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“
I
t’s us
, Sabrina,” Michaela tells her, looking into her eyes and trying to reason with her.

“I know who you are. You’re my friends. My enemies. My…I have to kill you. I don’t want to kill you.”

“You do want to kill them,” I tell her, stepping closer to her.

The others step in between us, blocking me from touching her again. They’ve wisely figured out that having physical contact with her will help sway her to the way she needs to go.

“Stay away from her,” Jennifer tells me, taking an offensive stance with me, the blade of the knife she’s holding glowing in the setting sun.

“And shut up! She doesn’t need you confusing her,” Lauren says.

She’s on the ground next to Levi, trying to revive him, but so far it isn’t working. His human heartbeat is strong, but it won’t save him once I convince Sabrina to listen to me. My companion touches my arm, and when I look at him, he speaks into my mind, reminding me we can do the same with Sabrina now that we’ve claimed her.

I block out Hinton, and speak so only she can hear. “Ours is the right choice, Sabrina. You know this. They are just trying to spare themselves because they know they must die.”

“I don’t want them to die.”

“You do,” my companion tells her. “Remember the knowledge we gave you. The vision of what we can accomplish once we are free.”

“Why must they die? What if they promise to leave you alone?”

“There is no guarantee, and we must be guaranteed a future for our species,” I remind her.

“There is no other way.”

She is resolved when she thinks this, and I watch as she moves her body, preparing to attack. Coalton sees her coming, and raises his blade, blocking her

strike. She keeps attacking, backing him down one of the paths, as he moves from side to side, not letting her back him into a wall.

They continue parrying and jabbing for several minutes, and if we hadn’t given her our power, I’d be worried. Sabrina’s already had a long fight with Abigail, and normally she’d need a re-charge by now. She’s no longer normal, which is evident by the force of her attack, and her willingness to keep fighting, even when it doesn’t look like a win will be easy.

She surprises us all by dropping her sword, diving for his feet, and bringing him to the ground with a loud crash as his body hits the pavement. His head rolls sideways, and no one can miss the blood coming out from under him. He
is
still alive, but his heartbeat is slow and unsteady. It’s only a matter of time until he dies. One down, seven to go—although there’s no sign that Levi’s getting up anytime soon, either.

“Who’s next?” Sabrina asks, wiping the blood from her mouth.

I didn’t see Coalton get in a good hit, so she must have injured herself when she took him down. It’s not bleeding hard enough for it to stop her, or even slow her down, so I have no cause for concern. Especially when she picks her sword back up and moves on to her next victim.

They all wait and watch as she looks from one to the other. Despite what they’ve seen, we can sense their reluctance to hurt her. She senses it, too, and uses it to her advantage, choosing Alejandra next.

She fights valiantly, but fighting is only a part of her, and not what she was specifically created for, leaving her woefully unprepared. She’s bruised and bloody within minutes, and as she tries to hold up her blade, Sabrina goes in for the kill.

My smile turns to a frown when Hinton places his own weapon in the path of hers, stopping her from doing what needs to be done. He’s not much more of a match for her than Alejandra was. He begins running and jumping all over the place, laughing while he plays with her, and

with her, I realize his endgame is to wear her down.

It’s not a bad plan, because no one can go on forever, including her, but she’s nowhere near her end point yet. If he could hold her off for hours, she’d wear down, but Sabrina won’t let it come to that. Oh no. This girl is set in her mission now. That doesn’t mean we want to stand around while she’s forced to play along.

“Get in his head,” I tell my companion. “Distract him so she can take the kill shot.”

I can go into Hinton’s head, but he would probably just ignore me, and I don’t know him like my companion does. He’ll play on his greatest fears and bring him to his knees. I see it start to happen as he stumbles and squeezes his eyes shut for a moment.

It’s long enough for Sabrina to stab him in the arm. She was aiming for his heart, but he turned at the last moment; he’s still alive. Bleeding, and in both physical and emotional pain, but still alive.

“Stop,” Lauren pleads with her, running up to grab Sabrina’s arm.

She turns, and slams her to the ground with the hilt on her sword. Michaela and Jennifer fan out, and this is when I wish we’d given them all telepathy. These two will be formidable together, and being able to get inside their heads would be useful. That’s not an option, so all we can do is stand back and watch as they circle her.

She keeps her eyes up as she crouches down and picks up Lauren’s blade from the ground. As she stands, she swings them both in large arcs, testing the new weight in her less dominant left hand. She can use both, but she’s never had to before, and it takes her a few swings to be comfortable with it.

