Regaining my footing, I clear my throat. “Why do you ask?”
“He’s my twin. He chose you over me. I’m trying not to feel uncomfortable about it.” Sean rubs the back of his neck. “The way I cope is by talking about what bothers me. I don’t understand you two. I get that you all feel a way about each other, but you can’t feel for him what he feels for you. It’s impossible.”
“This isn’t easy for me to discuss, Sean.” I don’t want to talk about Marc and me with him. Sometimes I don’t want to talk about Marc and me with Luke. I actually only want to talk about Marc and me with Marc. He’s the only one that matters.
Sean pulls me to a stop. I don’t like the way it feels when someone forces me to do something. “Just let me know, Ky. You would still choose Luke over Marc? We know Marc’s choice, but yours is still a mystery, so tell me. And don’t lead my brother on. If you know there is a difference in your feelings and his, don’t keep leading him on and making him think this is something that it’s not. I’m not going to stand out on a plank with you and wonder which one of us he’ll push or save.” There’s an edge to each word. His anger, though light, seems all the more violent because it’s rarely ever displayed.
“Sean.” I pry his hand from my left arm. “You know how I feel about him. You knew before he knew. There are things I am obligated to say. But we know―”
I’m slapped on the back. “Hey, what are you two talking about?” Luke asks.
“Luke, was Marc with you?” Sean asks him before I can answer Luke’s question.
“Earlier, but not recently. When I left him, he was headed to the house.”
“Couldn’t have been? I just left there before meeting Ky. He wasn’t there.” He throws his head back and pulls his hair in a ponytail. “Where the hell is my brother?” he asks himself and leaves the mess hall.
“Hey,” I say as I bump Luke’s fist with mine. “We weren’t talking about anything. He was trying to find Marc. What happened today?”
“Let’s eat first, we’ll talk later.” Hopefully, Luke learned some things today too.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Luke and I sit at our usual table, preparing to eat when Jord loudly calls, “Kylie,” from the door of the mess hall.
I jump up from my seat, startled by the aggressiveness of his call. “Sir?”
“I need to speak with you.” I nod and cross the mess hall, Luke hot on my heels. “You are not needed, Luke. As you were,” Jord says, dismissing him.
“Yes, I am.” Luke says in a stern tone, glaring at Jord, daring to tell him no again. “When you are uncomfortable with tasks your sister is up against, do you accompany her?” Luke nods once, answering for Jord. “And I will do the same for mine.”
Jord’s jaw works, and he narrows his eyes as he glares at Luke. Luke doesn’t bat an eye, meeting Jord’s silent challenge by not backing down. I wince when Jord’s lips part, expecting an accusing shout toward Luke. But he licks his lips, nods, and leads us from the mess hall.
I look at Luke and mouth, “What the heck was that?”
Luke widens his eyes and shrugs. A small smirk lifts the left corner of his mouth. It’s gone by the time we make it outside and continue behind Jord to his office.
“You wanted to speak with me, Kylie?” Jord asks.
I sigh, happy he wasn’t requesting me for something worse. “Yes, someone from my team said something odd today. I wanted to ask you about Normals being implants.”
“Was this asked in front of your entire group?”
“Yes, sir.”
Jord looks at Luke, then around us. “Let’s talk about this in my office.” Once we walk into his office, and he closes the door, he says, “Luke, would you like to inform Kylie of our talk today?”
I tug off my helmet and tuck it under my arm.
“I was going to later,” Luke says. “But if you would like for me to do it now, I can.” Jord nods. Luke faces me and easily says, “General Jord, Madam Seits, and Colonel Harold are implants. And yes, the Normals can also be implants.”
I’m holding my breath as I bite back my words. First, I can’t respond. I look at Jord, observing his straight face and relaxed disposition. He reclines on his chair with his left leg crossed over his right and clasped hands resting above his belt. Luke also wears a straight face. I’m silenced. How should I respond?
