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Author's Note:Here's Ch. 19 and the end of the escape. There's at least one more chapter after this and an Epilogue. When you're finished, you have to promise not to lynch me. I had a hard time writing it and debated it long and hard but felt it necessary in the end.

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Chapter Nineteen:

We had our first argument.

Barry thought that Declan was a valued prisoner and I wanted to leave him behind to burn. I mean, really. There was no debate. He was a psychotic, power made nut job. He tried to kill me and Barry. But Barry wanted him alive. What the hell is that about? We fought and argued even though we should have been getting out of there. In the end it was Chloe who decided. She tools us that both are arguments had value but she wasn’t a murderer and didn’t want to be one. So in the end they out voted me. I wonder what the others would have said. After all they were victims just as much as we were.

We carried him between us. Barry took one arm and I reluctantly took the other. Suffice to say it was a very quiet elevator ride. Chloe kept looking at us, glancing from me to Barry and back again. Both of us looked as if we could eat brick. Declan was still unconscious and if he woke up I was going to grind my heel into his balls. Then beat him senseless.

It pissed me off that that bastard thought I’d honestly join him. I have an opening if you’re interested. What the hell was that? He ordered two bastards to rape me, he had them put a chip in my head, he had both Dell and Johnny killed. There was no forgiveness for that. Even if he crawled across red hot coals naked.

He groaned as I shifted slightly. I nodded to Chloe and she looked into his face. She shook her head. I told her when we got into the elevator to keep an eye on him. Whenever he groaned, I tensed. His hands were real close to my back and one fingertip was all it would take.

“Is she really ok?”

I smiled. After we got done arguing, I filled them in on my mission. Chloe was so happy to hear that Holly was ok, that she kissed me. It freaked me out a bit when her kiss lingered a bit longer than it should have. But she had been smiling and crying at the same time. So I let it slide. I’m not a homophobe but it took me by surprise. Partially because it shocked me and partially because I kind of liked it. She was after all the first girl that ever kissed me. It even made my nipples a bit hard, just like when Barry and I kissed. I wonder if that meant I swung both ways.

“Holly’s really ok” I said, she sighed.

I tried to be coy. “You’re really good friends, huh?”

She beamed and then caught on. She blushed.

After that the rest of our ride was silent. Have I mentioned how much I hate elevators now? It feels like I’ve spent my entire time in this place riding up and down in damn elevators. If Barry and I get our own place it’s going to be on the first floor. I smiled at that thought, looking at him. All my anger at him was gone. He was so cute when he was angry though. When he saw me looking he gave me a small smile and I knew everything was going to be ok between us.

When the elevator got to our destination, I nearly dropped Declan.

I knew it even before the door opened that we were now in a whole hell of a lot of shit. As soon as the door slid open, a head flew at us. Chloe and I screamed. It hit Declan in the chest, rolled about on the floor and stopped at my feet. I knew who it was before I saw the face: my great tormentor was dead. The Priss’ blank eyes stared up at me, her face and hair burned and black. Chloe threw up. Holy shit. I started punching the up button as hard as I could. The doors were on a bit of a delay and were closing too slowly.

Before they closed, I saw into the hall for the briefest of seconds. Rachel was standing there, her whole front covered in blood. In her hand was a wicked looking sword that appeared to be made of ice. She turned toward us, the headless body of the Priss at her feet. When our eyes locked, I saw no one home. What had Trish said about the BMCs. Something about adrenaline or aggression or something? Looking at Rachel, I could see the aggression.

The door closed and we started going up.

“What the hell was that?” screeched Chloe, wiping her chin.

“Rachel or what’s left of her”

Chloe’s face seemed to drain of color. Barry and I exchanged glances. The Inmates had definitely taken over the Asylum now.

The elevator stopped and we ushered out. I sent it to one floor above, hoping maybe we could get around the Crazy downstairs and find another route. As soon as we filed into the hall, Barry and I dropped Declan against the wall. I reached for my belt and stuck another clip into Reta. The floor we were on looked virtually untouched. So either they were only concentrating on the ground floors or they hadn’t gotten to the tower, yet. Neither was very comforting.

