It’s Carla.
I don’t know where the rest of her team is, but that doesn’t matter. Justin grabs her by the arm and pulls her alongside him, then he points at me. She nods, and they become a two-person destruction team, moving faster and more efficiently than before.
This is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s almost unholy, like a war machine built out of flesh and blood. I can’t imagine them losing any battle, especially when they work together.
I shiver as I imagine an entire battlefield covered with warriors like this.
They’d win. Every single time.
Only top-level military leaders know why the GEIVE program was ended. Right now, it seems like the biggest mistake they ever made, because this is the only war that matters. Save Gabe, save the world. An army of Genetics could have helped make that happen.
I have to find my brother. He has to be safe.
But the frenzy is so close, I don’t know if I’ll have time to make it back across the riverbed.
Please be safe, Gabe. Wherever you are, hang on until morning comes.
Then Justin is beside me.
“Come on, hurry!” he says, and he takes my hand. Carla is beside us, and the three of us are pushing our way through the crowds. Someone knocks me backward, and those night-vision goggles go flying. I blink, touch my forehead, stagger.
I’m bleeding.
I don’t care.
“Where is it? How far is the alcove?” I ask.
Justin elbows someone else, and the man falls to the ground. “There,” he says, pointing, and I think I see it. A blank spot on the sloping concrete wall, where no algae grows, pale in the moonlight.
Carla punches a guy in the stomach, and he curls over, and then we’re running and fighting and pushing our way through hordes of people who are all going in the wrong direction. They’re crashing into us, buffeting us, and with every step I take, I worry that I’m going to fall to my knees.
I have to make it across the river.
But I might get trampled first.
Screams echo around me, and I realize that the Xua frenzy is rolling closer. A coppery smell fills the air, so thick I can barely breathe. Blood.
“Keep going, keep running, even if I fall, even if you lose me,” I say. “Protect my brother, promise me—”
A metal man charges into me, his titanium spikes and thorns ripping my knapsack off my back and throwing me to the ground. I can’t get up; I can’t catch my breath. The metal man runs over me, one of his boots pressing against my chest, and I let out a scream.
Justin knocks the man away and scoops me up. “Sara!” he shouts, looking at me, needing me to answer him.
But I can’t. I open my mouth, and nothing comes out.
“She’s breathing,” Carla says. “She’s going to be okay.”
Every slug of oxygen comes with superhuman effort. Justin clutches me to his chest so tightly that the only thing I can hear is his heartbeat. He’s running, and I think we’re heading toward the hidden alcove, but black spots are dancing in front of my eyes. I feel the wind on my skin, the thunder of his feet on pavement, the jostle of him kicking people out of our way.
He’s in a war zone. This is what he was created to do, and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t stop him now.
“You’ll get to the alcove, I promise,” he says, and I believe him.
I have to believe him, because I have to reach my brother. I have to make sure Gabe’s okay, that he’s safe.
But my skin is covered with pins and needles. I’m cold; I’m so cold.
Everything fades to black, and I try to focus, to stay conscious, but I can’t.
And then even the black fades away to nothing…
18
My head hurts. My chest hurts.
It feels like someone has been beating me with a hammer.
I pull a shallow breath into my lungs and, holy eff, it hurts. There’s a moment when I see yellow sparkles, and I flinch, thinking the Xua are here. I try to get away, to run, but I can’t. Something is holding me in place, and except for that brief moment of light, everything is as dark as midnight.
Did they get me?
Did that frenzy strike us, and did I get possessed? Is this what it feels like to have a Xua inside you?
Trapped, stuck in darkness, unable to break free.
Oh Lord, no, no, please…
Then another thought thunders through my mind.
Gabe.
Where’s my brother?
I pull in another shallow, painful breath and another. I swallow, and finally I think I might be able to speak. I don’t have enough strength to scream, although that’s what I really want to do. My words come out like a hoarse whisper.
“Gabe… Where is my brother? Is he safe?”
Something touches me, and I recoil.
“Sara, everything’s okay; be quiet.” It’s Natalie. But this doesn’t make sense. Are we both possessed? What’s going on?
“Where’s Gabe?”
“I’m over here,” my brother says in a soft voice. “Now shut up—we’re listening to what’s going on outside.”
“Outside… Am I in the alcove?” I ask.
“Shhh, yes. Quiet. They might be able to hear us,” Billy says from somewhere farther away in the darkness.
Something touches me again, and I realize it’s a hand. Someone is taking my hand in hers. I think it’s Natalie.
“Where’s Justin?” I ask.
But no one will answer me.
That’s when I hear the frenzy outside. A muffled thumping and buzzing seeps into the alcove, combined with the horrific babble of people choking and crying. It sounds so hopeless. No one could survive this.
Panic surges through me.
Justin’s out there. He must be. He’s fighting to protect us.
Why can’t both the boys I love be safe?
I know it then, just like I know that I’m trapped in here and there’s nothing I can do to save myself.
