 
# Paroxysm Effect

### Book One

## Ashleigh Reynolds

Legendary Books

Paroxysm Effect

Ashleigh Reynolds

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Copyright © 2016 by Ashleigh Reynolds

All rights reserved

Copyeditor: Anne-Marie Rutella

Cover and interior design by: Lost Atlantis Designs

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All rights reserved. This was self-published by Ashleigh Reynolds under Legendary Books. No parts of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews

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This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
"All of our exalted technological progress, civilization for that matter, is comparable to an axe in the hand of a pathological criminal."

\- Albert Einstein

### Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Epilogue

Paroxysm Aftermath

About the Author

Also By Ashleigh Reynolds

Designed By

# Prologue

### 2025

"I beg you to reconsider my proposal, President Gordon."

Dr. Jefferies stood at the front of the large conference hall, the eyes of all the states' leaders looking back at him. They were not kind eyes.

"As I explained before, Dr. Jefferies, there is not enough research to roll out a plan of this magnitude. Successful implantation on lab rats and monkeys hardly constitutes grounds for us to pass this," the president responded.

"With all due respect, the research shows just that. If we can control aggression in animals that react solely on animal instinct, imagine the possibilities on humans who have a conscious choice in their actions."

"Dr. Jefferies—"

"Please, Mr. President, we are in a state of extreme emergency. Crime has increased 30 percent the last five years," he said, pulling up the statistics on the overhead as he spoke. "Jails are overflowing, and with nowhere to put newly incarcerated citizens, there is nothing to do but let them go free. Violence against women has tripled in the last three years. Murders, assaults with deadly weapons, and burglaries are all off the charts."

"We are well aware, Dr. Jefferies, and we have been taking steps to improve the way criminals are dealt with."

"It won't help. We're living in times where death is the norm. We reached a record high in suicides this year, topped only by the number of unsolved homicides. Cops are not looked at in the same regard they once were. They are attacked on average more often than common street crimes."

"You mentioned all this before, Dr. Jefferies."

"Then you should know that my technology could change all of that. Digital Behavioral Modification Assistance is the future. Imagine a world where you're not in fear of simply walking down the street at night. Where your daughters are safe from being assaulted, and cops are not prompted to use deadly force because they aren't constantly in fear for their lives. With my technology animosity could be erased. It can easily be tuned to each individual based on his or her needs. Instead of going to your doctor to get pills for depression, you can simply be tuned up. This is the future. It frees up scientists like myself to focus on advancing medicine for cures against cancer and hundreds of other diseases instead of trying to find newer and stronger antipsychotics."

"This may be the future, but unfortunately it can't start today. We simply don't have the funding to continue these experiments and, with no human research proving its safety and validation, it is just not possible."

Dr. Jefferies breathed a heavy sigh. He would not be leaving this room again without the green light on his project.

"What if I could prove the safety of it on humans, today?" he asked.

"Without prior approval to do so, I would say you're in breach of every law against scientific research and could face suspension of your license, jail time, and a heavy fine."

"In the jails that hardly have room for serious offenders?" he asked, not trying to hide the bitterness in his tone.

"Watch yourself, Dr. Jefferies."

"My apologies, Mr. President." Dr. Jefferies took a deep steadying breath. "What if I told you that the human testing was done without breaking any laws and I could prove the effectiveness on humans? That is the only holdup we seem to have, correct?"

The room erupted into a loud buzzing as everyone began talking at once. This was his Hail Mary—if they denied it one more time the whole project would be lost and so too his life's work.

"Silence please," President Gordon called through the microphone. "I would like to know how you managed to dance around the guidelines we have in place for human experiments, Dr. Jefferies."

The room fell silent once more.

"I will be presenting you two subjects. The first you will note in the packet I placed out for all of you. I am sure all of you know who Gary Jones is, but for those of you who don't, let me summarize." Dr. Jefferies pulled up the rap sheet of his subject and scrolled through the various offenses as he spoke. "He has been convicted of the murders of thirty young women in the last five years, although he admittedly disclosed that there are more we do not know about. He generally likes to beat and torture his victims for days and with a high level of rage."

"What is your point, Dr. Jefferies?"

"My point is you will notice that he is now quite a different person to the man he was when convicted. But please don't take my word for it, you can see for yourself when I bring him out here."

Angry voices exploded from every person in the room, all trying to be heard above everyone else.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"I have seen enough of this circus."

"Take his license!"

Dr. Jefferies tried his best to tune them out, instead focusing all of his attention on the president, who for the first time was quiet. His interest was piqued. It was now or never.

"As you know, Mr. President, once a person is assigned to death row all constitutional rights to their body are revoked and they become property of the state. This includes mandatory organ donation and scientific research, and if certain states were obliged to sign him over, to make room for new criminals, then that would hardly be a crime."

The president stroked a hand over his chin as he contemplated. "Well then, bring him out, Dr. Jefferies," he said finally, instantly causing the crowed to grow louder.

"Mr. President, you can't be serious!"

"This is outrageous!"

"You can't allow—"

"Quiet!" the president called, "I would like to see what this project can offer."

Once the room had fallen silent again, Dr. Jeffries motioned to his assistant, standing on the side behind a partition, to bring Gary Jones forward.

The man walked out unchained and by his own volition, causing an uneasy stir to ripple through the crowd. He towered over the assistant, menacing even in his docile state. Gary Jones took a seat in a chair that was positioned next to the podium and facing a large projection screen.

"Mr. Jones used to be one of short temper, easily angered, and could be triggered at the mere sight of a pretty woman." Dr. Jefferies placed a photo of a leggy model up on the screen and then slowly moved through the photos in his presentation. Beautiful woman after beautiful woman appeared in different poses and in varying stages of undress. Gary Jones sat and viewed the photos with the normal interest that any man would have upon seeing a scantily clad woman.

"What does this prove, Dr. Jefferies?" the president asked.

"Well it proves that my method works," he replied.

"You could have easily prepped him for this."

"Fair enough. How about I let you control the chip adjustments? Set it to whatever number you like, I couldn't have planned that."

The president cocked his head, contemplating. "Okay, I'll bite. Show me the controls."

The crowd once again hummed as Dr. Jefferies moved from the stage and approached the president with a tablet.

"It's quite simple," Dr. Jefferies said as he presented the tablet. It featured a simple-looking display control, numbering one to one hundred. "One is obviously the lowest setting, a minor tweak if you will. One hundred is the highest setting, one that I don't recommend going to. Right now he is set at about forty-five."

"Easy enough."

Dr. Jefferies stepped back and leaned against the edge of the stage. The president fiddled with the controls on the tablet and then looked at Gary Jones with anticipation.

Gary Jones was still seated, staring at the photo of a bronzed brunette that adorned the screen. He moved his head from side to side and rubbed at his neck like one does when tension sets in.

The president looked back at the controls and moved his hand across them, adjusting them again. Suddenly a growl ripped out of Gary Jones's mouth. He stood and lunged at the assistant, who was still standing next to him at the podium. He tackled him to the ground and swung at his face, his fists connecting with a solid thud. The room exploded, people screamed and grabbed for their phones, calling for police aid. Others ran for the exits.

Dr. Jefferies ran to the president. "How far did you turn it down?" he screamed as he grabbed the tablet from his hands.

"All... all the way."

"Jesus." Dr. Jefferies adjusted the controls up, choosing to set it a little higher, resting on fifty.

At once Gary Jones stopped his relentless pummeling and rose off the assistant, turning to face Dr. Jefferies. He appeared shocked by his own actions. The guards, who had been off doing anything other than guarding, ran on the stage and shackled his hands behind his back before hauling him off. A medic arrived and helped the poor assistant, who was already swelling and bruising.

The room quickly fell silent again as people made their way back to their seats. The president composed himself and looked back at Dr. Jefferies, whose smug face showed that he knew he had won.

"Who is the second subject?" President Gordon asked.

# Chapter One

### 2075

Gemi woke to the loud beeping of her alarm clock. How, in all these years, they hadn't come up with a better way to wake people up was beyond her. She stretched out in her bed, savoring the last few minutes before she needed to get ready for work. The bed begged her to stay—to throw the covers over her head like when she was a child—as it did every morning, and every morning she found the strength to pull herself from it.

With a sigh, she sat up and threw her feet over the side, pressing a button for her television before walking to the bathroom. On her way she eyed the stack of manuscripts that had all but taken over her desk. She had stayed up late trying to whittle the pile down, but had barely made a dent. Work was busy. It's a good thing, she would tell herself over and over again, but there was always that tiny sick voice that hoped the world would become illiterate, forcing the publishing company, the biggest one in town, to close.

Thankfully for her, or unthankfully, depending on the day, the fascination with video games and TV shows had died down about two decades ago when she was still little, forcing books back to the forefront. TVs were used for the news now, and other educational programs.

She started in with her morning routine, half listening to the newscaster drone on about the pleasant weather and what roads should be taken to avoid the most traffic. Grateful as she was that she grew up in a world that was a haven in contrast to the years gone by, she couldn't help but wish something, anything, would break the monotony. There had to be a greater world out there. One full of adventures like in the books.

Gemi stared at herself in the mirror, her lips dropping into a frown. She had inherited her mother's unruly hair, her white-blond locks falling in loose, not quite curly waves past her shoulders. Every morning was a struggle to look even somewhat presentable. She wouldn't quite call herself beautiful. Her eyes were a deep shade of blue, a complete contrast to skin that was pale to a point where some would say she looked sickly. It didn't help that her hair was such a light shade that sometimes it was hard to tell where it ended and her skin began.

Twenty minutes later, five failed hairstyle attempts had resulted in a low ponytail. Gemi rushed through the remainder of her routine, throwing as few beauty products on as possible and brushing her teeth before glancing at the clock. No time for breakfast now.

Gemi hurried through her apartment, grabbing a stack of manuscripts and throwing them in her bag. Just as she was reaching to switch off the TV a story caught her attention.

_"Four dead after a thirty-year-old man, father of two, and local restaurant owner, attacked his family before turning the weapon on himself. The news of this crime has rocked our local community, where there hasn't been a murder since the DBMA Chip Act of 2027 was enacted. Authorities are asking for any information that can be provided. Coroners will be looking into whether the man was a part of the rarely heard of anti-chip group. Terrifying story, Diun."_

_"It sure is, Malkun. A true testament to why the Chip Act started in the first place."_

* * *

Gemi stood watching, her mouth hanging open. She had studied the old times in college, never imagining a day would come when it would happen again. The newscasters had begun discussing a new story, but Gemi couldn't get the image of the man out of her head. She knew the restaurant, knew him and his family. His name was Jalis. His wife, Margarine, would pick her brain about upcoming books that the publishing house was to release. Their children, two daughters aged eleven and eight, were both just as interested in books as their mother. They had many conversations during the times she visited.

Gemi became overwhelmed with nausea. She ran to the bathroom and vomited, her body shaking and heaving as her stomach tried to relieve itself of anything and everything.

Afterward she lay with her head against the wall, her body still shaking, tears threatening to overflow. She glanced at the clock, the big bold numbers reading 09:15 a.m. She was late. Whatever she was feeling would have to wait.

Gemi arrived just as her first meeting began. She slipped into the conference room giving her boss a sheepish smile before sliding into her seat. He was not pleased. There was no doubt she would hear about it later.

Throughout the whole meeting she struggled, trying her best to listen to what was said, but the face of Jalis kept popping back into her head. The smiling photo they had chosen to show mocked her, challenging everything she thought she had known about him. How could there possibly be anti-chippers in her town, out in the open? That wasn't normal behavior.

An hour later the meeting mercifully wrapped up. It left her the rest of the morning to compose herself. Doing her best not to make eye contact, Gemi gathered up her belongings, throwing them back in her bag. She made it to the door, just a few more steps and she would be free. The clearing of a throat drew her attention back to the conference room. Her boss was still sitting at the head of the table, his eyebrows raised. With a defeated groan, she turned back into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"So?" Mr. Gavelin said, waiting for her excuse.

"I'm sorry, sir. I was headed out the door when a story on the news stopped me."

"TV. TV is your excuse?"

"I know how it sounds, sir, trust me, but there was a murder last night."

Mr. Gavelin's eyebrows raised a hair farther, the shock registering on his face. It was an impressive sight, not much rattled the man.

"Well, that's not something you hear every day now, is it?"

"It's strange. I knew the man fairly well. They are saying that he might have been an anti-chipper, but he just never struck me as that kind."

"It's certainly odd for one to be this close to civilization, but not unheard of. It seems to be becoming more common. Those who grew up in our peaceful time are blissfully unaware of how bad life was—and probably still would be—without chipping," Mr. Gavelin trailed off, his eyes staring at nothing. "Well," he said finally, "I would say due to the circumstances I'll let this slide, but don't go making a habit of it. There are plenty of young-up and-comers that would jump to have your position."

"Understood, sir. Thank you."

"A new book arrived today, very promising, written by a twelve-year-old. I expect a brief on it by close of business."

With that the conversation ended and Mr. Gavelin went back to his work without so much as a second glance.

Gemi slipped out of the room and hurried to her office before anyone else could interrogate her. On her way she overheard hushed conversations about the man who went insane and butchered his family. Damn anti-chippers, they claimed.

Once inside her office, Gemi released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She had been keeping a huge secret from everyone who knew her and, in the wake of the recent event, she was terrified it would come to light. It was part of the reason she had kept most people at arm's length, not keeping close friends or getting too serious with any man who pursued her. She blamed it on work, and to an extent that was true.

It was the same reason she avoided any conversation about anti-chippers, refusing to give an opinion because the truth was she could see both sides. And the more terrifying part was they were much closer to civilization than the mass population assumed. Her uncle on her mother's side had been a part of the movement, taking a wife and having anti-chip children. It took a bit of effort to conceal, but it was not impossible.

She remembered hearing her parents argue about it often, one of few things they ever argued about. They always talked in hushed tones, trying their best to conceal it from her. Her father was downright against it, refusing to let her uncle visit for some time before eventually giving in.

Ultimately, it became much too stressful for their children and they moved away. Gemi had almost gone to live with him and his wife after her parents died in a vehicle accident. But since she was so close to eighteen and had no other living relatives that they could contact, the state ruled to let her live on her own for the last few months. It was lonely yet liberating.

She hadn't thought about her uncle for a long time, but now she feared for his safety and those around him. What she perceived was true. They were dangerous and would snap at some point, taking as many people with them as possible.

Forcing the thoughts to the back of her mind, Gemi sat down at her desk and got to work, starting with the new book that Mr. Gavelin had given her.

Lunch came quicker than she imagined. She sat at her desk debating whether to work straight through, when a strong rumble from her stomach won her over. She remembered that she hadn't eaten at all today and had managed to puke up anything that might have been left over from the night before.

Gemi found the kitchen all but deserted. It seemed everyone was eating out, deciding to enjoy the last warm day before winter hit. Runa, the editing department's assistant, stood at the countertop slicing up an array of vegetables for her salad. She glanced up, smiling as Gemi entered.

"I forgot to prep last night." She motioned to her half-concocted salad.

Gemi forced a smiled before walking to the refrigerator. Pushed to the back was a stack of yogurts she left there for occasions when she was too busy to run out and grab anything.

Today she was more than thankful for her obsessive preparedness.

She grabbed a seat at the table, her back purposefully facing Runa, hoping beyond hope that she could inhale her yogurt before Runa joined her or tried to strike up a conversation.

"So," Runa started the moment the first spoonful hit Gemi's mouth. "Did you hear what happened? It's insane, right? I heard an update just before lunch—they're calling it a definite act of anti-chipping."

"I saw the initial report. Was that the official coroner report? They got to that fast."

"Yeah, well, you know they're going to want quick answers. If anti-chippers are able to invade our town undetected, this could be the downfall of society as we know it."

It sounded a bit melodramatic coming from Runa. But she had to admit if the movement spread they could find themselves in an all-out civil war. There were reports of people—even those still chipped—beginning to whisper about the possibilities of removing them, or at the very least turning them down. Those people didn't pay close attention to what the history books said about how things had been before.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" Runa continued. "I mean we all heard it in history class, about the old days when violence ran rampant. But for it to happen in this day and age, so close to home, it makes me feel so uneasy, you know?"

"It's unnerving to say the least, but one case in the last forty years doesn't amount to the downfall of society. I don't think you should lose sleep over it."

Runa didn't respond to her after that. The room fell silent except for the chopping of Runa's knife on the cutting board. It wasn't often that Runa was rendered silent.

"Runa?" she said, turning to face her fully. "I didn't mean to offend you."

Runa had turned her back to Gemi and was was focused on her chopping.

"Hey, honestly, I've had a rough morning."

Still no answer.

Gemi finally stood and walked over to the other woman, and that was when she saw it. Red liquid flowed down, dripping off the cutting board, splashing in little puddles on the ground and Runa's shoes. Runa began to mutter something under her breath as her head started twitching in a very unsettling manner.

"Hey, Runa. Oh my God, are you okay?"

Runa had moved her knife away from the carrot she had been chopping, now working the blade up her fingers, chopping off skin and bone as she went. Her first two fingers lay in tatters, the skin hanging off, pulled away from bone and tendons.

Gemi grabbed a towel and rushed to Runa, throwing it over her hand and tried her best to stifle the bleeding. Runa, however, didn't stop. Her muttering became louder, the knife faster as it cut up to the second knuckle.

Blood seeped through the towel and covered Gemi's hands. The surface of the countertop became hot and slick as the blood spilled over the cutting board. In her frenzy, Gemi's hand slipped under the knife right as Runa chopped down again. A burning pain flashed through her hand as the blade sliced through her own fingers.

"Shit!" Gemi pulled away and grabbed another towel, hastily wrapping it around her own hand.

The chopping noise had mercifully stopped.

Gemi looked up from her triage to observe Runa staring at her, a fiery intensity in her eyes, the kind a predator has as it stalks its prey. Her mangled hand hung at her side as if nothing was wrong. As if she wasn't missing half her fingers. As if blood wasn't pouring from her open wound. A glint of light caught Gemi's eye, bringing her gaze down to Runa's good hand, which still clutched the knife, her knuckles white from her grip on the hilt.

A bloodcurdling scream ripped from her throat as Runa launched herself at Gemi, the blade raised high and aimed right at her. Gemi stumbled out of the way, slamming into the fridge and knocking her off balance. She spun around to see Runa lunging at her again. The blade caught her this time, slicing through her shirt and bicep. Gemi screamed in pain. Clutching at her arm, she ran to the other side of the table, putting it between her and Runa.

It was a bad move. Runa now effectively blocked her way to the exit.

"Help!" Gemi cried, even though she knew it was pointless. The floor would still be deserted for lunch.

Gemi stared in horror at Runa as they made their way around the table. Runa shifted every time Gemi did, her unattended wound spewing blood everywhere. Gemi tried her best to keep the table between them as they sidestepped, slowly making her way to the door. Runa thrust the knife over the table at her, growling and still muttering nonsense.

"Runa, you're in shock. We need to stop the bleeding and get you to a doctor."

A few more feet to go.

Gemi moved early, hoping to catch Runa off guard. She made a break for the kitchen door, but her foot slipped on the pool of blood covering the floor. Her feet were ripped out from under her and she hit the ground with a hard thud that momentarily made the room spin. Gemi rolled to her back and made a move to get back up, but Runa was on top of her like a wild animal. Gemi bucked trying to dismount her, but the blood made her feet continue to slip, unable to find traction.

Runa raised the blade high above her head aimed for Gemi's heart. Defeated, she closed her eyes, waiting for the sting of the blade. Nothing happened and suddenly Runa's weight was lifted off her. Gemi's eyes flashed open to see Mr. Gavelin pulling Runa away.

"What is wrong with you, Runa?" Mr. Gavelin demanded, oblivious to the seriousness and total insanity of the moment. He let her go, expecting her to answer him, but instead she turned and drove the blade of the knife deep into his stomach, twisting it as it reached the hilt.

Mr. Gavelin's eyes went wide, glancing at Gemi and back to Runa as she removed the knife and plunged it in again and again.

Gemi ran for the door as Mr. Gavelin's body slumped to the floor. Once on the outside Gemi slammed the double doors and, with shaking hands, she removed her belt and slipped it through the long handles, fastening them closed.

Not waiting to see if Runa came back for her, she took off in a sprint toward her office. Down the hall she could still hear the sound of the knife striking bone and the ground.

Gemi threw her office door closed behind her, immediately locking it before her legs gave out from under her. She fell to a heap on the ground. Some part of her brain refused to believe what had happened, repeating over and over that she must have imagined it. Stress and shock from the news this morning must have made her see things that weren't there. The blood that covered her body, along with the fresh wounds from the knife, should have been proof enough.

Runa must have been an anti-chipper. There was no other explanation for what happened. Unless doctors were making mistakes with adjustments, but everyone knew that the chip frequency had to be set to a certain number. Only to be adjusted up when people still presented with depression. But that required extensive approval, and the numbers were never, under any circumstances, turned down below the threshold.

She needed to do something. Call the police and clean herself up before people began filing back in from lunch. How on earth was she going to explain a dead body and a crazy person with a knife? Better yet, how was she going to explain leaving her boss to be butchered as she saved herself?

Gemi pushed off the ground, hoping this time that her legs would be able to support her. She had to hurry before anyone was daft enough to remove the belt that secured the kitchen doors, or worse, Runa found a way to do it herself.

She moved to her desk and grabbed her phone, with shaking fingers she punched in 9-1-1. Busy signal. Gemi hung up and tried again. Same result. Something felt wrong, but regardless she would have to explain it to her coworkers herself. Maybe she could get cleaned up, usher everyone out, and then flag someone.

Luckily again for her, overpreparedness—a trait she had inherited from her father—Gemi kept an extra set of clothes in her office. She'd never been so appreciative of it until now. She entered the bathroom and stripped off the blood-soaked clothes, throwing them on the ground. They might end up being evidence.

Like every bathroom in the building it was equipped with a first aid kit. There had been great strides in medical advancements over the last decade. With the right series of medications, wounds healed in days rather than weeks. Gemi rubbed ointment, step one of the process, on her knife wounds and quickly bandaged them. She threw steps two and three in her bag before dressing and throwing on a pair of running shoes she kept under her desk.

The clock on the desk showed five to one. Any minute everyone would be piling back inside the office. Taking a letter opener from her desk, she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Gemi pressed her ear to it, hoping to hear any sign of danger.

Everything was quiet. Too quiet.

Resisting the urge to just barricade herself in the office, Gemi breathed in deeply before undoing the latch and swinging her door open wide. The halls were still deserted. She gripped the letter opener tight in her right hand as she stepped through the doorway.

Gemi found the kitchen door still latched closed with her belt. The sound of the knife had ceased. In fact, the room was eerily noiseless. Biting hard on her lip to quell the urge to peek inside, Gemi continued on her path, making her way to the front office door where she would find stairs and a ten-story descent to the street below.

The receptionist, Majie, was not at her station, which was odd for the time of day. Something was terribly wrong, and Gemi could sense it even before she stepped out of the office space and into the shared main lobby.

The space reeked of iron. It didn't take long to see why. A long trail of blood stained the tan carpet, leading from the lobby into the nearby office that shared the tenth floor. The door was ajar and even from where she stood, Gemi could see a woman's foot sticking out into the hall. The petite foot was wearing a pair of neon pink polka-dot heels, the prize possession of Majie.

Nausea hit Gemi like a ton of bricks, forcing the yogurt she had eaten for lunch to come back up violently. After fully relieving her stomach of its contents, she fell to the ground, her mind waging an internal battle, one side telling her how stupid it was to sit out in the open and the other pleading with her to lie down and never move again.

Gemi inhaled deeply, trying her best to calm her nerves. In for four and out for four, a trick her mother had taught her to ease the anxiety whenever she had to speak publicly. It was why she became an editor. Nonverbal communication was easy.

Head spinning, and on shaky legs, Gemi pushed herself back up off the ground using the wall for support. She needed to make it down the stairs and across the street to the parking garage. Her car would be safe, her apartment safer until the authorities could sort it all out.

Gemi made her way to the stairs, hugging the wall tightly for fear her legs would give out the second she let go.

The staircase looked like it had been struck by a tornado. Personal items she could only assume belonged to the building's various occupants lined the stairs, left behind in the owners' haste. She tried her best to ignore the blood that also clung to the cement.

None of the morning's events made any sense. Maybe she was still dreaming. Maybe she was in bed, having lost the battle to get up, and her mind was punishing her for ditching work.

Nine. Eight. Seven. Gemi counted each floor as she made her way to it. The walk never felt as long as it did at the moment.

She had made it to floor six, trying to stay quiet as a mouse when she heard someone calling after her. Gemi froze, pulling herself into the wall and wishing she could somehow become invisible.

"Hey! Hey you!" the person called again.

The owner of the voice was feet from her and something snapped, her fight-or-flight mode kicked in and she chose flight. Gemi bolted down the stairs taking two at a time, dodging the litter as she went.

"Hey! Stop! Don't leave me here!"

Five. Gemi kept up her pace, ignoring the way the air entered her lungs in tight gasps and the fire spreading up her legs.

"I'm not one of them!"

"Go away!" she called back.

Four.

"Look at me, I'm fine!"

Three. Nearly there.

Against her better judgment, Gemi risked a glance over her shoulder at the person. She caught a quick glimpse of a pudgy face with red cheeks before her foot missed the next step and she went tumbling down the remainder of the flight.

Gemi landed on the cold hard surface of the second floor, the impact of the ground on her chest forcing the air from her lungs.

"Jesus, I told you I was fine!" The man loomed over her and was breathing as hard as she was.

Gemi rolled onto her back before pulling herself up to rest against the concrete wall. Her whole body ached and there was a pounding in her head that made her want to crawl into the corner and just shut her eyes. She had never been too graceful, running and doing pretty much any other sporting activity was a bad idea.

"You have a car?" the man asked her, not even bothering with the formalities of asking if she was okay.

Gemi recognized the man now. They had never had a conversation. He was quiet and never really spoke to anyone else, would barely return a hello.

"Yes."

"Good. I'm going to need a lift out of here. I take the bus and if it's as bad out there as it is in here, I'm not risking it. Where are you parked?"

"The garage across the street."

"Well, you seem in no state to drive after that fall, just give me your keys and I will get us out of here."

Gemi hesitated, glancing between the man's chubby hands and his swollen face before finally deciding.

"Yeah, okay." Gemi reached in her bag and shuffled around before coming back out with keys in hand. "Here." She handed them to him and, with the support of his other hand, stood back up. The room spun, causing her to wobble.

"Hey." The man steadied her with a large arm around her waist. "Only a few more flights."

Together they began their slow and steady descent down to the first floor. Gemi felt each step like it was another blow to her body. Her muscles and bones reminded her that falling down a flight of stairs was not the best thing to do.

Once they made it to the final landing the man let go of her, allowing her to rest against the wall. He moved to the door that separated them from the first floor main entrance and pressed his ear to it. Behind the door would lead to the main lobby and feet from that would lead to the outside and their freedom, but Gemi knew that meant they had to walk blind into whatever was on the other side, good or bad.

Everything seemed quiet, but then again so did the kitchen before Runa tried to murder her. Gemi shivered as the image of Runa slicing through her own hand sprang back to mind.

"I think we're clear," the man said, turning back to her. "You ready?"

Gemi nodded in response, knowing if she spoke her voice would betray her and she would scream at the top of her lungs that she would rather hide in her office than walk outside.

"Okay." The man reached and grabbed her hand and with his other grasped the doorknob. "There is a high chance we may have to run so I'm going to need you to suck it up."

The man ripped open the door, sunlight flooded the stairwell and the smell of iron hit her once more, making her stomach heave. The man crept out of their hiding space and into the main lobby, dragging Gemi along behind him.

It was worse than she could have imagined. Blood smeared the once white flooring, bodies lay strewn about, mangled and hardly recognizable as the people she had seen day in and day out. Had this happened all at once? It must have started while she was battling for her own life, but who could have caused such widespread destruction? Gemi took a deep breath and focused her eyes on the man's hand holding hers, trying her best to push out everything else.

Gemi realized her mistake too late. The man was focused on the path in front of them. She should have been watching the sides and their back. The blow came out of nowhere, knocking the man to the ground and taking her with him. Gemi released his hand and rolled to face their assailant, a tall thin man she didn't recognize as a resident in the building.

"A two for one deal, how exciting!" The man clapped his hands and circled around them like a cat stalking its prey. Just as Runa had acted when she attacked her. His face was shrouded behind a mask of blood encased in jet-black hair that hung in clumps to his eyes. Beady eyes that were so brown they almost looked black stared down at them.

"You're going to make wonderful additions to my collection." He stopped circling, standing right in front of them to motion to his neck. Hanging from it was a knotted rope, on it hung the tattered remains of ears, all of varying shapes, colors, and sizes.

"Oh God!" Gemi gagged and moved to crawl away.

"Not so fast, we're just starting our fun!" The crazy man reached for her ankle and dragged her back toward him. Her body slid easily on the blood-slick floor.

The man crouched over her, letting his hand slide over her face to her chin where he grasped it hard and jerked her face to the side.

"Oh sparkly ones, those are my favorite." He slid his other hand over her ear, stopping to play with the jeweled stud that adorned the lobe.

"Get off her," the man next to her groaned.

"Fat man is awake." He stood up, releasing Gemi, and turned to where the man lay on his back.

"What do you want?" the pudgy man asked.

Their assailant cocked his head at him, a genuine expression of confusion washing over his face. "What do I want? Your ears, I just told you that."

The man produced a knife and brought it high above his head, the blade glinted in the sunlight causing Gemi to close her eyes against the glare. At least that's what she told herself. Really she didn't want to see another person's life taken and not be able to stop it.

A commotion erupted behind them. Gemi opened her eyes and was faced with a group of people dressed in military gear, all holding massive guns. Taking advantage of the distraction, the large man crawled out from under his would-be murderer and, with a surprising amount of agility for his size, sprang to his feet and ran for the door.

The crazy man growled and charged at the group, knife held high. Gunfire exploded before he was close enough to cause any damage, and he dropped to the ground like his many victims. That was Gemi's cue. She pushed herself up from the ground and bolted for the door ignoring the pounding in her head and the way her muscles didn't want to cooperate with her.

Gemi threw herself at the door slamming hard into the lever and flinging it open wide. The sunlight was blinding, but it didn't stop her from seeing the mayhem surrounding her. Utter chaos had engulfed her town. Smoke billowed out of buildings and cars lay upside down on sidewalks and in the middle of the street. People ran everywhere. It was hard to tell who was normal and who had lost it.

Squinting hard, Gemi was able to make out the figure of the chubby man running across the street to the garage. That's when she remembered he had her keys and had every intention of leaving her there stranded.

She ran after him, whispering a prayer that she just blended into the chaos. Gemi reached the edge of the sidewalk as the man entered the middle of the road. A car flew into view out of nowhere, striking the man with incredible force. His body slammed hard on the hood, bending in places where the body generally doesn't, before flying across the road and landing on the hot cement with a sickening thud. He didn't move. And the car didn't slow its momentum. Instead it made a beeline right for him again, running him over with both sets of tires before screeching to a halt. The reverse lights flicked on just as the car flew backward and back over the tattered body of the chubby man.

A horrible wail built in Gemi's chest and was pouring from her mouth before she had a chance to stop it. Far too much had happened in a short time. She had seen things that only existed in books, things that she never believed could be true. Now it was all happening at once. Her brain couldn't process anything else.

All eyes turned toward her, drawn by the cry she couldn't stifle. The sane people, the kind she should have been part of, used her distraction to run away, fleeing in all directions but toward her. Other eyes stayed. The ones that showed a glint of instability, the kind that screamed at her the things they wanted to do, and the things they planned on doing.

Gemi clapped a hand over her mouth. It was too late. She was discovered and her mental inability to deal would now be the reason she got killed. Slowly she backed away, trying to align her path back toward the building she escaped from, toward the military men with big guns she hoped had not lost it.

As if answering her plea, the door behind her flew open and the military group poured out of it with guns raised. They fired in all directions as they made their way from the building out toward the street.

One of the men in the group made eye contact with her, his face going from a blank almost bored expression to utter anger in a split second. Gemi closed her eyes and covered her ears with her hands to drown out his face and the slaughter of people who, mere hours ago, had been normal, kind, and obedient chippers.

# Chapter Two

Gemi closed her eyes tighter, clutching her hands to her ears. Her head swam, ears ringing, fighting to dull the chaos all around. Panic ripped through her chest as the world slipped out from under her feet, a blackness closing in as quickly as her heart throbbed in her chest.

The sound of muffled voices shouting still trickled in. Her shaky legs gave out unexpectedly, forcing her to fall into a crumpled mess on the ground. She clamped her eyes tighter, still pressing her hands against her face.

Screaming, she could still hear the screaming.

Hands grabbed at her, shaking her whole body violently. She was jerked upright and spun to face the man who had seen her earlier, the man who was yelling now. He pried her palms away from her ears and once again all the chaos hit her full force. Gray eyes stared back at her, hard and angry.

"What is _wrong_ with you, lady? I said we have to go, now!"

Gemi gaped, her brain not willing to accept or comprehend the urgency.

"What?" she stammered.

"Now! We have to go now!" Without another word he turned to run, grabbing her arm roughly to drag her along with him.

Together they ran through the streets of her neighborhood, or what was left of it. Fires burned, storefronts shattered, and blood—so much blood—lined the path. It was as if a tornado had ripped through the center of town, leaving nothing but destruction and death in its wake.

Gemi forced her eyes to stay open for fear of falling. That did not stop the tears from streaming down her face. She had lived in this town for the last seven years. A town she had grown to love despite its monotony. A town that would never be the same. She knew these people, the ones who lay lifeless in the street, and the ones who had taken the lives. They had been her cashiers, neighbors, and bus companions on days when she didn't want to drive. They had been normal working-class people like herself until this morning.

The man jerked her arm harder, his fingertips digging into her skin as he pulled her in closer to him. It was clear that these men were conditioned for this, as their bodies moved effortlessly. Even the man next to her hardly seemed bothered with her as an added burden.

Amazingly her feet were able to keep up with the pace laid out before her. Fear kept her moving. It didn't stop her body from screaming in pain with each step, reminding her of the not-so-gentle fall down the stairs.

They kept taking quick turns down side streets, avoiding all main roads. It was not long before even she was turned around. Escaping and making it back safe to her home was now out of the question, so she ran on, her legs burning in protest.

Shouts rang out nearby, followed by rapid gunfire. Gemi glanced around. The noise was close, too close. Where were they?

"Stop!" she screamed, moments too late. Their side path ended, abruptly flowing right out onto Main Street. They had turned onto a back road she once frequented on the way to work. Although now a ghost of what it once was, she could still recognize the buildings that lined the road.

The scene in front of them made her head spin once again. Countless bodies lay sprawled across the ground, some mutilated to the point where they would never be recognized as human beings. They had stopped right in front of a group of five, drenched in red and all holding oversize guns almost identical to the ones the military group carried. From bodies on the ground she could make out patches of brown camo, just like her group. The people before her must have taken their weapons from them, overtaken them somehow.

Gemi's eyes met with the man in the middle and her blood ran cold. He smiled at her, a hollow menacing grin, and wiped the blade of the knife he was holding on his blood-splattered pants. The man grasping her arm took a step back and pulled her with him.

"Run, run now!" he yelled. Without hesitating everyone turned on their heels and ran back the way they had come.

"Come back, little piggies!" the grinning man called after them. "It's time for the slaughter!"

They ran faster than they had before, twisting and turning back the way they came. Gemi's legs ached in disapproval, her lungs burning with each ragged inhale. She was never big on exercise and as a general rule avoided anything physical due to her general gracelessness. Her body begged her to stop, a thought she dared not give in to. She knew the moment she took even a second's rest her legs would never begin again. So she pushed on, summoning all of her strength to keep up. She had to be strong, had to pull through.

Gemi strained hard over the sounds of their footsteps and her own gasps, but did not hear even the faintest sound of pursuit behind them. Had they lost them? Please, she begged internally. Please let them be safe for the moment, just a moment to catch her breath.

"I think we lost—" she began, but the sound of a vehicle revving up behind them cut her short.

Without thinking she twisted over her shoulder to glance at the new danger coming up quick at the rear of them. She felt it then, her feet losing their footing, and even the man dragging her along couldn't keep her upright.

The ground came at her fast and hard. Her chest made contact first, knocking what air she had from her lungs, and then she was rolling, her bare skin scraping across the road. Her arm ripped free from the man's grip, taking bits of her shirt with it. It took a few beats for him to realize what had happened before he came to a screeching halt. He turned quick, anger and confusion etched across his face.

The next few seconds felt like ages, as the world continued to spin around her. Gemi lay flat on her back as both the man and the car raced toward her, gunfire erupting from both directions. She glanced up to see that the rest of the group had come back and were unloading their weapons toward the car, sparks flying as bullets met their mark.

The man reached her, sliding to a kneeling position beside her. "Are you okay? You need to get up. We need to get out of here."

Gemi propped herself up on her elbows. "Yeah, I think I am. I just need help up."

The man stood, offering his hand. Gemi reached out and grabbed ahold, his large calloused fingers wrapping around hers. He pulled, helping her find her footing, and then it was gone. She fell back on her butt, her hand losing its grip. The man yelled out in pain, grasping at his shoulder and falling to his knees as red liquid leaked out from in between his fingers.

The car came to a halt right in front of them, blocking them from the rest of the group. "Enough!" a male voice called as the door flew open.

The man from earlier stepped out, mouth still twisted in an evil grin. He was followed by the rest of his men, all pointing large guns toward the others. "I could have easily killed you all, I still could. But I think I am feeling charitable and I'll tell you what, I will settle for just one of you, as you all watch of course...I only want the girl."

Gemi turned to face him. The sight of him terrified her. He cocked his head at her, his smile widening. "I just want you."

Gemi had no words.

"Fuck off, dick," the man beside her growled through clenched teeth.

The grinning man wagged his finger in the air, clicking in disapproval. "What manners you have! I offer this generous deal and you throw it in my face! You're lucky I am so forgiving. So once more, the girl, now! I won't ask again."

Something came over her then. Something that told her she needed to protect these people. It was irrational and stupid, but she gave in to it in the heat of the moment.

"Okay." Gemi stood with her hands in the air surrendering. "Just let them go."

The man erupted in insanity-laced laughter. "Brava, young lady. Brava!" He reached out and grasped her arm, twisting and pulling it hard, forcing her back to his chest. He placed a blade against her neck, the cold metal sending shivers down her spine.

"Now then. Kill them all!"

"No!" Gemi screamed, fighting against his grip. The blade cut into her skin, turning from cold to hot as her blood coated the edge.

The men in his group whooped and laughed, racking their guns.

Gemi closed her eyes tight.

The laughter stopped at once as shots rang out. The unpleasant smell of gunpowder filled her nose making it sting. And then it was silent.

The knife pressed to her throat fell to the ground with a clank followed by a loud thud. She was no longer pressed against the man's chest.

"What the hell took you so long?" a voice called out.

Gemi opened her eyes and looked around. Their attackers were on the ground, motionless. The group she was with stood in a loose circle, talking among themselves as though they hadn't just been attacked. As though a madman hadn't just tried to kill her and all of them. It was odd to say the least.

"Well, that was stupid of you." The man who had been shot stood and walked toward her. "Did you not stop to think there was a reason we weren't fighting back too aggressively? We had eyes on us the whole time."

"I didn't...I didn't know."

"You're bleeding—here." He pressed a piece of cloth to her neck.

Gemi winced at the contact.

"It's not too deep or anywhere vital. I think you'll be fine."

"Okay." She was still in a daze. Nothing made sense yet. "Your...your arm."

"I've had worse." He pulled away from her and put the cloth back in his pocket.

A group of three walked toward them, dressed in the same gear as the rest of her group.

"You know it's kind of hard to pinpoint your location when you're running around like a mouse in a maze! Who's this?" One of the men nodded toward Gemi.

"My...my name is Gemi."

"She's a civilian that Jaxton decided to bring along. Don't ask me why," the only female member called from the circle.

