Of Retribution and Revival

Chapter Eleven

"Stanner and Goss are going to massacre half the population..."

Involuntarily, words spilled from my lips.

"Crippling Xeniden will be simple. All you have to do..."

Something was inside my body. Speaking, controlling, doing as it wished: the parasite rendered me useless.

"The only ones that know of Stanner and Goss's collaboration are the members of Unit 03..."

My mouth was not mine. My body was not mine. I was just there. No control, nothing to do other than kick back and listen.

"Unit 03 members are currently residing in a safe house close by. They plan to move to a new sanctuary—"

No. No no no... I had to get a little control, shut the parasite down before too much information leaked. The team was there, Dakota was there, the kids were there. If Boone knew where to find the only people in the world that could stop Goss and Stanner, he would go after them and dispose of them. No matter how little control I had, I would not allow that to happen.

"—located in—" The distant, detached voice stopped instantly.

Tell them about the different ways they can hack into Xeniden files, I urged the voice. As long as I kept Boone and the others sated with information, no matter what kind, there wouldn't be a problem.

"Hacking into Xeniden files is a simple matter as well..."

From what I could tell, there were no protests. More time was granted to me. I had to find a way out of myself before Boone wanted more information on the whereabouts of Unit 03.

*** *** ***

What day is it? How long has it been? Who am I? Where am I? What's going on? Why is there only blackness in front of me? Why do I have a bone-deep feeling that—?

A feral scream tore through the air, piercing my ears.

Where had it come from?

Booted feet pounded the floor. Running—several of them. They were coming closer... They were...

They were after me.

Why are they running? Aren't I tied down? Don't they have full control over me with the poison?

A loud screech echoed through the corridor as a metal door flew open, cracking back against the wall. Clang! The noise vibrated the entirety of the structure. It shook down every bastard running, making them stop and reevaluate.

Whatever was going on, they were wondering if it was worth it. For some reason, I hoped they found that it wasn't.

Gunshots rang through the steel halls. Bullets bounced, ricocheting off the walls. Red lights flared around me. Muffled shouts echoed from the group of soldiers at the doorway.

Everything jolted a little further forward. It felt as if my body shuddered, but I was so numb, I could hardly register it. Things came back just as they remained the same. A terrible mixture of numbness and pain and terror hit me so strongly it could have driven me to my knees.

Why the fear? Why the pain? What's happening?

"If she gets out of here, we're dead! Get your asses in gear!"

If who escapes? Are there other prisoners or am I...?

My body still moved forward. Different flashes of my surroundings managed to work their way back for me to catch a glimpse. Each time, something looked different. Lighting changed, walls, sometimes the temperature—how the hell do I get to feel that?