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Lydia pulled away from Lucas’ embrace and wiped away her tears. “I still don’t understand why you let your clone escape. There’s no telling what he will do after he leaves TransGenCorp or how many more people he might kill.”
“I know,” Lucas replied. “And since he won’t look like me anymore, it won’t be easy to track him. But I believe in Karma. His will come. Should I cross paths with him again, I’ll kill him. If he wants to live, he’d best stay far away from me. It matters more to me that you’re alive.”
Gil’s voice came over Lucas’ earpiece. “Carpenter, it’s in the room,” he said, frantically. “It burst through the door. I . . . the bullets aren’t affecting it. Outside agents are all dead. Dear God!”
Lucas looked at Lydia. Her wide eyes revealed she had heard the same through her earpiece.
“Gil!” Carpenter said. “Gil?”
Grave concern overshadowed Lydia face. “He’s guarding Julia and Felicia. We need to get there to help them.”
Lucas lowered his head. “Even if we leave now, we won’t have enough time to get there.”
***
Lucian carried Kyle down the hall and stopped at another lab. He rested Kyle’s body on top of a Formica tabletop. Once more he checked for a pulse. Nothing.
Kyle’s lips and skin held a bluish tint. The already dark circles around his closed eyes had darkened. Lucian sighed.
“Death can’t be victorious here today,” he thought. “Not today.”
Lucian sprinted to Idris’ office and opened a side drawer of the desk where Idris kept his personal stash of enhancers. Other vials must have been inside, too, because of what Idris had started evolving into. He pulled out a small steel box that was buried beneath sterile syringe packets. Setting the box on the desktop, he opened it and removed a vial. Inserting a needle into the yellow serum, he withdrew 3ccs of the shifter enhancer reagent.
Lucian hurried back to Kyle and injected the serum. After several minutes, he checked for a pulse.
Nothing.
“Dammit!” he seethed.
He clasped his hands on Kyle’s chest and administered CPR. He counted the pumps he made with his hands and paused. After the third set of thrusts, Kyle’s eyelids fluttered.
Lucian performed another set and Kyle coughed.
Lucian smiled. Even though Kyle had suffered a lot of genetic damage and might never achieve complete regeneration, the chances were increased that he’d have some renewed progress once the solution passed through his bloodstream.
The virulent shifter DNA might restore Kyle’s suppressed memories. And if Kyle was fortunate, the chances for his brain lesions to heal had increased. Lucian doubted Kyle’s maimed arm could ever completely regenerate, but recovering lost motor functions was more important than an arm. Kyle had been too brilliant to lose all his brain data.
Kyle’s eyes lulled back. Only the whites were visible. Strange, gurgling sounds creaked in his throat. His labored breathing became gentle, more stable.
Kyle’s pulse grew stronger. He gulped for air and his chest rose higher and higher. He’d survive. This might not undo Lucian shooting Kyle, but at least, Lucian had proven that he had attempted to make amends.
Lucian looked at Kyle and smiled. Kyle stared back.
“I’ve never had a brother before,” Lucian said. “Until now.”
Brockton entered the room and Lucian turned with his gun steadied at the doctor’s head. Brockton stared closely. “Are you the real Lucas or his clone?”
During the struggle to revive Kyle, Lucian’s facial muscles had relaxed back to their former state. “Lucian.”
“Don’t kill me, and I’ll help you with Kyle.”
Lucian lowered the gun. “Why would I kill you? You’ve been nothing except kind to me.”
Brockton wiped sweat from his brow. “In this establishment, you have no guarantee who’s your friend one day and your enemy the next.”
“How can you help him?”
“There are ways. Some injections of d-amphetamines might help restore his locomotion capabilities somewhat. And other things. But, it looks like I got here in time. He’s not dead, so that’s good.”
“Well, he was. I revived him. Does that make any difference?”
“No,” Brockton said. “I don’t think so. I was just afraid that if he had died, you might not know how to revive him. You did good. Where’s Idris?”
Lucian looked away. “I had to kill him.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. He was undergoing some strange transformation.”
