Only eight of us remained.
I wiped at the tears still flowing down my face. Only C-320, General Braxton, Dr. Hanley, and I had made it. We carried C-335, C-334, C-332, and C-331 in our arms.
The others were too slow.
We had to leave them.
The elevator shook again as the monster tore through another part of our home.
No. Our prison.
A massive, clawed maw chewing through stone and metal flashed into my mind. The monster had to have been sent by the Devil. He had said something about a worm.
“We should be there any minute now,” General Braxton rumbled. He coughed, and bloody spit spattered the wall.
I stared blankly at the general. I felt his limbs growing weak from blood loss and his mind clouding from the pain. He would die soon. I could feel it through our connection. And yet he kept pushing forward, giving everything to help us escape.
My eyes shifted to C-332 and C-331 at his feet, both three years old, clutching a leg each as they cried. Would we have to leave them behind too?
I gazed down at baby C-335 in my arms. Once we had reached the relative safety of the elevator, Mo—I swallowed. Dr. Hanley had swapped C-335 for C-334 with me. Despite exchanging a one-year-old with a six-month-old, my arms still trembled. The minutes passed in a blur, and I hardly noticed the air in the center of the cart twist and distort.
“How on earth—and I mean that literally, by the way—did some of you escape?” the Devil snarled as he stared each of us down.
The children burst into tears again, and C-320 gasped, her eyes wide. “A deal with the Devil,” she whispered, her eyes shooting over to me for a second before returning to the Devil.
The Devil leaned in and sneered at me. “Oh, and look. The only problem child who accidentally got hooked up to the A.M.I. managed to escape.” The Devil tapped something unseen in the air. “Maybe I can get that blasted worm over here before someone—oh, that’s just great. Perfect timing. Only been out of the dead zone for twenty seconds and she’s already got a viewer.”
The Devil waved his hand through the air as if scrolling through something quickly before he fell still. “And of course, it’s those hypocritical bastards. I’m not touching the kiddos anymore, so stop snooping through everything I do, damn it!”
The Devil sighed. His feral gaze pierced my chest, sending my heart pounding. “It’s your lucky day.” He frowned and stepped back into the distortion. “Looks like I’ve got to get rid of you the normal way.”
C-320 turned and stared at me. “You did make a deal with the Devil.”
I didn’t reply. The woman in my dream had said otherwise. What was happening had nothing to do with me. I had said that to convince the others to leave with me. I glanced over those who remained.
Logically, I knew escaping wasn’t directly linked to the Devil. But if this was the level of chaos required for our escape... I wasn’t sure if freedom was worth it anymore.
“We’re here.” General Braxton coughed again, and the doors opened with a blast of air. We stumbled down an empty hallway to a large metal door. The general walked up to the console, typed something in, and placed his hand on the screen. The door clicked and slid open. “There should be people who can help us. They always have a few men stationed here.”
We stumbled through the door, and my eyes went wide in surprise. Dirty rags, empty boxes, and shelving stuffed with random junk filled the small room. Posters and papers covered the walls. A cart full of cleaning supplies sat in the corner. We were in a utility closet of some kind.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Come on. There should be seating in the break room. I’m sure Dr. Hanley can get us something to eat. Maybe a Slurpee would cheer the little ones up.”
I glanced over at Dr. Hanley.
Why hadn’t she said anything? Anything since I...
I looked away. I didn’t want her to say anything anyway.
We walked through the closet to a second door and stepped into a small store filled with rows of chips and candy. The scent of hot dogs, fried chicken, and lemon floor cleaner filled the air. Normally seeing treats would have made my mouth water, but it hardly fazed me now.
“Identify yourself!” Two men pointed rifles at us from a doorway across the room.
The general raised his hands. “General Braxton, arriving from site Epsilon-8 via C-Wing exit-2. I have with me here Dr. Hanley, as well as other survivors from the attack.”
Someone spoke behind the door, and a moment later Dr. Livingston stuck his head out. “Hmm, appears you have survived, Dr. Hanley.” He paused and peered down at me. “And you brought the children.” His voice dripped with disdain. My heart clenched with more fear than even the Devil could give me.
Why was here?
couldn’t be here!
