Chapter 30
Lucilla
Luci wasn’t sure how much time had passed since they’d been taken to the room, but eventually a gentle knock came at the door.
An older woman with kind eyes appeared, her arms full of folded clothes and a tray of food.
She’d found them still in robes, their hair damp and cheeks flushed from the heat of the shower, but she didn’t comment on it.
Instead, she simply smiled and placed everything down with care.
She urged them to let her know if the clothes didn’t fit and insisted they tell her if there was something they didn’t like.
Luci nodded politely and offered her gratitude, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to complain.
Even if the sleeves were too long or the food too spicy, her heart wouldn’t allow her to seem ungrateful.
Not when someone had taken the time to care.
Luci tugged the soft cotton t-shirt down her frame and glanced at Alex, who had just finished tying the drawstring on a pair of gray sweatpants.
The clothes were simple, loose and worn in, but they were clean.
She hadn’t realized how foreign comfort had become until now — now that she was standing barefoot in clothes that didn’t stink or remind her of blood.
Alex’s gaze lingered on Luci for longer than necessary. She smiled in return before reaching down to scratch behind Luna’s ear.
A knock at the door pulled their attention. Luci turned just as it creaked open and Elena stepped inside. “Time for your meeting,” she said gently. “Your friend will meet us there.”
Cipher appeared in the hallway behind her, already dressed, with his hands shoved into his pockets as he gave them a quick glance. “You two clean up nice,” he said with a grin before stepping back to let them pass.
Luci scooped up Luna’s leash, though the dog padded obediently at her side without needing it.
Together, the four of them followed Elena through the dormitory, past painted walls and wide windows that let in the golden sun.
They crossed a small courtyard and reached a building with frosted windows and a secure entrance. Elena entered the code and then pushed the door open. Inside, Myra stood waiting with Carlos.
She was dressed like the rest of them, her arms crossed loosely over her chest. The moment her eyes landed on Luci, something softened in her shoulders.
There was no tension, just relief.
“Good news?” Luci asked as she stepped inside.
Myra nodded without any hesitation. “Jace is stable, and they’re going to start looking for a donor,” she said. “He knocked out the second they were done evaluating him, so I figured I’d let him sleep while we handle this.”
“That’s all because of you,” Luci said. “He’s stable because you got him here, because you fought for him. Don’t forget that.”
Myra looked down, blinking fast as her lips parted like she wanted to argue. But before she could start, Cipher stepped forward. “Luci’s right. You’re amazing, Myra. Don’t try to downplay it.”
Myra let out a laugh and shook her head but didn’t try to deny it this time.
The guards standing by the double doors exchanged a glance before Carlos spoke. “This way,” he said, pulling a side door open.
Without another word, they followed the guards.
The meeting room was brighter than Luci expected and a woman stood waiting for them at the far end, looking over a datapad that she put down as soon as they arrived.
She wasn’t especially tall, but she carried herself with authority.
Her dark slacks and blouse were layered neatly beneath a white coat.
Luci recognized the kind of presence she had immediately.
This woman was controlled, intelligent, and used to making important decisions.
“I’m sorry for the delay,” the director said as she stepped forward. “Thank you for your patience. We’re short on doctors at the moment.”
She shook each of their hands. When she reached Luna, she offered the dog a small smile and a nod, as if to acknowledge she was part of their group too.
“Please,” she gestured to the seats around the table, “have a seat. We have a lot to discuss.”
She waited until they were all settled into their chairs before speaking again. “I’m Dr. Gabriela Martinez. I oversee operations here at Nueva Esperanza. Whether you believe it or not, we’ve been waiting for your arrival.”
Luci straightened in her seat, exchanging a quick glance with Myra. “Did Doc send word about us?”
Dr. Martinez folded her hands on the table. “He did. We haven’t heard from him since the very beginning of the outbreak. You all must be very important for him to risk establishing contact again after all this time.”
“Do you know why we’re here?” Luci asked.
The director gave a slow shake of her head. “No,” she admitted. “Only that your arrival would be significant. He didn’t share the details.” Her gaze swept the table before landing on Luci again. “But I’m hoping you will.”
The room went quiet, and Luci felt Alex tense beside her. No one offered an answer to the director’s question. They were still too uncertain if trust was something they could give freely.
Dr. Martinez tilted her head before giving a small, patient smile.
“You know what, why don’t we start with something simple?
” She folded her hands neatly in front of her.
“There’s just one question we ask of every new arrival.
Nothing complicated. We just need to know how many of the living you’ve killed. ”
Alex let out a laugh, and Myra joined him with a chuckle of her own.
Dr. Martinez didn’t flinch. “It’s not meant to be a test of morality.
It’s part of our risk assessment. We need to know who we’re bringing into our walls, what they’ve been through, and what they’re capable of.
But let me make it clear, those who served under Prometheus don’t fall into the same category.
We know the kinds of choices they force on people.
Survival doesn’t always leave room for consent. ”
Her gaze swept over them again, waiting to see who would speak first.
“Well, my name is Cipher Williams,” Cipher began. “I specialize in technical systems, so I wasn’t in the field all that much, but if I had to guess…” He paused, then nodded to himself. “Maybe five to ten.”
