The Way the World Ends (The Evolution Gene Book 3)

by Aaron Hodges

  Susan fell back against the gravel, Hecate’s weight pressing down on her. His mouth met hers, their tongues entwining. Wrapping her arms around his powerful shoulders, she pulled him closer, digging her nails into his back like claws. Their lips separated and she gasped, sucking in a fresh lungful of air. The tang of blood lingered in her nostrils, fueling her lust.

  She shuddered as Hecate’s lips moved to her neck. His long black hair hung across her face, and she could feel his power, sense his desperate desire—though it was tempered with caution now, by the need to shelter her swollen belly.

  But the life growing within Susan had not stemmed her lust, and she gripped Hecate by the waist and toppled him. Straddling him before he could sit up, she leaned down and nipped at the soft flesh of his neck. He shivered and pulled her to him. She went gladly, sliding down, burning with heat, with desire.

  Susan gasped as he entered her, her hips thrusting down to draw him deeper inside. A wild howling filled the cavern as their bodies moved in concert, driving each other to greater and greater heights. Her hands tangled in Hecate’s long hair, Susan threw back her head and screamed her ecstasy.

  Pressure built in her stomach as Hecate grabbed her by the hips. Before she could react, he lifted Susan and pushed her to her hands and knees. Crouching there, Susan trembled, waiting for him to claim her.

  His arms went around her from behind, stroking her flesh, circling the sensitive points of her nipples. A rumble came from her chest, a warning for her mate to be quick, to sate her growing need. Hecate’s laughter whispered in her ear as he slid between her lips. She cried out as he began to thrust, edging him to higher passions, and they both gave way to the desires of the Chead within…

  Afterwards, they lay in each other’s arms, the rush of their passion slowly draining away. Susan lay with her head on Hecate’s chest, listening to the quick pounding of his heart. Her hands drifted to her stomach, and she shivered as her children kicked. She took Hecate’s hand and placed it on her naked belly.

  A protective growl came from his chest. Smiling, Susan wriggled closer to her mate.

  Safe.

  They had travelled through the rest of the night to reach the home caverns. It had been a long journey, and for the first time since her rebirth, Susan had felt the cold touch of fear. Not for herself, but the children growing inside her.

  But they had found no more soldiers waiting for them, no more explosions or bullets to tear away their lives. They had slipped into the outer tunnels as the first light of morning lit the sky, traveling the final miles in the darkness, relying on scent and sound and touch rather than sight. Talisa and her people knew the way, but even Susan could have followed the scent home. The cloying sweetness of the Chead had grown stronger with every passing mile, until the tunnels finally opened out to reveal the great expanse of a limestone cavern.

  It was there that Talisa’s Chead had made their nest. Those who’d remained behind gathered around their returning brethren, offering food and water, while Hecate led Susan to where a crack in the cavern led to the antechamber that he had made his home.

  Lying in his arms, Susan finally allowed herself to take it in. The Chead must have been raiding nearby settlements for some time, as Hecate had lit several candles when they’d first entered. The chamber was maybe ten feet wide, with smooth limestone walls and a gravel floor. Water trickled down the rock in a far corner, before disappearing beneath the stones. A pile of rags served as a bed, although in their haste it lay forgotten.

  Home.

  Susan frowned at the thought, her hand drifting again to her stomach. It would not be long now before her children took their first steps into the world. Would they truly be safe here, deep beneath the earth, while humanity roamed above? Could they truly prosper in a world where they were despised, where they would be hunted and killed on sight?

  “My children…” Susan flinched as a voice spoke from the entrance to their chamber. She sat up as Talisa entered, the gravel crunching beneath her bare feet.

  “Talisa,” Hecate said, standing. “What brings you…here?”

  Silently, Talisa took a seat on an outcropping of rock. It was the only place in the cavern to sit. Uncomfortably aware she was still naked, Susan’s cheeks flushed as the woman’s milky eyes settled on her. Though the ancient Chead appeared blind, Susan was sure by now she wasn’t. But Hecate seemed unconcerned by her inspection of their bare bodies.

