Flawed (41 page)

Ellyssa looked at Woody, his grey eyes holding love that she couldn’t reciprocate. He reached up and wiped snow away from her cheek, his hand lingering longer than necessary. She didn’t mind; she never would.

“You know?” Woody said.

“I do,” Ellyssa responded, as she remembered his confession back in the barn before Tim and Sarah had died so violently. She also remembered the way he’d made her feel, and the guilt that had followed.

Woody dropped his hand. “Ready?” he said, with a sad grin.

After a brief glance into Trista and Dyllon’s minds—they were moving within the shadows toward what they believed to be the female barracks—Ellyssa formed a mental link with Rein. He stood behind a lone, unaware soldier, easily eliminated. Rein raised the butt of his rifle.

“Ready,” Ellyssa said.

The two soldiers still stood at the entrance of the barracks, all alone. Breaking the link with Rein, she quickly invaded their thoughts. There was nothing new, no big plan revealed. She didn’t have time to file through others again. The tick, tick, tick of time held her captive.

After finding Rein again, who had killed the one soldier and was concealed within the shadows watching the main office, Ellyssa slid the crossbow off her shoulder and took aim. Just in case, Woody had his rifle out too, and was looking through the crosshairs. He wasn’t going to fire unless forced to. Hopefully, the need wouldn’t arise. They all wanted to get in and get out quickly and quietly, before anyone was the wiser.

A bolt to the neck took one soldier down. The other one watched his friend drop. It took less than a second for the live soldier to register what had happened. At the same time as he swung his rifle around, Ellyssa released another bolt, and he ended up joining his dead comrade on the ground.

“Nice,” whispered Woody.

“I am efficient.”

Together, they crept through snow, the blowing wind covering their tracks as they moved and stopped when they reached the doorway. Ellyssa pivoted her back toward one side of the frame, Woody the other.

“Anyone inside?”

Not wanting to, Ellyssa released Rein and scanned the inside of the barracks. Fuzzy, unspecific images flickered in sleeping minds. Regardless of her unemotional state, a huge sense of relief filled her when she locked onto Mathew. She rejoined Woody; he still stood safely in the shadows.

“Forty-one people,” Ellyssa said, working to keep her voice low while containing her excitement. “One of them is Mathew.”

Reaching across the width of the door, Woody grasped her hand with a smile. “Let’s get him.”

A soft
click
later, the door swung open to the sounds of soft snores and even breaths. Ellyssa and Woody tiptoed inside. A dome-shaped light hung in the corner and cast shadows over sleeping lumps. Woody stayed by the door to keep a lookout while she made her way over to Mathew.

The first person to teach her about friendship, about trust, slept on an old cot, a thin blanket draped over his too-thin frame. His face was smooth in the throes of slumber, and his skin was pulled tight over his cheekbones. More grey flecked his hair than Ellyssa remembered. As she watched him, happiness engulfed her heart and pushed away her stoic persona. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Mathew,” she said, shaking his shoulder.

Mathews eyes snapped open, revealing sand-colored eyes, and he bolted upright. Confused, he looked around until he focused on Ellyssa.

“Ellyssa?” He rubbed his eyes as if he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. He brought his hands down and blinked several times.

“It is me,” she said, her face going blank once again. The happy reunion would have to wait. “Woody and Rein and Trista are here, too. We have come to get you out of here.”

“What?”

“We have to leave. Get all the clothes on you can. It is cold. And take your blanket. We have a long hike.”

“I can’t believe it.”

“Believe it. We have to go.”

Without another word, Mathew popped out of bed and started to pull on clothing. “What about the others?” he asked, shoving his foot into a boot.

“Everyone is coming, including the females. Trista is helping them now.” She gestured to the sleeping forms. “Help me wake them.”

Fully dressed, Mathew went one bed over. “Marcus,” he whispered, then clamped his hand over the mouth of a male about the same age as Ellyssa, His brown eyes, rounded in confused sleep, were old and told a story of a hard life.

“Shh. Get up and get dressed,” Mathew whispered.

Marcus’ stare moved from Mathew to Ellyssa. His eyebrows dipped over the bridge of his nose. “What’s going on?”

“We’re breaking out of this hellhole. Now get dressed.”

Surprisingly, Marcus didn’t question any further. He got up quietly and moved fast for someone who looked so malnourished. Other people had started to stir, and Mathew delivered the news before they started to panic.