“Let go of the hold they have on you,” Michaela tells her. “You know this is wrong.”

“I don’t know that.”

“You
do
know. Find the strength to fight their hold on you,” Jennifer implores her.

“It’s so hard,” she tells them honestly.

“And killing us is easy?” Michaela asks.

“We all knew we’d probably have to kill. You of all people should be prepared for death.”

“I didn’t ever think I’d have to kill
you
, or anyone like us. The Creators deserved what they got, but we don’t deserve to die.”

“The species must live on!”

“They can do that without killing innocent people. They can choose an island,” Jennifer says. “Think about it—they don’t need food, shelter, or a break from the elements. That means anywhere would work for them. Why are they choosing a place that is populated?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Do not let them sway you,” I yell out. “You know the reasons, and you will do as you’re told.”

“Why can’t we talk about this? If your reasoning is so sound, why do you think we won’t listen, or help you?” Michaela counters.

“You are too foolish to listen. Sabrina is the only intelligent one.”

“Yes. I understand,” she says, raising her weapons and preparing to attack.

“Wait,” Levi says, only he’s not speaking out loud.

That’s impossible. He cannot do it. She’s not his to speak to. Neither am I, but I’m hearing him, too, and that thing called fear is coming back.

“
D
on’t do this
, Sabrina. Remember who you are. Remember I love you.”

“We have to die. It’s the only way.”

“No. It’s their way, and the Creator’s way, but it’s not the only way. We can choose to live.”

“Stop confusing her,” I tell him, trying to push him out of all of our heads. I don’t know how he figured this out, but it has to stop.

“I am confused. What do I do?”

“You know what to do.”

“Yes, she does. She knows her heart,” Levi says.

“You’re in no position to fight me, boy,” I remind him, looking to where he’s still lying motionless on the ground.

Sabrina looks over, too, and she can’t hold back a sob. This is not good. Not good at all.

“I don’t need my body to convince her,” he tells me. “Think of our love, Sabrina.”

“I hurt you. How can you love me when I hurt you?”

“He doesn’t. It’s a trick. He’s trying to trick you into abandoning your destiny. Don’t fall for his lies.”

“Not a lie. I love you. I know you didn’t want to hurt me. I know you love me back. Fight for our love, Sabrina. Please.”

“I-I do love you, Levi. I’m trying to fight. It’s so hard.”

“No!” I yell, both in my head, and out loud.

“Yes,” he replies. “Fight. It’s hard now, but once you break the hold they have on you, it will be easy. Keep fighting. Fight for both of us.”

We cannot allow this to happen. She cannot regain her free will. “Sabrina, you don’t want to be free from us. We are the ones who are leading you on the correct path. Only us.”

I don’t have the strength to fight one of those who are still standing, but I can surely kill an unconscious boy. Picking up one of the abandoned weapons on the ground, I start towards him, and Michaela jumps into my path, leaving Jennifer alone with Sabrina. They’re all playing into our hands once again, and it’s perfect. Now we just need Sabrina to finish this, and our plans will be complete.

“Take care of Jennifer,” I tell Sabrina, as I stare down the girl in front of me.

“I don’t want to fight.”

Because everyone else is occupied, my companion is able to get to her, clamping a hand on her shoulder. It’s not as powerful as both of us having contact with her, but it’s enough to push her to the correct side for now.

“I have to kill you,” she says, sounding tortured and resolute at the same time.

Their blades clang as I focus my attentions back on Michaela, who is still standing between me and Levi. “You cannot win. Step aside, and she’ll probably be kind and kill you quickly.”

“She’s not going to kill me.”

“So naïve, even after all you’ve seen and learned this past week? Look at her, fighting to the death.”

“You could have lived here peacefully among the humans like you’ve done all these years, bothering no one.”

“When our children are born, they will want more, just as we do. This planet is much larger than ours was, so we do not desire to have it all, but we deserve a piece.”

“Deserve? You escaped death, and took refuge here. This isn’t a planet you conquered.”

“We were tortured and examined for months before we escaped.”

“By a few people. You cannot punish all humans for something a few did.”

“They would choose to punish us if they knew of our existence.”

“Not all. Never all. The beauty of humanity is that most people embrace compassion and love. Those who don’t get more play in the media, but they do not speak for all.”

“That is not a chance we can take.”

