Chapter six
Jen
Fen stands at the end of the corridor.
The corridor is silent. Guards are on the floor. The patch under my sternum pulls toward the door three doors down.
I do not open it. I turn and walk back to Vance.
She is against the wall where Crull pins her. The zip tie at her wrists is tight enough that her hands have gone a mottled red. Dean stands at her left shoulder.
Crull still has her lifted just enough that her toes barely brush the floor.
I stop in front of her. Every part of me wants to kill her. Make her swallow her own tongue. Gouge out the eyes that watched this happen. Rip her apart until there's nothing left of the woman who did this to Hollens.
I need her.
God, I hate that I need her. She's the only person in this building who knows how to save her.
"Look at me."
She does.
"You're alive because I need your brain."
Silence.
"If Hollens dies..."
I don't finish it. Crull lifts her another inch. Her shoes scrape uselessly against the wall.
"Doctor." My voice is almost calm. "Tell me what you did to her."
"I administered the Cascade Compound."
"What does it do?"
"It accelerates fetal development."
"How much?"
"The pregnancy was projected to complete in approximately three more weeks."
"And now?"
"Four days."
My stomach twists. "Have you ever done this before?"
"No."
"So Hollens is your first human test subject."
Silence.
"Answer me."
"...Yes."
"You've never tested it?"
"Only on primates."
"Results."
"Two pregnancies completed successfully."
"And?"
"One animal died."
"From the pregnancy?"
"From the Cascade."
"Can it be stopped?"
Vance says nothing. She watches me.
"Doctor."
"It shouldn't be."
"I didn't ask what you think."
Crull's hand tightens. Her feet leave the floor.
"The important outcome is the fetus."
"The important outcome," I say, "is keeping both the mother and baby healthy."
"There is no reason to stop the cascade."
"There is every reason."
"I won't help you destroy years of work."
I nod and then I call up the Queen.
"Tell me where the medicine to stop the Cascade is. Now."
Vance's jaw tightens. For one impossible second, she fights it. Then her eyes close.
When they open again, they're wet.
"Basement."
I don't blink.
"Where in the basement?"
"Gray cabinet. Left-hand corner of the room."
I look at Crull.
"We may still need her. She comes with us."
Crull gives her a small shake, not hard. Just enough to remind her she's hanging from his fist.
"I've got her."