Wither With Me

CHAPTER 48 - CLEANUP

The laboratory alarms had finally gone silent. However, the room was still sealed and bathing in crimson light.

With great effort, Marcus crawled to the closest wall and laid his back against it. His head felt heavy. With all the ventilation systems blocked, the room was isolated from the outside. The gas couldn't get out. It wouldn't be long until the first symptoms of poisoning appeared.

Elizabeth walked in circles. She wasn't stupid. She had probably reached the same conclusion as he did. Her pistol was no longer in her hands, since killing him would serve no purpose anymore.

She sighed, approached an office chair, and sat down.

"You look quite calm for someone who's about to die..." said Marcus.

"Look who's talking."

"I admit it wasn't difficult to accept. I've done bad things. Things I shouldn't have allowed... I think I deserve to end like this."

"...Evelyn, I suppose?" Marcus nodded. "What were you even thinking? Your department tried everything they could on her, didn't they? Even after the Sting transformed her irreversibly. To turn your own daughter into a guinea pig... And I'm the monster here? Don't make me laugh, I don't feel like it."

"I was desperate. Blind. I couldn't let her go. You wouldn't understand, Elizabeth... After all, she wasn't your daughter."

"I understand it, but I don't share the same opinion." she made a long pause. "This is precisely why I never bothered with emotional relationships. What for? They might be able to make you happy, but they can also corrupt you to the core. I'll pass. Let me tell you something: in comparison, I had it quite easy. A stable, balanced life, more money than I felt like spending, a job that allowed me to do something in humanity's benefit... and zero familiar or emotional drama. What else could I ask for?"

"In humanity's benefit...? The cyanide must be affecting your brain already..."

"We just see things from a different perspective, Marcus. You're only taking the negatives into consideration. Controlling the Sting could change everything, and not necessarily for the worse. We could overcome those things forever. No need to eradicate them; we could coexist. With all the associated implications."

"And you trust ZEUS to take such responsibility? You're out of your mind. Grant power to any single group or individual, and we'll self-destruct as a species. The stingers will be the least of our problems."

"I never said I trusted ZEUS. However, the path they've taken is headed in the right direction, even if the end goal differs."

'Everyone is the hero of their own story, huh...?'

Elizabeth slid her hand into her coat and took out a mobile phone. Her fingers tapped on the screen, then stopped after a while. She brought the device to her mouth and began talking.

"To whoever is listening: we're carrying out an evacuation at Kurtis Tower, downtown, this evening. We have a helicopter, with vacant seats. If you're looking for help, this might be your last chance."

"What are you doing...!?"

"And... done." she tapped some more on the phone, then left it on the table. "Transmitting on loop, until this thing runs out of juice. Any radio in the city should be able to receive the message."

'The more people show up, the more complicated the evacuation will be... and the easier it'll be for ZEUS' mercenaries to carry out an infiltration. Seriously? You didn't have enough yet?'

"Why are you looking at me like that? What did you expect, a last-minute redemption? I'll be consistent in my ideals. You placed a bet on your partners. I'll place a bet on mine. As simple as that."