We were finally free!
His eyes snapped back up to the adults. “Both of you, come with me.” He motioned toward the men with guns. “One of you, watch the children for a moment.” He paused. “And refrain from physical contact.” He disappeared around the corner.
Dr. Hanley handed C-334 to C-320 before she and General Braxton followed him down the hall. C-332 and C-331 each gripped one of the general’s pant legs and went with them, refusing to let go. I focused on the connections in my mind and watched them walk down a long hallway before turning into a small kitchen with a sink, a microwave, and a small foldable table.
Dr. Livingston cleared his throat and glared at Dr. Hanley. “I’m glad you survived the last twenty-four hours, Dr. Hanley, but why, for the love of God, did you bring any of the children?” His voice gained a dangerous tilt.
Dr. Hanley rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t by choice. More a series of unexpected events. You wouldn’t believe the mess I just came from.”
Dr. Livingston’s facial muscles didn’t even twitch. “You’d be surprised. We have much to catch up on. Things have drastically changed topside, radically altering what we assumed to know. But first—” The doctor eyed the general’s bloody shirt and, for the first time, realized there were two children with them.
“What? I thought I instructed you to leave the...” he shook his head. “General, those are the same wounds sustained yesterday, I presume?”
The general nodded. “Yes, but I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“I don’t plan on it.” Dr. Livingston raised a gun and shot the general in the head. My connection broke for a second as a bit of me snapped back. I pushed the nausea aside and reconnected in time to watch him kill both C-332 and C-331, one shot each.
I raised my hand to my mouth, my scream caught in my throat. My stomach lurched, but I was frozen in place, unable to move. Why did he kill them?
Dr. Livingston glanced at Dr. Hanley and frowned. “What’s with that look on your face?”
I tried to compel Dr. Hanley to ask my question. “Oh, nothing.” She shook her head. “Why did you shoot the general though? That’s going to be a hard one to explain.”
“As I previously explained, everything has changed. The prior hierarchies are now obsolete. We are under no obligation to justify our actions. The why is that we don’t have space for dead weight. He was old and injured, not to mention insufferable, and so I dealt with him.”
“What are you talking about?”
A memory of Dr. Hanley speaking with Dr. Livingston forced its way into my mind, where he informed her that the standard protocol for escaped weapons demanded immediate execution. I blinked from the influx of information and the connection went fuzzy.
“I’ll update you later. Let’s first deal with the rest of the children.”
“Actually.” Dr. Hanley cleared her throat and swallowed. “Let me go grab them. There’s no reason to cover the front area in blood as well.”
Dr. Livingston waved her away. “Fine, fine. Do it outside, actually. There is a corpse pile around the corner. Have one of the soldiers assist you. I’ll be waiting in room B-2.”
I broke from the connection as C-320 shook my arm. She leaned in close and whispered, “What’s going on? Is something wrong? You look terrified. What was that noise?”
I turned and stared into C-320’s eyes. Words wouldn’t form. I couldn’t think anymore. I couldn’t cry anymore. I was frozen, unable to move.
We were going to die.
“C-318!” C-320 hissed and shook my arm again.
Dr. Hanley stepped out of the back room and approached the soldier watching us. “You have the keys to a vehicle, correct?”
The man nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Dr. Livingston ordered me to take the kids to H-Wing exit-1.”
“He did?” The man squinted at Dr. Hanley before rifling through one of his pockets. “Do you need these then?” He held up a pair of keys.
Dr. Hanley looked him up and down. “Yes, but you can keep them. You’re driving.”
“Are you sure that’s what Dr. Livingston said?”
Dr. Hanley sighed. “How are we supposed to return the vehicle if you don’t drive? The exit is only three hours away. You’ll be back before nightfall.” She turned and headed to the door. “Come, children. We haven’t got all day.” She grabbed my hand and dragged me through the glass front doors, a blast of heat, dust, and rot billowing into the convenience store. The soldier grumbled as he followed after her.
A voice that sounded like Dr. Hanley echoed inside my mind, but I couldn’t process it. Not at the moment. Sometime later I sat in the back seat of a truck speeding away, eyes unfocused, gazing out the window.
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