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DAISY LAZARUS
From the momentDaisy’s boots connected with the cool concrete, she sensed something wrong. Like a buzz in the air, a tangible tingle, it sparked an inner alarm. But why? Slowly she surveyed the space, waiting for the first person to attack—if any.
But none came.
She almost slumped in disappointment. She was ready for a fight. Wanted it. Having Axel by her side had made her feel more confident about setting things right. She wasn’t quite sure who was her enemy—Sam, for sure. But the plant? She sensed its despair the way she’d sensed the first plant abomination. It had absorbed a man and together they’d become something new. Something unwanted and miserable.
She sensed the grandmother’s sadness… she felt it in all the Faithful like nails down the chalkboard of her stomach. They were all so miserable, they were almost prepared to sacrifice themselves to this burgeoning creature. She didn’t understand why Axel said she should save them.
They were so sad.
Then she remembered the memories. The cuddles she gave her brothers and sisters when she was young. Gloria’s final words to her. Nothing burns forever. You’re the only one who will truly understand that. Gloria didn’t mean actual fire. She meant the pain of despair, the heat and the violence, the destructive consuming power of it. Daisy used to make people laugh to douse that scorching feeling.
In the end, none of these people had volunteered to sacrifice themselves.
There was hope.
This grandmother weeping on her knees. That robed man cowering in the corner. That plant desperately trying to fulfill its urge to feed. Her own endless despair. All these things could end. They could be reversed. She was already living proof of that possibility.
Nothing burned forever and, sometimes, precious things grew out of the ashes.
“No more sacrifices,” she announced, facing the crowd. “Enough.”
Sam narrowed his eyes. “Falcon. I didn’t expect you here.”
He didn’t know. Good. Maybe she could use her old position to influence them.
“I am.” She rolled her whip back into its coiled position and clipped it to her belt. “You can all leave. Go home.”
“But the boss gave us orders.”
“The boss is insane.”
No one moved. They looked at her with confused, shell-shocked eyes.
This isn’t working. They expected Falcon to be bad. She had to show them what could grow from the ashes. She took a deep breath, a chance, and tossed her mask on the ground.
“I am no longer following him. He’s a liar, a sick man, and I should never have believed in him.”
“I was also wrong.” Axel emerged from the shadows around the side of a container. He tossed his Faithful mask into a barrel. Flames sputtered with the melting plastic. The acrid scent filled the air.
“None of what is happening is worth it,” Axel said. “Even if Julius was honorable with his promise to clone you all—which he’s not, I can assure you—it’s not worth it. Some of you are here because you’re protecting loved ones. And you have to see that people are dying. If we let that creature loose, innocent women and children will die. They could be the very people you’re trying to keep safe. I didn’t sign up for that, and I know many of you didn’t either.”
He came to stand next to Daisy and a strange feeling washed over her. She felt lighter, as though she really did have wings.
“No,” blurted Sam. He looked at the Faithful. “Don’t listen to them. They’re trying to confuse you. She’s not worthy anymore. Her faith has been rocked and now she’s trying to take us down with her. This is a test of our faith.”
Axel opened his mouth, but before words came out, Sam ripped open the cage door. Thick jungle-like leaves shuddered. For a moment, the plant’s despair abated. Then it sprung from its prison with a speed Daisy had forgotten it capable of. Sam pushed Faithful into Daisy’s path, into the plant’s path. That’s when she saw it wasn’t just one plant, but many. They’d all been huddled like livestock. Some had bipedal viney feet, others rolled and flowed like bubbling water. They weren’t as advanced as the one she’d fought in the sewer, but dangerous all the same. If these plants fed, they would evolve.
Fear for Axel prickled her skin. She glanced at him. One tendril would paralyze him. But he was tugging Faithful by the robes, shoving them the other way, ripping their masks off, shouting for them to go home. It was over. No more Faithful. Spread the word. Daisy returned to the creatures with a scream, unleashing the fury of her katana and slicing through anything green in her way.
She had to close the cage before it fed and evolved. Doing her best to avoid lashing leaves and green things, she slammed her shoulder against the cage door and heaved it closed. The gods must have been smiling on her because the plant inside wasn’t mature enough to fight back. Just like the ones she’d met in the cages in the Syndicate black site, it operated on base functioning. She closed the door and slotted her katana in the latch.
“You fucking bitch!” Sam shouted from down the darkened corridor. “You’re ruining everything.”
Sam turned and ran. Daisy’s heart leaped. If anyone had contact with Julius, it was him. She couldn’t let him escape. Uncertain, she glanced at Axel, her conscience.
He must have known what she was thinking. He glanced at her.