I’m in love with Justin. I don’t have a crush on him. I’m not “falling” for him like girls fall for a different guy every week at school. And I never had a good reason for not telling him how I feel. The Xua go after everyone, not just the people I care about.
They want every single human dead.
I might be locked behind a wall, and everyone might want me to stay quiet, but maybe he can hear me, even if his skin sites aren’t working.
“You have to stay alive, Justin,” I whisper. “No matter what. I love you.”
I think I hear a pause in the fighting, as if all of heaven and earth stopped to listen to me. My heartbeat ratchets up a notch, and I hope that the Xua didn’t hear me. But they must not have, because when the fighting starts again, it’s fiercer, wilder, louder. I can’t tell from my vantage point, but it almost sounds like we might be winning.
…
Morning comes in a breathless lull, like the entire world has grown tired of screaming and wailing. Like a baby after a long fitful tantrum, dragging one last breath into its lungs before letting out yet another earsplitting howl. Except that howl never comes.
The world is silent and still. Beams of sunlight spill under the door that I couldn’t see until now. Shadows inside the alcove grow long and pale. I can see why I felt trapped last night—the space is so narrow. It’s probably why Justin and Carla stayed outside.
They couldn’t have fit in here.
There’s been so much noise and chaos for so long that I don’t recognize these sounds of silence. The metallic creak of a broken road sign swinging in the wind. The rushing whisper of leaves in the trees. The sound of my own heartbeat, steady and fast.
Wait.
I bolt upright.
It’s morning.
I frantically scan the hidden chamber
. Everyone is here: Natalie, Billy, Ella. All of them are staring at me. Only one of us has fallen asleep, probably because of that Syn-Op I gave him last night.
Gabe.
He’s alive.
Did we win?
Every muscle in my body relaxes, joy floods my chest, and I can’t wait to open the door. Justin has to be out there; he has to be safe. I pull myself to an awkward crouched position, the best I can do in this cramped space. My fingers trace the wall, searching for a handle or a knob or a latch of some sort that will open the door. But Natalie grabs my arm and holds me in place. She shakes her head, puts one finger to her lips.
“But Gabe’s alive,” I say. “It’s morning.”
She pulls me away from the door and shakes her head again.
I struggle to get away. This is what I’ve been trying to accomplish in all fifteen of my lifetimes—Gabe is alive!
“Let me go,” I tell her.
She pulls me even farther away from the door.
I hear it then. Something is trying to get inside. It’s digging, making a soft scraping sound against the door. I cock my head and lean forward, trying to figure out what it could be. Then I glance back at Natalie and Billy and Ella. Gabe is awake now, too.
We speak in the softest of whispers.
“What is it?” I ask them.
“I don’t know,” Billy answers. “The frenzy is gone. It left about half an hour ago. I think you fell asleep. Then, when the sun came up, this started.”
“Whatever it is, it can’t be the Xua,” I say, no longer keeping my voice down. “Aerithin promised! We just had to keep Gabe alive until morning—”
The creature outside lets out a horrid scream, so loud it penetrates my bones, so strong I’m sure it can be heard for miles.
Icy dread washes over my body.
It’s a Xua, and it’s letting its brothers know where we are.
Panic grips me. But I can’t allow fear to take over right now. I need to get my brother and my friends to safety.
“We have to go,” I say. “Get ready to fight when I open the door.”
We all pull out our laser switchblades and power them up. Natalie checks to make sure her gun is loaded. Billy brushes his hair out of his eyes with one hand, slips his backpack over his shoulder with his other. Ella stumbles to a crawling position, dark circles under her eyes and one hand clutching a car jack.
This girl is ready to rock and roll.
Gabe frowns at me. “But you said everything would be fine in the morning—”
“I was wrong,” I say, fighting the despair that gnaws at me.
Natalie grabs her knapsack. “Maybe Aerithin meant later in the morning, like ten or eleven o’clock?” There’s a glimmer of hope in her eyes as she asks the question we’re all hoping is true.
Maybe Aerithin lied. Or maybe he was wrong. Maybe the Xua found a way to change destiny and nothing Aerithin said matters. A soul-crushing dread fills my chest, and I need all my strength to take the next step.
“As much as I want that to be true,” I say, “we have to focus on the here and now. We have to fight our way out before more Xua arrive.”
I find the door latch and get ready to push it open, worrying that the bright light will stun us, and the Xua will rush in, and there might be more of them than we can handle. This could be our last fight, our last few moments on Earth. I’m hoping Justin is out there somewhere, and that I’ll get to see him one last time.
“Stay with me,” I say. Then I swallow, tense my muscles, and get ready to swing my laser switchblade. I quietly unlatch the door.
“Three, two, one…”
I kick the door open, and I’m blinded by the morning sunshine that I’ve been waiting fifteen lifetimes to see.
19
The Xua come into focus one at a time, shadowy monsters that lunge at us, blocking out the sun, a dark silhouette of death.
We come out of the alcove, weapons swinging, arms punching, legs kicking. We fight, back to back, our mouths closed tight. There is no shouting of orders or skin-site communications. We don’t dare open our mouths, not even to breathe. I clamp my teeth so tight my jaw hurts.
