I never believed that David would turn on us like this. “How could you do this to us? It doesn’t make sense! When did your views change? You’re supposed to be a rebel, not some fascistic UNA supporter!”
“My views never changed. The situation changed. I had to be flexible and change with it.” He pauses. “What I learned was that the UNA is not so different from us. The ministers will do anything to keep their power. And we will try anything to take it away from them. We are like two equal but opposing forces. Yet if we put those forces together, then who knows what can be achieved? I don’t want to die, or rot in a UNA jail cell. I want to have access to their technology and continue my research.” He lifts a hand. “They are interested in the future of the human race. So am I.”
“You’ve lost your way,” I tell him. “You’re not thinking straight anymore.”
“Look. We did our best,” David said. “We must be gracious in our defeat. The ministers could have killed us by now if they wanted to. Remember that.”
I see Minister Hiram and two of the other body doubles nodding in the corner.
“We need you,” Minister Hiram says to me, Liam, and Gadya. “To help bridge a gap between us and the populace. Come and work for us and David. We can restore the power, because we have hidden generators deep underground. We will rebuild everything, and turn a corner in the UNA, so that we can defend ourselves against the European Coalition. You will have every luxury that you desire—”
“Luxuries mean nothing to me,” I spit.
“Me either,” Gadya seconds.
“What if we say no?” Liam asks in the silence. “Then you kill us, right? That’s how this works.”
Minister Hiram shrugs. “Not necessarily.”
I look at David. I stare into his remaining human eye. I wonder whether this is some kind of elaborate scheme to help us win against the UNA. For a moment, my heart leaps with hope. But I don’t see that in his eye. I see something dark and resolute. It’s like his physical change has created a mental change.
“David?” I ask.
“Yes?”
“Did you always know this would happen? Did you plan this all along?”
“No,” he says. “How could I have known?”
“Because you know everything. More than anyone else. You always have.”
“I think on my feet.”
But for once, I’m not confused anymore. I have known him long enough. I see something behind his eye that lets me know he is lying. He planned this. He knew it would end this way. With him in a position of power. Working with the very people who destroyed the country, for his own personal gain. This is not some arbitrary decision on his part.
I now realize in horror that he only wanted to defeat the UNA so that he could take it over. He is power-mad.
He never wanted to kill these leaders.
He merely wanted to become one of them.
I raise my gun. “You’re lying. You’ve always been an egomaniac and a monster. I was just foolish enough to believe in you, and help you.”
“That’s not true!”
I aim my gun at his chest. “Prove it.”
“Come on,” David says. “This is crazy. We’re beyond violence now. Haven’t we seen enough murder and killing?”
On either side of me, I see that Gadya and Liam have taken aim as well.
The ministers back away from David, taking out guns of their own. The guns are pointed at us.
David holds out his arms, beseechingly. “If you fire, then you die. We want your abilities on our side. You’re smart. You’re good fighters. We can use you. Think of your journey to this room as one big test. You’ve proved yourselves. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“You know what, David?” I ask.
“What?”
“Liam always said you were untrustworthy. I should have listened to him.”
“Just put down the gun.”
Everyone is watching us. I can feel the ministers’ guns pointed at me. The only reason they aren’t firing is because they know that if they do, I will fire on reflex and strike David. My finger is tight on the trigger.
“Think about everything we shared!” David says. “You don’t have to do this, Alenna. Calm down and lower the gun, and we can talk about it. There are ways to make this work out for all of us.”
“Why did you want me here so badly?” I ask him, my mind churning. “What was so important about us going to see Dr. Urbancic? You could have gotten anyone to do that. Why us? Why me?”
He stares back. “Because you’re the only one who always believed in me, Alenna.” He lets the words sink in. “You’re the only one who never lost faith in me, no matter what I did on Island Alpha. You helped everyone else to trust me. You never wavered. I knew I could count on you to set off that bomb, and to have blind faith in me.”
His words strike me like blows.
He used me.
“There weren’t five teams out there, setting off nuclear bombs,” he continues. “Just one team. You guys. When you pressed that button, it detonated the entire network of nuclear bombs and unleashed the EMP. I just made everyone think differently. It was up to you all along.”
“You played us for fools,” I say, trying not to cry, from rage and sorrow.
“You bastard,” Liam says to David. I half-expect Liam or Gadya to fire at him, but they don’t. At least not yet. If any one of us shoots, we will probably all die in a hail of bullets.
“I knew that Alenna would make sure that button got pushed,” David says. “Liam, I could have had you killed, but I was afraid that your death would distract her. She’s the only reason that you’re alive. Same goes for you, Gadya.”
I keep the gun steady on David. I have been trained to be a warrior, but I never thought I would have to aim a gun at David. My hand starts shaking. It’s slight, but David sees it.
“It’s okay,” he says. “You don’t need to kill anyone now. Not ever again. The key to success is working together. We can build a new future, even if it’s not the one you were thinking of when you came here.”
“What are your plans?” I ask him, choking the words out. “Become some benevolent ruler? The ministers will never let that happen and you know it. The UNA will just continue onward, like it is.”