I hope the others are all right.

“What’s the plan?” asked Barry, looking up and down the hall nervously.

“We’ve got to ditch Declan” I said, pointing at him with Reta.

I was tempted to pull the trigger but enough people had died today. I lowered my gun and shook my head. Barry and I gave one another more looks but he seemed to agree with me. We grabbed Declan’s arms and legs then dragged him to a nearby office room. We put him in the chair and tied him tight using the phone line. We debated waking him up but in the end we felt it was better this way.

“You think someone will find him?” asked Chloe as I locked the door.

I smirked. “Eventually”

So I let Declan live, sue me. He may have been the biggest ass in the world and probably deserved to die but not like this. We didn’t have time to do anything else. He should have been in prison, hell all of them should have been in prison. But Beatrice and her Clones were taking care of that matter. By my count it looked like everyone who deserved theirs, got it. Everyone except Green. The little cockroach was probably hiding under a desk somewhere.
Barry took the lead after that. All he had was the knife I took off Scarlet. The Glocks I got for him were in the pack I left with Mattie. My knife, the K-BAR, we left in Zero’s office. Out of the six throwing stars on my wrist, I had one left. So as far as weapons went, Reta was our best bet. Hopefully we won’t run into any more Crazed Clones.

I have a big mouth.

The floor started to shake; we fell against the walls, trying to take cover. In front of me I looked down, seeing the white linoleum start to buckle. It formed a giant bubble before it ruptured from an updraft of wind. Linoleum and concrete flew everywhere. A piece clipped my shoulder; another piece smacked Barry in the knee. He howled in pain. A piece of metal rebar flew past our heads and embedded in the wall.

It was like a mini-tornado in the hallway.

A gust of wind buffeted up from the hole, knocking all of us off our feet and sending us flying backwards. I’m not sure which one of us stopped first. I think it was Chloe; she was behind Barry and I. She hit the ceiling but lucked out because it was only drywall. Her body made an indent and fell to the floor. I could still hear her heart beating, thank God. Barry and I hit the far wall. In the air, I grabbed him and spun around, so I hit the wall first. It should have hurt like a mother fucker and I’m not sure how I survived it. We fell on top of one another, in a heaving heap.

Barry was unconscious, a cut across his forehead. Unfortunately he was on me too.

I looked up the hall and saw Natasha hover up from the hole in the floor, her black hair fluttering in the wind. She looked about the same as Rachel except she wasn’t covered in blood. She still had the same crazed look though and that scared the hell out of me. What scared the hell out of me even more though was the fact that Reta was no longer in my hand. I spotted her, twenty feet away.

Natasha landed gently on the floor. How cool is that that she can fly? Ok I know it’s not the time but it was fricking awesome.

“The goth freak and the computer nerd” she said, her voice cold and devoid of emotion.

I was shocked. I figured them to be mindless husks now but it surprised me to see her not only speaking but able to recognize us as well.

She walked toward us, her heels clicking.

“Is it true what they say” She asked, hovering her stiletto over my hand. “Can you really feel no pain?’

She put the heel down on my hand, pressing hard. It went right through, like sticking your finger in soft cookie dough. I didn’t feel a thing. But the blood started to seep up and around her heel. She started to twist, taking perverse pleasure in causing me such a nasty injury. She kept moaning as she twisted her foot, it sounded like she was getting off on it. What the hell kind of sick fuck was she? The BMC chip had made her vapid but now it was like she was some kind of sadist. Hadn’t Barry said the others came and corrupted Beatrice? Were they all this nuts before the chip?

“You three see the old man?”

“He’s dead. Declan killed him, months ago”

She smirked. “You’re bullshitting me”

I shook my head. “He had this girl with him, some kind of Dominator; she can make illusions or something. She’s been pretending to be Zero for the last few months”

Natasha gave me a look, trying to see if I was telling the truth or not.

Finally she cursed: “Bee isn’t going to like this. She was hell bent on burning that son of bitch and sticking him on the flag pole”

I nodded. There was seriously something wrong with this chick. With all of them in fact. It had to be the Chips. What the fuck had the Syndicate done to them?