"I can tell you why—have you looked at her?" one of the other guys said, smirking and winking at her as he walked by.

Gemi glanced to the ground, fidgeting with her hands.

"We should leave. The gunfire will bring more this way," Jaxton called to the group and then turned back to her. "You good to run again? The van shouldn't be too far this time."

"Yes, I think so."

Jaxton walked away without another word to her. "Let's move out!"

An odd-looking black van was parked a few blocks away in a back alley. It was long and devoid of any windows in the back part. The paint had peeled, leaving rust marks to mar the surface. It looked like it could have been from the old times, but she wasn't sure how they would have even come across one. Old cars weren't the safest.

The group unloaded their gear in the back and drank water while talking. The original group caught the others up with animated arm movements and loud chatter. As if they weren't worried about everything that was happening around them.

"Here." Jaxton handed her a bottle of water and walked away.

Gemi gulped it down, letting her immense thirst overrule etiquette. She sat down on the back end of the van, stretching out the muscles in her legs. They tightened with each movement. The thought of running crossed her mind, slipping away before they noticed. But then her leg cramped and she knew that she wouldn't make it very far.

"This is dumb. How do you know she isn't going to go bat-shit crazy? Patrol and report back, not pick up strays."

Gemi glanced around the side of the van to see the group whispering in a circle.

"Come on, _her_?" Jaxton whispered back. "She is as pleasant as the rest used to be. Besides, we don't even know who is being affected yet. They think it's just one batch." He rubbed his hand across his forehead. "I couldn't just leave her there to die."

"One batch? Did you see how many psychos were on the street? She could easily snap at any second and gut you like a fish." The woman speaking glanced toward her.

Gemi ducked back out of view and grabbed for her water. A couple of silent minutes passed and Jaxton came back around the corner.

"You ready to head out?"

"You can just take me back home."

"Home? And where was that, back where we pulled you out of?"

"Yes."

"Don't be ridiculous. Not only is that dangerous for you, but it would be dangerous for us to get you there. Or do you not care at all what we have done for you?" He was yelling by the end.

"Of course I do—"

"If she is dumb enough to want to go back to that mess, let her." The woman who had been whispering about her before walked up behind Jaxton. "Problem solved."

"Enough, Kai," Jaxton spoke through clenched teeth.

"What? I'm just saying you're going to have a lot of explaining to do. What part of intervene when it is the last option do you not understand? There are other divisions for cleanup. And she is just a liability."

"I said enough!" Jaxton slammed his hand down hard on the side of the van, making both Kai and Gemi jump.

"Fine. Don't whine to me when she tries to kill you in your sleep or something," Kai mumbled as she walked away.

Gemi slid away from Jaxton, keeping her eyes planted on the ground. Her brain was still having a hard time grasping everything that had transpired this morning. She would never get used to people yelling at each other.

"Hey, I'm sorry about that. She can be a pain." He reached out to touch Gemi's shoulder, but she shied away from him, jumping off the edge of the van and walking to the other side.

"It's fine," Gemi muttered.

She slid between the wall and the van and pressed her forehead against the brick wall. The coldness of it was an instant relief to her flushed skin. She breathed in deeply, trying to calm her senses. They would take her who knew where, with no possible way back. What if they meant to harm her like they had so many others already? Then again, if they wanted to hurt her, they had plenty of time to do so already. They could have just left her to die in the streets.

"Hey there, little bird." Gemi jumped, cutting her train of thought off short. She turned to face the speaker. It was one of the other men from the group, the one who had winked at her earlier.

"What?" she whispered.

"I asked if you are ready. We're about to head out."

"Oh, okay."

"I'm Sann, by the way." He smiled at her. An actual genuine smile that made her fears retreat to the back of her brain for the time being.

"Gemi." She smiled back at him, stepping out from her hiding spot.

Sann reached for her hand to help her up into the back of the van. The inside was lined with seats on the outer walls, all of them facing in toward the middle. Great, she thought, as she walked to the furthest seat, resting against the driver cabin wall, turning to face it.

"You know, we aren't going to bite," Sann said, walking up and crouching down in front of her. He pulled the straps of the seat harness on her shoulders and fastened it around her waist. Once finished he took a few steps back, sitting down on the seat in front of her. He grinned at her before turning to talk with one of the other members of the group.

Gemi kept her eyes locked on his face. He had sandy brown hair that hung wild past his eyebrows. His eyes were an inviting chocolate brown without a hint of anger in them. None of that compared to his smile, which touched his eyes, with little wrinkles that spread from the corners and made them shine even brighter. He made her feel safe. If she was to be stuck with this group, at least he was there with her.

"I'm sorry for earlier."

Gemi pulled herself from Sann to turn to the speaker. It was Jaxton.

"Okay."

"I didn't mean to scare you. I know this must be a lot."

"It's fine." Gemi turned away from him, glancing down at her lap.

He didn't speak to her again.

After a few beats she glanced up through her lashes to look at him. He sat facing forward, face stone still with no readable expression. He was the exact opposite of Sann. His black hair was brushed neatly, not a hair out of place even after everything they went through. His gray eyes seemed dull, weighed down by something. And in the time she had known him, he had never worn a smile on his face. She stared at him a few moments longer, and that's when she realized it. He was sad. What about, she was not sure, but she could see it pulling at the corners of his eyes.

In a moment of spontaneity, she reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it in response to his flinching.

"Really it's okay. You're right, this has been a lot. Thank you for getting me out of there." She squeezed his hand again and beamed at him. A tiny smile tugged at the corners of his mouth in response. It was not much, hardly noticeable, but it was a start.

# Chapter Three

They drove for what seemed like an eternity. She deeply wished the van had windows to give her some sense of time and to quell the motion sickness that was building. Was it still daylight? Were they in the mountains or the dry lands outside of the city? The drive had gone from smooth to rocky, making her grateful for the harness. That didn't stop her anxiety however.

The van had fallen silent for some time. Some of the group slept peacefully. How they could through all the thrashing she wasn't sure. She didn't know how they dealt so well with the horrors they had all just witnessed and were a part of. The horrors waiting in her brain to be unleashed when she tried to close her eyes. Others sat quiet, staring. Maybe they were like her, maybe they were the sane ones who felt death's toll.

Jaxton was one of those. He just stared right in front of him, eerily quiet. He hadn't said a word since their hushed conversation earlier. It began to drive her insane with curiosity, wondering what was going on inside his head. His face sure wasn't giving anything away.

As Gemi sat staring at him, she traced the features on his face. His eyelashes fanned out farther than any natural ones she had ever seen. He had deep lines that jutted out from his eyes, a telltale sign that the man at least knew how to smile and might have done it often at some point. His lips, although obviously full, were always pulled into a tight line.

She would be lying to herself if she said he wasn't handsome. He was stunning, but something about him breathed danger.

He didn't notice her staring at him, or at least didn't call her out on it, giving her ample time to define the little changes his face made. The one that stood out to her the most was when the van hit a particularly large bump in the road and he would wince. His wound from earlier must be bothering him more than he let on.

"I'm sorry about that," Gemi whispered. "I hope it's not bothering you too much."

"It's fine." He didn't even turn to face her.

"Oh good," she said and bit on her lip. "I just can't help feeling like it was my fault, you know. Evidently I am not so coordinated in distress. If there is anything I can do for you—"

"I don't need coddling, thank you," he snapped, cutting her off short.

"I didn't...I didn't mean you did. I just meant..."

The sliding window between the cab and back of the van slid open with a loud bang, drawing her attention. "We're here! Wake up, you bums!"

The car glided to a stop, prompting everyone to scramble to unhook their harnesses and gather their gear. Gemi turned back toward Jaxton, but he was already out of his seat and walking to the back of the van.

"Let me help you with that, little bird." Sann kneeled in front of her, hands reaching for her harness.

"Why do you call me that?"

"What? Little bird?" he said, tilting his head to one side.

"Yes. You called me that earlier in the alley."

His grin grew, more mischievous this time. "It's because you frighten like a little bird. You have to be gentle, you know?"

"Well, that's rude." Despite herself, Gemi smiled back. He had that effect.

Sann grabbed her hand, helping her up. He didn't drop it once she was standing, instead he led her to the exit, only letting it go to grab her by the waist and place her on the ground.

"Come on." He took her by the hand again and led her up a hill.

Once at the top she was able to see where they were and their camp. They had traveled to the nearby mountains, a place she visited once as a young girl. It was as beautiful as she remembered. From this vantage point she could see the snow-topped peaks that reached almost all the way to the clouds. The trees already turned to wonderful shades of orange and yellow, making them look as if they were on fire when the wind swayed them to and fro. It brought back fond memories of her mother and the trip they took there one fall. She recalled a photo of them taken together in these mountains. She had given it to her mother as a birthday present the year she passed away.

Sadness gripped her chest. Taking a deep breath, she pushed it down with the rest of the nightmares, instead focusing on the camp right below them.

The camp was rather small, seven to eight tents stood in a semicircle, ending with two larger half-tent structures, while massive redwoods towered above them, providing shade and some cover.

Sann followed her gaze. "The two larger ones are the kitchen and the medical tent. There isn't too much room, but a few of us can shuffle around to give you your own, if you would like the privacy."

"No, I'll be fine wherever. No worries."

"As long as it's not with Kai, right?" He winked at her.

"That may be for the best."

"Are you ready for the hike down? It's not too bad, but after the day we've had it's going to feel like miles."

"I think I can manage. There are no gun-slinging maniacs chasing us this time."

"Good. Let's go then, little bird."

Sann led the way, still clutching Gemi's hand. He was gentle and patient, waiting for her when she needed it. Not at all like Jaxton had been earlier. It was as if they had known each other for ages. Sann was kind, like everyone else had been a day prior. Only one day, she thought to herself.

Everyone was hustling around when they reached the bottom. Half the group was already set up at their makeshift kitchen, eating and conversing, while the rest unpacked their belongings in their tents. It confused her how they could act like this morning's events had never transpired. Then again maybe that was how they dealt with things. Who was she to judge?

Sann and Gemi began to walk to the kitchen, still hand in hand when someone grasped her other arm and yanked them to a stop.

"There you are!" Jaxton snapped. "You need to get to the medical tent. Come on, I'm headed there now."

"Okay..." Gemi let go of Sann's hand and turned to face Jaxton fully. His jaw was clenched and irritation radiated off of him. She in no way wanted to anger him further.

"Cool it, Jax. I think it can wait until she's had some food. I mean, she hasn't bled to death yet." Sann reached out and grabbed her hand again, pulling her gently back toward him.

Jaxton looked from Sann's face to their intertwined fingers and backed up, releasing Gemi's arm from his own grip. His brows furrowed, his eyes burning like embers. He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but changed his mind.

All three stood motionless as the seconds ticked on. Both men held each other's gaze, neither willing to break. Gemi's hands got clammy. She wanted to go hide in a dark corner rather than be in the middle of whatever power struggle was going on. Especially since it seemed to center on her.

"Jax! The doctor says get to his tent pronto!" Kai called from the crowd.

Jaxton stared for a beat longer before turning away. "Yeah, okay. I'm coming." He turned back to Gemi, locking his eyes on hers. "Food and then doctor. You got it?"

She nodded in response, knowing it wasn't really a question.

Jaxton stalked away, his shoulders hanging in a defeated posture. Gemi glanced up at Sann who rolled his eyes and shrugged in response.

"Come on, let's get some grub."

The rest of the group had migrated over to the kitchen from their tents. They all sat talking and laughing until Gemi came into view. The encampment fell quiet, all eyes following her. Kai stared her down hard, face showing clear disapproval of her being there. Gemi dropped her eyes to the ground, hanging her head and cutting off any visibility of the rest of the group. She couldn't handle seeing the same look on anyone else's face.

"You're unbelievable," Kai called to Sann. "How dare you bring her here? She should be locked up for everyone's safety."

"Enough, Kai. She's harmless. Honestly, find something else to harp on." Sann turned to Gemi, placing his finger under her chin to lift her face to his. "What would you like to eat?"

"I'm...not too hungry actually. I think I'll just go see the doctor." A snort from the crowd had her glancing over her shoulder. Everyone was still staring.

"Don't be ridiculous. We can go eat somewhere else away from this lot."

"She too good for our food now?" Kai called to them.

"No, really." Gemi dropped his hand and stepped away. "My neck is starting to bother me. I think it's best to have it looked at."

"Okay. Well, I will save you some."

"Thank you." She turned and walked fast to the doctor's tent, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground even as whispers rumbled through the crowd, followed by the distinct sound of laughter.

Gemi slipped through the opening of the tent and glanced around. It was empty.

"Hello?"

No response.

She was just about to turn around and leave when she heard hushed voices coming from the back of the tent in an area blocked off by curtains.

"It's so much worse than that. It's not just one batch. It's all of them. And for you to bring her here is endangering everyone."

"She's fine. You should see her. She goes pale when anyone even raises their voice. I don't think she is capable of murdering us all."

"She is fine now. All the rest were fine too until they weren't."

"What are they doing about all this?"

"I don't know. I don't even think they know. They are running tests on a few they could capture, but they don't seem to have come up with an answer as to why, or what, for that matter, is causing the malfunction."

"If it is all of them, why hasn't everyone up and gone crazy at once?"

"Why were there serial killers in the past? Some people are predisposed to violence. This just seems to up the intensity of that. Who knows what genetic dispositions these chips have been hiding? Imagine never experiencing anger and then all at once it rushes in. You would go crazy too."

"Yeah..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jaxton. I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't worry about it."

"We have to hand her over. You know that right?"

"That's not happening. I didn't pull her out of that mess just to have her locked up to be poked and prodded."

"You won't have a choice once they find out. I'm surprised they haven't yet, with Kai around."

"She's a bit more conniving than that."

"Hmm...In any event, I wouldn't get too attached to her. Best to keep a distance in our field. All they need to do is have a valid reason to pull you right out of here and throw you out with the rest. Then where would you be?"

Gemi took a step back. She shouldn't be there listening to their conversation. But it was too late to make her presence known. One more step and she collided with a metal tray, its contents clattering to the floor despite her attempts to stop them.

The curtain flew open and an older man she had never seen before stepped out, followed by Jaxton. He was pulling his shirt on, a large bandage wrapped around his shoulder and chest still partially visible.

"Ah, you must be our guest. Welcome." The man reached out to shake her hand. "I'm Dr. Askel. It's nice to meet you, Gemi, was it?"

Gemi dropped the items in her hand and reached out tentatively taking his hand in hers.

"Yes...I'm sorry to interrupt."

"No worries, my dear. Jaxton and I were finishing up anyways. Now come, let's have a look at your neck."

He escorted her back through the same curtain to a portable exam table. Once seated, a heavy wave of vulnerability washed over her. She didn't know these people. She had, however, seen what they were capable of when someone was perceived to be in their way—a thought that was not at all reassuring.

Jaxton hung back by the edge of the curtain staring in her direction but not straight at her. He was fully dressed in his uniform again, everything perfectly in place, his face stoic as ever.

"I assure you she will be safe in my hands," the doctor said, stepping up to Gemi.

"That's good to hear, Doc, but I'd rather stay."

"Stubborn as ever, isn't he?" He smiled at her, giving a little wink. "Now, let's take a look."

The doctor turned her head to the side to get a better view of the wound. He made little noises under his breath, almost talking to himself as he worked. He applied healing and disinfecting ointments to it, muttering about how lucky she was that it was not a few inches to the side. At last he applied a small bandage, taping it in place.

"Well, my dear, I do believe you will be just fine. I would suggest not playing with knives in the future. Now can you explain what happened here?" He grabbed her hand and lifted it to her face. The bandage she had thrown on at her office was now soiled and beginning to peel off.

Gemi laughed despite the situation. "A knife."

"Well, aren't you just the lucky one? Perhaps we should find you a rabbit's foot or something, hmm?" He unwrapped the bandage and applied step two to her now closed wound. "Anything else I need to know about?"

Gemi bit at a nail on her free hand.

"Well?"

"I may have another knife wound on my arm."

"So first step is keeping you away from sharp objects." He finished rewrapping her hand. "Well, let's see it then."

Gemi hesitated, glancing in Jaxton's direction before unbuttoning her shirt. The doctor reached over and closed the curtain, further blocking her from Jaxton's view. He quickly cleaned and redressed her arm then handed her a fresh shirt, the same khaki one that everyone was wearing.

"Your hand won't need step three, but come see me in a few days for your neck and arm."

With that he slid out of the way, moving to the nearby desk where he wrote in a folder.

Gemi pulled on the new shirt and turned to see that Jaxton had moved back into view and was still staring at her. "Are you okay?" he asked, moving toward her, reaching a hand out to help her off the table.

She jumped down without taking it. "I'm fine, thank you."

He dropped his hand back to his side, a crease growing between his eyebrows. "Good. Well, we can set you up a place to sleep in my tent. Did you get food?"

"Actually, we already have that worked out," Sann said as he entered the tent. "People agreed to move around. She will have her own tent. As for food I saved her some, you as well."

"Fine," he said through clenched teeth. "Keep her away from Kai." He brushed past Sann without another word.

"Well then, little bird," he said, turning back to Gemi. "Will you live another day?"

"Yes I will." She grinned at him.

She found that she grew fonder of him each time they spoke. He was the only one who seemed genuinely happy to see her. The only one who seemed familiar, part of her world before everything that had happened.

"Well, good. Let me show you to your tent. I left food for you in there."

They made their way through the camp. It had already quieted down. Most of the occupants were already in their tents, soft light glowing through the fabric. Gemi's tent was in the very back of the encampment, secluded from the rest. Sann quickly read the expression on her face.

"Ah, yes well it was part of the bargain to get you your own tent. Don't worry they will warm up soon and see you're not a threat. In the meantime there is a change of clothes if you need it, as well as food in there. Unfortunately, we have to head out to one of the other nearby cities. We should be back by daybreak, but you should get some peace and quiet."

"I'll be here alone?" Gemi gasped.

"No, of course not," he said through laughter. "The doc will be here, and Jaxton has been found unfit for duty for the rest of the day so that his arm will start to heal."

"Okay. Well, please be careful."

"Always, little bird." He tussled her hair before walking away.

Gemi bent through the tent opening, closing it behind her. She saw the food set out by her bed, but found she no longer had the stomach to ingest anything at the moment.

She crawled on the bed and curled up in the middle, not realizing how tired she was until that very moment. Her body ached from the day's events. She never was athletic, this being the most exercise she had ever endured, not to mention the psychological and physical trauma.

Gemi lay there half-asleep, still trying to answer the questions that swirled around in her head.

The sound of yelling far off in the distance roused her. Daylight streamed in through the tent, making her squint. What time was it?

The yelling got louder. Something was wrong.

Gemi bolted upright and jumped off the bed, thankful in that moment she had fallen asleep fully clothed.

She burst though the tent opening and ran toward the sound of the commotion. Her heart pounded in her throat. She braced herself for the worst as she broke through the trees that separated her from the others.

Everyone was running everywhere, shouting to each other.

"Get him to the doc now!"

"What the hell happened out there?"

"They did what?"

Gemi arrived just in time to see one of the men being carried into the doctor's tent. It wasn't Sann. A wave of relief flooded though her. She craned her neck searching for him, finally spotting him in the distance walking right toward her. For the first time there was no smile on his face.

"You have to get out of here now! Go back to your tent. I will get you later."

"No. What happened?" she asked.

"You just need to hide out for a little—"

"You!" Kai stalked toward them, her face lit up with anger. "You and your people. You caused this!"

"What?" Gemi stammered.

Kai didn't respond, instead she brought her fist down hard on Gemi's face. She saw stars, falling to the ground on her hands and knees, the world still spinning around her. Kai came at her again, but this time Sann stepped in the way, pushing her back and away.

"Okay, Kai, you're even. Now shove off."

"Even? _Even_?" Kai screeched. "Did you see what they did to him? He might not survive!"

"And she had nothing to do with it!" Sann bellowed back.

"She has everything to do with it! If you protect one, then you are protecting them all! You saw them, saw what they are capable of! This has nothing to do with a chip! They are all mad, the lot of them. The chip just hid it for a while!"

Gemi's head still swam. She stayed down listening, out of harm's way. This was life before the chips. People just punched people, killed each other. She was having a hard time wrapping her brain around the idea. But the throbbing in her face was a reminder that this was her new reality.

"Jaxton I expected this from, but you, Sann, I thought you had better sense!" Kai's face was flushed red with anger. She stared down at Gemi like a bug she desperately wanted to crush.

"Back off, Kai!" Jaxton yelled as he approached.

"Oh great, it's you! Look at you coming to this pathetic piece of garbage's defense! You can protect her now, but I promise there will be a time when I get her alone."

"Go tend to Callum," Jaxton said, dismissing her.

She shot one last dirty look at Gemi before heading off to the doctor's tent.

He then turned his anger to Sann. "Good job you did protecting her."

Jaxton reached down, grabbing her under her arms to help her to her feet. He brushed the hair from her face, trailing his fingers around her tender eye.

"Oh, it was just a bit of a catfight. Kai got it out of her system. She'll cool down and everything will be okay. She's fine. Aren't you?" Sann said, grabbing her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Gemi nodded and then winced. Her head was pounding.

"Come on, we'll ice your eye. The doc can look at it later after everyone has calmed. Sann, go make sure that Kai doesn't blow anything up. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Kai duty. That should be fun. I'll come see you later, little bird."

Jaxton turned away from Sann and reached down to scoop her up into his arms. Gemi wanted to protest, to tell him that she could walk on her own, but she knew it would be a lie. Instead, she resigned herself to her fate, reaching her arms up around his neck and resting her pounding head on his chest. Even in her state, she noted that he tensed at her touch, slowly relaxing again when she stopped moving.

Jaxton didn't say another word on the walk back to her tent. For once she enjoyed his silence, listening instead to the soft pounding of his heart and feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest with each breath. She calmed, matching her breath with his as the pain in her head subsided, her eyes drooping, heavy as rocks.

Gemi jumped awake as the cool bed met her back and Jaxton's hands slid from underneath her. The room spun as she tried to push herself up.

"It's okay, lay back. I'm just going to grab a cool compress from my bag." Jaxton said, turning away from her.

"This isn't my tent." Gemi mumbled as she fell back onto the mattress.

"No, it's not. It's my tent. You will be safer here until things wind down," he said, coming back into view. "Here." He placed a cold pack on her eye, sitting on the floor next to her to hold it in place.

"What happened? Why was Kai so mad at me?"

"Kai is always mad," he sighed. "In this instance, however, it's because they were attacked and outnumbered on their outing. And Callum has been injured pretty badly."

"Are they together?" Gemi asked.

"They are."

"That must be a terrible feeling." Gemi picked at her cuticles, a nervous habit she never quite broke. "I understand that she's upset, but why blame me?"

"It is not something you have to worry yourself about right now. Why don't you try to sleep? I will stay here." Jaxton let go of the compress, and turned away to lean his back against the bed.

"What's going on out there? Back home, I mean," Gemi whispered.

"Go to sleep."

"Thank you for saving me...again."

Gemi reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder. He tensed again.

"Sure," he said, reaching up and patting her hand, before sweeping it off his shoulder and back onto the bed.

Gemi closed her eyes. So that's what being in a fight is like, she thought. Definitely not something she ever had interest in being part of again.

The sound of voices brought her back around from her slumber.

"Is he going to make it?"

"Yes. Thankfully the knife missed his vital organs. He will need a few days' rest, but I expect he will recover fully. Kai insisted he be moved back to her tent. Said she could protect him better."

Gemi opened her eyes and looked toward the entrance to the tent where Jaxton's back obscured the view of the doctor. She closed her eyes to slits, laying still, listening to their conversation in the hope that they might answer some of her questions.

"How is she doing?"

"She is sleeping."

"Ah, no doubt with Kai's right hook. I will take a look at her when she wakes up. I'm sure she will have one hell of a headache. I have herbs that will take care of that."

"Has Kai calmed down?"

"I would say not. She reported Gemi to base."

"She did _what_?" Jaxton yelled. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't woken Gemi. She didn't stir. Satisfied that she was still asleep, he turned back to the doctor, lowering his voice. "What did they say?"

"You can rest easy. They said her being around us would be a great test. We would be able to monitor how long she stayed sane."

"Good." Jaxton let out a sigh of relief.

"Well yes and no. She can stay, and no one can harm her, which is good. However, if she turns...If she turns we have been instructed to put her down."

"Put her down? She isn't cattle, for fuck's sake."

"To them, she is now nothing more than a science experiment, a means to an end. I warned you before not to get attached, it never ends well."

"I won't do it."

"You may not, but the others will jump at the bit with Kai in the lead. I know you're not like us, you joined late in life, but this is all they know."

"That doesn't justify it. You know they're sending in fleets to just eradicate everyone? It's been, what, two days and their first thought is to destroy and rebuild?" Jaxton was angry again.

"They've had control for so long, they won't risk giving it up. We have a difficult journey ahead of us. We are all going to do things we may not be particularly proud of, including you. That girl in there, she was probably better off dying in the streets."

Gemi sucked in air. She knew it was loud enough for them to hear. The jig was up. She groaned, batting her eyes, playing like she had just woken up.

"Oh, you're awake," Jaxton said, turning toward her. "The doctor is here."

"Hello again, Gemi. We should stop meeting like this." Dr. Askel stepped into the tent and strode toward her. "How are you feeling?"

"My face hurts," she said pointblank.

The doctor laughed. "Well. A good punch to the face will do that to you. Do you mind if I examine it?"

Gemi shook her head, biting her lower lip when the movement sent a wave of pain through her. She glanced up at Jaxton, who was staring at her, his arms crossed over his chest. Concern etched on his face.

Dr. Askel turned her head to the side and began pressing on different areas of her face around where she was struck. It hurt like hell, the pain radiated into her eye making it difficult to focus.

"Well, nothing is broken. That is good news. It will be quite bruised, but not too swollen since you applied ice right after. I'm sure you have one hell of a headache, I can make you an herbal tea that should take it away."

"Thank you." Gemi leaned forward to get up, struggling until she felt hands on her back, strong but gentle, helping her to a seated position.

"Well then, I'll be right back," the doctor said, glancing between Jaxton and Gemi before turning to leave.

Jaxton turned to her and, reaching up, he pushed hair out of her face, letting his hand trail down her cheek before cupping her chin in his hand. He said nothing, just stared, his eyes burning right through her. Her heart raced, but she was unable to break his gaze.

"I _will_ keep you safe," he whispered, more to himself than to her.

Then his hand was gone. He turned away, releasing her from his trance. In two long strides he was gone, sliding gracefully between the openings of the tent.

Gemi fell back on the bed, breathing deep as she tried to slow the beating of her heart. She realized then that he no longer frightened her. His intensity had always been there because she had been in danger from the moment he met her. Somewhere inside she knew he would never harm her in any way, even if it was demanded of him. The thought comforted her, making her feel safe despite the last few days. Her brain, however, was still plagued with unanswered questions, one of which she kept coming back to.

Why would he have such loyalty to a complete stranger?

# Chapter Four

Jaxton led her down to dinner, despite her pleas to leave her alone in the tent. The camp was quiet. Instead of eating dinner at the normal tables, they found the group all quietly sitting around a fire in a loose circle, everyone absorbed in their own thoughts and the past day's events. The atmosphere was palpable.

Gemi noted, as they passed by on their way to an open seat, that Kai was missing from the group. No one looked up this time and there was no staring or whispering. Gemi sat down next to Sann, who bumped her shoulder with his in a silent greeting.

Jaxton left her there to go make them a plate of food. She fiddled with her hands in her lap, not even wanting to make eye contact with Sann. All of a sudden she was aware that the silence they threw her way was much worse than the gossip and whispering.

"I hope everyone enjoys their last meal while not on the run," Sann broke the silence. "It's caravan living for some time after this!"

Jaxton returned, setting a plate of food in her lap before taking a seat on her other side.

"What does he mean?" Gemi whispered to Jaxton.

"We have to move camp."

"But why?"

"Oh, he didn't tell you?" Sann leaned in, interrupting them. "Reports of the locos on the move!"

"Sann," Jaxton warned.

"Oh, come on. What, is she going to find out once she's loaded into a van with all of our belongings?"

"Are they headed this way?" Gemi asked, wide eyed.

"Yes, hordes of them. Got sick of city living, I suppose. Wanted to come rough it out here with us." Sann winked at her.

"Sann stop," Jaxton growled back. "Yes, there have been reports of the affected traveling outside the cities. I wouldn't necessarily call them a horde. And yes, they are headed this way."

"Was it so hard to tell the truth? She isn't a child, you know." Sann pushed up off of his knees and headed toward the kitchen.

"You don't have to shelter me," Gemi said, standing, her plate in one hand. "I'm a grown woman."

She turned, meaning to leave, but Jaxton reached out and grabbed her other hand to stop her. It wasn't his normal rough gesture. His hand brushed just slightly against her palm before settling on her fingers.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I was just trying to protect you. Now sit down."

"You follow an apology with a demand? You know what, I don't think I'm that hungry all of a sudden." She pulled her hand free and stalked off.

He didn't follow her.

Gemi found Sann in the kitchen, loading his plate up with seconds. She threw her plate down on the table and leaned back against it.

"Free of your guard dog at last?" he said, all smiles.

"Despite everything, I think he means well. It's just frustrating."

"I think he's a control freak, but who am I to judge? You come for seconds?"

Gemi shook her head.

"Did you come to see me?" His smiled widened.

"Oh, you're still here?" a voice called from behind them.

Gemi turned to see Kai walking toward them. She glared at Gemi, slamming her shoulder hard into her as she walked by.

"You don't have to be that way toward her. She's one of us now."

"She will never be one of us, but I won't punch her again if that's what you're getting at. She is our little lab rat now and not to be harmed. Until she goes crazy, and then I'll blow her brains out."

Kai walked away without another word or glance at Gemi, who stood rooted in place, mouth gaping.

"Oh, she's just a little dramatic," Sann said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

"Um." She glanced toward the fire where the group still sat. Jaxton was staring at her, an unreadable expression on his face. "I don't know if that is a good idea."

"Oh, come on. I won't let anything happen to you."

She paused, contemplating, before finally giving in.

"Okay," Gemi agreed, letting him steer her away from camp.

It was eerie in the woods, and her eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness, as it cast false shadows across her vision. She had grown so used to the city with its bright lights and constant hustle. Being alone in the dark was not an idea she was fond of. She wrapped her arm around Sann, pulling him in closer to her, thankful that he was there with her.

"Where are we headed?" she asked.

"To one of my favorite spots."

"It's not too far off? I don't think we should wander away from camp."

"No, it's not too far," he laughed. "Don't worry, little bird. I won't let anything happen to you. Besides, there is no one else for miles."

Suddenly that was the thought that worried her, especially with the sightings of the affected moving their way.

They walked a few hundred feet, coming to a slight drop-off that ended somewhere shrouded in shadows. Sann walked down it with ease, leaving Gemi to slide awkwardly down after him, tripping on her own feet and almost rolling down the rest of it. He bent down and helped her to her feet once she had finally reached the bottom.

"It's right through here."

He led her by her hand once again, stepping though a thick covering of brush and holding it open for her to step through after him. Once through, the world opened. They stood at the edge of an embankment, a large river flowing past their feet. There was no sound but the crashing water.

She looked up at the sky spreading out for miles above them. Every star shone so bright. They looked like a million fireflies. She was so in awe of the sight that it momentarily distracted her from all the events of the past few days.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Sann said, bringing her back down to earth.

"It's amazing. You can never see the sky like this in the city."

Sann sat down in the damp sand pulling her with him. She laid her head on his shoulder and let out a large breath.

"How do you know about this place if you're stationed at the base?"

"We have set locations that we set up camp at whenever we are out doing research."

"Oh."

"What did you do before all this?" he asked.

"Book editor."

"Explains why you don't run so good."

"Yeah," she laughed. "It's also why I want to edit that whole sentence you just said."

"Are you insinuating that I don't speak well?" He sat forward and threw his hands on his chest feigning pain.

"If I asked you something would you tell the truth?" she asked, growing serious again.

"Have I lied to you yet?" He tilted his head resting it on top of hers.

"What is really going on out there?"

"You're trying to get Jaxton to kill me, aren't you?"

"You promised." She sat up, leaning away from him to meet his gaze.

"Jesus, fine. It seems that all the chips that you are implanted with, the ones that help control your negative emotions. Well, something has gone wrong. They aren't entirely sure if there is a glitch in the system or if they are sending out the wrong signals," he sighed. "People just aren't handling it well. I think years of always being happy, never getting angry at each other or being able to release negative emotions has bottled up and now it's boiling over."

"Why hasn't it happened to everyone at once?"

"That's a really good question and what we were sent there to try to figure out."

"Am I going to go crazy too?" she whispered.

"I think, little bird...that you are too sweet and civilized for that."

"And if I do? Then what?"

"Then we deal with that bridge when we reach it," he said.

Gemi couldn't stop the tears from welling in her eyes. The thought of harming someone, anyone, was terrifying to her. Worse than anything, she knew that no matter how much anyone promised, there was no guarantee she wouldn't snap and go there, taking as many as she could with her.

"Oh, no tears here," he said, wiping them from her face. "No one is going to hurt you."

"I'm worried about hurting you," she sobbed.

"Don't," he laughed, "those scrawny arms aren't capable of doing any real damage. Also don't forget we have all seen you try to do anything physical. You'll take yourself out before you could even get to one of us."

She smiled through her tears and laid her head back on his shoulder.

They stared at the rushing water, no longer talking, as time slipped away unnoticed. If she could have stayed like that forever, she would.

A sudden muffled commotion back toward camp pulled them back to the now.

"What was that?" she breathed, jumping to her feet.

"I don't know. We better get back though. They are probably wondering where we went."

A bloodcurdling scream made her face go white.

"Shit!" Sann grabbed her hand and dragged her along as he sprinted up the hill and back toward camp.

Trees rushed by her face, their roots reaching out like they were purposefully trying to trip her. The sound of screaming grew louder as the distance between them and the camp got shorter. Finally, they broke through the trees and into the clearing, struggling to catch their breath.

Then the smoke hit her.

Members of their group were running everywhere, shouting at each other. Fire had erupted at the back of the camp. It blazed bright, turning night into day as it snaked its way through camp, engulfing everything in its wake.

Smoke filled the air, burning Gemi's eyes and throat. It made it heavy, forcing her lungs to work overtime to bring in usable oxygen.

"What is going on, Allon?" Sann yelled as a male member ran by.

"I don't know. We were all eating when we smelled smoke. I have no idea what happened." He ran off before Sann could ask him any more questions.

"Come on." He grabbed her hand, throwing the crook of his elbow over his mouth and pulled her toward the doctor's tent. Sann let go as they reached the entrance. "Stay here." He turned before she could protest, running toward the flames. His dark outline a complete contrast to the golden light.

Gemi's whole body shook. She retreated into the tent, the yelling outside doing nothing to calm her fear. The air was clearer, giving her a chance to catch her breath, although she still felt on the verge of hyperventilating. Please let them be safe, she repeated in her head over and over.

Gemi reached the back room where she sat not twenty-four hours ago, managing not to run into anything this time, when her foot slipped in something wet. She glanced down, her heart jumping into her throat as she saw a dark puddle pooling at her feet. It was large. There was no question what it was.

With a shaky hand she threw the curtain divider back. Bile rose in her throat as the doctor's lifeless body came into view. He was covered in blood. She stumbled toward him, falling at his side. His body was riddled with wounds. Ones she could only assume were caused by a knife. With her own trembling hands, she shook him, feeling his chest and neck as she searched for signs of life. After a few seconds he coughed, choking on blood that tricked out of his mouth. He opened his eyes, staring, not focusing on anything in particular.

"Hey, it will be okay," she said, wiping the blood on his mouth with her hand.

His mouth moved, quivering, forming soundless words. Gemi leaned her ear to his mouth struggling to hear.

"Run," he rasped.

She leaned away, her quick breathing making her head spin. She stood, ran through the divider, and collided with something hard and unmovable, which forced her feet out from underneath her. She fell backward, her head cracking on the ground, filling the room with a sickening sound.

She lay sprawled on the floor, squinting and trying to force her eyes to make sense of the world around her. A dark figure stepped into view, covered in blood, his face making strange shapes in her disoriented vision.

Gemi slid backward, using her elbows for support. Everything was coming back into focus in bits and pieces. Her hands fumbled around in the dark for something, anything to protect her. He stalked her, following every movement she made, but not yet reaching for her.

Her hands brushed against the legs of the metal tray stand she ran into the last time she was in the tent. With a quick pull the contents spilled to the ground. Gemi grabbed the tray and chucked it at him to buy time. It hit him and fell with a loud clatter to the ground. Her fingers found something sharp, cutting into the flesh of her thumb as she grabbed it. She was backed against the wall of the tent with nowhere else to go.

He straddled her then, pinning her to the ground with his full weight and grab her face roughly in his hand. Gemi reacted, bringing what she assumed was a scalpel down hard into the man's thigh. He howled in pain and fell back. Gemi rolled away and pulled herself to a standing position. She made a break for the exit, but her feet were ripped out from under her, causing her to fall chest-first into the ground. Ignoring the way her ribs ached, she spun and brought her foot hard into his face. He fell back again, but only for a second. His hand wrapped around her ankle and dragged her to him.

Once again he straddled her. This time he pinned her arms underneath him, forcing his knees into the crook of her elbow.

"Help!" she screamed.

Her plea was met with a crushing blow to the face, right on her already bruised eye. She cried out in pain, her screams cut short as he wrapped his large hands around her neck, cutting off her air.

"Shut up or I will make this worse!" he said, letting go of her throat and leaving her gasping for breath.

Reaching behind him, he pulled out a knife, waving it in her field of vision before sliding the flat side of it down her face and chest. When it had reached the base of her ribs he pressed down, cutting deep into her stomach. She opened her mouth to scream again, but the sudden pressure of the man's lips muffled the sounds. His tongue snaked in her mouth circling around her tongue, the smell of his hot, rancid breath making her gag.

Pain seared through her side as he dug the knife into her flesh twice in rapid succession. He moaned into her mouth, seeming to enjoy her pain. Tears ran down her face as she struggled beneath him, frantically trying to breathe through his weight and the agony of his knife.

He pulled his mouth away and skimmed his tongue across her cheek, purring as he went.

"I love when there are tears," he said, digging the blade into her once more.

"Please," she cried, "please stop."

He leaned away, dropping the knife—now covered in her blood—to the ground. He smiled down at her as he grabbed her neck in his hands once more. Gemi knew from the look in his eyes that this time he wouldn't be letting her go. She went wild, trying with all of her might to free herself from him. With her throat still firmly gripped in his hands he slammed her head into the ground. The edges of her vision started to go black, creeping inward as the last seconds of her life ticked away.

She had lasted two days in this new world. That had to be some kind of accomplishment.

He let go all of a sudden, his eyes wide as blood sprayed over her from a wound in his neck. She would have screamed if she could. He was forced off of her, pushed sideways as Jaxton came into view. Gemi once again sucked air into her burning lungs, but it did not stop the blackness from surrounding her.

"Gemi...please...okay." Jaxton's muffled voice and pained face filled her head as she finally relented to the darkness.

# Chapter Five

Gemi woke to the feeling of being rocked back and forth. The first thing she noticed was that her mouth was dry as a bone.

Her limbs ached. Everything ached. Wherever she was, it definitely wasn't a tent. She must have been out for some time—and out cold—to have been moved from the camp and not woken. Her head was propped on something soft and she was covered to her neck in a blanket, tucked in tight at the edges of her body, making it difficult to move.

She rolled her head to the side to see Dr. Askel lying next to her, the majority of his body wrapped in bandages that had spots of blood seeping through some of them. His face was slack, eyes barely closed, but the steady rise and fall of his chest showed that he was at least breathing. She released a sigh of relief.

Glancing around, Gemi realized that she was inside one of the vans, which seemed to be moving. Whatever happened during the attack, it seemed that at least some of them were able to get out. Her stomach tightened at the thought of who may have been lost or left behind.