“That’s not true. We can change things from within. The ministers have seen how unhappy the people are, and they realize they nearly lost the battle for the country. They want to start over. We can create a fairer and better UNA. It won’t be perfect, but we can slowly work to improve conditions for everyone—”
“Stop lying!” I yell at him. My hand starts shaking more. I know that he is lying. I know that I should shoot him. He betrayed me. He was never my friend. He only saw me as someone gullible that he could use as a pawn in his psychotic plans. But I still can’t do it. I blink tears away. I know that if I lower the gun, or Liam and Gadya start shooting, one of the ministers will shoot me. My finger loosens on the trigger.
“We’ve suffered so much,” David continues, in an oddly soothing voice. “Each one of us. We tried our best. It’s not wrong to accept a deal with the ministers now. We can have actual lives again. Don’t you want that? And who knows—maybe there’s a chance for you and me to have a life together, Alenna. I’ve always liked you. I just need you to see things my way.”
“David—” I begin angrily.
Then I see something. Hidden in his hand is a small object. I don’t know what it is, or where it came from.
“Raise your hands,” I yell, tightening my grip on the trigger again. I’m aiming right at his heart.
In that instant, David raises his hands. I see that he has a gun. It must have been hidden up the sleeve of his jacket. And now it’s pointed at Liam. No matter what his plans are for me, he’s going to shoot the boy I love. I can’t let that happen.
Before I can think about it, I pull the trigger.
David fires too, shooting wildly as Liam leaps out of the way. David staggers back as
my bullet hits him, but he stays on his feet. The gun falls from his hand.
There’s a split second of silence after the gunshots.
David looks at me, stunned.
“You shot me!” he says, sounding angry and hurt. Surprisingly, the ministers keep standing there, watching us closely. They don’t fire. And they do nothing to help David. Neither does Dr. Vargas-Ruiz. I shot to kill David, but somehow he is still alive.
“Why would you shoot me?” he asks, sounding stunned. “You weren’t supposed to do that!”
“Because you pointed a gun at Liam!” I yell. “Because you were going to kill him, and probably Gadya too!” I know it to be true. They are disposable to him now. More blood is coming out of David’s wound.
“But I’m not supposed to die,” he says. “Your friends are. . . . Not me. . . .”
“No, they’re not,” I tell him. “None of us are.” I feel so shaky, I can barely stand up. I grab on to Liam for support. Both of us are breathing hard, transfixed by David and the stone-faced ministers.
A trickle of blood starts coming down David’s shirt, and he wheezes for air. He raises a hand to his chest. “This whole time I thought you liked me. I thought I could manipulate you.” He sounds oddly thoughtful and quizzical. The anger is gone from his tone now. “I didn’t think you’d do this to me.” He stumbles backward, nearly getting caught on the wires surrounding him. “How can you not understand. We lost. . . . There’s no point being . . . on the losing team.” His breath is coming in gasps.
“I’d rather be true to myself than win,” I tell him.
I’m still waiting for the ministers to open fire on us, but it doesn’t happen. They just keep watching David with their nearly identical faces.
David continues looking at me. My hand is shaking but I don’t lower my gun. “Didn’t you care for me at all?” he asks. He takes another step back. More blood is soaking through his shirt. “I’m . . . surprised.”
“It doesn’t matter what I felt for you once,” I tell him, revolted by his actions. “That’s over now. I don’t care about people who switch sides. Who play the system. Who use other people. You took any feelings I might have had for you and threw them away. You were willing to kill me. You just never thought I would be willing to kill you. Face it. You’re the one who lost.”
David is getting pale. He glances back at Dr. Vargas-Ruiz. She has backed away into a corner of the room, expecting a gun battle. “I told you to take their weapons. . . .” David murmurs. “Just in case.” He looks at me. “Why did you choose Liam over me? I still don’t understand . . .”
Then he abruptly collapses backward onto the floor, in a jarring tangle, slamming his head down hard.
Gadya grips my arm. We don’t know what’s going to happen next.
I look away from David and see that all five ministers have their guns pointed at us again. Perhaps we will not be getting out of this room alive. I just hope we can take some of the ministers down with us.
I hear faint coughing sounds from David. He is dying. I have killed him. I can’t believe it. I feel like I’m going to pass out. Then his choking sounds become even louder and more agonized. I see blood flowing from his lips, followed by some kind of strange tentacle.
I gasp.
“It’s a MIOD!” Gadya yells.
Indeed, a large metallic tentacle is clawing its way out of David’s mouth. David’s body seizes up as he goes into his final death throes. The MIOD begins emerging, prepared to attack us.
My hand is too unsteady to shoot. But Liam and Gadya both fire at once, exploding the metal creature into fragments.
Is this why David did it? Did the ministers implant him with one of these, as a means to control him and keep him in line? I don’t understand. Rika had one of those in her, but she was still willing to sacrifice herself so that we could live. David has no excuse. He made his choices. And he had to live and die by them.
Then the entire building begins to shake.
Confused and scared, I grab out for Liam. The floor feels like it’s moving. The ministers run to the windows to look out.
I hear the roar of engines out the window.