“Why aren’t you guys getting out of here, we opened the doors, freedom is calling?”

She laughed. “Freedom. Freedom can’t be savored until this place burns for what it did to us. You’re one of us; you of all people should want this place burned down too”

I chose my words carefully. “I’m not one of you” I emphasized the you. ‘What you and the others are doing is madness. Clearly some part of you must see that. You burned a man alive, froze his thing to a wall. Rachel cut off the Priss’ head and threw it at us. I think you’ve done enough. You’re your own person aren’t you? You’re not Beatrice’s bitch. Get out of here while you still can”

I saw it. I saw the real Natasha for a second. Her face seemed to change; some life came into her eyes. Her lip trembled and her eyes started to tear up. Then it was gone. It was like a switch and the evil bitch was back. She wasn’t happy either. She growled at me, yes growled. She raised her hands, ready to send God knows what at me.

I saw the piece of rebar ten seconds before it hit her. It came from behind, like a javelin. It went straight through her throat, back to front. Then it stopped. Natasha’s eyes opened in shock, she gargled a bloody mess. She stumbled backwards, her heel came free from my hand and she tripped up. She fell back through her hole, to what I suspected was a nasty crunch on the floor below.

Chloe was on her feet, panting heavily, cradling an arm to her chest. Her other was outstretched still and was now trembling. She took a few seconds to collect herself then came over to get Barry off me. I hugged her tightly and she cried.

“I’ve never had that much control” she said silently.

“It's ok. She would have killed us all”

“I thought you had her there”

I nodded sadly. “I did but only for a second”

____________________________________________________________

“Wait we have to stop again” groaned Barry.

He was now cradled between Chloe and I. Even though I hit the wall first, he was hurt pretty bad. After we dispatched Natasha, we woke Barry up. I accessed his damages as quickly as possible. Touching his side I felt a few cracked ribs. Checking his arms I found a broken wrist and one of his legs, his left fibula actually, had a hair line fracture. I can’t imagine the kind of pain he was in. But we didn’t have time to stop.

“We can’t” I said as we continued to hobble along.

After Natasha went down, I heard the others. Rachel caught on pretty quick where we went and followed us through the elevator. She gave chase for a while, throwing ice and trying to slip us up by freezing the floor. We had speed on her though or rather distance. Her ice spears it appeared were pretty short range and we were already well down the hall when she got out of the elevator. One got close though and I fired a shot behind me in retaliation. I never expected to hit her but when I did she fell behind.

Unfortunately she was still alive.

‘There’s the stairs” I said, pointing at the emergency exit at the end of the hall.

“There’s a hallway that leads from there to the Vehicle Bay I think” gasped Barry.

I scolded him for talking.

It was slow going down the hall but there was no way I was leaving him behind. He wasn’t Declan and he never would be. He was kind and sweet and cute. God was he cute. I’ve mentioned that a lot but cute is definitely grounds for e-vac. Max was cute too. He deserved to get out of here more than anyone. Thinking about him made me want to curl up into a ball and cry. But I couldn’t, not here and not now. I’ll cry for you later Max, I promise.

The exit was only ten feet away now. All we had to do was get down the stairs, exit onto the next floor and hobble our way to freedom. This was by far the longest day in my life and as soon as it’s over I’m going to sleep for a week.

Chloe left for a second and I held Barry up. She opened the door and screamed.

Beatrice head butted her, knocking Chloe to the floor. I tried to snap Reta up to take a shot but Beatrice was quicker. She snatched Chloe by her hair and dragged her over to the fire burning in her hand.

“Don’t even think about it or I push her in”

I nodded and stuck Reta back in my holster. I’m not throwing my gun again.

Beatrice looked like she’d been through World War Three. Her hair was a mess and covered in soot. Her clothes were splattered with blood, soot and dirt. Her eyeliner was all down her face, clearly she’d been crying and her lipstick was all but gone. She only had one shoe on and was limping a bit. The fire in hand looked like a little camp fire but it was weak in comparison to the others I’d seen. Clearly her power was tied into her alertness.