“I see,” Brockton said with a bit of relief. His shoulders relaxed. “Help me place Kyle on a gurney. With the Meltdown activated, wheeling him out will be the fastest route. But first, I need to go to my office.”
Lucian nodded. “Lead the way.”
***
Lydia stepped into the hall with her gun held ahead of her. She half expected to get another shot at Lucian, but if she revealed the truth, she hoped the chance to kill him came soon, before he escaped TransGenCorp. Lucas followed her but kept his attention behind them so no one attacked from the rear. Rex padded along the floor beside them. He was too much a pup to be expected to track an enemy, much less protect them, but his keen sense of hearing and smell might alert them to other lesser dangers.
Midway down the hall, the main lights flickered. A buzzing sounded from breaker boxes. A few seconds later, the overhead lights shut off. Darkness filled the halls and rooms. Emergency lights popped on at various intervals in the halls but hardly bright enough to drive away the darkness.
Lydia looked at Lucas with concern in her eyes. “You don’t think Idris told us the truth, do you?”
“About what?”
“Destroying one thing unleashes others?”
“The truth seldom fell from his lips.”
“Maybe, but,” she said, peering down the dark corridor. “Perhaps it was his little safeguard all along.”
Lucas released his gun’s safety. “Meaning?”
“Maybe he feared Helmsby would discover a way to do what you just did and afterwards, the process reset the program to release other shifters, or more soldiers.”
“I never estimated that he’d be that smart, but I could be wrong. We have little time, so we have to hope we don’t encounter anything unusual.”
The dull alarm moaned endlessly through the intercom speakers in each room and hall. The annoyance was more disturbing than the shadowy darkness looming around them.
A door swung open at the end of the hall. A man-like creature stepped through the door. In the dim lighting, all they could really see of the strange, slender form was its glowing yellow eyes. It moved closer to the emergency light. The light washed over it, making it more recognizable. Its arms hung down like an ape’s, but it didn’t possess the mass or width of a massive primate. Its furless body was muscled with thick sinewy cords weaved around its bulging biceps and chest. The glowing eyes peered in their direction. The sudden grunt it gave indicated it could see them.
Lucas watched its slim figure in the hallway, and he suddenly recalled the creature Daniel had seen on the outskirts of Pittsburgh when scavenging the area for food. The eerie beast had followed Daniel into an alley, but eventually Daniel lost sight of it. Morton had somehow killed it in the alley, out of Daniel’s view. Morton, however, never discussed how he had killed it. Lucas always assumed Morton knew a lot more than the rest of them, and the cat enjoyed having his secrets.
Lydia backed against the wall and aimed, squeezing off two rounds. The first shot threw the creature’s left shoulder back. The second shot caught it in the chest. It clasped its hands to the chest wound and dropped to its knees. Its swelling body vibrated violently. A pulse of yellow energy flashed and ran through its body. Dark, black eyes stared at them.
Anger consumed it. The beast pushed itself upright and flung its hairless arms above its head and roared. Its mouth stretched wider. Jagged teeth gnashed together. The gunshots had not done any obvious damage. No blood or liquid gushed from it, only pain-filled outrage. It lunged and ran straight at them. Lydia’s weapon didn’t frighten it.
Lucas grabbed Lydia’s hand and tugged. She started to resist, but she sensed how fast the creature approached.
“Which rounds did you use?” he asked, pulling her through the door and slamming it shut. He turned the deadbolt.
“The denaturers your clone left us,” she said, expelling the clip and exposing one round.
Fists pounded the metal door. The creature snarled and growled, pressing its weight against the door. The thudding became louder, harder, and small dents protruded through the metal. Its maddened determination sought to find a way through the thick barrier eventually. It had one need.
Revenge.
Lucas frowned. “The denaturers didn’t faze it at all.”
“No.”
“You only pissed it off. Let’s hope that there aren’t more of them nearby.”
“Indeed.”
Lucas scrambled through the room, which now he discovered, was only an office for one of the scientists employed by TransGenCorp. The faint light on the other side of the office was bright enough to reveal another door. He hurried to it and flung it open to find a small laboratory. Two cages with open doors set against the far wall.
The pounding on the metal door never ceased. It intensified with unrelenting violence.
