Liam looked pained for a moment. “We, my parents and I, encountered a lot on our journey over here. We went north and tried to find some family, but they were gone, whether they were scared away by the bombs or the virus, we didn’t know. So we kept traveling.”
He continued to speak, but his words came out harsher, louder, full of desperate anger. “The world is fucked up, Zoey. There’s nothing left. They bombed the major cities and then continued to bomb. There’s nuclear waste everywhere; the country is barely livable anymore. The army took over and just kept killing. Awakened or human, they weren’t taking any chances. There’s not much left out there. No one really knows who is in charge, and it’s just a disaster. People have gone underground.”
I swallowed hard. “And the rest of the world?”
“No one knows,” he admitted. “Or if they know, they aren’t telling. She probably knows.” He tossed a scathing look at the camera fixed above our head, and I knew who the “she” was. It was not hard to guess. “We’ve been on our own.”
“Perfect,” I said, slumping back in my chair. “We’re stuck.”
“Zoey, come here,” Liam said, leaning toward me. My mouth fell open in shock, as his hand wrapped around my neck. I was frozen solid. His lips fell on my ear, and his other hand reached for my hair. “Don’t move.”
“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to pull away.
“Shh,” he said, softly, holding me in place. “They’re not going to let us out of the room unless we give them what they want.” He paused. “Everything is going to be okay. I promise.” I didn’t answer, though I felt weirdly reassured by his words. “Okay?”
I nodded, feeling the coolness of his breath on my cheek. “Okay,” I said back.
He pulled back, just a few inches, biting his lip. His eyes raised to the camera that was just above us. “Forgive me for this.” He pressed his lips tightly on mine, and I resisted the urge to push him away. His lips were soft against mine, and I felt myself responding for a moment before pulling away.
“Stop,” I said, harshly. “No.” I held my hands out in front of him. “Don’t. Don’t do that again.”
He had a look of sadness on his face. “If you want to survive, Zoey, it has to happen again.”
At the sound of his words, the door opened, and a nurse that wasn’t Tommy stepped into the room. He came straight for me, placed the handcuffs back on my wrists and escorted me out of the room. I struggled to look behind me.
The nurse laughed at me, the sound vibrating through my body. “Don’t worry. You’ll see your boyfriend soon enough.”
I felt the anger boil up inside me, too hot and too wild to even think about controlling. The handcuffs may have hindered my arms, but I wasn’t helpless because of them. My left foot came out in a harsh kick against his leg. He cried out as he stumbled into the wall. He turned to me, arms out, and I aimed another kick at him.
He ducked, and my kick went flying past him. I growled in frustration, hating that my hands were bound, hating that this threw off my entire balance. I put my arms out and pushed him as he came closer to me, ready to kick him once more. I was stopped before I could make contact. A large hand landed on my arm just above my elbow, and I was yanked backward.
“Has no one learned anything about this girl yet?” a clipped voice said. I raised my eyes and met the dark, cold and calculating eyes of Dr. Cylon. “Her feet should be bound as well.”
The nurse looked appropriately chastened, rubbing the spot on his leg where I had made contact. “Yes, ma’am,” he finally said, after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.
She nodded. Dr. Cylon looked irritated, but she was doing a fantastic job at keeping it from seeping into her voice. “You’re dismissed.” He dipped his head and turned on his heel, making his way quickly down the hallway.
My arm throbbed under the strong grip of the hand that held me in place. I glared up at the man, one of the goons that I had met the night they had taken Ash, but he stared off into space, looking bored. He pulled on my arm and started to drag me down the hallway.
Dr. Cylon followed us, her heels clicking on the cool tile floor as we hurried away. “Do not make this harder on yourself, Zoey. You’ll do better to accept your role here at Sekhmet.”
I didn’t answer her. I kept my eyes drawn to the speckled pattern on the floor, refusing to look up at her, refusing to acknowledge her at all.
“Very well,” she answered, sounding disappointed. “Take her back to her room.”
MY TIME AT SEKHMET WAS growing longer and longer, as days turned into weeks.