Chapter 19
Myra
“What are you going to tell the kid?” Cipher asked as he dropped his bag onto Myra’s bed with a heavy thud.
The day had passed faster than either of them wanted.
Every hour slipped through their fingers until the sun had dipped below the horizon and the moon rose to greet them.
It felt like they’d barely had time to breathe, let alone prepare, and still after all their frantic planning this question was the one thing Myra had no answer for.
“I’ll figure something out,” she mumbled as she crouched to tuck the bottom of her pants over her boots.
Her voice was steady, but her hands weren’t.
“He trusts me, and he’s spent his whole life stuck in this place.
If I tell him there’s a way out, a chance for something better, I think he’ll want to come. ”
She hoped.
The plan still felt like a miracle barley stitched together with frayed thread. Just one misstep could cause it all to unravel but Myra forced herself not to dwell on that. She had Doc’s list of Jace’s medications and step-by-step instructions on how to keep him stable for at least a week.
That would have to be enough.
“And if you can’t convince him to come willingly?” Cipher asked carefully.
Myra exhaled slowly, letting the weight on her chest settle.
“Doc gave me instructions on where to find a mild sedative in the pharmacy. If it comes down to it, I’ll carry him out.
” She hated the words even as they left her mouth, hated the thought of betraying Jace’s trust like that, but it was better to face his anger than his death.
Cipher nodded but his gaze lingered on her longer than she liked, soft and worried but loyal all at once. “Okay. Just be careful. Whatever happens, get to the sewer gate on time.” He reached into his bag, pulled out a pistol and pressed it into her palm. “Take this, just in case.”
Myra gave a single nod as she double checked that the safety was on before sliding the gun into the waistband of her pants. “You have to be careful too. Get in and out of the energy bay fast. Take the stairs and keep your head down. The second you’re back down here, be ready to move.”
“I will. I promise.” His voice carried the kind of reassurance that made her chest ache with both fear and relief.
Cipher pulled her closer by the loop of her pants, and his hands rose to cup her face gently. “You ready?” he asked quietly.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” her words trembled out as she closed the final inch between them. Their kiss lingered with desperate urgency, as though it might have to carry them through the long night ahead.
This wasn’t just affection. It was an oath, a tether anchoring them both to hope. They would survive this. They had to, and no matter what awaited them outside those walls, she clung to the belief that it would only be minutes until they found their way back to each other again.
Their foreheads rested against one another for one last breath before Myra forced herself to pull away and set the timer on her watch.
Ninety seconds.
That was all she would have between pressing start and Cipher disabling the hospital’s security system from the control room.
Ninety seconds to slip past the cameras, reach the pharmacy, and get what she needed.
It wasn’t nearly enough time, and the knowledge of how razor thin the margin was made her stomach twist in knots.
There was no room for hesitation or error.
Failure now could cost all of them their lives.
“I’ll see you in ten,” Myra whispered, lifting her gaze to meet Cipher’s.
He already had both of their bags slung over his shoulder, ready to move.
To anyone watching, it would look routine enough, like he was just another guard running errands.
That was the illusion they were counting on.
In reality, Myra knew they were about to risk everything they had left.
She didn’t wait for Cipher to respond. Instead, she moved as fast as she could while keeping her boots silent against the floor beneath her.
She could hear her own pulse as she counted down the seconds left and ran up the stairs and into the main floor.
Then, just as she reached the pharmacy doors, the overhead lights blinked off and on before completely going dark.
Cipher had cut the security grid.
She had ten minutes to get Jace’s medications, find him, and get down to the basement.
She shoved the door open and slipped inside. The pharmacy was eerily empty, and the air felt heavy with the smell of antiseptic. Shelves lined the walls, neatly stocked, making it easy to find everything she needed. She repeated Doc’s list in her head like a mantra.
Immunosuppressants, antihypertensives, antibiotics, electrolyte supplements.
She worked efficiently, throwing pill bottles and blister packs into the plastic bag she’d shoved into her back pocket. She had to force herself not to think and keep moving.
At the far end of the counter, she spotted the small locked cabinet where the controlled substances were stored. Myra’s stomach clenched as she broke the lock with the butt of her gun and yanked it open. Her fingers curled around one of the mild sedatives Doc had marked as her last resort.
The thought of using it on Jace felt wrong.
He was just a boy.
Despite that thought, she shoved the pre-loaded syringe into her back pocket anyway.
Myra checked the time.
Seven minutes left.
Holding the bag tightly she slipped back out into the hallway, her body buzzing with adrenaline. Every step carried her closer to the pediatric wing and closer to Jace. All she had to do now was get him to the basement before their time was up.
A sigh of relief escaped Myra when she found Carly asleep at the Nurse’s desk, and she slipped into Jace’s room like a shadow. The faint glow of the monitors painted his small frame in a soft green and blue light. He was curled on his side, half buried in his blanket.
“Hey, kiddo,” she whispered, crouching beside his bed as she brushed her hand through his hair. Jace’s lashes fluttered, and after a long moment his eyes cracked open hazily.
“Myra?” His voice was hoarse and thick with sleep. “What…what’re you doing here? It’s so late.”
“I know,” she soothed him as her fingers worked to detach the wires on his arm. “I’ll explain everything later but we have to go now, alright?”
“Go?” he responded, sluggishly rubbing at his eyes. “Go where?”
“Someplace safe,” Myra whispered, yanking one lead free and silencing the machine before it could squeal. “We’re going somewhere where you won’t have to stay hooked up to these things forever.”