“It’s going to eventually get through that door,” she said. “We need to find a way to kill it.”
“I know,” Lucas said. “But by the time it gets through, we’ll be in the next hall.”
`She grabbed his arm and pointed. She placed her index finger to her lips. A set of hollow, glowing golden eyes met his from the open door on the far side of the laboratory. Crouched lower was a second set of eyes, green like emeralds. These eyes belonged to a different kind of furry creature. The two creatures blocked their only escape route. The metal door behind them rattled. Loosened screws fell from the hinges. In minutes, or maybe less, that door was going to fall.
Lucas’ eyebrows rose in question. He glanced at Lydia.
She shrugged. “I don’t have any ideas different than yours,” she said. “Let’s just see how this plays out.”
The small shifter growled and leapt at them. Outside, an alarm sounded. Time was running out. They went for their guns. The emergency lights dimmed. Everything around them suddenly became darker.
***
The corridor filled with the smell of burnt rubber and melted plastic. Electrical wires burned in the ceilings and the walls. The Meltdown was true to its name.
The air in the dark room of winged shifters—like the one that had killed Randy three years earlier—was sucked out through the ventilation duct. The creatures convulsed, staggered, and fought to breathe. Their tiny lungs compressed. Their iridescent eyes slowly closed and their bodies collapsed onto the litter-covered floor.
The genetic soldiers in the liquid-filled tanks shook. The Meltdown shut off the oxygen supply and the heart monitors became inactive. The genetic creatures’ eyes popped open, and for a brief few minutes, they struggled. Their muscles tightened. Their tongues shoved the oxygen plugs from their mouths. They inhaled thick liquid into their lungs. They doubled over and their hearts stopped beating.
Further down the corridor, behind the sealed door with the biohazard warning sign, electronics locks clicked. The main door opened, followed by smaller cage doors.
Voices chattered with excitement.
“Humans are here. In the halls. Humans.”
“Kill them,” another high-pitched voice shrieked. “Kill them. Kill them.”
“Yes,” another whispered. “Let them come. Kill.”
Like a frightened flock of blackbirds taking to flight, their piercing voices shrilled. The door opened wider and their hunched little bodies filled the dark hall. Their timid little feet touched the cold tile floor for the first time. There was so much more they wanted to learn.
***
Lucas grabbed a metal chair and flung it upright as the small furry shifter lunged toward him. The chair legs caught its neck and flipped it against the wall. It shuddered from the impact, shook its back, and bared its teeth. It charged.
He pulled his gun, fired, and a denaturer delivered its poison. The bullet ripped through its gut. It chattered and rolled into a ball. He expected it to stretch out and make another attack, but it gurgled. Froth bubbled from its mouth and it stopped breathing.
“At least it’s dead,” Lydia said.
“Yes, but that leaves these other two.”
Lucas aimed his gun out of instinct at the taller creature, the twin to the one beating down the door. Its eyes beamed more from curiosity than fury.
Lydia leaned close and whispered. “No, don’t shoot it. You saw how the other one reacted.”
The metal door folded inward and crashed on the floor. The strange shifter wailed with triumph. Its sibling stepped closer but still didn’t make any attempt to attack.
“We’re trapped,” Lucas said.
A warning blared over the intercom system: “Fifteen minutes until Meltdown completes.”
“Damn,” Lucas said. “Bullets won’t work and the Meltdown is underway. Perhaps your assumption was correct. Perhaps Idris did program a protective code to release other creatures if his files were tampered with. Something released these.”
Carpenter spoke through Lucian’s earpiece. “Are you two about out of there?”
“No. We’ve run into a problem.”
“What?”
“We’re trapped by some strange creatures that were released after the Meltdown began.”
“How?”
“Idris must have second guessed me. He had a backup plan. If I tampered with the system, the gates and cages to other experiments opened. Since he’s dead, I have no way to know how to reverse this. We’re surrounded. Make sure everyone else is out of TransGenCorp.”
Lucas stood still and the two shifters moved closer. Lydia stood with her back against his. She kept her attention on the one she had shot. She had holstered her weapon and stood with her hands raised to defend herself. When it rushed, she would be ready. Hand to hand combat seemed the only thing she had left to kill it.
