Its horrific appearance nearly mesmerizes me, but I break the spell. I aim my gun at its right eye and I fire.
But even its eye is protected. The bullet flicks off, deflected to one side. The protective gray lid has slammed down over the eye, covering it. It opens again, revealing that impenetrable blackness. The creature snorts like a horse, its awful gaze fixed on me.
Cass is now back at the doors, pounding on them for us to be let in.
Behind the mutant I can see others of its kind devastating the remaining people in the street. I’m so shocked that I can’t even think straight.
The mutant moves forward.
I just let my gun hang down. There’s no point wasting bullets.
Gadya is still firing, but Liam has stopped too.
Liam and I back away, edging closer to the hotel. I want us to run, but I don’t want to turn my back on the mutant.
“Cass, c’mon!” I yell at her.
“Damn you!” Cass is busy screaming at the rebels in the hotel.
Time starts to slow down like molasses.
The mutant is still looking at me. Its mouth is hanging open. I can see its lolling, pitted pink tongue between its teeth.
Right then I have a sudden idea. I don’t know whether it will work or not, but I have to try it.
The ultra-potent cyanide capsule from Dr. Urbancic.
These mutants have mechanical elements, but they are mostly biological, because they are based on human DNA. I doubt that the government expects us to have access to Dr. Urbancic’s rare, premium-grade cyanide. Perhaps they did not prepare the mutants to withstand it.
The voice on the loudspeakers also said that these mutants don’t need food. Maybe the cyanide will both poison it and overload its system. This mutant might be tough on the outside, but if I can get the cyanide capsule down its throat, maybe the cyanide will fry its internal organs. I have no idea if cyanide will even be toxic to this creature. Who knows how its biology works. But I’m going to guess that cyanide can’t be good for it. My fingers fumble in my jacket pocket.
Gadya stops firing and glances over at me, just as I get the capsule out.
“No, wait—” she says, confused. For a second, she thinks I’m planning on ending my own life. But then she suddenly understands, as I raise my arm back. “Is that going to work?” she yells.
“I don’t know!” I scream back.
“Do it!” Liam says, also realizing that I don’t intend the capsule for myself, but for the mutant.
I fling the capsule straight into the mutant’s gaping mouth.
It flies straight toward its target, glides over the surface of the mutant’s tongue, and hits the back of its throat, where it disappears from view before the mutant can gag and spit it out.
As I watch, Gadya and Liam whip out their pills and pelt them into the creature’s mouth. The mutant’s mouth snaps shut, but it’s too late. The mutant coughs and screeches, but it has ingested the capsules.
A split second later, the mutant lunges forward and goes into action. It lashes out at me with its long clawed arm. I fling myself to the concrete. Cass is rushing over now to help, but there’s nothing she can do. If the cyanide doesn’t work soon, there’s probably no way we’ll survive.
“Hey!” Liam screams at the mutant, firing at it again to distract its attention from me. The mutant looks in his direction and begins to hiss and growl. It puts its head down low, like a feral dog, and begins moving toward him.
I see other mutants on the street heading our way too.
The mutant swings out at Liam, but Liam manages to roll out of the way at the last second. So far, the cyanide is doing nothing.
I race to Liam’s side. Gadya and Cass start running over to us too.
The mutant is looking at us, and heading our way.
But then, it seems to catch a glimpse of Cass as she tries to dash past it, right behind Gadya.
The mutant pivots around, and snatches her up with a clawed hand.
Cass screams in pain as she fires her gun directly into its arm.
“Cass!” I yell, stopping in horror.
She keeps firing, but even at close range, the bullets do nothing to slow the creature’s momentum.
It sinks its fangs into her chest and shoulder.
“No!” I scream, fumbling with my gun.
Liam runs forward and tries to grab her legs. I follow, right there with him. We manage to grab on to her feet. I can smell the stink of the mutant from here—an oily, sweaty chemical odor.
