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Simon’s expression turned grim. “Don’t lie to me. I saw the way you looked at me.”
I bit my lip and debated telling him the truth. I decided I had to since he had already seen right through me. “You’re right. When I first realized it was gone, I was so upset that I wasn’t thinking straight. For a split second I thought maybe you had taken it, but only because of some misguided notion that you were protecting me. I never thought you took it for a malicious reason. But then I came to my senses and realized you wouldn’t do something like that.” I took his hand in mine and squeezed tightly. “I’m sorry.”
Simon’s tensed shoulders slowly relaxed and he nodded, although he still looked grim. I turned back towards Ryan and Marie. Ryan’s nose finally seemed to have stopped bleeding, although the washcloth in his hand was blood-soaked.
“Working under the premise that Simon didn’t take it,” Marie started although she didn’t seem convinced of the fact. “We have to determine who took the palladium and iridium disk.” I saw her give Ryan a sidelong look which didn’t go unnoticed by him.
“I didn’t take it,” he said exasperated.
Marie looked back at me and shrugged. “I didn’t take it either.”
“It didn’t just disappear on its own,” I said in frustration. “Where could it have gone?”
Before anyone could answer, there was a knock at the door. We all froze at the sound. No one besides Sophia knew we were here and I doubted she was coming to visit at five o’clock in the morning. Besides, we hadn’t buzzed anyone through the front door of the apartment building.
The knock sounded again, this time louder.
“Who is it?” Marie called out, not able to hide the quaver in her voice. My trepidation grew when there was no answer to her question except an even louder knock.
“Shit,” Simon said under his breath. He stalked towards the door. “I’m answering it. Move back.”
We all stood frozen in place, not heeding Simon’s warning to move away from the door. Instead of opening it right away, he put his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything. I had to swallow a scream when there was an even louder bang against the door, causing even Simon to jump back.
“Fuck this,” he muttered and swung open the door. I gasped when a woman covered in blood staggered through the door, dropping to her knees as she barely made it through the doorway. Simon caught her from completely collapsing onto the floor.
“Sophia!” Marie exclaimed in horror as she rushed towards the figure. I hadn’t recognized her through all the blood but now I could make out her face and the glazed expression of terror.
Marie pushed back her hair that was stringy with blood. “What happened to you?” she asked, her voice choked with emotion.
Sophia opened her mouth to speak but only a gurgling sound came out. I had to bite back a moan of horror when I saw that her throat had been slashed.
Simon carefully picked her up and placed her on the couch so she was lying down. I tried to not look at the trail of blood she left behind her and instead focused on her face. Her mouth opened again as if she wer
e urgently trying to say something.
“What is it, Sophia?” Marie cried out. “Who did this to you?” She looked up at Ryan. “Call an ambulance!”
Sophia’s mouth worked fervently and finally she was able to emit a slight croak that was unintelligible. We all leaned closer except for Ryan who was scrambling in his bag for his cell phone. Sophia’s mouth started moving again and I was finally able to understand her when she spoke this time.
“Run.”
Before I could even fully register what she had said, I felt a rushing of air behind me. Terror couldn’t fully describe my emotion when I turned and saw a horde of vardogers fighting to get through the door. But they were vardogers unattached to bodies. My mind blanked, not understanding how the vardogers could sustain themselves without their human counterparts. The only person I knew who had the power to allow vardogers to detach from their humans and exist apart from them was Claudia, but she was long gone.
“Get ready!” Ryan yelled, his phone long forgotten. He looked at me with grim determination but I could also see the fear in his eyes. I forced myself to block everything out as I started to funnel my energy together. My powers started gathering and growing into a large burning orb full of anxiety and fear, but just as I was about to throw it out towards the vardogers, they slammed into me with the force of a Mack truck, throwing me against the wall. I could feel them trying to sink inside me as I slid to the floor. I vaguely heard someone cry out my name but I concentrated on gathering my energy again, trying to ignore the searing pain as I felt them trying to invade every corner of my body, pushing against my soul.
It took everything I had not to lose consciousness, to gather my strength and grow my energy into a fury of power. I finally pushed it out with all my might and felt momentary relief as the vardogers attempting to overtake me were destroyed, shimmering in the air until they completely disappeared.
“Fuck! I can’t do anything to stop them because they’re not in bodies!” Simon looked frantic as he kneeled over me, looking terrified and out of control. I saw Ryan and Marie behind him struggling in their own fights with vardogers. I turned back to Simon, to tell him that I was okay, when two more vardogers slammed into me, taking my breath away. I was weaker now, and I struggled to gather my powers as my energy waned. The pain was affecting me more now, making it hard for me to concentrate on funneling my powers. It seemed to take forever but I was finally able to gather enough energy and I shot it out with as much force as I could muster. When the vardogers vaporized and dissipated into the air, I could barely feel relief because I was so weak
I felt Simon’s hands on me and I struggled to prop myself up until I was sitting up straight. “I’m okay, Simon,” I said, although my strained voice belied my statement. I focused on Ryan behind him who had just finished destroying a vardoger. He rested his hands on his knees, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up after a few moments, his gaze zeroing in on me.
“Are you okay?” His voice was hoarse but still strong. I nodded and then searched the room, confusion settling in.
“Where’s Marie?” I asked. Simon helped me as I stood. I grabbed his arm when I felt how unsteady my knees were.
Ryan’s expression darkened as he straightened. “She ran off.”
“What do you mean she ran off?”