Luke continues, “They have this idea that the Vojin want to destroy the Earth, and they want to stop them.” I nod. “They have asked if we will accompany them in overpowering the Vojin and fight for our world.”
I purse my lips and narrow my eyes, asking, “What was your response?” I am unsure of what to say, not being able to ask the questions I want to, questions about us also having the same plan.
“I haven’t responded yet.”
I ask Jord, “Why tell him this? Why release to us the worst of your secrets?”
He stands from his chair, slowly walks around his desk, and leans his hip against it. “We need Creations who are strong and want to save the world.” He looks between Luke and me. “We also need Creations who are mixed and may have a reason to go against the ones they previously worked for. To get revenge. Possibly for…” he carries the word in thought, “killing their parents.”
What the hell did I walk into right now?
I flick my gaze to Luke. I think my facial expression has faltered; the poker face usually keeping my skin smooth has failed. My cheeks feel tight, and my eyebrows may have reached my hairline.
Jord continues, “I am not asking anything but for you all to fight with us, invade their realm, and assist us in defeating them. Can I rely on you two to do that?”
“We will be back with our response,” Luke tells him. He nods his head toward the door, motioning for us to leave.
“Before you go, understand there are others here who are mixed. They do not know about the Vojin’s deception, and they are still working toward gaining other Creations to fight with them to overcome this world.”
We leave his office and the screen door slams behind us. Walking to our house, we hurry across the dirt road, kicking up dust with every step. “What just happened, Luke?”
“Ky…I don’t know.”
“Are we going to help?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“Not yet.” He opens the door to our home, and someone is talking from upstairs. Luke puts his finger to his lips.
I hear Cory saying, “They are planning to come in two weeks to take over this planet, and we need to have enough people on our side so that we can convince everyone else to welcome them here.”
Luke and I creep toward the stairs to hear them better.
Collins says, “Cory, that’s not a good idea. Who would we convince? You saw what they did to Floyd and Fein. If we are found out, that will be us too.”
Ooh… I am going to say something. I want to see the look on Collins face when she sees that I know her secret. Then, with my gun pointed between her eyes, I want her to beg me not to say anything.
Looking at Luke, I open my mouth to speak. He nods for me to go ahead.
I smile, stepping to the foot of the stairs, able to see Cory and Collins in the hallway upstairs. “Found out about what, Collins?” I ask loudly, slowly climbing the stairs with Luke behind me.
She sucks in her breath and glares at me. “How long have you been standing down there?”
“Long enough.”
“Kylie―” Cory starts.
I quickly cut him off. “Don’t you speak to me,” I say, pointing my finger at him. “I will still break your nose.” Dropping my hand, I look back at Collins. “You all can finish your talk. I’m going to talk to the general.” I turn around, and my arm is yanked, turning me back.
“You better say nothing, Ky,” Collins threatens.
I push her away from me. “And if I do? What are you going to do about it?”
“Kylie, you don’t have to say anything.” Cory a
dds in his two cents no one asked for.
I rush him and draw my fist back. Collins pulls me back. “You don’t have to say anything, Kylie.”
Luke pushes her back. “Don’t touch my sister. No one cares about your life, Collins. We will bring forth all traitors and execute them. We can do it here or tell the general first, and if he has instructions, we’ll follow those. You know the rules, there are no exceptions.”
“After the things we’ve done, Luke, you will have me executed?”
“We did nothing, Collins. You were just a contender who wanted me to bone her. Don’t use our history to save your life. It makes you sound pathetic.”
That was disrespectful.
Collins smacks Luke across the face. What Luke said was mean, and he deserved to get smacked, but I will not allow Collins to hit my brother and have no reaction.
I punch her with my left fist. She quickly retaliates, and we brawl before we’re pulled away from each other. “What is your problem, Kylie?” she shouts, trying to break out of Cory’s hold on her.
I shake out my arm. “Come on, Luke,” I grab his arm.
“Ky, don’t do this,” Cory says to our backs as we walk down the stairs. “If you two calm down for a minute, I know we can talk about this. You can’t extend courtesy to one and not the other.”