Kat said to Lucas, “There has to be a way we can help you.”
“Afraid not,” he replied. “The denaturers are useless on them.”
“We’ll come get you,” Carpenter said.
“No. You’ll never make it in time.”
“We can’t leave you behind.”
“Don’t worry,” Lucas said. “We’ll go out fighting.”
Lucas tucked his gun behind his belt and pulled a razor-sharp hunting knife from his boot. “You have your knife?” he asked.
Before the words even came from his mouth, she already held hers. “Yes.”
“That’s my girl.”
Lydia’s eyes narrowed. She seethed. “Give them Hell.”
She ran straight at the creature without any hesitation. It growled and lunged at her. Lydia screamed.
***
Morton’s ears had perked when he heard Gil yelling for help through Daniel’s earpiece. Julia and Felicia were in danger, and he was too far away to rescue them.
His cat eyes flared crimson red. Extra teeth lined his mouth and his paws grew larger. He tried to suppress his burning anxiety but found, for the first time, he couldn’t control it. What he truly began to surface.
“Get me to them,” Morton said to Daniel.
Kat placed a hand over her mouth when she noticed what Morton was turning into.
“Now!” the cat said sternly. “I must protect them.”
Daniel scooped Morton into his arms and ran for the door. Johanna stayed with the agents. Neither Kat nor Carpenter made a comment. Nothing they said would help.
***
Julia grabbed Felicia and hugged her tightly. She could hear it breathing heavily against the door. The doorknob rattled. Even though it was capable of splintering the door, it never shoved its weight to smash through.
It was waiting for them to exit. It was patient, she thought. Or, it was feeding on their fear.
She placed her hand on the doorknob that opened to the adjoining room, but it was locked. She fought to hold back her tears, but they escaped anyway. She put the gun on the sink. Bullets wouldn’t hurt it. Gil had emptied his gun into the beast, and the monster killed him. The gun proved to be a worthless weapon.
Julia returned to the door that led to the adjoining room. She gently pushed her weight against it. The center of the door was flimsy, and not solid wood. Should she apply more force, it would give way. After all, the door was old and cheaply made.
She took a step back and gave a sharp, violent kick. The door caved through the center. She shoved her shoulder hard against it and burst through. The outer fragments of the door clung to the hinges.
Julia ran with Felicia in her arms toward the door. She turned the bolt lock, and the other bathroom door splintered apart. Whatever had killed Gil was coming after them. She pulled the door open and ran for the concrete stairs that led to the lower level parking lot.
Misty layers of fog crept across the parking lot. For a second she froze, feeling like she had stepped through time to the day when she ventured into the shrouded streets after Daniel. She expected to hear howls of hungry shifters racing toward her. She shook her head and drove the memories from her mind. She had to protect Felicia, and not worry about what happened three years earlier. Besides, this creature was different and perhaps more dangerous than those predatory shifters.
Before she reached the parking lot, the creature leapt over the upstairs banister. He crashed through the roof of a car. His face looked almost human, and his body was muscled. Round eyes peered at her through what looked more like a canine’s face than a human’s. The facial hair and trimmed beard gave it an almost wolfish face. Many of its facial components were merged between human and wolf. The TGC emblem was stitched on its gray bodysuit. The name, Bane, was stitched in red.
Julia started to run for her van, but a squad car pulled into the lot. She wondered if Carpenter had alerted the police to rescue her. She fought against the idea of warning the officer that Gil’s bullets had not killed it. But that required yelling, and doing so, would turn the creature’s attention toward her. She kept reminding herself that getting Felicia to safety was the most pressing issue. That meant running and putting a lot of distance between them and the beast. She needed to find a place to hide.
Bane pulled himself out of the car and stepped onto the hood. He turned and faced her. His strange, golden eyes glowed through the thin fog. He didn’t notice the squad car until the brakes squealed abruptly. The officer, using his door as a shield, fired at the beast.
