The Gender End

by Bella Forrest

  I’m okay, I said. My new friend here gave me quite a scare, though.

  Guys, this room has tanks with silver pythons in them, Violet reported on the subvocalizer, and I turned my back on the snake—as much as it made my skin crawl—heading back toward the manmade river.

  Viggo, this mist is making it impossible to stick together, Ms. Dale said, just as I almost slammed into her as I moved. My hands went up to catch her shoulders, and I grunted.

  Sorry, I muttered, taking a step back. Point taken. Everyone link up. We’re forming a human chain. I held my arm out to Violet, and she slipped her arm through it, locking us together at the elbows, and then followed suit with Ms. Dale.

  Everyone call it out, I said, and after a moment, everyone checked in that we were linked to someone in our long line. When Tim called in, his voice coming strangely through the mist now that I was used to hearing things in the comms, I regretted for a moment that he would have to be touching somebody—and that the similarly afflicted Morgan would have to do it, too, for that matter—but I knew this discomfort for him was infinitely preferable to his being lost in the damn mist.

  I began to move again, stepping over the small channel of water, alerting everyone to its location. We walked for several minutes in silence, more thumps sounding in the room from other tanks containing more giant snakes, which were knocking their noses against the glass in attempts to strike at us as we passed. I ducked down low under a stalactite, and my flashlight caught the cave wall in front of me.

  I stopped short and started to adjust, when Tim’s voice carried through the cave, slightly muffled by his gas mask. Of all of us, he was the only one who couldn’t use the subvocalizers, although he had the earbud. The subvocalizer caused him too much pain, so we had decided he would do without. But it meant he couldn’t notify us of anything when he saw it, not without using his voice.

  I could tell he was whispering to whoever he was holding on to, and then Morgan’s voice came on. Viggo, there’s something different in this tank back here. Tim wants you to come look at it.

  I exchanged a look with Violet, her eyes widening at mine through the clear panels of her gas mask, and then let go of her arm, moving carefully back down the line. Tim was bringing up the rear, and I saw him before I saw the tank. I was moving close to him when the mist suddenly parted, and I recoiled, unable to fully comprehend what I was looking at.

  Fur that was coal black and deeply matted ran across the creature’s huge, four-legged body. It sat like a dog, hunched over, the head and mouth wolf-like—but the tail was monkey-like, twitching as the creature stared at me through golden eyes. A pink tongue lolled out of its mouth, drool dripping in thick globs down to the floor of its cage, and its teeth were jagged and yellow.

  It closed its mouth, the head cocking back and forth as it seemed to study me. Then a paw—scratch that, a hand came up and pressed against the glass. The palm of the hand was long, the bones between the joints in the fingers longer still, and the tips seemed curled. It studied me for a moment longer, seemingly waiting for me to do something, and then presented its back to me, shaking itself and then lying down on its belly.

  “What that?” asked Tim, his eyes wide and alarmed.

  I hesitated, and then shook my head. I have no idea. I’ve never seen it before.

  The paws… Did you see that? Does that mean it can open doors and… use weapons?

  I looked over at Morgan, and shook my head again in answer to her question. I was baffled. If this was a creature from The Green, it was one that neither I nor Alejandro had come across. There was a gleam of intelligence in its eyes that gave me pause, a predatory patience that made me wonder if there would be a way to kill the denizens of these tanks before they got out and got to us.

  Viggo? Violet’s voice was a welcome distraction from a conversation that was leaving me feeling a bit more nervous than before.

  Yeah? I replied, turning to face the front, where her figure was now completely obscured behind the mist.

  I think I’m hearing voices coming from ahead.

  Alarm coursed through me, and I moved as quickly as I dared, following the line of people back and linking my arm through Violet’s. I strained my ears, and I could definitely hear… something. It was barely discernable, but certainly human in origin—comforting, in this environment, but only slightly.

