V-Day: (M-Day #4) (11 page)

“
Me?
”
I squeaked. After everything he still cared. He
’
d put his life on the line for me.
“
How long? How long has it been since you
’
ve seen him?
”

“
A few weeks.
”

I pulled away from Ty, a grain of hope sprouting inside of me.
“
Okay. Okay. We can find him. We find him and then we get the hell out of here. The clock is ticking
—”
I yanked at the ends of my hair.
“
There is so much I need to tell all of you. And we need to find Riley.
”
I did some quick calculations in my head. There wasn
’
t much time, but I
’
d found Zee and Ty, if I had to leave Riley
—

Sharp barking drew my attention as Cujo came flying into the room, circling my legs excitedly. I leaned over.
“
What is it
—
?
”

Evo skidded into the room.
“
We need to get the hell out of here. Now. A group of I-Monsters are headed this way.
”

Her words sent everyone scrambling.
“
What the hell are I-Monsters?
”

“
Trust me, you do not want to know,
”
Ty said, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the room.

“
Wait, I have to find
—”

The wall exploded in, which was disconcerting to say the least, since it was solid concrete
…
and underground. Debris saturated the room, clouding my vision and making it difficult to breathe. Mixed in with the dirt and mold smells, was something else
…
something rotting. It was the decomposing aroma of death itself. Every hair on my body stood on end, a primal fear
—
instinct of some sort propelled me forward. I knew I had to get out of that room and fast. It was in that moment I knew exactly what I-Monsters were
—
the flesh crazed infected.

Ty thrust me over his shoulder and ran, following close on Nyx
’
s heels. I didn
’
t bother fighting him, not with me coming off fresh injuries and not knowing exactly what we were dealing with. I had a sinking feeling that I-Monsters were a lot stronger and faster than I
’
d realized in my past dealings with them. And to think I
’
d been terrified of them before.

I could still hear Cujo barking, although I couldn
’
t pinpoint her direction.
“
Here, girl! Cujo, here!
”
I had to hope she would follow the sound of my voice and get herself to safety. I
’
d grown ridiculously attached to her in a very short period of time.

I covered my ears and ground my teeth together as an inhuman roar beat against my head. It was like standing too close to a speaker playing heavy metal
—
it actually caused physical pain. We were already up the stairs and heading for the front door when a large shape barreled up through the basement, hitting into us before I could get a good look at it.

Something tore at my leg, the agony of it ripping a scream from me. I kicked out, frantic to escape the brutal attack. I dug my nails into the carpet, trying to gain some kind of traction to break free. I looked up to see Evo take aim and fire. Something warm hit against my back, but I didn
’
t have time to contemplate what as Ty flung me over his shoulder and started running with me again. My ears were ringing, and a foul taste coated my tongue. Nausea roiled my gut as I bounced up and down on my brother
’
s shoulder. I pushed myself up just enough so I could see behind us.

I squeaked, genuine terror tearing through my system as I got a good look at what had everyone running scared, confirming my fears. The I-Monsters were of course familiar to me, but I
’
d never seen specimens so big before. Or seemingly working in a group
—
they were terrifying enough as it was when they worked alone. The three I-Monsters ran headlong after us, their white hairless bodies glinting in the sun as they gnashed their teeth. They were something right out of a horror movie
—
zombies 2.0
…
faster, stronger, and not needing any brains. Any flesh would do them just fine.

I pounded on Ty
’
s back to make him move faster even though I was pretty sure he was at his physical limit. He grunted in acknowledgment and annoyance. The fact that he didn
’
t have any smartass comment only served to ratchet up my fear.

A blur of black fur streaked across the yard, heading straight for the I-Monsters. Cujo barked and snarled, snapping at the I-Monster
’
s legs as she ran circles around them. One of them tripped on her, tumbling to the ground and rolling to a stop. The other two continued on, ignoring their fallen compadre. But Cujo had other ideas. She continued her manic assault until another I-Monster tumbled to the ground. Apparently taking her as a threat, the third paused, reaching down to snatch her up in his massive hands. I squeezed my eyes shut and looked away as Cujo
’
s yelp met my ears.

Ty
’
s feet pounded the ground, never missing a step, never slowing down. I sagged against his back, suddenly weary, my leg pulsating in time with my heart. Everything faded into nothingness as my thoughts swirled around Cujo and Riley.

I rose up from the darkness of oblivion, the remnants of a nightmare lingered, mocking me. The accusatory eyes of half a dozen children burned into my mind. Lives I hadn
’
t saved cut short before they barely got started. I carried the burden of all of their deaths on my soul.
There is no redemption for me
…
only a living hell.
Angry voices penetrated my subconscious as I woke up more fully.

“
We can
’
t keep tracking I-Men if every time we do I-Monsters track us. Every. Single. Time. I don
’
t know about you but I don
’
t want to lose anymore digits, or worse,
”
Nyx said.