Julia wasn’t certain, but she could swear that it smiled. The officer unloaded his 9mm into Bane. The wolfish man didn’t flinch or howl in pain. He sprang to the pavement and rushed him. The officer turned and pulled a loaded shotgun from the car. He fired, catching the creature dead center in the chest. Bane lurched back from the impact momentarily. The shot pellets shredded his shirt. Oozing blood leaked from the holes, but he healed as fast as he moved. Deep growls escaped his mouth, and he snarled, revealing his fangs and sharp teeth.
Julia ran. She ran into the ally. After the third shotgun blast, the officer screamed in intense agony. And, as quickly, silence won.
Although Julia never pulled Felicia back to see her face, she knew her daughter was terrified and crying. Her sobs beat against Julia’s chest. She feared Felicia would be scarred and traumatized for the rest of her life. She had truly believed this was all over, and now, she feared it might never end except with their deaths.
Several rusted dumpsters lined the alleyway. She didn’t think those were good hiding places, but she was too tired to keep running and carrying Felicia. Already her arms were tired. She was short of breath, more from fear than fatigue, and should she continue, she might collapse from exhaustive distress.
Her heart hammered inside her chest. The air grew thicker, colder. She took slower breaths to prevent hyperventilating. Felicia’s sobs were now audible. Her hot tears wet Julia’s shirt collar.
“It’s okay, baby,” Julia whispered in Felicia’s ear. “It’s going to be okay. Please don’t cry.”
“I’m scared, Momma.”
“I know, baby. But don’t cry. You mustn’t. It will hear you.”
Felicia’s eyes widened. In that instant, she forced her sobs to stop because, Julia reasoned, her daughter understood the danger that any noise placed them in.
“I’ve got to get you out of here. To somewhere safe.”
Felicia nodded.
Julia gave a weak, nervous smile and wiped tears from Felicia’s eyes.
The alley was overgrown with drying weeds, empty beer bottles, and lots of scattered paper and debris. The fog was thinner here than at the parking lot, but like an ocean wave crashed on the beach, a tide of heavier fog spilled from the north end of the alley, threatening to swallow them. Being this close to the river when a cold front passed through brought fog, but this fog brought terrifying memories to Julia. Memories she had thought she’d buried. Suddenly, more fears crept into her mind and assaulted her fretfulness.
When she had fought shifters to help protect Daniel, she had been stronger. Now, though, holding her only child, she appeared weaker, because she allowed the fear of losing Felicia to overpower her will to survive. She tried to thrust away the fear and draw on her inner resources to survive, but she found them outside of her reach.
She disappeared into the thicker fog and dry weeds crackled beneath her feet. An angry snarl like a wolf came from behind her. He was just beyond sight but close enough to rush her. Although she couldn’t see him, she sensed he was near. She believed for some strange reason that he was tracking her scent. She doubted even he had the ability to see through this dense fog. He relied on his sense of smell.
“Shhh,” she whispered in Felicia’s ear. Her daughter’s arms tightened around Julia’s neck. Julia stepped gently forward, further away from the beast. Not knowing what lay on the ground ahead of her, each step was a gamble. She didn’t want to accidentally kick a bottle or can or make some other disruptive sound that pinpointed their location.
The stench of dead fish and sulfur drifted with the fog, which she hoped was strong enough to temporarily mask their scent. The wolfish man took two deep breaths. He stood closer than she realized and was trying to track her.
Julia dared another step forward. Then another. She did this until she reached a dumpster. The trash inside reeked of rotten food and produce. She peered into the dumpster and the aroma gagged her. Felicia pressed her nose against Julia’s shirt.
At first she contemplated sliding Felicia into the dumpster, but she knew her little girl would immediately protest, and she couldn’t blame her. The odor was enough to stifle a dead cat. Instead, she carried Felicia between the dumpster and the brick wall. She sat down and loosened Felicia’s death grip from around her neck. She was afraid to exhale. Then she noticed golden eyes. Cold, heartless, golden eyes. They stared at her. Just inches away.
***
“Thirteen minutes until Meltdown,” the cold computerized voice said over the intercom.
Lydia slashed her knife through the creature’s chest at least four inches deep. Her blade came away covered with viscous liquid. Just as quickly as the blade passed through, the wound sealed itself shut. The gel-like flesh solidified into something much more durable.