Gemi scanned the inside of the van, searching for anything to ease her immense thirst. That's when she spotted Jaxton curled up in the corner sleeping. His clothes were disheveled, covered in blood and soot and it was the first time she had seen his hair out of place. It was also the most peaceful she had ever seen his face, all the worry and sadness was gone. He looked so much younger.

Gemi rolled to her side in an effort to sit up but the deep ache that radiated through her whole body with each movement was making it difficult.

She finally got into a sitting position after a few tries, the blanket falling away as she did to reveal her bra and the bandages wrapped around her entire midsection. She looked over her body, taking inventory of the damage. Besides the large wounds on her side, she had smaller cuts and bruises all over her arms and chest. They already looked half-healed. Gemi reached up to touch her face, wincing as soon as her hands made contact. She was grateful then that there were no mirrors. If she looked half as bad as she felt then visual evidence was not wanted.

Gemi scooted over to the doctor and ran her hand over his forehead and through his hair. He had gotten it worse than her and had still managed to survive. She bent down giving him a quick peck on the cheek and covered him back up before reaching over and grabbing the chair beside him, using it as leverage to stand.

Walking slowly, her stiff muscles not wanting to cooperate, she made her way to the gear bags in the corner. There had to be something to drink. She rifled through them, trying her best to be quiet. She finally found a bottle of water at the very bottom and downed it in a few gulps. Instant relief flooded her mouth and throat.

Her hands grabbed at the inside wall of the van, using it for support as she made her way to where Jaxton slept. Halfway through her slow journey, the van hit a bump in the road forcing her off balance. She cried out in pain falling to her hands and knees.

He was up and to her in seconds, pulling her into his arms. "What are you doing?" he asked with an edge to his voice.

"I was thirsty," she breathed through the pain.

He sighed, lifting her into his arms. "You should have woken me. You need to be resting." He set her down on the seat, concern etched all over his face. His peace was gone.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"A couple of days."

"Days?" The alarm was obvious in her voice.

"Yes, the medicine we gave you to help heal your wounds also sedates you. I wasn't even expecting you to wake this early, not until we got to our next destination."

"Have we been driving the whole time?"

He nodded. "You should lay back down. Your body needs to heal."

"I'm fine," she replied, trying to ease his worry.

"You don't look fine," he retorted.

"Can I have some water?" she asked, changing the subject.

He raised an eyebrow at her, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. After a few seconds he obliged, standing and grabbing another bottle from the gear bags.

"Sip, don't gulp. Your stomach has been empty for days," he said, handing her the bottle.

"What happened?" she asked between sips.

"A couple of the affected ambushed the camp, set fire to a few of the tents to distract us. We thought we had gotten them all but..." he trailed off, his gaze going to her throat where large purple bruises covered the entirety of it. "I should've been there."

"This is not your fault. I shouldn't have wandered off with Sann."

His jaw clenched. "No, you shouldn't have."

"How is the doctor?" she asked, changing the subject again.

"We don't know. We did all we could, but none of us know how to treat that level of injury."

They both fell silent. Gemi stared at the doctor, Jaxton stared at her.

"Please stop. I'm okay," she said, turning back to him. "See, it's already halfway healed." She stretched an arm out in front of her, ignoring the discomfort it caused.

"When I saw you like that..." he cut short, his eyes going dark as they stared past her.

"You saved me for what, the third time now?" she said, reaching her hand to touch his face. "If you hadn't shown up when you did I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."

He met her gaze, his eyes burning right through her, alight with something she had never seen in him before. She was unable to look away, set in some kind of trance. Her heart raced, threatening to burst out of her chest. She dropped her hand from his face, trying to hide the clamminess that had taken over.

He leaned in closer, keeping his eyes locked on hers as he slid both of his hands up her arms, leaving a trail of goose bumps in their wake. They didn't stop once they reached her shoulders. Instead, he slid them up her neck and into her hair, tangling his fingers around the strands. Firm, but gentle he pulled her face toward his while leaning in to close the gap.

He invaded all of her senses, his proximity making her inhale in small panting breaths. He smelled like the woods and sweat and fire, somehow managing to make that combination enticing.

His mouth reached hers, brushing slightly against it. "Kiss me," he demanded. She breathed a sigh of relief, more than happy to oblige.

Abruptly the van lurched to a stop. Jaxton released her immediately, leaving her hanging in the air, her heart still doing backflips. He stood and walked toward the exit.

"I have to check on this," he called over his shoulder, before sliding out the door.

Gemi sat, stunned, trying to wrap her mind around the last few minutes. What the hell was that? She shook her head, trying to clear her brain, but an odd burning sensation she had never felt before swelled in her stomach, making her hot all over. How dare he do that to her.

She stood and walked to the gear bag searching for a shirt. She found what she was looking for, awkwardly pulling it on. It was two sizes too big and had the faint smell of Jaxton still on it. Her face grew hotter. She was about to do something he wouldn't like, but oddly the thought of upsetting him made her feel better.

She hobbled to the door and pushed it open. Sitting on the edge, she slid her feet to the ground. Jaxton's voice floated to where she stood.

"We have to keep going," he said.

"Everyone is exhausted. We've been on the road for days, we need to stop and regroup," a familiar voice said back.

"Out of the question. Neither one of them are stable, they need a real doctor."

Mustering all of her courage, she threw her shoulders back and stepped out into his line of sight. He was standing with Sann, and they both looked up at her. Jaxton's face went red, his mouth turning down at the corners. Sann smiled.

"She seems to be pretty stable to me," Sann said, walking toward her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. "We were all worried about you. Try not to do that again."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, trying her best to hide the wince his hug had caused.

"What are you doing up?" Jaxton called from behind them.

"Well," she said, wriggling free from Sann's grip. "It was a bit stuffy in there. I figured I would get fresh air while I could."

"You should be resting."

"That wasn't your opinion a minute ago, was it?" She cocked her head at him, feigning innocence. Jaxton glared back at her.

"What's up with the two of you?" Sann asked, glancing back and forth between them.

"Absolutely nothing," Gemi said, stressing each word.

Jaxton's stare darkened. "Can I talk to you for a second...alone?"

"Okay then," Sann said, stepping away, his hands high in the air. "I don't even want to know what this whole thing is. I'm going to go set up camp."

Gemi made like she was walking toward Jaxton, but threw her head in the air and walked right past him. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back toward him.

"Let go!" she said, ripping her arm free.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" he said, taking a step back.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"You are the worst liar I have ever met."

"And you are a really good one." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, the heat rising in her again. She had never felt like this before.

Jaxton looked over her shoulder to the group staring at them. "I'm not doing this here."

"Fine," she said and made her way to one of the vans, walking around to the other side where there would be no one to watch them. A few beats later Jaxton rounded the corner to join her.

"Do you want to explain to me what's going on?" he said.

"I think you're the one who needs to explain."

"I don't know what you are talking about," he muttered.

"Don't know what I'm talking about...How about we start with what the hell you were doing in there, and end with this right now." She was waving her arms in the air by the end of the rant, trying her best to ignore the pain it sent through her.

They both silently stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, neither one of them wanting to give in. Finally, he took a deep breath.

"That was a mistake and I'm sorry that it occurred. I promise I won't let it happen again."

Gemi felt like he had punched her in the stomach. The whispered words of the doctor flooded back into her head. He thought of her as a mistake, a mistake he had saved twice and then had almost kissed.

"Mistake," she repeated out loud, "good to know."

She was suddenly exhausted and thankful that the van was close enough to lean against. The last few days, her injuries, and his revelation were taking a toll on her. She leaned her head against the side of the van, feeling like the world was trying to crush her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She wanted to run, to escape from the conversation, but she knew her legs wouldn't carry her very far so she settled for going back to hiding out inside the van. She pushed off of the wall, turning to leave, but moved too fast. A searing pain ripped through her side, making her gasp for air and stumble to her knees.

Jaxton ran to her, pulling her up into his arms. "That's why I told you to rest. You're not fully healed yet." Gemi was mystified that he could be concerned and scold her at the same time.

Using him as support, she pushed to her feet and walked back toward the van. Neither one said a word to the other until they had reached the entrance.

"Here, let me help you," he said, not waiting for her reply before scooping her up in his arms and stepping inside.

"On the seat, please," she said.

He let out a sigh, obviously disagreeing with her, but did as she asked anyway.

"Let me take a look," he said, as he reached for her shirt. Gently he lifted the hem up and over her head. Gemi was stunned when she glanced down and saw that her bandages were now colored in red.

"I think you popped a suture. The healing creams can only do so much for wounds this deep, especially with amateurs at the helm." He leaned forward and undid the bandage, slowly unraveling it from her body.

Suddenly she felt embarrassed for her actions. It was obvious he cared about her on some level.

"You definitely popped a few stitches," he said. "I'll have to close it. We have numbing solution so it shouldn't cause too much discomfort."

He stood and walked to the gear bags without looking up at her. Her face was flushed red. In an effort to upset him she had injured herself. Her plan had worked, just not the way she had pictured it.

"How did you learn how to do this?" she asked.

"I learned from my father."

"Was he a doctor?"

"No," he said, and she knew that conversation was over.

His hands on her were distracting as they glided across her skin. Her body grew hot. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and slide her hands through his unkempt hair, but she fought the urge, instead gripping the edge of the seat, causing her knuckles to go white. Jaxton noticed, taking it as a sign that he had caused some sort of pain.

"I'm sorry, the numbing solution should be taking effect."

He worked on stitching her back up and cleaning the now dried blood in a matter of minutes. She felt none of it, partially due to the numbing cream, but also because all she could focus on was where his hands touched her. When he had finished redressing her wound he reached over and grabbed her shirt. He stretched his arm out to her, shirt in hand.

"Here," he said, looking up at her, his gray eyes filled with some emotion she couldn't put her finger on.

"Thank you." She slipped the shirt back on and leaned back in the chair. "I'm okay now. Don't worry, go set up the camp."

"I'll come get you when everything is together."

"Sounds good."

He was up and out of the van, the doors banging closed before she had time to let the full extent of her embarrassment sink in.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," the doctor croaked from the other corner.

Gemi jumped up and crossed, falling down next to him.

"You're alive," she cried, throwing her arms around him. "I was so worried."

"Seems like it," he said.

She smiled down at him, tears burning at the brim of her eyes. "Let me go get someone."

When Gemi exited the van for the second time she took a second to assess her surroundings. They were definitely not in the mountains anymore. The vans were parked in the overhang of heavy tree coverage, but not the pines she had seen sprawling at their last camp. They looked to be some kind of fruit tree and they stretched for miles in the direction that the vans were parked. To her right, she could see a dirt road not far off, no doubt the road they had been driving on.

The trees seemed to break in the distance to her left, but not a single member of her group was anywhere to be found. Walking to wherever they were was not an option, nor would she like to hear what Jaxton would have to say about that if she did. So instead she cupped her hands around her mouth and hollered.

"Hello! Hey, is someone here?"

She waited. Nothing.

"Hello!" she yelled.

Finally in the distance she saw someone running full speed toward her. They must have thought she was injured.

"I'm okay, don't worry!" she yelled, trying to reassure whoever it was.

When the person drew closer she saw that it was Sann. He looked mad.

"Are you trying to alert everyone to our whereabouts?" he snapped.

"No...I'm sorry...it's just the doctor. He's awake and I couldn't go walking around—"

"He's awake?" he asked, cutting her off.

"Yes, just now."

Sann strode past her and climbed up into the van. Gemi followed a lot slower, still weighed down by her injuries. She sat on the edge of the van, half wanting to give them privacy, but also half knowing she would never make it in without assistance.

She took a deep breath. They had to be getting close to base. A two-day drive on back roads would take them almost to the state border. It made sense that none of the military bases were allowed in city limits. How they had made it all the way to town at the very moment the chips started malfunctioning was beyond her. It made her think that someone had to know more than they were letting on. Someone had to have known something was wrong before the entire population began collapsing.

# Chapter Six

That night everyone gathered around the fire eating and talking among themselves—everyone except Gemi and the doctor who were confined to the medical tent. The camp had been set up in a tighter configuration so their laughter, although hushed, floated into the tent, making Gemi more than a little envious.

The doctor was recovering fast now that he had woken up. He was so full of energy one would think that he had never been through that horrific ordeal. The only tell was the fact that his injuries had limited his mobility quite a bit.

Gemi sat in a chair next to his bed, sharing dinner with him and listening to stories of when he worked in the military hospital. It was a whole world she did not know had existed until recently.

"How did you come to leave the hospital and join the exploring groups?" she asked.

"Let's just say I disagreed with some of their practices."

"So you decided to leave then?"

"Not exactly," he said as he speared around the applesauce on his plate.

"Well, if everyone is chipped at birth, how does one even become part of the military?" Her curiosity had taken over full force and, besides Sann, he was the only one willing to tell her the truth.

"There are two ways. Everyone is given a series of tests on their tenth birthday, do you remember that?"

"I think so, yes. They are used to measure your physical and mental ability."

"Ah, so you are told," he said. "They are actually used to measure the different abilities you would need to be part of the military staff. If they rate you as ready they will take you to a facility and gradually turn off the chip, letting you adapt to the new emotions. Then, once they feel you are ready, they will remove it entirely."

"Do you have a choice in joining?" she asked.

"Not if you score high enough. And once your chip is removed there's really no going back."

"How do they know that you won't react like everyone is now?" she asked.

"I never said it went without incident."

"Oh."

They were silent for a while, finishing off their dinner while she tried to digest more than her meal.

Being ripped away from family so young, it was heartwrenching. No wonder it wasn't something that the military openly advertised. _Hey, we're just going to take your child now. Don't worry, you can make more_. How had families gone along with it for so long and not have it be a known topic?

As awful as it was, she could understand why they did it so young. At ten you hadn't hit puberty yet. They would have a better chance at learning to control their emotions. Something most of the adults were evidently having issues with.

"What's the other way?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Hmm? Well I really shouldn't be telling you this, but what the hell. This is very hush-hush, you know. There are groups of people who like to live off the grid. They don't chip their children or, if they do, will have them removed in secret. Those are the ones who usually seek us out."

"My uncle wasn't chipped," she blurted out, not understanding why she was telling him. It just fell out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"It's more common than most civilians think."

Gemi was relieved to find no judgment in his words.

"Jaxton was one of those you know."

"What?" Gemi said, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"Oh, yes. He grew up in the outskirts of town. His father was a huge believer in the anti-chip ideology."

"How did he end up here then?"

"Ah, that's a long story. Best saved for another time."

"Another time?" she asked. "It's not like we are brimming with things to do, all cooped up like this."

The doctor rubbed his now scruffy chin in contemplation. "This doesn't leave this tent," he finally said. "There are few whom he trusts enough to tell about his past, and seeing how he has taken a liking to you perhaps it's best that you do know. As I said before, he grew up on the outskirts of town. His family was extremely against chipping. His mother had all of his brothers and sisters at home, never once bringing them into town or to any local facilities. It's lucky that there is a following that includes doctors such as myself or I'm sure there would be a higher number of deaths from birth and sickness. That leads me to answer your question as to why I was removed from the hospital and exiled out here."

"Not you too. But why?" she asked.

"I've seen both sides. Spent enough time around those who are in charge to know the things they would have you believe are not always what is best for you, but what is best for them," Dr. Askel spoke, his eyes reflecting some painful memory. "Anyway, back to the story at hand. You see, Jaxton was a very curious child, ornery at best. He would sneak away from their home and into the city. On one such trip, when he was sixteen, he met a young lady. They fell in love. He told her everything about how he was raised and where they lived, all about the philosophies of the anti-chippers. He proposed to her on the night he turned eighteen and they planned to run away together. He was crazy in love with her, you see, and willing to do anything—even get chipped—so that he could live a normal life with her."

Dr. Askel paused for a moment, staring off into the distance.

"It was the night they were to run away, and she went to meet him in the woods by his house, but instead of Jaxton, it was his father. He had become suspicious of the times that his son had disappeared in the night and began following him. He caught him leaving that night and beat him to within an inch of his life. He was barely able to walk when I arrived. He forced the girl back to their house and gave her a proposition, either he removed the chip or he was going to kill her then and there, right in front of Jaxton. Jaxton agreed to let his father take it out. She begged him not to, but at that point there wasn't much of an option. He really thought that she would survive, give them a chance to live out the rest of their lives together."

"That's awful," Gemi whispered.

"If only that was the end of the story," he said lowering his eyes from hers. "You see, there's a reason that they lower the strength of the chip before removing it from people. If you haven't noticed, people are kind of going crazy around here. You can imagine what could happen to an eighteen-year-old girl who had it forcefully removed and was secluded from her family. She started to slip into a deep depression, one that even I couldn't help her out of. Jaxton found her. She'd hung herself from the rafters of their room. He called me, hoping there would be some way to save her, but there was nothing that I could do. I took him with me that night and brought him to the military compound. I told them that I found him on the streets, confused and un-chipped. They hardly believed me. I was demoted and forced to work as the training doctor. When Jaxton was released on duty I requested to go with him, vowing to always take care of him."

Gemi sat in silence, trying to process all this new information. It explained a lot about Jaxton.

"Do you hate me now?" he whispered.

"I don't!" she exclaimed, crawling onto his cot to wrap her arms around him. "In all my years knowing about anti-chipping, I guess I never fully grasped what was going on out there or just didn't want to. It sounds to me that you were just trying to help both parties. It's illegal, yes, but who's to say what I would have done in your position."

"Oh my dear, I think that if you were able to feel the full range of emotion right now, the only thing you would be feeling is disgust toward me and the things I have done."

He gave her a kiss on the top of the head, wrapping his arms around her to pull her into a hug. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't grateful for that right now," he murmured.

They fell asleep like that, as Gemi pondered his revelations, wondering if it was true that she would really feel different about him, about all of them if she did not have a chip dictating her feelings.

# Chapter Seven

"What's all this now?"

Jaxton's voice pulled her out of her slumber. He was standing next to the cot, arms folded, staring at them questioningly. Gemi rubbed the sleep from her eyes, at a loss for words. She wasn't going to just up and tell him the conversation they had. By sheer luck, the doctor stepped in before she had to speak.

"Don't be jealous now, Jaxton. If you didn't force her into this little corner of our world, this could be you. She is a marvelous snuggler, in case you were wondering."

Gemi's face went bright red. She felt like disappearing. She rubbed her hands over her face again, trying her best to look everywhere but at him.

"That's why I am here actually," Jaxton said, still staring at her. "We're running low on supplies, there's a stream not far from camp where we could load up on water and possibly fish. I was wondering if, in your professional opinion, Gemi would be cleared to go on a little adventure with me."

Gemi bolted upright, her eyes alight with excitement. The thought of going anywhere else besides this tent had her on pins and needles.

"Well..." the doctor pondered.

"Please!" she begged.

"Well, I don't think that it would hurt anything. Her wounds should be healed passed the point of reinjury now. Good job on those sutures, by the way."

"Thank you!" Gemi jumped out of bed, ignoring the head rush it caused.

Jaxton smiled at her, a genuine smile that showed he was more than excited to be getting away from the camp as well.

"I'll meet you right outside. You should have a change of clothes in a bag under your bed," he said, before turning to leave.

Gemi scrambled about. As she pulled the clothes on she realized she now matched the same dreary uniform they all wore. You wouldn't be able to tell her apart in a lineup.

"A word of warning," Dr. Askel called from his bed.

Gemi stopped what she was doing, feeling the excitement fade she turned back to him.

"I will tell you the same thing I told him—don't get attached. If you think that for one second you are going to be let go once we get to base, you are sorely mistaken. If you take anything away from my story last night it is this, whatever you think of Jaxton's dad and the other anti-chippers, the people who run this world are much, much worse."

Gemi exited the tent with a cloud now hovering over her head. She now understood Jaxton's reservations and the reason he kept her at arm's length. The doctor was right, there were only two ways that this whole thing could play out. Either she went crazy and was killed or she lived and was forever experimented on. Neither one ended well for her.

The sun shone brightly down on her, the rays warming her skin despite the nip in the air. It did nothing for her lowered spirits.

Jaxton was leaning against a nearby tree, staring out into the distance. He was once again his perfectly presentable self, not a hair out of place. He stood upright when he saw her, a little smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Ready?" he asked.

Gemi nodded her head in response. She had to pretend to be excited now.

They walked side by side through the trees for some time. The only noise that could be heard was the crunching of their feet on leaves. Gemi scooped up one of the tree's discarded fruit. She twisted it around in her hand. Although it was decayed, it was still recognizable as the local type of apple, the sweet yellow kind one would use in pastries. They must be camping on the outskirts of a farm or apple orchard. Gemi dropped the apple and walked faster to catch up to Jaxton.

The walk was reminiscent of the last time she was pulled from camp and taken to the stream by Sann, the night that their camp was attacked. The memory sent a shiver down her spine and she blinked hard to push out the man with the knife. It felt like ages ago when, in reality, it hadn't even been a couple of days.

"It's right through here," Jaxton said.

They had reached the end of the trees and were staring at a small hill. He extended his hand out to her, offering to help her up. Gemi glanced at his outstretched hand, and then him, as she brushed past him, leaving him standing there with his hand still hanging in the air.

"Or not," he mumbled, trotting to catch up.

"I don't need your help," Gemi said to the open air in front of her.

"What is your problem?" he called up to her.

"Nothing. Nothing is my problem."

They reached the top of the climb and Gemi turned to him, still not even 100 percent sure what her problem was.

"You don't need to baby me, I'm full grown and more than capable of taking care of myself."

"I never said you weren't," Jaxton replied, his mouth turning down at the corners.

"You don't have to say anything! It's the way you treat me, like I'm made of glass."

"Look, I don't know what I've done to you in the last ten minutes, but—"

"Just stop! I need some space okay?" Gemi yelled.

Hurt registered all over his face. She instantly wanted to hide. Never in her life had she acted this way and now she was more than a little embarrassed. She turned from him and started her descent down the hill. In her urgency to get away from him and the situation, she forgot to focus on her feet and her toe caught the edge of a rock, sending her rolling down the hill.

Gemi hit the ground with a thud. She lay there at the bottom of the hill in a crumpled mess. She heard Jaxton sigh, the shuffling of feet, and then he was standing over her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes," was all she could manage. She continued staring at the ground, doing her best to avoid eye contact. It was hard to sound strong and confident while having the motor skills of a newborn calf.

"Are you planning on getting up anytime soon?"

"I figured it was time for a break. It's quite comfortable down here," she told him, not hiding her sulkiness.

"Well then," he said, sinking beside her, "I guess I'll join you."

"Great," she said under her breath.

"Ahhh," he breathed audibly.

She knew the game he was playing. She would not give in to it.

"Why don't you go set up and I will be along shortly."

"No, I believe a rest is in order after that tremendous mood swing you just took me on. Exhausting."

"Excuse me?" Gemi snapped.

She turned to face him and instantly wished she hadn't. He was staring at her, his eyes alight with humor, a smile spread across his face. The fire inside her burned hotter. He was enjoying this.

Gemi glared at him as she pushed up off of the ground into a seated position. She bit down hard on her cheek, trying her best to hide the wince that came along with movement. Her muscles hadn't fully recovered yet.

Jaxton cocked his head to one side, the smile still spread across his face.

She held his gaze, collecting herself before she pushed her body up, quite ungracefully, to a standing position.

Jaxton rolled his eyes at her as he stood back up.

"You know, if you would just admit that you are hurt and needed help—"

"I'm fine!" she cut him off.

Gemi turned from him and continued on to the stream, her side protesting the whole way.

"You're so stubborn," he called from behind her.

"Oh, _I'm_ the stubborn one," she mumbled to herself.

The nerve of him. He had gone from one end of the spectrum to the other with her in a matter of days. He pretended not to care and then the moment she was in any kind of danger he was as attentive as can be. Her face flushed, getting hotter the more she thought about everything.

She was too confused. She had been attacked, multiple times, thrown in with a bunch of people she hardly knew, half of whom disliked her. Watched her town practically torn to pieces. Had been almost murdered then almost kissed, followed by the kiss being ignored a short time later. He had pushed her away and then tried to pull her back, and now he was mocking her pain. The way she was feeling was starting to frighten her. She had gone from happy and content to whatever this was in the last few minutes.

Gemi stopped dead in her tracks, suddenly full of dread. Was she losing it like the others? Is this what happened, you started to feel frazzled and then, bam, you turned into a murderous wreck? Impossible, she thought. He was just aggravating, she kept telling herself. Just trying to push her buttons.

"Resting again?" he said, jogging up behind her.

"Nope." She pressed forward on their journey, head held high.

That was it. He was the most annoying person on this planet. At least his annoyance had done one thing. It was distracting, and allowed her to reach their destination. She just hoped he kept it up otherwise she was not all too sure how she would make it back to camp.

Gemi fell down on a stump close to the water, thankful to no longer be moving. No sooner had she started to catch her breath, when Jaxton was behind her, chuckling.

"Oh no, you're going to be helping me net the fish. This is a two-person job, why else do you think I brought you?" he said, his tone filled with humor at her expense.

"Fine."

Gemi stood again, this time audibly wincing. If he wanted to keep up this game, she would just play to his weakness.

Jaxton laughed and shook his head as he walked away. Right before reaching the water's edge he stooped to undo the laces on his shoes, removing them along with his socks before rolling up his pant legs.

Gemi glanced down at her own shoes and pants, knowing that there was no way she would be able to bend down to get them off now. He would not win.

She stomped past him, walking right into the water ignoring the cold that soaked through her shoes and pants, causing them to suction uncomfortably to her.

"So, how do we do this thing?" she asked.

"Well," he said, walking into the water after her. "We each grab an end of the netting and walk it along the stream. The current should help filter the fish inside."

Gemi held her hand out, waiting for him to give her the netting.

"So, you're really going to go through with this?" he asked.

"Of course I am. This is what you brought me here for, remember?" she replied.

"Okay then."

Jaxton tossed her the other end of the net. It came just shy of her grasp, falling in the stream below, the current taking it farther from her. She had a sinking suspicion he had done it on purpose.

Gemi walked downstream, the uneven rocks and strong current forcing her body to sway and balance, causing an ache to radiate in her side. She grasped the net and returned to where Jaxton stood, a smirk on her face.

"Okay, so once again, we each hold an end and walk upstream. The water filters the fish in and we leave victorious. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it. Water, fish, netting, victory."

Jaxton laughed and began to walk. Gemi followed suit, soon realizing that it wasn't as easy as it sounded. She was much shorter than him so the water hit her more than halfway up her legs, making balancing difficult. Her shoes added to the trouble, weighing her down and making her second-guess every step she took. At least she had a new skill. Editor and fish wrangler. It had quite a ring to it.

"I know this isn't easy."

"What?" she said, momentarily looking up. He was staring intently at the water and for a second she thought that maybe she was hearing things.

"I know this isn't easy. Running with a group like ours after growing up with civilization," he repeated, this time glancing up. He gave a quick shrug and went back to the task at hand.

How did he do that? Go from laughing to serious in a split second. How had people lived without chips? How had they made it through their day with their emotions swinging back and forth unbalanced? It was overwhelming.

"I don't think I ever properly thanked you for everything you've done for me. You and the rest," she said.

"Everyone excluding Kai, right?"

She laughed. "I think that goes without saying. She's really kind of awful."

"You have no idea."

The net tugged unexpectedly, pulling her arms back slightly. Another tug.

"Did we just catch a fish?" Gemi asked, the excitement evident in her voice.

"I would say at least two."

"I've never caught a fish before!"

They stopped moving in the water as Jaxton took her side of the net and twisted it together to encase their prizes. Gemi was too excited to contain it. She bounced up and down, her sudden good mood radiating off of her.

"If I knew that's all it took to make you happy I would have taken you fishing days ago. Save me some trouble," Jaxton called over his shoulder as he carried the net to the shore.

"I don't care if you're being sarcastic. You won't ruin this for me!" she hollered out to his back.

She made a step to follow him when her foot touched on a slick rock. She felt her feet kick out from under her bringing her crashing down into the rushing water. It was freezing, overwhelming. The water poured up her nose and into her mouth, choking her. Gemi pushed herself up with shaking hands, sputtering and spitting to clear her lungs.

"Are you okay?" Jaxton shouted as he made his way back to her.

"I'm good! That rock came out of nowhere." She took his outstretched hand and let him lead her back to shore. Gemi sat down on the stump, shaking from the icy clothes that now clung to her.

Jaxton sighed and sat beside her, pulling her into his arms. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms quickly, trying to warm her up.

"I'm going to get an earful from the good doctor when we get back," he whispered.

"If I make it back," she laughed.

"Well I could carry you, but it would be tricky up that hill."

"Don't be silly. I can make it up the hill on my own," Gemi said, leaning away from him.

He raised his eyebrows at her in response.

"I said I could make it up the hill. I obviously had issues with the downhill part."

"Well then, we should head back," he said, moving to stand.

"Wait." She grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. "Can we stay a bit longer?"

"I don't think that's a good idea. You're going to fall ill sitting here in wet clothes."

Gemi sighed, showing her obvious dislike of his continued babying of her.

"Okay, I concede you know what is best." Jaxton settled back down, arms raised in defeat. "We will stay as long as you like."

"Thank you."

They both sat there silently. Jaxton stared off into the direction of the water, and she stared at him. Even with her insight into his life, he was still so hard to read. She never knew which Jaxton she would be talking to from one moment to the next.

She stared harder, willing herself to read what was going on in his head. His face was an impassive mask. She needed to see his eyes, they were all that gave him away.

"I'm sorry for being so brash with you," she whispered.

"Hmm?" he said, turning back to face her.

"I said I'm sorry for snapping at you. I know that you're trying to help, but I'm sick of people looking at me like I'm about to break at any moment."

"I understand," he said, turning back away from her too quickly.

Well, that accomplished nothing except her relenting and apologizing.

"Why did you save me back in the city?" she blurted out. It came out of nowhere. She hadn't even been thinking of it, then pow, there it was. No taking it back now.

"What?" Jaxton turned back to face her, a wrinkle forming between his eyes.

"Why did you pull me out, back in the city? It seems to me that I've been nothing but a burden to the group."

"That's a stupid question."

"Well if it's so stupid then you should be able to answer it."

"I'm not having this conversation. Let's head back to camp."

Jaxton stood and began walking back to camp, leaving her sitting on the stump.

"Why are you avoiding the question?" Gemi yelled after him.

Jaxton stopped with his back still facing toward her. The area fell silent, the only noise coming from the rushing water. The seconds ticked on, stretching into what seemed like ages. Finally Jaxton turned back around to face her with a heavy groan. He said nothing as he stared at her speculatively.

"Well?" Gemi asked.

"You reminded me of someone," he said, walking back toward her.

"What?"

That was not the answer she was expecting.

"You reminded me of someone from my past. I saw you there in danger and I don't know...something came over me. I couldn't leave you there."

Gemi was at a loss for words. Up until this point she had adamantly believed it was his thought that she was a fragile creature incapable of fending for herself.

Jaxton plopped back on the ground in front of her. He no longer met her gaze. Instead he picked up a branch and made designs in the soil.

"Who was it I reminded you of?" she asked.

She knew she was pushing her luck now, but she wanted an answer. Any second he would shut back off and the topic would be forever closed.

"Someone I hadn't thought about in a long, long time. Her name was Adaline."

Jaxton threw the branch toward the water, and Gemi watched it arc through the air before hitting his mark with a splash. When she turned back toward him he was staring at her with a look that almost felt as if he was sizing her up. He breathed a heavy sigh and flopped back on the ground.

"She was an innocent like you," he continued, "sweet and trusting to a fault. She trusted me, trusted me to protect her and...I didn't."

Gemi's heart sank. Adaline was the woman he planned to run away with, the girl from the story Dr. Askel had told her. After all this time he still blamed himself for her death.

"So the kiss..." Gemi trailed off.

"The kiss was a mistake as I already said," Jaxton said, sitting upright, meeting her gaze at last.

Now it was her turn to want to look away.

"A mistake because you would be kissing me, or a mistake because you were trying to kiss someone from your past?" Gemi asked.

"A mistake because it would be wrong to kiss you. Okay, at first yes I saw a lot of her in you, but then that wore off and all I saw was a scared girl who I pulled into something that she was not equipped to handle. I have a mission to get you back to base safe and I won't be complicating it."

"Good to know I'm a complication..."

"Ugh. I never said that!" He ran his hands through his hair. "You see? I can't even have a conversation without it falling to pieces. This would never work and I can't stand the thought of failing you too."

"Why?" she asked, tears now welling in her eyes. She wasn't sure why she was crying. Maybe it was his rejection of her twice, or him comparing her to a dead woman that had gone insane, but she could not stop her tears from falling.

She felt his arm wrap around her and pull her into his chest. Instead of comforting her, it made her cry harder. Deep, heavy sobs that shook her entire body. It was as if the last few days poured out of her at once. Jaxton said nothing more, he simply sat there and let her fall to pieces, perhaps knowing it was what she needed to pull herself back together. A stronger person for it.

She lay like that for some time. Eventually the tears dried and her breathing slowed. The sun was now high in the sky. Jaxton must have been itching to go, but he didn't make the first move. Gemi sat up, her head throbbing from the effort.

"Let's head back," she said.

"Are you sure?" his voice was heavy with concern.

"Yes. They must be wondering where we are."

"Okay," he said, still hesitant.

Gemi stood and walked toward the hill, back to camp without another word. Jaxton followed suit, only touching her when he placed his hand on her lower back to help her back up the hill.

Everyone was gathered for lunch when they returned. Gemi left Jaxton with everyone else and headed right to the medical tent.

"Catch anything good?" the doctor asked as she entered.

"Yeah, a few fish," she replied.

The doctor caught one good look at her face and sat straight up in his bed.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," she lied. "Well, actually, I fell down a hill."

Dr. Askel beckoned for her to sit next to him. He checked her injury as he had many times already. He pressed on her bones, checking for breaks and bruising before checking her healing wounds.

"Well, nothing is broken," he said. "And your existing injury is almost all the way healed. You should be good to go by morning."

"Thank you."

Gemi hopped off his bed and made her way to her own. She crawled onto it and curled in a ball, physically and mentally exhausted.

"Are you not going to eat?" he asked.

"I'm not really hungry."

It was true she had lost her appetite after her conversation with the doctor, and that was only perpetuated by the rest of the morning's events.

She had planned to sleep, to not speak again of the conversation she had with Jaxton, but in the moment something came over her. The doctor was always one to tell the full truth, never holding anything back.

"I remind him of her," she said, rolling over to face the doctor.

"Who?"

"Adaline."

"He...told you about her?" he asked, shock registering in his voice.

"Yes, he said that I reminded him of her, which is the reason that he saved me back in the city."

"I suppose you do look like her," the doctor said, tilting his head to the side. "But I think you would have to squint really hard. Perhaps our dear Jaxton just has very bad eyesight."

"That's not funny."

"Well, the truth of the matter is that I can see why he would say that. When he met her she was still chipped. She had the same demeanor that you do now. He had nothing but the best intentions when he rescued you. Besides, you should take it as a compliment."

"I don't think reminding him of his painful past, or someone who lost it, is a good thing."

"It is good because he was a different person then. Maybe you can help him get back to that point. Then again I stand by what I said, don't get attached."

They both fell silent. Gemi flopped her arm over her eyes, half wanting to force sleep, but mostly wanting to block out Dr. Askel's speculative stare.

She felt something changing in her, something that terrified her. The doctor said that she could help Jaxton be the person he once was. But deep down she knew that they were all, along with the rest of the world, helping to change her into someone else. Someone she didn't recognize.

# Chapter Eight

The next few days passed uneventfully. Gemi and the doctor were held up in their tent, the doctor not well enough to leave yet, and Gemi not daring to. There had been no sign of Jaxton or anyone else really. The one person who came to visit her was Sann and he only came when it was mealtime.

It was probably for the best. It gave the others a chance to calm down and forget about her. Forget the things that Kai had blamed her for. Forget her not-so-subtle breakdown on the beach with someone who, in many ways, was still a complete stranger.

By the third day Dr. Askel had become antsy. His wounds were pretty much healed, and he was aching to get up and go rejoin the rest of the group. He would be welcomed back with open arms and wide smiles. Of course he would. He was like them. A small fire welled in her stomach at the thought.

Gemi had been fine for over a day now, but had yet to muster the courage to go face Jaxton and the others, so instead she played as if she was still in pain.

"It's odd you're not feeling better yet," the doctor said to her as he pulled his shoes on.

"Yes...maybe it was just a combination of all the injuries, you know?"

"Well, if you're not better by tomorrow, we may need to dose you with more medication. I hope that isn't the case, as we are starting to run low on supplies." The doctor eyed her suspiciously. "I think that, for me at least, it's time to rejoin the living."

"I'm glad to hear it," said Gemi, faking a smile.

It felt like a stab at her. Maybe she was death. Or perhaps it simply meant she brought death. She was probably overreacting, over analyzing.

"Yes, well, I think that you should try to join us for dinner at least," he continued. "Maybe your body just needs a good stretch to get it back on the healing path."

He left before she could object. There was no way she was going back out there. She knew she would need to eventually. Now that the doctor was mended they would be back on the road again, but that just meant being able to hide out in a cargo van.

"Well, well," called a voice from the entrance. "Still hiding out?" Sann stepped into the room and strode toward her. "I can't imagine after everything, falling down a hill took you out. What gives?"

He sat down next to her.

"Come on, little bird. It's time you pulled yourself out of this cave."

Sann grabbed her arm and stood, pulling her up with him.

"Stop!" she screamed, ripping her hand away. "And stop calling me that! I am not some delicate creature. Everyone just needs to stop treating me like I am!"

"Damn, duly noted. You might want to get a grasp of that temper before Kai gets ahold of you. She has been itching for you to slip up."

He left without another word. Gemi stood there, her head spinning. Her hands clenched into fists at her side. Temper? Oh God, she was losing it. She had to get out of there.

Gemi ran from the tent, heading up toward the path she had taken to go fishing. Her muscles cramped, aching from fatigue and lack of mobility over the past few days. Her breath came in quick bursts. She ignored them, instead pushing faster.

The trees flew by her face in a haze. Spots of green and brown that didn't quite take shape. She wasn't exactly sure when it had happened, but out of nowhere tears streamed down her face. They blocked her vision, making it hard to see where she was going. They said that all the chips had shut off. It was possible that her emotions had been building since that day, slowly growing and eating at her until she might find herself swinging by a noose.

She stopped when she reached the hill that led to the stream and clutched at a nearby tree, using it for support as she tried to catch her breath. Her whole body shook from exertion and fear. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, annoyed at their very presence.

"What are you doing out here?"

Gemi looked up to see Kai and Callum walking toward her. Both of them had looks of pure hatred painted across their faces, obviously not too happy to have her anywhere near them. Gemi stood upright, leaving one hand gripping onto the tree for support.

"I, um, just needed some air," she stammered.

"So happy you had to come all the way out here to get it," Kai snarled back at her and wrapped her arm around Callum, pulling him in closer.

"I'm glad to see you're better, Callum," Gemi said, ignoring Kai.

He said nothing in return, just glared at her as he passed. Kai stopped in front of her and dropped the fishing gear at their feet.

"Don't speak to him. Better yet, just stay the hell away from both of us."

"I didn't mean anything by it."

Gemi took a step back. Kai was unpredictable and with no one else around to intervene there was no telling what she was capable of.

"I don't care what you meant by it," Kai said before she grabbed Gemi by the back of her neck and forced her to the ground. Kai drew her leg back and delivered a swift kick to Gemi's side. Not again, she thought, as pain flared in her flank.

"Stay away from us and we will be just fine." She kicked her again. "God, I think that the doctor will be very disappointed in you when he finds out that you have taken another spill down the same hill."

Kai dropped her foot hard on Gemi's lower back and twisted her heel in deeper. She lay there gasping into the dirt. The fire in her stomach grew. She wanted nothing more than to tackle Kai to the ground and show her what it felt like to be on the receiving end. Maybe grab the knife on her hip and...No. The thought was pushed away hastily. Gemi closed her eyes tighter wishing Kai would leave before the fire consumed her.

