Grandin sighs heavily through his nose, holding the stress of the situation in his pinched lips. “Since the first destruction, The Vojin have been plotting how to finish the job, and in time, they figured out the perfect combination.” With his hand pointing straight forward, he taps the side of the table, saying, “Zombies make the inhabitants that the Vojin believe to be a murdering virus of our planet an actual virus to each other. Then,” he moves his hand over and taps the table again, as if spacing out their plan. “Using your connections, you take out your enemies’ defense, our army of Creations. The Vojin convinced Richard to eliminate Creations by making them believe many of their Creations were Vojin-implanted hosts. This makes Creations seem vulnerable, a risk to us. A failure. Now, lastly.” This time, his hand shifts outward another three inches, but it doesn’t tap the table, as if the final part of the plan is incomplete. Looking at the table, his brows furrow, and his voice trembles as he says, “Invade.”
Lovett, speaking in a grim tone with a line etched between her brows and hands balled in tight fists says, “All of them at once will fill the sky and descend on us like prey. We won’t be fast enough; we couldn’t become fast enough to stop them. With few Creations, we won’t have the manpower to fight them.” I expect her words to sound worried, but there’s anger in her eyes, a desire to fight. But there’s no way she can battle, not in her current state of weakness, though she hides her discomfort very well.
We look to Grandin for answers, discarding our instinct to show respect by avoiding his gaze. The corners of his eyes wrinkles as he squints. I wonder about the information he has hoarded in his mind. If the Vojin and Itteix aren’t the only extraterrestrial beings that are out there. If the America has some secret weapon tucked up their sleeve that they can use against them. If they have some solid plan to terminate the Zombies and turn the country—the world—back to normal again. But Grandin’s face falls, muscles relaxing so every feature in his face frowns, and he looks at me. Dead in the eyes, he stares for what feels like a long time, and I realize he may actually have the answer. It just may be one I’m not ready to hear.
Grandin sighs heavily and says, “Our only option is to meet them in the sky. Set off an explosion big enough, directed at their mothership, take out enough of them so they flee. If we will have such an impact, they will never think to come to earth again.”
“What could create an explosion that big?” I ask.
Everyone looks at me, as though the answer is obvious.
Marc says, “A star.”
“The light of the universe,” Sean follows.
An Itteix…
“And what about Arletta and Richard? They aren’t going to give up on making their perfect Creation. And I know for a fact they want me. I saw it in their eyes when they witnessed me take on a mob of Creations.”
Grandin gives me a smug smile. “Nobody has ever come across a Creation that has the DNA of a Vojin and the heart of an Itteix. You’re a rare breed, Kylie. Thanks to your mom for removing your implant. You’re their perfect combination. You can’t be made. Regardless of how many they try to create, the scientists will take years to come up with something even remotely similar. There is only one way for them not to get their hands on you…” his words trail off and stab me in my chest.
Death.
I turn my attention to Lovett, remembering how I overheard her say that I don’t know what I am. I swallow hard. My throat scratches from being so dry. The effects of fear. My hands shake, and my ears ring. I usually wouldn’t fear death. I often chase it. Loving the thrill and getting high off the risk of pushing death to its limits, I usually jump at the opportunity to take it on. But that’s when I know there’s a chance I’ll make it. Even just a one percent chance. But when the chance for survival is none, count me out. I want to live.
Chapter Thirty
Showered, dressed, and in dire need of fresh air, I sit on the ledge of the roof of the Trade headquarters. At the back of the building, there’s nothing but a straight drop to Earth.
I breathe in through my nose and release from my mouth, processing the information I’ve waited days to find out. I thought we could stop them by taking out the Guidance, but that would mean nothing if the Vojin have the numbers to back them up. If the Itteix are possibly the greatest threat to Vojin, and that pink Vojin knew I was Itteix, why didn’t she kill me, or try harder to convince me to side with her? If Arletta and Richard know I’m Itteix, why did they so easily let us leave?
Could they be planning something worse? And if so, what? What could be worse than Zombies? Forget about the alien invaders. Zombies stink; they’re hungry all the time; they’re contagious; they completely change the structure of the world. They were enough of an attack! It will take years, decades to come back from this.
In a matter of days, my life has changed so much, I struggle to keep track of where I was a week ago. A moment where I thought it was important that I was finally free, that I was finally accepting my emotions, something I’ve struggled with all my life.
And now, it doesn’t matter. The Trade wants me to sacrifice myself, not to save our planet, but to keep more like me from being created. To keep Richard and Arletta from accomplishing their weapon.
I must wait for my cue, because it would be useless for me to simply take a blade to my neck and get it over with. No. I must wait it out. When the Vojin attack, my death will kill two birds with one stone. Me and them.
“Argh,” I sigh, slumping forward, clutching the edge in my hands as I kick my heels against the side of the building.
“Hey,” Marc says from behind me.
I look over my shoulder and find myself smiling when our gazes meet.
“I was looking everywhere for you,” he says, crossing the roof to where I sit.
“You’ve been successful in finding me.” I nudge his shoulder with mine when he gets settled beside me.
