Chapter Fifty-Four
Addie
Red Dart.
Creed has been infected with Red Dart, but he merely stumbles and rights himself, reclaiming a protective position in front of me.
Brock is another story.
His body is being tormented. An eternal moment later, he stills, lying flat on his back on the floor of the cage.
My father’s voice blasts over the intercom again. “Lieutenant Colonel West. You will attack and defeat your enemy. Creed is your enemy.”
Obediently, Brock rolls to his knees and jumps to his feet, newly energized. “Resist, West,” Creed tells him. “Do not allow him to make you his puppet.”
Brock lunges at Creed, throwing punches, kicking, and growling like some sort of animal. Creed dodges and maneuvers. “I don’t want to fight you, West!” He shoves West against the bars and yells out, “I will not fight him.” Then to Brock again, “Don’t let him turn you into this.”
Jocelyn steps into view, fretfully hovering beside the cage. “Help them, Jocelyn,” I plead, but the look she casts me is helpless, hopeless, but she steps to the bars beside me.
“Don’t force Creed to hurt him,” I beg. “Please. Before my father shocks them again.”
“I can’t believe Creed isn’t fighting him. I can’t believe any of this. It’s not what I thought…”
“You will fight!” Lawrence demands, daring to show himself now, stomping closer to the cage.
I remain focused on Jocelyn, who has power right now that I do not, tied up to a chair in a cage. “Creed is a good man, Jocelyn. He’s a good man. My father is not. It pains me that it’s true, but it is. Don’t help him.”
“Fight!” my father shouts again, and Brock falls to his knees in front of Creed in a blood curdling scream. Brock was shaking, lying face down. Creed is not.
“What is going on, Jocelyn?” Lawrence demands, messing with the remote in his hand. At that point, Brock is convulsing.
“You’re killing him!” I shout. “Stop what you’re doing. You’re killing him!”
My father charges at Jocelyn and grabs her. “I said…what the hell is happening?”
“I don’t know,” Jocelyn whispers. “Creed must be different than West.”
He shoves her toward her computer. “Go to your computer and find a way to fix this.”
Jocelyn stumbles but does as he commands while my father shouts, “Chin! Chin! Where the fuck are you?”
Creed is kneeling next to West, who has now gone still, checking his pulse.
“Oh my God,” Jocelyn murmurs, and there is something about the way she says it that has everyone turning to look at her.
“What?” I call out. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Chin left his email up,” she says. “The Zodius soldiers are coming. We have to get out of here now.”