  I pressed forward, following the sound, and soon it became clearer. It was difficult to tell their gender; their voices were intentionally pitched low, in an effort to disguise their location, but that probably meant they couldn’t hear each other well, either. Avoiding that issue was half the reason we’d brought the subvocalizers. Slipping my arm out of Violet’s, I moved forward a few steps and shut off my flashlight, following the voices.

  Stay there for a minute, I ordered the team. The mist roiled as I drew nearer, and as I pushed through it, I almost impacted with the cave wall. In the dimness I could see a narrow passage, much like the one separating the two chambers we’d just come from, cutting into the wall a few feet away, the voices echoing from within it. I leaned my back against the left side of the wall and began easing myself around the corner and down the passage, picking up each foot deliberately, trying to make sure I didn’t give away my presence.

  After a few seconds, I was finally able to discern actual words among the echoing sounds of the conversation carrying through the mist.

  “I’m really not sure this is the right data chip, sir.”

  “Keep trying. One of the ones we stole from that… Tyler fellow has got to work.” I froze when I recognized that voice, an icy stab of rage cutting through my gut.

  “His name is Thomas, sir.”

  “I don’t care what his name is, I’m ordering you to open the door!”

  “Trying, sir.”

  Maxen and whoever was with him fell silent, and I heard the sound of footsteps echoing through the chamber. At first I thought they were heading toward me, and I drew back, keeping my gun at the ready. But then I realized the moving person was pacing the confines of the chamber they were in. I pushed forward again and looked around the corner, risking a glance inside.

  The mist seemed to be thinner in there, almost non-existent, and I spotted Maxen, Mark Travers, two of the other Patrian wardens, and… Peter of the Porteque gang. He was flanked by two of his men, and I could pick out the triangle tattoos displayed proudly on all three of their faces.

  Mark knelt on the floor in front of an airlock door, fiddling around with the keypad, while Maxen impatiently paced the cavern floor.

  We’ve got a problem, I transmitted to my team as I pushed back, moving away from the area as quietly as I could. Maxen and Peter and some of their men are in the chamber in front of us. They’re trying to use one of Thomas’ stolen data chips to get in.

  What? Thomas exclaimed, his alarm coming clearly through the subvocalizer, and the mist broke enough for me to see him working away at his handheld. That’s insane. They can’t just stick random data chips in it and see if it’ll work. They’ll set off the alarms!

  As though his words had been the cue, a klaxon alarm began screaming out overhead, loud enough for me to clap my hands over my ears and frantically search for the source of the sound so I could silence it.

  You had to say it, Amber muttered through the link. There was a howling snarl from behind us, and I pushed Violet ahead.

  Thomas, Violet, Owen, get in that cavern and get that door open, I ordered as I moved back down the line. Try to disarm them if you can, but there might not be time. Priority is the door. Tim and Ms. Dale, you’re with me. Tim and Ms. Dale stayed behind as everyone surged forward.

  I heard Violet’s voice, her subvocalizer turned off, ringing out in the cavern, ordering Maxen to stand aside and let them open the door.

  And then one of the monkey-like creatures bounded out of the mist, heading right for me. It happened so fast that I almost tripped in my mad scramble to get away, and Ms. Dale and Tim both opened fire at it
. It soared over me, missing me by inches, and landed behind me, its black body quickly turning back around. I didn’t know how it had gotten out—but I had a sinking feeling that whatever chip Mark had inserted into that door, it had done more than set off a klaxon alarm.

  The beast lifted its lip, revealing the jagged teeth again, and I fired right at its head. I expected it to drop—I’d hit it right between the eyes—but it just looked at me, long tail twitching. We were frozen for a long moment, staring at each other. Then it surged forward, teeth snapping. I rapidly backed away, looking for something—anything—I could use to kill this thing. And suddenly Tim raced between us.

