V-Day: (M-Day #4) (32 page)

Evo swept right into the melee without a backward glance to me, her gun glinting as she raised and fired with perfect accuracy, dropping what I realized were I-Men swarming
—
“
Martha!
”
I gasped when I saw the elderly woman in a crumpled heap on the floor. I went low, scurrying under the I-Men while they focused on Evo, who was like a one woman friggin
’
army. I swore I heard her laughing with glee as she battled them.

Martha cowered into me, her clothes torn, blood smeared across her face.
“
Where did they all come from?
”
she muttered, but I didn
’
t think she actually expected an answer at the moment. She was scared and in obvious shock.

“
It
’
s going to be okay. Do you hear me?
”
My mind strayed to Riley. Not that I didn
’
t have compassion or care about Martha, but if I had to choose between him and Martha, there was no choice.

A severed head thudded to our left and Martha screamed.
“
Shhhh
…
It
’
s okay. He can
’
t hurt you anymore.
”
Several more heads thumped dully on the metal floor, and I looked up just in time to see Evo swinging a machete to behead the last standing I-Man.
I guess she doesn
’
t want to waste any more bullets or time.

I stood, glancing back down at Martha who was in complete hysterics.
“
We
’
ll come back for her.
”
Evo
’
s eyes glinted with understanding as she turned to lead the way down another set of stairs.

A roar reverberated in the small space. I stepped over a bloody hand that happened to be missing its body, and then a leg. I knew they were real, but a part of my brain was telling me that it wasn
’
t
—
that they looked more like props from a horror movie.

“
Viv!
”
Riley was cornered behind bars, an I-Monster reaching at him, roaring his fury because he couldn
’
t quite get his next meal. The metal was bowed inward, and I thanked the heavens it was still protecting Riley, even if just barely.

The I-Monster stopped and sniffed the air, its milky eyes landing on Evo first.

“
Shit!
”
She volleyed several rounds right into its head and it barely slowed him down.

“
Run!
”
she screamed.

I only hesitated a moment before pivoting on my heels to leave. Riley was safe behind bars for the time being, and I was not. My feet flew up the stairs, me not daring to look back. There was nothing I could do for Evo that she couldn
’
t do for herself. I had to get reinforcements if any of us were going to have a chance. Once the I-Monster strain was introduced to the general population of survivors we
’
d all be dead.

I ran headlong into X, who was lugging a large black duffle bag that I instantly recognized.
“
I need a weapon. Now,
”
I grated. I fumbled for the zipper on the bag.
“
I-Monster downstairs. I don
’
t think
—”

“
Evo?
”
Genuine fear pinched his features.

I pulled a semi-automatic rifle of some sort from the bag and checked it for ammo.
Fully loaded. Perfect.
“
Holding her own
…
for now.
”

His lips pressed into a thin line as pulled a sawed off shotgun with a wide strap from the bag and slung it over his shoulder. He then stuffed several more weapons into the waistband of his pants, dropping the bag on the floor.
“
Which way?
”

“
Three or four sets of stairs down. You
’
ll know.
”
X disappeared around the corridor without another word. I ran back towards the cluster of assigned rooms in hopes that my brothers, Max, and Nyx were still there. I had a crazy idea and I was going to need help pulling it off.

Amidst all the noise and confusion, the complete and utter chaos, I swore I heard a baby crying. It was the same persistent wail that had been plaguing my nightmares for months. I knew it represented my guilt for not saying anything about Doctor Greensley
’
s condition. I felt responsible for M-Day and all the young lives cut short because of my bad decision. It wasn
’
t just that though. I still felt guilt over the abortion I
’
d had when I
’
d practically still been a child myself. I often wondered how different my life would have been if I wouldn
’
t have let my father coerce me to kill my unborn child.

Would M-Day have still happened? Or
…
maybe
…
just maybe
…
everything happened the way it was supposed to. I wasn
’
t a huge believer in fate, nor was I overly religious. I believed in God
—
I prayed and all of that stuff, but I wasn
’
t pious by any sense of the definition. If I had a child, chances are, I would never have been recruited by S-Ops, or I wouldn
’
t have wanted to go. If I
’
d never met Doctor Greensley, would he have made someone else
’
s blood the key to the cure, or would he just have let Men-V go without giving anyone a chance? Or maybe someone would have reported him and nothing would have happened. It was hard to say. I suppose I was just looking for a reason or a way to rationalize everything that happened and my role in it.

