Finding Humanity: Book 3 in the Saving Humanity Series

CHAPTER 23

"Shoot 'em," Caleb strained. "Shoot 'em both."

Pain washed anew through his body. He gritted his teeth and felt anger tighten his muscles, sending another surge of agony through him. All thoughts of justice and doing things the right way drained out of his body as blood oozed from him. He didn't care if Maudas got a fair trial, he wanted him dead.

I told you. I told you you would die here.

Matt placed his hand over the butt of his gun, but he didn't pull it out of the holster. Ophelia moved to crouch next to Jan and hover over Caleb.

"Now, Caleb." Dr. Maudas' tone was calm and pompous. "You know that killing Samuel and I will do you no good. How will you get out of here?"

Heat flooded Caleb's face. "Then just shoot the doctor." He didn't want to hear the man's voice any longer.

Maudas clicked his tongue. "While that might be a better option, it's still deadly. The RBZs won't kill Samuel, but he has no control over them. Keeping him alive won't get you off this mountain in one piece." He leveled his gaze at Caleb. "There is a way out of this. Why are you making it so difficult?" His gaze drifted to the others. "Ah. You haven't told them, have you?" He looked down at Caleb and condescension and arrogance emanated out of him.

Caleb narrowed his eyes at the man. He knew the doctor was right. Both he and Samuel had to stay alive if they were going to get off this mountain. That made him furious. He didn't want Maudas to have any power or control over the situation, but he'd figured out a way to get both. His moment of glory and outthinking the man was over. He should have considered that Maudas would do anything to stay in control. He also cursed himself in his mind for not searching Samuel for weapons. He'd assumed that because he looked weak, he didn't pose a threat. What a painful mistake. He searched his memory, trying to figure out when he would have had time to grab a knife. There were too many. They'd been too lenient because of his injuries. He contemplated killing Samuel, but that wouldn't help matters. Without him as a bargaining chip, they had no control over Maudas—and he knew that. Maudas would take every opportunity he could to regain power. Caleb had to recognize the intelligence in the move, but since he was on the floor bleeding, he didn't appreciate it.

"If you can fix this, fix it!" Jan's voice was still high-pitched and full of panic. Tears glistened in her eyes, ready to spill onto her cheeks at any moment.

"Ophelia," Dr. Maudas' voice was authoritative. "If you would be so kind as to grab one of your vials of blood out of the fridge in the lab, Caleb would be forever grateful."

Ophelia looked at Dr. Maudas with her brows pushed together and top lip curled slightly upward. She hesitated for a few moments, then jumped to her feet and hurried for the lab.

Panic tightened Caleb's chest. His only chance was to heal himself with blood, but he absolutely didn't want to do it in front of these three. His fear of how they would view him after the act was about to be realized. His hatred of Samuel and Dr. Maudas deepened for putting him in this position. He would make both of them pay for this—on top of the other situations they had put him through.

Ophelia rushed into the room carrying a glass tube full of a reddish-black liquid. She slid onto the floor next to Caleb, then turned and looked at Dr. Maudas.

"Remove the stopper and let Caleb drink the liquid." He turned to Caleb. "Unless you prefer to take it directly from the source."

Caleb tried to explode the doctor's head with his look. When it didn't happen, he gestured for the vial. His stomach tightened, causing pain to once again course through his body.

"Jan," Dr. Maudas said. "Please get ready to remove the knife."

Jan positioned her hands above the handle, waiting for the signal to pull it out.