"Let's go, Kai. I'm starving," Callum called from the distance.

"Not a word about this," Kai said.

She removed her foot from her back and turned to leave without another word. Gemi stayed still until she could no longer hear their feet crunching on the leaves that covered most of the ground. When she was sure that they had left she rolled onto her back, taking note of the dull pain that came along with it.

Gemi lost track of how long she lay like that, watching the trees blow in the wind that had picked up over the last few days. The leaves had begun to brown, the unharvested fruit falling to the ground to rot where they lay. Gemi breathed in deep. In four, out four. Little by little the fire subsided until she felt like herself again. Of course she would never hurt anyone. Her mind was just overthinking, taking pieces of things that had happened to her and forcing them on other people. That was the only way to explain it.

When she realized that the sun had started to dip low in the sky she decided that it was time to head back. She was a bit in shock that no one had come looking for her, but seeing as the doctor was still in no shape to walk long distances yet and she had yelled at the two other people that would speak to her, she really shouldn't have been too surprised.

The sun was setting when she arrived back at camp. It was dead quiet, without a soul in sight. Something was wrong. Fear tightened her chest at the thought that something may have happened while she was gone, like the last time.

She crept through the camp, resisting the urge to call out, just in case there were affected present. As she neared the medical tent she started to hear voices. They were coming from a small tent she hadn't noticed before, tucked behind the kitchen.

Gemi snuck up close to the opening to where she could partially see inside, but not in direct eyesight of anyone else. Jaxton, Allon, and Sann stood in a circle with the doctor who sat at a nearby desk. They all wore the same concerned expression.

"When was the last time anyone had any communication with them?" Jaxton asked.

"The day we set up camp here, so a few days ago," said Allon.

"They may have just temporarily lost connection, what with everything that is going on," Jaxton replied.

"It's been days. We've never lost contact for that long. Something must have happened. The last I heard the cities were worse, the numbers of those affected had almost tripled."

"They could have broken connection with us to hide our location," said Jaxton.

"I don't think they would do that. The affected don't seem to be that inept to electronics. They appear to have one thing on their mind," the doctor interjected.

"Whatever this is, it's not good," said Allon.

"Spying, are we?" a voice called from behind Gemi.

A hand was on her, pushing her full force through the opening of the tent. Gemi lost her balance and fell sprawling on the ground at the group's feet.

"What the hell?" Jaxton asked. He bent down and lifted her to her feet "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I think so," she replied.

"What was that, Callum?" he said, turning to face her assailant.

"She was spying on your conversation. No doubt reporting back to her crazies. I told you we shouldn't trust her."

"I think Kai has gotten into your head. She isn't working for anyone," Sann interjected.

"Explain how everything went to shit the moment we picked her sorry ass up," Callum was yelling now.

"The world went to shit, that's what happened," Sann said.

"You need to calm down right now," Jaxton said, stepping forward.

"I don't have to listen to a damn thing you say."

"As your commanding officer you—"

"Commanding officer of what? For all we know we are all that's left!"

"Even more reason for you to calm the hell down. We need to formulate a plan," Jaxton replied, as composed as ever.

"I have a plan for you. We kill that liability," Callum said, pointing a thick finger at Gemi. "Then we can try to make it back to base to find what the fuck happened."

"You're not going to lay a finger on her," Jaxton's tone was warning now. "You need to go cool off before you do something stupid."

"Come on, Callum, you know that she is to be protected at all cost until—"

"Until she loses it?" Callum snarled, interrupting Sann. "Well I would say she already has. She ambushed Kai in the woods when we were headed back to camp. I had to pull her off of her."

"Is that true?" Jaxton asked, turning to Gemi.

"What? No, I didn't attack anyone! She was the one—"

"You lying bitch! Kai has bruises all over her body," Callum said, glaring at Gemi the entire time.

"Why didn't she come to me?" Dr. Askel asked.

"Why would she? She knew you would come up with a reason to defend your little chipped pet."

All eyes turned to Gemi, not one of them were reassuring.

"I didn't attack anyone. I was walking to the stream when I ran into them. Kai attacked me, pushed me onto the ground, and kicked me a few times. Here look," Gemi said, as she lifted her shirt up to expose her tender back. Purple bruises had appeared where Kai's shoe had made contact.

"You see, see how her crazy brain is twisting things? Kai didn't touch her. I kicked her in an effort to get her off of Kai. She had her hands wrapped around her throat. If you don't believe me go have a look at her yourself." Callum backed out of the tent, his arms raised in a defeated posture. It was almost as if all the fight had suddenly left his body. It was odd, making Gemi feel uneasy.

"Sann you stay with Gemi. The doc and I will go take a look at Kai and get her side of the story," Jaxton said. He shot one quick glance in her direction before he stepped outside to follow Callum.

The group left together, leaving her standing there in the middle of the tent completely confused. She replayed the afternoon over and over in her head trying to think if she actually had laid a hand on Kai. She had wanted to. For the first time in her twenty-five years she truly did want to lay her hands on someone when the fire in her stomach was at its hottest. But she hadn't. She couldn't have...

"No one would blame you if you did," Sann said from beside her, as if reading her mind.

"I wouldn't..."

"I know I've wanted to." Sann sat in the chair and kicked his feet up on the desk, relaxed as ever.

Jaxton and the doctor arrived back at the tent sometime later. Both looked worn-out.

"So what's the verdict?" Sann asked, sitting back up straight.

"Inconclusive," the doctor replied.

"Gemi, you're going to be sleeping in my tent tonight," said Jaxton.

"Was she injured?" Gemi asked.

"We'll talk about it in the morning."

"What does that mean—?"

"I said we will talk about it in the morning." Jaxton met her gaze, holding it for a beat as a sad emotion passed through his face before returning to his normal stoic expression. "Do you need to grab anything?" he asked.

Gemi shook her head.

"Good, let's go."

Her bed had already been moved into the tent, pushed all the way to one side allowing a good distance between it and Jaxton's bed. Gemi went straight toward it, too tired to think about anything else. She lay there in a ball, not even bothering to remove her shoes.

Jaxton draped a blanket over her and tucked in the corners before retreating to his bed. He pulled a raggedy book out of his bag and began to read it in the dim light of the lantern. The cover was so worn she could no longer make out the title. Books, she was good at books. She closed her eyes and pictured herself back in her office on the tenth floor—back before the madness, back when the world made sense and murder and violence were things you read about in history books. Not something that surrounded you. Not something that threatened to consume you.

Gemi bolted upright, her skin so hot it felt as if it might melt right off. The bed was damp where she had been lying. She could still feel beads of sweat rolling down her neck. She tried to focus on her surroundings, the silence of the camp letting her know that it must be the middle of the night. She had no recollection of falling asleep. Jaxton was out cold, his peaceful face pointed in her direction, with his book draped across his chest.

Gemi pulled herself out of bed and walked toward one of his gear bags in search of water. She rummaged around, trying her best to be as quiet as she could so as not to wake him. Finally she found a half-full bottle. They really were running low on supplies. Gemi downed its contents in two large gulps despite her conscience nagging at her that she probably should have left some for later.

While putting the contents of the bag back, a silver glint caught her eye. One of Jaxton's knives had come loose from its sheath and now glowed in the dim light. Gemi stared at it, transfixed for a few moments before reaching out and grasping the hilt in her hand. Her other hand found the edge of the blade and ever so slowly she slid it across her palm. A trail of red followed as blood oozed from the wound and pooled in the center before flowing over the sides and falling to the ground.

Gemi brought her hand close to her face to examine it. She extended her fingers out and then brought them in to form a fist, all the while watching the wound take on different shapes as it opened and closed. The red of her blood intrigued her the most, urging her to see more.

In one swift motion she laid her hand on the floor of the tent and brought the blade down hard, the tip piercing all the way through to the other side pinning it to the earth. Giddiness ripped through her, more, she needed to see more.

Gemi pulled the blade from her hand and stood. She walked to where Jaxton slept, a trail of blood following her. He had turned his face from her, leaving his neck now exposed to the point where the soft beat of his heart was visible in his artery. She climbed onto the bed and straddled him, doing her best to not rouse him. With one hand she pushed on his forehead pinning it to the bed, the other hand brought the glistening red blade to his throat and pressed down hard before sliding it across to the other side.

Blood sprayed violently from his now-severed artery. Jaxton's eyes flew open to survey the room before resting on Gemi's face. He pushed on her chest in a feeble effort to unseat her from on top of him, but the blade brought swiftly to his chest rewarded each attempt.

Eventually, he stopped struggling, resigning himself to his fate. Blood foamed out of his mouth with each ragged breath as he tried desperately to bring air into his ruptured lungs.

"Shhh," she whispered in his ear as his heart finally gave up its erratic fluttering.

Gemi woke up screaming and drenched in sweat. The dark tent moved in uneasy waves, making her stomach do summersaults. Hands were on her, shaking her whole body. Jaxton's face came into view as her eyes began to focus and the tent stopped moving.

"What's wrong?" he yelled as he brought his hands up to her face to push her sweat-matted hair away from her eyes.

"Don't touch me! Stay away!" Gemi screamed, pushing his hands away from her.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Oh God...I...I killed you. I killed you and I liked it," she whimpered. Gemi pulled her knees up close to her chest and hugged them in tight.

"What?" he asked.

"I found a knife in your bag...I'm losing it like all the others."

"Gemi, it was a dream," he said, reaching a hand back out to her.

"No!" She batted his hand away again. "You don't understand! I liked it. I watched you take your last breaths at my hand and I enjoyed it. It's only a matter of time before I go completely mad."

Heavy sobs racked her body.

"Please calm down before you wake the whole camp," Jaxton pleaded.

"How...can...I..." she managed through caught breaths. "I killed you...Killed you and tried to kill Kai."

"Did you?" he said, taking a step back from her.

"I don't know anymore."

"Gemi, calm down and take a breath."

She peeked up at him from her folded arms. He was standing in front of her demonstrating a deep breath, emphasizing it with the rise and fall of his hands. Full of hesitation, she sat upright and breathed in deep with him. After a few minutes the tears dried and her breathing had returned to a steady normal tempo.

"Okay," he said, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Now that you are calm I need you to answer me. Did you attack Kai?"

"I don't remember doing it. I remember her attacking me. I wanted to though. When she was kicking me I wanted to... I don't know if I can trust myself anymore."

"Do you want to hurt me?" he asked.

"No, I don't."

"Are you sure?"

Gemi nodded.

Jaxton walked over to the gear bags. He bent over momentarily searching for something before he stood upright and walked back toward her. He placed a knife unsheathed on the bed at her feet.

"What about now?" he asked.

Wide eyes met his. It was the same blade she dreamed about, found in the same exact bag. She was terrified to even look at it for fear she would be overtaken with the need to murder. Jaxton rolled his eyes and grasped her by the hand to push the handle of the blade into it.

"Well?" he asked.

Gemi looked at the blade in her hand and was relieved that no insane tendencies overtook her. "No, I think I'm okay."

Without a word Jaxton reached over and grabbed her hand in his, pressing her fingers into a tighter grip on the handle. Before she knew what was happening he brought the blade down on his open palm, the sharp blade slicing clean through his soft skin.

"What the hell are you doing?" Gemi screamed, fighting to release her hand from his.

The blood pooled in the palm of his hand just as it had to her hand in the dream. After staring at her silently for some time he released her hand from his. Gemi reacted, throwing the blade to the floor as if it was made of hot embers. She clutched his hand in hers and grabbed the sheet to stop the bleeding. She tore at the fabric, ripping a strip off of the weak material and began wrapping it around his hand.

"Why would you do that?" she yelled.

"I was proving a point."

"What?"

"Well if you really were going insane you probably wouldn't have let a moment go where you had the opportunity to hurt me, and wouldn't be acting the way you are now," he said, his voice far too confident. Far too superior.

"And if I had been losing it, what then?"

"I guess it was a risk I was willing to take. Plus, now I know that you didn't attack Kai."

"Oh and how do you know that? What if I am just really convincing?" she said.

"Are you trying to change my mind?" he asked.

"Well...no, but I just want to clarify that this is a very dangerous game you are playing at. I mean, I'm toeing a delicate line here."

A laugh erupted from him, deep and joyful. It took Gemi by surprise, making her stop fussing over his wound. She had never heard him laugh like this. Sure he had laughed at her expense, but if anything, that was condescending. This was something else entirely.

"What exactly is funny about all this?" she scolded.

"Nothing. I'm just relieved that you're not losing it. The truth of the matter is that we were to take a vote in the morning, if the majority voted that they believed you had snapped then..." He stopped when he surveyed the look of horror on her face.

"Then you were going to kill me?" Gemi shrieked.

"No! No, that's not what I said."

She jumped from the bed and retreated into the corner. At that moment she wished she hadn't hastily thrown the knife away. She glanced frantically for it, but it was nowhere to be found in the dim light.

"You didn't have to say it! You're all monsters! You say that we are the crazy ones, but we're not the ones who have full control over our emotions but still choose to kill."

Her brain told her to flee, to run as far away from this place as humanly possible. She sidestepped toward the exit, her hand reaching out, trembling, in search of the tent opening. Once she grasped the edge she moved, making a run for it, but Jaxton was faster. He grabbed her by the back of the shirt and pulled her hard into him, his hands trying to pin down her flailing arms. Her elbow sank into his stomach and she felt the muscles tense, his body bowing forward as a muffled groan escaped his lips. For the briefest of seconds he stopped fighting back as hard.

Gemi took advantage of his pause and made a run for it again, but as before, he moved far quicker than her. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her, his biceps tightening around her body like a vice as he lifted her into the air. He swung her back around to face the other side of the tent, still keeping his grip on her. Although muscular, she never realized how strong he was until that point.

"Stop," he growled in her ear as she fought to free herself.

"Get...off...of...me." She accentuated each word as she continued to struggle with him. Biting him came to mind, but she decided against it, instead she brought the heel of her foot down hard on his. It did nothing, as his boots protected him from her attempts.

Growing weary of the fight, Jaxton became more forceful. He pressed his arms around her tighter, the force threatening to squeeze the air right out of her body and leaned back, taking her to the ground with him. She landed hard on his chest with her legs kicking up into the air. Using the moment of surprise against her, he was able to roll her off of him and onto her back on the floor. Before she had a second to get up he was on her, pinning her arms above her head at an angle that might break them if she continued to struggle.

"Listen!" he bellowed, a few inches from her face.

Gemi stopped fighting. She lay motionless underneath him, her face flushed from the effort and her breath coming in short bursts.

"I was never going to let anything happen to you," he said, releasing some of the pressure on her arms, making them ache as the blood rushed back to them. "I said I would protect you and I meant it. Now, if I let you up are you done trying to run from me?"

"Yes," she whispered, still not 100 percent sure that she did trust him.

The weight on her arms and chest eased as he climbed off her, although he remained close, his legs straddling her body just in case she decided to run again. He was much more menacing at that angle. When she did not make a break for it he reached his hand out to her to help her up.

Gemi took it, figuring it was probably not in her best interest to provoke him any further. Once she was on her feet he made a small movement to her side, placing his body between her and the exit. It seemed he trusted her just as much as she trusted him.

"I said I wasn't going to run," she said, making her way back to her bed.

"One can't be too careful," he retorted.

Mirroring her, he moved to his bed and sat on the edge where he continued to stare at her. Gemi rolled her eyes and lay down, turning her back to him. Tomorrow was not going to be a good day.

# Chapter Nine

Gemi did not sleep well. Jaxton didn't sleep at all. Every time she turned toward him in her restless movements, he was sitting up. Sometimes he stared into the distance. Sometimes she caught him staring at her and it was then that he would glance away.

The dreams kept coming as well. Somehow they seemed less jarring after that first time, no longer causing her to wake up screaming. She hadn't decided if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

When she finally gave up on sleep and pulled herself out of bed, Jaxton was sitting by the gear bags cleaning his knives. When he saw she was up, he stopped what he was doing and glanced up at her. The dark circles under his eyes showed how tired he was.

"Are the others awake?" she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders in response. "I haven't heard much noise out there."

"Okay, I guess I'll go get something to eat," she said, moving toward the exit.

"Well then," he said, standing and returning the blade to the sheath at his waist. "I'll join you."

There was no point in arguing with him. He may just end up tackling her again. So with a roll of the eyes she nodded her head at him and walked out through the tent opening.

The sun had just started to rise. The mornings were becoming bitter, the dew standing on the ground confirming her thought, as it showed signs of frost. If they did not make it back to the home base before winter was in full swing they would be in serious trouble.

When they reached the kitchen Gemi was shocked that most of the camp was already awake and midmeal. Her arrival was not a welcome one, she realized right off. Hard eyes met hers, making her wish that she had just stayed back in the tent with Jaxton awkwardly watching over her. Everyone had already picked a side, and she had a sinking feeling it wasn't hers.

The doctor and Sann were sitting together in the far corner, both avoiding eye contact. They must not know that she had been let in on the secret vote that was to decide if she would be put down, as they had so colorfully said before.

"Keep her away from me!" Kai screamed as she rounded the corner with Callum.

Gemi was surprised to see light bruises marking the skin around her neck and face. Her lip was fat and she had several scratches that looked as if someone had clawed at her arms.

Callum scowled at her, pulling Kai in closer to him as Gemi approached. She was overwhelmed with the urge to defend herself of these allegations, but thought better of it when she saw Kai begin to shake and cry.

Her blood ran cold.

Either Kai was a superb actress, or Gemi had in fact attacked her. The more she thought about the incident in the woods the more images of her attacking Kai popped into her head. It was becoming harder and harder to define the truth in her own memory.

"I'm sorry, I—" Gemi began to say.

"Enough, Kai," Jaxton cut her off, stepping in between the two women.

"She has every right to be terrified of that monster," Callum interjected. "I think it's time we take a vote, screw waiting."

"That's irrelevant now," Jaxton said.

"Excuse me?" Kai said, her eyes drying and becoming hard.

"I don't think she attacked you," he said, deadpan.

"Explain all the marks on her then," Callum snapped.

"Well honestly, I think that maybe you should explain that."

Jaxton walked past them, dismissing them without a word. Gemi followed close behind, not wanting to be caught up in any of the backlash that was to come.

"Screw you, Jaxton, there was a deal in place!" Kai called after him.

"Does someone want to explain what's going on?" Sann asked from the side.

"Since Jaxton refuses to believe that his little pet here could hurt anyone, Dr. Askel decided that we should put it to a vote, which Jaxton agreed to," Callum was practically yelling, causing the rest of the camp to turn in their direction.

Gemi glanced at the doctor, who immediately looked away. She could not believe that he would turn on her like that. She felt the world closing in on her. Jaxton was the only one who seemed to have her interest in mind and how long would that last?

"Let them vote," she said under her breath.

"No," Jaxton growled in her ear.

"A deal is a deal," she said throwing her chin in the air and doing her best to put on a brave face.

Kai scoffed loud enough for her to hear.

"No," Jaxton said firmly, "I'm no longer playing these games. No voting to murder, no more animosity, just no more. If anyone has a problem with it, you know where the road is."

"I'm not staying in the same camp with a crazy," said Kai.

"Then leave," he snapped. "But good luck making it back to base on foot."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Kai. Either you are all in and with us, or you are out."

Kai stood there, mouth gaping. For once, since Gemi had met her, she had nothing to say. It was quite a spectacular sight.

"Jaxton I don't think—" the doctor started.

"No! This is where we are. We will need to work together, if you don't think that you can handle it, you need to leave—plain and simple."

The camp went silent. Everyone knew their chances of making it all the way to base on foot were slim.

"Fuck you, Jaxton," Kai said.

"Be gone by nightfall. And take him with you."

"I will get you back for this," she shouted.

And then she was gone.

Lunch went by awkwardly as everyone went about eating and avoiding conversation. Gemi and Jaxton sat by themselves. Even the doctor and Sann kept their distance. As much as Jaxton had spoken about being together and all or nothing, his exiling of Kai and Callum had made it clear what he really meant. It was him and her against everyone else.

"What's to say that they won't come back in the middle of the night?" Gemi asked after Jaxton returned to the tent.

She had stayed behind when the group went to see them off. She figured it was probably not best to provoke the situation any further, and her presence may have done just that.

"They won't." Knowing by the look on her face that she wasn't mollified, he continued. "Besides, there won't be a camp to come back to. We head out in a few hours, so you should get some rest."

Gemi still felt torn about the whole ordeal. On one hand, yes, Kai seemed to hate her for reasons she could hardly grasp, but throwing her out on her own was sentencing her to death. It made them no better than the savages running around. And Kai had a point. She was a ticking time bomb and no one would be able to stop that.

"You should have let them stay," Gemi whispered as she exited the tent, ignoring Jaxton's requests for her to stay.

The night was brisk, making her hug her arms in tight to her chest. The rest of the group hurried around the camp, pulling apart equipment to store away for the journey ahead. No one acknowledged her.

Full of angst, Gemi took off in a full sprint toward the doctor's tent. She was relieved to see it was still standing and the doctor was inside packing his belongings.

"I'm so sorry," she said, bursting through the opening.

Surprised by her sudden entrance, Dr. Askel dropped the stack of books he had been preparing to put into a duffel bag.

"Sorry for what?" he asked.

"I never meant for that to happen to Kai. I didn't even know that was what Jaxton had planned."

He eyed her skeptically for a short while before nodding.

"We could still catch up with them, get them to rejoin the group."

"Jaxton would never allow it," he said, bending down to retrieve the books sprawled across the ground. "Besides, Kai thinks you planned this. Hell, we all kind of thought that. She would never come back willingly with you here."

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we make it back and she doesn't."

"Well, I would say that you might as well stop dwelling on things you can't change."

"Everyone hates me, don't they?" Gemi asked.

The room went silent again as the doctor continued to pack. He was avoiding the question, or coming up with a nice way of telling her that her fears were right.

"They don't necessarily hate you," he said finally. "But you have to understand—Kai and Callum, they were one of us, family. Jaxton chose you, an outsider over their well-being. It doesn't sit well. I just wouldn't expect to be winning any popularity contests in the near future is all."

Outsider, the word bounced around in her head causing a knot to form deep in her stomach.

"I could ask Jaxton to let them back, I'm sure he would listen to—"

"Like I said," he said, cutting her off. "The point is moot. You might as well go pack. We head out soon and I have a lot left to do as you can clearly see."

Knowing that the conversation was over she turned to leave, to go where she was not sure. Gemi walked to the edge of their camp and sat down under a tree, completely dejected.

The soil was moist, making the cold air seep further into her bones, causing a violent tremor to rip through her body. The tent would be warmer, she knew, but she was not ready to face Jaxton. He had made her the black sheep, whether it was intentional or not. The absence of Kai and Callum was now on her shoulders.

A thought sprang to mind. Kai couldn't have made it that far on foot. It was possible that Gemi could catch up to her and convince her to come back. It would be a hard sell, but it was possible.

Determination growing in her, Gemi pushed up off the ground and walked farther into the shadow of the trees—she would need them for cover if she was to sneak out of the camp. She ducked low, trying her best to stay in the darkness.

The ground was slick, covered in wet leaves, each step threatening to send her rolling down the hill. She hugged herself closer to the trees, letting each one support her weight and help keep balance.

A few minutes later Gemi had reached the end of her camp. She could see the rest of the group loading equipment into the vehicles a short distance away. The vehicles were now parked in a flat, wide-open space with no trees for cover. Somehow she would need to sneak past everyone unnoticed.

Gemi ducked low, waiting until the perfect moment to make her break. When the instant came when everyone had either headed back toward camp or had their backs turned, she made her move, running toward the closest van. She ducked behind it, sliding her feet to hide behind one of the tires. There was no commotion in response to her movement. No one had seen her yet.

She crept to the next tire, headed toward the front of the van. Once in place, Gemi slid up, peering through the side window. No one was there. She breathed a sigh of relief. If she ran she could make it to the other side and into the cover of trees before anyone returned.

After one deep breath, Gemi pushed off the side of the van and into a full sprint. Her heart raced as the distance between her and the edge of the clearing closed. She was just about to leave behind the cover of the last van when she crashed into something that sent her reeling backward. Before her body hit the ground a hand reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. In one swift motion she was pulled back upright and then flung over the shoulder of her obstacle. She realized then it was Jaxton.

"Not going to happen," he said as he stalked back toward camp with her resting like a limp noodle on his shoulder.

"Put...me...down," she managed to get out, despite the heavy bouncing that each step brought.

"Why? So you can run off into imminent danger again. I know you were headed after Kai, I'm not stupid."

"So you followed me?"

"I did what I had to in order to keep you safe."

They had stopped moving, but from what she could see they were not yet back at camp. Jaxton let go of her legs with one hand. And then Gemi was hoisted off and set down on something hard. She realized quickly that she was sitting in the cargo area of the van.

"What exactly are you doing?" she asked.

"Keeping you safe."

Before she had a second to reply Jaxton had shut the door on her, the distinct clicking sound letting her know that he had locked her in.

Gemi sat, unmoving, for a few minutes, trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was now a prisoner.

The air felt colder, the walls smaller, the interior drearier than they once had. They pushed down on her, making it hard to breathe.

Resigning herself to her fate, she crawled over to one of the seats and climbed onto it, pulling her lags up close to her chest. The hours ticked on as the bustling outside dwindled until it finally fell silent.

It was too quiet.

Gemi sat up, desperately wishing there was a window. She pressed her ear against the wall and strained to hear anything of the outside world. Vivid images ran through her head, horrible scenarios where her group got attacked and killed and she was found and taken last. Or worst yet, that no one knew she was there and she was left to rot locked in the metal tomb.

She leaned her head against the wall and let her back slide down, helping guide her to a seated position as the panic set in. The room spun and swirled around her as she fought to calm herself. In four, out four, she told herself as she forced her body to regulate the air entering her lungs.

She had been pissed, there was no doubt about that, but in that moment it faded away and was forced into the back of her mind. She wouldn't have been in this situation if she wasn't stupid enough to try to catch up to someone who quite literally would have gutted her like a fish. She always acted without thinking, until it was almost too late. Jaxton seemed to be the opposite, always thinking, always in control. He reeled her in when she was too stupid to realize what she was doing. He kept her safe, as promised.

Bright light flooded the cabin as the doors were pulled open. Gemi glanced up, trying to focus her eyes on the person standing on the other side. She had been so overwhelmed that she hadn't heard anyone approach.

"Thank God!" she squealed, as she scrambled toward him, flinging her arms around him.

Jaxton stiffened. "Well that's a different reaction than I expected. I thought you would try to claw my eyes out right about now."

He reached up and pulled her arms from around him and gently pushed her away, holding her at arm's length. "Are you ready to go?"

Gemi nodded her head, trying to compose herself, but failing miserably, judging from the look on his face before he turned and walked away.

Shaky legs slid out from underneath her and out of the van. She had to steady herself against the door for a few beats as her heart rate and breathing settled. As the rising sun warmed her skin, relief spread through her. She was safe, everyone was safe and they would be finishing the last leg of their journey.

The van's engine roared to life, making her jump.

"Are you alive back there?" Jaxton called over the rumbling.

"Yeah...yes," she called back.

Gemi quickly shut and secured the back doors before jogging to the front of the van where the passenger door was already propped open for her. As she climbed inside, she noted that Jaxton was staring at her with skepticism. She smiled at him as she secured her seat belt. His eyes narrowed at her before turning them back to the road, but he said nothing.

The van lurched forward before merging fluidly with the other vans already in motion. Gemi couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she was feeling a lightness that she hadn't felt since before the chaos. As awful as it seemed, she was beginning to feel relieved that Kai was gone and that they were leaving all the bad vibes that went along with her behind.

Gemi reached over and rolled down the window, letting the wind rush around her, sending her hair spiraling around her face. She didn't even mind the bitter edge to the air. Perhaps she was losing it, but at that moment she didn't care. They were headed to a safe zone and thus far everyone she had grown to care for was safe.

Trees flew by in a blur as the van raced down the small dirt road. Slowly they became few and far between, until there was nothing but the dirt road and flat land spreading out in all directions. They must have traveled to the farming district, a place she had never once been to. It was nothing compared to the sprawling mountains and flame-red fall trees, but it held its own beauty with wheat and cornstalks reaching out toward the sky above.

"What's your deal?" Jaxton asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm sorry?" Gemi said, turning to face him. He was staring at her, his telltale crease between his eyebrows.

"The fact that you aren't even mentioning me locking you in the back of a van is more than a little unnerving."

"Would you rather I be upset and argue about it?" Gemi asked, rolling the window back up to hear him better.

"No, but there's a middle ground between arguing and gleeful."

"I would hardly say I'm gleeful."

Jaxton opened his mouth to retort, but closed it and turned back to the road.

"I just don't get you," he muttered.

A loud bang interrupted the conversation. The van in front of them swerved off the road and into a weeping willow just in time for Gemi to see the van in the front veer sideways and tumble down the road, shedding pieces of metal as it went.

"Shit," Jaxton said as they barreled toward the wreckage in front of them. A piece of bumper flew at the windshield and crashed into it filling the cabin with a sound like thunder. "Hold on, the brakes aren't working."

Gemi's face went white. The road was narrow with barely enough width for the vans to drive down. There was no way he could maneuver around the other vehicles.

"Brace yourself," he said when they were feet away from crashing into the other van.

Jaxton grabbed the emergency brake and pulled hard. The van veered to the left and then everything went into slow motion. Gemi's body was thrown sideways, her head smashed into the passenger window as the van tumbled over, rolling twice before slamming to a stop upside down.

Gemi's ears rang. The world seemed to still spin around her even though she knew they were motionless. Through the shattered windshield she could see smoke billowing out from the hood. She turned to the left, ignoring the protest her neck made. Jaxton was limp in his seat, blood dripping down off his forehead, held in place by his seat belt.

She reached up for the buckle of her own seat belt, pulling hard to release herself. She fell with a hard thud to the roof below. Gemi propped herself up on her hands and knees, wincing as the broken glass that now littered the cabin cut into her skin. As she slid closer, the source of Jaxton's bleeding became apparent. He had a gash above his left eye that was producing a large amount of blood. Gemi reached up to his waist where he hung from the belt intending to release him as she had done. She snatched her hand back after it met with metal instead of his skin. Her hand was slick and drenched in red.

Gemi peered around him. A piece of shrapnel was lodged in his side just above his hip. She knew the necessity to get him down and slow the bleeding, but any kind of movement could injure him further.

"Jaxton!" a voice called from outside.

"Here...we're in here!" Gemi called back.

Sann's face appeared on the other side of the now-shattered passenger window. It was smudged with dirt and blood, the tension in his face showing he was also harboring an injury.

"He's unconscious," Gemi said. "I don't know how to get him down, something is embedded in his side. I think it's part of the van."

"Move out of the way," Sann said as he slid in through the busted window.

He moved through the small space with some effort to pass her and get to Jaxton's side.

"Shit, this is bad," he said.

Jaxton let out a soft moan, his eyes remaining closed.

"He's losing a lot of blood. I'm going to need your help getting him down. I can't tell if the metal hit any organs. If he falls on it, it could kill him."

"What...what can I do?" Gemi asked, her voice breaking despite her attempts to stay calm.

"I need you to get on the other side of him, steady the site of injury. I'm going to get under him and try to brace his body with mine, then we can let him down slow."

Gemi crawled back across the floor, sliding under Jaxton to the driver's side. The door was pinned against the other van leaving little room for her to position herself. Sann followed behind her, squatting under Jaxton before pushing his own back up against his chest. He grabbed Jaxton's dangling arms and wrapped them around to the front of him, holding them in place with one of his hands.

"Okay, let his belt loose, but do it slow. His arm is going to be stuck in it on the left here. Make sure not to jostle that fragment."

Gemi reached up and grasped the belt buckle with shaking hands. Her fingers found the release button and she pushed down. Nothing happened.

"I think it's stuck," she said, still trying to shake the buckle loose.

"Damn it. Grab the knife at my waist and cut him loose."

She ducked her head under Jaxton and searched half-blind for the blade clipped to Sann's waist. After a minute of struggle she was able to find the snap and pull it free. The moment the metal was released from its sheath and caught her eye, fear washed over her. Once again violent images overloaded her head, all of them ending with a slaughtered Sann and Jaxton by her hand.

The knife fell to the ground with a clatter as she closed her hands into tight fists. She tried to back away but did not make it very far as she was still stuck in the small space between Jaxton and the pinned door. She fixated on his wound unable to stop thinking about jamming the shrapnel into his side, watching it disappear into his flesh and watching his life drain away as the hot slick blood poured from the wound.

"Gemi!" Sann called, breaking her trance and drawing her eyes to his. "What are you doing? We need to get him out of here now."

"I can't."

"I swear on everything, if you don't cut him loose now I will make you wish it was you hanging here half-dead."

She swallowed hard, it was the first time she had ever seen Sann so angry.

"I'm going to hurt him," she whispered.

"He's already hurt, if you haven't noticed. Cut him the fuck down. Now!"

With one deep breath Gemi bent down and grabbed the knife. Fighting the temptation of her own hands, she brought the blade to where the fabric met the buckle and cut clean through it. Jaxton's weight fell full force down on Sann.

"Good," he said through gritted teeth. "Now reach over and cut his arm loose."

Gemi complied, completely freeing him from the restraints.

"Okay, grab his legs and help me roll him off. We aren't going to fit out this way."

Sann dropped as low as he could, trying to make the distance between Jaxton and the ground as small as possible.

Using the seats and Gemi as leverage, he hoisted Jaxton up and slid him down onto his uninjured side.

"Alright," he said through heavy breaths. "We have to drag him out. Watch his side."

Sann ducked out the window and then reached back in and grabbed Jaxton's arms and pulled him through with Gemi guiding him.

Once outside, Sann rolled Jaxton onto his back and used the knife he found on Jaxton's side to cut his shirt loose.

"Doc!" he called. "We need you over here!"

The doctor limped into view from the rear side of the van. He was covered in blood, making his shirt cling to his frame. Whether it was his own blood or someone else's, Gemi couldn't tell.

Gemi fell to the ground at Jaxton's feet and watched the doctor work. He went right to the puncture wound, rubbing various medicines over it, all while muttering to himself in the usual fashion.

"How was he?" Sann asked the doctor.

Dr. Askel just shook his head and continued to work.

Sadness gripped Gemi's chest. She knew they were talking about Allon not making it. He must have been in the first van, taking the most brutal of the crashes. Their numbers were dwindling. If Jaxton didn't make it...She quickly pushed the thought from her head. He was too stubborn to die.

It seemed like hours that the doctor was working on Jaxton, finally able to remove the shard, muttering to himself that there was minimal deep tissue damage. He stitched up the wound, sealing off the blood flow before smearing it with some kind of white substance she had never seen before. He finished by patching up his forehead with something that looked like household superglue.

"We need to move him off the road," the doctor said as he packed up his medical kit.

"We can put him in the back of our van. I seem to be the only one capable of sticking the landing without the dramatics of rolling vehicles." Although Sann chuckled to himself, the laughter hadn't quite reached his eyes. They seemed to glint with the remnants of tears.

Sann stooped down and wedged his hands underneath Jaxton, doing his best not to jostle him as he stood back up. Gemi stood as well and made a movement to follow before being abruptly stopped by the doctor.

"Where do you think you are going?" he asked.

"I'm going to make sure they are okay."

"Not without me looking you over. Though your confidence in my medical skills is overwhelming."

"I didn't mean it that way—"

The doctor held up a hand, cutting her off. "We've all had a bad day. Make an old man feel better and let me give you a once-over."

Gemi complied, trying her best to hide her irritation. Despite a few bumps and bruises, she felt fine.

"You seemed to have fared the best out of all of us," the doctor said as he finished up her exam. "I would say it's a miracle from above, or Jaxton planned it that way. I'm guessing it's the latter."

Her heart sank. This wouldn't be the first time Jaxton had put himself in harm's way to protect her. His single-minded insistence on keeping her safe would get him killed.

"Go," the doctor said, pulling her back out of her head. "I'm going to help Sann put Allon to rest and then we can figure out the root cause of all of this." He motioned to the wreckage before limping away.

Gemi found Jaxton in the cargo area of the one van that wasn't too damaged. Sann had laid him on the floor and wrapped him loosely in a blanket. She sat down next to him and ran her hand across his clammy forehead and through his now-messy, blood-caked hair. In the time she had known him he'd never looked so helpless.

Overwhelming guilt consumed her. If they had not stopped to get her, no one would be in this mess. She pushed off the ground and paced the van. It accomplished nothing, but was a great outlet for her nervous energy.

If she hadn't been there to run off the night the affected attacked, then no one would be looking for her and Sann and the doctor wouldn't have been attacked. They wouldn't have needed to stop or to exile Kai. They probably would have already been back at base safe and sound. She had brought nothing but bad luck to them since she was picked up.

The sound of metal scraping outside pulled her out of her head and to the open doors. Sann and the doctor must be trying to figure out what caused the crash. It still struck her as odd that all three of their vans crashed at one time.

Gemi stopped pacing. A knot in her stomach grew, and she felt as if she might vomit. The vans were tampered with. It was the only explanation. Gemi jumped out of the back of the van and jogged over to where Sann was standing, examining the tires of the first van.

"Sann, why didn't you stop?"

"What?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Why didn't you stop when you saw Allon's van crash?"

"My brakes seized up," he said with a shrug and turned back to the tires. "Looks like Allon had a tire blowout. That must have caused him to lose control."

"Our brakes didn't work either."

Sann looked back up at her, his eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

"We had plenty of time to stop after we saw you veer off, but we couldn't. It's a little odd that more than one vehicle had that problem."

Without saying another word Sann moved to the other side of Allon's van where the undercarriage was exposed.

"Son of a—" he muttered. "The breaks were cut."

"That can't happen on its own, can it?" Gemi asked.

"Not the clean way this is cut. Someone did this and how much do you want to bet the other two look the same."

The doctor came around the corner and stopped dead after taking one look at their faces.

"What's wrong?"

"The breaks were cut," Sann replied.

"Who would do that?" the doctor asked.

"I'll give you one guess," Gemi said in a moment of sheer confidence.

"She wouldn't do that," Sann snapped back.

"We need to leave," Gemi replied, ignoring him. "Now."

"And how are we supposed to do that? You're crazy in the head, the doctor is banged up, and Jaxton is hanging on by a thread."

Her face burned with the all too familiar fire that had grown in her. "Don't talk to me like that! I know she did this just like she hurt herself to blame me. You heard her. She threatened Jaxton, saying she would get him back. What do you think all of this is? This is her making good on her promise and I bet she will be along soon to finish us off."

"You're sick," Sann yelled back. "We are her family. She may be a bitch, but she wouldn't hurt us. This has your kind written all over it."

"There it is, my kind. I knew that was there, I was waiting for it. I haven't done a single thing to any of you, but here you are passing judgment. If you want someone to blame why don't you blame yourselves? Hey, let's mess with people's heads. That sounds like a great idea. Play God and control their emotions to the point where they can't do it on their own anymore!"

Gemi bent down and picked up a piece of the wreckage and without really aiming threw it at Sann, putting as much force as she could behind it. He spun away from her, taking the hit on his upper back.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" he yelled.

"Maybe. Maybe I'm just sick of all of your superior attitudes."

"Guys, that's enough," the doctor chimed in.

"Oh, shut up," Gemi said turning and directing all the fire she had at Dr. Askel. "I'm just a science experiment to you. Watching and waiting for me to lose it. Well here is your chance, take notes!"

"Don't talk to him like that!" Sann yelled over her.

"What the fuck is going on?" a weak voice called from behind them.

All three turned at the same time. Jaxton was leaning against the van, clutching his side with a pained look on his face.

"What are you doing up?" the doctor asked as he rushed to his side.

"The dead couldn't sleep through all of this noise."

"You need to lie back down," the doctor said as he checked his various injuries.

"I will once I get an explanation as to what is going on."

His face was pallid in color, his jaw flexing as he fought against the extreme pain he was obviously in.

"We can talk about it later. Come, I may have just a bit of pain medicine left, but we better pray no one else even gets a headache."

