“Are you for serious right now?” I shout to no one, maybe God, maybe just myself. “This is how it’s gotta be for Alexandra Ramsey? Just one nightmare after the other? Road block after oozing, bloody, road block? Give me a freaking break! That’s all I ask.”
A stick snaps from behind me and I spin and look into the eyes of the bruised face of my attacker. She’s smiling, blood trickling down her chin. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice.”
I stare at her evil, non-human eyes and weigh my options.
“Screw you,” I say, followed with a glob of spit in her face.
Her smile widens and I do the only thing I can: I run. This time, though, I’m barely two feet away when she knocks me to the ground. I see the tree root on the way down and feel my head crashing into the hard wood.
I roll over, see her smug face, and the world turns black.
Chapter 26
I wake, sliding across a smooth stretch of floor, and crash into something hard and warm. My arms are bound uselessly behind my back, the room dark. My head aches and spins. I fight back a wave of nausea.
The loud whine of hinges rockets through my brain, just as a bright light fills the room. I blink and see we’re not in a room, but the back of a long semi-truck. The hard, warm body I’m leaning against has a mop of blond hair and concerned blue eyes—Cole. His expression is a mixture of relief and worry as he checks me out with his eyes. From the awkward way he’s sitting, he must be bound, too. His face is bleeding but there’s no time to assess him further, because loud steps scurry over the metal floor and I’m being dragged out by my feet.
I’m yanked to a standing position, feet slipping on wet gravel. A fine mist floats down from the sky, covering my skin and clothes. The others fall in line next to me. Wyatt’s tight jaw is visible in the glaring floodlights a couple people away, and from what I can see, it takes two soldiers to get Davis in position.
A soldier with a rifle in his hands directs us to stand with our backs against a chain-link fence. Razor wire coils around the top. We seem to be in an expansive parking lot filled with massive storage containers and 18-wheelers. I don’t know the city of Augusta well, but if I had to guess, we were on the outskirts.
“Where are we?” I whisper to Cole.
“You were out for about thirty minutes. We were moving that whole time.”
“Are we near The Fort?”
He shakes his head, grimacing at the movement. “I don’t think so, but maybe still inside the safe zone?”
I lean forward to look up and down the line, counting the broken and beaten members of our t
eam. Everyone is accounted for, even if Parker and Paul look like they’re barely standing.
“Then—“
“Quiet!” A solider interrupts us, standing in front of me. His face hovers inches from my own and I gag at the smell of his rancid breath. His eyes are dark—although not spider-webbed like a full-blown Eater. There’s a rage boiling beneath the surface, yet when his name is called by another soldier he jerks back like a puppet on strings. That’s when I realize I know him.
It’s Hayes.
That’s it. I’m done. Just done with this god-forsaken day.
“You did this?” I ask, surprised but probably not as much as I should be. I’m also scared because from the change that’s taken him over, I realize he could snap my neck in a heartbeat.
“I’m part of the future, Ramsey. Just like you could have been.” Once again, he’s called back and he dutifully follows orders.
“What do you want?” I shout, thinking maybe we now have the attention of whoever is in charge of the group. “You’re obviously not going to kill us—we’d be dead already if those were your orders.”
“Alex,” Cole hisses next to me.
“Shut up,” Parker pleads.
I don’t listen to either of them. “So what’s the plan? Take us to your secret lab and pump us full of parasites? Turn our brains into puppet mush?”
A figure steps out of the darkness. Shoulders back, spine ramrod straight. Purple stripes on the shoulders of their uniform flash under the lights, but this person moves with a distinct calm. There’s a weapon perched against the soldier’s shoulder. Even in the foggy, wet light I can tell it’s a compound bow.
“What’s this about secret labs and brains full of parasites?” A familiar voice rings out and I’m chilled to the bone. “It’s not a good idea to spread treasonous rumors during a time like this.”
I’m shocked into stepping backwards, but there’s no escaping the reality of what’s happening. Cole’s knees buckle beneath him and I slide over to give him support.