Paragon

Chapter 21:

I woke up screaming.

I sat up and immediately hit my head on the bed frame. I lay back, trying to catch my breath, relieved that the feeling of my heart stopping as my lungs seized up was leaving along with the vestiges of the dream. That's all it was, a dream. I was in my bedroom in Gamma's mansion. Mahlika was probably wondering why I wasn't up. It looked dark out, but I probably forgot to open the curtains.

I started to roll over, but my knees banged painfully against metal. There was something beside my bed.

I felt along the metal, searching for an edge. I feel a corner, then a roof, but no edge. Below me the metal was cold and hard.

My breathing quickened as a horrible certainty set in. I wasn't dreaming. I'd died back in the Vault with Roman. And they'd buried me alive.

Panic took over as the walls seemed to close in. I kicked out, hitting the metal with enough force to dent it. Another kick and the metal swung out. I scrambled out and realized that I was in a drawer in a morgue. Right now the entire room was abandoned, though I could see signs of a hasty exit.

I shivered in the cold air, realizing suddenly that I was without clothes. I opened a desk and found a lab coat. I put it on and opened the door.

The halls were full of people, all hurrying back and forth. Some of them were dressed in white Prime Order uniforms, but the rest wore clothes, not all the uniforms, yet all the same midnight blue. No one gave me a second glance as I made my way upstairs, looking for a uniform storage area. I finally found one and got a Prime Order uniform. I took it to the nearest bathroom to change. After I put it on I stopped to look in the mirror.

The person staring back wasn't me.

My eyes were now a strange deep red that seem to glow ever so slightly. Right between my eyes was a large, pale scar, like a bullet hole. My hair had been cut to my shoulders on one side, though there was a bald spot just above my left ear. I ran my fingers across it and felt metal just below the skin.

"What did they do to me?" I whispered.

Outside there was shouting and running footsteps. The loudspeaker above me crackled, making me jump.

"Attention all citizens." A familiar voice said. "This is Commander Ross speaking. Xavia Wilder, formerly Katana Wilder, appears to have healed from her injuries, which were thought to have been fatal. If you see her, do not attempt to approach."

I touched the metal piece on the side of my head again as a terrible idea crossed my mind. Someone had taken me out of the Vault, and I doubted it was Skyfall or Prime Order people.

Images flashed across my vision. Bright lights and an operating table. Cane and Jinx leaning over me...

I brought my hand down on the sink and the porcelain shattered. Shocked, I stumbled out the door. Loud footsteps broke the silence, and before I could move, two Suits walked around the corner. Immediately they raised their arms, pointing guns at me.

"Wait-" I begin.

They started firing without hesitation. Before I could even process what was happening I was running down the hall. I raced around the corner and ran into Mahlika. She stumbled back, raising her fists.

"Mahlika." I said. "It's me, Katana. They did something to me, put something in my head."

"Stay away." She said. "Can't you just stay dead?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't mock me. You've already nearly killed Malcom, and now you're just playing with me."

There were tears in her eyes.

The Suits stomped around the corner behind me. They stopped when they saw Mahlika in their line of fire.

"Just die already." Mahlika said, stepping to the side.

I dove out the window beside us just before the Suits started firing. I landed in the artificial lake beside the Capitol and swam to the edge as an alarm started ringing. I started running, not stopping until I arrived at the monorail station. There I slowed down and got onto a train.

Three stops later a man got on and stood beside me.

"How far you've fallen." He said quietly.

I realized it was Logan.

"What happened?" I asked.

"When you died, someone else woke up." He said. "Her name was Xavia, and she was the antithesis of everything you've ever wanted to be."

A memory stirred in the back of my mind. A Prime Order agent lying on the ground, hands held up in a plea for mercy.

"She did some very bad things. I don't blame them for wanting to shoot you on sight. But you can't hide just yet. Falcom is still out there."

"Falcom?"

"Yes, he's alive." He shook his head. "Death doesn't mean anything to him anymore. It's against the laws of nature. You've got to stop him."

"From doing what?"

"He's going to use the Skyfall Device to make everyone like him. To make everyone a monster. It's going to happen tonight." He gestured at his watch. "At midnight. Which means you have 16 hours to convince your friends that you're not Xavia anymore, find Falcom, and destroy the device."

"And if I can't?" I asked.

"The world as you know it will end."

I looked away. "I don't know if I can stop him."

He didn't replied, and I realized the bench beside me was now empty.

"You're damn unhelpful." I said. "I hope you know that, you-"

I stopped, realizing everyone on the train was staring at me.

The train stopped and I got off, not quite knowing where I was going. Suddenly I realized that I was in a familiar cemetery, in front of Gamma's tombstone. Beside it were two more. One bore my name, the other Falcom's.

Overwhelmed, I collapsed between Gamma's tombstone and my own.

"I failed, Gamma." I whispered. "They were right about me, and you were wrong. I was always meant to be a monster."

I lay back in the grass and watched the clouds overhead.

"I can't do this." I said. "Not alone."

"You don't have to be alone."

I leaped to my feet and saw Marcus standing several feet away. Beside him were Mahlika and Camron.

Marcus hesitantly moved forward and hugged me. I buried my face in his shoulder, realizing abruptly that I was crying.

"I'm so sorry." He said. "I didn't want to kill you."

"Kill me?" I asked.

"Hey, hey, just a sec." Camron said. "I don't want to ruin the moment, but you did just try to kill us all yesterday."

I let go of Marcus and stepped back. "What?"

"You don't remember anything?" Mahlika asked.

"I...I'm not sure."

The three looked at each other, clearly uncomfortable.

"You see, the thing is..." Marcus said. "For the last year and a half, you've been a bit...odd."

I listened in horror as the three took turns filling me in. As they spoke, memories began to come back, dull and faded as if I was seeing a dream belonging to someone else.