33
I was there when the world ended.
Khalani stared wide-eyed at the barrel of the gun.
Takeshi’s black gaze was cold and distant. As if he were thousands of miles away, versus the few feet that stood between them.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Serene shouted.
Brock’s fingers twitched as he reached for his backpack, but Takeshi immediately turned the gun on him.
“Don’t,” he warned, his voice deepening. “Don’t make me shoot you.”
Khalani’s eyes centered on his shaking hands clenched tightly around the gun. In fact, Takeshi’s whole body trembled.
“Takeshi,” Khalani coaxed in a soft voice. She raised both her hands, showing him she wasn’t a threat. “Listen to me. Put the gun down, and we can talk about whatever’s going on. But you don’t want to hurt us. We’re your family.”
His laser-like gaze latched onto her, and she flinched under the oppressive weight of it.
“I don’t have a family.”
A tear escaped the corner of her eye, flowing down her cheek as his words sliced her open.
Takeshi turned his cold focus back to the others, ignoring her cries as if she were an inconsequential afterthought. Purely disposable.
“Throw your backpacks over there.” Takeshi jerked his gun to the right side of the room.
Sharp fear poured over them, dousing them in it as they swiftly obeyed. Winnie made a soft whimper in the back of her throat.
Takeshi must’ve noticed a flash of movement from Brock that he didn’t like because he pointed the gun at Serene. “You make another twitch for your weapon, and I will shoot her. Don’t test me.”
Khalani’s blood pressure skyrocketed, but before she could say anything else, the elevator pinged. They turned in shock as ten men in black helmets and full riot gear stormed out with rifles drawn.
The soldiers surged forward, yelling in furious beats.
“Turn around! Hands behind your back!”
The men drew closer, aiming at them. Khalani and the rest of the group had no choice but to obey. Brock locked eyes with Takeshi, his fury lashing out.
“You fucking traitor.”
One of the men bashed Brock’s nose with the butt of the gun.
“Don’t touch him!” Serene thrashed against the men like a woman hell-bent on destroying everything, but someone pushed a syringe into her neck. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she dropped to the floor.
“You bastards!” Brock headbutted one of the men and reached for her, but another soldier came and slammed a needle into his neck.
Brock twitched, still reaching for Serene…but he fell unconscious beside her body.
No.
Please.
But God didn’t sweep down in a mighty force to prevent the soldiers from digging their long syringes into the rest of her family.
One by one, they fell.
Winnie. Derek. Adan.
Until all that was left was Khalani and Takeshi.
Takeshi was motionless, staring at the wall.
Like he didn’t even care.
“DO SOMETHING!” Khalani screamed as one of the men reached into his pocket for another needle, flicking the tip.
Takeshi slowly turned to her, and everything she thought she knew about him was completely gone. He didn’t stare at her like a stranger.
He stared at her like he wished he’d never known her.
And when he held out his hand, the soldier passed him the syringe. Step by infinite step, he moved closer, the needle hanging by his side like a knife.
Khalani sobbed openly, seeing her life flash before her eyes. Every single wrong decision that led to this moment.
“I trusted you, Takeshi!”
He lifted the needle.
“I fucking loved you!”
Takeshi paused, the sharp point centimeters from her neck.
“And I never stopped loving you. Not once. Not even when you forgot all about me.” Her chest rose rapidly as she gazed into his pitch-black eyes. “Takeshi…I don’t know what’s happened, but I know we can still fight together. Please. Please come back to me.”
Her face was a wet canvas of hope and despair, and he hesitated in the face of it.
For a moment, her heart started beating again as he lowered the needle, recognition barely flickering in his eyes. But his spine suddenly stiffened, standing straight like a soldier. Without another word, Takeshi jammed the syringe painfully into her neck.
And Khalani fell into a world of shadow.
* * *
“Ocean levels continue to climb—”
“Leading countries have failed to come to an agreement on the Nuclear Peace Treaty, leading many to believe—”
“The average cost of a home has risen to one million—”
“The newly formed Department of Book Review has banned books containing violence, sexual scenes, and political uprising from all public libraries—”
“Violent protests have broken out across the country—”
“Another record heat wave in the north—”
“Mandatory 6:00 p.m. curfew. Violators will be shot—”
“The polar bear has officially gone extinct—”
“Unemployment is now at 50 percent—”
“The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been disbanded.”