  As though reading her thoughts, Talisa chuckled. “You forget, my child.” Her voice whispered through the cave. “You are Chead. Your body holds no shame for us. Especially not with the precious gift you carry.” She held out a wrinkled arm towards Susan.

  Susan hesitated before taking it. Talisa pulled her to her feet, the old woman’s strength belying her age. A shiver ran up Susan’s spine as the Chead placed a cold hand on her swelling stomach.

  “You are progressing well.” A smile cracked her ancient face. “Soon your children will join with mine.”

  Susan grinned, joy washing away her fears.

  Removing her hand, Talisa returned to her seat. She swayed as she sat, and for a second it seemed she might fall.

  “Talisa.” Hecate placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. “What is…wrong?”

  “I am old, my child,” Talisa said. “My time approaches. Soon I will be gone. It is the price we pay for our existence.”

  Susan’s heart quickened and she wondered suddenly how long it would be before she faced the same fate. Talisa had said she’d been nearing fifty when the change came on her, but just a couple of years living as Chead had aged her decades. Susan was only thirty. Her best years should have been ahead of her. Now, she might be lucky to live another decade. Her stomach clenched at the thought.

  Sensing her distress, Hecate returned to her. Bending down, he stroked her cheek. “My mate…” he breathed.

  Her closed eyes at his touch, his scent stilling her racing heart. Drawing in a breath, Susan resolved to embrace her fate. At least as Chead, she could truly live. She might only have ten years, but they would be spent free of the shackles of humanity. Gone were her days locked in grey-walled rooms, far from the thrill of life.

  “There is still time,” Talisa continued, her voice strengthening. “Before I go, I intend to see my purpose fulfilled.”

  “Your purpose?” Susan pressed.

  Talisa nodded. “Humanity has proven time and again they will not tolerate us. They will hunt us to extinction, stop at nothing to destroy us. I will not die while my children still face that threat.”

  “But how, Talisa?” Susan asked. “How can we defeat them? Our numbers have grown, but humanity is legion. In just one battle we lost a tenth of our fighters.”

  Beside her, Hecate hissed. Standing, Susan took his hand, feeling the tension radiating from him, the wild heat of his anger. All his life he had been imprisoned, tormented by the creatures she had once worked alongside.

  “We must destroy…them all,” he rumbled.

  She shivered as the grey in Hecate’s eyes darkened. Still fresh from the passion of battle, he was teetering on the brink. She stood on her toes and kissed him on his beard. Her hands went around his waist as she pressed her body against him. He blinked, looking down at her. Smiling demurely, she watched the darkness fade, to be replaced with hunger.

  On her makeshift chair, Talisa laughed. “You are right, my child.” She stood and wandered around the cave, her fingers trailing over the smooth rock. In the corner, a candle flickered as a slight breeze passed through the cave, its flame burning low.

  “But we must not be reckless,” Talisa went on. “As you say, our enemy is legion. Our people must have a chance to grow, before we face them in open battle.”

  “We will not…fight them?” Hecate hissed.

  Turning, Talisa stared him down, her eyes aglow in the darkness. After a long moment, Hecate lowered his head in deference, and she went on, “Until now, they have been ignorant to our presence, but that is changi
ng. If they come for us in strength, our people will be wiped away.”

  “What can…we do?” Susan asked softly.

  Talisa watched her, a smile on her lips. “You did well, my child, capturing the woman.”

  “The woman?” Hecate’s head whipped up. “She has…accepted the change?”

  “No…” Talisa replied, “she has refused.”

  “Then she has joined her fellow humans?” Hecate questioned.

  Talisa had finished her loop around the cavern and now stood before them again. “Patience, my child,” she said. “The woman may yet prove…valuable. She is the first of their warriors we have captured.”

  “All the more…dangerous,” Hecate growled. “You do not know…the things they are…capable of.”

  Talisa stilled. Face impassive, she stepped towards Hecate. She caught him by the throat before he could react and lifted him into the air. Stumbling back, Susan watched as Hecate’s legs kicked uselessly at empty air.

  “Do not question me,” Talisa snapped.