Blood is rushing down from Cass’s body to the concrete.
The mutant whips its head sideways, digging its teeth even deeper into her chest. I lose my grip on her shoe. The mutant rears up, tearing at Cass’s flesh. She screams once, loudly. Then she stops.
Gadya runs forward but slips on the blood and careens sideways, slamming down on the ground.
More mutants are headed our way. The street is filled with bodies of the rebels. And the regular civilians have fled.
This is it. This could be the end.
But then I notice something unusual. The mutant is moving less rapidly now. Its motions are spasmodic and strange. It flings Cass’s body down to the street. Then it staggers sideways, jerking and twitching.
It takes me a second to realize that the cyanide must finally be having an effect on it. But it’s too late for Cass.
I rush to her side as the mutant claws at its own throat and chest, staggering away from us with unholy cries.
“Cass, hang in there!” I yell, as I kneel down next to my friend.
She moves her head. But she can’t speak. Blood is welling out of her mouth. I have flashbacks to Rika’s death. And Veidman’s death. “Please don’t die,” I tell her. “Stay awake.”
“I’m so tired,” she manages to whisper.
“I know. It’s going to be okay. We’ll get you out of here.”
She stares back at me. Her eyes don’t look frightened. They look oddly peaceful.
Blood is pumping out from the massive lacerations in her chest and arms.
Liam and Gadya are now at my side.
“Cass, c’mon,” Gadya says. “You can pull through this.”
“I’m going to pick her up, so we can get her help,” Liam says.
But right then, Cass’s eyes roll back in her head.
“Cass, no—” I gasp.
She opens her mouth to try to say something to us. I’m clutching her hand. And then her head falls sideways and she exhales.
I have heard this sound before.
Cass is dead.
I keep holding her hand. Gadya stands up. “Damn you!” she yells, firing her weapon at the remaining mutants. They slither and plod their way toward us. They are moving slower now that we have injured one of them.
The one that we poisoned has fallen onto its knees, choking and coughing up white foam. These mutants might be immune to bullets, but we’ve found a way to bring down one of them. Unfortunately, we have no more cyanide, and the other mutants keep advancing on us.
“We’re going to die next,” I say to Liam. I’ve accepted it. I let go of Cass’s hand and grab on to him, and he puts his arm around me.
“We’re not going to die. We need to run,” he says. But for once, even in his voice, I hear little hope. These mutants can catch up to us. We won’t be able to get away from them.
Then I hear a noise. I glance up, expecting the worst. But instead, I see the door to the hotel opening.
“Come on!” a voice calls to us from inside. “Hurry up!”
“Gadya!” I yell. “Look!” She turns around and sees the open door. Liam and I stand up. The three of us all run toward the hotel as fast as we can.
I glance back at Cass’s body. There is no way to bring her body with us. Her journey is over.
I reach the open door and barge inside, along with Liam and Gadya.
I don’t feel sad about Cass’s death right now—I feel angry.
Two rebels bolt the do
or behind us, and two more approach us.
I can no longer control my rage.
I take my gun and rush at the nearest rebel. I slam him in the face with my weapon. He goes flying down to the marble floor. His head bounces on it.
“Cass died because of you!” I yell. Liam grabs me from behind, trying to calm me down. But it doesn’t work. I wrench myself out of his grasp.
Gadya understands how I feel. She takes her gun and points it at one of the other rebels. “Why didn’t you let us inside earlier?” she asks. “It took our friend getting killed before you’d open the door? Huh?”
“Stop,” Liam is saying. “We’re on the same side.”
“Are we?” I snap at him, my anger boiling over. The rebel that I hit is now getting up, rubbing his jaw. “They’re the reason that Cass is dead!”
I suddenly hear the sound of heels on the marble. A woman has just entered the huge lobby, coming down from a staircase.
I’m startled to see that it’s Dr. Vargas-Ruiz.
