Chapter 22
Alejandro
“That’s it,” Alex said after double checking the map in his lap.
Underneath the afternoon heat, a tower of concrete stood surrounded by a stone gate half its height.
From this distance, it was hard to be certain but he could swear he saw the silhouettes of guards stationed at either side of the entrance.
“We made it,” Luci said from beside him, her tone a mix of relief and disbelief. She glanced at him for only a second before turning her eyes back to the road.
Alex forced a small smile, but the words sat uneasily on his tongue.
“Let’s wait until we’re inside before we start celebrating,” he replied, careful to keep his tone neutral.
He didn’t want to sour the moment, but he knew better than to let his guard down now.
Not when safety wasn’t something he could promise.
Luci turned to him again and responded with a shaky nod. It wasn’t in agreement exactly, more like acknowledgement. He caught it and left it at that.
Alex didn’t want to take this from her. Even he was surprised they’d made it all the way from New-Chicago to Arizona in one piece, but as much as he wanted to celebrate that victory, there was a pit lodged deep in his stomach. He couldn’t shake the thought that this wasn’t the end of the fight.
It was just the start of another one.
The closer they drove, the more the gate seemed to grow until they were all Alex could see. The guards at the top moved to lift their rifles, and then one of them raised a megaphone.
“Pull over and cut the engine! Step out of the vehicle — keep your hands where we can see them!”
If the aggressive tone the guard used wasn’t enough, the way he waved his rifle in their direction left no room for doubt. Alex felt every muscle in his body go taunt. He forced his expression to seem calm for Luci’s sake, but he was nervous, relief slipping into panic once again.
“Do as they say,” Alex whispered to Luci before his hand brushed hers for the briefest moment. With that, he opened the RV door and stepped out first, making sure he was the one in front of the rifles.
Luci followed. Luna pressed against her leg, and Alex could see that she was resisting letting out a growl. The sight of weapons fixed on them made Alex’s chest burn, but he kept his stance controlled and his voice clear as he raised his hands.
“We’re not a threat!” he called up, loud enough to carry. “We were sent from Sanctum Medical to deliver special cargo.” He jerked his chin toward Luci, praying they understood
before things escalated.
One of the guards pressed a hand to his earpiece and spoke, but Alex couldn’t make out the words. Every second stretched painfully long as his eyes stayed locked on the rifles. Every instinct screaming to put himself between them and Luci.
Finally, the guard’s posture shifted, though his weapon never lowered. “Orders confirmed,” he responded through the megaphone. “You’ll be escorted inside, but make any sudden movements and you’ll regret it.”
The gates groaned as they began to open. More guards emerged with weapons raised, circling them like predators.
Alex moved closer to Luci, his hand brushing her arm in a way that could be mistaken for casual, but it wasn’t. It was his way of promising that no matter how many guns were pointed at them, no one would lay a hand on her or Luna without going through him first.
Past the gate, the guards guided them through a narrow hall and into a room with bare walls and a metal table. The harsh lights above them buzzed. It smelled of blood and steel, the kind of place designed to strip people of comfort as much as their weapons.
“Stand against the wall,” the lead guard barked, motioning with his rifle. “Both of you have to be searched.”
Alex shifted closer to Luci instinctively, putting himself half a step in front of her. “If we were infected you’d know. We wouldn’t have made it this far.”
The guard’s expression didn’t budge. “It’s protocol,” he snapped. “Both of you strip.” His gaze moved to Luci. “Starting with her.”
Alex’s heart dropped to his stomach. “No,” he said. “That’s not happening.”
The guard’s rifle tilted up daring him to make it a fight. For a second, Alex considered the cost of putting himself between Luci and that command.
Then Luci’s hand brushed his arm. “Alex.” Her voice was quiet but calm. “It’s fine.”
He looked at her, searching her face. He wanted to argue, but the plea in her eyes kept him still.
Luci wanted to keep him safe just as much as he wanted to protect her.
Alex said nothing else as he clenched his fists and helplessly watched as she pulled her backpack off her shoulders and her sweater over her head.