  He tossed something dark from his hand, and the wolf creature’s tail snatched it out of the air. For a heartbeat, I thought it was going to throw it back, but then it opened its mouth and snapped it up, swallowing it whole. Tim seamlessly adjusted his trajectory, spinning around and coming right back for me. He tackled me just as the creature’s head exploded with a loud, messy bang that reverberated through the caves. I landed hard on my back, the breath coming out of me in a giant whoosh.

  I panted, and then gently pushed Tim off of me and stood up, looking at the bloody mess that was all that remained of the creature’s body and trying to shake the ringing out of my ears. I looked down and realized I was covered in blood and charred bits of the creature. I grimaced.

  How’d you think of that? I asked, and Violet’s brother shrugged.

  “Someone feeds… it catches.”

  I chuckled, and reached over to rest my hand against his shoulder. Thank you.

  Save your thanks, Owen said. Door’s open and creatures are getting out in the lab. Move it.

  Ms. Dale, Tim, and I exchanged a three-way look as a long howl sounded from behind us, just close enough to a human wail to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A chorus of similarly eerie howls joined it, making a bizarre harmony, and we took off down the corridor, following it around as it curved. The tunnel ended in the small chamber I’d first seen Maxen in, barely five feet across, with a door just off-set from the tunnel on the right.

  It hung open, Owen with his hand on the inside wheel, urging us in. Inside, Morgan, Amber, Vox, and Violet had all their various weapons trained on Maxen and his team, while Thomas was fumbling with his gear, clearly the one responsible for the open door.

  I got inside first and immediately turned to help Owen close the door. Tim slid in after me, followed closely by Ms. Dale, and I heard the sound of teeth clacking together as something tried to get her by her ankle, narrowly missing. Owen and I heaved, and between the two of us, the door swung quickly inward.

  Something made for the gap, trying to find its way in, but got caught in between the door and the wall. There was a yelp, like a child’s shriek, as the door bounced back outward a few inches, and then Owen and I slammed it shut, spinning the handle as fast as we could and sealing all of us in. The door thudded violently, jerking slightly in the frame, and Owen took a slow step back.

  The room immediately began to decompress, but over the hiss of the air I could hear whatever was on the other side slamming against the door, trying to get in. The door began to shudder near the hinges that held it together—it was clear that the creature was targeting the weakest part of the door. How would it know to do that? I wondered, alarm racing all over my body.

  “Open the door,” Violet loudly ordered Maxen and his group as the hissing sound of the pressure equalizing died down, and I heard the hand wheel of the opposite door spinning as the group opened it up. Everyone stepped through quickly, and Owen and I brought up the rear, swiftly closing the interior hatch door and sealing it.

  One thing was immediately apparent: the air here was clear. No sign of the cloying mist. I ripped off my mask and sucked in a deep breath of air, and then switched off my subvocalizer and nodded to everyone.

  “Air’s clear, but keep an eye out for dangers in this room.”

  Then I stared head-on at Maxen, never taking my eyes from his face as he slowly took off his mask, my hand curling into an involuntary fist.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded.

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  31

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  VIOLET

  I tore off my mask with one hand but kept my gun pointed at Maxen. We were in some sort of monitoring station—screens hung around the ceiling in long rows, but right now they were dark. A series of desks made a circle in the middle of the room, terminals placed inside the tiny cubicles that separated workstations. The terminals were also dead, but Thomas was fiddling with one, unscrewing the back and plugging something in. Unlike the last room, this room had not two, but three airlock doors—the one we had just come through, and two others. Those two were located on the opposite side of the room from the entry door, approximately to the left and right of its position, angled to match the walls.

  The king still held his own weapon. There hadn’t been time to disarm his group, with the sounds coming from behind us in the tunnel. I was pretty certain both groups were too scared to think about anything but getting through that door.

  Luckily we had caught them unawares, so only Maxen and Peter had their weapons readied. Everyone else’s were holstered or tucked behind their backs. They were smart enough to realize they wouldn’t get to their guns before the shooting began. And we would go for the armed ones first—which included the king.