She looked like she was about to collapse.

She looked at Barry and smiled. “You look like shit, Ben”

“Have you looked in the mirror lately, Bee?”

She laughed. “Been kind of business”

I couldn’t believe the two of them could joke at a time like this. Especially about this. Beatrice and her cronies were running around, murdering loads of people. And here they were, making jokes. It was absolutely insane.

“You tired of this shit yet, Bee?” he asked.

She looked tired to me. “I want Zero then I’m done”

I sighed. Here were go again. “Zero’s dead. Declan killed him”

“He lost his mind Bee. Ring a bell perhaps?”

She let go of Chloe. She looked at both of us, Chloe crawled away, panting.

Looking at Beatrice I knew she was done. She didn’t have the same look of Natasha or Sara. Whatever craze that still gripped them was long gone in her. Maybe it was because she was a nice person like Barry kept saying or maybe it had run its course. She was the first to be deprogrammed, well the first of them. It was possible that it just took a little longer to come back for her and the others. She looked at me, tears running down her cheeks. There was life in her eyes, human life.

She didn’t say anything. She just hugged me. It was kind of awkward, holding Barry and all but it felt kind of nice. She held me for a while, crying into my chest. I’m going to have to get one of those t-shirts, something that says “Stop Crying Here”. Everyone seemed to use me as some kind of comfort post. Not that I’m complaining but it was tiresome. I let her cry for a bit. When she finished, she offered to cradle Barry. I was reluctant to let him go but she promised she wasn’t going to steal my man away. She laughed. She had such a nice one. It was strange to see her like this, not the bitch but an actual person.

Maybe Barry was right about her.

The four of us went down the stairs as one. I took the lead, covering us with Reta. Beatrice was in no state to fight anymore. She demonstrated by flicking her lighter, which was all but spent. She also admitted to being really confused about it anyway. She said one minute she was roasting a guard and laughing about it and the next she was on the floor in searing pain. I remember Trish saying something about aggression, coma and death. But Beatrice looked absolutely fine.

At the bottom of the stairs, I opened the door.

Ten feet down the hall, moving slowly toward us, were Sara and Rachel. How the Ice Bitch got down here so fast I have no clue. Sara was cradling Rachel, much like Beatrice was doing with Barry. As soon as I saw them I snapped Reta toward, switching targets. Rachel glared at me. I saw a bloody rag tied around her left thigh. Apparently I did get her after all. That was one hell of a shot. Both of them looked as if they were ready for a fight until Barry and Beatrice came out of the stairwell.

They relaxed and lowered their guard.

“Don’t shoot” said Sara, holding up her free hand. “We’re back to normal, whatever that is”

I lowered Reta. “Sorry about the leg”

Rachel shook her head. “Don’t be. I deserved it. Sorry about trying to kill you”

I nodded.

“You two all right” asked Beatrice.

“We’re good but we couldn’t find Natasha”

Oh God. If only we’d held her off for a few seconds. She would have reverted like the others. Chloe looked like she’d swallowed a bug. I gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. There was no way we could have known they were going to snap out of it. Natasha’s death was unfortunate. But at the time it was necessary.

“I killed her” Chloe spoke softly, her head lowered. “She didn’t give me a choice”

Sara and Rachel nodded but that was the only response they gave.

My walkie talkie decided to spark to life at that particular moment. We all jumped. I completely forgot about it. I holstered Reta and took it off my belt. I pushed the call button and heard Holly squawk from the other end.

“Becca, come in Becca”

“I’m here, we’re all here, except Max and Natasha. They didn’t make it”

There was silence for a few moments. Then Greg’s voice came through. “Are you all that’s left?”

I looked at Beatrice but she shrugged. “There might be some guards left but Henderson and the rest are all dead”

“What about Zero and Declan?”

“I’ll explain it in person”

There was another silence and Mattie spoke: “Are you sure we can trust the bitch and her Clones?”

Beatrice took the talkie from my hand. “It’s ok Mats, I’m back, all of me”

“Is it really you, Bumble Bee?”

