Because We Had Us

Chapter 23. Blood Over Bond

Ruth

     I woke up disoriented and groggy. Above me I heard a familiar voice calling my name. It was my partner in crime Xay. His dark hair and olive skin resembled my own, only his blue eyes set us apart.

     "It worked." My words were faint, but I forced a smirk.

     "Of course it worked Ruthie, I am the smart sibling after all."

     When Xay first told me he was my brother I didn't believe him, but when I thought about it it made perfect sense. My parents always fought about some deep dark secret they never let me in on when I was younger. It's what lit the match of the the whole dark divorce years and everything after. It turns out that secret had a name and his name was Xavier.

     When my mom was 17 she got drunk at a party and next thing you know she was peeing on a stick. Xay came along and my mom immediately gave him up, but she never found the time to inform my father on the mystery baby until one day he showed up on their doorstep. Xay tells me he was just shut out again, but before the door was slammed in his face he saw a glimpse of a little dark haired girl playing with a monster truck. He told me that ever since that moment he made it his life mission to find me, especially since I was cool enough to play with a monster truck as a little girl.

     We were both alone in this world until we found each other, so when Xay told me he had a plan for me to meet him I was all in no matter what it took. We both knew Jo had too big of a heart to leave us all to die, so we set her up to rescue me so I would be the survivor. Little did we know miss perfect's mini me we be roaming free and ruining everything.

     I was fine with them living and all, but what happens if they find out I set Jo up? They were all suckers for their humanity, but I was a survivor. They would all die trying to save each other in the last phase. That was our plan use their humanity again them, but somehow little Miriam was cheating the system. Laz started to wake.

     "I can't believe it," Xay awed at the monitors before us. "How is it possible that she's surviving in every color and she's stable?"

     "She's a fighter that one," I chuckled but it soon faded into a sigh. "Is she going to make it out like we did," I asked? Out the four stooges she was my favorite.

     "I wish I could tell you, but I really can't say." I suddenly felt sick. "It's truly a miracle someone with her condition and someone as young as her has made it this far."

     "You said only one person could survive."

     "Well that's what was supposed to happen, but somewhere somehow she found a loophole."

     "Hey why was only one person supposed to survive anyway what is this the hunger games?"

     "Well you see Ruth the human race is weak, its dying due to our minds..."

     "I know the fear of change, loss of survival instincts, blah blah blah I've heard it already cut to the chase brother."

     "COA believes from the data we've collected on you five that only one of you can truly be the one to lead us into this new era."

     "Why's that?" I spun in a rolling chair like I was nine years old as I waited for my new found big brother to enlighten my little mind.

     "We only want to study one mind," He sighed as I raised an eyebrow at him still unsure of what he was trying to explain. "Summed up in one word sister what we're looking for is a uniformity of diversity, though it is quite the oxymoron."

     "So you want me to be the new Hitler?" I teased.

     "No, but we do believe that if we can get all human minds on a similar wavelength, particularly of a simple survivors instinct then we can prolong the survival of the human race."

     "Pretty cool but what happens now that the others are waking up."

     "Well now we try to shut it off before they can." I didn't reply at first I could only stare. I was all down for some diabolical plans, but I wasn't ready to commit murder.

     "Oh come on sister don't feel bad it's for the greater good of the human race." His words were so convincing that I thought about pulling the plug on these people who took me in and called me family, because he was my family too. "If they wake they could expose us, we did rig the whole experiment after all." He saw how conflicted I was.

     "Blood over bond," he said staring me in the eyes as he grabbed my hand. As messed up as it was I liked the way those words sounded. I liked having someone to call family. I didn't feel alone anymore, so I repeated what became our sibling mantra back to him.

     "Blood over bond."

     We watched together as Miriam too began to regain her consciousness out of nowhere. Corin on the other hand didn't look like he was going make it. That is what I though until Jo crawled to his rescue. She was dying, but even in death she was stubborn.