The creature gnashed jagged teeth, released a gurgling howl, and lashed a violent fist into her jaw that sent her tumbling over a lab table. She hit the floor hard.
Little Rex barked before finding a dark corner to cower in. After cowering out of harm’s way, the pup whimpered and whined.
“Are you okay?” Lucas asked, looking for her while keeping an eye on the two humanoids.
Lydia didn’t reply. She rose to her feet and growled like an animal. She charged across the table and plunged the blade deep into its chest. It grabbed her wrists and using her momentum; it swung her overhead and sent her through the large window.
Showering glass tinkled around her. She closed her eyes, hit the floor, and rolled. Slowly, she staggered to her feet, holding her knife tightly in hand. Piles of glass shards surrounded her feet.
“Dammit!” Lucas yelled. “Stay the hell away from it!”
Lydia leapt back through the shattered window and drove her knife downward, toward its head. It batted her arm away, spiraled, and shoved a flat hand against her chest. The blow lifted her two feet off the floor. She landed in a pile of glass and slid. The creature rushed and bombarded her with blows that should have killed her. Blood dripped from her facial lacerations. Her left eye swelled. Glass fragments were imbedded in her legs.
Lucas kept a table between himself and the other humanoid. His body couldn’t withstand a fraction of the damage Lydia had endured. He realized Lydia was in real danger. Without the sensation of pain, she didn’t know the severity of her injuries. Lucas wanted to protect her, but he was helpless. She was more powerful than he was. If their battle relied upon guns and knives, they’d win. But at the particular moment, he thought she was going to die. And if it were true that she no longer wanted to live, she’d fight until the creature killed her.
Lydia’s rate of recovery was rapid; however, it also demanded time to heal. Severe injuries took longer, but she wasn’t going to retreat or stop to catch her breath. Her narrowed eyes indicated she had become what she dreaded. Inside, she did have a demon of sorts that longed for the chance to emerge and inflict pain, to kill.
With its ape-like arms, it lunged at her. Even though the gun was useless, he raised the 9mm to shoot, hoping it distracted the creature long enough for Lydia to get away. But he didn’t have a clear shot and might accidentally shoot her instead. He wasn’t certain if Lucian’s threat about the bullets being able to kill her was true or not. He dared not chance it and lowered the gun with reluctance.
Her blade ripped through its left biceps, flaying open muscle fibers. The creature’s eyes widened. She lunged toward it. Its right hand wrapped around her throat and squeezed. She stiffened and brought the knife upward. She drove the blade deep into its gut, but its hold didn’t lessen. With both hands, it choked her, trying to break her neck.
She dropped the knife and clutched its muscled wrists, trying to break free of its hold. The growl escaping its lips was more a laugh than anything else. Lifting her off the floor, it shook her. Her face reddened, and Lucas swung the metal chair into the crazed creature’s back, knocking it off balance.
Lydia collapsed to the floor and fell forward. Catching herself with her hands, she rolled and sat up. She wheezed, coughed, and fought to breathe. Once her breathing stabilized, she vomited.
“Ten minutes until Meltdown is complete.”
“Lydia,” Lucas said. “Let’s get the hell out of here. There’s no way to kill it.”
Lydia ignored him. She didn’t seem to like the fact that these things couldn’t die and that this one had bested her. She wiped blood from her cheek and lips and looked at her bloody hands. Calling upon her mental focus, she forced herself to stand. She braced against a lab table to steady her legs.
The other humanoid remained docile, which made Lucas wonder if the other one was only bent on killing Lydia because she had attacked it first. Its anger fed off hers. And she didn’t plan to stop until one of them died. Lucas didn’t see how she could possibly win the fight. A part of him believed she no longer cared if she died. She believed she was a monster like the clone and the creature in front of her. Even though Lucas insisted she wasn’t, he did somewhat believe her now. And yet, he loved as much as he always had. But he didn’t believe he’d be able to rescue her from herself. No words or coaxing could switch off her killing instincts.
“Lydia, please,” Lucas said. “Let’s go.”
“Giving up so soon, brother?”
Lucian stood at the open door with Kyle draped over his shoulder.
Lucas frowned. “Brother?”
