DEVIANT [H.S.]

46 - Awake

I drop the gun instantly, not recognizing the action I just did. I feel.. I feel.. numb. I don't know. I don't know.

I just killed Jeriah. The root of all my problems. I should be happy. Should I?

"Serena, we need to get out of here before Patrols find us with two dead bodies," Malachi says with more breath than voice.

His words echo in my head and ricochet back and forth until they stay still.

Get out of here. That is the only phrase I can figure out right now.

I scramble around the two bodies crowding the door and look up and down the hall for an elevator, a staircase, anything that could get us out and away from the Patrols.

Get out of here, my mind tells me in a demanding tone. Get out.

Everything jumbles together in a blur: Malachi, the hallway, the dead bodies on the floor.

I shot Jeriah right in the chest, right where I felt my pain the most. It was all so fast and I just pulled the trigger with no second thought. I should be satisfied and happy, content with my decision. But it doesn't feel like I made a decision because it happened so quickly.

Did I make a mistake?

All this time I have been so sure and demanding of what I want and what I need to know, and I've ignored the fact that Jeriah is a person as well.

Malachi's voice sifts into my mind slowly. "Serena! Snap out of it! I hear a commotion outside, we need to get out of here!" He exclaims, making me blink back my thoughts and numb tears.

Okay. Okay. Get out.

I spot an elevator and rush over and hit the button, watching the doors slide apart slower than anything. Malachi follows suit as I enter, and the elevator closes and begins its descent.

Silence coats the small space and even when Malachi claims he's my father, we couldn't be more distant right now.

"You don't know the whole story, so things won't make sense for a while. But I promise that you will have answers, Serena. Answers you've been wanting all your life," He says, looking over to me as his arm coats in more blood.

I don't reply. My head is swirling with sliding doors tinted red and I don't expect to form a sentence until I'm on ground level.

I'm not even sure the story matters anymore.

The doors open and we're met with the yelling and rioting of Patrols in the lobby. But they're not fighting us, they're fighting against the civilians.

Christian and Celestial actually got everyone outside... and that's bound to cause some reciprocation from the Patrols.

"Get back!"

"Stop!"

"Go back to your designated area!"

I step forward hesitantly as a Patrol notices me, pointing his gun in my direction. I decide fighting back isn't the best thing, so I put my hands up in surrender.

"Are you a Deviant?" He asks me.

I shake my head side to side. "No, but my friend here is. He is badly injured!"

The Patrol tightens his grip on the gun. "He needs to go to a hospital. He shouldn't be out here. It's havoc."

I move closer to Malachi's side. "He was a Deviant before Jeriah began the injection raids, Patrol."

"Where is Jeriah?" He asks.

I gulp. "He's been murdered. A young Patrol shot him then shot himself afterwards."