Marc wraps his arm around my waist, and I scoot closer to lean my head against his shoulder. He doesn’t say anything else as we sit. The sun begins to slope through the sky, the large mass sinking beneath the clouds, changing the blue of the sky to the color of Marc’s eyes. We sit on the roof until sky goes dark. When the clouds part, we can make out the lights of the city beneath.
“I’ll take your spot,” Marc says. “Richard, Arletta, and whoever else knows about you who want to breed you will chase you down until they get their hands on you. And the Trade will have you hunted down until you no longer exist. You’ll have to run forever, but at least you’ll still be breathing.”
I huff and remain silent as I wrap my arms around his middle.
“Maybe we can find another one like you. Convince them to do it.”
“We don’t have that kind of time, and there’s no way to find them, Marc.” I get up from the edge, pulling him with me. “Let’s go before the stars come out.”
Marc glares at me as he rises. He grabs my hand, and when I pull him to walk with me, he doesn’t move. “You want me to say this is okay? That I’m okay with losing you? You want me to be okay with telling you goodbye? Because I’m not. I won’t,” he says, shaking his head, charging past me. He stops five feet from me and turns around. “I can’t.”
The wind whips through his dark hair and flaps his grey, long-sleeved t-shirt. His frequent blinks make the shine of his eyes flash, and every second they do, I think about seeing him as an Itteix and why he was just as gorgeous as he is in his more familiar form. Not that it matters at a time like this. I’ve just grown used to Marc, and my infatuation for him is out of this world. I don’t want ‘goodbye’ to be our last word either.
“What do you want me to say, Marc?”
He shrugs, throwing his hands up and shoving his fingers through his hair. “Nothing. I just don’t know what to say, Ky.” His shoulders lower, and he huffs long and heavy. “Any day now, right?” His brows rise as though he gets an idea.
I nod. “That’s what he said. We’re just waiting on their invasion.
”
He marches over, grabs my hand, and yanks me with him as he charges for the exit from the roof. “We’ve got a lot to do in a little time.”
I jerk at his side, keeping up with his bouncing steps. “Like what?”
Marc rips the door open, and we hustle down the stairs. “Everything we never got the chance to do together, and everything we never will.”
Chuckling, he puts a pep in my step, and I hurry with him to wherever he’s leading us. We won’t cover everything; there’s so much of everything. But I’ll enjoy whatever’s left that we can do at the Trade’s headquarters.
Grandin departed to a meeting with the Trade council to discuss a plan for the betrayal of Arletta and Richard and what they will do about the Zombies. The problem is, they must still provide implicating proof of Arletta and Richard’s wrongdoing so the Guidance will revoke their membership and open the door for a prosecution. Grandin instructed us to not get involved because an assault against a leader of the government is an offense that renders the highest punishment.
Marc picks up the pace, and we jog through the main floor to a set of revolving doors that leads into the night. The moonlight glazes the patio where a table and chair set sit. On the table nearest the door, a game of checkers is set up. A few feet beyond the patio is a glistening pool, surface gently waving in the cool breeze.
“Sit,” Marc says pulling out a chair at the table with the checkers game. “A second date.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Why is a second date so important?” I ask as he sits.
“Because,” he shrugs. “It means I did something right the first time.”
I laugh. Taking a second to settle, as my laughter fades, I say, “You did do something right.”
“I know. Which is why we’re here.” He pushes the game to the middle of the table. “Red or black?”
“Red.”
He spins the game around so the red is in front of me. I look up from the game to meet his eyes and say, “I like checkers. I had never played a board game before or had the time to sit and chat with anyone other than Luke. I’m not happy with the way things turned out, and I want a different future. But I’m happy I met you.”
Marc puckers his lips, and if it isn’t the cutest thing I’ve ever seen him do. I jump across the table and kiss him, causing his chair to tip backward. We hit the concrete, laughing.
“Wow, Ky.” He chuckles, throwing his hand to his chest.
“Sorry.” I jump to my feet and help him up from the ground. “You were really cute, and I wanted to absorb it.”
“Whelp,” he says, dusting off his jeans. “You did good.” Grabbing me by the front of my shirt, he tugs me to him and wraps his arms around my neck. I return his hug, laying my head against his shoulder. “You’re going to have to pick all those checker pieces off the ground.”
I breathe, melting in his arms as the contact lifts the pressure from the toughest moment in my life and relieves the stress. I never knew this feeling, or any other feelings I experienced with him existed. How am I so lucky, and yet so unlucky?
“You okay?”
I nod. “If we could teleport to anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?”
Marc rests his head against mine. I wait minutes for his answer. When he seems to have it, I feel his head nod. He says, “I had to do Citizen Management in the state of Wyoming. Well, what used to be Wyoming. A couple years ago, before they stopped recognizing it as its own state. There’s this place called Union Falls there; I think it’s still there. We’ll have to hike up to it, and it’s surrounded by all kinds of trees that are thin, short, and tall. This waterfall reminded me of the shape of a diamond, rushing so quickly over the rocks, it turned white and fell to a short river beneath it that rolled into a small lake. It was the sound, the rushing and pounding of the river. It was sprinkling on me with how close I stood. There. I want to go there and stand under the water to see if its thunder would drown out the world and my thoughts while I hold you like this.” He kisses the top of my head.