"I want to talk about it now," Jaxton replied, feebly pushing the doctor's hand off him.

Gemi dropped her eyes to the ground, trying to hide the guilt she felt. Sann was uncharacteristically quiet as well. She hoped that he was feeling at least a little remorse.

"They had a disagreement is all," Dr. Askel said, still hovering over Jaxton, concern etched on his face.

"About what?"

"It was nothing really," Gemi said, finding her voice again. She walked over to his side and grasped his hand. "Let's get you back to the van—you need to rest and heal so we can get out of here."

Jaxton looked down at their intertwined fingers and back up to her face. Gemi forced a smile and pulled on his arm, leading him back toward the cargo van. He reluctantly followed, grabbing at his side and trying to hide the heavy breathing that each step brought on. Once back at the van she got inside first and grabbed his hands, letting him use her as leverage. He was heavier than she expected. Midstep up she lost her grip on his hands and he tumbled forward to the floor of the van. He yelled out in pain, clutching at his side.

"I'm so sorry!" Gemi said, dropping to her knees beside him.

His body was shaking, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead as he fought back the pain.

"What happened?" the doctor asked, appearing at the doors of the van with Sann close in tow.

"He fell."

Dr. Askel climbed in the van and dropped next to Jaxton. Gently, he rolled him onto his back so he could access the bandage at his side. As soon as he pried Jaxton's hand off it was apparent that he had reopened the wound. The once white bandage was now stained bright red.

"You popped the sutures. I will have to close it back up. Take the last of the pain meds."

Lifting Jaxton's head up with one hand, he brought a cup of liquid to his mouth and poured it in.

"It will make you drowsy again," he said as he set Jaxton's head back down and went to work closing the wound back up.

The medicine worked quickly. Soon after Jaxton's eyes closed and his body quieted the tremors.

"Sann and I discussed a lookout rotation for tonight, just in case whoever did this comes back," the doctor said as he finished up.

"You mean in case Kai comes back," Gemi mumbled under her breath.

Dr. Askel raised an eyebrow at her but continued, "We are taking the first watch. Get some sleep in here with Jaxton. You can tap on the roof if anything happens. That's where we will be."

The doctor shut the doors behind him as he left, leaving Gemi alone with her thoughts and a sleeping Jaxton. She looked down at him, his features were relaxed again, pain free. He was very handsome when he wasn't disgruntled.

Gemi grabbed the nearby blanket and covered him up, tucking in the sides so he wouldn't catch a draft. She wouldn't be able to sleep, so there was no use trying. Her head was so full it felt like it would pop. It seemed like years since everything went to shit, when in reality it had been a little over a week. She thought back to the day it all started and how she had wished for anything to lift the monotony of her day-to-day. She had gotten her wish and then some. Now, as she sat in the cold dark van, all she could wish for was that everything would return to normal.

Jaxton moaned and turned his head toward her, drawing her attention. His lips parted as he took a deep steady breath. He was still asleep, comfortable at last, and dreaming about something good, she hoped.

Gemi moved to one of the nearby gear bags, searching for anything that would give her a little light. In the third bag she was able to find a lantern that still had fuel. She switched it on, squinting as it illuminated the darkness. She slid back over to where Jaxton lay, positioning herself by his head. She leaned back against the wall to stare at the ceiling.

All she could think was that if Kai came back in the middle of the night, she could pick them off with little to no effort. She would come for Jaxton. Gemi had seen the hatred in her eyes when he had banished her. Unknowingly, Gemi drifted off.

Jaxton made whimpering sounds in his sleep, pulling her awake. His body tensed, trying to fight off something that wasn't there. Gemi knew what it was like to have nightmares. She felt bad knowing he wasn't even able to find peace in sleep.

She reached down and ran her fingers through his hair, humming under her breath. Slowly, he settled back down, his body relaxed and his breathing evened back out.

As she stared down at him a marking on his chest caught her eye. He had displaced the blanket in his fit, revealing most of his upper body. Although toned and defined, it was littered with marks, scars of all shapes and sizes. Her hand found its way to one on his left pec, a long raised mark that ran up toward his shoulder. She traced it with her index finger, feeling the rough irregular edges of the scarring. Her hand slid to another, smaller, mark on the other side. She ran her finger over it as she had the other. They even spilled over onto his arms. How had she not noticed them before?

Gemi was overwhelmed with the desire to hug him and kiss away whatever caused it. It was the same pain that caused him to be so guarded. His life had not been easy, she knew. But this, this was caused by something awful, forcing him to wear his emotional scars for all to see.

She lay down next to him, careful not to touch his injury. She placed her head on his warm chest. His heartbeat filled her ears, strong and even. It soothed her, filling her head with something other than the awful thoughts that had been haunting her. Gradually, she drifted back off to sleep. The nightmares never came.

Jaxton shifting underneath her brought her back out of her slumber.

"Go back to sleep," he said in her ear.

Gemi stretched and sat up, ignoring his request. "I would love to, but it must be time for my lookout shift. How are you feeling?"

"Better," he said, pushing up on his elbows.

"Not better enough to be up. Lay back down, I'll be back to check on you."

Gemi opened the doors and was surprised when bright light streamed in. She jumped out, closing the doors behind her. Her heart jumped into her throat for a moment, worried that something had happened in the middle of the night. Her fears were silenced when the doctor and Sann came into view.

Both were bent over the front of the van. They had somehow gotten the hood open and were elbow deep in dirt and oil.

"What happened to waking me up for my shift?" Gemi called to them.

They glanced at each other before meeting her gaze.

"We figured we would let you sleep," Sann said.

"You mean you didn't trust me."

"That's not it at all," the doctor chimed in. "It's just if we were attacked would you really be able to shoot someone? We wanted to keep you safe."

"Yeah, Gemi, would you be able to shoot someone?" Sann's voice was laced with animosity.

Gemi stopped, thinking about the question presented to her. Sann wasn't asking if she had it in her, his real question was if her switch had flipped. He was baiting her, trying to get her to slip up. There was no way she would fall for it.

"You're right, I probably couldn't bring myself to do it."

The doctor smiled at her, pleased with her response. Sann made a snorting noise and went back to his work on the van.

"Do you think you will be able to get it running?" Gemi asked, changing the subject.

"I don't think so," Dr. Askel said, wiping his hands off on a rag. "It was damaged pretty bad in the crash. We were lucky to even get the hood open. Jaxton should be well enough to move around tomorrow so we will head out on foot."

"Will we be safe for another night?" Gemi asked.

"There was no sign of anyone last night, but we'll still post someone just in case. Sann and I will rotate again."

The sound of the hood slamming made her jump. Sann had forced the lid closed despite the way the metal was twisted. He now stalked off toward the road, muttering under his breath.

"Seriously, what is his problem with me all of a sudden?"

"Like I said before, Kai is family. She may not be the nicest, but that's what she is and has been for the last few years."

The doctor put his hand on Gemi's shoulder and squeezed before walking away.

Gemi stood, motionless, watching Sann's figure grow smaller until it disappeared in the distance. Not knowing what else to do, she too walked off, in the opposite direction, headed to where the road met the overgrown grass. She breathed in deeply, thankful for the moment of calm silence. She needed it, needed to get her thoughts together, knowing that it might be the only chance she would have.

Gemi flopped down on the ground, ignoring the dampness that soaked through her clothes from the soggy dirt. She lay staring up at the blue sky. She couldn't necessarily blame Sann for being angry with her. After all, it was her fault that Kai was exiled. However, it was odd how fast his opinion of her had changed. She couldn't help thinking that she was the one that had changed. She felt different, in the last few days she kept getting overwhelming feelings that she hadn't felt before. All she could hope was that they made it back to home base and she could learn to control it before it was too late.

When the sun was high in the sky, Gemi pulled herself up, deciding it was best to get back to everyone before they wondered where she was. If they even cared that she was gone.

Their makeshift camp was quiet when she returned. The doctor was sleeping in the front seat of the van and Sann was nowhere to be found. Gemi opened the back door to the van as quietly as possible and slipped inside so as not to wake Jaxton. She was surprised to see the light on and him sitting up nibbling on a piece of bread with his worn-out book in hand. He smiled when he saw her, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's all Doc would let me eat."

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better," Gemi said, sitting down next to him. She reached up and ran her hand through his hair. "Your color is back."

Jaxton stopped eating and looked at her, cocking his head.

"Oh sorry," she said pulling her hand away. "I, um, kind of did that last night. You were having a dream and I wanted to help. I think it did, who knows." Gemi stopped rambling and laughed nervously. "Hands off, I promise."

He said nothing, but went back to eating. He didn't look at her again until he had finished.

"I think it did," he said.

"Did what?"

"Help. I was having an awful dream, something that happened a long time ago...and then I wasn't."

He stared at her, his eyes felt like they were burning right through her.

"Oh...uh...good. I'm glad I could help."

Jaxton kept staring at her a few more seconds before breaking his gaze to look back down at his book.

"We are heading out on foot tomorrow," Gemi said. It was the first thing she could think of to break the silence.

"Do you have any idea how badly I wanted to kiss you?" Jaxton turned his gaze back to her.

"Wait...what?" She was dumbfounded, caught off guard.

"This morning when you were lying there, it was all I could think about."

Gemi blinked at him, thinking that she must have misunderstood. "I don't really know what to say."

Jaxton leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Her mind was racing. She took a deep breath and, without thinking, leaned in and pressed her lips against his. His eyes flew open for a split second, in shock, and then closed again as he wrapped his arms around her, his hands splayed out possessively on her back.

The kiss started out soft, gentle, his lips melding around hers, but quickly changed as the fire between them grew. He pulled her in close to him. One of his hands found her hair, tangling his fingers in it as he had the first time. His grip pulled back hard, taking her head with it, breaking their kiss. His mouth moved to her jaw, kissing his way down her neck. Gemi's blood boiled, each of his touches making the fire spread. Her breathing was erratic as she clawed at his arms, pulling him in closer. She wanted to be engulfed in the flames, was begging to have his mouth take hers again.

As if answering her internal plea, he moved his mouth back to hers. His breathing was just as labored, giving away how much he wanted her as well. Finding that she was bolder than she had ever been, she moved her body, straddling his legs and pushing him to the wall. He grunted on impact, letting his hands fall from her hair to the small of her back.

"Careful," he whispered.

She leaned back, breaking their kiss. "I forgot," she said, dropping her hand to the bandage on his side.

"So did I. We should probably stop so I can rest." He pulled her back into him, bringing his mouth to the hollow of her neck and slid his tongue to her ear grasping it with his teeth.

Gemi put her hand on his chest and this time gently pushed him away. "You should rest actually," she said as she slid off of him. "I watched you almost die already. I don't want to go through that again.

"A bit dramatic at this point, but sure."

Gemi made a move to get up, but he caught her by the waist. "Where are you going?"

"Was going to go check on the others. See what preparations are needed."

"They've had enough of your time. Stay. Nap with me like old people." He pulled the blanket up around them and lay down on his side.

With a huff Gemi gave in and laid her head on his chest. She pressed her hand to his wound checking to see that it was not reinjured in their escapades. It was healing unexpectedly well, given the severity of it. Her hand moved back to his chest, her fingers finding the edges of his scars once more, tracing them with her index finger. Their presence hardly took away from the beauty of his skin or the curve of every muscle. She wanted to ask how he had come to have them, but knew he wouldn't tell her.

Gemi looked up, surprised to see him staring at her, his eyes clouded. "Are you okay?"

"The short answer? Yes."

"And what about the novel of an answer?"

It wasn't something she wanted to get into right then and there. _Oh hey, I'm fine. Just a little crazy and will probably murder you at some point. No biggie._

"I'm fine. Sleep," she said instead.

"You're sexy when you're being bossy." He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes.

It didn't take too long for him to slip into slumber. Even with the big game he put on, she could tell he was still fatigued from his injuries. Once she was sure he was out, she slid out from under him and made her way to the door.

With one more glance at his beautiful sleeping face, she slipped outside.

# Chapter Ten

There was still no sign of Sann and with the doctor still sound asleep, Gemi found herself wandering around their makeshift camp. They had cleared some of the debris off the road, piling it by the weeping willow. The other two vans still blocked the road, looking even more destroyed than she had remembered.

She found herself at the mangled van they had been driving before the crash. The back was open, its contents falling out all over the ground. Gemi climbed inside, thankful that Jaxton had let her out before they began their journey, and rummaged around for something to snack on. Buried under camp supplies, she found what she was looking for.

Gemi laid her head back on the wall of the van as she savored her snack. Her eyes fell on a small duffel bag of supplies and it dawned on her, she could sneak away uninterrupted. The thought of running away into the great unknown was an unexpected rush. But she felt torn. On the one hand she had wanted to get away from these people since the first day. On the other, after everything that just happened with Jaxton, her heart was begging her to stay.

She turned the bag over and over in her hands as she mulled over her choice.

"Going somewhere?" a voice called from the entrance.

Sann stood at the doorway, leaning against the wall, his face passive.

"Was thinking about it," she replied.

"Well don't let me stop you." He waved his hand out, motioning for her to go.

"Wow." Gemi stood and slung the bag on her back. "Look, I'm sorry about Kai, but her getting sent away is not my fault."

Gemi attempted to walk past him but he threw his arm out blocking her way.

"Not your fault?" he repeated to himself. "It's funny because all I can think is how fast things went to shit once we picked you up."

"Move, please."

"Why? What are you going to do without your protector?"

Gemi pivoted to the side, intending to move around him, but he shadowed her, positioning his body in front of hers once again.

"You're acting crazy. Get out of my way," she said, thrusting her hand into his chest.

Sann's eyes lit up with a burning intensity as he clenched his jaw. In one swift movement he brought the back of his hand across her face, knocking her to the ground. Gemi blinked against the pain and dizziness.

"See," he said, stepping up in the van with her. "You should never lay your hands on other people."

Sann reached down and wrapped his hand in her hair, dragging her back to her feet. He pulled her against his body with one hand wrapped around her midsection and leaned his mouth down to her ear. "I've put up with your pathetic woe-is-me routine for far too long."

"Help!" she shouted.

He brought his hand to her mouth, pressing down hard to silence her scream.

"Do that again," he growled in her ear, "and I will kill you. Do you understand?"

Gemi nodded her head in agreement as best she could with his hand still holding her head back.

"Good," he said, releasing her mouth.

His hand dropped to her throat, caressing it before sliding down her chest. He kissed the side of her neck, sucking the delicate skin into his mouth as he roughly grabbed at her breasts. Gemi fought against him, trying to wriggle free of his hold, her head still fuzzy from the blow to her face. Angry at her attempts, he brought his teeth to her ear and bit down hard.

Gemi screamed in pain. Sann wrapped his hand around her throat. Letting go of her waist, he swung her around and slammed her back against the wall. Her head cracked against the metal, causing an ache to spread up to her eyes.

This wasn't like trying to get away from Jaxton. Sann meant to harm her and planned on using any means necessary, including the immense strength he possessed. There was no way she could fight him off. She needed to think and figure it out, but there was no time.

"What did I say?" he asked as his hand tightened. "I just kind of figured you were that type of girl. Oh, well."

The world went hazy as she fought to stay conscious. Her struggle grew weaker as the lack of oxygen overtook her. The last thing she saw was Sann smiling at her.

Gemi blinked hard as her senses returned. The room slowly became more stable, letting the nausea settle. She was still inside the van, but the light shining in through the doors was substantially dimmer.

Rough fabric caught her tongue when she tried to speak. Sann had gagged her while she was unconscious. She made to bring her hand to her mouth, becoming instantly aware that they were bound behind her back. She rolled to her side and was met with Sann sitting in a corner, smiling at her.

"Oh good, you're awake. It wasn't as much fun with you just lying there," he said, pushing off the ground.

He straddled her body, tilting his head to the side. Gemi tried to pull away, crawling on her knees and stomach. Once again he grasped her hair, yanking her back hard. Tears welled in her eyes, her screams of pain muffled by the gag.

Sann let out a long exhale. "I thought you would have learned. You're not going anywhere. At least this gag makes your presence a little more bearable."

He ran his hand up her stomach, his warm fingers making contact with her bare skin. It was then she realized he had torn apart her shirt, leaving it to hang in tatters at her sides, revealing her bra.

"Now," he said, bringing his mouth close to her ear. "Are you going to behave?"

Gemi nodded her head, whimpering as she tried to hold back the tears that were forming. There was no way she was going to give him that satisfaction.

"We'll have to be quick now. Jaxton will probably be wondering where you went. It's pathetic, really."

Sann ran his hands down to the edge of her pants, tucking his thumbs in and gliding them back and forth across her skin.

"Do you think he'll cry when he finds your body?" He untied her pants, sliding one hand inside and wrapping the other arm around her waist. "I'm going to gut him like a fish. It's sad you won't be here to see it."

Gemi's heart raced. Forcing the sensation of his hands pawing at her out of her head, she focused on escaping. There had to be a way. He moaned in her ear, and from the noticeable hard bulge in his pants he was way into torturing her, but he was also distracted, she realized. She played along, letting out a little moan of her own letting her body fall into his, moving slightly on him. He loosened his grip on her waist giving her a little bit of flexibility as his mouth still moved on to her shoulder.

Before he realized what happened, she leaned forward and in one swift movement brought her head back up to his face. The back of her head made solid contact, the cracking of his nose echoing in the small space. He stumbled back in shock reaching up to catch the blood pouring out of his nose with his hands.

"You fucking bitch," he growled.

Before he could come at her, Gemi reacted quickly, bringing her leg up and catching him in his testicles. He fell back, groaning and clutching at his groin and momentarily ignoring his busted nose.

Ignoring the way the room now spun, Gemi dropped to the floor and with some struggle was able to slide her arms from behind her back to the front and over her feet. She pulled the gag from her mouth and gnawed at the knot that tied her hands. He came at her then, screaming nonsense into the air between them. Gemi rolled to her side as he launched at her, narrowly escaping him as he crashed to the ground beside her.

Abandoning the attempts at her bound hands, she stood and made a break for the doors. Feet from the exit a crushing weight pushed into her back, Sann's arms wrapped around her waist as they went sprawling out of the van and onto the ground. She tried to throw her hands up to brace for impact, but with them bound there was nothing to stop her body from scraping across the hard dirt, causing the skin to split open on her forearms and shoulder.

Gemi gasped into the dirt. Sann had landed on top of her and used that to his advantage as he pushed her harder into the ground. His hands found the gag hanging loose on her neck and pulled on it. The fabric pressed into her throat, further limiting the air she was taking in. Gemi tried to force him off, tried to find her footing to use as leverage before he brought her to unconsciousness once again, but the gravel on the road made it almost impossible to gain traction.

"What the hell?" a voice called to them, Gemi didn't have to look to know it was Jaxton.

"She's lost it. Quick throw me your gun!" Sann yelled back to him, his hands still pulling strong on the gag.

Jaxton moved his hand to the gun on his waist, hovering there for a beat before taking a step toward them. "Why don't you get off her and tell me what happened? She's already restrained," he said, motioning to her bound hands.

The pressure on her neck decreased although Sann remained on top of her. Gemi breathed in desperate ragged breaths, each one bringing her surroundings back into focus. Her lungs burned as they sucked in the cold sweet air, air that meant she was alive, at least for the time being.

The hammer on the gun clicked back. Jaxton now stood mere feet from them and had the gun pointed at Sann. "I said get off of her. Then we can discuss this rationally."

Sann complied, rolling off of her and stepping a few feet back, his hands raised in the air. Jaxton fell to his knees at her side.

"He's...crazy," was all she got out.

Sann swung a large piece of the wrecked van at Jaxton's head. It caught him hard knocking him to the ground beside her. The gun flew from his hands clanking into the dirt before sliding a few feet.

"God, do you know how long I've wanted to do that?" Sann said, before landing a kick to Jaxton's side.

Jaxton crumpled to the ground.

Sann paced back and forth muttering, his hands pulling and hitting at his head. It was almost as if he was having a fight with himself. He reminded her of a rabid dog she had seen once in an ancient movie, but he was a larger threat and they were his prey.

Using the distraction to her advantage, Gemi was able to pull loose the ropes that bound her hands. Slowly she crawled for the gun, praying with each movement Sann wouldn't notice. Gemi stretched out her fingers finding the edge of the gun, the cold metal under her hand making her heart race faster with a mix of relief and fear.

Dr. Askel rounded the corner of the van, stopping short he glanced between the three of them before dropping his eyes to Gemi. She frantically shook her head trying to tell him not to draw attention, but it was too late.

"Well, well, Doctor," Sann said, closing the distance to her. "Good for you to join us."

He reached out and grabbed Gemi by her waist pulling her up from the ground, but not before she got a chance to palm the gun.

"What are you doing, Sann?" the doctor asked.

"Putting an end to this."

"To what exactly?"

Sann laughed wildly behind her. He pulled a knife from his waistband and pressed it to her neck, cold and hard. Gemi's mind flashed back to the first day and how a madman had a knife pressed to her neck, the same wild monstrous look in his eyes. But this time there would be no snipers waiting in the rafters to save her.

Sann let out a grunt and she felt his head thrust forward as he let go of her. The knife fell from her neck and to the ground beside her. Gemi turned to see Jaxton standing with the same piece of wreckage in his hands.

Quickly she moved out of his reach, falling in line with the doctor. She produced the gun and pointed it at Sann, her whole body shaking.

He looked up at her, his jaw clenched and his face full of malice. "What do you think you're going to do with that? You're a scared, wretched little bird. I will slaughter you. Rip you apart piece by piece before I move on to these two pathetic pieces of shit. Do you hear me? Do you he—"

Sann slumped to the ground, blood oozing out of the hole in his head as the echo of the gun bounced around him and the smoke from the barrel twisted up toward the sky.

# Chapter Eleven

The world went dead quiet. Gemi stood with her arm outstretched, the gun still clenched in her hand, making her fingers ache. Both Dr. Askel and Jaxton stared at her, unmoving, but she barely saw them. She was staring straight at Sann's motionless body.

He lay in a crumpled mess on the ground, blood pooling around him, his flesh already turning a ghastly white. She couldn't believe he was the same man she had met: so kind, full of life, and always smiling. Now he was nothing and it had happened in the blink of an eye. Worse yet, it happened by her hand.

"Gemi?" Jaxton broke her out of her trance. He had his hands raised toward her, moving in her direction like one would if they were trying to catch a wild animal. "Gemi, can you put down the gun?"

She responded, dropping it as if it was on fire. "Oh God, I killed him."

"Yes, you did."

"I...I didn't mean..."

"Gemi, look at me."

She complied. He was standing close to her, his arms still out in front of him in a defensive posture. Without thinking, she launched herself into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his chest. He stiffened momentarily before relaxing under her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.

"Thank God," he whispered.

"Does anyone want to explain what the hell just happened?" the doctor asked.

"He just attacked me," Gemi mumbled into Jaxton's chest.

Gently he pushed her away from him and held her at arm's length. "Explain."

"I don't know—I was sitting in the van eating a snack when he showed up. He started talking crazy and attacked me. When I woke up I was tied and gagged, but I managed to get out of the van and the rest you saw."

"He was acting like one of the chipped we saw in the town," Jaxton said, addressing the doctor.

"He is," Dr. Askel said, his tone matter-of-fact.

"What?" Jaxton let go of Gemi and walked to where the doctor stood. "What are you talking about? I've known Sann since I was eighteen. He was at base when I arrived there."

"Look, I don't know much. All I know is that there was a project where they left chips in some of the military staff. They kept it at a lower threshold, mostly wanting to test the limits of emotions and to see if they could integrate them with no one noticing."

Gemi and Jaxton stared at him, mouths gaping.

"They basically wanted to see at what threshold someone would still have the ability to kill if needed. I never knew who was part of it. I just had an inkling about Sann. I guess I was right."

"It doesn't make sense though," Jaxton said. "It wasn't like he had never felt anger, I've seen it. So why would he lose it?"

"Maybe we don't know as much as we thought we did."

"We need to get out of here," Gemi said, finally finding her voice. "He was gone for quite some time. He could have told others where we are."

"We'll have to get off the main road," Jaxton said as he moved to the van.

He grabbed a new shirt and tossed it at Gemi. They gathered what they could carry, stuffing the bags with what medical and food supplies they had left.

Gemi helped the doctor carry Sann's body off the road and into the van. It felt wrong leaving him there even after everything, but they had no time to bury him with Allon.

Before heading out, Jaxton grabbed Gemi and pulled her off to the side. He wrapped a knife holster around her waist, the long heavy blade hung down to her midthigh making her feel off balance. He grasped her hand and kissed her palm before placing the handle of a handgun into it and closing her fingers around it. Gemi's wide eyes met his, questioning him.

"I trust you." He planted a kiss on her forehead then turned to the doctor. "You ready?"

Gemi shoved the gun in the waistband of her pants, the cold metal sending shivers up her spine. She grabbed her gear bags and slung one on her back, the other hung from one shoulder. For as heavy as the bags were, she knew that at most it would last them only a few days.

The three of them ducked off the road, following the same path through the overgrown grass she had taken the day before. The farther they walked the higher and denser the weeds grew, making it hard to navigate in any one direction. As difficult as it was to see, Gemi knew it would be just as difficult for someone to spot them, and she was thankful for that.

No one spoke, their minds all trying to process the day's events. Gemi was having a hard time trying to focus on anything else. As if on repeat, the image of Sann falling to the ground kept running through her head. It was almost as though she was seeing it from a third-person perspective, and each time the smile on her face grew when the gunshot rang out.

The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky a pale orange in the areas that had no cloud cover, where the grass opened into a clearing. They were standing on the edge of what looked like a farmhouse. A tall white picket fence lined the perimeter of the property. Inside the grounds were well kept, the grass cut to a perfect two-inch height. Different farming vehicles were parked in a row on the left side of the yard.

They had come up on the property from behind, the back of the house standing right in front of them with what looked like a garage or shed off to the side. The three of them walked together along the perimeter, following the fence to where it met the front of the property. It ended where a long dirt driveway began. From where they stood Gemi could see that the house was dark on the inside, which wasn't quite that odd since the sun had not fully set yet, but it could also mean that the occupants were out doing God knew what.

"What do you think?" Jaxton asked.

"I think that we have limited means to be sleeping outside in an area that none of us are familiar with and with a storm coming from the looks of it," the doctor replied.

As if on cue, the clouds opened up, letting large droplets of rain come crashing down on them, soaking through their clothes. Thunder cracked loud in the distance, and the sound coupled with the freezing rain made Gemi shiver.

Jaxton eyed her, then the house. "Okay, we will do a sweep, but any sign of danger and we get the hell out of here."

They ran up the driveway, stopping just under the cover of the front porch. There didn't seem to be any sound coming from inside.

Jaxton checked the front door. It was unlocked, falling open with a slight creak. Gemi wasn't sure if that was a good sign.

With her hand grasped on the handle of her knife, she stepped inside, following close to Jaxton. The house opened up into a small foyer, stairs lay directly in front of them, leading to the second floor. They moved to the right, following the narrow hallway that brought them to the main living area. In the dimming light Gemi could see that not a thing was out of place, every knickknack and decorative pillow exactly where the owner intended it to be.

The kitchen and bathroom were the exact same, almost as if the place had lay untouched for years. Gemi would have believed that had there been a speck of dust anywhere.

Gemi climbed the stairs, acutely aware of the creaking every step created. Her heart was racing by the time they reached the top. Three sets of doors lined the hall, all closed tightly. Gemi looked at Jaxton and raised her eyebrows.

"I guess we split up," he answered. "But we all enter at the same time and if there is anything you get out of there and out the front door, you got it?"

She moved to the door on the far left, positioning her hand on the handle and waited for Jaxton's cue. With a deep breath she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Nothing sinister was waiting for her, just a darkening empty room.

A four-poster bed lay in the center against the wall with two nightstands on either side. Gemi walked to the closest one and surveyed the items on top. Among the scattered beauty products and books lay a small picture frame. Inside it an older couple posed together on what looked like the front porch of the house. The man had his hand wrapped around the woman's waist, pulling her into him. They both wore large smiles. She could sense their happiness emanating out from the photo.

Gemi grabbed it and fell back on the bed. She ran a finger across the photo, tracing the outlines of their faces. The broad smiles they both wore caused sadness to overcome her. These people had a life, a family, everything before the world went to hell. Who knew what happened to them? Perhaps they got out safe, found others like her who were able to keep it together. Or perhaps they went off the rails just like everyone else.

"You alright there?" Jaxton stood in the doorway, his head leaning against the frame.

"Yeah." Gemi placed the frame back where she found it.

"We just have to check out that shed in the back. If it's all clear we should be set for tonight. Hey." He stretched out a hand and caught hers as she tried to pass. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"As good as I can be."

Jaxton reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, letting his hand trail her jawbone.

"You know you had no choice."

"Didn't I though?" Gemi pulled away from him and headed back downstairs where the doctor was waiting.

Together they headed out to the shed behind the house. A small bit of light shone through the worn wood, but other than that there was no sign of life.

Jaxton once again took the lead. Stepping up to the door, he pushed it open and went inside. Gemi was a few steps inside the door when he turned around and tried to force her back out, but it was too late. Gemi had already seen everything.

The floor was drenched in drying blood, spatter marks lining the walls and ceilings. In the corner the man from the photo sat in a pool of blood—he was missing a hand that was lying close to him, along with the hatchet he must have used to chop it off. Half of his face was missing, his jaw hung disjointed to the side and pieces of his scalp and brain were splattered on the wall behind him. The gun he used to kill himself was still clutched in his intact hand.

In the center of the room was a wood chipper that was now covered in pieces of what used to be a human. Gemi could guess that was where the woman from the photo met her end. He must have turned first before taking his own life. She could only hope that her death was quick and not drawn out at the hand of the person she loved.

Gemi went numb and from somewhere deep inside her laughter boiled to the surface. Jaxton and the doctor looked at her, horrified, their hands sliding to their weapons, which only made her laugh harder.

"We're fucked," she breathed.

Gemi fell to the ground. Somewhere along the way her irrational laughter had turned to uncontrollable sobs.

"Hey." Jaxton dropped beside her. "We'll be fine."

"You...can't...honestly...believe...that," she managed to get out.

Jaxton wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up off the ground, carrying her back toward the house. The last thing she saw before closing her eyes and finally succumbing to exhaustion was the doctor chaining up the doors to the shed.

# Chapter Twelve

Gemi woke to darkness. Finding that she was comfortable for the first time in a while, she fought the urge to get up, but her need to use the restroom was far too demanding.

Luckily for her, Jaxton had placed her in the master bedroom and she found a bathroom connected to the room. She clicked on the light, ignoring the nagging voice in her head that told her not to and sat down on the seat.

She closed her eyes and imagined she was back in her apartment getting ready for another boring workday. Her drive to work would be uneventful, there would be traffic, but everyone would be courteous and kind. She would make it through her workday, lunch with coworkers and perhaps a drink after, then she would find herself back in her cozy apartment. Mentally she kicked herself for ever wishing that her life would have more excitement.

While washing her hands Gemi caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was horrified at the woman who stared back at her. The skin under her eyes was dark and sunken in and her hair hung in limp clumps around her face. She had a welt and what looked to be the start of a good bruise welling up, where Sann had hit her, as well as a split lip. Gemi looked down at her hands and noticed the dirt and blood caked under her nails and up her arms. She scrubbed her hands trying to get every bit out. Finally, giving up, she decided that her only choice was to take a shower, thankful that the house had its own generator and well.

The hot water ran over her body, loosening the knotted muscles as it went. She knew she was being selfish—who needed a shower when the world had a bunch of murderous people running around?—but once she smelled the lavender shampoo she didn't care.

Gemi towel-dried before stepping back out into the room. She found her clothes in a heap on the floor and it occurred to her that the woman might have something she could fit in. Gemi found the closet and flicked on the light. The first thing she found was a robe, slipping it on she let the towel fall to the ground. The woman was just about her size. Gemi selected an outfit for the next day, and as she placed it on the chair by the door, she was surprised to feel more like herself, at least for the time being.

As she stared down at the chair her stomach rumbled loudly. She clutched at it and decided that there may be something to snack on in the kitchen.

Gemi slipped out the door and into the hallway. Her hand found the wall, using it as a guide as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Just before she reached the stairs her hand fell into open space. She turned and peered inside the room. Right inside there was a figure sitting in a chair facing the open door. As Gemi crept closer she saw it was Jaxton. He was asleep in the chair, his gun lying across his lap.

"Hey," she whispered, shaking him gently.

"What?" Jaxton's eyes flew open as he jumped up.

"Whoa, it's okay. It's just me."

"I must have fallen asleep." He rubbed his hands over his face and eyes, trying to push the sleepiness away.

"Why don't you go to bed, you know in the bed right there?"

"No, I'm fine."

"So are we. Go to bed. We all need to be rested and you're still healing."

Jaxton hesitated before nodding his head in agreement. Gemi grabbed his hand and helped lift him to his feet. Together they walked to the bed. Once he had sat down Gemi reached over and took his gun from him setting it on the nightstand next to the bed.

"Night," she said, turning away.

Jaxton reached out and caught her wrist in his hand. He pulled her back hard and into him, making her stumble before catching her footing. Both of his arms wrapped around her and he buried his face in her stomach.

"I don't want to sleep alone," he mumbled.

It took Gemi by surprise. Only a few times since she had known him had he shown any kind of openness with his feelings.

"I'll stay."

Gemi walked over and closed the door while Jaxton undressed for bed. She flipped the lock and then padded back over to where Jaxton now lay. Regretting not putting her clothes back on, Gemi left her robe tied and slid into the sheets beside him. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his chest. One of her hands rested on a large scar. She traced the rough edges with her finger absentmindedly. A low groan rolled through his chest as he placed his hand on hers, stopping it from exploring any further.

"What happened?" she asked, figuring it was better to ask than to let it eat at her.

"My father was not a very nice man."

Jaxton kissed her forehead and then rolled away from her, his back now facing her. In the dim light she saw that even larger scars ran the length of his back, overlapping and leaving hardly any clear skin. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled herself close to his back, letting her cheek press into him.

"Why do you do that?" she asked before planting light kisses on a few of the various marks.

"Please don't."

He was quiet for some time. Just as Gemi was convinced he had fallen asleep he let out a huff of air and rolled back to face her. His face was half-hidden in shadows, but she could see the pain on it.

"I don't need people feeling sorry for me," he said

"I know what you mean."

"Are you really okay?" he asked.

"No. But I think I would be more concerned if I was, you know?"

He ran a hand through her hair. "You showered?"

"Yeah, I figured I could wash today away. I don't think it will be that simple though."

He nodded his agreement and fell silent again. Gemi closed her eyes, deciding it was best to try to get some sleep. Who knew when they would be in an actual bed again, in a normal house? Before she had a chance to drift something caught her attention. When she opened her eyes she found Jaxton staring at her, his face mere inches from hers, eyes harboring an intensity she had seen only a few times. Her mouth went dry as she became very aware of the fact that she was naked under the thin fabric of the robe. It was apparent that he was acutely aware of that as well.

Jaxton leaned his face in, letting his lips brush lightly against hers. Gemi parted her lips in response. It was the invitation he was looking for. His tongue pushed its way into her mouth, twisting with hers. His proximity and touch took over her mind, blocking out everything else.

His hand reached for the tie on the robe and pulled it loose. Letting his fingers slip inside, he found her breast, his thumb brushing against her nipple. Her breath quickened and she let out a small moan. He pushed her onto her back as his mouth traveled down her neck to her chest, taking over where his hand had left off. He brought her nipple into his mouth, letting his tongue and teeth graze across it. Gemi's body responded, her back arched off the bed, thrusting herself closer to his mouth. She could feel him smiling against her skin.

Her fingers found the waistband of his underwear and pushed them down over his butt before using her feet to push them off all the way, freeing his legs. Jaxton hovered above her, his chest just barely brushing against hers.

"You sure?" he asked.

Gemi nodded.

With his eyes locked on hers he slowly sank into her. Gemi let out a loud moan as he began to move. She brought her hand to her mouth and bit down on it, trying to stifle herself before the doctor heard them.

Dew spread across Jaxton's skin in his efforts. He had his bottom lip planted between his teeth and was obviously having a hard time controlling the volume of his voice as well. Gemi's body tensed under him as a rush of pleasure washed over her. Almost as if on cue, so did Jaxton. He collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily in her ear.

They lay entwined, with Jaxton's head resting on her shoulder as their hearts and breathing slowed back to a normal pace. The clock on the nightstand, if correct, showed that it was well past midnight.

"We best get some sleep," she whispered in his ear.

"Mmm," he replied.

Gemi laughed, it was a genuine non-crazed laugh and the sound of it took her by surprise. Jaxton propped himself up on his elbows and smiled down at her.

"I like that sound." He planted kisses all around her face, ending with the tip of her nose. He stretched out beside her, leaving one arm wrapped around her.

"You're not going to push me away now are you?" she asked.

"No."

"That's good," she said, rolling to his side and placing her head on his chest.

She began to drift.

"It's how my father used to punish me," he said, pulling her back out of her slumber.

"What?"

"He was a mean man who believed in old-school punishment. Whenever he felt like I fell out of line, which was a lot, he would tie me up in the barn and whip me. He would then leave me there to think about what I had done, sometimes for hours."

Jaxton peered down at Gemi. She knew the look on her face was nowhere near reassuring, but there was no way she could mask the horror she felt. He reached up and ran a finger across the wrinkle between her eyes.

"See, that's the look I hate. I don't need pity. It was a long time ago and had it not happened I wouldn't have the life I have now. I wouldn't have met you."

Gemi blushed, dropping her gaze. He placed a finger under her chin and raised her face back to him.

"I wish I could explain it."

"Explain what?" she asked.

"You. It's been bothering me since I first saw you in the street. It's like I knew you."

"Yes, I reminded you of your girlfriend."

"It was more than that. The first few times I slept after that, I dreamed of you. All of this craziness was going on, but it was different somehow. It felt real."

Gemi's eyes widened. She had the same kind of dreams, but in them she was always murderous and he was her victim. She knew there was no way she would be able to tell him that, not with her sanity always in question.

"I...I've dreamed about you too." She decided to leave out all the gory details. "Maybe we knew each other in another life."

Jaxton laughed. "Sure, that's what it must have been."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Yes." He kissed the tip of her nose then closed his eyes.

For the first time in a long time Gemi's dreams were pleasant, her normal nightmares of blood and death replaced by happiness. The dream was hazy around the edges, not really making sense as it flipped through different images. None of them were memories, yet they all felt so familiar.

Gemi woke as the sun trailed in through the window. She stretched out in the bed, her hands searching for Jaxton. When they came up empty she sat up with a jolt, her heart pounding in her ears. She threw her robe back on and dashed out the door and down the stairs. The house was calm, no sign of any danger. Her pulse finally slowed down when she heard voices trailing in through the kitchen door.

Trying her best to compose herself, she straightened the tie on the robe and smoothed down her hair before walking through the door. The doctor and Jaxton sat at the kitchen table with dirty plates set in front of them. They both looked up at her when she entered. The smell of coffee hit her, causing her mouth to salivate with desire.

"Coffee?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"In all its glory!" the doctor exclaimed, raising his mug in the air.

"Would you like some?" Jaxton asked.

"Please."

Jaxton handed her a warm cup and she sat down at the table. The doctor thumbed through an old paper and Jaxton sharpened his knives. It could have come across as a normal morning in someone's life, but now it all seemed odd, out of place after everything they had been through.

She took a big gulp of the coffee. It tasted better than she remembered. The brown liquid warmed her stomach, making her forget her uneasiness for the time being. After the second gulp she decided that she would just enjoy this quiet moment while she could.

Jaxton set a plate of mash in front of her. She wrinkled her nose and looked up at him.

"We used whatever was good in the fridge and freezer." He shrugged his shoulders and sat back down. "It tastes better than it looks."

Skeptically, she brought a forkful to her face sniffing at it before deciding to give it a try. It was an odd mixture, nothing she would ever intentionally put together, but he was right. It did taste pretty good and it was warm—real food that didn't come out of a wrapper. Gemi shoveled the food in her mouth, stopping only to gulp down the glorious coffee.