Jace frowned, and his twelve year old stubbornness poked through his expression. “Why? What’s wrong with here? Why can’t we just stay?”
Myra’s throat tightened, but her hands never slowed as she pulled the IV line out and taped it down. “Because they won’t help you anymore here.” She forced herself to meet his sleepy eyes. “And I won’t let them hurt you.”
He blinked at her, confused and slightly alarmed. “But…are you sure?”
“Positive,” she whispered fiercely as she turned to shove clothes and the medications she’d gathered into the backpack she knew he kept in the small closet in his room. “Doc made me a list of everything I need to take care of you. You’ll be okay, I promise.”
Jace yawned and swayed slightly as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He was too tired to argue. “You always make me promises,” he mumbled as she settled the backpack over his shoulders.
“And I always keep them,” she replied firmly, ruffling his hair with a shaky hand before guiding him towards the door.
He took her hand. His grip felt weak but warm against her palm.
She raised her other hand to her lips and signaled for him to stay quiet before guiding them both out of the room and into the stairwell.
The door clicked shut behind them before they made their way down the narrow concrete steps that would lead them straight to the basement.
She moved slower now to match Jace’s pace but a quick glance at her watch told her they only had two minutes left.
When they finally reached the last step, she pushed the door open and let Jace slip through first. The hallway stretched ahead of them, eerie and filled with the kind of silence that promised trouble.
But still, just had a few more turns and freedom would be theirs.
Myra’s chest swelled with the kind of hope she hadn’t felt in years.
They’d made it this far.
For the briefest moment she let herself believe that was the truth.
She should have known better.
Cipher wasn’t waiting for them like she’d expected.
He was backed against the wall, his hands halfway raised, the barrel of a rifle pressed to his chest. Gage, a guard Myra instantly recognized by the scar along his jaw, stood rigidly in front of Cipher. He was the kind of loyalist who’d rather die than betray Prometheus.
Myra reacted on instinct, shoving Jace behind her and reaching for her own gun. “Don’t do this,” she pleaded. “Let him go.”
The guard’s lips curled into something between a sneer and a smile. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing? You think you can just escape without anyone noticing?” His finger twitched near the trigger. “You’re not getting past me.”
“Listen,” Myra tried, forcing her tone to sound calm as her watch pulsed against her wrist, reminding her of how little time they had left. “We don’t have to do this. You can lower your weapon. We can all walk away and no one gets hurt.”
Gage barked a short, humorless laugh. “No one walks away, not from Prometheus.”
Before she could fire, Cipher moved. He grabbed for the rifle, shoving it upward with both hands. The two men struggled, and the gun swung wildly between them. Myra circled, trying desperately to find an opening, but the fight was too fast and too close.
“Cipher!” she hissed as she placed her finger on the trigger.
Bang.
The gunshot rang through the room, deafening everyone in the confined space. Jace screamed from behind her making her stomach drop. She couldn’t tell who’d been hit.
For one breathless moment, time stopped.
Then Cipher shoved the guard away and staggered back. He was standing, wide eyed and shaken, but alive.
Myra let out a strangled breath, but relief only lasted for so long.
Gage lunged for the rifle, aiming for Cipher once more.
Myra didn’t think. She let her training take over as her finger pulled the trigger.
The shot felt louder this time, and she was sure it had echoed through the entire floor. The guard’s head snapped back down, and he crumpled instantly.
Myra’s chest rose and fell as she lowered the gun in her grip. She could feel Jace’s eyes
burning into her from behind. Cipher turned to look at her — he was still alive.
That was all that mattered.
Gage’s body laid between them as a grim reminder of what she had just done.
Myra swallowed hard and forced herself to steady before she glanced over her shoulder at Jace.
“It’s okay,” she whispered, though she wasn’t sure if she was reassuring him or herself. “It’s over.”
Cipher bent down and pried the rifle from Gage’s hands before pulling himself upright again. His eyes locked with hers, softer now. “Thank you.”
She couldn’t respond. The clock was still ticking, and those gunshots must have alerted everyone.
“Come on,” she responded, shoving the guilt deep into the pit of her stomach. “We have to move. Now.”
Cipher shoved a heavy plasma vessel into Myra’s hand before yanking the gate open. There was no time left to think so he scooped Jace into his arms and sprinted into the tunnel.
They ran until Myra caught sight of the faint silver glow of moonlight bleeding through the sewer grate above. She scrambled up the ladder and shoved the grate aside before pulling herself into the open night. The air outside was fresh and alive with the threat of the infected.
They were alone for now, but she knew better than to trust the silence.
Jace climbed up next, pale and shaky but determined. Myra pulled him through while Cipher shoved him up from below, then climbed out after them. Myra barely gave him a second glance before she was sprinting ahead with the plasma vessel clutched tightly in her hand.
Any car would do. They just needed to gain ground fast.
“There!” Cipher hissed as he pointed to a grey mini van parked across the street.
Myra nodded and lifted her gun, ready to fire at any infected that came near.
Once they crossed the street, Cipher set Jace on his feet while she made sure the car was clear.
She settled Jace inside, tossed in their bags and climbed into the driver’s seat while Cipher scrambled to fit the vessel into place.
After what felt like several minutes, the engine finally roared to life beneath her hands.
The sound felt like salvation. She forced herself to wait for Cipher to slip into the passenger seat before she pushed the gear into drive and raced down the street, leaving Prometheus, the hospital, and everything she’d ever known behind.
For the first time in years, they weren’t caged.
They were free.