Healing doesn
’
t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives. It was time for me to heal and move forward. I hadn
’
t just been fighting I-Men and I-Monsters, I
’
d been fighting myself. It was time for me to let go of the past and to move forward. The survivors of this new world deserved a chance to rebuild
—
to truly live again. The key to moving forward lay within my blood. The answers to everything lay within me. They had the entire time and I hadn
’
t known it. If I
’
d given up at any time, everything could have been lost. Humans could have been wiped from the planet.

I gave myself a mental shake, the baby
’
s cries faded into the background, and then disappeared. I skidded to a stop just as Max and Zee burst from their room, fully armed.
“
That way.
”
I waved my arms behind me.
“
Follow the stairs down. Evo and X are going to need your help with an I-Monster. Hopefully there
’
s only one.
”

“
Fire. We need fire. I have matches but we need some kind of accelerator,
”
Max muttered.

“
I have an idea,
”
Zee said.

“
Of course you do,
”
Max deadpanned before turning to sprint down the hallway.

“
What?
”
Zee growled.
“
Am I supposed to keep my mouth shut and not help with this kind of stuff?
”
He hurried after Max, grumbling under his breath.

I shoved open the door and heaved a sigh of relief.
“
Ty, I was hoping you
’
d still be here.
”
Him and Nyx were loading up guns of their own and stuffing supplies into several bags. It looked like the gang thought we were going to be vacating the premises soon. I hoped my plan would work and that wouldn
’
t be the case.
“
I have an idea and I need your help.
”

He didn
’
t look up from what he was doing to respond.
“
Yeah? With what?
”

“
Riley
’
s fine, by the way,
”
I snapped.

Ty just kept on packing.
“
I gathered or you would have said otherwise.
”

Sadness swept over me. My brother had been changed by the events that he
’
d been through since M-Day. I wasn
’
t even sure everything that had happened to him since we hadn
’
t had a real chance to chat lately. It was there in his eyes. He was still the optimistic brother I
’
d always known, but he
’
d been forced to see things that had altered a part of his personality. Then again, I suppose we
’
d all had to change. It was adapt or die in this kind of world.

I swallowed around the lump in my throat and pushed on.
“
I need you to draw some blood from me, and to make up some syringes that I can quickly inject other people with. I
’
m not sure how much is safe to take at once.
”

I was met with silence as Ty continued to stuff what I deemed worthless things into his bag. Finally Nyx nudged him with her shoulder.
“
Go, I
’
ll finish here.
”

“
No,
”
he snapped.
“
I
’
m not leaving you.
”

“
Then I
’
ll come with you.
”
She brushed her hand over his clenched jaw. It was then I truly saw the cracks in my brother
’
s emotional state.

“
We need to finish this first. We need to be ready
—“
He slammed his fist into the wall.

Nyx tugged his face towards hers, kissing him softly and murmuring things too low for me to hear. If not for the situation I would have left since it felt like I was intruding on some kind of intimate moment. Ty ran his hands through her hair and touched his forehead to hers, a small smile tipping up his lips. He pulled himself to his feet slowly, his gaze lingering on Nyx. She gave him an encouraging smile.

“
Okay, let
’
s go, pain in my ass.
”
He grinned at me.
“
What
’
s this plan of yours? Although I
’
m pretty sure I
’
ve already figured it out since everyone knows I got all the brains in our family.
”

I snorted.
“
Yeah, whatever. I
’
ll fill you in on the way.
”

“
You sure about this?
”
Ty
’
s deep brown eyes met mine with trepidation.

I shoved my arms at him.
“
All of us need to be ready. And how does that saying go? United we stand and divided we fall. Maybe people like Ethan, if any of them are still alive, will be able to make a cure from my blood eventually, but right now, we need to use what we have.
”
I eyed the eight small syringes lined up on the table beside me.
“
So get to it.
”

When Ty was finished drawing my blood, my head spun and it felt like I had cotton candy between my ears. It didn
’
t matter. I mentally willed my body to push through the fatigue. The time for rest would come later.
If I make it through this alive.
I couldn
’
t help but feel optimistic. After all, I
’
d already come so far, and could have died so many times. There had to be a reason. I was being given the chance for absolution, and I wasn
’
t going to fail this time. Not when I was so close.

I grabbed one of the syringes off the table, my knuckles whitening with how hard I gripped it.
“
You take care of those.
”