“I instructed them to let you in,” she says, her voice cutting through the din. “They didn’t do it because your friend died. They would have let all of you die. They must protect as many of their men as possible, especially after the massacre.”
I look at her. “I don’t understand what’s going on anymore. What are we doing? Whose voice did we hear out there on the loudspeakers? How come we didn’t know about these mutants? We walked right into a death trap!”
Liam is staring at her too. We’re all trying to figure the situation out.
Dr. Vargas-Ruiz walks over to Liam, Gadya, and me. “Lower your guns.”
I reluctantly do what she says.
“We’ve discovered who is running the UNA now.” She pauses. “You might already know this—or have suspected it. But the leaders in charge of the UNA are Minister Harka’s former body doubles. His look-alikes. They are the ones who ousted him several years ago. They were able to keep up the deception that he was still alive until they could take full power. They managed to completely take over the government and rename themselves. They are the ones who now run things, from five different cities.”
I’m nodding. “I’ve met one of them. Minister Hiram.”
She nods. “Yes.” Then she continues speaking. “The body doubles continued the genetic experiments begun by Minister Harka and took them to new levels he never dreamed of. Those creatures out there were once normal teenagers, but they have been given drugs and have undergone surgical modifications. To become monsters.”
“What do we do?” Gadya asks.
“Is the body double who controls New Chicago still in the city?” I ask.
Dr. Vargas-Ruiz nods. “Yes. Minister Harvan. He was so confident he would win this battle, he didn’t actually leave. He’s in another skyscraper, not far from here. It’s heavily fortified.” She turns away. “Come with me. I’ll tell you more as we go.”
“Where are we going?” Liam asks.
“David is here on the penthouse level. I’ll take you to him.”
“David?” I stare at her retreating figure. “For real?”
“Yes. Follow me. We have to be quick.”
Liam, Gadya, and I exchange looks. I can’t believe that David has made the journey here, or that he’s in this hotel with us. We walk after Dr. Vargas-Ruiz across the marble floor.
The rebel that I hit with my gun eyes me warily, but he doesn’t say anything. I’m still furious and heartbroken about what happened to Cass. It didn’t need to be that way. The rebels could have let us inside. If people are still as heartless as they were under the UNA, then nothing will ever really change. I wonder if David could have intervened to prevent Cass’s death. Does he even know that it happened? He and Cass were friends. I keep following Dr. Vargas-Ruiz, with a heavy heart.
We head toward the stairway. David is waiting for us, seventy flights up, and I have some questions for him.
22 THE TOP FLOOR
THIRTY MINUTES LATER WE reach the top floor of the building. My mind is fading in and out. I can barely feel my legs. I keep thinking over and over about Cass.
Dr. Vargas-Ruiz leads us out of the stairway, back into the luxurious hallway. I glance out a huge window and see the streets beneath us. Even from here I can see the bodies and all the carnage. The mutants are still roaming below us.
“Is it like this everywhere?” I ask. “I mean, in the other cities?
Dr. Vargas-Ruiz nods. “Worse.”
“How can it be worse?”
“In New Washington and New Los Angeles there are almost no survivors.”
“What about the next wave? When the travelers get here?” Liam asks.
“They’re still coming, but now we know what we’re up against. This is going to be a tougher battle than we thought.”
“So we were the guinea pigs?” I ask her. “We were supposed to sacrifice our lives so you guys could figure out what kinds of secret weapons the UNA possessed?”
Dr. Vargas-Ruiz shakes her head. “No. You are soldiers. Rebels, just like me. And just like the ones who will come after us. In war, nothing can be predicted. We had no more idea of what to expect than you did. I thought our plan of creating the EMP might destroy enough UNA technology to bring us victory.” She pauses. “But it didn’t turn out that way. At least not yet.”
“So there’s still hope?” I ask. “Did David know about the mutants?”
She nods. “David will explain everything. Come with me to the penthouse conference room.”