Beatrice laughed and cried. “It’s really me, Megaphone”

I could hear Mattie crying. I told her everything was fine and we were on our way.

I took the walkie talkie from Beatrice and asked to speak to Greg again. I told him we weren’t far from the Bay now. He told us to hurry; apparently there was a lot of chatter on one of the other frequencies. There were about twenty Black Suits left and they were starting to organize our way. He said if we didn’t hurry that we might be cut off. I didn’t like the sound of that. We may have been some bad ass super heroes but we were all exhausted and in no shape to fight.

“Hold tight. We’ll be right there”

_______________________________________________________

The Vehicle Bay was the facility’s garage. Why they liked to fancy things up was beyond me. I was tired of trying to figure this place out. I’d never have to again.

It looked like a small parking garage. There were several black SUVS (well six actually), three big Sevana vans that could seat almost fifteen people and a couple Hum-Vees. Not Hummers but actually military Hum-Vees. There were other vehicles too but I think they belonged to the staff, like the brand new black mustang. That was absolutely gorgeous and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if it belonged to someone like Greg.

We spotted the others over by one of the vans, the side door already open. They had Clara strapped in already; Donovan was with her, holding her hand. They were real cute together. Greg and Black were watching the perimeter. Greg had an M-16 and Black a .12 gauge. They looked pretty formidable. Mattie and Holly were keeping a look out. I’m not sure where Trish was but I’m guessing she was in the van, keeping Clara comfortable.

Mattie saw us first.

I’ve never seen anyone run so fast in my entire life. Since I was leading our motley crew she threw her arms around me first. Definitely only wearing that t-shirt on days I’m pissed off. We hugged each other for what seemed liked forever. When we pulled away I noticed w weren’t the only ones happy to see each other. Holly and Chloe were extremely happy, both locked in a loving embrace. They were going at it so hard it looked like they were going to swallow one another. It was absolutely adorable and I was glad for them. I hated breaking them up but we really needed to get the hell out of this place.

Greg pointed his gun wearily at Beatrice, Sara and Rachel.

“They’re seriously ok now” I said, lowering the barrel with my hand. Then I leaned in and whispered, “Beatrice hugged me, I think we’re going to be ok”

Everyone knew that we hated each other. Greg instantly lowered the gun.

Trish came out of the van and this time I did the running embrace. I was glad to see everyone was alive and ok but mostly her. We were sisters now, that much was certain. When we got out of here, I was going with her. Even if she told me it was too dangerous. I’d never had any real family. I used to think Frankie and the others were and besides Dell, they were phonies. Maybe not Johnny but Declan was right: he was an ass. But not Trish. She was great. I wondered if she’d let me come live with her. WE could move somewhere real far away and I could leave all of this shit behind. No more Syndicate, no more tainted water super powers, no more people trying to rape me and kill me. It would just be us and maybe Barry from time to time (hey a girl’s got to have her man, right?)

I started to cry a bit.

“You all right?” she asked, wiping my tears.

“We can live together right?”

I saw the smile on her face. Then it disappeared. “I have some things I want to discuss with you”

That sounded serious. She opened her mouth to tell me about them but didn’t get the chance.

“Company!”

Greg spoiled it. I was going to kick him in the ass.

I snapped around and sure enough there were at least ten guards pouring into the room behind us. But they weren’t alone. I heard the exterior door begin to slide open. We all snapped around and saw at twenty outside. Damn it, Greg had said only twenty altogether. Apparently there were more people alive than I thought.

“That’s far enough!”

I snapped back around and saw Green, who was speaking through a megaphone.

Shit, shit, shit. I completely forgot about the slimy bastard. In all my confusion to leave this place, it never dawned on me that the weasel was still alive. HE was holding the megaphone to his mouth, a gun in his hand. He still looked clean and crisp. I wonder where he’d been hiding. All his goons looked pretty crisp too. He probably hid behind them, holed up somewhere safe and secure.

“Drop your weapons, put your hands on your heads and lay on the ground”

I spoke for the group: “Screw you!”