  With a flick of her wrist, she sent Hecate tumbling across the cave. He landed with a crunch of gravel near the entrance. Talisa didn’t move as he climbed to his feet, a snarl on his lips. His eyes darkened, but before he could speak, Susan stepped between them again. She placed a hand on her mate’s naked chest.

  “Enough,” she said, her eyes drilling into his.

  Hecate stared back at her, and she saw the madness flickering there. Silently she held him in place, waiting for the rage to die. When he finally sighed and nodded, Susan stepped aside.

  Bowing his head, Hecate approached Talisa. “Forgive me, Talisa,” he murmured. “This is your…domain. You are…master here.”

  “Yes…” Talisa murmured, her eyes turning distant. “When I first came here, we were nothing. Only my strength has brought us together, has saved us from the hunters.” She stared at the stone walls, as though seeking out each of the Chead she had gathered here beneath the earth. “Soon I shall die, and the fate of my children will pass to another.” Her voice turned hard. “But not before I have carved them a nation from the bones of this earth.”

  “How?” Susan asked.

  “With fire and fury,” Talisa replied.

  19

  Slumped against the wall, Chris watched as the guards marched outside, leaving Ashley and him alone in the Director’s apartment. On the other side of the room, Ashley’s chest slowly rose and fell. Her face had softened, losing the tightness of pain, and she seemed to be sleeping now. Chris was relieved that she lived, though he could not help but curse his friend for her recklessness.

  What were you thinking, Ash?

  Shivering, Chris recalled the look in Ashley’s eyes as she stalked towards the Director. In that moment, she had seemed unstoppable, as though no force on earth could prevent her from tearing out the woman’s throat. He wondered what it had taken, how much electricity had coursed through Ashley’s body to finally bring her down.

  He had already tried and failed to understand what had happened. Her eyes had not turned grey, and when she’d spoken, it had still been Ashley. Yet there was no denying that a change had come over her, a shift that had allowed Ashley to resist the collar’s bite like none of them ever had before.

  A moan pulled Chris from his thoughts as Ashley rolled onto her side and sat up. The thick chain rattled, pulling her up short as she tried to stand. Blinking, she looked around, taking stock of their surroundings.

  “What? Were we grounded?” she croaked, her throat sounding raw.

  Chris scowled. “Hardly the time for jokes.”

  Ignoring him, Ashley crossed her legs and lay back against the wall. Her forehead creased and she closed her eyes, a grimace on her lips. “Ahhh…but that hurts.” She reached up and touched her throat. The skin beneath her collar was inflamed, and she flinched as her fingers made contact.

  “Are you okay?” Chris asked, his voice softening.

  Ashley shrugged. “Better than those kids.”

  Chris bit his lip and quickly looked away, unable to face the accusation behind her words.

  “I’m glad you’re alive,” he replied.

  “For now.” He looked back up, alarmed by her words, and she continued, “I doubt she’ll want me around after that.”

  Chris started to argue, but she spoke over him. “I’m glad, really,” she murmured, glancing at the door, as if expecting death to come marching through at any moment. “I don’t know how much longer I could have lasted, screaming in the darkness, alone. Days, weeks, it doesn’t matter, she would have broken me in the end.” Ashley looked at him as she finished, her eyes sad.

  “It doesn’t have to end like this, Ash,” Chris choked out.

  “It does, Chris.” Tears shimmered in Ashley’s eyes as she smiled. “Don’t you see? Death is my only way out now.”

  “But it’s not,” Chris cried, his voice growing loud. He gestured at the door. “Aren’t you tired of putting everyone else first, Ash? Of sacrificing everything for others?”

  He waited for a reply, but Ashley’s eyes remained fixed on the ground, her scarlet hair hanging in greasy tangles across her face.

  Baring his teeth, he continued, “What does defying her achieve, Ash? When has anything we’ve ever done changed things, for that matter? Every sacrifice we’ve made, everything we’ve given up, it’s all been for nothing. Those students still died, the President is still in control, our parents, our families, they’re still gone. Yet here we sit, in chains, suffering every night, not even allowed a bed to sleep in.”