Gadya looks at me. “David better have a great trick up his sleeve to get us out of here.”
“I hope he does,” I tell her.
We continue to follow Dr. Vargas-Ruiz. She leads us to a giant opening with two huge doors.
“Guns,” she says, holding out her hand to receive our weapons. “For security reasons.”
I shake my head. There is no way I’m giving up my gun after what happened outside.
“You have to, or I can’t let you into the room,” Dr. Vargas-Ruiz says. Liam and I pause.
Gadya suddenly steps forward, gun raised, and kicks open the door to the penthouse conference room.
“Wait!” Dr. Vargas-Ruiz calls out furiously.
But it’s too late. We barge inside the room right after her. The room is massive and bright, with three glass walls, which make it an excellent vantage point to watch the streets below. It is completely empty of furniture.
I instantly stop moving and stagger backward. Liam grabs me.
David is standing there in the center of the room, facing the door. Since I last saw him, he has undergone additional transformations. His body is larger and bulkier, and his stomach is swollen as though he is bloated with some sort of terminal disease. Metal braces help support his legs.
More wires come out of him, attached to a computer system resting on wheels next to him, like an old person’s oxygen tank.
“Oh my god,” Gadya says. The three of us stand there staring.
I can’t even speak.
Because it’s not only David’s appearance that has shocked us.
It’s the fact that he is not alone in the room.
Standing around him are five horrific and terrifying figures in black UNA military uniforms, their lapels draped with ribbons and medals.
These are Minister Harka’s body doubles.
I recognize Minister Hiram instantly. The others look similar—malformed, with plastic faces, dyed-black hair, and deranged eyes.
“You were supposed to take their guns!” David snaps at Dr. Vargas-Ruiz.
“I couldn’t get them in time.” Dr. Vargas-Ruiz shuts and locks the door behind us. She remains in the room.
“What the hell is going on?” Liam says, raising his weapon.
David gives him a mock salute. “Welcome to your future.”
For once, Gadya is too stunned to say anything.
I look from David to Dr. Vargas-Ruiz and back again. My finger finds the trigger of my weapon.
<
br /> “I know this is not what you expected,” David begins, taking a step toward me, dragging the computer system on wheels along with him.
“Don’t move,” I warn him. “Those mutants might be immune to my bullets, but I know you aren’t. David, what are you doing?”
A few of the body doubles chuckle.
“I told you she was feisty,” Minister Hiram says to another nearly identical-looking man in black.
Seeing all the body doubles here at once is surreal, and it makes me feel sick. There are essentially five Minister Harkas. It is as though they have multiplied in my absence from the UNA. We have done nothing to stop them. And David seems to be on their side. So does Dr. Vargas-Ruiz. I feel lost.
“Explain this to me,” I say to David angrily.
He nods. “Sure. The scientists and I made a wrong prediction. Just a single one. We didn’t realize how far along the UNA had come in developing the mutants as weapons of war.” He pauses. “We really did think that we could win. But after today, we realize that it is no longer a possibility.”
I feel like I’m going to throw up.
“What are you saying?” Liam asks him, his voice low and dangerous. “Have you gone crazy?”
Dr. Vargas-Ruiz steps past us and over to David’s side. “He’s saying that we’ve decided to negotiate a civilized surrender.”
“A what?” I’m shocked.
“Civilized?” Gadya yells. “Is that what you call the massacre down there?”
David nods. “Those were necessary casualties. Collateral damage. We can’t overcome the mutants,” he says. “The other cities have been recaptured by the UNA.”
“This can’t be happening,” Gadya says, sounding dazed.
“We’re going to work together,” David continues smoothly. “I’ve convinced Dr. Vargas-Ruiz and the others that it is for the best. The only other choice is death for all of us. In fact, the ministers want to help us—if we help them.”
“You mean betray everything we stand for!” I say.
I’m stunned.
Liam, Gadya, and I all have our guns ready now.
The Defiant Page 28