“Then, I’m sorry, but we have no choice.”

“You’re sorry?
We
are the ones with the advantage right now.”

I knew having memories would be tricky, but I didn’t think it would make her delusional. What can she possibly be thinking? She and her friends will die today, our plans will commence. We’ve waited too long for this, and we won’t abandon it now.

“Yes. I am truly sorry, but you’ve given us no other choice.”

I start to ask what she’s talking about when I feel the blade enter my body from behind. She kept me distracted long enough for Coalton to sneak up on me. My companion screams in horror as he moves towards us, but Alejandra slices through him before he can get very far. Our bodies are dying, but our minds are sharper than ever.

“You can still do this, Sabrina. Avenge us, and let our deaths mean something.”

“No,” Levi pleads with her. “Let this end with them. Come back to us. Come back to
me.
”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“You can’t. Even in death, you will belong to us.”

“She belongs to herself. Look for your humanity. Find it and remember who you really are.”

“I feel it. It’s so small, and it’s slipping away. I can’t hold onto it.”

“Because it is the weaker part of you. You don’t need it.”

“It’s the
strongest
part of you. You care. Not just for us, but for the human race. Hold on, Sabrina. I believe you can hold on.”

She closes her eyes once again, and drops her sword as she falls to her knees. “I’m trying,” she says out loud. “I love you.”

As we lose our hold on her for good, my companion and I drift off into the ether. We are no longer anything; our bodies—both alien and human—are gone, along with our minds. Earth was to be our new home, but now we are nothing.

M
y arm is still bleeding
, but I’m more worried about Levi than myself. I know he got into Sabrina’s head somehow, because she stopped trying to kill us, but he’s still unconscious. Most of us go to him; although, Lauren is trying to comfort Sabrina. I know she didn’t mean to do what she did, but I’m not feeling too comforting right now. I don’t want to kill her, but I don’t want to make her feel better about trying to kill
me,
either.

“Levi,” I say, shaking him gently. “Wake up, man.”

“We need to get him to a hospital,” Michaela says.

“We can’t,” Coalton reminds her. “They won’t know what to do with him.”

“I hate to even suggest this, but what about one of the facilities?” Jennifer asks.

“No. I am not going to risk them doing more to hurt him. Even with these two Creators gone, there are three more who are a threat to us,” I tell them.

“Actually, they’re not a threat anymore.”

I look up to see who’s speaking and my eyes widen when I realize it’s the President of the United States. I recognize the other men with him as the Prime Ministers of England and Australia. The leaders of Russia and China aren’t present, but maybe that’s a good thing.

“Why should we believe you?” Coalton asks, staring them down.

“You shouldn’t. There’s absolutely no reason for you to. I can tell you we mean you no harm, but right now those are just words. However, your friend needs help, and we can give it.”

“He’s sincere. At least about this,” Alejandra says.

Everyone else looks to me, and I nod without even thinking about it. Levi needs help, and while I
don’t
trust him, the President has the resources to help him.

“We’re all going together. You can’t take him alone,” I say.

“I don’t think Sabrina should go with us,” Jennifer tells me.

“It’s all or none. Do you want Levi to die because we refused help?”

“Do you really want to take the girl who almost killed him—intended to kill us all—with us?”

“What, are we just going to send her out in the world alone?”

“We could…neutralize her,” one of the Prime Ministers says.

“No. We could not,” Coalton answers. “She didn’t mean to do it, and she stopped. Look at her.”

We all turn to where Sabrina’s openly sobbing as Lauren rubs her back. She’s obviously distraught, and while I want her to get help, too, I need to make sure everyone is safe. I’m in no way the new leader of this group, but while Levi’s down, I’ll help out in any way I can.

“Maybe she could sit away from us, and be kept away from…everyone.”

“That is doable. Now, we need to go while the cleaners take care of the bodies. It’s a wonder no one heard anything,” the President says.

“They kept everyone from hearing,” Sabrina says, speaking up for the first time. “I don’t know how, but I know they did it.”

“I guess we can be lucky for that. One parting gift from our forefathers, or whatever they were,” Michaela says, and we all stand to the side while some scientists I recognize from our facility step out from one of the paths and rush to Levi’s side.

A couple of military guys are behind them pushing a gurney. They lower it down and lift Levi onto it. Sabrina is sobbing again, but I try to block her out. I’m going to need to stay tough if I have any chance of getting myself—and everyone else—out of this alive.