Apolonia

“Not all of them,” Tsavi said. “But some didn’t give us a choice.”

Bryn fought her brother, slapping him in the face and beating the sides of her fists against his chest. “Let me go to him! I have to see if he’s alive! Let. Me. Go!”

Benji kept hold of her until she collapsed against him and began to weep.

A boom, this time much closer, shook the building. Without a second thought, I bolted out the door and ran down the hallway, opening doors and trying to find an office with a window. Unable to find one, I ran to an exit door on the east side, which led to a metal railing that spanned the length of the building. Each end turned onto stairs that led into the courtyard. The remaining men, most of them in white lab coats, were standing among lifeless soldiers, facing in the direction of Helena, their faces lit by the glowing annihilation.

Hamech’s ship had finally come into view. It was oval, beautiful, and a behemoth, floating over the north end of Helena toward the warehouse. Half of Helena was burning, but the huge ship persisted, dropping thick, gelatinous fire from its center and edges onto buildings, melting them like acid on Styrofoam. The viscous flames moved over the charred ground like liquid mercury, scorching everything in its path and joining other streams to form larger pools.

Two fighter jets flew over the warehouse, so low and loud that the walls rattled. I covered my ears and then watched in horror as they fired on Hamech. I wasn’t sure which outcome would be worse—the fighter pilots not saving the city or Apolonia’s wrath if her father’s ship exploded. The ship belonging to Cy’s Amun-Gereb shot the jets out of the sky, and they dropped helplessly to the town below. The jet fuel mixed with the flames on the ground, causing more explosions.

I put my hands on the rail and steadied myself as a powerful blast of air nearly drove me back against the warehouse. I gripped the rail, and my eyes squinted to shield them from the hot wind. It was overwhelming to see that much destruction and death. Where the earth wasn’t orange with fire, it was red with glowing embers. Wind whipped through the blaze, making the inferno rise in pillars, as if it were reaching out from the pool of flames, trying to climb back to the ship. Fiery debris fell out of the sky like rain, and the early morning clouds were red, reflecting the devastation below. A quiet college town the day before, Helena now rivaled the bowels of hell.

“Rory!” Benji called, bursting through the door.

The view ahead made him stop in his tracks. He was in as much awe as I was. He slowly reached out for me with one hand, Bryn’s 9mm in the other. I let his hand take mine. Neither of us was able to look away.

“My God,” he whispered. “It’s all gone.”

Chapter Twenty

THERE WERE ONLY TWO THINGS LEFT TO DO, and I had no idea how to accomplish either of them. Hamech’s ship was moving slowly, but it was headed straight for the warehouse. We still weren’t sure where the specimen was, if Tennison had reactivated the parasites, or if Brahmberger was being held captive somewhere inside the facility.

I shook my head. It seemed very hopeless.

Benji squeezed my hand. “It’s not over yet.” He pulled me down the gangway, and we descended the stairs.

“Frank Reynolds!” he screamed. “Dad!” He was pushing his way through the lab coats, looking at each face.

One man grabbed him. “Benji?”

“Sebastian!” Benji said, gripping the man’s shoulders. “Where is my father?”

Sebastian shook his head, pushing his broken glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I haven’t seen him since we were forced here. Rendlesham said you betrayed us, but Frank didn’t believe it. None of us believed it. And we were right. You did it. You brought us the girl.”

Benji glanced at me for a brief moment and then lowered his chin at Sebastian. “I need to know where you saw my father last. Is he alive? Have Tennison and Brahmberger recovered the organisms?”

“The rock still hasn’t shown activity, but the girl,” he said, glancing at me, “knowing her past resilience, we believe she could stimulate them. Before, they had reacted immediately to the aliens. In theory, they’re more attracted to an extraordinarily strong host.” He stood up tall, clearly proud of Benji. “We’ve just been waiting for you to complete the objective, sir.”

All the breath left my lungs. Cy was right. Benji wasn’t just a college kid who happened to be going to the right college at the right time. He wasn’t just watching over me for his father. Benji was one of the twelve. He was Majestic.

All the things he proved capable of since the radio station weren’t learned just from his father. He was a soldier, and Ellie was right. I was his target, and he had achieved his objective—to bring me to the warehouse.

Sebastian ducked when another explosion burst in the distance and then shook his head, looking afraid and desperate. “I don’t know where your father is, Benji, but you’ve got to get us out of here.”

Benji frowned and then walked over to the tall fence that surrounded the courtyard. He stood back, aimed, and shot at the large chain wrapped around the gate. While he was distracted by helping the lab coats escape, I bolted up the stairs, running as fast as I could across the gangway to the door.

As the door closed behind me, I heard heavy footsteps clanging against the iron stairs. Before I could make it back to the communication command center, Benji’s fingers clenched my jacket, and I was yanked backward.

“Rory, stop!”

Before Benji could say another word, I maneuvered myself out of his grasp and elbowed him in the stomach. He folded in half, and then I grabbed the top of his sweatshirt and yanked him to the ground, stepping on the back of his neck with one foot and on the wrist that held Bryn’s gun with the other.

“Please just listen!” Benji begged, his words garbled from his face being mashed against the iron catwalk. He pressed against the sole of my boot until he could look up at me. “I love you. That changed everything.”

I pressed down harder, feeling my eyes burn. He’d lied to me before. He was probably lying now.

I pulled the 9mm from Benji’s hand. He didn’t fight me.

Stepping back, I aimed at the center of his forehead. “Don’t be stupid, Benji. Stand up slowly. It would be a shame to kill you with your sister’s gun.”

He did as I demanded, standing up and keeping his hands in the air. “Rory—”

“Shut up.” I felt my lip quiver. A week ago, I couldn’t stand to hear him talk. Now, I was crying over him?