat.
“Have you reconsidered, human?” Talisa growled. Though age had shrunk her elderly body, she towered over the covering human.
Susan glanced across at the two Chead who guarded the cave’s only entrance. They stood nearby, watching the girl closely, alert for any sign she might threaten Talisa. But this girl was too terrified to even stand.
Frowning, Susan leaned closer, wondering at the soldier’s fear. Earlier too, the girl and her comrades had fled at the first sign of trouble. Such ill-discipline was unusual in the soldiers of the WAS. Even the guards who’d protected her facility had been better trained.
This girl reminded her more of her own former self, of the fearful woman Susan had been before the change had given her courage. She had her arms wrapped around her chest, as though that could somehow protect her from the creatures who’d taken her. Yet despite her fear, the girl was still shaking her head to Talisa’s question, even as she bit her lower lip to keep from crying.
“You disappoint me,” Talisa growled.
Leaning down, she gripped the captive by the hair and hauled her to her feet. She shoved her across to Hecate, who caught her in his powerful arms. Screaming, she struggled to break free, but he gripped her around the waist and hurled her bodily into the ground. Even then she tried to crawl away, but she was nowhere near fast enough to escape a Chead. Hecate’s foot slammed down on her ankle, and a harsh crack echoed through the cavern. Susan flinched as the girl’s scream followed.
“You have chosen death,” Talisa spoke in a calm voice, as though nothing had happened, “But it will not be quick. First, we will have all you know.”
Beside Talisa, Hecate slowly ground his foot down on the girl’s ankle. Pinned to the floor, the girl gave a pitiful cry and started sobbing into the gravel.
Susan watched the girl suffering, heart torn between pity and disgust. She looked at Talisa and raised an eyebrow. Normally the woman was quick to put her prisoners to death. She had never seen one tortured.
Talisa smiled at her unspoken question. “We have never captured a soldier,” she explained, “It is time we knew more of our enemy’s plans.”
She waved to Hecate as she finished speaking. Removing his foot, Hecate retreated to Susan’s side.
“Where are you from, soldier?” Talisa asked as she crouched beside the girl. When the prisoner only moaned, she reached out and, taking a handful of hair, forced the girl to look at her. “Would you like him to start again?”
The girl bit her lip again and shook her head.
“Then speak,” Talisa commanded.
Swallowing, the girl’s eyes flickered from Talisa to Hecate and back again. She nodded quickly. “I’m from…Oakdale,” she shivered, her jaw hardening, “or was…before you destroyed it.”
Talisa chuckled and released her hair. Standing, she crossed her arms. “So why did we find you with that pitiful army, soldier?”
The girl sat back and looked at her. “I didn’t want to be there,” she spat, “Although, I’m glad we took some of you with us.”
Growling, Hecate stepped towards the human, but Susan put out her hand to stop him. She nodded to Talisa. This was her interrogation.
“You did not want to be there?” Talisa asked softly.
“I was drafted,” she murmured. Then she seemed to regain some of her fight. She looked up at Talisa and growled, “After you drove us from our home, my family fled to the city. But my brother and I were taken by the army, to be trained for the war.”
“The war?” Talisa pressed, “Against the Chead?”
The girl snorted. “Against Texas. We know who your masters are.”
Talisa raised an eyebrow. “Texas? What do they have to do with us?”
“They created you, didn’t they?” the girl snapped, “Sent you to kill us, to weaken the WAS so they can take our land.”
Talisa began to laugh at that. “Such imaginative creatures. Who told you such a tale?”
The girl bared her teeth. “The President himself,” she snapped.
“The President?” Susan stepped up, “He sent you?”
The girl blanked. “Well, no…We…we were just the ones he selected for special training at his base.”
“And where was that?” Talisa pressed.
But the girl seemed to have realised she’d said too much. Clamping her lips shut, she shook her head defiantly. Hecate started towards her, a dark grin spreading across his face, but Susan was quicker still. Placing herself between the Chead and their prisoner, she raised her hands.
“Let me speak with her,” she said softly, “Perhaps I can convince her to join us,” her eyes flickered towards Talisa.