A loud thump sounded before Evo spoke,
“
And what the hell are we supposed to do then? We can
’
t keep on hiding. We can
’
t
—”
Another thump.

“
You know Evo lives for hunting I-Men,
”
X cajoled.
“
There has to be a way
—”

“
I thought we were looking to the future. I thought we were going to make plans beyond just hunting,
”
Max
’
s soft voice lilted in an obvious mediator tone.

“
But we couldn
’
t get any answers. We still don
’
t know what the fuck happened. We don
’
t
—”

“
And we may never know,
”
Zee stated.
“
We need to make plans for the future with what information we do have.
”

“
And what
’
s that?
”
Evo demanded.
“
What exactly do we know? Nothing. That
’
s what. Absolutely nothing.
”

My eyes fluttered and I groaned. I had the answers they all wanted but I wasn
’
t so sure they wouldn
’
t regret getting them. And I also wasn
’
t sure they all wouldn
’
t end up hating me.

“
Hey,
”
Ty
’
s worried face peered down at me.
“
How are you feeling?
”

I sat halfway up, and wiped the sweat from my brow, realizing we were all in a basement of some sort, maybe a fallout shelter, if I had to guess. The hum of a tiny heater caught my attention, which explained why I was so hot.
“
I feel like shit. But at least I
’
m alive.
”
I flexed my right leg, a sharp pain shooting through it when I did. I winced as I forced myself to sit up all the way.

“
Here.
”
Ty offered me a water bottle, which I greedily chugged from.

“
It
’
s a good thing you have some medical knowledge,
”
I grumbled, not really wanting to see how bad my leg was. Instead, I chose to ignore it, knowing whatever Ty had done for it was the best that I could get under the current circumstances.

“
You
’
re going to have a nasty scar but at least you
’
re mostly all in one piece,
”
Nyx offered, grinning. I tried not to roll my eyes as I wondered if she
’
d always been such an optimist or if my brother had worn off on her.

“
Yeah, I guess.
”
I couldn
’
t quite conjure an answering smile for her though. I wasn
’
t sure I
’
d ever smile again. Especially if Riley
…
No. I can
’
t think about him now.

“
No, really.
”
Nyx extended her hand, wriggling half of a pinky finger.
“
An I-Monster tried to snack on me before too.
”

“
Which is how they
’
re tracking us!
”
Evo grated.
“
I
’
m positive! It
’
s like with the I-Men, just a different kind of bite. Why won
’
t anyone listen to me about this?
”

Silence fell over the group, and I could definitely tell the subject was a familiar one and the fight about it nothing new. I cleared my throat.
“
I heard part of what you guys were saying
—
about not having answers.
”
I dipped my gaze to study my nails.
“
Well I
’
ve got them
…
answers.
”

Tension filled the air and I lifted my gaze to see everyone staring at me with shock.
“
I know what caused the original virus, which was known as Men-V, what
’
s happening, and what we need to do. But we don
’
t have a lot of time. A few days, maybe, if that.
”

“
You better start talking then,
”
Evo demanded, her eyes feverish.

I squeezed my eyes shut not really wanting to think back to those dark times, but knowing I had to.
“
In case Ty didn
’
t tell you I was recruited by a special government branch referred to, by those in the program, simply as S-Ops
…”

As I began the story, it was like stepping back in time to the day before it happened
…
The day before Men-V was released on an unsuspecting populace. The day I could have saved the world
…
but didn
’
t.

December 19
th
, pre M-Day~

“
Vi.
”
Doctor Greensley seemed agitated when I entered his lab.
“
I
’
m so glad I got a chance to see you
…
before.
”

“
Before what?
”
I eyed his disheveled appearance, which was worse than normal. His hair moved around his face as if he
’
d been electrocuted, and his clothes were wrinkled to the point that it made me think he
’
d been wearing them for days. It made me question my choice to not report his erratic behavior.
Maybe keeping his secret isn
’
t a kindness, but plain old stupidity.

“
Before the end.
”
He turned away from me, busying himself with some loose papers on his desk.

I scrunched up my face as I started gathering up empty Kit Kat wrappers. It was a wonder he didn
’
t have diabetes yet. Or maybe the key word was
yet.
“
The end of the project? But I thought it was going well? Did they cut it?
”
From what I understood, the Doc had made leaps and bounds, but it wouldn
’
t have been the first time a project had been cut prematurely. The government was all about instant gratification. I wondered why no one had notified me.

“
No, no, no. Nothing like that.
”
He waved his arm dismissively at me.

Just then a loud thump stole my attention. I lifted my gaze to meet the ice blue one of a soldier in a containment unit. It was made of special high-tech plastic, nearly unbreakable. Still, the way the soldier
’
s gaze followed me gave me the creeps.
“
What
’
s going on with him? Any progress with his aggression?
”