“I must go attend to them, dear, but don’t worry. My soldiers will show you to your new quarters.” Dr. Williams’ voice rose as he called to the approaching metahumans.
“Please assist Dr. Winter to the second floor of my administration building. Room two-hundred has been prepared for her arrival,” the doctor growled the last word. “No need to be gentle after you disarm her, evidentially, she’s nearly impossible to kill! Nearly.” He laughed wickedly at his own humor even as meaty hands reached to grab the fallen human.
“Later, we’ll see how mortal you are, Dr. Winter.”
***
“Oh dear God, no!” Evan called.
“Is she alive, Meg?”
Pant, gasp, pant…nod.
Creed started the van and rolled off the lawn to get back to the main road.
“Just point me in the right direction, Meg. We’ll get her.”
Meg’s whole body began shaking—adrenaline pumping, ready to fight. “It’s too risky with everyone.” She was looking down at the baby in her arms through the tears that sprung into her dark eyes. “She’s been shot in the back,” Meg managed to say, a sob catching in her throat.
Desperately, she moved to hand the baby to Farrow who instinctively opened her arms to receive the little bundle.
“Stop the van. Let me out. I have to save her!” Meg gushed.
Creed obeyed immediately.
Meg was trying to untangle the baby’s sticky little fingers from her hair as quickly as possible. He ended up with a chunk still in his grasp, as Meg was determined to run to her mother no matter what.
“Listen to me,” Meg turned to the occupants of the van. Her eyes seethed with equal parts anguish and determination. “I need you to blow up the Research Hospital, no matter what. Can you do that Evan?”
“What if Mom’s near the hospital?”
“She’s not. She’s in the middle of the courtyard.” With still shaking hands, Meg yanked her duffel bag open and pulled out two hand grenades. “When you hear these go off, that’s your signal. Don’t hesitate, Evan. I can’t live with the thought of what has happened in that building, or what has yet to happen, and there isn’t an innocent soul left there. End it.” Meg cringed at the thought of her harvested eggs thawing in some petri dish somewhere in there—or Creed’s seed waiting to be added so Williams could create thoroughbred metahumans.
He wanted to dissect her children.
No. Never.
Creed jumped out of the van, grabbing his gun. “How far away can you be from the building and still remote detonate the explosives?” he asked Evan.
Evan narrowed his eyes, thinking. “About fifty yards.”
“Good, get going and listen for the signal, detonate then get the hell out of here. We’ll meet you back at the hotel. Clear?” Creed nodded at Alik who had moved to the driver’s seat.
“Clear.”
Meg jumped out of the van and slipped the grenades into her waistband before checking her semiautomatic for clips.
Alik pulled away from the Research Hospital and headed toward a spot he figured would be about half a football field away to be ready.
His eyes kept darting up to his rearview mirror to watch his sister and Creed Young sprint back toward the courtyard at the center of the compound.
Evan’s face was pressed into the back glass, watching helplessly as his big sister ran back into the mouth of hell.
Chapter 11 Don’t! Go!
Meg and Creed didn’t need to speak to one another. Their connection was so strong. Creed felt Meg’s love envelop him with the same iridescent cloth of his dreams, and Meg felt Creed’s abject devotion through her empath’s glistening strands. They were of one mind—one strength—fueled and refueled equally by one another.
“How bad is it?” he asked his dark-eyed beauty as they hugged the shadows making their way back to the bowels of Williams’ hell. For a split second, Creed watched her in the moonlight—her long hair draped around her muscular shoulders, hands still clutching two semiautomatic weapons.
“Meg?”
Just as Creed was about to ask again, he heard the answer for himself.
Williams’ maniacal laughter echoed raspy and hollow around the courtyard ahead.
This is what a demon’s laughter sounds like, he realized with absolute certainty.
Meg slammed herself against the nearest building, ducking deeper into its shadow. Creed followed her every move. “Mom!” she gasped in a whisper only loud enough for Creed’s sharp hearing, but laced with the pain of a thousand screams.