“Like it or not, but we’re one in the same. Genetically, without my genomic advancements, we’re twins. Or, would you prefer me to call you father?”
“Neither.”
“Then brother it is,” Lucian smiled. “Take Lydia and leave. I’ll take care of these things.”
Lucas shook his head. “They don’t die. We can’t kill them with the denaturers and knives do no damage.”
“It’s because you don’t understand how they function.”
“And you do?”
“Lydia, go with Lucas. Get out of here.”
Lydia dove to the floor, grabbed her knife, and spun a perfect roundhouse kick. The creature’s head flung to the side and its body did a half-spiral. She went for its throat with the blade. She shoved the blade through its neck and twisted.
After the humanoid regained balance, it grabbed her wrist with its hands and twisted. She kneed, where its groin should be, hard enough to bring it off the floor. It squealed and released her. She spun three hundred sixty degrees and drove the knife in its back. It didn’t cry in pain. Instead, it rounded around, hard and fast, slamming its elbow into her face. She lost balance and dropped across the table, facedown.
The creature was atop her in seconds. It straddled the small of her back and interlocked both hands around her throat. It pulled back on her neck. Her face flushed red, slowly turning purple. A crackling sound ran along her spine.
Lucas watched helplessly.
A crazed look gleamed in its eyes.
A look of triumph.
Victory.
Lucian pushed past Lucas and tackled the creature, knocking it off her. He wrestled it to the floor.
Lydia massaged her throat and stood slowly. She walked to Lucas. The other creature watched with curiosity. It didn’t seem to comprehend anything. Since they never attacked it, it never bothered them. Its eyes watched Lucian but never moved.
“Watch and learn, brother,” Lucian said.
Lucian’s fingers lengthened two phalanges longer. With speed unlike Lucas, Lucian’s hands dug into the creature’s chest. Sloppy wet sounds came from the opening. Seconds later, Lucian held its pink heart, but not an ordinary heart. This heart had wires and computer chips attached to the cardiac muscle. Lucian tossed the heart to the floor. All the energy drained from the strange being. What mad science was this?
Lucas’ mouth opened to ask a question, but Lucian smiled and said, “I don’t have time to explain. Go. I’ll take care of the other one.”
“What about Kyle?” Lydia asked.
“He goes with me, too,” Lucian replied.
Lucas’ eyes narrowed.
“No harm will come to him, I promise. In fact, I can help him. Medically. I think the damage he suffers can be reversed.”
The want and need to kill his clone returned. But the longer he stared at Lucian, the less he liked the idea. Like Lydia, Lucas understood he wouldn’t be killing an enemy. He’d actually kill a part of himself. To accomplish such a morbid act, he’d have to seek his inner rage and cast it on his mirror reflection, but that wouldn’t kill the part of himself he sometimes hated. That part remained inside him and continued to live, even if his clone died.
To some degree, Lucian was his own person. Ninety percent of his genetic makeup was Lucas, but the experimentations Idris had forced his clone to undertake made him a different person altogether. He hoped he wouldn’t regret allowing his clone to go free, but he protecting Lydia was his top priority. For a bit of irony, he was now indebted to his clone for coming to their aid twice. But now, Lucas needed to save Lydia from herself, if nothing else.
“Nine minutes until Meltdown is complete.”
Lucian eyed Lucas. “Kyle is safe with me. Nine minutes might be enough time for you to get out of here. Kyle will only slow you down.”
“And he won’t you?” Lydia asked.
Lucian smiled. “I know a quicker route out.”
Lucas took Lydia’s hand and pulled her to him. “Let’s go.”
“Do you believe him?” she asked.
“What choice do we have?”
“None, I suppose. But it doesn’t mean I like it.”
“Me, either.”
Lucian glanced at Lucas and smiled.
Lucas said, “Thanks . . . for saving her . . . us.”
Lucian replied with a single nod.
Lydia grabbed Rex. They hurried down the hall, found the room with the hidden stairwell and headed up. The chattering cries and glowing eyes in the catacombs told them they were not alone. The door locked behind them. Darkness shrouded them. Both pulled their guns and paused to listen to fluttering wings, strange cries.
They were not alone.