The Gender End (The Gender Game #7)

I realized it had gone very quiet in the room behind me, and turned in time to see the third boy, reaching for Morgan. She leapt suddenly, but it was the wrong direction, and he caught her with his wild, artless blow, low and in the side.

Morgan went flying through the air, impacting on a bookcase with a thud and sliding to the floor. I followed her trajectory, when a movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. Turning, I saw Elena moving toward the open door, the egg tucked under one arm, her hand tight on Sierra’s wrist as she dragged the little girl from the room.

Then the boy stepped in front of me, and I barely had a moment to register his swing. I dodged it without even thinking, and then scrambled back as he pressed the advantage. He swung at me again, and I darted out of his way, barely avoiding blows and well aware of my limited abilities against him.

“They’re getting away!” Morgan’s voice, rough and out of breath, came desperately through the room.

I couldn’t shoot him, but I needed to get to Elena, and fast. The gun was still in my hand—Elena had never ordered us to put our weapons down. She had counted on us not wanting to risk Sierra, and had gambled correctly. Yet even though the boy threatened my life, I couldn’t—wouldn’t—pull the trigger.

A thought occurred to me as I ducked under a wild haymaker, and I sprang forward, rolling between his legs and coming out the other side. I reached into the pocket on my thigh and pulled out a tranquilizer dart—I had just two left, but I only needed one for Elena—and ripped the cap off with my teeth.

He was turning around to hit me, but I ducked low and jammed the needle into the meaty part of his thigh and then moved away. The young man looked down at the tranquilizer dart, then back up at me as I slowly retreated, his eyes dark and wild with rage. He bared his teeth and snapped at me with a vicious snarl. I moved back more quickly, trying to search for anything I could hit him with while he advanced—one step, two—and then he toppled over, glancing off the table and dragging a chair down with him. It smashed on the floor as he let out a long sigh, his eyes drifting closed.

I exhaled sharply in relief, and took a moment to collect myself, not even bothering to think about how close I had come to death—again—then rushed over to Morgan. She was already picking herself off the ground, her breaths tight, sharp gasps, her eyes watering.

“Okay,” she wheezed, swatting my hands away, and I was reminded for a brief moment of Tim. “Did you see where they went?”

I didn’t have to ask to know that she was talking about her sisters.

“Out through the back door,” I said, ignoring her hands and helping her up. “I need to check under your vest. You could have internal—”

“Go,” she said, pushing me roughly before stumbling to one side. “Roof… Left… Straight. Door.”

“Morgan, I can’t just leave you—”

“Go.” Her eyes were hard, and the look she gave me promised the harsh side of her anger if I dared to protest.

She was right, of course, and I turned and went, moving at a fast run and hoping Sierra was throwing the mother of all tantrums and buying me every second I could get. I was going to need it.





40





Violet





Morgan’s instructions were easy enough to follow, but the hall I found myself in was long, and every foot I went made me suddenly doubt whether I had actually followed her directions, wonder if I had already lost Elena. I tried to listen for the sounds of Sierra crying, but they were lost in the general sounds of chaos and gunfire now erupting all over the castle.

I stopped short as a warden went across the hallway ahead of me, barely sparing me a glance, and then quickly activated the suit when I saw one of those monkey-wolf things chasing after her, terrified it would spot me and distract me from my purpose. It stayed focused on its prey, and I quickly shed the backpack, no longer needing it, and moved forward, willing my aching limbs to keep working with the suit.

The door to the stairwell finally came into view, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw it. Why, I didn’t know—maybe just at the reassurance that there was still a chance to put an end to this. But the sight didn’t stop that icy hand of fear from suddenly seizing my heart, or the wave of panic that threatened to overwhelm me as I reached for the handle.

I couldn’t deal with those emotions right now, so I ignored them both as I yanked the door open and hurried up the concrete steps that led to the roof.

A wave of déjà vu struck me hard as I emerged out in the open. This was where Lee had landed, right before he had killed Queen Rina and Mr. Jenks and tried to leave me behind. Did things always have to end here?

Not much had changed, and I could see the heloship docked a few hundred feet away, its running lights spilling out onto the dark rooftop. Elena was already dangerously close to it, ready to take off into the starry night beyond and turn this mission into a failure. Neither Sierra nor the egg was with her—had she already loaded them up? How long had I been following her? It felt like it had taken ages to find her, but it had probably only been a few minutes.

The full moon had sunk significantly since our drive through the city, now it hovering near the horizon, but with the moonlight and the small spotlights that occasionally lit up the edges of objects on the roof, I could see a small group of black-clad figures waiting between Elena and the heloship. Most were shorter, younger, but there were a few taller figures interspersed between them. They stood at the ready, masked faces watching as Elena approached.

I started to run, knowing I was making noise but hoping they wouldn’t hear me until it was too late. If I could just reach Elena, then I could take her out. Hopefully the boys wouldn’t attack me without an order. I just had to reach her.

I focused on Elena as I moved, somehow managing to keep my muscles tensed for the suit, when one of the boys stepped up to the queen, pointing in my general direction. The next moment I recognized the strange protrusions from his mask as thermal goggles, and my heart sank as Elena turned in my direction, her own goggles pulled back over her head. Her mouth moved.

An instant later a boy was in front of me. I reached for my gun, knowing I’d never reach it in time, and something hard slammed into me, sending me flying a few feet across the roof. I landed roughly on my back, muscle memory causing me to slap the ground with my hands and tuck my chin to my chest, breaking the fall and protecting my spine. My control over the suit went out immediately, and the fire that filled my limbs just added to the pain of the blow.

I rolled several feet, sharp pebbles and stones tearing at my suit and skin underneath, scraping me. My adrenaline was pumping too fiercely for me to black out, and I climbed back onto my feet, watching the two boys staying warily close and blocking my way to Elena, keeping just out of fist-reach.