Chapter 26
Lucilla
There was no doubt in Luci’s heart about who the gunshots belonged to.
They were proof of the vow Alex had made days ago, the one she hadn’t taken lightly.
He’d looked her in the eye and promised he would stop at nothing to protect her, and she had believed him.
Now, hearing his vow unfold beyond the locked door, she knew he was keeping that promise.
Luci stood as guards rushed past the glass window of the isolation room, their weapons raised.
There were so many of them, but even if she wanted to try to help, she was locked inside.
All she could do was hope and pray he’d make it to her in one piece because if he didn’t, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to live with that guilt.
Luci spun around the small room, scanning every counter and cabinet for anything that might give her even the smallest advantage. Her hands tore through drawers, shoving aside boxes of gauze, rolls of tape, and bandages. But all she found were useless medical supplies.
She was halfway through pulling open another drawer when the lock on the door beeped behind. She froze.
“Turn around slowly and keep your hands where I can see them.”
Luci’s heart slammed against her ribs. She raised her hands, her fingers trembling despite her effort to stay calm.
The doctor from before stood in front of her, but this time there was no barrier of plastic between them. Her pale blonde hair was slicked back into a tight bun, and her crisp uniform strained slightly over the curve of her pregnant belly.
For a second, Luci’s mind snagged on that detail. But then her gaze dropped to the gun aimed directly at her chest.
Luci’s eyes flickered between the woman’s face and the mouth of the gun. Her heart was beating rapidly, but she forced herself to take a deep breath. “You don’t have to do this, you can put the gun down.”
The doctor’s jaw clenched as she gripped the gun tighter than before. “I can’t. My orders are clear. I can’t let you leave this room.”
Another round of gunfire went off, louder and closer than before.
Luci seized the opportunity. “Listen to me,” she said, her voice rising with urgency, “you and I took the same oath to save lives no matter what. You know what Prometheus is. They’re cruel, controlling.
They think they can decide who lives and who doesn’t.
If you let me go, I can finish this. I can make sure the vaccine reaches everyone — not just the people they deem worthy. ”
Luci could see hope and doubt flare across the doctor’s eyes before she swallowed hard and dropped her gaze, looking away from Luci. “I…I want to believe you, but you don’t understand, if I let you go, they’ll kill me. They’ll kill us all,” the doctor explained, the gun hovering over her belly.
Luci took a step closer and kept her hands raised. “If Alex gets here first, you’re dead anyway. You hear him out there. He won’t stop, and he won’t show mercy to anyone standing between us.”
The doctor’s breath hitched, and her hand trembled just enough that Luci noticed.
For a long moment, neither of them moved. Luci’s breath slowed as her eyes locked on the doctor’s, searching for anything that would tell her which way this would go. Then, the doctor’s grip loosened ever so slightly.
Luci lunged.
The two of them collided with the gun caught between them.
Luci shoved the woman against the cabinets, the sterile metal trays that littered the counter clattering to the floor.
The doctor shouted in pain when their bodies slammed into the side of the bed, but Luci drove her shoulder forward just enough to pull the weapon from the woman’s grip.
The moment the gun was in her hands, Luci spun, raised it toward the corner of the room, and fired.
The camera sparked and smoke curled from the ruined lens as silence reclaimed the room.
Luci caught her breath and looked back at the doctor who was slumped against the counter, rubbing her wrist where Luci had pulled the weapon free. “Are you okay?” Luci asked, breathless but sincere.
The woman nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
Before Luci could say anything else, she caught sight of Alex running down the hall, his shirt soaked in blood, Luna at his side. His eyes were wild as he raised his gun at the doctor through the glass.
“No!” Luci shouted.
Alex froze. The look in her eyes was enough for him to lower his weapon.
The doctor pushed herself upright and hurried to the door, buzzing it open to let Alex in. She sagged against the wall. “You need to get down to the basement level. There are working vehicles there and you can use the maintenance tunnel to get clear of the compound.”
Luci blinked at her, stunned by her willingness to help. “Come with us. You don’t have to stay here.”
The doctor shook her head as grief and resolve flashed across her face. “I can’t. I have a family here and patients who depend on me. If I leave, no one will take care of them.”
If things were different, if they had time and if the odds weren’t stacked so brutally against them, Luci would’ve fought to get everyone out, not just herself. But she could see in the doctor’s eyes that her decision was already made, and nothing Luci said would change that.
Wasting time arguing now would only put them both in danger.
“Good luck,” Luci whispered.
