He leaned forward then, his eyes holding mine all the way until his lips met mine. My own eyes slid closed as I kissed West back, feeling the fire leap to life inside of me. West’s lips moved with mine, parting as gasps were inhaled. I blazed to life from the inside out, the flames licking along my veins.
Could I ever give up this heat? If I were to choose Avian would I ever feel the blaze again that I craved so much? Would I ever feel so alive again?
I had worried that I might not ever feel the same about West again, after thinking he might be my brother. It should have been clearer that he wasn’t. We looked nothing alike. It wasn’t bothering me now…
West’s hand came to the back of my neck as my hand tangled in his hair. I suddenly craved more, more, more.
And then I remembered that Dr. Beeson had lessened my emotional blockers. How far could I push before I blacked out? Would I ever again?
But in the middle of the burn West pulled away, his earth colored eyes looking into mine as I wished for more.
“I won’t do this again until you’ve made your choice, Eve,” he said quietly. I could feel all the hurt and pain I had caused him in the last few months in his voice then. Hate crept into my stomach again. “This isn’t right. I like Avian, respect him, despite everything. It isn’t fair to anyone. You have to make a choice. Until then, I’m tired of trying to convince you that it should be me. I’m not even sure it should be me anymore.”
I tried to find the words to reassure West, to convince him that he was wrong. I wanted to come up with promises and answers then but I couldn’t. He’d been right. About everything.
“I’m sorry,” was all I managed.
“Just don’t take forever,” he said as he stood. “If I’ve got miles of pain before me I’d rather start walking them sooner than later.”
And before I could come up with anything to that he walked out of the room.
THIRTY-SIX
Something strange was going on the next day, or rather the next night. I’d seen no sign of Royce, most of his scouts, West or Avian. Their presence was strangely absent from the lobby area. I couldn’t find them in their rooms, nor in the dining area.
As I came down from the private rooms I stopped in the main hall, hiding myself slightly as I saw a few of the missing men trickling out of the stairwell. They were all heavily armed, each dressed in bulletproof vests. They were going out for something and I had every intention of going with them. I needed out.
I dashed back toward the stairs that led to the second floor. I barely limped as I ran down the hall, layers of tissue already forming over my metallic bones. I burst into my room, grabbing my familiar firearms, strapping them to my person.
As I turned to walk back out my door, an unexplainable thing happened.
My vision flickered for half a second. And then everything turned off.
THIRTY-SEVEN
West stepped away from the computer with a hard swallow. He knew the possible consequences of what he had done, but he wouldn’t risk losing her. He ran over it all again in his head, recalling everything Dr. Beeson had told him about the wireless transmissions system and its programing. He was certain he had done everything correctly.
As he turned to leave, he nearly ran into Avian.
“What are you doing in here?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“I couldn’t let her go,” West said as he glanced back at the screen.
As Avian looked at West, realization filled in. “What have you done?” Avian demanded, his features darkening, his eyes filling with a mix of fear and uncertainty. West made no response and Avian’s eyes widened as he put the pieces together. “She’s never going to forgive you for this. You know that, right?”
“I know,” West said as he stepped around Avian.
Despite Avian’s anger, West detected the sense of relief Avian felt at his actions. Now neither of them had to worry about her being blown up again.
A crowd gathered just outside of the front doors of the hospital. Weapons were being distributed and a few bulletproof vests were passed out. There wasn’t enough for everyone to have one though. Neither Avian nor West were handed one.
Every man and woman who was brave enough was gathered with them. Avian couldn’t help but feel how wrong it was to go out on a mission like this without Eve. He wondered where she had been when West had shut her down like she was some common Fallen.
“You’ve all heard what happened an hour ago,” Royce started as he stepped in front of the crowd. He was one of the few with a vest. “The line Eve installed has been disconnected. Apparently a Fallen or two got curious.
“I won’t lie to any of you. This is going to be extremely dangerous. The plant is going to be saturated with Fallen. You all heard about what happened to Eve. We will be far beyond lucky if we all make it out of there alive,” Royce’s eyes were grave as he looked over everyone. “Your task is simple. Take out as many of the Fallen as you can so some of us can attempt to get to the transformer. And keep yourselves alive. There’s already been six billion lives lost, we can’t afford to lose anymore.
“Let’s roll out.”
All three tanks had been assembled and they started west in a grumbling, grating line. The small army followed suite, each one of its members grave faced and somber.
“How did you know how to shut her down?” Avian asked as he fell in next to West.
West glanced at him, adjusting his hold on his assault rifle. “I spent an entire night with Dr. Beeson, asking every question I could think of about the wireless transmission system,” he said as he looked forward. “He thought I was just interested in how it worked. He didn’t realize just how close I was watching as he typed in his password. I studied every move and click he made on that computer of his.”
“Your grandfather would be proud,” Avian said, as he too kept his eyes straight ahead.
“Don’t pretend you wanted her coming along tonight,” West said through clenched teeth. “You know she would have come without a second thought. You know how dangerous this mission is. She would have put herself right in the middle of all of this.”
“I meant that he would have been proud for how smart you are,” Avian said coolly as he looked over at West with hard eyes. “You’ve obviously got his brains.”
They held each other’s eyes for several long moments, neither willing to waver.
It didn’t take long to walk three blocks. The scraping of the track wheels of the tank slowed and finally came to a stop. And there it was for all of them to see, layers and layers of Fallen, flocked around the power plant.
“Not all of us are going to make it out of this,” West breathed as he took it all in.
Avian didn’t answer.
“Who’s going into the plant with me?” Royce asked as he pulled his specialized pack on. In it was a portable welding unit.
Half a dozen hands went up, including West and Avian’s.
Royce bucked the strap across his chest, giving a nod to those who had volunteered. Turning his attention to the men stationed at the three turrets atop the tanks, he said “Fire at will. All of you.”
The sound was deafening as endless shots were fired at the bodies that stood around the transplant. As some of them exploded into gleaming metal rain, others leapt to life, turning toward the shots. The group didn’t wait any longer. All six of them sprinted toward the plant.
The world seemed to move in jerky snapshots. With every flash of light, bodies came closer and closer together, organic and cybernetic racing to end one another’s existence.
Avian was glad then, as he fired his automatic weapon, that he hadn’t been there to see Eve run into the middle of this. She’d done it alone, and as it was right now, he knew West was right. Not all of them were going to walk out of this alive.