Mattie stepped forward to speak for the group too. She opened her mouth and prepared to scream. The dart hit her in the throat, the shooter standing next to Green with a tranquilizer gun. They were all holding them, except a few on the outside. They weren’t trying to kill us; they were trying to recapture us. Son of a bitch.

Mattie fell to the ground. I ran over to her and checked to see if she was all right. She was out cold but she was breathing. It must have been some pretty heavy stuff to drop her that quickly. I heard the whiz of another dart. I didn’t feel the prick but I saw it in my sink. The little metal thing was sticking out of my arm. My world got real fuzzy, my eyelids fluttered and I felt like I was going to throw up. But that was all. I shook my head, the drowsiness wore off and I was fine. Chalk one up to super senses. Now I knew that tranq darts didn’t have any effect on me. I’m guessing it was tied in with my pain thing.

I pulled the dart from my arm and tossed it aside.

“Shoot her again!”

The man never got a chance. Greg dropped him with a well placed head shot. I grabbed underneath the shoulders and dragged her over to the van. Trish and Holly helped me get her inside. The darts started flying after that. They didn’t get very far. Holly and Chloe snapped into action. Using both their abilities, they were able to keep them at bay. Chloe’s powers seemed to be on the rise. I don’t know what jack ass labeled her a level two but boy were they wrong. She was holding back a dozen of the little metal things. Holly was catching them and throwing them back. A couple returned to their shooters, hitting them instead of us. Most hit the ground.

“We have to get out of here” said Trish as we finished securing Mattie.

“Move in” Green shouted “take the van!”

God damn it.

By now Barry and Rachel were in the van. Both of them were the most injured. I mouthed sorry to Rachel but she smiled. Beatrice and Sara were still on the outside. By now they joined the fight too but they were real tired. Beatrice was using the car lighter but her fireballs were baseball size and didn’t go as far as they should. She was whipping them like a pro but when they reached their targets, they fizzed out. Sara was having better luck. It was fricking awesome. She had her hands on the ground and this huge jagged crack started to form underneath them. The earth pushed up from underneath, moving aside cement and steel on its way to the surface. The crack moved fast. One of the black suits was to close and was swallowed into the ground. It looked like he stepped into a sink hole. The others panicked and fled. Even Green ran a bit but not far. He hid himself behind one of the SUVs.

It was the break we needed.

“In the van now”

Beatrice was first, then Chloe.

Greg actually grabbed Holly by the shoulder and pulled her away. She was lost in the moment, just like she said.

I was one of the last ones. I waited for Sara who was taking too much perverse joy in swallowing guys. Already three were sucked into the ground. By now Green’s entry team was scattered. The one blocking the exit hadn’t moved. But glancing at them I could see they were preparing for something. They weren’t wielding tranquilizers either. On first glance I thought they were more black suits. But these guys were different. For starters they were wearing helmets and body armor. They were also packing a lot more firepower. Instead of M-16s they had F2000s, something I knew wasn’t in our Armory. These guys weren’t from the Syndicate, at least not this facility.

“Sara” I shouted “get in the van, NOW!”

She turned and ran, I covered her with Reta.

Black and Greg were by the front door, Greg got in the driver’s seat. Black went around to the other side. Everyone’s in and accounted for. Good, now we can go.

I turned and started to run. Then I dropped. I never felt anything, stupid pain thing. But I knew what happened, I’d been shot. I got a quick look at my leg, seeing my left calf and all the blood. It looked pretty nasty but I couldn’t feel a thing. Chloe and Holly screamed. One of the guards ran for me and Greg dropped him with a head shot. Trish ran out of the van and over to me. She grabbed my arms, trying to be gentle as she pulled me to my feet. But there was no time for gentle and I couldn’t feel the pain.

Trish threw me into the van then jumped in herself.

When she was closing the door it happened. Two shots, I heard them before anyone else did. But they were too fast for reaction. They hit her in the lower back, one and two. She jerked forward, falling onto my chest. The world disappeared for me. All sound was gone and she seemed to fall in slow motion. When everything was back there was screaming, lots of screaming. Someone pulled us both the rest of the way inside and someone shut the door. Greg was driving, heading toward the jack asses on the outside. Someone was screaming, real loud. It took a few seconds to realize it was me. I felt outside my body but came back real quick.