“You too,” the doctor replied.
“We have to go,” Alex whispered as his hand found Luci’s. Without another word, they turned and slipped into the hall. Luna padded close at their heels as all three headed toward the basement.
Every time Luci caught the glimpse of a guard dropping, she pushed her mind somewhere else because if she let herself feel it, she would fall apart. All she could do was keep moving and put one foot in front of the other until finally the door to the basement slammed shut behind them.
Relief flooded her chest at the sight of rows of vehicles. They weren’t free yet, but they were pretty damn close.
Alex rushed to the nearest car, raised his gun, and shattered the driver’s side window with a single bullet. Glass scattered as he opened the door and motioned her forward. “Work your magic.”
Her hands shook, but she slid into the seat, pulled the wires free, and forced herself to focus on getting the car started. She was just a spark away when a voice rang out from the shadows.
“Well, well.”
Luci’s head snapped up instantly. The guard from before, the one who’d mocked Alex during the search, stepped into the dim light.
“It’s real easy to kill people when you’ve got a gun in your hands,” he taunted, keeping his eyes locked on Alex. He tilted his chin and gestured to the weapon. “How about you put that down so we can see what you’re really made of?”
Luci’s stomach twisted in knots.
Alex’s expression hardened and the corner of his mouth twitched into a smile. “Fuck it,” he whispered, throwing Luci a quick look that was both a warning and a promise. Then, he stepped away from the car and lowered his gun. “Let’s get this over with.”
She tightened her grip on the wires, sparks flew as she twisted them together, but her eyes kept darting up against her will.
Alex was quick but he was exhausted and every movement showed it.
The guard was larger than him, his blows landing heavier with each passing second.
Luna snapped and lunged at him. Her teeth caught fabric and flesh as the guard shoved her aside with a vicious kick that made Luci’s blood run cold.
“Pathetic,” the guard sneered as his fist connected with Alex’s jaw. Blood sprayed across the concrete. “You think you can protect her? When I’m finished here, she’ll be begging me for mercy.”
Luci’s stomach turned, nausea and anger rising. But just then the engine roared to life under her hands. She looked up.
The guard had Alex pinned, straddling him as his fists slammed down in a merciless rhythm.
Something inside her snapped.
Before she could realize what she was doing, Luci grabbed Alex’s gun from the ground, took a few steps forward and raised it.
The bullet tore through the air, finding its target. The guard twitched once before his body froze and slumped sideways.
Luci’s chest rose and fell as her hands trembled around the gun.
Alex coughed, dragging in a ragged breath as he lifted his eyes to her.
The gun slipped from her grip, clattering to the floor. But Luci didn’t care.
“Come on,” she whispered, slipping her arm under his and pulling him up. Alex’s legs wobbled and blood streaked down the side of his face, but he leaned into her and forced himself upright.
There was no time for words so she ignored the shock in his eyes and the pounding in her chest. Luna circled them anxiously, whining as Luci dragged Alex toward the car. She got him into the passenger seat and let Luna into the back before sprinting back around to the driver’s side.
Without another thought, Luci slammed her foot on the gas, the tires screeching as the car shot forward into the tunnel. Together, they tore into the open night. Luci gripped the wheel so tightly her knuckles turned pale. Beside her, Alex groaned, and his head rolled slightly against the seat.
“Alex,” she whispered, her voice full of panic. She couldn’t slow down. Not until she knew they were clear. “Just hang on.”
He mumbled something incoherent, and Luna whined from the backseat, pressing her paws into the console to try and crawl to him.
Then Luci saw it. Two faint lights in the mirror, growing brighter with every second. “Shit,” she hissed under her breath. Her grip tightened on the wheel and her eyes locked on the road ahead. “Alex!”
He stirred and blinked through the sweat falling from his brow. “What?”
“Someone’s following us.”
Alex forced himself upright enough to squint into the mirror. “Drive faster.”
She tried to stretch the distance between them, but the car behind them blared its horn anyway.
“This isn’t good,” Luci whispered, bracing herself for the worst possible outcome until a body leaned out the passenger side window, waving its arms.
Her breath caught.
From a distance it looked like Cipher.
“Wait — ” Alex rasped, his hand tightening on her arm as he leaned forward. “Is that?”
The grey mini-van pulled alongside them, flashing its headlights. Luci’s wide eyes met Myra’s in the driver’s seat.
It couldn’t be.
Cipher shouted through the open window, “Stop the car! Stop the fucking car!”