“We have unconfirmed reports of a nuclear launch somewhere in the Baltic Sea—”
“All banks are closed until further notice—”
“Breaking news. The country has unleashed its full nuclear arsenal in response to an unprecedented attack on the capital. We will stay on the air as long as we can. Godspeed and good luck—”
The panicked voices switched at rapid speed, like her mind was shuffling through a static radio. But then, she felt her body jerk as a vision appeared in front of her.
Thousands of people ran through a city, clutching bags to their chests, eyes filled with dread as they fumbled with keys to get inside their cars or packed long buses to the brim.
But everyone stopped.
And looked to the sky.
The camera tilted upward as hundreds of missiles flew overhead. Some as high as the moon. Others looked like shooting stars, traveling clear across the globe.
But one turned its course and aimed straight for them.
The world went still before it burned.
Khalani screamed awake.
She lifted her hands, trying to cover her eyes, but they wouldn’t budge. She was tied to a chair.
Her eyes were still blurry as she looked around, taking in the bright grand office with several guards in black riot gear posted at the walls.
Takeshi was nowhere to be found.
Her head spun, on the verge of passing out again, but she blinked quickly, fighting to stay awake. She realized the others were also tied to chairs.
Winnie, Adan, and Derek were all unconscious. Serene was groaning, her eyelids starting to flutter. Brock’s back was pin-straight, fully awake.
But he wasn’t looking at her.
He was staring at the man facing away from them, hands laced behind his back, wearing a crisp white suit. The man casually looked out the sunny windows covering the entire office wall.
Khalani narrowed her gaze, focusing past him, trying to figure out where they were and how they could escape.
“Brock,” she whispered. “Where are we?”
“You’re right where you’re supposed to be,” the strange figure said. “In Genesis.”
Genesis? The domed city above Apollo?
Khalani had so many questions, but the man slowly turned, revealing ashy brown hair, a perfectly handsome face, and blue eyes that haunted her nightmares every day.
The Governor stood in front of them.
Khalani froze, the air halting in her lungs.
The last time she’d seen Alexander Huxley in real life, his detached head rolled through the sand.
But he stood before them, very much alive.
“Y-you…how—”
“How does this moment feel? Historic,” the Governor interrupted, taking slow steps around his desk toward her. His cruel smile widened as he crouched in front of her, only a few inches away.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he whispered.
Khalani trembled, her jaw slack.
“You can’t be real. I watched Takeshi rip off your head. You should be dead!”
Was it all a figment of her imagination?
She closed her eyes, the voices of her wretched past ringing once more. She saw Takeshi staring at her like he’d never known her. Winnie holding the photo of her in the Chief’s library.
Khalani felt her brain splitting. She didn’t know what the truth was. The difference between fiction and reality was no longer a straight line. It all blended together, and she was unraveling with it.
Make it go away.
Make it stop.
But when Khalani opened her eyes, those evil blue eyes were still staring at her. He tilted his head, studying her erratic twitches.
“Losing your mind, huh? That was always the problem. I could never seize control without you dying in the process.” Alexander tutted, and he reached out to graze his finger along her cheek. “But you were always my favorite.”
“Get your hand off me!” Khalani screamed, nearly tipping the chair as she tried to pull away.
At the shrill sound of her voice, the others jolted awake, startling when they saw the Governor.
“What the fuck?” Adan exclaimed in a raspy voice. “How is he alive?”
“Where the hell are we?” Derek looked around, lost in a daze.
“What…what’s happening?” Serene murmured, still groggy.
Brock pulled his attention away from the Governor and he took a deep breath, visibly calming when Serene finally opened her eyes.
The Governor was still touching Khalani’s face when Winnie shouted, her voice sharp as broken glass.
“Get away from her, you piece of scrap!”
Alexander Huxley’s calm demeanor cracked. He turned his cold gaze to Winnie, slowly rising to his full height.
“What did you call me, human?” he asked, taking gradual, predatory steps toward her.
“Winnie called you a piece of—”
Slap!
The Governor backhanded Winnie across the face.
Screams burst throughout the room.
Khalani pulled against the restraints, fury erupting inside her. She gnashed her teeth, straining to break free and kill him over and over again. But this time, she’d dismember his limbs and spread the Governor across every corner of the planet.
“You disgusting creatures never understood respect or learned your place. But you will.” Alexander Huxley calmly adjusted his suit as he backed away.
Winnie didn’t cry or make a sound. She was still hunched over, but when her eyes lifted, her gaze burned with a promise of revenge.