Dr. Vargas-Ruiz tries to make a dash for the doors, but Liam grabs her.
“You traitor!” he yells at her.
“No, wait—” she cries out. “The ministers made me do it. I have a family. My brother and his young children. They said they’d have them killed if I didn’t go along with their plans. Please don’t hurt me.” But in her hand, I see a small, sharp silver knife appear. Liam doesn’t see it yet.
“You’re lying,” he says to her.
“Liam, look out!” I yell.
Just in time, he lurches back, barely avoiding her blade.
Then gunshots ring out and she falls backward. Gadya stands there. She has shot Dr. Vargas-Ruiz twice in the stomach. Dr. Vargas-Ruiz retches and falls to the ground. She tries to crawl away on all fours, like an animal.
I rush over to her and yank her up by her hair as she screams.
“How could you do this to us? Was my mother in on this?” I yell. I snatch the knife away from her.
Her scared eyes find mine. “No . . . ,” she moans. “And I was never a rebel scientist. I was an operative for the UNA . . . sent to control the rebels as best I could. . . . Matthieu Veidman was my son. . . . Please—” She clutches at my hands. “Please forgive me for what I did to all of you.”
I let go of her hair and she falls facedown to the floor, in an ever-widening pool of blood.
That’s when the gunfire starts in earnest. The ministers begin firing their weapons at us. I fling myself down and narrowly avoid getting hit.
Outside the windows I inexplicably see aircraft rising up.
We are doomed.
These must be UNA craft. Clearly, thanks to David’s and Dr. Vargas-Ruiz’s treachery, the ministers knew all about our plans.
“Duck!” Liam yells, sheltering me as the aircraft closest to us opens fire.
The thick glass windows explode under the massive barrage of supercharged antitank shells from the aircraft.
I slide onto the floor, trying to grab hold of Liam and Gadya.
I see one of the ministers get hit in the head with a piece of shrapnel, as a wave of flying glass blasts over him. He screams, staggers a few steps forward, disoriented, desperately trying to pick glass out of his eyes, and then tumbles out the broken window. His screams echo back to us as he plunges to his death seventy stories below.
The other ministers are firing at us, and out the windows as well.
“They’re not UNA aircraft!” I scream, in a moment of sudden understanding.
Gadya looks at me as she fires back at the surviving ministers. “What?”
Liam has realized the same thing. “It’s ships from the European Coalition!”
We race toward the doors and unlock them as bullets fly.
I tumble into the hallway with Liam and Gadya. Behind us, the airplanes from the European Coalition continue to shoot at the ministers in the room.
Liam slams the doors behind us.
Rebels race out into the hallway, guns drawn. For a moment I think they will shoot us.
“Stop!” I yell. “David and Dr. Vargas-Ruiz were traitors! We’re on the same side!”
“The Europeans are here!” Liam says.
The rebels look confused.
“No more shooting!” I call out. “But we need to get out of this building right now! The ministers are in the conference room. Kill them!”
The rebels don’t disagree with that. Some immediately head into the room with their guns raised. The whole building is shaking as bombs hit nearby. I’m worried that the European Coalition will start bombing the hotel before we can get out.
We all run down the hall together and back to the stairway, heading down to ground level. I can’t even believe what has happened.
I feel sick, but I also feel jubilant. The ministers and the mutants will all be killed by th
e European aircraft. The mutants might be able to survive bullets, but I doubt they can survive missiles and bombs. I just hope the same thing is happening in the other cities.
We hammer down the stairs as a group, moving as quickly as possible. More rebels enter the stairway at different levels and join us, forming a throng. Finally, we all burst back out into the lobby.
Through the massive windows, I can already see the bodies of mutants littering the street, along with the bodies of so many fallen rebels and citizens. Bomb craters are everywhere.
We run across the marble floor to the doors. I fling them open, and we race outside.
I immediately look up.
The sky is filled with planes. In the distance I can see more explosions. The European Coalition is destroying the remains of the UNA.
I clutch Liam’s hand.
Liam, Gadya, and I stand there on the steps outside the hotel for a moment. I look behind me. The entire top floor of the building is on fire. David and the ministers are history.
“We’re free,” I say.
“I hope it turns out that way,” Gadya replies.
“It will,” Liam says. “I just know it.”
I shut my eyes. All I can see is David’s face. I know that I did the right thing. I want to be on the winning side only if they are fighting for the right reasons. The UNA is evil. It deserves to be torn down.
David lost his way, or perhaps he was corrupt all along. I don’t want to fight the European Coalition. I want them to help us. This country is going to need every bit of help it can get.
Citizens who were hiding in other buildings, or on side streets from the mutants, are rushing back to the main street. They are dazed and pale, wearing shocked expressions. Nobody can understand what’s going on. People are too stunned from the carnage to be congratulating one another.
Planes continue to fly overhead, bearing the emblem of the European Coalition.
“We’re going to have to rebuild everything,” I say.
Gadya sighs. “I guess so.”
“We did it on the wheel,” I tell her. “We can do it again here.”
“This is our home,” Liam agrees. “We can make it anything we want it to be. What happens next is up to us.”
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