M3RG3

Chapter 29

My sweaty palms shoved the door open, where Anthony was typing furiously on his laptop. I strode over to his desk and slammed my hands on the counter, forcing him to stare at me. To see my fear and desperation.

"They're under attack. How do you shut it down?" His eyes betrayed nothing as he stared back, expressionless and blank as the seconds ticked by. I slammed my hands on the desk once more, my shoulders moving to the rapid intakes of my breath. "Answer me!"

"You seem to be in desperate need of therapy. I can arrange one for you tomorrow." Ignoring his comment, I yanked his hands to his head and dug my nails into the fleshy part of his wrist.

"The Wastelands are under attack. Help me out before I wreck your office to shreds." I threatened, my voice seconds from exploding under my simmering anger, frustration and impatience. Anthony suddenly blinked rapidly, his eyes lolling black slightly. No, not now, when so many lives were at stake.

"Answer me! Right now!" I slapped him right across the face, the pain stinging on my palm.

Intuition flashed across his eyes. "This way." He muttered sharply.

"There's no need to shut it down. It should automatically turn off in a few seconds." The footages on his Tabloid had loaded to show dozens of confused soldiers with their guns withdrawn.

"It was a buffer," I whispered in shock. The Republic knew. Of course they knew.

Suddenly, all of them jerked upright, their stance identical to one another. "This is to the Revolution. We advise you to stop your ludicrous behaviour and release the Deformed. We will not fight today. But if you stand in our way, we will not hesitate to tear you apart," They stated in unison. Then, they all slumped to the floor, some of them shaking their heads, attempting to clear the haze within their heads.

"What happens now?" I questioned, my eyes still trained on the footage.

"They should be coming back, with no recollection of what happened. Tell your mother to grab as many Deformed as they can and leave. When I mean leave, I mean the city. The Republic." I rapidly sent a text of Anthony's instructions to both Oliver and Karen. They would know what to do.

"Doctor?" Kyle shoved the door open, his face drenched in sweat, his eyes wild and frantic. "Have you seen-" His eyes then zeroed on me, relief colouring his features, before souring in suspicion once more.

"Hi?" I grinned sheepishly.

"I know that I said you owe me an explanation, but I'm going to forget what I said." Kyle inhaled deeply, and when he opened his eyes, they were still shocked, but mostly calm. "Are you going to bed?"

"Not yet," I smiled, glad that he was respecting my privacy. "It was a hectic night. I'll need to get it all out of my system before I can get some proper sleep. Anyways, good night."

I sauntered towards the door before his arms created an impossible snare around mine. "Since you said you couldn't sleep, why don't we practice together in preparation for tomorrow?"

"I thought you were mad at me," I retorted, my tone slightly brusque from the hectic ordeal a few seconds ago.

"Furor makes me mad. And you, Arista, are infuriating," He stated simply.

My heart did a few somersaults before sputtering wildly at double tempo. My stomach was suddenly filled with so many butterflies that I felt like I was soaring in the sky. And I hated it. Hated that I still liked him despite being angry at him. Hated how my heart would always speed up whenever he was near me. Hated the thrill that shot through me every time he mentioned my name. Hated that despite the number of reasons that made me angry at him, he still had a way to come back to me every single time.