I look at Luke. “We’ll talk when we get back outside,” he tells me.
“Come on, Ky, don’t be a bitch about this,” Collins yells to us as we near the door. “And Luke, even though you are being a total dick in front of your sister, I know you don’t want to do this.”
“Shut up, Collins,” I yell back.
They run down the stairs once we reach the door. “Wait! Seriously, Ky,” Cory says.
Marc, Sean, Gia, and Cecilia walk through the door taking in the four of us. “What’s happening?” Cecilia asks.
“Ky and Luke were just headed back to the rec hall with us, we’re late for dinner and needed to talk,” Cory responds.
Marc grabs my arms as he pushes me backward in the direction of the kitchen. “What were you and him going to talk about?” he asks once we make it out of hearing distance.
I shake my head. “He’s just trying to cover something up.” Roughly rubbing my hand across my forehead, I try to ease the forming headache. “Where were you at dinner?” I grab his forearms. His hands are still wrapped around my arms.
“I was with my group in their rec hall. Why?”
I hitch a brow, taken aback by his lie, but I won’t dig into it as there are other pressing matters. “Just asking. I didn’t see you is all.”
He licks his lips, and a small smirk steals his serious expression. “And you expected to?”
I smile shyly. “Maybe.”
“Um-hum.” He leans forward and kisses me. Marc’s kisses sink me into short-lived oblivion. Short-lived because he always breaks away too quickly, and my lips can’t stay placed against his forever.
When he leans back, I lean forward, not letting his lips part from mine. His mouth smiles against mine. I break away, wanting to witness it. I match its brightness. “I wasn’t ready for you to leave yet.”
Going back in for another kiss, he stops, and his smile fades when he looks to the opening of the kitchen. Cory walks in. “Can we talk?” he asks.
“Never,” I respond. “And if you continue to talk to me, I’m going to reintroduce my fist to your face.”
“Get over yourself, Kylie,” Collins comes to his side, standing in the doorway. “Hey Marc.”
She’s pushing her luck. Marc kisses my neck before he says, “I’ll find you later.” He leaves us and heads away to the shower stalls.
I cross my arms and ask, “What, Collins?”
“We are supposed to be friends, remember, Ky?” she whispers. “I am not what you think. He is,” she points to Cory, “and he wants me to help convince others to help him.”
I walk away from her to find Luke. He’s standing by the front door, talking to Sean and Gia. “Luke, let’s go on a sweep.”
“Me and Collins will go with you,” Cecilia says from behind me.
I shrug and pull Luke to leave the house. The night sweep is the last thing I want to do, but I also don’t want to be crowded in our home with Cory and Collins trying to convince me of their lies.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lately, on my night sweeps, there haven’t been any Zombie attacks. I’m not complaining. I hate Zombie-hunting in the sweltering desert for miles. My mind is bogged down with so much, though. I can’t concentrate on even keeping my steps ordered.
“Let’s head back,” Luke says.
“Great,” I cheer under my breath.
The four of us check our surroundings before heading for the base. “Ky,” Collins calls.
She goes unanswered as I head back.
“Ky, we should talk about what happened. The four of us, before we get back to our corridors.”
“Collins,” Luke begins. “We heard what we heard. If this is your way of requesting our silence, you should try a little harder.”
“I’m never begging Ky for anything. I deserve your respect and dammit, you’re going to give it to me,” she snaps, a demanding edge in her tone.
I stop. My gun weighs heavier in my hand. Without the thought crossing my mind, I twist around, gun raised. My barrel is at Collins’s head. I’m not even aware I crossed the ground to her. “I could just execute you right now, Collins.”
“You could, Ky, but then what will happen if they,” she points to the sky, “find out you killed me? They’ll come down here for you.”
“I’ll blow their heads off too,” I say, never breaking eye contact. My finger twitches, and I’m itching to pull the trigger. I want to put a hole in her head so badly.