I want to rip away from him. I’m dying to cut this short now so it won’t hurt him later. But I also want to stay because I want as much of him as possible, and this I can get. And I don’t know which desire is more selfish. I hug Marc a little tighter. “Thank you for wanting me as much as I want you.”
Marc chuckles. “As if you gave me a choice, Ky.”
I gasp and shove him away from me. “I wasn’t being pushy!”
He laughs and throws up his hands in surrender. “Indirectly, you were. But it wasn’t something you did. Just circumstances and situations always had you in my sight, and I never looked away is all.”
My cheeks burn, and I throw my hands over them to hide my blush. “Cut off the cuteness, Marc. I can’t take it.”
Marc looks over his shoulder then back to me. “You ruined my game of checkers, knocked me out of my chair, and now you’re telling me what to do, Ky.” He comes for me, full speed.
I giggle, jumping out of his path and pushing him away from me. We wrestle, and he pins me to the ground. In a matter of seconds, he lifts me by my waist, throws me over his shoulder, and then I’m airborne. Flailing until I feel the sting of the ice-cold water, I’m submerged in the pool. My foot touches the floor of the pool, and I push myself up out of the water. Hair sticking to my face, the wind biting my soaking skin, I find Marc near the edge laughing.
Teeth chattering, I say, “That. That. Was not. N-not pleasant.” I swim from the side of the pool that looks over the edge of the floating island to where he stands. I intend to grab him by the ankle and yank him with me, but he jumps over my head and into the water causing a volcanic splash.
“Shit,” he yelps, popping out of the water. “It’s cold!”
I grab the edge of the pool to lift myself up and out, but Marc grabs me by my waist and pulls me back in. I twist around. “Are you trying to get sick or something?” Something a regular Creation wouldn’t have to worry about, but now I do.
He shakes his head, shoving his hair from his face with his free hand. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I ask, “But why? It’s so silly to jump into a pool for no reason.”
“Because we can. Freedom. Our own will.” His teeth don’t chatter like mine. “Watch this.” Around us, the water lights a silvery-blue and begins to warm.
My chattering teeth settle, and I sigh as the chill shaking my skin rests. We wade through the water to the middle of the pool where the water is up to our chin. There’s something about the freedom that we have here at the Trade headquarters. The lack of eyes and, seemingly, cameras on us, and the comfort in Marc I only saw behind closed doors back at the base.
“Better?” he asks, pulling me closer.
I laugh once. “Have you always been able to do these things?”
He nods.
“And you never trusted me enough to tell me? Not even after I told you about my Vojin connection?”
Marc presses his lips together and drags his gaze away from me. “Did you see how excited Jord became when he discovered you only might’ve been Itteix? Those who know about Itteix are the ones who’ve been notified by the Guidance to look out for them, maybe to turn them in. I don’t know.” He shrugs. “And I trust you. I trusted you. It’s not something we talk about, ever. We don’t think about it; we don’t bring it up.” He lifts his dripping arm out of the water and gestures toward the building to our right. “Here we can, freely, without worry. But no.” He shakes his head. “It had nothing to do with trusting you, but everything to do with my lack of exposure.”
I wipe the drops of water rolling down my forehead. “I exposed myself to you, Marc.”
He lets out a harsh breath. “And I exposed myself to you, maybe not directly. But from the moment I told you I loved you. It was over for me. For us. Had I told you I was Itteix, you would’ve had no idea what it was, and likely would’ve told Luke, and you and Luke would’ve discussed
it likely under mics or on camera. I’m sure they had mics and cameras even in our rooms with alerts on the word Itteix.”
“I feel like you’re trying to justify for your lack of trust in me.” I throw my head back. “And it’s not that I don’t get it.” Marc nips my chin and kisses it after. I bring my head back forward and meet his violet eyes. “I guess I just wanted a little bit more of you when you weren’t willing to give it, though I offered every bit of me to you.”
“Hey, Ky. You know what,” he says in a desolate tone that causes him to squeeze my side tighter and drop his gaze down to the water. He chews on his bottom lip and then says, “I’m just an eighteen-year-old Creation; my mother and father were Itteix, so I’m that too. I’ve buried that part of what I am since the day I was born, okay? And I don’t have the answers you’re looking for. All I can say is, you’ve got me, as I am, wanting every bit of you that you’re willing to give, and I can give you every ounce of me that you’re willing to take, and I can only hope that’s enough for you.” He meets my gaze. “Can that be enough for you?”
I ask, “Do you have any other secrets?”
He snorts. “Shit. I should be asking you that, Kylie.” He laughs once. “You are a rare species I’m holding in my arms. I should be so lucky to be in your presence.”
I laugh and crinkle my nose at the statement, hating everything about it. “Never say that again. I’m just a girl, on a date with her boyfriend, who so disrespectfully threw her in a pool of freezing cold water because he’s mean and doesn’t care about her getting sick.” I nod once, finalizing my statement.
“Let’s get out of here, grab a bite to eat, and get some rest.”
The Separation Trilogy Box Set: Books 1 -3 Page 86