The Skylar Experiment : Dead Ending (second draft)

79. Killer Instinct

RILEY

THE ANNOUNCEMENT dawned on me like a meteor about to strike earth. So many things were happening at once in my thoughts, so many questions. Whether all the rising noise was an auditory hallucination or real chaos, I couldn't tell. This was it.

The other shoe had dropped.

I contemplated the broken glass and the puddle where Raymond had stood seconds ago. He'd stormed out, blurting out something about plate numbers. Lauren was flashing around the living room and tossing objects in a backpack, blowing off loose papers in her path.

Hands latched on both of my shoulders and jarred me like a plant. Luc's eyes bore into mine. "I'm going to get your backpack upstairs. We have to leave before they-"

A harsh crash emitted from the living room. At Lauren's feet lay the rarely-used house monitor, screen and frame, blown to smithereens. Her back was turned to us. She bent over, seized with both arms the computer underneath the table, and hurled it toward a wall, causing me to flinch.

The distinct, icky stench of burnt plastic permeated the air.

She glanced over her shoulder as it exploded, a steep coldness in her features. "We leave nothing behind that they could trace back to our personal information. Luc, where's your wallet?"

He jerked his chin toward the coffee table but kept hold of my shoulders. They weighed so heavy I wanted to crumble.

"Sunshine, listen to me-look at me. Please. We'll take only what we need. Ray is getting the car ready and we'll figure out later where to go. Okay?"

I wanted to speak, but I was still drenched in shock.

"Say you understand."

The urgency in his eyes reached deep within me, and I felt like I could burst into pieces. I was numb all over.

"Riles, say it."

"I-I understand." The numbing morphed into nausea.

I watched Luc's outline haze until he disappeared upstairs to gather the necessities. I breathed in and out to stave off the roiling in my gut. What did I need? I needed to wake up from this recurring nightmare, but it was finally happening.

NIO was on their way. We might just bump into them on our way out.

Lauren prowled like a caged animal in the hallway, seemingly taking up more space than before. In that moment, I regretted nothing more than not training harder to be ready for the inevitable. I was powerless in comparison. Unable to protect anyone.

She stopped pacing and leveled my stare. I thought she'd grill me for standing there like an idiot, judging by the tight knit of her brows.

"Pass me some knives from the drawer."

God, I needed to get my act together. The drawer opened itself as I walked towards it. "Why?"

Luc's footsteps were rumbling down the stairs already. I closed my hands around some kitchen knives. Lauren waited for her brother to reach my side to approach. She took the knives, all but one, and she considered him.

"I'm not recovered yet. We'll have to rely on you and Ray if it gets ugly." Lauren broke eye contact and rotated a knife hilt around her long, slender fingers. The paleness of her skin was a testament to her words. She lifted a hardened gaze to me at first, then she shifted it back to Luc.

"I get that love is a powerful thing. Tony teaches us to control ourselves out of love for the people around us, so that we don't hurt them. But he's wrong. The only reason we exist is because they wanted killers. When they come for us, you have to be that, and you stop at nothing."