She pushes my gun from her face. “Ky, I’m not one of them, I promise. Me or Cecilia. We are full Creations. You know how much I hate traitors.”
I survey her. “Why were you associating with one if you hate traitors?”
“Why were you?”
Oohh, she’s got me.
Collins purses her lips and quips, “Cat got your tongue, Ky?”
I bite into my left cheek to manage my anger and not slap her with my pistol. Admitting defeat, I nod. “That is accurate. But we weren’t siding with the enemy. Didn’t you say something about convincing others to help? That sounds like something a snake would do.”
“We could point the finger all night, Ky. Let’s be adults and let bygones be bygones. I’m not a traitor, and I’m not a snake. I’m trying to find out what Cory’s plan is because you have been ignoring his obvious signs of being a traitor.”
I look at Luke. “How not true is that statement?”
“It’s getting late. Let’s head back. Besides, we have other things we need to discuss.” Luke turns, and I follow. “And by the way, Collins, you may not be a snake or a traitor, but you are definitely a slut. Remember that.”
I bump Luke’s arm with my elbow. “Why are you being so vulgar tonight? You are usually a little more respectful than that.”
A shotgun clicks and fires. Luke jolts forward, face-planting in the dirt. I lurch forward, searching his body, sighing with relief at finding the slug caught in his vest.
I fire at Collins before I look her direction. When I do turn to her, the shotgun is falling from her hands. My next shot hits Collins between the eyes. Her head jerks back as her body falls backward. Cecilia snatches up her hand as she falls. She shouts, “Ky! You could have killed her.”
“Shit,” I mutter, disappointed. Apparently, I didn’t kill her. “I wanted to though, that’s the reason I shot her in the face.”
As she heals Collins, I turn back to Luke. “Are you okay?” He climbs to his feet.
“Yes. You think you shot her enough times?”
I kick dirt, grumping, “No. She’s still alive.”
He cracks his neck. “When she gets up, I’m going to bust her lip for shooting me. That shit hurt.” His bac
k likely has a bruise the size of a watermelon.
“Honestly, Luke, I don’t like Collins, but you deserved to get shot because of what you said.”
He blows me off, waving his hand in my face.
“Let it go, Luke. If someone had said that to me, they would have gotten shot too.”
He reluctantly turns and walks away. “Okay, but when she comes back after you for shooting her in the head, don’t expect me to say anything.”
I scoff. “I can handle Collins without you. I’m not worried about her retaliation. Just if she shoots me, you better be as fast as Cecilia in healing me. Did you see how fast she jumped for her?”
Luke laughs. “Yeah. I’d grab you that fast too if you were about to die. Let’s hurry back to let Jord know we’ve returned.”
“Speaking of Jord, and now that no one is around…” I smack his arm with the back of my hand. “When were you going to tell me that he knows about us?”
He jumps from my attack. “When would I, Ky?”
“We know about them, and,” I carry on, “we all want the same thing.”
Luke nods. “The five of us seem to want the same thing. But everyone here doesn’t.”
“I need to know everything, Luke. Before we make it back to his office, tell me everything.”
We stop before we make it back to the light of the base. “I said I would talk to Harold first, and I did. I told him up front there is something suspicious about him, and I think he and Jord are mixed Creations. He questioned me asking, ‘Not implants?’ I didn’t refer to him as an implant. So I repeated, ‘Are you all mixed Creations?’ He took off his goggles. I’ve never seen him without his goggles.”
“They’re always tinted, and the majority of his face is always blocked off,” I cut in.
“Right, so he took them off and stared at me with eyes the same color as ours. But his entire eye was this color and sparkling like the Vojin’s particles. He said, ‘Yes,’ and put his goggles back on, then asked, ‘What made you suspect that?’ I told him about what we discussed the other night and how we suspected Jord and Seits because of Cory and because of the list and everything else. He nodded and agreed with me. Then he told me about how he, Jord, and Seits are mixed, but they do not work for the Vojin. They’re rebellious hosts, and even the Vojin know they’re against them. Without care, Harold released all this information.
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