Feared

Fifty-Four: Kiya

Annakiya winced, her entire body tensing as the explosion ripped through the house. She tried to concentrate on Cary's mind, her slender brown fingers pressed on either side of his temple. The Mimic's poison had seeped into his mind, souring his memories, contorting his opinions. She needed to help him. Like Harris had helped her, she had to undo this damage. She couldn't worry about the explosion.

"Kiya?" Ian yelled, from somewhere below. There was banging at the front door and she could hear Wallace giving orders, but to whom she didn't know. Cary was her priority; she didn't have the luxury to wonder what was happening below.

"She's up here," Harris yelled from across the landing. He was guiding Ethan back to his feet. The medicine he had administered was returning Ethan to reality. It was the same cure that had brought her around, fixed the damage that had been done to her body and left a bitter, metallic taste in his mouth.

Ian appeared at the top of the stairs, his blue eyes wild "Are you okay?" he said, kneeling beside her.

"Yes," she breathed, trying to keep her thoughts on Cary.

"What was that?"

"Explosion – that way," she said, jerking her head back into the house.

"It has to be Charlotte," Ian murmured and he vanished.

The sound of smashed glass broke the panicked air of the hall and the front door crashed open. Voices mingled together in confusion as Cary's eyes snapped open.

"Hey," Kiya said softly, ignoring everything else. "How are you feeling?"

He groaned a little and pinched his eyes shut again as if trying to block her from his view. "I threw you over the railing... Ki I'm so sorry..."

"That wasn't you," she smiled, as he sat up and pressed a hand to his head. "The Mimic did that. You didn't know what was happening. Back to normal now though, I hope?"

"If you consider any of us normal," he grunted with a lopsided smile. The momentary reprieve in good fortune though seemed to diminish all of a sudden when Ian's yells filled the house, cutting through Kiya's heart like a knife. Cary was on his feet in a flash, followed by Harris and Ethan, who seemed a little more unsteady than the others. Kiya stared after them, her heart pounding. Fear harm had befallen Ian filled her mind and she found herself frozen in place. Below she could see Wallace in deep, animated discussion with armed officers and soldiers. Some attended to the fallen altered they had defeated, but they didn't seem to be worried about Matt or Wallace.

Kiya watched them for a moment, but didn't care to wonder why they were speaking so calmly. Instead her feet carried her after the others, deeper into the house towards their raised voices.

"Charlotte, answer me," Ian pleaded as she stepped through the wreckage into the once ornate, circular room. Tears ran down his freckled cheeks. Charlotte's head lay in his lap, her pallor grey, her eyes closed. Kiya swallowed as her head swam. Harris was bent over her, but his hands were shaking and Kiya could see an uncertainty in him that she had never seen before.

Ethan was rooting through his satchel snatching at the syringes that she had seen him use on the others earlier, on herself. He dashed across the room to James. He was staring at the ceiling, his eyes blinking slowly, his face bloodied. It was as if he didn't see them. Ethan pressed the syringe to his skin, the pearlescent liquid inside vanishing beneath his flesh.

She could hear Ian's sobs behind her. His pleading words to Harris, to Charlotte. They cut through Annakiya like a knife. Tears welled in her own eyes as she waited, helpless. James' eyes began to focus on what was before him, the pinkish glow returning to his cheeks, but Ethan wasn't about to welcome him back yet. He wasn't worried about his recovery. He heaved James to his feet and dragged him towards Charlotte. Kiya inched closer.