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Once this night is over, Dawn can nurse Mom back to health. But right now, we have to move. There’s still a lot to do.
Dad uses some type of glue to bond the torn skin together, and as he pulls his surgical gloves off, Mom struggles into a sitting position.
When I move closer to help her, she says, “I’m fine. We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s go.”
“I’ll check the hallway,” Raze says.
My eyes lock with Chance’s. “You good?” he asks.
I nod, even though it’s the furthest thing from the truth. I just want this mission over and done with.
“I need backup,” Raze shouts.
I run to her, and looking into the hallway, I see insensates coming from the stairway. Ten, maybe twenty.
“Insensates,” I shout so the others will know. “A lot.”
We all dart out of the room and open fire. I have to reload my clip and start to worry that we’ll run out of ammunition before we make it to the haven to kill the emissaries.
When my clip is empty again, I fall back and pull the bag from Raze’s shoulders while she continues to shoot. Setting the bag on the floor, I open it quickly and grab a clip.
Darting up, I open fire, and Mom falls back to reload her gun. It feels like forever before the last insensate falls, then Chance storms to my dad, grabs him by the front of his shirt, and shoves him against a wall. “Why the fuck did you create these things?”
“To survive,” Dad shouts. “Just like everyone else, I had to survive.”
“At the cost of everyone else,” I mutter as I close the bag and shrug the strap over my shoulder. “Let’s go.”
We file into the elevator, and I press the button for the first floor.
“We’ll be walking into an army on that level,” Mom says. “Wouldn’t it be safer to get out on the third floor?”
“This is the quickest way,” I snap. “We’ll be faced with an army no matter where we go. It’s time to end this.”
Chance takes hold of my arm and presses his forehead against my hair as we descend. “Stay by my side.”
I nod.
“Love you, little one.”
I turn my head, and locking eyes with him, I say, “I love you.”
The doors ping, and we immediately take a ready stance. When the elevator opens, we pause, and then a massive smile forms on my face at the sight of Idris, Kenzo, Dawn, and Skater.
“About fucking time,” Idris says, the corners of his mouth lifting. Then he sees Ethan, and Idris smiles broadly for the first time since I met him. “Damn, it’s good to see they didn’t turn you into DNA bait, Ethan.”
“Lucky me,” Ethan chuckles. “What took you so long to come and get me?”
“We’re here now.” Idris nods in the direction of the front doors. “They’ve blocked off the entrance to the haven.”
We all move into the lobby. Across the road, we can see enforcers and insensates in the lobby of the haven.
Kenzo sees the blood on Mom’s shirt and darts to her side. “What the fuck happened?”
“I’m fine,” Mom reassures him.
Wrapping an arm around her neck, he pulls her into a hug as he presses a kiss to her forehead.
My eyes dart to Dad, who only spares them a glance. He doesn’t seem to be bothered.
Who are these people?
I shake my head, thinking I never knew my parents.
“What do we do?” I ask to get everyone’s attention back on the mission.
It seems like an impossible task to get into the haven. I don’t think we have enough firepower.
Idris gestures up at the ceiling. “We have labs above us. There has to be something we can use to make bombs.”
Everyone turns to look at Dad. “Oh…a…okay.”
“We’ll stand guard here,” Kenzo says. “Skater and Raze, you’re with us.”
I hand the bag with ammunition to Raze as Idris nods, then jog to catch up with Chance, Dad, and Idris as they step into the elevator.
We get out on the third floor and follow Dad to one of the laboratories. He gathers bottles of chemicals and says, “If we put a piece of cloth in the mouth of each of the bottles and set it on fire, it will work well as a bomb.”
“How many bottles do you have?” Idris asks.
“It’s rubbing alcohol. There are a couple of bottles in every laboratory.”
Idris takes the bottle from Dad and shows it to Chance and me. “Search the floor and bring back all the rubbing alcohol you can find.”
Chance and I jog out of the lab and start moving from room to room. I find a bag we can load the bottles into and also grab all the towels and rags I see.
There’s a lighter lying on the table, and Chance grabs it, shoving it into his back pocket.
“Next lab,” he says and pauses at the door to make sure the hallway is empty.
