From Darkness Comes - Book 2 in The Dissonance Series

Deception

"What do you mean it was your idea?" I knew I shouldn't have trusted her. Something in my gut told me not to trust her, but I ignored it because I wanted to believe that she was good. I wanted to believe for the cause, but most importantly, for Wyler.

"Oh come on Ever, you must have known on some level. I thought there was a moment there where you suspected me. I even began to respect you a little for it, but then you proved to be just as gullible as the others. What a disappointment you turned out to be." She shakes her head. "You sure did keep me on my toes though. At first I thought it was going to be easy. You practically handed me your death on a silver platter when you came up with the idea to go outside the bubble. Correction, the idea that I came up with but made you think was your own. But you even bungled up your own death and got those other two mods killed instead. That complicated things. Of course I did get to sell Sidonie's organs so that was a plus. I should probably be thanking you," she laughs sickly.

The thought of Sidonie and Cerelia dying because of the decision I made to go outside the dome hits me like a punch to the gut. It's made even worse by the thought of Sidonie's body being mutilated so that they could sell her insides. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying not to let her get under my skin.

"Kelly, Jovie and the other mods that were being held captive underground, they were all brought here to be harvested, weren't they?"

She smiles, pleased with her evilness.

"And the expedition that went beyond the wall before us, they weren't attacked by the creatures, were they? They were brought here," I say more as a statement than a question, now knowing the full extent of her wickedness.

She smiles wickedly, clapping slowly, mocking me.

"And then I just needed to get you to turn against your brother, which was easier than I thought it would be."

"My brother knew about you, didn't he?"

"I suspected Aurellius of not being loyal to Environettix but I could tell he suspected me of not being loyal to the mods. He was always very careful of what he said and what information he shared when I was present with the two of you. I'm sure he was waiting for the right time to strike, which led to you doubting his allegiance. Families are complicated, aren't they, Ever? Not that you have much of yours left," she hisses, adding salt to my wound.

I ignore her words and try to inflict pain of my own. "Wait until your brother finds out," I threaten. "Did you know that he's missing? Did Cassius take him to hold over your head and get you to do what he wanted?"

The expression of triumph falls from her face. Her expression turns more serious. She tilts her head to the side, assessing what I've said. Then she snaps at one of the two guards and motions with two of her fingers, signaling for him to bring something to her. He steps out of the room briefly before returning with a gurney and lying on it, strapped down tight, is Wyler.

"Wyler!" I shout as I twist and turn in the chair trying to stand, but it's no use. He tries to talk but all that comes out are mumbled cries due to the gag they've taped over his mouth. He strains against the straps that hold him down, but he's no more able to break free than I am.

"What are you going to do to him?" I yell.

"He's awaiting harvesting," she replies, her voice cold as ice. She picks up a scalpel from the table and twirls it in her hand.

"How could you do this to your own bother?"

Her expression fills instantly with rage.

"My brother? Family means nothing, Ever. They'll turn against you at the drop of a hat. You should know that better than anyone. Look at what you did to Aero."

"You chose to leave your family. I didn't have a choice. I had to make decisions with the knowledge I had at the time and I can stand by that, but you...you abandoned Wyler."

"I left because I wasn't wanted. Wyler and I were constant reminders of our father's failure in the Alteration Study, something that he never even wanted any part of to begin with. I was hated by my own father. And after he left, our mother hated us because she blamed us for his departure. I learned early on what 'love' is. It's fleeting, fickle and only present when it's convenient for the other person. I learned long ago what I need to do to survive in this world, and what I need to do to succeed. You can't count on anyone Ever, not even your blood."

I look at Wyler, his eyes filling with sorrow.

"That's not true," I shake my head. "You don't know him. He loves you."

"No," she says looking at him. "He loves you." She slowly turns her head back to me. "Which is why this is going to be so much fun to watch."

"What are you talking ab...?" Cassius interrupts, having remained quiet for longer than I've ever seen him be. But before he can finish his sentence, Vega takes the scalpel in her hand and plunges it in between the fat rolls of Cassius's neck. His eyes go wide, then, for an instant, fill with fury at the realization of her betrayal.

"You didn't think I was actually going to continue being your lackey, did you?" She laughs.

Cassius stumbles backwards and falls to his knees.

"Men are so easy to manipulate, especially one as conceited and delusional as you. People are constantly disappointing me with their predictability," she says. Then she lifts her foot and presses her boot into the scalpel, plunging it further into his neck. Blood spurts on her face creating a splatter of red freckles, but she doesn't even flinch.

Cassius's eyes lock onto mine in an ionic last ditch effort to seek my assistance in saving his life. He coughs and spews out a stream of blood before falling to the ground.

She pulls the scalpel from his neck, grabs a cloth from the metal table and wipes the dirty blade clean.

"Now where were we," she says, turning her attention to me. "There's no need to keep you alive. Your insides are worth far more than your pretty exterior. I'm going to enjoy carving you up," she says with pure evil in her eyes.

"Give me the scalpel," Rona instructs. "Let a professional do it. If you butcher her the way you did Cassius, then her insides won't be worth squat."

Wyler thrashes violently on the table. He screams under his gag. But his resistance only makes Vera smile. "Don't worry, you're next," she snarls.

"Try not to take this personally, honey," Rona says stepping towards me and crouching down to my level. "I apologize Ever," she leans in and whispers. "But this is about to get very messy."

My mind races as I try to formulate a plan with what little time I have left. Vega stands behind her watching with a blood thirsty smirk. The knife inches forward and I ready myself to smash my forehead into the voice inside my walls. It seems fitting since it's something I've wanted to do since I first arrived. Rona seems to sense my move and shakes her head ever so slightly, enough to give me pause. The scalpel swings forward and slices the rope that binds my wrists. With lightning speed, Rona twists on her feet and shoves the scalpel into Vega's stomach.