Apolonia

Benji reached out for me.

I lowered the handgun and fired a warning shot next to Benji’s knee.

He hopped and yelped. “Dang it, Rory!” he growled, frustrated. “Don’t listen to what you heard. Feel what you felt. Know what you knew.”

“Walk,” I demanded, gesturing toward the hallway.

Apolonia came out of the communication center, prepared with her weapon. Her eyebrows immediately pulled in, confused at the sight of Benji walking down the hallway with his hands up and me pointing a gun at him.

“Has he been compromised by the parasite?” she asked in her thick, awkward way.

“He is the parasite,” I said, forcing him to walk into the room.

Cy stood up quickly when he noticed us walk in. “What—”

“I heard him,” I said, my voice breaking. “He’s Majestic. He lied to us. He was bringing me here to be a test subject, to infect me with the parasite.”

Bryn laughed once without humor. Her eyes were red, blotchy, and moist. She was sitting on the floor, tethered to a desk with a phone cord. “You’re not on anyone’s side, are you?” she said to her brother.

Tsavi pulled another cord out of the wall and bound Benji’s wrists.

“I’m on Rory’s side,” Benji said.

I shook my head at him and then left him with Tsavi and Bryn.

“What now?” I asked Cy.

“We’re close.”

I wiped sweat from my forehead. “So is Hamech. Helena is in ashes. The ship is headed here.”

“Here?” Apolonia asked. She looked to Cy and then to Tsavi.

“The roof,” Tsavi said.

“The specimen is being held between here and the only roof access. Soldiers will be there, guarding it,” Benji said.

“We eliminated the soldiers in the courtyard,” Tsavi said.

“They wouldn’t have left the specimen,” Benji said.

Bryn watched her brother, incredulous and then sad. She held her bound hands in front of her, resting her elbows on her knees. Placing her cheek against her wrists, she shook her head. “You’re killing us all over a misfit girl who thinks you’re a lying piece of shit.”

Her words stung. I knew she believed them, but that just meant she wasn’t in on Benji’s plan.

“Rory, go with Apolonia and Tsavi. Show them the way to the roof. I’ll keep working on communications,” Cy said. “Try not to kill anyone,” he said to Apolonia.

“I assume you’re not going to hold the guards lying in the courtyard against me?” Apolonia said.

“They attacked first. But Benji’s father is in the compound somewhere. I’d like to spare his life if possible.”

“Hey,” I said, offering a small smile to Apolonia. “You used a contraction. You actually sounded normal.”

She blinked.

“I thought it sounded great,” I said.

The corners of her mouth turned up just a tiny amount. A full-on smile broke out across her face, and for the first time, I didn’t feel like she hated me. “Thank you.”

We began to leave but turned around when Benji started making a commotion by pulling against his makeshift handcuffs.

“Don’t send her up there, Cyrus,” Benji warned.

Cy didn’t look at Benji but back at the control panel. “Quiet.”

“You’re going to get her killed,” Benji said, yanking on the cords. “Keep her here with you. Let the warrior princess and her BFF go upstairs to flag down the fire king. They don’t need Rory’s help.”

Cy spun around in his chair and rushed Benji, stopping just an inch from his nose. “I. Said. Quiet,” he hissed.

Benji looked at me, determined. “Don’t go, Rory. There are soldiers up there. You’ll be walking into a trap.”

“I’ve seen what Apolonia does to soldiers,” I said.

“There are worse things than soldiers, Rory. Please. Don’t. Go.” A deep line formed between his brows. His wrists were white, the skin straining against the cord. He was leaning toward me, desperate.

“I don’t believe a damn word you say.” I tucked Bryn’s 9mm into the back of Cy’s jeans. “Shoot him in the kneecap if he tries to escape.”

“Gladly,” Cy said, concentrating on the control panel.

As we left, Benji lost his temper, yanking and pulling against the cord and kicking at the desk.

“Maybe one of us should stay behind with Cyrus?” Tsavi said in the hall.

The walls shook from a shock wave, and I grabbed for Tsavi, so I wouldn’t fall over. It felt as though we were on a ship in the middle of a stormy sea.

“We need to go. Cyrus can manage,” Apolonia said.

Apolonia stayed in front of me, and Tsavi brought up the rear. Left and right directions proved difficult for Apolonia at first, but she caught on quickly.

Just a corridor away from the roof access, Apolonia pushed me against the wall and signaled for silence. After waiting a beat, she pulled out her pair of daggers and came around the corner. In the next moment, she was pulling an unconscious man around the corner and sat him on the floor between us.

“Is he dead?” I asked.

“I hope not. I hit him on the head with the handle of my chechnahct.” She acted it out, making a quick downward motion with her dagger.

Tsavi checked his pulse. “He’s alive.”

I peered around the corner. Jesus. Benji was right. We had walked into a hive. There were twice as many soldiers guarding the rock as there were in the courtyard.

Apolonia nodded to an elevator shaft. “There is the roof access.”

I shook my head. “I don’t do elevators.”

She leaned over as far as she could and pushed her back flat against the wall, nodding again. “There are stairs as well. We can sneak past the soldiers if we’re careful. Cyrus would prefer that we bypass them rather than engage them and risk further bloodshed.”

I peeked around the corner, in the direction of the soldiers. A room beyond the armed men was quarantined off by some type of clear plastic tarp, thin enough to see through. Some of the scientists were in full hazmat suits. Others were lying on tables.

I squinted to confirm what I’d seen. There were people definitely lying on the tables, but they weren’t scientists. They were people of all ages, including young children. One table was empty. Mine.

A blast rocked the facility, which only made the scientists work faster. The soldiers seemed to be nervous and antsy, but they remained at their post.