  Who was currently glaring daggers at my husband.

  “What the hell we are doing here,” the king pronounced, “is the same thing that you’re doing. Taking down Elena. Taking control. Getting rid of the monsters.”

  Viggo’s voice came out as a growl.

  “That’s not what this is about,” he said. “We’re here to take a criminal to trial for committing crimes against humanity and end this war. And I suggest you get out of the way before you get hurt. I’m not going to harm you unless I absolutely have to—but Elena, her wardens, and the creatures inside these labs will have no such qualms.”

  I had to hand it to Viggo. Even furious and in such a compromising situation, he hadn’t lost his sense of justice. I was already biting back threats to the king of Patrus. I’d been done with his arrogance, terrible decision-making, and selfishness for a long time, and now the temptation to just shoot him was stronger than ever. But that wasn’t how we had chosen to go about this fight.

  King Maxen looked back and forth between his group of men and Viggo. He still hadn’t put down his weapon, and he raised the gun now, as though to point casually at my husband.

  “Mr. Croft, I think your days of threatening your king are over. It’s your group who should stand down and let the real authority take care of things.”

  I couldn’t hold my tongue at that one.

  “You lost any authority you had the day you used women and children as human shields,” I snapped, twitching my gun to remind him that I already had a bead on him. “Put the gun down, Maxen.”

  “Your group would be nowhere without us anyway,” Viggo said. “You wouldn’t have found this place without stealing intelligence from us. Your group doesn’t know all the facts, and you don’t have what it takes to finish this mission safely. You need to leave now, before more people die.”

  “Thanks for all your help, by the way,” Peter said, speaking for the first time, his voice just as arrogant and needling as I remembered it. We’d tangled with this man before, and he’d been left with the very raw end of the deal. I knew that incident was still in his mind as he eyed me, and it was going to make this encounter even harder than it already was. “Without your careful planning we never could have gotten into this place. All we had to do was take a boat across the river and wait for you guys to start causing chaos. We were able to drive through this precious little city without any of the… sweet ladies noticing at all. Oh, and that program your beta male made? Great. It’s too bad none of you thought to use it to its full potential.”

  I heard Thomas take in a
sharp breath as it was clear that Peter was mentioning him, and let my eyes flick to the side, where I saw the rest of our group. Owen took a careful step away from Morgan, into the shadows, his face thunderous. I realized what he was going to do in a moment—and I had to assume that Viggo knew, too.

  “His name is Thomas,” I snapped, putting the full weight of my anger into my voice and willing them to look only at me. “And he’s a genius, so you’d better be respectful. Now put down your weapons—”

  “And we’ll let you get out of these caves while you still can,” Viggo finished the sentence.

  Indecision flickered in King Maxen’s eyes, but Peter’s voice made it die out.

  “No way in hell. We’re not going to let you replace one psycho bitch with another.” He raised his own weapon, and I saw the barrel aimed straight at me.

  If Viggo’s presence had been dominating the conversation before, now it seemed as though his voice filled the room.

  “Reconsider where you’re pointing that gun,” he growled. “You’re pointing it at my wife.”

  “So you married her?” Peter scoffed, shooting me a lecherous look. “Did you have an enjoyable honeymoon? Is there a chance she could be pregnant?”

  I felt my face flush and a wave of sheer rage crash through me. Viggo’s voice snapped out like a whip.

  “Don’t you dare talk about her like that!”

  A smirk spread across Peter’s face—but before he could speak, Owen appeared behind him, his fist in mid-swing. The Patrian crew all jumped, twitching toward Owen, and I seized the opportunity. I lunged forward and spun, lashing out with my foot, catching the king’s hand and knocking his gun from his fingers.

  I completed the spin in time to see Peter crumble, Owen standing over him, shaking out his hand, his face businesslike and hard. Peter landed in a pile on the ground, groaning softly, and Maxen scrambled across the floor, trying to open the door behind him—the one on the left.