While everyone scurried around like mice, tossing on layers of clothes and wrapping up in the sorry blankets they slept under, Ellyssa stood at Woody’s side. He was peering through the small crack he’d left ajar. Wind struggled against the door, trying to push it open.

“Check Trista and Dyllon.”

“They are already moving toward the fence.”

“How many?”

“Fifteen.”

“Only fifteen?” Mathew said, coming up from behind. “Are you sure?”

Ellyssa turned toward her friend. Behind him stood rest of the prisoners, padded with clothing and blankets, their expressions showing varying degrees of fear, excitement and disbelief. “I am positive,” she answered.

“Oh,” he stated, a dark cloud hovering in his expression.

Ellyssa squeezed his hand. “Are you ready?”

Glancing over his shoulder at all the expectant faces, he said, “Looks that way.”

Woody swung the door open and stepped out into the empty compound. The others filed past Ellyssa and Mathew into the waiting cold.

“There’s one more person,” Ellyssa said, “closed up somewhere. A small room, the death room. He is almost dead.”

“That must be the Commandant,” Mathew mumbled.

“The Commandant? Of this camp?” That didn’t even make sense.

In a second, a collage of emotions passed over Mathew’s face—a frown, followed by understanding, then something Ellyssa couldn’t quite identify—a cross between dread and alarm. “You don’t know?” Mathew said. “Ellyssa, there’s something I have to tell you. I think…”

That was as far as Mathew got. The line she held with Rein thinned. “Rein!” she said, alarmed, groping for Rein’s signature and interrupting whatever Mathew was going to say. She started to push him toward the door. “Go,” she ordered. “Follow Woody.”

“Wait.” Mathew held out his hand, but she easily sidestepped out of his reach and dashed outside. “Your si…” His voice drowned in the wind as she ran toward Woody.

“Rein,” she said to him, hearing the panic in her own voice.

Woody’s face paled. “Wh—”

“There’s something wrong. Whatever you do, get them to safety.”

Before Woody could respond, Ellyssa spun around and left. She saw Mathew coming toward her, muffled words drowned by the airy howl. She didn’t stop.

She couldn’t.

The already-thin connection winked out, like someone had flipped a switch. Like Rein was dead. Her mind kept reaching for him and snapping back empty-handed. Not a glimmer, nothing.

Her heart thundering in her ears, with a mixture of anxiety, anger and fear, Ellyssa stretched her legs faster. She didn’t care if she could be heard. No one was going to stop her. Through the swirling snow and whipping blustery weather, Ellyssa zigzagged haphazardly around the buildings. Around her, the searchlights kept sweeping the snowy plains.

A soldier stood at the corner of the soldiers’ barracks, his back toward Ellyssa. He turned as she raced toward him, the snow crunching under her feet. His eyes widened as she pounced, then he was on the ground, lifeless. Ellyssa kept running.

Another soldier ahead didn’t even have time to turn around before a bolt was sticking out of the back of his neck. He went to his knees, then his face. Some other unsuspecting soldier received the butt of the crossbow across his jaw, making a satisfying cracking noise.

As Ellyssa approached the building that Dr. Loki had said was the new addition, Rein’s light flickered. She faltered for a moment, hoping to assess the situation.

Confusion mounted the top of Rein’s thoughts, followed closely by disbelief. His head hurt, he was looking at snow and people’s boots, and he was cold.

Rage clawed its way through Ellyssa’s fear, snuffing out the ineffectual emotion. She let it. As her heart slowed, she allowed everything she’d been bred to be storm to the front.

Whoever was responsible would pay…with their life. Squad Doom’s original plan to sneak in and out as quickly and quietly as possible had been carried off on the wind when the perpetrator had captured Rein.

Orienting herself on Rein, like a lifeline connected them, Ellyssa rounded the corner of the unidentified building and started down the length of the exterior wall. No one was in sight, which rang a warning bell, but she couldn’t worry about that now. She dropped the crossbow and swung the rifle around into her hands, pushing the safety to open fire.

Take out as many as possible in the shortest amount of time.

Ellyssa popped out from the cover of the building and…skidded to a stop, her fingers loosening around the cold metal. As her brain tried to swallow what her eyes were feeding her, the weapon fell from her grip and dangled from its strap. Surprise pasted on her face as her brain jammed on,
How?