"Got an appetite after last night, eh?" the doctor asked, looking at her.

Gemi coughed, choking on the half-chewed food in her mouth. He must have overheard them. Avoiding eye contact, she took another drink of the coffee, trying her best to delay the inevitable conversation.

"What do you mean?" she finally asked.

"Well you were out cold after everything that happened out in the barn. It's good to see your appetite back. You even have some color in your cheeks."

"Oh, yeah that. I'm doing much better this morning." She shot Jaxton a sideways glance. His eyes were cast down, still focused on his knives, but a wide smile spread across his face.

"That's good because I think we should head out today. The storm has passed and staying in one place for too long, especially such an obvious landmark like this, is dangerous."

"I couldn't agree more," she said, reaching for the pot to pour another cup of coffee. It would have to do for a while. They may not even have any at the base.

"Glad we are in agreement. Well I am going to take advantage of the hot running water. We should head out in a couple hours. It will give us a good chunk of the day to travel."

After the doctor was out of earshot, Jaxton looked up at her. "I had quite the appetite this morning as well."

Gemi's mouth dropped open as a salacious grin spread across his face.

A few hours later they were all clean and packed, a second wind finding everyone after a stress-free, restful night.

They set out down the dirt road that ran from the house's driveway. The road was thickly lined on both sides with various crops that were beginning to show signs of neglect. The air was brisk, making Gemi thankful that the woman had a winter coat in her closet. The doctor had taken advantage of clean clothes as well, trading in his army uniform for jeans and a T-shirt he must have found in the man's closet.

No one spoke as they walked, all of their minds lost in their own thoughts. Dr. Askel walked ahead, swaying his body to the tune he was whistling, his face cast up toward the now-clear sky.

Gemi looked toward Jaxton. He was an arm's length away, matching her pace, his eyes sweeping from side to side as he surveyed the road in front of them. He had kept his army uniform despite the fact that it was marred by their journey. Bloodstains streaked the side of his jacket and pants. Gemi closed her eyes, trying to force the image of him hanging from the seat of the van from her head.

When she looked over at him, he was staring at her, his eyes trying to read the pain in her face.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

She shook her head.

Jaxton narrowed his eyes at her, but let it drop, turning his attention to the road in front of them.

Being back out in the open was already making her uneasy. They had faced so much and barely made it out when their numbers were larger. A couple of days' journey, the doctor had said, making it seem like some adventure and not the fight for their life that it actually was.

Gemi closed her eyes again, dreaming of being back and safe in the house. Running water and coffee had made it easy to forget the world outside, letting her regain some of the person she had once been.

Opening her eyes again she could see the doctor fiddling with the long-range communication device that had gone dead long before the shit had really hit the fan for them. No one wanted to talk about it, the fact that they could be walking to certain death. Who knew if the base was even standing anymore? If it was, and everyone there was untouched by the craziness, it would be a pretty big dick move to ignore their calls.

A crow, screeching at them as they passed, made Gemi nearly jump out of her skin.

"Stupid bird!" she yelled as she tossed a rock from the road at it. It squawked back at her before taking flight and disappearing into the distance.

"Easy there, killer." Jaxton wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him.

"That's not funny." Gemi drew back away from him. "I don't like being out in the open like this."

"Hey." He reached over and grabbed her hand. "I didn't mean it like that. Seriously, it just came out. Will you look at me?"

Gemi glanced up at him, not yet ready to let go of her hurt feelings.

"We're going to be fine. We made it this far."

"Some of us have."

"True. But despite that, we can't give up. We will beat this, you'll see."

"I never said I was rolling over and giving up, but flinching every time there is a noise isn't my idea of a picnic."

Jaxton stopped walking, jerking her to a stop in the process. "Why are you looking to fight with me all of a sudden?"

"I'm not." Gemi glanced over toward the doctor, the distance growing between them made her chew on her lower lip in unease.

"Sure seems like it," Jaxton continued. "I thought we had a deal here, no more putting walls up between us."

Gemi let out a long breath of air. He was right and she knew it, but she was having a hard time pushing away the stubbornness that had overtaken her. Gemi stared down the road, the doctor was now an uncomfortable distance away.

"You're right, I'm sorry," she whispered.

"There is nothing to be sorry for." His other hand reached up and cupped the side of her face.

Gemi finally looked back toward him, his eyes gazed down at her softly, the look in his eyes taking her by surprise. She was still getting used to seeing this side of him.

"Let's catch up to Doc. I don't think separating is a good idea."

As if the universe heard her, the doctor let out a holler, waving his hands in the air. "Hey!"

Jaxton and Gemi took off in a sprint toward him, Gemi's heart pounding in her throat. As they got closer she began surveying the road, right, left, past the doctor, and for good measure she threw her head over her shoulder to check behind them. Nothing.

"What's wrong?" Jaxton called as they came to a stop in front of the doctor, who was now sitting on the ground with the device between his legs.

"Shhh!" he waved his hand at them. "Listen."

Gemi strained her ears. There was a soft breeze that knocked the trees together, and somewhere in the distance birds squawked at something. Nothing else caught her as urgent or unusual. She glanced up at Jaxton, about to voice her question of the doctor's sanity when there it was. The device in the doctor's lap came to life, crackling and hissing before an unknown voice echoed out through the speakers.

"Base 2B down. I repeat...base 2...down...All available staff have been moved to... once again all staff...to..." the speakers filled with a hissing noise once again.

"That's it?" Gemi asked.

"Yeah, it just repeats."

"I didn't hear what other base they directed us to. How many others are there besides 2B?"

"A lot," Jaxton interjected, "how do we know this isn't prerecorded, that after 2B fell the rest didn't?"

"We don't," the doctor said.

All three fell silent. Gemi could feel their journey crumbling out from underneath them. The feeling that everything they had done, everyone they had lost, had been for nothing strangled her. The looks on the others' faces said they were feeling the same thing.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

Dr. Askel shrugged and shook his head. The message had utterly defeated him.

"We continue on," Jaxton said. "If anything else had fallen after 2B I'm sure they would have had time to put out another message. There are plenty of places to take refuge." Even he seemed as if he didn't believe what he was saying.

"How do you know that there wasn't a longer message that just got cut off?" Gemi asked.

The wrinkle that appeared between Jaxton's eyes answered her question.

"We don't even know which base to head to, or if there is even a safe way through now," the doctor said, looking up from the hissing device in his lap.

"I'm not giving up," Jaxton shouted, making Gemi jump.

"No one is asking you to, but we can't just walk to our death."

"Maybe we should just—" The look Jaxton shot her made Gemi stop short.

"I know a way in, a safe way. Once in we can decide whatever base we want."

"How?" the doctor asked.

"When you first brought me to base I hated it, I would wander around trying to find any way out that I could take and go unnoticed. I stumbled upon it by total accident. There is an underground system built in, completely abandoned, but it will do its job."

"How do we know it won't be overrun?"

"As far as I can tell the only ones who know about it are the ones that built it, anyone with blueprints, who would already be on the inside, and me."

"How would we get into it?" Gemi asked.

"Do you still have that map, Doc?"

Dr. Askel reached for his bag and pulled it to the front of him. After a few seconds of riffling around he emerged with the crumpled map. Jaxton took it from him and fell to his knees on the road.

"Here," he pointed. "There's a small old town, and one of the tunnels spits you out right under an apartment building."

"You mean an apartment building that is possibly over run by people that have lost their minds?" Gemi asked.

"It's possible, yes, but any other way is going to be that much more dangerous, especially if we don't know what base we are going to."

"How far away is it?"

"Fifteen miles."

"I don't see any other choice," the doctor said, looking at Gemi expectantly.

"Well, I guess we have a location, but what's our plan?" she said.

# Chapter Thirteen

Gemi lay stretched out on the sleeping bag. The warmth from the fire was now just touching her feet. Although they had deemed it safe to camp and light the fire, she had yet to convince her brain to shut off long enough to drift off.

The doctor, not having the same problem, lay snoring softly beside her. Each noisy breath he let out brought her anxiety level higher until she couldn't take it anymore. Gemi sat up with a sigh, knowing she was going to feel the lack of sleep tomorrow.

Through the dimming fire she could see Jaxton sitting with his back propped against a tree, staring off into the distance. He had volunteered to take the first watch, and since she wasn't getting any sleep she figured she might as well go relieve him.

Her movement drew his gaze from whatever was fascinating him off in the distance.

"Hey," she whispered.

"What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep. Figured I would relieve you early."

Gemi sat down next to him, sliding in close as a shiver rocked her body.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked.

"Not really. You should sleep."

"I don't see that happening. You go ahead, I can keep lookout."

Jaxton wrapped his arm around her as another shiver rolled through her. He leaned his head on hers and ran a hand lazily up and down her arm. They sat quiet for some time, him staring off into the distance as she stared into the dying fire.

Gemi didn't remember closing her eyes, couldn't recall the exact moment when sleep overtook her. When her eyes flashed open, she sat with her back cradled against the tree, the side of her face pressed against the rough surface of the bark.

The camp was dead quiet, the fire burned out for some time. Gemi reached out beside her, expecting to find Jaxton. When her hand came up empty she bolted upright, fear ripping through her, causing her heart to race, the noise filling her ears.

"Jaxton?" she whispered.

Nothing.

She pushed up off the ground peeking around the other side of the tree before stumbling down the slight hill and toward the smoke-filled camp. She found the doctor's sleeping bag with him still sound asleep, his head poking out into the night air.

Her sleeping bag wasn't far. Her hands found a large mound stuffed inside. Jaxton must have taken her up on the offer of sleep. He was going to be pretty pissed when he discovered she fell asleep on post. That was if she even told him.

"Hey, sleepyhead," she whispered near his ear, giving his body a soft shake. "Wake up you." She continued when there was no response. "Make room I'm freezing out here."

He didn't rouse. Gemi reached over and pulled him onto his back before reaching up and sliding the sleeping bag down off his face.

A scream ripped through the night air, strangled and heavy. Gemi clapped her hand over her mouth once she realized it had come from her. She blinked hard, willing the image in front of her to go away. Jaxton's dead eyes stared back up at her, the once-brilliant color now clouded over.

Trembling hands reached for the sleeping bag, slowly she pulled it down, feeling her breath catch in her throat when the large gash covering most of his neck came into view. Blood had pooled around the side of him, causing the sleeping bag to stick to his frame.

"Oh my God," she let out as hot tears streamed down her face. She stumbled backward, falling into the doctor's slumbering body.

"Doc. Doc, please wake up."

Silence greeted her pleas. She didn't need to look. She already knew he was dead as well.

Gemi fell to the ground, curling up in a tight ball on her side, letting her tears come, hard sobs that racked her body. She was alone.

Hands were on her, shaking her entire body. A voice shouted in the distance. It was so familiar but she couldn't make out the words. She wanted to open her eyes, to search for the face that matched the voice, but her eyes were too heavy. Too heavy from tears, fright, newfound anger, and everything else they had been through, so she closed them tighter.

The stranger's hands gripped harder now, the shaking becoming more violent, the voice louder and closer to her face.

"Wake up!" it shouted.

Gemi's eyes snapped open.

She found herself in the same campground, but instead of near the smoldered fire she was still by the tree she had fallen asleep against. Glancing around, she saw that the doctor was awake and alive, standing a few feet from her. But something about his face sent shivers up her spine. He was on edge, staring at her as if she was a wild beast who had escaped from captivity. He had his gun at his side, finger hovering by the trigger.

Gemi closed her eyes tight trying to blink away the remnants of her slumber. When she looked down, she saw that Jaxton was underneath her and he was eyeing her with a wary look. That's when she saw that her hands still rested upon his neck. Red marks were already appearing where her nails had dug in.

At once she rolled off of him, backing up a few paces. "What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," he said, pushing up from the ground.

"I don't know."

"Well, all I know is that I dozed off for a second and woke with your hands around my throat and you sobbing and babbling like a crazy person," he snapped.

Apparently he wasn't in favor of being awakened by the threat of death.

"I'm sorry. I thought the dreams had gone away. I...I never lashed out during them before that I know of."

"Dreams? What dreams?" the doctor asked, finally finding his voice.

"I don't know, bad ones."

"Explain," Jaxton said, more a demand than a question.

"When I go to sleep I dream that people around me are hurt, that's it."

"How long has this been going on?" the doctor probed.

Gemi looked down at the dirt. Her foot dug into the ground, knocking a rock loose from the soil and watching it roll down the hill.

"Right after everything went to hell. I—I don't know. Does this even matter?"

"So this has happened more than that one time?" Jaxton asked.

"I don't want to talk about this right now," Gemi said, making to turn and retreat into the trees, but a hand reached out and grabbed her roughly, pulling her back toward the center of their camp.

Jaxton pushed her down onto the sleeping bag and stood looming over her, his body tense, waiting for her to try to escape again. Gemi glanced up to meet his gaze and was immediately sorry that she had. His expression was pulled tight, dancing between anger and some other emotion she couldn't quite put her finger on. His eyes burned bright and every trace of the lighthearted man she had spent the good part of the day with was gone.

"I'm not proud of it, okay," she said.

"Of what?" Jaxton barked

"I've been having dreams, bad ones where people usually end up dead. You knew about the one I had the night before you sent Kai away. This is the first time I've actually woken up and seemed to act it out though."

"Acting it out?" Dr. Askel was now standing on the other side of her.

"Fuck. I have dreams where I murder people, okay? You specifically." She thrust a finger in Jaxton's direction.

The camp went silent. Gemi didn't need to look up to see how they felt. Cocking her head to one side, she began tracing the stitching on her sleeping bag with one finger.

In the distance an owl hooted. The wind blew stronger now, rustling the trees and moving the abandoned leaves across the ground. Gemi hugged her arms around herself, trying to block out the shivers it caused.

Finally the doctor cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

"Well then, we know and now we can take precautions."

"Precautions?" Gemi asked.

"Well, yes. I think now along with the night guards, the person will have to watch over you, make sure you do nothing while in your nightmare state. It will be best if we bound you too. I think I have some loose rope in one of my bags."

"Are you insane? You're not tying me up."

"Well, what do you suggest then? We can't just leave you free to roam, it's too dangerous."

Gemi gaped at the doctor. He couldn't be serious. There was no way she was going to let them tie her up.

Jaxton's hands balled into fists, the muscles in his neck straining. He was visibly having some kind of internal struggle. Without another word he turned and disappeared into the trees and darkness.

The doctor snorted under his breath and returned to his sleeping bag. Sliding inside, he turned his back to Gemi.

The world went quiet again, all but the wind and the occasional rustle of a nocturnal animal.

Gemi leaned back on the sleeping bag, throwing her arm over her eyes. Her body shook, but this time it had nothing to do with the cold. What if she had hurt him? It was one thing to have nightmares, but to act them out? It terrified her to her core. At this rate it was only a matter of time before she snapped like the rest of them, for all she knew this is how it started for everyone.

Feet crunching on brittle leaves alerted her that Jaxton had returned. Slowly she slid her arm from her eyes and watched him as he stooped down and added wood to the dying fire. She watched the muscles of his back flex with each movement, his jaw clenching and releasing as he arranged the wood and set it ablaze. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch him, slide her hand under his shirt to feel his warm skin against hers. But in this state it wasn't the best idea.

Gray eyes met hers, and although his face still seemed tense, it had softened. He moved to the edge of the sleeping bag and sat with his back to the fire, just out of arm's reach. He said nothing, just stared as if he was trying to penetrate her soul.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out, mostly not wanting the endless silence to continue. "So sorry, I can't begin to describe how sorry I am. I know that won't make up for it and I can't promise it won't happen again, but I would never want to hurt you, ever. I..."

She stopped short, biting her tongue before the word could fall out, before she made things worse. It sounded so dumb now as it bounced around her head. Love. How could she love him after such a short time?

Jaxton cocked his head to one side, internally debating something. When he spoke his words were slow, calm and carefully selected.

"I want you to listen, so please don't speak." He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, waiting for her confirmation. She nodded her head vigorously, biting down on her lips.

"Whatever is going on I can't imagine how scary it must be. I'm here to help you through it during the day, but if you're going to flip switches at night we will need a way to make sure that no one gets hurt. Doc has a valid point no matter how uncivilized it may be."

Gemi opened her mouth to protest, but promptly shut it when she saw the warning look Jaxton gave her.

"We're almost to base. It would be, at most, twice and there will always be a guard to make sure you are as safe as the rest of us, but obviously we can't allow you to keep watch now in case you doze off. Do you agree to this?"

She nodded reluctantly.

"Good. Now it's my turn to apologize. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you like that. I was so angry with myself for falling asleep and putting you in any kind of danger. Had I been awake like I should have been, I would have been able to wake you."

"What happened was not your fault." She reached out to grab his hand, but he pulled away. He saw the hurt register on her face and let out a puff of air. "You promised," she said.

"I know."

"Then why?"

"Because it's not safe."

"You mean I'm not safe."

"Because I let my guard down and bad things happen. I need to protect you, protect Doc. Once we get back to base they will fix you."

"Fix me? I'm not a car that needs an oil change."

He let out another long exhale. "I'm not good at this kind of stuff, can you just throw me a bone here?"

Without a word she pushed to her feet—she had heard enough. She raced toward the woods. He called after her but when she glanced over her shoulder his eyes were closed, his face distorted in pain. He didn't come after her.

# Chapter Fourteen

Light broke through the branches of the trees, illuminating the world around her and helping to push the night's events to the back of her head.

She hadn't made it very far. Collapsing into a heap of self-pity a few hundred feet from the camp, she lay there for the remainder of the night.

Her body ached. Dirt and twigs matted in her hair from where it rested on the damp ground. So much for her shower and the glorious lavender shampoo. Uncurling from the ball she lay in, she was able to take better stock of the rigid way her arms moved. They were bruised and scraped and covered in mud. If she had a mirror, she was sure she wouldn't recognize herself.

Jaxton never came for her. She couldn't blame him. She had been foolish running into the unknown wilderness, putting herself willingly in danger, but was too stubborn to come back.

There was no choice now. They had to head out if they were going to make it to the town by dark. And darkness and the affected did not seem like the best of combinations.

With one deep steadying breath, and a few finger brushes to her hair, she crept out into the opening. Dr. Askel hovered above the fire, preparing breakfast. He eyed her as she approached, before going back to his work. Jaxton was nowhere to be found.

Gemi busied herself with cleaning up the camp, rolling up the sleeping bags, and packing up all the bags, whatever kept her from having to see the disappointed look in the doctor's eyes. Tiredness weighed heavily on her, making her eyes burn around the rims. It was going to be a long day, not that she suspected there would be any sleep tonight either, not with being tied up like a hostage. Unless, of course, they made it to base, then there would just be a lot of poking and prodding and tests to make sure she wasn't insane. That is if she wasn't affected and immediately put down, and as each day passed she was starting to believe she was more and more.

Another storm had begun to roll in. The clouds moving in on them, their black colors promising a heavy downpour.

Great.

Jaxton emerged back into the small campground, coming from the area she had spent the night. He moved with purpose and intensity, but she could see the fatigue wearing on his shoulders with the way they hunched forward. He walked past her glancing in her direction before looking away.

Gemi refused breakfast even after Jaxton had given her his telltale dirty look, instead letting the doctor and Jaxton devour her share as well. Her head was hurting from stress, from lack of sleep, from injuries, and the constant emotional onslaught. It was stupid. They were in the middle of the downfall of the human race and there she was fretting and feeling sorry for herself. Even she was disgusted by it. They were right to want to secure her at night. She could seriously harm one of them, getting herself killed in the process, but she had gone too far now to take it back.

Once they had finished eating they were on the road again. Not an hour into the journey it had begun to pour, a heavy freezing rain that soaked through her clothes and into her bones. Gemi wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hug in what body heat she had left.

Dr. Askel and Jaxton walked a few paces ahead of her, the long dirt road stretching out endlessly before them. The large raindrops had made sizeable pools in the road and loosened the soil, causing their feet to suction with every step. Gemi's legs burned, her body was giving up on her and each step felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, taking all of her will to pick up and set down again.

She could see that Jaxton and the doctor were submerged in a deep conversation, but the sound of the rain falling and the wind howling around them drowned out any of their words. She sank down into the mud letting the pressing exhaustion finally take her over, no longer caring to move.

Gemi watched the trees sway in the wind, the branches twisting and moving as bursts of leaves blew off in different directions and floated in the air. She wished she could be one of those leaves, carried away to someplace, anyplace but here.

They had abandoned her. Small specks in the road ahead now, the wind and rain too loud to alert them that she no longer trailed behind, that she had given up.

She flopped back into the mud, ice cold rain pounding down on her face. Had this been a few weeks earlier she would be concerned that someone would make her roadkill, but now the streets were deserted. Anyone who ran her over would have been aiming for her anyway. It would be fate or destiny or whatever one wanted to call it.

Jaxton's face appeared above her. He wasn't happy.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Resting."

He rolled his eyes and scooped her up into his arms. Before she knew what had happened she was flung belly-side-down across his shoulder. "So you'd rather be dead weight then, huh?"

"I've been that for weeks. Just leave me here."

"Stop being melodramatic. We're almost to the town, which means we're almost to base. And you could make this a lot quicker if you would just walk yourself."

"Is she okay?" the doctor asked.

"Oh fine, just throwing a pity party," Jaxton responded.

"Fantastic."

"You can put me down now," Gemi shouted over her shoulder.

Jaxton bent forward and set her on her feet.

"You can't give up now when we're almost there."

"Where is there? You don't even know if it's standing."

"Yeah well, I've come too far and lost too many to just lay down in the road when we are so close. Suck it up." Jaxton turned on his heel and trotted to where the doctor stood waiting. Gemi followed reluctantly.

They walked like that until the sun had set. The rain tapered off, leaving them with a freezing wind that chilled to the bone. She felt as if she would need to be lit on fire in order to ever be warm again. An unpleasant image of her skin bathed in flames, boiling and melting away, popped into her head, but she forced it down. She shoved it into a newly created corner of her brain where she was filing things she wanted to forget about.

A shadow emerged on the horizon. Gemi jogged to where Dr. Askel and Jaxton were. As they got closer the shadows spread out and formed into buildings of various sizes.

"Is this it?" she asked Jaxton, an unexpected excitement welling up inside her.

"Yeah, it should be. Let's stick to the tree line from here on out. It's been abandoned for a few years, but that doesn't mean that some of the affected aren't held up here."

"Don't you think that they would have just up and offed each other by now?"

"I'm not sure. There were a few groups back in your town that seemed to band together. Who knows what's going on in their minds?"

The group hugged to the trees, as instructed, as they approached the town. The buildings were dark and motionless. A few seemed to be crumbling at their foundation.

"Stay here." Jaxton moved out of the tree coverage and back onto the road.

He approached the town cautiously, his gun drawn and held at his side, finger on the trigger. Nothing seemed to stir in the town. Gemi watched him as he disappeared behind the gate and one of the buildings. Seconds stretched into ages, Gemi's heart pounded into her throat. She leaned forward, scanning the entrance for any movement, her ears searching for any sounds. Finally, Jaxton came back around the corner, jogging to where they stood hidden, and relief washed over her.

"Everything is quiet. I ran screaming down one of the streets. If there was anyone they would have come out."

Gemi and the doctor trailed behind him as he led the way into the town and toward the underground entryway to the base. The town was old, very old. Several decades past what most considered retro. Some of the buildings even had archaic dishes for television on their roofs, from back when the populations needed hundreds of channels of rubbish to melt their brains.

They turned a corner into the center of town. Something rocketed past her face and ricocheted off a nearby broken-down car.

Everyone stopped. Lying at her feet was a bright green arrow. A second later more flew through the air toward them.

"Run!" Jaxton yelled.

Without hesitation Gemi broke out into a sprint, turning left at the first set of buildings. She ran down an alley that separated two ten-story structures. Even with her eyes adjusted to the night she was still having a difficult time seeing.

Gemi slowed her pace to a jog, straining her ears to listen for any sign of danger. That's when she noticed that neither Jaxton nor the doctor were with her.

"Shit!" she hissed under her breath.

She stopped where she was to assess her surroundings. All the windows on the buildings had been boarded up as well as the doors, so there would be no way to enter them. The walls were lined with Dumpsters that still overflowed with garbage. It smelled awful. Whoever abandoned this placed must have left in a hurry.

Gemi found herself with two options. Either she went back the way she came and hoped that whoever was attacking them had run off in a different direction or continue into the dark unknown.

She walked toward the street stretching her neck to see if she could see the road at all. A loud bang sounded from that direction. After her heart dropped back from her throat, she backed down deeper into the alley, keeping her eyes alert for any movement.

A glint of something at the entrance caught her eye. Gemi dropped low, pausing for a heartbeat before inching her way between a set of trashcans. She sat motionless, one hand over her mouth to stifle her ragged breathing.

The sound of footsteps rang off the walls as they crunched on the dirt making their way to where she hid. Gemi closed her eyes, trying her best to slow her breathing. She heard the footsteps pass her by and pause. Seconds ticked by like hours.

An echoing clatter next to her made Gemi jump back farther into the wall, her hands barely able to muffle the screech that erupted from her mouth. Her pursuer rummaged through the garbage, throwing things and knocking over the other trashcans.

Gemi reached for her side bag in an effort to find her gun and cursed at herself for not keeping it in her waistband. It would be loud, but it would also let Jaxton know where she was. She slid the zipper up as the person got closer and closer to where she hid.

A pair of black boots came into her peripheral and Gemi froze. Two more feet and whoever it was would find her. Gemi heard the sound of gunfire come from somewhere in the middle of town. The boots turned in that direction, the person dropping the bag of garbage to the ground. Mercifully the boots and the person in them moved toward the sound and back out of the alley. Gemi made an internal prayer that it wasn't the doctor or Jaxton making all that noise.

After a few breaths Gemi peeked her head around the corner to see the shadow exiting the alley and disappearing around the building. Gemi pushed up from her hiding spot and, throwing her side bag back on, she made her way deeper down the alley.

A few feet down, a large chain-link fence separated her from the rest of the town. A sizeable hole was ripped at the base, big enough for her to fit through, but it would mean she had to belly crawl under it. Gemi looked around for other options, but the barbed wire at the top left her with no other choice.

Gemi dropped to the ground. She slid off her side bag and pushed it through the opening. Using her elbows, she pulled herself into the hole, pushing with the balls of her feet as she went. It was a tight squeeze forcing her to lie flat on her stomach and continue to pull herself with just her arms. She bit her lip and tried to ignore the pain radiating from her already damaged skin. Halfway through she was halted. Something had caught on one of the rough edges of wire. She pulled harder, her skin scratching on the rough ground.

"Shit, fuck, damn it," she cursed to herself.

Her bag had gotten tangled up on the netting, the wires of the fence twisting around it. Gemi pushed back, scooting in toward the alley to give her arms slack in the straps. With some careful shimmying she was able to free her left arm and twisted to release her right.

A door next to her flew open with a bang. She hadn't even noticed that it wasn't boarded like the rest. A figure emerged and beelined right for her, running at full speed.

She moved faster, forcing her arm out of the one strap. Once free, she dug her hands into the ground and began frantically trying to squeeze through the rest of the way.

A big hand gripped her leg, digging into her flesh with jagged sharp nails, and pulled her back through the opening. Gemi reached out and grasped the side of the fence using it for leverage as she blindly kicked at her assailant. A few missed attempts, and she was already more than halfway back into the alley, her fingers burning as they began to lose their grip.

Gemi risked a glance back. With the person in sight she took aim and landed a kick square in the face followed by two more. The person let go and stumbled back with their hands to their face. She took the opportunity and crawled through all the way.

Gemi snatched her shoulder bag and stood just as the person launched at her. The face slammed into the fence and she stumbled back. In the dim moonlight she could see blood smeared all over the man's nose and lips. Large chunks of his skin were missing already, partially healed and, from the looks of it, festering. He wildly slammed his hands and head into the barrier murmuring something under his breath. Gemi didn't stick around to hear what it was.

She padded through the streets, trying her best to stick to the shadows as she kept an eye out for any signs of the others. She had no idea where this underground entrance was, and if she didn't at least find Jaxton she would be stranded with a bunch of affected running around.

Whooping sounds echoed somewhere to her right. Gemi took a sharp left, ducking behind what looked to be an old dilapidated church with the cross hanging on the roof. She leaned back against the wall and, with breath held, peered out around the corner to see a group of people running in her direction. She could see a factory building just across the way with the doors propped open. If she made a mad dash she would more than likely have time to make it before the group saw or caught up to her.

Gemi readied herself. She pulled the shoulder bag across her chest to make sure it wouldn't slip off and planted her feet against the wall to use as leverage. Three deep breaths, and she was ready to go, forcing her body off the wall and toward the road. Midstride something wrapped around her stomach and yanked her back into the shadows. Her back slammed into someone just as a hand clamped over her mouth dampening her scream.

The group ran past her hiding place without a glance in her direction as they shrieked into the night, dragging the body of the man that had attacked Gemi in the alley. He wasn't moving or fighting back and Gemi prayed that his death had been swift.

The hand left her mouth and joined the other arm wrapped around her midsection. "Are you always so eager to run right into danger?" he hissed in her ear.

Gemi didn't have to turn around to know it was Jaxton. "Well it's not like I had an abundance of options once you guys ditched me."

"I looked back and you were gone," he said as he spun her to face him. "I've been running around like crazy looking for you."

"Where's the doctor?" Gemi asked, feeling a knot tighten in her stomach once she realized he wasn't with them.

"He's in that building across the way. I think it should be safe to make a run for it now. We can wait until it settles a bit before we head to the tunnels."

Jaxton let her go and glanced out into the road to make sure it was clear. "Just run, okay?"

They both took off for the building, trying their best to land soft and not draw attention despite the fact that the roads were now silent. Their stalkers seemed to be occupied with their prize for the time being.

The building was mere feet ahead when pain unexpectedly lanced through Gemi's leg, causing her to cry out and stumble to her hands and knees. Her brain hardly had time to process what had happened before strong hands were on her, lifting her up and supporting her weight as they dashed the rest of the way to the building.

The doctor was already waiting at the door. The moment they crossed the threshold he slammed the door shut and secured it with a thick board through the handles.

"That won't hold for long once they make it here," he called out, in toe with Jaxton.

"What was that?" Gemi asked, her breath catching in her throat.

"An arrow." Jaxton set her down on her side.

"Where the fuck did they find that?"

"There is a hunting store nearby."

Dr. Askel pushed past him and fell to Gemi's side. "Let's take a look. Well, the good news is that it didn't hit an artery."

"And the bad?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"I lost the bag with the rest of our medical supplies and this is going to hurt like hell."

"Wonderful."

"I will need something to stop the bleeding—check the remaining bags."

Jaxton dumped the contents of the gear bags at his feet and started rifling through them.

"That will work." The doctor pointed at a box of fire starter. "We'll have to do this the archaic way."

Jaxton lit a small fire beside them and Gemi watched the doctor place a knife into the flames. "Luckily for us, these produce a hotter than normal flame," he said as he cut away the fabric of her pants to give better access to the wound.

Jaxton's arms wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides and pressing her face into his chest. She was surrounded by the smell of him and the steady rise and fall of his chest and, for a split second, she forgot about everything happening around her. Then the pain started.

Gemi felt her body pulling along with the arrow as the doctor worked to dislodge it. A muffled scream escaped her lips and Jaxton tightened his grip around her.

"Shh, it's okay." His breath was hot on her ear, causing her brain to battle for which sense it would focus on.

All at once the pressure stopped and the arrow clattered to the ground beside her. She could feel blood soaking her clothes, but anything was better than having an arrow ripped from her body.

"Hold her tight," the doctor whispered to Jaxton. His arms tensed around her, crushing her and making it so that even if she wanted to move she wouldn't be able to release herself.

Dr. Askel removed the blade from the fire and, without hesitating or letting it cool, pressed the blade to her wound. The smell of burned flesh surrounded them. Bile rose in her throat, fighting with the scream that poured out of her mouth. She fought, her arms useless to push him away. The pain was so much worse than she could have imagined.

The world faded around her, blackness blocking out part of her vision. She blinked hard against it, not wanting it to overtake her.

"It's over..."

"Breathe... okay..."

Words floated into her head in fragments. She knew who was talking, but was unable to put the sentences fully together. There was no time for her to be weak, to lose consciousness. The people pursuing her would no doubt know where they were now, what with her screaming like a banshee. She forced herself to focus on Jaxton's breathing, although quicker than it had been, it still came in a steady rise and fall.

The pain finally ebbed and Jaxton loosened his grip on her, allowing air to enter her lungs at a normal rate.

"You're okay." He pushed the sweat-soaked hair out of her face, cupping her chin in his hands.

"We should go," she croaked.

His eyes wrinkled at the edges as he smiled down at her. "The doc is finishing his patchwork. Breathe for a second."

"No, we have to go, now." Her still-weak arms pushed him off her, but he didn't fight back, letting her crawl out of his lap. Gemi slid to a close-by crate and used it as a support to lift to herself to her feet. They wobbled slightly under her before steadying.

"You should probably take a second," the doctor said, reaching out to her.

"No! They will be coming. We have to go."

As if summoned, a dark form dropped from the rafters above, landing behind Jaxton. In one swift motion something connected with the side of his head with a nauseating crack. Jaxton's eyes rolled into his head as he dropped to the ground, motionless.

Before Gemi or the doctor had a second to react, another person dropped in between them. A hand flew out, connecting with the side of Gemi's face and sending her tumbling over the crate.

The doctor moved toward her to help, making it only a few steps before a knife met with his throat. In one fluid motion it slid from one side to the other, opening it wide and releasing a sickening spray of blood all over the ground.

"Kai..." he gurgled as he grasped at his wound. The figure brought a hand high in the air and slashed at his chest, the blade sinking in with little resistance.

Dr. Askel slid to the ground, short strangled breaths racking his body for a few seconds before falling still.

The stranger stepped out of the shadows and toward Gemi, revealing a familiar face with a twisted smile. Her hands were bathed in red and strung across her back was a crossbow and a quiver of green arrows.

"Why?" Gemi asked as she pushed herself to her feet. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Kai just laughed, wiping the bloody blade on her pants.

Gemi glanced past her to the two figures on the ground. Jaxton was lying on his stomach with his hands tied behind him as Callum perched on his back, the barrel of a shotgun pressed against his throat tilting his head in their direction. He had just come back around, his weary eyes traveling from the doctor's lifeless body to Gemi and Kai. His face held an expression that she had never quite seen, almost as if he had finally broken.

Kai followed her gaze and then turned back to Gemi. "Well, we couldn't have him being your little guard dog, now could we?" She took a step toward Gemi, her arm raised with the blade at the ready. Gemi reached for her thigh and the blade that Jaxton had secured there, but it was gone. She scanned the room frantically, finally settling on it lying by the fire. The doctor must have used it to cauterize her wound.

Gemi shuffled to the left trying her best to keep as much space as possible between her and Kai. She needed a new plan. She just needed to make it to the gear bag and her gun.

"You're sick, okay." Gemi put her hands in the air, feigning submissiveness as she continued toward the bag on the ground.

"I'm not one of you if that's what you're implying."

"Sann didn't know either. It's okay."

A few more feet.

"You silly, silly girl. I knew Sann was chipped. I work on the research team and I can tell you I am most definitely not chipped."

Gemi stuttered her steps. "Then why?"

"Because I hate you. It's simple really. You think you're so much better than us, the non-chipped ones, even though we're the ones who control them and keep you safe. If anyone is better, it's us. You're nothing more than a science experiment."

Kai lunged at Gemi, trying to catch her off guard, but she was ready. She sidestepped and, using Kai's momentum against her, was able to force her to the ground with a quick shove. Kai let out a puff of air as her chest hit first and the knife went sprawling out of her hand.

Gemi reached the bag and came up with the gun, pointing it at Kai. The distinct sound of a shotgun being racked behind her pulled her gaze from Kai. Callum was standing, his foot pressed into Jaxton's back with the shotgun muzzle on the back of his head.

Kai laughed, evil and triumphant. She picked up the blade and walked to where Gemi stood, simply pushing the gun out of her face.

"Throw the gun in the bag," Kai demanded.

Gemi glanced back at Jaxton then complied.

"I'll tell you how this is going to work. You are going to stand here and take it. Take whatever I do, do whatever I say because if you don't there is going to be a large hole where dear Jaxton's head used to be." She lashed out with the knife and sliced open Gemi's bicep. Gemi bit the inside of her cheek to keep from wincing. Kai's smile widened. She knew she had won.

"Now take this and stab yourself in the leg." She handed her the knife. Kai was now unarmed. If she knew that she could take her and somehow save Jaxton she would have. Instead, she took the knife and jammed it hard into her thigh. Despite herself she cried out in pain.

Kai didn't wait a beat before backhanding her. She fell to the ground, her body feeling as if it had been hit by lightning. Several points of injury now welled into one giant entity. It made her eyes water, her brain hazy.

Kai's foot rested on her ankle as her hand reached for the knife, ripping it from the meat of her thigh. Gemi screamed. Heavy sobs shook her body. The pain was too much, but the thought of how dragged out it would be was so much worse.

"Stand up!" Kai demanded.

Gemi heard her, she did, but her brain could hardly process what she was saying. "I said stand up!" Kai grabbed her by her hair and forced her to a standing position. Gemi's legs wobbled under her and her vision was blurry. Even if she could have fought back she would have been useless.

Gemi let out a gasp as she felt the blade penetrate her stomach. Kai grabbed her by the back of the neck, not wanting her to slip away. She removed the knife and plunged it in again this time twisting once the hilt was flush with her body.

"No!" Jaxton screamed, fighting against Callum as he tried to knock him off.

"I'm going to kill him next," Kai whispered in Gemi's ear as she plunged the blade in her again.

Gemi grasped at Kai's jacket trying desperately to stay upright as the blade sank in once more, this time higher and at an angle. She could feel her lung collapse in her chest as the blade was removed.

The world pressed on her, her breath now coming in bursts as her one working lung struggled to supply enough oxygen. Far off she could make out the sound of shouting. Kai had stopped her attack and was now pointing the blade in Jaxton's direction, her mouth spewing out words that Gemi couldn't quite make out. Her mind shouted at her to grab Kai's blade from her, to slide the blade across her throat as she had done to the doctor, but an icy numbness had crept up her limbs rendering them useless.

Gemi fell to the ground as her grip on Kai gave way. The motion brought Kai's gaze back to her. She smirked at her. "Pathetic..." The word tumbled around in her head, not quite making any sense.

The numbness spread to her stomach, finally blocking out the searing pain from her wounds. Gemi's eyes were heavy, begging her to close them, but her brain was still frantically trying to keep them open.

Gemi slid her hand off to the side where the gear bag lay mere inches from her outstretched fingers. Kai caught on to what she was attempting and brought the blade down on her hand, pinning it to the earth like a tent stake. Gemi moaned, the only sound she was able to make, even though her head was screaming. Screaming and begging to kill her.

Kai reached into the bag and brought out another knife, along with Gemi's gun. She weighed them both in each hand, staring at them as she decided which she wanted to use to inflict more pain. She returned holding the blade, obviously wanting to drag this out as much as possible.

Kai slid the blade up Gemi's pinned arm, her hand shaking from the pressure she used. Her icy limb turned to fire as blood began pooling around it before soaking into the dirt, staining it a bright red.

Gemi's head lolled to the side, although her vision was blurry now, she could still see Jaxton struggling with Callum. He had flipped on his back and had him in a headlock with his legs. The gun was on the ground off to the side.

Kai, sensing the urgency, slammed the knife down in the center of Gemi's chest. She followed through with another set of quick thrusts.

Blood bubbled up into Gemi's mouth, causing her to choke and gag on it. She could feel her life draining out of her quickly now. Her brain fought it, told her to get up and protect Jaxton, but in a moment of sheer weakness and self-preservation she let go of the thread that was holding her to this world.

The world faded around her, the last thing her eyes took in was Jaxton screaming silently at her before the world went cold and dark.