  As he spoke, Chris felt a weight lifting from his shoulders, his guilt and regret falling away. Seeing Ashley, at her haggard face and sallow skin, her red-stained eyes and molting feathers, he shook his head.

  “Look at what you’ve done to yourself, Ash, and for what?” he whispered.

  There was pity in Ashley’s eyes. “The Chris I used to know would understand.”

  “That Chris died with the kids at the university,” Chris retorted.

  She closed her eyes at that, and a tear dripped down her cheek. Regret twisted in Chris’s stomach, but he could not take back the angry words. After all, they were the truth. Ever since they’d escaped, he’d been punished again and again for helping others. He couldn’t do it any longer.

  A long silence stretched out as they both sat staring into space, each stewing in their own private misery.

  “You know what comes next, don’t you, Chris?” Ashley asked softly.

  Before he could respond, the door clicked and swung open. The Director strode inside, her face a carefully blank mask. Her eyes travelled around the room, lingering on Chris, then Ashley, before she let the door swing closed behind her. Her long legs carried her across to where Ashley crouched. Arms folded, she slowly shook her head.

  “I cannot forgive this, my pet,” she murmured.

  Lips pursed, eyes defiant, Ashley didn’t budge an inch. Chris waited, heart pounding, as the Director uncrossed her arms.

  “That’s it then? No excuses?” she whispered, then paused, as though waiting for a response. When none came, the Director nodded. “Very well. You have written your own fate. Guards!”

  Chris flinched as her shout echoed around him. The door slid open and two men stepped inside and joined the Director.

  “I’ve made my decision.” She waved at the doorway. “Take her back to the cells. I’m tired of looking at her. She can spend the night with the other experiments she deemed so precious. In the morning I’ll oversee her euthanization.”

  “No!” The scream tore from Chris’s throat before he could stop himself. He lunged forward, but the chain brought him up short, and he cried out as the collar cut into his neck.

  Ignoring him, the guards busied themselves detaching Ashley’s chain from the ground, but the Director turned and walked towards him. Behind her, Ashley had slumped against the wall, her eyelids half-closed, her wings limp against her back. There was no mistaking her terror, but in her
weakened state she made no effort to fight back.

  One of the guards lifted the chain and gave it a tug. The chain went taut, pulling Ashley off-balance. She placed a hand down to steady herself, but the guard pulled again, half-dragging her across the floor. Coughing, she gripped the makeshift leash and yanked back. The guard stumbled, her strength taking him by surprise, but held on. Before she could try again, the other guard drove his steel-capped boot into the side of Ashley’s head.

  Still kneeling on the floor, Ashley couldn’t avoid the blow, and the kick sent her reeling back into the wall. She made to sit up, but the guard delivered another kick to her stomach before she could recover. The breath hissed between Ashley’s teeth and, gasping, she collapsed face-first to the ground. When she tried to crawl away, another boot caught her on the side of the head.

  All semblance of resistance left Ashley then, as she slumped to the floor, unconscious. Taking up the chain, the guard dragged her towards the door. Half-starved and sleep deprived, Ashley couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred pounds, and the man had no trouble lifting her. The second guard followed close behind.

  Chris watched from his knees, the collar tight around his throat as he strained to intervene. Now, as he caught his last glimpse of Ashley before she disappeared into the corridor, he felt hot tears on his cheeks.

  Why, Ashley? he screamed in his mind. Why?

  “Christopher.” He shuddered as the Director’s voice came from overhead. Swallowing his grief, Chris looked up and found her cold eyes on him.

  “What?”

  “You disappointed me today.” His stomach swirled at the tone in her voice. “Perhaps you are less evolved than I thought. I’m of half a mind to send you after your friend.”

  A shiver ran down Chris’s spine. Gone was the warmth she’d shown him yesterday—the Director meant what she said. He was teetering on the edge of a precipice: one wrong step, and he would tumble down into the abyss after his friend.

  He lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” he breathed, “I…”

  “Yes?” the Director pressed. “Tell me, what excuse do you have for your failure?”