A quick sweep with my laser switchblade to finish the job and this guy won’t ever bother me again. I kick him aside, still trying to figure out how many Xua have us surrounded.
Natalie fights like she’s dancing, every movement precise and graceful, elbow to the throat, knee to the gut, blade to the center of the chest—where its heart lies—and we have two Xua down. Billy slams a nightstick against a Xua skull, and a dull crack follows. Then he twists the creature’s head until its spine pops. Three Xua on the ground.
I can finally see now. A group of aliens must have stayed behind when the frenzy left, maybe to look for my brother.
They find Gabe, and for a moment I panic, but then I realize he’s kicking their butt. My brother thrusts his bowie knife into a silver chest and slices a Xua from throat to gut, just like the smoky Xua cut us when they break free. This one will never possess another human. Or travel through time. Or try to kill Gabe.
Ella surprises me by tripping a Xua and then slamming it in the chest with her car jack. She doesn’t kill it, but it’s stunned long enough for me to finish it off. When I stand back up, I quickly scan our surroundings. Bodies, both human and Xua, are strewn all across the riverbed, tents are shredded, and the leftover bits of canvas flap in the morning breeze. I don’t see anyone else alive, either north or south of us. There are only this group of Xua and the five of my team left.
Natalie takes on another monster, and it still looks more like a dance performance than an execution. Together, Billy and Gabe tackle two more Xua. Ella swings her car jack.
But where is Justin? Is he here somewhere? Have they taken him captive? Or has something even worse happened?
He can’t be dead. He just can’t be.
My heart bangs against my rib cage until I think my chest will explode, and I continue to scan the near horizon for anything, some clue that will tell me what happened—
A Xua grabs me around the throat and presses its hand tight against my windpipe. It’s behind me, so I can’t get ahold of it. If it keeps this up, I’ll have to open my mouth. I’ll instinctively start to gasp for air. Then the monster lets out a screech as someone pulls it away, breaking its bones and cracking its spine. I spin around, hoping to see Justin. It has to be him; please let it be him.
It’s not.
Together, Billy and Gabe attack the alien, grabbing both of its arms until they split it into two pieces. Two very dead pieces. I should be glad that the Xua is gone and that I can breathe, but I can’t stop worrying about Justin.
My lips tremble, and that ache in my chest won’t go away.
“We need to get out of here,” Natalie says. “If there are more nearby, they’ll be here any minute.”
My crew stands at attention, all of them holding their weapon of choice, all of them waiting for me to tell them what to do next. There’s a smear of silver blood on Gabe’s cheek, Billy’s shirt is ripped, Ella has a fresh splash of red blood on her hands, and Natalie’s arms have bruises where one of the Xua latched onto her.
“We really could use that plan B right about now,” Billy says.
Natalie glares at him, but he’s right. Unfortunately, I don’t have a clue what to do. “Right now, plan B is to stay alive. When we get somewhere safe, we’ll figure something out. Now hurry,” I tell them. “Run up the eastern wall and head to Station Five. I’m right behind you.”
Gabe, Ella, and Billy do exactly as I say. They’re running and jumping over bodies, vaulting their way across the riverbed. Natalie doesn’t move. She stares at me, her arms crossed.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
I don’t answer. I cup my hands around my mouth and scream, switching my skin sites on at t
he same time.
“Justin! Justin, where are you?” I yell.
“Okay,” Natalie says, then she joins me. “Justin! Come on, we have to go!” Then she pauses, narrows her eyes, and points toward the south. “Did you see that?”
“What?”
“Something over there.”
She doesn’t say any more, she just starts jogging away from me. I scramble to catch up with her, calling out Justin’s name as I run. Every few steps I pause to yell in a different direction. He has to be here. I can’t accept the alternative. I won’t.
We’ve rounded a cluster of tents that are somehow still standing, ribbons of canvas shifting in the breeze, looking like they’re alive, like they aren’t just empty shells. And there I see what she saw. It’s awful. And maybe it’s hopeful at the same time.
Tears well up.
Natalie’s already at work.
There’s a pile of bodies, as tall and wide as an SUV, every color of skin peeking out. They look like trophy kills, like maybe the Xua frenzy paused long enough to take their photos beside this leftover heap of humanity. Here and there, a finger or a foot twitches. Maybe it’s a death reflex, a muscle spasm. Or maybe someone is underneath the bodies.
And that person is alive.
Natalie’s dragging bodies off the pile, I join in, and together we manage to pull off six bodies. All the while, I’m hoping that Gabe and Billy and Ella are safe, that they made it to Station Five, but then I realize that we’ve somehow managed to clear off about eleven bodies.
Gabe and Billy and Ella came back to help us.
I can’t stop the tears that fall onto the bodies, a baptism of death. I can’t stop because Justin might be here. He might be alive.
“Justin!” I call again. “We’re here! We’ll find you!”
The twelfth body slumps and rolls off the pile by itself.
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