# Chapter Fifteen

The sound of beeping grew louder, a rhythmic comforting sound. It drew Gemi from the darkness, letting light sharpen the edges of her memory. The blood, the anger, the searing pain that ripped through her hit her all at once.

Gemi fought to move, to fight the onslaught of the blade, but her limbs were motionless, not responding to her will to protect herself. She tried to scream, but her voice abandoned her as well. So she stood there feeling the blade ravage her insides over and over. She saw the frantic look in Jaxton's eyes as he tried to get to her, unable to stop the relentless blade. The doctor lay motionless at her feet, blood surrounding him as the gash in his throat refused to stop bleeding, long after his heart had stopped.

Was she in hell? Would she be damned to forever relive the worst moments of her life?

The cold spread over her body then as life left it. Her legs fell out from under her, unable to bear the weight of her life any longer. Was that why she couldn't use them? They had given up first, betrayed her when she needed them to run, to carry her far away. They hadn't made it to base yet.

The knife continued, but she couldn't really feel it anymore. Each thrust reminded her she had failed and that their whole journey had been a waste. That she had caused the death of the only two people she ever considered friends. Friends despite the fact that they thought she was crazy. Friends despite the fact that she was weak and brittle and unmanageable. Friends because in a world where there is nothing and no one left you have to hang on to what you have.

Her chest became heavy. Liquid flowed into her throat, warm and tacky, blocking any attempt to bring air into her lungs. Was she suffocating on her own blood? Of all the ways to be killed with a knife...

The beeping was unbearable now, no longer comforting. It grew faster, erratic, causing a ringing in her head that wouldn't stop. It beeped in a way that reminded her she was forgetting something important.

She was tired now, all she needed was sleep. After all they had been through she deserved at least that. She closed her eyes, welcoming in the cold stillness of her world. Her body no longer hurt.

The beeping wouldn't let her rest. It intruded on the silence, pulling her back out every time she felt the world finally closing in around her. She tried to force her eyes back open, to see where it was coming from, but they resisted, heavier than she ever thought they could be.

It beeped. She needed to do something, but what was it? It beeped. There was something she was forgetting. It beeped, filling her head with a buzzing that pushed everything else out, taking over the memories she had from her last few weeks on earth.

With her last bit of strength she focused her energy, willing her eyes to open to find that damn beeping. It was racing, barely a pause in its pattern. She would never be at peace with it in her ear.

Gemi's eyes flew open at last, temporarily blinded by the florescent light that shone back in them. She wasn't in hell.

# Chapter Sixteen

Gemi squinted against the bright light, letting her eyes slowly adjust to her surroundings. Her vision was still blurry, fuzzy around the edges, her eyes aching with every movement. She tested her limbs, flexing and relaxing her feet then moving her way up the rest of her body, checking each muscle group. Surprisingly, she didn't feel as bad as she thought she would for surviving what had happened.

Gemi lifted her head slightly, still squinting against the light as she surveyed her surroundings. The room she was in was unfamiliar. It had whitewashed walls that somehow magnified the brightness of the lights and was completely lacking in any kind of wall decoration. The room, for that matter, was completely lacking in anything except the bed she lay in and a small side table to her left and one chair on her right. On her left she finally found the source of the infernal beeping that had brought her back around. A small heart monitor that connected to her finger by a thin cord was illuminating with each beat of her heart.

Someone must have found them after she had lost consciousness. But who? The thought made her heart race, which reflected loudly on the monitor.

Gemi pushed herself to a seated position and after a moment when the world moved and shifted around her, she removed the various cords and tubes attached to her. The monitor flatlined as she tossed it to the bed. It was a slightly unnerving noise, all things considered.

As she was moving her hand to her face to remove the nasal cannula, something about it made her pause. Her skin was perfect, not a mark marring it anywhere. Gemi flipped it over to examine the palm. It too was in pristine condition. How long was she out?

As if answering her silent question, the door pushed open and an unfamiliar older woman stepped inside. She was tall and lean with fire-red hair that seemed wild despite being pulled back into a ponytail. Her unnaturally green eyes sparkled as they caught the light. She must have had a procedure to enhance their color. It had been a huge fad back when Gemi was still in middle school.

"Well, good to see you're finally awake! That flatline had me a little worried." She smiled at her and walked confidently to her bedside.

"Where am I?"

"I imagine you will have a lot of questions. Do you mind if I give you a once-over before you ask?"

Gemi shook her head and relaxed back on the bed.

The woman placed a chart on the bed and then reattached the heart monitor, placing it back on her finger before checking the various liquids that were still attached to Gemi through an IV. The woman was fairly young, maybe midforties, but was already showing signs of graying at her roots. She moved back toward Gemi and brought a penlight to her eyes, moving it in and out of view several times before putting it away, satisfied.

"Well then, everything is looking great. Can you tell me where you are?"

"I was sort of hoping you could tell me."

"Interesting." She grabbed the chart and wrote something down.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"What is yours?" Gemi retorted, a little harsher than she meant.

The woman laughed and wrote something quickly. "It's Dr. Hailstrom, but you can call me Jade."

"Where am I, Dr. Hailstrom?"

"It's Jade. You're in our hospital wing. Now please, can you tell me your name?"

"It's Gemi. Where are the others I was with?"

"Gemi, can you tell me your full name?"

"Of course. It's...Um..." Gemi ran a hand through her hair in frustration. It was on the tip of her tongue but her brain couldn't find the words.

Jade wrote something and patted Gemi on the hand. "It's okay, everything will come back slowly. Can you tell me the last thing that you remember?"

"We were making our way back to base and got stuck in a town that was taken over by the affected."

"Who is we?"

"Jaxton, Dr. Askel, and myself."

"And then what happened?"

"We were held up in a building trying to figure a way out and we were ambushed. The doctor was killed, I was attacked, and then I was here." Visions of the last few minutes of her life flashed through her head, making the heart rate monitor beep erratically once again.

"You are okay?" Jade asked.

"I'm fine."

"Well, I think that's good for now. You should get some rest and I will check on you tomorrow." Jade moved to her IV and inserted a needle filled with liquid.

"What is that?"

"It will help you sleep."

Gemi's body felt suddenly like it weighed a thousand pounds. She fought hard. There was no way she wanted to relive her death again.

"Where...is everyone else?"

"Resting. They will be up soon enough."

Gemi woke to the empty room once again. Without windows it was hard to tell whether it was day or the middle of the night. Her bladder ached with the need to urinate. Once again she disconnected herself from the machines monitoring her and gently removed the IV from her arm, stopping the bleeding with her shirt.

The ground was freezing on her feet. Gemi sat half off the bed for a minute, her body stiff from being stationary for who knew how long.

Suddenly the world shifted, the room changed from stark white to a warm inviting color with a TV and various photos of herself. She was back in her room in her apartment. She saw herself click on the TV and walk to the bathroom, preparing for work.

Gemi rubbed her eyes, her head still buzzing. When she opened them she was back in the hospital wing.

She stared at herself in the mirror as she washed her hands. Something about her reflection seemed odd. Gemi examined her hand again, searching the areas that should have a very distinct scar, but there was nothing. Her stomach also showed no signs of scarring. Something wasn't right.

Gemi stepped out of the bathroom, but instead of entering her hospital room she found herself in her office kitchen. Runa was preparing her salad in the same place she had been that morning. Gemi held her breath, waiting for Runa to lose it and attack her, but instead she saw herself walk up and raise a knife to Runa's esophagus. In one clean movement, Runa's throat was sliced open, spraying the countertop with hot slick blood.

Gemi fell to the ground covering her mouth to suppress a scream. The room dimmed, tearing at the seams, ripping away the kitchen piece by piece until a new room had replaced it.

"No, no, no," she whispered under her breath.

She sat in the middle of the damp dirty warehouse, the last place she had been before the hospital. Her little group stood huddled in the corner, discussing how they were planning to escape. Jaxton and the doctor didn't notice her slip away and grab a gun from their gear bag. With two quick shots they both lay on the ground, motionless.

Gemi crawled toward them, ignoring the shadow of herself standing above her. Slowly they began to melt away, and she found that she was once again on the hard ground of the hospital.

"What exactly are you doing down there?"

Gemi jumped at the noise, turning to find Jade standing above her, eyebrows raised high.

"I...I was somewhere else."

"And where was that? You haven't left this room."

"I'm seeing things."

Her frown deepened. She reached down to help Gemi off the ground and back to her bed.

"What things are you seeing?"

"Places I've been, but things...they were different."

"How so?" Jade perched on her bed with the chart in hand.

Gemi sat quietly with her hands in her lap.

"I can't help you if you won't talk to me," Jade replied.

"You said the others would be up soon. Can I see them?"

"I did?"

"Yes, last night."

"Well, I don't think that's a good idea yet."

"Who the hell are you to tell me anything?" Gemi jumped off the bed and moved toward the door. Jade didn't move after her.

Gemi stepped out into a dimly lit hall that was lined by closed doors. Laughter echoed through the halls, pulling her gaze behind her. Two people walked toward her holding hands. Gemi flattened against the wall hoping to not be noticed. They were dressed in casual military uniform, the brown in the camouflage matching the plain brown T-shirt, the same that her group had worn.

As they passed, Gemi was able to catch a glimpse of their faces. It was Jaxton and her and they were happy. Gemi pushed off of the wall and moved to follow them, but they had disappeared into the shadows as quickly as they had come.

"Do you want to explain what that was?" Jade was standing in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest.

"I thought I saw someone."

"Who?" Jade's eyebrow rose at her once more.

"I'm not crazy."

"No one said you were." Jade raised her hands in the air.

"I saw myself, okay? And the other times I saw places that I had been, my job, the abandoned warehouse where I supposedly died." Gemi rested her back against the wall and closed her eyes. "These times though things were different, they weren't how I remembered them. Then again who says I remembered anything the way it went down."

It was quiet. When Gemi opened her eyes Jade was staring at her, eyes warm and a small smile on her face.

"What, you're not going to write that in my loony chart?"

"No, I'm not. Come, I think it's time I showed you something."

Jade led the way down the hall of the hospital wing. The dim lighting cast an eerie effect on the already distressed walls. Paint was peeling in multiple areas giving way to old patterned wallpaper underneath.

The corridor was far too quiet. Jade didn't speak to her as she led the way and there didn't seem to be another soul occupying the various other rooms that lined the halls. Gemi was beginning to believe that she was the only one who made it out, despite what she was being told.

Jade pushed open the double doors and stepped out into an open area that contained just one room and an elevator.

"My office." Jade pointed to the room. "You can come see me whenever."

Without hesitation she continued to the elevator and pushed the up button.

"Are there no stairs up?"

"Not from this floor." Jade walked into the elevator and pushed the number four.

The sudden movement of the elevator made Gemi's head swim. Her body had not quite gotten used to being in the upright position.

With a jolt the elevator came to a stop and opened onto the fourth floor. The lights shone brighter there and for the first time since she had awoken she could hear the sounds of talking coming from someone other than Jade and herself.

The hall was once again lined with doors, but this time most of them were propped open and from what she could see had a variety of people inside them. There was so much life. People hustled past them in the halls, each wearing the same uniform she had seen in her hallucination.

A young woman approached them with a large smile on her face.

"Doctor," she said and then reached out and placed a hand on Gemi's shoulder. "It's nice to see you finally awake." Before Gemi had a chance to reply the girl turned and continued from where they had come.

"Who was that?" Gemi asked.

"One of the residents."

"Okay, but she seemed to know me. Does she work in the hospital wing?"

"No. Look we are here." Jade stopped in front of one of the many doors that lined the hall. "Well, go ahead." Jade motioned toward the door and stepped out of the way.

Gemi reached her hand for the knob, but hesitated, her heart racing. Something didn't feel right.

"It's just a door, it won't bite you," Jade said, her patience running out.

With a deep breath Gemi pushed open the door and stepped inside.

# Chapter Seventeen

Gemi stood inside a dorm type room. A full-size bed sat in the center with two nightstands on either side. On one side of the room there was a long dresser with various knickknacks. The other wall was lined with bookshelves that were overflowing and spilling into stacks on the ground.

Something seemed oddly familiar about the room. Gemi walked over to the dresser and gently dragged her hand over the surface as she surveyed the items that adorned it. A dried flower sat next to an ocean shell and next to that was a jar of fancy-looking beads of various colors. None of the items seemed to be of value or have any meaning to her.

On the edge of the dresser was a frame that had been knocked onto its face. Gemi reached out and grabbed it, meaning to set it upright, but the moment she did her heart dropped. There in the photo, smiling back at her, were her parents and in between them was a young Gemi smiling from ear to ear.

Gemi staggered back to the bed and fell down on it with the photo in her hands.

"What is this?" Gemi asked, looking up to see Jade hovering in the doorway.

"I thought it would be easier to explain here," Jade said as she sat down next to Gemi. "Tell me again what the last thing you remember is?"

"We already went over this."

"Humor me."

Gemi dropped her eyes back to the photo in her hands. "We were trying to make it back to base and were ambushed."

"And what do you remember before the chips malfunctioned?"

"What kind of question is that? I remember everything, my life, my parents, their death."

"But what specifically do you remember? What did you do the night before?"

"This is ridiculous." Gemi stood up and paced the room, clutching the photo to her chest. "I probably read those manuscripts and then went to bed. It's kind of hard to remember those details when you spent so long trying not to get killed or kill others."

"What if I told you that you were here, in this room the night before?"

"I would say you are bat-shit crazy. Look, whatever game you're playing at, I'm over it. I want you to take me to the others and I want to leave." Gemi moved toward the door to put space between them. She had planned on bolting down the hallway away from the crazy lady that was holding her hostage, but then remembered that she had no idea how to get out of this place or where the others were being kept.

"Look, Gemi, what I am trying to say is this was your home. You were never chipped. You were part of an experiment to test what would happen if the chips were removed from civilians."

Gemi went cold. She felt as if the ground had suddenly opened and swallowed her.

"Your brain, it's just a little confused. That's why you keep having those visions. We were required to run this test one hundred times and gauge the outcomes. In the last few days you have lived one hundred lives and your brain is just trying to sort things back out."

"You're insane!" Gemi screamed, backing farther away and out into the hall. She had her hands out protectively in front of her, the right hand still clutching the picture frame.

"Just listen to me—"

"Get away from me! You are literally out of your mind! I want you to bring me to the others right now!"

People had crowded around her and the room, drawn by the commotion that she was now making.

"I know it's a lot to take in." Jade was now walking slowly toward her, palms facing Gemi in an act to show she meant no harm.

"Is everything okay, Dr. Hailstrom?" a male voice asked from behind Gemi.

"It's okay, Traymour. I'm just trying to explain to Gemi what she's been through."

The world went black, and when it came back into focus Gemi was standing in the middle of the forest alone. She could hear voices speaking off in the distance. Instinctively, she moved toward the sounds, looking for the source, but every step she took seemed to take her farther and farther away until the voices were just a background buzzing.

The world flashed bright, blinding her. Gemi brought her hands up to her face to block out some of the light, but it seemed to penetrate right through. Disoriented, she stumbled forward, not knowing in what direction she was traveling. Her foot caught something large on the ground, causing her to fall forward onto her hands and knees. Gemi turned toward the object, squinting hard into the light. A face came into view, cold and lifeless, the beautiful gray eyes staring blankly back at her.

Gemi crawled toward the body, lifting Jaxton's head into her lap. With shaking hands she pushed his hair off of his cold forehead, tears building in her eyes.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see a dark figure crawling toward them. Gemi cradled Jaxton closer to her as the figure approached. It straddled his body and sniffed at it like a dog. The figured stopped once it had reached his face, a long black tongue emerged from its mouth and slowly dragged across the skin of his jaw. At once the skin rotted away, quickly turning to ash. Within seconds Jaxton's body had disintegrated to nothing in Gemi's arms, blowing away in a gentle breeze that built around them.

Gemi tried to move, to scream, but was paralyzed. The figure turned its face to her and Gemi was met with black eyes set in the reflection of her own face. She grabbed the sides of Gemi's head in both of her hands, brought it close to her mouth. A grotesque tongue dripping black saliva emerged from a mouth framed with razor-sharp teeth. The tongue penetrated its way into Gemi's mouth, forcing its way down her throat, choking her and cutting off her air. Gemi's heart raced, her lungs burned from lack of air.

All at once she was hit, as a hundred visions of herself came into view, flashing through her mind like a flipbook.

One hundred mornings waking up in the same bed to flipping on the TV, heading into the bathroom to get ready for work. Some days she made it out the door, others ended in a violent bloodbath before she had even gotten dressed. Many trips to work all varying in their level of violence. Almost every time she met Jaxton, although not always in the same place, but always in downtown. Sometimes he saved her. Sometimes she killed him. One hundred lives flashed through her mind, always the same group of people, always the same start to the morning.

It all came crashing in on her. She remembered everything that happened in those one hundred lives. Remembered the joy she felt while taking a life. How blood seemed to elicit an almost erotic response from her. And how she never quite felt right if she didn't have a weapon in her hand.

She swam through all of these memories, feeling like they would suffocate her until she found something else buried in them. Under all the violence and agony she found pieces of herself. Little snippets that showed she had maintained some of herself during the testing.

Little touches from Jaxton that led to bigger and even more meaningful touches. Jokes with the doctor and Sann and the way they seemed to bond almost instantly. All of it was her brain trying to tell her something. Trying to slip bits of information in, hoping that when she woke she would have some semblance of who she was.

"Good girl," the creature whispered in her ear.

Gemi sat up gasping for air. Her heart rate raced on the monitor, doing little to help calm her nerves. Acid bubbled up her throat, threatening to spill over despite not being able to remember the last time she ate. Jade had been telling the truth about the testing. But something still didn't seem right. It nagged at her from somewhere deep in her brain.

Gemi swung her legs over the side of the bed and disconnected herself from the IV and heart monitor again. A large purple bruise had spread across the crease of her arm from the last time she had removed the needle, or perhaps from the many times it had needed to be reinserted.

With wobbling legs she made her way to the door and proceeded down the deserted hallway to the main entrance they had walked through earlier that day. If it was even the same day.

Gemi barged into Jade's office without so much as a knock. Her face registered surprise at her visit, going from shock to anger in a split second.

"What are you doing up?" she yelled, standing up and moving toward her to guide her to the nearest chair.

"What happened?" Gemi croaked, her throat felt as if she had spent weeks in the desert with no water.

"You had a seizure." Jade walked back to sit down behind her desk across from her. "It came on so suddenly. We performed triage on you there in the living quarters and then brought you back to the hospital wing once your body had finally calmed down."

"This is a side effect of the testing, isn't it?"

"It's a possibility. We knew the brain might have a hard time once we brought you back around to the real world."

"There was no testing for safety?"

"You were the test. You all volunteered, knowing what an impact this would have in preserving the Chip Act against the radicals wishing to dismantle it."

Gemi stared at her silently. Something felt odd about the whole situation. She still couldn't remember anything about her life before and something about Jade made Gemi not want to trust her.

"Look, I know this is a lot. Maybe if you share with me what you saw? Was it about your life here?"

"No, just a few flashes from the world I so eagerly volunteered to be a part of." Gemi didn't try to hide her disdain for the whole situation.

"But nothing else?"

"I just said no."

"Well that is quite unfortunate. Like I said, it will just take time for—"

"For my brain to sort things out. Yeah, you mentioned that."

Gemi sat back in the chair with her arms folded. She was acting like a petulant child, but she didn't care. For all she knew, she and Jade could have been the best of friends, but at the moment all she saw was someone who had fried her brain and had no insight into how to fix it.

"How am I to know that this isn't part of the test? That maybe my brain is being screwed with now. Or maybe you're lying to me. There is no way to really tell, is there?"

Jade sat back, pondering her question for a few seconds before getting up and moving to a file cabinet that was tucked in the corner of the office. She pulled open the third drawer and flicked through the many folders before pulling one and returning to the desk.

"It's not much, but here is your release paperwork. You signed it willingly the day before the testing began."

Jade pushed a document in front of her. She gazed over it, reading about the various warnings of what impact this kind of testing could have on the brain.

_Long-term memory loss_. Check.

_Brain bleeds, short-term memory loss, incontinence, death_. Thankfully not.

_Confusion, headaches_. Check.

_Aggression_. Possibly.

_Seizures_. Check.

* * *

At the bottom was a signature.

* * *

"Who is that?" Gemi said, pointing at the signature.

"That's you," Jade laughed as she slid the paper out from Gemi's grasp and placed it back in the folder. "Gemi is just a nickname. Now, if you please, I would like you to head back to your room and rest."

Gemi noted the name of the folder: _DBMA Anti-Chip Testing_.

"Which one?" Gemi said under her breath although loud enough for Jade to hear.

"Your hospital bed. It's about two in the afternoon and you and the others have been invited to a welcome back to the land of the living dinner of sorts this evening. Just so you know, I didn't name it that. The others are very excited to welcome you all back."

Wordlessly, Gemi headed for the door. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jade return the folder to the cabinet and this time she locked it, slipping the key in the top drawer of her desk before sitting down and carrying on with whatever work she was doing before Gemi ambushed her.

Gemi closed the door behind her, hesitating on the other side with her head against the cold wall. Something still felt wrong and she couldn't shake it.

Just as she was about to head back to her room she heard shuffling in the office. Jade had dialed someone on the phone and was talking in hushed tones. Gemi moved closer, pressing her ear to the door.

"I know, sir, but she was asking questions. I'm almost 100 percent positive she doesn't remember who she is outside of Gemi the poor pathetic chipped girl."

There was a moment of silence that Gemi assumed was the person on the other line talking.

"It didn't jog her memory. She asked who that person was and seemed totally confused when I told her it was her. Trust me, she will spend months riddled with seizures and a plethora of other ailments as her brain tries to filter everything we put it through. It will be fine, you will see tonight."

There was another moment of silence before Jade hung up the phone.

Gemi moved away from the door and sprinted back toward her room. She knew something had been off the moment she woke up in this place. Something in her brain had been trying to warn her, even if she couldn't remember what it was.

Whoever had helped facilitate the supposed test, and was extremely concerned with Gemi finding out who she was, planned on being at the dinner tonight.

Gemi crawled back in the bed. If he wanted the pathetic chipped girl, he would get her.

# Chapter Eighteen

Jade escorted Gemi to the fifth floor at six that evening. She paid extra attention on the way there. Mapping out every stairwell, elevator, and exit. She also noted several security cameras in the elevator and the fifth floor, oddly there were none on the hospital level. Perhaps they didn't want to have records of whatever shady business took place there.

Jade led her to a great hall stuffed with long tables, flanked on each side with chairs. For a supposed homecoming, the place was deserted.

"The others will be here a little later," Jade whispered in response to the look on Gemi's face. "We wanted you to have your little reunion before you were bombarded with the rest of the group."

Gemi noted a few people spread out at different tables. In the far corner Gemi saw Jaxton sitting with the doctor. The moment he noticed her he stood and rushed over to her. He didn't pause before sweeping her into his arms and crushing her to his chest.

"I can't believe you're actually here." He pushed her out to arm's length to get a look at her. "They wouldn't tell me anything. I've been locked in the damn hospital wing for days."

"You were in the hospital wing?"

"Yeah, they locked me in and gave me some bullshit answer about safety."

"They didn't tell you anything?"

He shook his head and pulled her back into an embrace. "They just kept asking me what the last thing I remember was. They wouldn't tell me where you were, just that you were safe. I didn't believe them. That you were alive after...I think that's why they locked me up. They knew I would tear the place apart looking for you."

Gemi glanced over her shoulder and saw that Jade had wandered over to another table, where Kai and Callum sat shooting dirty looks her way.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Gemi whispered.

"I think you know." His arms tightened around her and she could hear the tension in his voice.

"I'm glad you're all here!" a voice called from behind her.

Gemi turned to see a middle-aged man enter the room. His full head of hair was streaked with gray, giving away his age despite that fact that his face was still youthful.

He walked to the front of the room and motioned toward the table. "Please join me. I'm sure you have a million questions. I was hoping to answer some of them before the others got here."

Jaxton grabbed her hand and led her to the table, choosing a seat on the far side of where Kai now sat. The doctor joined them, reaching out and squeezing Gemi's hand before turning his attention to the man in the front.

"My name is Dr. Dagmar, I am the Head of Research for the DBMA Chip Act. I know you all must be confused and the first question you have is how did you get here, am I right?"

Gemi saw a few of her former companions nodding their heads silently at him.

"Well the truth is you have been here the whole time, safe in this building." Dr. Dagmar raised his hand to silence them as a rumble of murmurs erupted from everyone.

"What is he talking about?" Jaxton whispered in her ear.

"You see," Dr. Dagmar continued. "You were all a part of a test to show the effects on the public if the chips were turned off. We downloaded your subconscious into a computer and gave you a mission and a location and let you do the rest."

The room had fallen dead silent, all eyes on the doctor.

"We were required to run this test one hundred times to gauge the outcome. We put you in a situation where numerous people were affected to show how quickly this could spread. Gemi here was our wild card." All eyes turned toward her, and she dropped her gaze to the table to avoid their stares.

"In all instances we programmed it to make her think that she was affected. In most cases the fear and thought of the possibility of losing it was enough to make her and others around her act out in aggression. We are very pleased with the results and thank you for your willingness to participate."

"Now that the basics have been covered," Jade said as she walked to the front to join Dr. Dagmar, "I want to reassure you it's normal if you can't remember your lives here at the base. Memories should trickle in, but unfortunately with that you'll also remember the other lives you lived during the test. Please let me know immediately if you experience any headaches, loss of consciousness or seizures as these can be signs of brain trauma."

"Well then, the others will arrive any minute and I'm sure you would like to reacquaint yourselves with each other." Dr. Dagmar walked up and clapped Jaxton on the back. "I would think you'd be especially excited to spend quality time with your wife."

"Excuse me?" Jaxton turned to face him, a large crease between his eyes.

"I'm sure Jade would kill me for telling you something before you had a chance to remember it, but I can imagine Kai wouldn't be too excited for this to continue past the testing. I mean, no wonder she tried to kill dear Gemi." Dr. Dagmar winked at her.

"Are you trying to say that Kai and I..." Jaxton trailed off, the words unable to find their way out of his mouth. "That's impossible."

"Quite possible actually, for the past three years if I'm correct. Now go, spend time with your lovely wife."

The room grew loud then, all the other residents of the base filing into the space, rushing their little group. Jaxton's hand slid from hers, falling to his lap where his fingers twisted around themselves.

"You're alive!" a male resident walked up to them and slapped Gemi on the back. "How do you feel? I mean you're insane to volunteer for something like that! I always knew you were a badass though!"

Gemi felt Jaxton shift behind her. She turned to see him sliding out of the bench and wander into the crowd that gathered around Kai.

The man talking to her was still rambling on, but it became white noise blending into the buzzing of the crowd. Out of the corner of her eye Gemi caught Dr. Dagmar talking to Jade and staring straight at her, a large smile on his face.

"Did you hear me?" the man asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"No, I'm sorry. This is all still overwhelming." Gemi forced a smile.

"You know what, let me grab us something to drink." He smiled down at her and patted her on the shoulder before walking away.

"There is something I don't trust about him," the doctor leaned in and whispered in Gemi's ear. She had almost forgotten he was sitting there.

"He looks harmless."

"No, not him. Dagmar, there is something about him. I don't trust him and you shouldn't either." With that the doctor pushed up from the bench and walked over to where the food was being placed.

At least others were voicing the same concerns she had. It made her feel less crazy.

A small crowd of people hovered close to Gemi, eyeing her skeptically. She wondered if they were the ones who saw her outburst and dramatic seizure in the hall. To avoid another awkward conversation she dropped her eyes to the ground and followed the direction that the doctor had taken. As she closed the gap between her and the buffet line, the smell of food hit her like a ton of bricks. Suddenly she was ravenous. Brainwashed dream food apparently didn't count to her stomach.

Gemi loaded up her plate without watching what she was grabbing. She headed over to a table in a secluded corner and began eating, watching everyone gather and talk.

Several people walked by her and paused like they wanted to engage her, but changed their minds and moved on. She was glad. She wasn't in the mood to play along.

"You know this is supposed to be a party, right?" a familiar voice asked from behind her. Gemi continued to eat, choosing to ignore the question.

"Oh come on, you can't possibly still be mad at me." Sann came into her view as he swung his long legs over the bench and sat directly in front of her. "You heard what that doctor guy said, I didn't actually try to kill you."

"Just your subconscious. So in essence you harbored some kind of death wish on me." Gemi picked up her knife and cut into her meat.

"Well the real you kinda seems like a bitch, so I wonder why."

Gemi grasped her knife tighter and brought it down on the table wedging the blade into the wood between two of Sann's fingers. He ripped his hand back with such force he tumbled back and onto the floor.

"What the hell is your problem?" he yelled as he stood back up. Gemi noted several faces turned toward them to see what the commotion was.

"Can you remember everything that happened in those hundred lives yet?" Gemi asked as she dislodged her knife and began cutting her food once again.

"No, just the last one."

"Well, once you can you'll know exactly what my problem is."

"I think I liked you better in the test." Sann walked away before she had a chance to retort and without seeing the evil eye she threw his way.

Having had her fill of social time, Gemi stood up from the table and headed for the door. The sea of people separated as she walked by, none of them making eye contact.

In the corner of the room, by the exit, Gemi saw Jaxton talking with Kai. They were both whispering, but their body language and hand movements told her they both were not happy. Good.

"Where are you going?" Jade stepped in front of her and cut off the path to the exit.

"My head hurts," Gemi lied.

"Everyone took time out to be here for you and the group."

"Really? Because this appears to be more for them than for us." Gemi couldn't control the anger in her voice. "It's rude that you would throw us in here with a bunch of strangers we apparently know when we can't even remember our life past being hunted and picked off one by one. So you'll excuse me if I'm not in the social mood when I keep replaying what I thought was my life over and over in my head as I try to strain out what was real and what wasn't."

Jade stared at Gemi with her mouth agape. The room had grown quiet and Gemi realized that she had been shouting.

She took a deep steadying breath. "I'm sorry, I don't feel that well. I would like to go lay down."

Jade moved out of her way without another word.

Gemi practically ran to the elevator. The halls were blissfully empty so she was clear from having to engage in any more uncomfortable conversations. She thought she would be happy to see the others, but even they seemed like strangers in this world. So lost trying to remember who they once were.

Instead of hooking a left to the hospital wing, after the elevator doors opened she went right, toward Jade's office. She was pleasantly surprised to find the door unlocked. Gemi slipped into the dark room and shut the door behind her.

Gemi made her way to the desk, trying her best not to bump into anything in the dark. With fumbling hands she located the switch to the small desk lamp and turned it on. She found the top drawer and pulled it open. There, on top of a stack of papers, was the key to the filing cabinet.

She inserted the key into the third drawer and yanked it open. The contents were practically spilling out. Dozens of manila folders all scrolled with various titles that made no sense to her. Gemi shuffled through the folders searching for the one from earlier.

The folder was missing.

Gemi pulled open the other two drawers, prepared to shuffle through more paperwork, but they were empty.

"Fuck," she said under her breath, slamming the door shut.

Gemi fell down in the desk chair. She saw Jade put the folder back in that drawer. There had to be something in there that she didn't want her to find.

She began pulling open the desk drawers, trying her best not to disturb the contents too much. She didn't want it to be noticeable that someone was in there.

On the last drawer she was about to call it quits after coming up empty when she saw a piece of paper sticking up from a crack. Gemi pushed down on it until there was a click and the bottom sprang open. She would have to put that on her list of how the hell did she know how to do that. There, underneath, was a stack of files and on top the title _DBMA Anti-Chip Test_ stared back at her.

As she was pulling it out she noticed her name sprawled across the top of another folder. Gemi pulled it out and threw it down on the desk as well. She started rifling through the contents of the testing folder. Everything seemed fairly straightforward. It included several documents that outlined the test and release paperwork for all the participants, which she decided not to go through since they would all be exactly like hers.

Gemi reached for her folder and flung it open. It seemed to be a personnel file, a weird thing to want to hide. Inside were several documents outlining her various forms of training. Apparently, she was the head technician for the chips. She had studied maintenance and research on strength levels.

She really was orphaned, becoming a warden of the state when she was fifteen and eventually joining the military department.

Nothing medical to worry about, at least there wasn't before the testing.

Gemi leaned back in the chair. What was the point of hiding her file? She was about to pack it in and call it a failed mission when she noticed a pocket in the back of the folder with a small bulge. She reached inside and retrieved a piece of paper that had been folded into a tiny square. Gemi flattened it against the desk and slid the lamp closer to get a better look at the now distorted writing.

The paper seemed like it belonged with her other medical documents, indicating that she was an organ donor and had a _DNR_. Good thing her death wasn't real. At the bottom was an area for her beneficiary. Her mouth hung open and she pulled the paper closer, making sure she hadn't misread the name. Although faded, it was unmistakable.

* * *

Name: Jaxton Granger

Relationship: Husband

* * *

The sound of footsteps forced her eyes away from the form. She quickly put the folders back together and threw them in the drawer and closed it. There was no way she would get out without being seen. Gemi shoved the paper into her shirt pocket and fell to the ground, trying to find the best position that would look accidental.

The door opened and the footsteps halted. "Who's in here?"

Gemi let out a soft moan from where she lay on the floor. The footsteps followed the sound and stopped just short of her head.

"Oh my, Gemi?" It was Jade. She bent down and brushed the hair out of her face.

"Mmm..." Gemi played it up.

"Can you hear me?" Jade asked.

"Jade?" Gemi fluttered her eyes open and rolled onto her back.

"What are you doing in here?" Jade asked as she took her pulse.

"I...I was coming here to apologize for being so rude. I sat down in your chair and that's the last thing I remember."

"How are you feeling now?" Jade took a penlight from her shirt pocket and checked Gemi's eyes.

Gemi brought her hand to her forehead and let the fake pain wash over her face. She was mindful not to go too far as to arouse suspicion and tip the side of melodrama.

"I'm feeling better. I'm sure I will be back to normal come tomorrow."

"Okay." Jade raised an eyebrow at her as she extended her hand and helped Gemi to her feet where she swayed as if off balance. "Let me help you to your room."

Gemi leaned hard on Jade as they proceeded down the corridor to her hospital room. Gemi made note that this time the doors that lined the halls were propped open and the sound of movement inside floated out into the hall.

"Are the others still down here?" Gemi asked, letting her voice crack slightly.

"Yes, for one more night. We may have to keep you a bit longer if you keep having these episodes."

Gemi swung her legs on the bed and lay back exhausted. She was starting to believe that if acting was as big as it was in the old days, she would have been a hit.

Jade paused at the threshold of the door and gave her one more wavering look before switching off the lights and shutting the door behind her.

Once Gemi was sure Jade would not return, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the now-crumpled piece of paper. In the dim light flowing out from the bathroom, she stared at the writing, double-checking that it said what she thought it had.

There in black-and-white was the word husband next to Jaxton's name. Gemi's head began to throb. What were these people playing at? Either they had lied earlier, or this was planted to further mess with her fragile mind. But then why hide it?

Gemi folded up the paper and put it back in her pocket, not trusting to keep it anywhere else. Her eyes felt heavy, she needed to figure this out, unlock her life before all of this. Without even realizing it, Gemi slipped into a deep slumber.

# Chapter Nineteen

"Run," Jaxton whispered, his face inches from hers. They were crouched behind the master control for the chips. Gemi had never seen him so frightened. He reached out and grasped the back of her neck, bringing his forehead to rest on hers. "You need to get out. You're the only one who will know how to fix this. No one knows the system like you do."

"I don't want to leave you," she pleaded, feeling the hot tears slide down her face. Their plan had backfired. The others had caught on before she had unleashed it.

Jaxton gave her one hard kiss on the mouth and then pushed her away, bringing his pistol up in the ready position, standing up from their hiding place. His face glowed eerily in the red flashing light from the building's security system.

"Drop your weapon!" a voice screamed at him from the hall.

With clenched fists Gemi turned away from his beautiful face and crept along the back of the control system to the wall. She was out of the line of sight from the others, but still able to see Jaxton, who now held his gun poised and ready.

With shaking fingers, Gemi placed her hand on the panel of metal she knew housed the hidden keypad. It popped open with a click that was audible to only her and revealed a set of numbers.

"I said put the gun down, Granger! We don't want to hurt you."

"Go to hell," he called back and fired a shot in their direction.

Chaos erupted then, bullets firing in both directions. Jaxton ducked back behind the panel and the firing stopped. They wouldn't dare shoot at that, no way would they risk damaging the main control for the world's chips. If they had, it would have made their mission easier.

Jaxton mouthed the word go at her and stood back up. They were running out of time.

Gemi punched in 0523 and the hidden door sprang open. She quickly crawled inside. The last thing she saw before the door swung shut was Jaxton falling to the ground, a large dart sticking out of his chest.

# Chapter Twenty

Gemi opened her eyes to the bright white light. The lights must be timed to turn on like the sun would, since there were no windows. Her neck ached as she unraveled herself from the ball she had pulled her body into. She must have slept like a rock.

A tray of food had been placed on the nightstand next to her bed. A sad-looking bowl of white mush and a tall glass of brown liquid sat in the center. Next to it was a small cup of pills.

"Yeah, okay," Gemi mumbled to herself. There was no way she was taking any kind of drug in this place.

Fear gripped her chest at the realization that someone was in her room while she was in some kind of zombie sleep. She reached for her pocket and felt relief flood over her when she felt the crunch of paper under her hand.

Gemi flopped back down on the bed. Her dream must have been a memory of her real life, but out of context it made no sense. Who had they been hiding from and what was their endgame? She wished she could talk it over with Jaxton, but it seemed she was the only one who was regaining memories.

They were to integrate back into their lives starting tomorrow. If she was to have any chance to talk with him and see if he could remember anything it would have to be now.

Gemi slipped out of her room and into the hall. The rooms were now all closed. Everyone was still probably asleep, or maybe she slept through half of the day. With no clocks in her room, there was no way of knowing.

Gemi stood staring at the closed doors, realizing she had no idea who resided in which room. There was no way she wanted to walk willingly into Kai's room. Or Sann's, for that matter. He would want to get her back. The only thing that differentiated the rooms was the two numbers written on an erasable board next to them.

She padded down the line of doors, all of which were quiet inside. 72, 38, 23, 29, and 87. Gemi stepped back and stared at them again. They had to mean something, but her brain shrouded the memory. She turned and looked at her door. The number 05 was staring back at her.

0523 flashed through her head. It had been a code for some hidden door in her dream. Gemi walked to the door that had 23 next to it and gently pushed open the door.

Inside Jaxton was still in bed. His features were relaxed and soft, undoubtedly resting peacefully. She was about to shatter that.

She closed the door lightly behind her and crept to his bed, her bare feet slapping on the stone floor. Gemi slid into bed beside him. He really was beautiful. She slid a hand through his hair, meaning to wake him up nicely.

Once her hand met his head, a jolt of electricity pulsed though her.

"Dr. Askel ran the blood work twice. Congratulations Mr. Granger, you're going to be a father."

Jaxton beamed back at her, laying a hand on her stomach.

Gemi ripped her hand away from his head. He stirred in his sleep, his eyes fluttering open and then going wide when he saw her hovering above him.

"What are you doing here?" his sleepy voice bounced off of the walls of the room.

"Shh," she snapped back. "I need to talk to you."

"Now?"

"No later, I'm just here to formally invite you. Yes, now."

He pushed himself to a seated position and rubbed his hands on his face and through his hair.

"We probably don't have much time until the others wake up."

"And that's a problem?" he asked, reaching for the breakfast that was laid out on his table as well. His tray was void of pills.

"For now it is. Look can you remember anything before the life we just lived? Anything from the other tests or before all of this?"

"How did you know what room I was in?" he asked between bites of the mush.

"I just did. Now answer my question."

"No. All I can remember is the life we lived out there."

Gemi nodded her head. She sat there quietly as he finished his breakfast. The folded paper felt like it was burning a hole in her chest.