Talisa eyed her closely. “Cut off the head, and the humans will be too busy fighting amongst themselves to come for us.”
Susan nodded. “Trust me.”
After another moment’s hesitation, Talisa nodded. Taking Hecate by the shoulder, she led him across to the entrance of the cavern, giving Susan and the girl space to speak.
Susan let out a long sigh and turned back to the young soldier. The girl still knelt on the ground, her broken foot stretched out in front of her, twisted at an awkward angle. Moving across, Susan sat down beside her.
“What’s your…name?” Susan asked.
The girl swallowed. She looked at Susan and then back at the doorway where the others waited. Apparently deciding it was better to talk with Susan than face Hecate, she answered, “Lisa.”
“My name is…Susan. Nice…to meet you…Lisa,” she offered her hand.
Lisa stared at her hand for a second before looking away. Susan sighed. “Defiance will…get you nothing,” she murmured, “but a long…and painful…death.”
“What would you know, Susan?” Lisa snapped, her eyes flashing, “What does a monster like you feel anyway?”
Susan’s anger flared at her words, and she fought the urge to reach out and strangle the life from the girl. Scarlet stained her vision as she took a long breath, her stomach straining against her shirt, and then exhaled.
“I was…like you…not long ago,” she replied at last, “I too…was offered a…choice.”
Lisa turned and stared at Susan, lips parted as her gaze drifted from Susan’s face to her swollen belly. “You…you were human?”
Susan’s lips twitched in amusement. “I was…a miserable creature,” she said. “The Chead…freed me.”
Lisa snorted. “Looks like they did more than that,” shaking her head, she went on, her voice incredulous, “You bred with these monsters?”
Susan bared her teeth at the insult. Slowly she reached out and wrapped her hand around the girl’s throat. “Hecate is…my mate,” the words were softly spoken, but no less feral.
The girl’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as Susan squeezed. Her hands batted at Susan’s arms, but her human muscles were nothing to the strength of the Chead. Susan watched the panic in the girl’s eyes as she choked, and grinned.
When she finally released the girl, Lisa bent in two, gasping as she sucked in great lungfuls of air. Susan watched on, impassive, waiting for
the girl to recover. She didn’t speak again until Lisa fell silent.
“I was once like you…weak…miserable…alone,” she said. “Now you have…a choice. End your suffering…Join us.”
Tears streaked Lisa’s cheeks as she met Susan’s gaze. For a long moment she was silent, her lips pressed tight together, her green eyes shimmering in the light of the nearby candles. Susan could see her fear, her desire to live, but there was something else too, something she did not recognise until Lisa’s lips drew back in a sneer.
“Thanks,” she spat, “But I’m no coward. I’d rather die than become a whore for these monsters.”
Faster than thought, Susan’s fist lashed out and caught Lisa in the side of the face. She heard the crack as the blow shattered the girl’s cheek bone and sent her reeling back. Screaming, Lisa tried to recover, but Susan was on her in a second, fist raised to beat her to death. But before another blow could fall, Hecate caught her by the wrist.
“Enough,” he growled as she tried to pull away.
Rage rumbled through Susan’s chest, but she was no match for Hecate’s strength, and he dragged her back from the prisoner as Susan screamed at him. “She needs to die!”
Silently, Talisa moved across to stand beside the prisoner. “She will,” her voice carried back to Susan, “But not before she tells us everything she knows.”
Lisa’s screams echoed through the cave as the elder Chead reached down and twisted her broken foot. Watching from Hecate’s arms, Susan’s reason slowly returned. She sagged against Hecate then, and after a few more minutes, he released her. They stood in silence, watching as Talisa went to work.
Susan licked her lips, savouring the taste of blood in the air. The girl tried to crawl away each time Talisa let her go, crying pitifully as her broken limbs ground into the uneven stones. Her loyalty was impressive, her fortitude to be admired. Yet the girl had insulted the Chead, had called Hecate a monster, and Susan felt no pity for her now. She watched on, taking pleasure from each agonised scream.