Alex went next. “Alejandro Ramirez. Myra and I were active operatives before the outbreak.”
Dr. Martinez’s expression softened when she replied, “Too many to count, then.” She turned to Luci. “And you?”
Luci felt the weight of everyone’s gaze as she swallowed the knot in her throat. She bit at her bottom lip before gaining the courage to respond. “My name is Dr. Lucilla Castillo,” she said quietly. “And I’ve killed one.”
The director’s brows pulled together and narrowed slightly, not in judgment, but in curiosity.
“You don’t have to include patients who died under your care,” she said.
But Luci shook her head. “No, I shot a man,” she clarified. “And he died.”
She couldn’t tell whether Dr. Martinez or Myra and Cipher were more stunned.
“Okay,” Dr. Martinez responded calmly before reaching for the datapad on the table beside her. “I’ll make a note of that. Now, do any of you have questions for me?”
“How did you manage to defect from Prometheus?” Myra asked, her tone full of curiosity. “They don’t exactly make it easy.”
A faint smile appeared on the director’s lips, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“It wasn’t difficult after the outbreak.
This facility wasn’t a primary asset, and Prometheus had bigger fires to put out, bigger places to control.
We were…forgotten, in a way.” She folded her hands neatly atop the table.
“But in all sincerity I never agreed with the way they handled things. Not before and certainly not now.”
She let that hang in the air for a moment before she continued. “We’ve survived this long because we make a conscious effort to do better,” she added. “And be better.”
Luci let the sentiment settle in her chest before she finally spoke. “I just… I don’t know how we’re supposed to know if you’re trustworthy,” she admitted. “What we have could change everything and I need to make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”
Dr. Martinez leaned back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap. She didn’t rush to answer and instead, took a moment to choose her words wisely.
“Everything in life is a risk, Dr. Castillo,” she said gently.
“And I’m afraid there’s nothing I could say that would completely take that fear away.
But what I can tell you is this: you’ve been treated the same way we treat all our new arrivals.
This isn’t a prison, it’s a community. We treat each other with humanity because that is our last weapon in this world. ”
Her voice softened, but Luci could still hear the authority behind it. “You must understand that letting you in was our risk. This partnership, if it’s going to work, has to begin with trust or it won’t begin at all.”
Luci wished it were that easy, that trust could simply be offered like a hand extended in peace. But trust had cost her too much already. Still, what choice did they have? There was nowhere else that could offer them what this place might.
She glanced at Alex, searching his expression for resistance or anything to justify holding back, but all she found was resolve and a shared understanding that this had to be done.
Luci exhaled and her shoulders sank slightly as she turned back to the director. “I’ve developed a vaccine against the Hollowed virus,” she said. “And it works.”
The surprise was evident on Dr. Martinez’s face. “I don’t mean to disrespect your intelligence, Dr. Castillo,” she said slowly, “but that’s impossible.”
Luci knew the director wasn’t responding from a place of cruelty but rather from a place of caution, so she stood and lifted her shirt just high enough to reveal the nearly healed crescent shaped wound on her ribs.
“I was bitten,” she said quietly. “And I survived.”
“Holy shit,” Myra said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
Alex shifted slightly in his seat and leaned forward. “Do you believe her now?”
Dr. Martinez’s lips parted, but no words came at first. “Dios mio…” she whispered before standing and crossing the room to better examine the wound. “I stand corrected. This is…it’s…”
“A miracle,” Luci finished for her before letting her shirt fall back into place. The director met her eyes again and Luci held her gaze for a moment. “I know.”
“This changes everything,” the director said quietly. “Whatever you need, it is yours. I would do anything to protect my people.”
Luci didn’t hesitate. “We want protection and a place in your community. I took an oath to save lives, I just want the chance to honor it.”
“Dr. Castillo’s being modest,” Alex said.
“We do want protection, but we also need assurance that Jace will be cared for and given a transplant. Furthermore,” he paused cautiously, “Prometheus claimed to have intel on Luci’s brother.
They used it to manipulate her into leaving the hospital.
If he’s alive, we need your help finding him. ”
Dr. Martinez didn’t think twice before responding.
“I’ll have my technical team begin a search immediately.
If he’s still alive as they claimed, we’ll find him.
” She braced her palms on the table and steadied herself before continuing.
“We can offer you all sanctuary, but you must understand that Prometheus will see this as betrayal. They’ll come for you — for us. ”
Luci’s jaw clenched, but her voice remained calm. “We understand, but do you? You said it yourself, you have people to protect.”
The director paused and considered her words for a moment. Then, without flinching, she replied, “My people are prepared to fight. We don’t bend our knees to fascists.”
Myra let out a breath and leaned back in her chair. “Then we have a deal?”
Dr. Martinez gave a single, deliberate nod. “I need Dr. Castillo to agree.”
Luci looked around the table and finally understood that this was what bravery really meant. It wasn’t fearlessness. It was choosing to stand tall despite being afraid. It was being willing to risk everything for something greater than survival.
For freedom, justice, and for each other.
Alex, Myra, Cipher, Jace, and Luna. They weren’t just allies. They were all she had left.
For a moment she thought of Grayson and his last words. She used that strength to meet their eyes.
“Let’s give Prometheus hell.”