"Can I ask you something else?" she said as he placed his empty dishes back on the tray. "You and Kai... are you..."

"What? No!"

"I saw you two together last night is all."

"She was telling me that Jade told her about our supposed marriage a few days earlier during one of her checkups. We argued about it. It was stupid."

Jaxton reached out to grab her hand, but pulled it back midair and placed it back in his lap.

"I don't know what to think, but I'm hoping that when, if, my memories come back I will be able to answer all the questions I have. Something feels off here though. I sensed it the moment I opened my eyes in this room."

"I think something is wrong," Gemi dropped her voice to a whisper. "They are keeping things from us and lying about others."

"What do you know?" his voice instinctively dropped to match hers.

Gemi's hand hovered over her pocket where the piece of paper with a little truth lay nestled. Her teeth bit into her lip. He could easily not believe a word she said, chalk it up to jealousy or plain madness.

"What is it?" he asked again, the familiar aggravated tone entering his voice. It made her smile despite herself. At least some things hadn't changed.

Gemi pulled out the piece of paper and unfolded it. With one long exhale she placed it in his lap. He stared silently at it for what seemed like an eternity.

"Are you saying they're lying to us about who we really are?"

"I'm not saying that, but that piece of paper sure as hell is."

"Why would they lie to us?"

"I'm not sure. I had a dream last night. We were in the mainframe room and were trying to fight our way out. Something happened before we were put into that test. I think they were using it to make us forget."

"Why not just kill us?" he asked.

"I don't know."

Jaxton folded the paper back up and placed it in her hand.

"Do they know you have that?"

"No. I snuck into Jade's office last night and found it. When she came in and caught me in there I pretended I had seizure."

"Why on earth would you pretend that?"

"Because I saw it on the possible side effects. Seemed easy enough," She lied.

His brows wrinkled.

"Are you okay?" his hands clenched into fists, his knuckles going white as he fought against reaching out to her. It was obvious he didn't know which truth to believe.

"I'm fine." Gemi pushed off the bed and walked to the door. "I'm in room 05 in case you need to find me. If you do remember anything, don't tell them." She slid through the door and crossed the hallway to her room.

There had to be more clues that would set her on the path to finding the truth. Gemi moved into the bathroom and undressed to jump into the shower. She stared at her reflection in the mirror letting her hands slide down to her stomach, turning left then right to look at her profile. Her stomach was flat, not a bulge in sight. Her mind reeled, who was to say she was ever pregnant, but if she had been what had happened to the baby?

Steam from the hot water built until it hung around her in clouds. Gemi leaned her head against the wall, letting the water cascade down her back. She needed to put the rest of the puzzle pieces together. The secret passage way might contain her answers, but she would need to get there unnoticed and she couldn't remember what floor it was on.

Gemi opened her eyes and was shocked to find she was no longer looking at the tile wall, but a dark passageway. Gemi blinked hard, rubbing the water from her eyes, but the same passage remained. It was almost as if the wall had become transparent and was showing through to another room.

She raised a shaky hand and pressed it to where her head had been resting. To her surprise her hand pushed right through and hung in the air. With a deep steadying breath she stepped out of the warm water and into the dark corridor.

The wall vanished behind her and she was now clothed in brown camo pants and a T-shirt not unlike the one she saw herself wearing in one of her visions. Gunfire echoed from somewhere on the other side of the wall, making her jump.

With only one way to go, now that the wall miraculously disappeared, she began walking, gunfire fading the farther she went.

The path was almost completely blacked out, lined only with a small trail of blue florescent lights. Gemi stretched out a hand and slid it along the wall as she walked to help steady herself.

All at once Gemi found herself running into something hard in her path, completely blocking it off. Her hands traced the outline, finally finding a handle. Mentally crossing her fingers, she turned it and was relieved to find it wasn't locked.

Gemi stepped into the room and squinted as bright light blinded her. She closed the door behind her and as her eyes readjusted to light, found that she was standing in the middle of a small office.

There were two desks that sat on either side of the room facing the middle. Papers were strewn all over the floor as well as the contents she assumed had adorned the tops of the desks. The blinding light came from a desk lamp that had been knocked over and was pointed at her like a spotlight.

Gemi crossed the room to the lamp and set it back upright on the desk. Her eyes caught the title of one of the now empty-folders. Gemi's fingers brushed across the name. Dr. Dagmar.

"Looking for something?"

The sound of someone speaking behind her made her jump, Gemi whirled around to see Dr. Dagmar sitting in a chair by the door. She had completely missed his presence when she first entered.

"Um, no. What are you doing down here?"

"Don't you mean how did I get in here? I'll admit, your secret code took a minute to crack. Thankfully the new cameras we installed when you kept disappearing were able to catch you putting it in. Smart girl using the last part of yours and Jaxton's identification numbers, we never would have thought about that."

"This isn't what you think." Gemi took a step back and toward the back wall.

"Don't think that I didn't find your little exit. There are two armed men outside so I wouldn't try anything. It explains how you were able to keep exiting to have your little meetings. No doubt planning the shutdown of our whole project."

"You've gone too far."

Dr. Dagmar smiled at her. "Did you really think I would let you get away with this? Your two little cohorts were already taken care of. They had a tragic car accident this morning, didn't make it."

"People will find out what you've been doing. You have been systematically turning up the chips for years rendering the population incapable of functioning normally. You're turning them into sheep."

"Oh sweetie, no one will figure it out. The only reason you did was that little unapproved diagnostic you ran on the program."

"If you kill us people will notice."

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" Dr. Dagmar knocked on the door and instantly it swung open and two armed men entered. "Don't worry, I plan on shredding all of this." He motioned to the papers on the ground. "Lucky for me, you won't remember any of this."

A sharp pain lanced through Gemi's shoulder. It took only a few seconds for her to feel the tranquilizer spreading through her body.

Gemi opened her eyes and found that she was standing back in the shower, the water now running cold. She cranked up the heat and ran her hands over her face. That was the night they were put into the test, she could remember it clearly now. It felt disjointed to remember only one thing about her real life. At least she knew why they tried to erase their memories and why she hadn't trusted them since she woke back up.

Gemi lathered her hair and searched her memory. There had to be a way to remember without bits and pieces coming in, out of order and whenever they pleased. She could talk to Dr. Askel. He may know a way, even if he couldn't remember who he really was.

Mid-rinse the world shifted on its axis.

Gemi struggled against her restraints. Leads and IVs had already been put in place while she was under from the tranquilizer. She glanced frantically around the bed-lined room. She was flanked on either side by Jaxton and Dr. Askel and, on the other side, was Sann. They were all still out cold. They had gotten to everyone. Including a few she was surprised to see and a few she didn't even know.

Jade wandered over and checked the wires that all but engulfed Gemi's body. She followed Gemi's gaze and smiled down at her. "Well, we couldn't take just you four. It would arouse suspicion. Besides, Kai hates you so much it will be fun to watch her try to kill you over and over."

"What? Why are you doing this?" Gemi asked, trying to pull herself free once again.

"They pay me well enough. Besides, why should I care what happens out there?"

"Because you're screwing with people's lives."

"Please stop being so high-and-mighty. If we hadn't taken you in you would be out bleating with the rest and blissfully unaware of anything else but your tiny little world."

Jade moved from her side and to Dr. Askel, performing the same process she had on Gemi.

Movement from Jaxton's bed brought her gaze to him. He had just come around and was trying his best to free himself as she had done. "What the hell is going on?" he asked her.

"I don't know."

"Are we ready to start?" Dr. Dagmar entered the room and stood in the center.

"Just about, Doctor." Jade moved to the bed at the end and a man Gemi didn't recognize.

"Gemi, whatever happens remember that I love you." Jaxton stretched his hand out toward hers, but the restraints kept him from moving very far.

Dr. Dagmar stepped to his side and guffawed. "If all goes well she won't be remembering that."

Gemi dropped to her knees, gasping for air and only partially aware of the water cascading on her back. Her nose had begun to bleed, red dripping to the ground before being washed down the drain. Her muscles began to spasm, making her movements jerky. Gemi crawled toward the shower door and reached a hand out.

The room went black as her brain was bombarded by memories.

# Chapter Twenty-One

"Okay, you can bring her, but we have to go now."

A young-looking Jaxton stood holding a girl's hand. They were speaking in whispers in the darkness of a front porch. Gemi found that she was clutching the girl's other hand, the feeling of fear pulsing through her whole body.

"Gemi, we're going to go on a trip, okay?" The girl reached over and pushed her hair out of her face.

"Mom and Dad will be mad if we sneak out in the middle of the night. You were already grounded once."

"It's okay, they know. Look they packed a bag for you." The girl held up a bag for her to see and then threw it over her shoulder. "I know you're scared. Just breathe. In four, out four."

Gemi took one last look at her house before the girl, her sister, pulled her away and to the waiting car.

Gemi's sister shrieked in pain as a man sewed up the hole he had carved in the back of her head.

"Isn't there something you can give her?" Jaxton asked as he paced back and forth across the dirty floor of the living room, his hands balling into fists at his side.

"I'm not wasting any of my good stuff on her. You're lucky I didn't kill her on the spot. What were you thinking bringing a chipped here?"

"I was planning on bringing her to the doctor, have it removed. She didn't want to be a part of it anymore."

"Like we have the funds for that." Gemi's sister passed out, her screams ceasing, her lifeless body sickly pale in the light. "Get the other one ready, we might as well get this over with."

"No, Dad." Jaxton placed himself between Gemi and his father.

"What did you say to me?" He turned, rage apparent on his features. He wiped his bloody hands on his pants and took a step toward Jaxton. "I said grab her."

"No, not like this. She's only fifteen. We need to do this right. She is too young to just rip it out of her."

Without another word his father struck him hard across the face, sending Jaxton to the ground in front of Gemi. He brought a booted foot down hard on Jaxton's back and followed with a swift kick to his stomach. Jaxton lay gasping for breath as his father's gaze traveled to Gemi, who still cowered in the corner. "Come here, you little shit."

"Money..." Jaxton coughed out. "Adaline gave me money. It should be enough...enough to have Gemi's chip removed."

His father turned back toward him, his features still enraged, but he was contemplating the news. "Well, keep it locked up until the doctor can get down here."

Gemi screamed.

Jaxton brought a knife to the rope that suspended Adaline from the ceiling. He cradled her body, laying it gently on the ground. "No, no, no. Come on, please wake up!" He began compressions on her chest, but even in the dim light Gemi could tell that her sister's skin had long turned gray and cold.

"Listen, Hal, let me take the girl. I can bring her to the base. You don't need another mouth to feed around here. I can take her sister as well, dispose of the body properly."

"I'm going with them." Jaxton hobbled out of the shadows and to Gemi's side. He had a streak of dried blood smeared over his swollen lip and was favoring his right leg.

"Like hell you are." Jaxton's father shot him a glance that warned what would come if he didn't shut up.

"It's not a bad idea," the doctor offered.

"Listen, Doc, I'm being generous here, and now you're telling me you want to take my flesh and blood too?"

"We have units solely dedicated to those who don't believe in chipping. He can help your cause."

"Ugh, fine take him. He has always been a pain in my ass anyways."

Jaxton circled around the car and grabbed Gemi's hand. "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

Men in fatigues exited the building and walked toward them. They grabbed Gemi and pulled her away from Jaxton, ripping her hand from his.

"Let her go!" Jaxton got a shot to one of their faces before the butt of a gun was slammed into his stomach leaving him gasping for air as they dragged her away screaming and into the building.

"I'm sorry about all of that." A woman with fiery hair entered the room and laid a chart down on the side table.

"They are a little overly cautious with outsiders. My name is Jade. I'm the resident doctor here. Now just so you know, we will need to keep you in here until we can remove the chip. It is a process, but in the meantime we will teleconference teachers in and bring you anything else you may need."

Gemi cried in the middle of the room, never in her life had she felt so overwhelmingly sad. Her sister was gone. She would never see her parents or her house again. She was losing track of how long she had been there.

"How are we doing this morning? You have been stable for quite a few weeks. What do you say we get you out of this room?" Jade led the way out of the hospital room and into the hall.

They entered an elevator and rode it up a few floors. "We are going to the cafeteria, a lot of the residents will be there. I just didn't want you to be shocked. I know it's been quite a while since you've been around other people."

"A year. It's been a year." Gemi walked past her and into the packed room, refusing to let the woman intimidate her.

She had grown steely in her time there. At first she cried a lot and then the anger came. But after all that passed she found a strength she didn't know she possessed. A room full of people was nothing compared to what she had seen already.

The room buzzed with chatter, a few faces turning toward her as she entered. Throwing her head up in the air she walked to the line of people waiting to be served. From there she surveyed the room again. Everyone was dressed in the same brown camo pants and matching khaki shirt. There were women and men of all ages, although the younger ones all seemed to migrate to the same tables.

From across the room a pair of gray eyes stared at her. They followed every movement she made, refusing to break contact. She had asked for him several times when she was locked up, but each time they refused until she finally stopped asking.

Gemi stepped out of line and a few paces towards him. He rose from his table and closed the distance between them in a few large steps. Before she could say a word he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her to his chest, lifting her feet off the ground. He had grown a lot.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he put her back down.

"I'm fine."

"I tried to find you. I asked every day, but they refused to let me see you while they were weaning you off the chip. They said it might upset you too much. Are they letting you out now?"

"I guess if I can pass whatever test this is."

"Happy birthday!" Sann threw a pillow at her face and set a small cupcake with a single lit candle down on her bedside table. "I made it myself." He beamed at her.

"And how did you get access to the kitchen?" Gemi asked.

"My unbearable charm."

Jaxton leaned against the closed bedroom door and smiled at her.

Sann glanced between the two of them. "Gross, should I leave or something?"

"What? No, don't be stupid." Gemi could feel the heat spreading across her face. Gemi had spent as much time as possible with Jaxton. He made her feel closer to home and her sister. But lately she realized she was starting to feel other things for him and knew there was no way he would reciprocate. Not after her sister...

"Anyway." She grabbed the cupcake and placed it in her lap. "What should I wish for?"

"I don't even want to know." Sann fell back on her bed with his hands behind his head and Gemi shot him a dirty look.

"Well you're eighteen now—what division are you hoping to enter?" Jaxton asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Chipping." Gemi blew out the candle.

"Ugh, you would." Sann rolled his eyes at the ceiling.

"Congratulations to the new Head Operator of the DBMA Chip Maintenance and Programming Division!" Sann raised a glass of champagne in the air.

"Don't forget youngest, at the ripe age of twenty-one!" Jaxton added and brought Gemi's hand to his mouth where he placed a soft kiss

"Where did you even find this?" Gemi asked as she took a huge gulp of the champagne.

"On one of our survey expeditions to a nearby town."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife! Now please, kiss your bride!" The preacher closed his bible and smiled warmly at them.

Jaxton grabbed Gemi into his arms and dipped her low, planting a long hard kiss on her mouth. She came back up giggling and gasping for air.

"Don't forget you'll be dead. They will murder you when they find out. You know marriage and procreating are against the law when you are in the military," Sann added sourly, even though he wore a gigantic smile on his face.

"What's done is done," Dr. Askel said, clapping Jaxton on his back. "It's not like we all haven't broken a rule or two, am I right?"

"I have half a mind to expel both of you!" Dr. Dagmar yelled from behind his desk. Jaxton and Gemi sat in chairs on the other side of his desk, trying their best to look mournful. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't?"

"Because there isn't another person in this facility who knows the system like I do. After Gabella died, there would be no one to teach it," Gemi said, sitting back and crossing her arms across her chest.

"I suppose you're right. Maybe then we should get you an apprentice, one who can take over the next time you pull a stunt like this."

"I ran the test three times. There must be a glitch in the system."

Jaxton and Gemi sat at the old desks they had found in the hidden room they had discovered years before, when they were young and rambunctious. She had since taken it as their own personal hideout.

"At face value it shows the chip levels at the standard range of 33 to 47 percent. But when I ran the diagnostic it popped with numbers much higher and into the seventies. Look." Gemi handed him the printout she had made. "They are in the background hidden in some coding."

"What does this mean?" Jaxton asked.

"I don't know, but it's not good."

"Dr. Askel ran it twice. I'm definitely pregnant." Gemi laid her head on Jaxton's lap.

"We need to get out of here. You need to stop this research you've been doing. We can leave and go live with the anti-chippers."

"They would find us just like they did the others. Besides, this is too important. We need to stop them."

"This is important too." Jaxton placed a hand on her stomach.

"They're coming for us!" Sann burst into their room, his face frantic. "We have to go now!"

"All the research–I need to go get it!" Gemi jumped out of bed and threw her pants on.

"There isn't time!" Sann yelled back at her. She could hear the panic alarms going off throughout the building.

Gemi grabbed Jaxton's face in her hands. "We have nothing without it."

"We'll get it, and meet you at the rendezvous point next to town," Jaxton said to Sann as he moved away to toss clothes into a bag.

"Jesus, fine." Sann ran out of the room without another word.

# Chapter Twenty-Two

Gemi opened her eyes to the blank white walls of the hospital room, like she had done numerous times in the last few days. She was getting sick of seeing them. Her head swam and she had no recollection of how she got from the shower to the bed or how she had gotten dressed.

She propped herself up on an elbow and was surprised to see Jaxton asleep in a chair by the bed. His head leaned against the wall and he must have been mid-dream as a deep crease appeared between his eyes and his mouth moved without words.

A wave of relief washed over her as she stared at him. Although she knew how much danger they all were still in, it was freeing to remember most of who she was, even if those around her still couldn't. They were all safe as long as they knew nothing, but it wouldn't be long before Dagmar caught on to what she now knew.

There was no other option. She would finish what they started tonight.

Jaxton stirred in his chair, whatever nightmare he was having finally woke him up. He leaned forward, breathing hard and visibly shaking. He sat still for a few minutes, his head bent forward in his hands before sitting back up and looking in Gemi's direction. His face was shocked to see she was awake, sitting up and staring at him.

"You're...you're awake," he said, straightening himself up.

"So are you I see. How long have you been here?"

"The whole time. I was the one who found you. I couldn't get you to break out of whatever was happening, so I got Jade. She gave you something that stopped the shaking. How long has this been going on?"

"Since I woke up, off and on."

"Why didn't you tell me?" His jaw tightened, his posture becoming defensive as he moved to the edge of the chair.

"Because it's not important."

"Yes, it is!" Jaxton brought his hand down hard on the arm of the chair, making Gemi jump.

"Knock it off!" Gemi snapped under her breath. "Listen, when I have them I have memories of my real life. I don't want anyone to know, especially Jade and Dr. Twisted." She didn't understand why she was telling him, there was no way to tell if she could trust this Jaxton, but her heart desperately wanted to, even if her brain didn't agree.

"Doctor what? What is going on with you?"

"What were you dreaming about?" Gemi asked, changing the subject.

"Nothing." He broke eye contact with her, fixating on some imaginary area of the floor.

"You've always been a bad liar." Gemi flung her legs off the bed, the ground freezing on her bare feet. His hands gripped her shoulders and pushed her firmly back into the bed.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Getting up." Gemi pushed one of his hands off of her, but he maneuvered it to her legs and lifted them back into the bed.

"I don't think so. Not after the scene earlier. Your ass is staying in bed."

"Speaking of asses, you like what you saw?" Gemi raised an eyebrow at him coyly.

"Stop."

"I swear you used to have a sense of humor."

Her jab had its effect and he let her go and shifted to the edge of the bed where he sat down.

"I think the dreams I've been having are memories. I'm not sure if they are memories of my real life or one of the hundred they gave me." He picked at the blanket in an attempt to remove some imaginary imperfection.

"What have you been dreaming?" Gemi sat forward, tucking her legs underneath her to sit as close to him as possible without touching.

Silence stretched out between them for an uncomfortably long time.

"Well, let's just say that my last dream gave the scene in the farmhouse a run for its money." He lifted hooded gray eyes to hers. He seemed to be hiding something, something painful.

"Typical of a guy to remember sex first."

"Well, it was our wedding night. You made us wait, which was easy for you never having had sex and all, but torture for me. I mean look at you."

"Showing you the paper probably jogged your memory." Gemi froze, her heart in her throat. "The paper!" She jumped from the bed despite his attempts to stop her and crossed to the bathroom in two bounds. Her clothes were there where she had left them, but the pocket was empty, the paper gone.

Gemi fell against the wall as a wave of nausea hit her.

"What's wrong?" Jaxton asked, standing in the doorway.

"She must have found the paper. Dr. Dagmar must know by now. Shit!"

"Know what?"

"Know that I know."

"My head hurts," Jaxton said as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes.

"Look, they tried to erase our memories because we found out they were secretly upping the chip levels and hiding it. We were going to blow the whistle, so they threw us in their twisted mental torture house under the guise of testing. They hoped that our brains would be so overwhelmed that either we would die or never be able to sort out real life from fake. Them knowing I have that paper is going to let them know I haven't trusted them since I woke up. Which means they will know that I remember things, things they don't want me to and it puts all of us in danger."

"Why not just kill us?"

"Because offing four people from the division, including the head of outside research and the head of programming would look a little odd."

"What now?"

"What time is it?"

"A little after seven." He glanced at a watch around his wrist and back to her, his eyes showing fear and confusion. It was an odd feeling to be the only one who knew what was going on and who they were. Even odder to be the stronger of the two.

"Let me see your watch."

He took it off without hesitating and handed it to her.

"Okay, everyone should be finishing dinner and heading to bed. If what I remember is correct, Dr. Dagmar and Jade will go to their respective offices to finish nightly paperwork. They won't come for me until they are sure that everyone is asleep—it would rouse too much suspicion. I'll just move up the timeline a few hours is all."

"What timeline?"

"If I asked you to do something would you do it, no questions?" Gemi asked, ignoring his question.

"No," he said flatly.

"My life kind of depends on you saying yes here."

"Only if you tell me what the hell is going on."

"I'm going to turn off all the chips with a bug I put into the system."

"Have you lost your damn mind?" He staggered back a few paces into the hospital room, his hands raised like she had some contagious disease.

"It was the plan the night they took us. They would have long shredded the paper evidence we had, but I had it stored on an encrypted file on the server. It will parse it out to all news and government agencies, but only if the chip levels rise above seventy-five or shut off. It was a failsafe."

"You saw what happened when the chips were off."

"No, we saw what they wanted us to see with the chips off. It was a scare tactic."

"Then explain what happened to Adaline."

Gemi froze.

"Yes, it was one of the first dreams I had. I knew that one was real because she looked so damn much like you it hurt."

"We have to do it." Gemi bit her lip hard. She was seconds away from giving in.

"I can't be a part of this."

Jaxton moved to sit back on the bed with his shoulders hunched forward. He looked broken, his whole image of her split into two very different pieces.

"It's the only way..."

"You're willing to risk lives for this?"

"Their lives are already fucked. They are a few percentages away from being lobotomized, drooling sheep. What's to stop the corrupt few from doing whatever they want once no one has the will to fight back? Look, I can try to put a measure in there that will switch them back on after the information goes out, but I won't have much time."

Jaxton sat on the bed wordlessly, everything he had to say already said. Gemi was running out of time. She had to be on the move soon if she had any chance of pulling this off.

"They're going to kill me," she whispered. He brought his gorgeous pained eyes to meet hers. "They will," she said again.

"I can't...I'm so sorry, but I can't go through what we just did all over again. Please stay here. Please don't do this. We can leave, run. I don't think I can handle losing you again." He got up and moved to the door, hovering in the doorway with his back to her for a few beats before exiting and shutting the door behind him.

He didn't believe her now, but maybe one day, when he remembered, he would thank her. That was if she lived through the night. At eight she would make her move. She just hoped it was enough time.

# Chapter Twenty-Three

At eight on the dot Gemi moved from the room into the hallway. The doors were once again closed tightly, either the occupants had moved to the sleeping quarters or they were preparing for bed.

Gemi crept down the hall trying her best not to make any noise, but every footstep seemed to echo off the walls, making her cringe.

Jade's door was shut, a faint light cascading out from the crack. Gemi stepped to the door and placed an ear to it. Inside she could hear the faint movement of papers and soft clicking on the keyboard. Satisfied, she pushed away and walked to the elevator.

The tenth floor, where the main computer was housed, was deserted. Miraculously, Gemi remembered exactly where it was. She pulled up a chair and was surprised at how her fingers and mind remembered exactly what to do.

There on the mainframe she located her Trojan horse, nested within the main loop. The first packet was the lie, what they wanted the public to know. The next was the truth that had gotten them to this point. Last were the records and statistics that helped provide the cover for her virus. They hadn't found it. Hadn't thought to look there.

"Step away from the computer!" a voice boomed behind her. She didn't need to turn around to know it was Dr. Dagmar.

"A little late to the party, eh?"

"I said step away now!" The hammer clicking back on a gun bounced off the walls.

Gemi pushed away from the computer and put her hands in the air. Slowly, she turned around to face him.

"Not a tranq gun this time I see."

"I should've done this the first time." He waved the gun at her, motioning for her to step farther away from the computer.

"You can't blow my brains out all over this room. It would be a little dramatic and point a few guilty fingers at you."

"Would it? Seems to me that a very depressed girl can't decipher the difference between the real world and a fake one. You have been acting weird all week, seizures, breaking into people's offices, fights with comrades. Who's to say you didn't just give up and decide to end it all where it began? I mean, anyone can attest to your obsession with the chip project after your sister's tragic death."

"You're going to get caught."

"Everyone will find out, blah, blah. I feel like we've had this conversation already, and you saw how that ended."

"It's not too late to change this."

Dr. Dagmar laughed a loud roaring laugh. "Are you kidding? Do you know how much they pay me? A little tweak to the numbers here and there and a few indecencies in our department are forgiven. You would have to be out of your mind to give up that power. Our last programmer was more than willing to play along. That's all you had to do and we wouldn't be in this position."

"If things went south do you really believe that anyone but you would take the blame? I mean honestly, you're just the scapegoat."

"Shut up! I'm sick of your shit. Let's just get this over with."

The clicking of another gun made both of them freeze. Gemi breathed a sigh of relief when Jaxton stepped out of the shadows and placed the barrel of the gun to Dr. Dagmar's head.

"Drop the gun," Jaxton said. "We both know that I could kill you before you had the chance to even pull the trigger."

Dr. Dagmar did as he said.

"Now kick it toward Gemi."

Once again he obliged.

"You're insane if you think you will get away with this. Jade will be here any minute. Two doctors against two deranged military workers—who is the world going to believe?"

"Oh, Jade is quite indisposed at the moment. That needle that was meant for me ended up in her neck and, well, she will be out for a bit."

"Will she be okay?" Gemi asked, her gun now pointed at the doctor as well.

"A little headache probably, who knows, I'm not a doctor." He grabbed Dagmar by the back of the neck and forced him into a chair. He produced a pair of ropes from a side bag she hadn't seen him wearing at first and secured him tightly.

"I thought you didn't..." Gemi started to say.

"I didn't, but then I remembered something and it changed everything." Jaxton turned his attention back to the secured doctor. "Why don't you tell Gemi about the strike you put out on my family's town that took the lives of my parents and all of my siblings. Or better yet, why don't you explain what happened to the baby Gemi was carrying?"

"What?" Gemi took a staggering step back, her hand falling to her stomach.

"There are rules here!" Dagmar spit at him. "I let you get away with that whole marriage stunt because I needed her manning the computer, but there was no way in hell I was going to let a little brat run around here."

"What did you do?" Gemi swung the gun hard at his face, pistol-whipping him with all the strength she had.

He turned back to her laughing, blood trailing out of his nose and the split in his lip. He spit blood at her and smiled, his teeth shining red in the light.

"I took care of it." He sneered at her.

Gemi forced the barrel of the gun inside his mouth and leaned close to his face. "You're not really in the position to be acting so smug." She pulled the hammer back and placed her finger on the trigger.

"You made us pawns in your sick little game. You tried to make me weak, make me forget the ones I loved. Was it fun? Did you enjoy watching me die over and over at the hands of people who were the only family I had left? I bet you didn't realize how resilient the human brain could be, that it's not that easy to make memories disappear. That despite everything, we will remember. I took a few things away from it all though. I learned to kill in lots of very colorful ways. Should I demonstrate that for you now?" She shoved the barrel of the gun deeper into his mouth making him gag.

"Gemi, stop." Jaxton's hand was on her shoulder, pulling her gently away.

Dr. Dagmar rolled his head from side to side, stretching out the muscles in his neck, never taking his eyes off her.

Gemi placed the gun down next to her on the desk and leaned back, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You couldn't possibly have thought that you could make us forget how much we loved each other," Jaxton said, his gun pointed again at Dagmar.

"Tell me that after you remember the many times you killed each other in cold blood."

"You forced those thoughts on us."

"Did I?" Dr. Dagmar raised an eyebrow at Jaxton, whose face darkened in response.

"Well as fun as this is, I'm still waiting on what this big master plan is," Dagmar said, still wearing the same shit-eating grin he had since he entered the room.

"Oh, well the plan is already in motion, I'm just killing time now."

The smile faded from Dagmar's face. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I'm thinking right about now that every news outlet will be getting a file that contains not only all the research I did, but that is also tied to the real data you had hidden."

"What?" Dagmar jumped in his seat, lifting the chair off the ground in bursts.

"And the chips?" Jaxton asked.

"All shut off."

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Dagmar asked, still thrashing in his chair. "Do you have any idea what you have done? You lived through a hundred lives of madness and you thought it was a good idea to shoot for one o' one?"

Gemi smiled down at him. "I guess we will see what happens. Maybe you can be part of the research team this time."

# Epilogue

_B reaking news_:

* * *

"The DBMA Chips are back up and running now after what is being called a momentary glitch in the system. Contradicting reports are coming in stating otherwise..."

* * *

"Arrests have been made in the tampering with the DBMA mainframe..."

* * *

"Dr. Malic Dagmar and Dr. Jade Hailstrom have been detained after incriminating evidence surfaced indicating they are at the center of..."

* * *

"A surge of anti-chipping activity has been noted in towns after the wake of the incarceration of Dr. Dagmar and his accomplice Dr. Hailstrom..."

* * *

"Former military worker and head of the DBMA Chip Maintenance and Programming Division, Gemini Granger, has stepped up to fulfill the vacancy left behind after Dr. Dagmar's absence..."

* * *

"A large crowd of anti-chippers have taken to the streets leaving destruction in their wake..."

* * *

"... city overrun... to stay inside... headed to local military division..."

* * *

ERROR: Channel not found

# Paroxysm Aftermath

### Sample

Gemi sat in a chair on the roof letting the sunlight warm her face. With her eyes shut she could pretend it was just another beautiful summer day. As long as the wind didn't blow and carry with it the faint caustic scent that still hung in the air despite the passing months. It was all that was needed to ruin the illusion, bringing reality crashing in.

The abandoned town lay obliterated in the distance. It had been set on fire early during the initial attack. Building after building warped and fell, left to smolder until the entire town was nothing but a shell of its prior self. Even in its pre-attack state, it was a symbol of a former life. Now, it was just a mark of their defeat.

The apartment building with tunnel access collapsed in on itself, leaving them with no way to get outside the compound. It was an unfortunate blow, but not devastating since the internal system—a crisscross of passages that spread all over allowing them to escape to various sections of the base—remained intact. But it wasn't long until their enemies sniffed it out like vermin on the hunt for food. The attack happened in the dead of night. No one saw it coming. Their own tunnel system became their Trojan horse.

Eighty-eight. That was all that survived. Trapped in a building that was crumbling at the seams and held together by a prayer.

Gemi ran her hands through her hair and shifted her head on the back of the chair. She thought the violence would stop after the testing. That there would be an opportunity to set things right for those who were taken advantage of for so long. For her to be there to help the mass of people being unwittingly manipulated by a corrupt dictator.

They had fought so hard to come back from everything just to fall once again, losing so much in the process. More than most could comprehend.

Dagmar, the mastermind behind the chip tampering, and his lackey Jade, were brought down shortly after the data was leaked to the press, but it wasn't without repercussions. During testimony Dagmar let it slip that Gemi was the one controlling the chips. And to a degree it was true. She was a pawn, something that should have been easily proven. But once word reached the anti-chippers and their supporters that she was placed at the head of the entire program things turned violent. There remained those who believed she played a larger role in everything. That she was the one setting up Dagmar. Even locked away, he had a way of controlling people. It surpassed manipulation, going to a whole new sociopath level.

Jade was murdered outside of the courthouse. Another casualty of Dagmar's sick game. There was no doubt she thought she was safe after following him so willingly. But, she was an easy target for rapidly growing rage and just the spark needed to get things rolling. It wasn't even a week later that the violence became widespread, focused on more than just the Digital Behavioral Modification Assistance community, DBMA for short.

The door squeaked open behind her. She needn't look to know who it would be. He maintained constant tabs on her since everything went down. It seemed pointless to her, seeing as they had no way to leave and no way for anybody to get inside. But it made him feel better and who was she to take that away from him?

Jaxton sat down in the chair facing her and leaned forward on his knees. "Sitting up here all day won't resolve anything. You realize that right?"

He looked worse for the wear. His calm facade was cracking at the seams.

It took some getting used to. His hair had grown out, no longer sitting in just the right spot. He was also sporting thick scruff on his face. She thought it would hide his handsome features. Instead it did the exact opposite, highlighting the squareness of his jaw and sharp angle of his cheekbones. No amount of grime could mask how gorgeous he was. In another life she would have been putty in his hands.

In the time since waking up he recovered little of his memories. He still had large gaps in time particularly from the period he arrived at base onward. And on occasion, growing in frequency as of late, woke up screaming as visions from their hundred lives trickled in. It was difficult watching everyone go through that, but especially him. He internalized so much of what happened, not just in the tests, but in the life he could remember with his family. Instead, he focused all his energy on her, which just made her shut down further.

It was a draining combination from two strong-willed people.

As if that wasn't enough, there was the added stress of their relationship. Or what was left of it. He believed they were married. Mostly because of the proof obtained in their files, but he had yet to remember their life together. Adaline he remembered. Remembered the year they spent coming up with plans to run away together. The fact that he loved two women at the same time drove a wedge between them.

What hit her the hardest was that the person sitting in front of him wasn't one of those women. He loved the girl he met in the tests, the one that didn't exist. Worse yet, he loved the girl that Dagmar had created. And that was something she hadn't found the strength to let go.

One day she hoped to find the courage to let her guard down and allow him to love her, the girl he married in some far-off life. But in their present state, it became less and less of a priority. Her only focus was on the lives of the military personnel, many of whom were still children.

She already had too much blood on her hands.

"Sulking down there in the dark won't solve anything either," she replied.

"This isn't your fault."

"We're running low on supplies. We'll be out of food within the next three weeks," she said changing the subject and ignoring the spark of irritation in his eyes.

"What do you propose? The last time we sent out a group, before being ostracized here, only three came back. Even if we could get out it would just put the others in danger."

Gemi chewed on her lower lip. It was easy to be a leader when things ran smoothly. Now that everything went to hell, a large part of her yearned to walk away. If there had been a place to walk away to, she might have.

"Did you know the DBMA program started in a small headquarters before it grew into this beast?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"There might be an old mainframe that's still functional."

"That won't change what's going on with the anti-chippers."

Gemi stood and wandered to the ledge. She leaned over, resting her chin in her palms and her elbows on the fractured stone. It was the issue from the start. Fixing the chips would be the easy part, but how did you control or calm down people free to feel how they wanted? There were even stories of pop-up shops to remove chips. Of course that was before the broadcast stations had been overrun. Before the president pulled out and left the military on their own. A small group attempting to fend off thousands in their city alone.

"No one else is trying to come up with a plan," she grumbled to the air in front of her.

His arms wrapped around her midsection, drawing her into him. It was a rare display of affection reserved for when she was in any sort of emotional distress. Or when he reached the point when he realized nothing he said would reach her. It should have comforted her, but it did the exact opposite.

"How's Allon?" she asked.

"Deteriorating. The doctor got the seizures to stop for the most part, but he's growing more and more agitated by the day. It's hard to tell if he's remembering his life or the test."

"I should go see him." Gemi pulled away from him and started toward the door.

Jaxton caught her hand and spun her around to face him. "You don't have to do this all alone."

Gemi didn't answer. She stared past him at the treetops. From their current position it was beautiful. As if the world below wasn't burned and wrecked and run by a herd of lunatics hell-bent on leaving the planet unsalvageable.

There had to be a way to fix everything before it reached that point.

"I should go see him," she repeated and slipped her hand out from his. She left him standing in the center of the rooftop with the same tense and exasperated expression he wore every time they spoke since they woke up.

The interior was pitch-black. Gemi used her fingers on the wall as a guide while her eyes adjusted, following the path she learned to take. They lost power during the ambush. It left them with a small generator dedicated to the hospital wing, kitchenettes, and, more recently, the training room. And a limited amount of solar-powered flashlights and lanterns that were used sparingly throughout the compound. After a while the body adjusted to the constant darkness—learned to cope and use other senses. She couldn't say as much for the human soul.

Gemi found the doctor hovering over Allon. His body twitched and writhed, recovering from what she could only assume was his most recent episode. Despite its sterile condition, the air in the room hung heavy with the smell of decaying flesh. It was enough to make even the strongest stomach do summersaults.

The past month brought with it the difficult decision to strap him to the bed for fear that he would hurt himself. Or others. Along with the seizures he had become malicious and violent when awake. Unfortunately, the ties left him incapable of moving and caused pressure sores to develop all over his back and legs. And with the dwindling medical supplies, it left them unable to do anything besides keep them as clean as they could, using water and recycled bandages.

It was the same path that Callum had taken toward the end. Right before he chewed through his own wrists.

"How is he?" she called upon closing the door behind her.

"Not good. We've all but exhausted the remaining meds used to control his seizures. I'm not sure what will happen once it clears his system. Also..." the doctor trailed off and shook his head.

"Also what?" she snapped, not trying to hold back her irritation to his evasiveness.

"Well, he's been saying some peculiar things."

"Okay, well, he's probably just repeating things he recalls from before. Callum did at the end. As a matter of fact, he started to not even realize where he was. As if he was in some sort of persistent hallucinogenic state."

The doctor sat in the chair by the bed and regarded her. He was withholding something, something that concerned him enough to want to keep from her. It wasn't a game she was interested in playing. The time for being coddled ended somewhere between her one hundred lives. She felt her blood pressure increasing as she stared him down, waiting for him to break.

After what seemed like an eternity, he let out a puff of air and grabbed an item from the side table. "I recorded part of it. It's better if you listen. Too hard to explain." The doctor pushed the play button and set the recorder back on the table.

" _The blonde one. Get the blonde one. She is bad. Very, very bad. She did this, all of this. Kill. Kill her any chance you get_."

The doctor stopped the audio and sagged against the chair. "It continues on like that for a while."

"So? It sounds like nonsense."

"The blonde one..." Allon moaned from the bed.

The doctor was up and at his side in an instant. Gemi paced over to the bed and leaned over. He had grown so frail. Bones and veins stuck out in places that were normally covered in a layer of muscle. His face was sallow, sunken in and black under his red-rimmed eyes. He was a shell of the person he once was. The greatest contribution to his rapid decline was the fact that he stopped being able to eat five weeks prior, meaning his primary source of nutrition came from an IV hooked up to his wrist.

"Kill her!" he shrieked as his whole body shuddered. "Kill her!"

**Paroxysm Aftermath is available now on Amazon**. **Click here** to continue the journey!

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If you liked Paroxysm Effect, if you hated it, or even if you're "eh" about it, I would love to hear your thoughts. Connect with me on social media (links on next page). And as always, reviews are always welcome!

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Happy reading.

# About the Author

Ashleigh Reynolds was born and raised in Northern California where she was surrounded by fantasy novels, horror films, and role playing games.

She began writing in Kindergarten when she penned (in crayon of course) a short story about a princess and her pet "gragon".

Since that time, she has moved multiple times and currently lives in Minnesota with her husband Mark, their dog Willard, and a mean spirited cat named Butters.

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# Also By Ashleigh Reynolds

Paroxysm Aftermath

When the Sun Falls

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