The neckline of her shirt shifted, exposing the faint bloom of bruises along her throat, remnants of the night they weren’t supposed to share.
Alex’s gut clenched as the guard’s eyes narrowed and a cruel smirk tugged at his mouth. “Is that a bruise?” His gaze shifted to Alex. “Or have you been playing with our precious cargo?”
The words hit like a punch straight to Alex’s gut. His fists tightened at his sides as he stopped himself from taking aim at the man’s jaw and wiping the smirk off right off his face. But he didn’t move, he couldn’t. Not with rifles pointed at them.
Still, the look he responded with promised one thing. If they survived this place, Alex wouldn’t forget.
The lead guard’s smirk widened. “Make a note of that,” he said, nodding toward Luci’s neck. Another soldier scribbled something on his pad in silence.
“Continue,” the guard ordered.
Alex’s pulse quickened as Luci bent down and unlaced her boots carefully before slipping them off.
Then she unbuttoned her pants and tugged them down.
Alex clenched his jaw as fury coursed through him.
The guards were watching her like wolves circling prey, and he wanted nothing more than to pound into their smug faces.
But he forced himself to remain still even as his fists balled so tight that his nails bit into his palms.
Luci stood there in her shirt, barefoot on the cold floor, hesitating. Alex caught the way she froze, and he instantly knew why.
He knew what they’d see if her shirt came off.
The guard noticed the pause too. “I said continue,” he repeated, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement.
“Enough,” Alex snapped as he stepped forward. “She’s not infected. If she were, she wouldn’t be standing here. You don’t need to do this.”
The rifles in the room tilted toward him in warning. The lead guard didn’t flinch. “Back off,” he said flatly.
Alex swallowed a lump in his throat, feeling the weight of every weapon pointed at him. He turned to Luci and found her eyes on him, urging him without words to hold back. His teeth ground together, then, before he could stop it, she pulled in a breath and lifted her shirt.
The room erupted.
The bite stood out against her skin, unmistakable and undeniable.
“Shit!” one of the guards shouted as he jerked his rifle up, aiming towards Luci.
“Take that one to isolation, now!” the lead guard yelled.
“No!” Alex’s voice tore out of him as he pushed forward. “You don’t understand, she’s not infected! It’s the vaccine. We have the vaccine!”
Luna’s growl broke into frantic barks, and she lunged forward before another guard yanked her back.
“Stand down,” the guard snarled. “We either take her to isolation, or we kill her here. It’s your choice.”
Alex froze, he wanted to tear them all apart, but the gun aimed at her head stopped him cold. He looked at Luci’s pale face. Her hands were bound by the guard’s grip, and the helpless expression on her face threatened to break him.
“Alex!” she screamed as the guards dragged her toward the door.
His throat burned. “Just do what they say!” he shouted back in desperation. “I’ll find you as soon as I can.”
They shoved him back and pressed their rifles to his chest until the door slammed shut.
The silence that followed was deafening.
“If you so much as lay a finger on her,” Alex growled at the lead guard, “you’ll wish you never met me.”
The man let out a laugh and tilted his rifle casually against his shoulder. “Big words,” he mocked. “And what if we do? You’ve clearly had a little fun with her. Why shouldn’t we?”
The words hit Alex like a spark against dry wood. He lunged with teeth bared, prepared to tear the bastard apart before he could finish whatever sick thought he had about Luci.
“Get him!” the guard ordered as he stepped back just in time.
Two rifles slammed into Alex’s chest, shoving him back against the wall.
Gloved hands grabbed at his arms and locked them in place.
He fought anyway, swinging with abandon, wanting to make them bleed.
But the numbers were against him. The cold press of steel bit into his ribs and forced him to stop.
The lead guard leaned in closer. “We’ll search this one while he’s unconscious.”
Alex’s eyes widened, but before he could free himself, another soldier stepped forward.
He felt the sting of a needle jab into his neck.
“You mother…” Alex managed before his muscles went slack and the strength bled from his limbs.
The last thing he saw before darkness swallowed him was the guard’s smug smile and the glint of rifles pointed at his chest.