Trish, not Trish, please not Trish.

I cradled her in my arms a Holly and Chloe tried to stop the bleeding. No God no, not her, why her.

Outside the window, I saw Green. The smug little bastard was standing by the SUV still, smoke coming from the barrel of his gun. I rolled down the window and fired twice. In my rage both bullets were wild and only one hit him. It bounced off the ground and tore into his upper thigh. HE dropped like a ton of bricks.

I fired more shots, emptying my clip but they all went astray.

Trish grabbed my wrist. It snapped me back to reality.

“You have to stop” she groaned ‘he’s down”

“Don’t talk” I cried, dropping Reta and holding her head. “Please just lie still” I shouted at Greg to get us the fuck out of her.” I looked back at Trish.

“You’re going to be ok”

She shook her head. ‘One of them is in my liver, the other hit my spine. I’m not going to make it, sweetie”

“No don’t say” I wailed, Trish reached up with bloody fingers and stroked my hair.

“You are the bravest girl I’ve ever known, I’m proud to think of you as my sister”

“We were going to live together. We were going to get one of those houses with the picket fence and a dog. I’ve never had a dog. I was going to call him Sparky. We were going to be happy and together for the rest of our lives”

She smiled, it was real weak. Most of the color was gone from her face but she was still beautiful. “It sounds perfect; I think I would have liked it”

“You’re still going to like it”

I looked around and noticed we were driving in circles, tiny pings kept hitting the van from all sides. It took me a few seconds to realize they were bullets and that the van was apparently bullet proof. I shouted at Greg, telling for the umpteenth time to get us the fuck out of here. HE shouted back and Black shouted at him.

“Becca” Trish whispered as she grabbed my hand. “You have to listen now, ok”

I nodded. She shouldn’t be talking though. I tried to tell her that but she silenced me with a finger and passed something into my hand. At first I ignored it but then I noticed the shape. It was a flash drive, a real fancy looking one. I looked at it then at her. The significance of it dawned on me: it was Trish. Trish was the one who downloaded all that stuff and had them in a frantic fit. But why? Then I remembered the conversation I overheard or rather Becky. I’d completely blanked it because it was something “she” experienced. But now it came back and it made no sense.

“Becca” Trish’s voice came back to me. “You need to take that and get it to a woman named Mrs. Fine”

I nodded. What the hell was she talking about? “Where is she?”

Trish shook her head. “More than likely her people will find you” Trish groaned and wreathed in pain. I squeezed her hand real tight.

‘We can find her together”

Trish groaned. She let go of my hand and fumbled for her neck, pulling a locket on a gold chain out of her shirt. She tried to take it off but was too weak. She cursed and tried again. Holly helped, Trish smiled at her. She told me it belonged to her sister and she wanted me to have it. I took it with numb fingers and clasped it tightly.

She looked up at me with glassy eyes then gently touched my cheek. “I love you, sister”

Then she died.

I’m not sure what happened. I was raged. I wanted them dead, all of them. I snatched Reta off the seat and rolled down the window. The others screamed at me because it left us all wide open. I ignored them and began to fire. I hit two of the bastards, right in their smug faces. Three more I blasted their knees. After that my last few shots went astray as my clip ran out. Barry grabbed me and pulled me away from the window with his good arm. Donovan took my place.

Barry pulled me to his chest as I started to cry.

The whistle brought me out of it. I looked around and saw it was Donovan. He was whistling out the window. I opened my mouth to ask him if he was out of his mind until I saw the first bit of gray. It ran through the Bay opening. It went for the nearest guy, taking him by surprise. It was followed by a third and a fourth. Then more. Soon there were several wolves running around the room, tackling bastards. A few shots were fired at them but there were too many wolves and too few bastards. It was a massacre, the wolves definitely the victors.

There was a collective cheer from the van. I didn’t join in. Instead I grabbed Trish’s hand and laid my head on her chest. I closed my eyes and didn’t see the facility burning as we drove away.

Photo Credit: MeetMeByTheLake2Nite

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