“Ellyssa,” Aalexis said, standing on the porch of the Commandant’s office, like the Greek goddess Nemesis. Like Ellyssa’s nightmare. Light streamed through Aalexis’ pale hair, fanning around her head. Her sister was much taller than the last time Ellyssa had seen her, close to Ellyssa’s height now, and Aalexis’ body was more womanly in appearance. Puberty had kicked in, releasing raging hormones and starting to erase the childlike roundness of Aalexis’ face and body, just like Father had programmed it to.

Next to her younger sister, head hanging, was Rein. A sergeant, the one from the soldier’s thoughts earlier, had his arm wrapped around the upper part of Rein’s chest, holding him like a child would a doll. He aimed a 9mm at Rein’s temple.

As soon as Aalexis had spoken, Rein’s head had snapped up. Fear and memories of his torture thrummed and muddled in his brain, then jammed in incredulity.

Slowly, the wheels in Ellyssa’s head began to grind, and as much as she hated to let go of Rein, she closed her mental wall before Aalexis had a chance to incapacitate her. The few seconds of debilitation could mean the difference between life and death, and Ellyssa couldn’t chance it. She had to think. She had to focus. But with Rein in danger, the rolling waves of fear and anger and desperation were making it almost impossible.

If her sister lived, did the others, too?
She knew her father was dead—Ellyssa had killed him herself—and so was Micah, by the hand of Detective Petersen. But Ahron and Xaver? If Aalexis had lived through the explosion, what were the possibilities for Ellyssa’s two brothers? Ellyssa scanned the area, but the only people present were Aalexis and the soldier.

“I have been waiting for you, Ellyssa. Night after night.” Aalexis reached toward Rein, who tried to shrink away from her touch to no avail, snapping Ellyssa to the here-and-now. Her sister tapped the side of Rein’s head. “You remember. I can see the memory living in your eyes. So inferior.” Her head followed her gaze as she faced Ellyssa again.

“Let him go, Aalexis.”

Aalexis just stared at her. “If you do not want him to feel the pain, you will come with me.”

Stepping forward, Ellyssa said with no inflection, “I thought you were dead.” Ellyssa took another step forward; the rifle tapped her side, a gentle reminder. “Where is Xaver? Ahron? Did any of the others live?”

Much to Ellyssa’s surprise, Aalexis answered the questions with a smile, cold and predatory. The emotional display almost faltered Ellyssa’s approach. Forcing her stride steady, Ellyssa took another step; her hand fell to the dangling rifle.

Aalexis’ smile faded and was replaced with a stone-faced expression as she watched Ellyssa’s movement. “I do not need to read your mind to see what you plan.”

From behind, soldiers stepped forward. Ellyssa heard their boots crunch in the snow. Whoever was manning the searchlight had abandoned his duty. It had taken Ellyssa a moment to notice, but the searchlight wasn’t sweeping the area any more. She chastised herself at letting her sister’s unexpected appearance lower her defenses.

Ellyssa repositioned her hand. She could take out Aalexis and the male holding the 9mm with no problem, but she had to be faster than her sister could issue the kill order to the sergeant. Without the ability to see the command before it was released, Ellyssa had to be careful.

“What do you want, Aalexis?”

“You,” her younger sister answered, simply. “You are meant for more, as I am.
Der Vater’s
work must be completed.”

Ellyssa couldn’t believe her ears. “
Der Vater
planned to kill all of us after he created his new idea of perfection.”

“Did he?”

“Yes.”

“It does not matter. He is dead now. You killed him.”

Ellyssa tried a different approach. “If you continue
der Vater’s
work, you would go against your natural instincts and kill yourself as an inferior, then?”

“No.”

“But you would be inferior.”

A slight flicker of anger played across Aalexis’ face and disappeared, like a shadow quickly eclipsed by light. Ellyssa had touched a nerve.

“I am not inferior.” Fury wove through Aalexis’ tone.

“Your conclusion is illogical. If the unborn creation is to be a combination of us all, or even just the two of us, as seems the case, his abilities would far surpass ours. His superior genes. According to
der Vater
, inferiors should not live.”

Anger rippled through Aalexis’ countenance again, before it slid back under the stoic expression. Her sister defiantly lifted her chin. “Did you think
der Vater
would have killed himself afterward?”