Chapter 18 Outnumbered
ARIA'S POV
"Asher, please." I stepped forward, hands raised. "It's me. Your sister. Remember? We talked at the facility. You started to remember—"
"I remember everything now." Asher's smile was wrong. Too sharp. Too cold. "That's the problem with the old programming. It tried to erase memories instead of rewriting them. Dr. Kane fixed that mistake. Now I remember you perfectly, Aria. And I remember my orders."
The five enhanced subjects spread out, circling us like wolves. Luna pressed against my back, her breathing fast and scared. Kael moved in front of us both, his body tense and ready to fight.
"Your orders?" Kael said. "You mean Cross's orders. You're letting him control you, Asher. Just like before."
"Control?" Asher laughed. "No, Kael. This is freedom. The old me was weak. Emotional. Conflicted. Now I see clearly. Cross offers purpose. Power. A chance to be part of something greater than myself."
"He offers slavery," I said. "You're not free, Asher. You're his weapon."
"Better a weapon with purpose than a person drowning in pointless feelings." Asher's glowing eyes locked on mine. "You'll understand soon. Once Dr. Kane fixes you too. Removes all that messy love and guilt and fear. You'll thank us."
"I'll die first."
"That can be arranged." Asher gestured to the other enhanced subjects. "But Cross wants you alive if possible. He's very excited about the breeding program. Your children will be magnificent."
Rage burned through my terror. "I'm not having anyone's children, especially not for Cross's sick experiments!"
"You don't have a choice." Asher moved closer. "None of us do. That's what makes this so simple."
Kael snarled—actually snarled like an animal. "You'll have to go through me first."
"Gladly." Asher's smile widened. "I've been wanting to test my new enhancements against yours. See which version of the serum Dr. Kane perfected better."
They moved at the same time.
The fight was brutal and terrifyingly fast. Kael and Asher crashed together like thunder, enhanced strength against enhanced strength. They moved too quickly for my eyes to follow—just blurs of motion and the sickening sound of fists hitting flesh.
The other five subjects advanced on Luna and me.
"Run!" Luna grabbed my hand.
We ran. But they were faster. One of them—a tall woman with dead eyes—appeared in front of us out of nowhere. Her fist swung toward my face.
I ducked, muscle memory from Kael's training kicking in. Use their strength against them. I grabbed the woman's arm as she overextended and yanked, using her own momentum to throw her off balance.
She stumbled. It bought us three seconds.
Luna and I split up, running in different directions. Divide their attention. Make them choose targets.
Two subjects chased me. Three went after Luna.
I crashed through undergrowth, branches tearing at my skin. Behind me, footsteps matched my pace easily. They were toying with me. Could catch me anytime they wanted.
A hand grabbed my collar and yanked me backward. I hit the ground hard, air rushing from my lungs.
One of the enhanced subjects—a young man who couldn't have been older than twenty—stood over me. "Don't make this difficult. You're coming back to the facility whether you fight or not."
"Then I'll fight." I kicked up hard, catching him between the legs.
He didn't even flinch. "We don't feel pain anymore. Dr. Kane's latest improvement."
His hand closed around my throat. Lifted me off the ground like I weighed nothing. I clawed at his fingers but they were like steel bars.
"Sleep now," he said calmly. "When you wake up, you'll be better."
Black spots danced across my vision. I was going to pass out. Going to lose. Going to end up back in that facility with my mind erased and my body used for Cross's experiments.
Then a roar split the air.
The enhanced subject holding me suddenly released his grip. I collapsed, gasping for air, as Kael slammed into my attacker with the force of a truck. They went down in a tangle of limbs and violence.
"Get up!" Kael shouted at me. Blood streamed from a cut above his eye. "Get Luna and run! I'll hold them—"
"I'm not leaving you!"
"You have to!" Kael ducked a punch from another subject. "You have the evidence! You're the only one who can expose Cross! If you get captured, everyone dies for nothing!"
He was right. I hated it, but he was right.
I found Luna pinned against a tree by two subjects. Without thinking, I grabbed a heavy branch from the ground and swung it at the nearest one's head. The branch shattered. The subject turned to look at me, more annoyed than hurt.
"Really?" she said flatly. "A stick?"
But the distraction was enough. Luna ducked under her captors' arms and ran. I followed, my lungs burning, my legs screaming.
Behind us, Kael fought six enhanced subjects alone. The sounds of combat followed us into the trees—brutal and terrible.
"We have to help him!" I tried to turn back.
Luna grabbed my arm. "We can't! We're normal humans, Aria! We'll just get captured and make things worse!"
"I won't leave him to die!"
"He's buying us time!" Tears streamed down Luna's face. "Don't waste his sacrifice!"
The word sacrifice hit me like a knife. Because that's what this was. Kael was sacrificing himself so we could escape.
The mate bond between us stretched and stretched, pulling tighter with every step I took away from him. It hurt worse than any physical wound.
I'm sorry, I thought, hoping somehow he could feel it through the bond. I'm so sorry.
We ran until we couldn't hear the fighting anymore. Ran until my legs gave out and I collapsed against a tree, sobbing.
"He'll be okay," Luna said, but her voice shook with doubt. "He's enhanced too. He can handle himself."
"Against six of them? Plus Asher?" I shook my head. "He's going to die because of me. Everyone I care about dies because of me."
"Stop." Luna crouched in front of me. "This is Cross's fault. Not yours. And we're going to make him pay."
"How? We're two normal people against an army of enhanced supersoldiers. We don't stand a chance."
"Maybe not in a fight." Luna pulled out her phone. "But I know someone who might help. Someone with resources. Someone who's been investigating Cross for years."
"Who?"
"Marcus Vale. Kael's best friend. He's Alpha military, stationed three hours from here. If anyone can help us rescue Kael and take down Cross, it's him."
Hope flickered in my chest. "Will he believe us?"
"He'll believe the evidence." Luna clutched the waterproof folder. "And he'll believe that Kael's in danger. Marcus would walk through fire for Kael."
"Then let's call him. Now."
Luna dialed. The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.
"Pick up," Luna whispered. "Please pick up."
Click. A male voice answered: "Luna? Why are you—"
"Marcus, we need help. Kael's been captured by—"
"Luna." Marcus's voice was strange. Tight. Scared. "Where are you right now?"
"Why?"
"Because Cross just sent me a video. He says if you don't surrender yourself and Aria within the next hour, he'll start removing Kael's enhancements. Without anesthesia. The process will take six hours and be excruciatingly painful." Marcus's voice cracked. "Luna, he's going to torture Kael to death unless you give yourselves up."
The phone slipped from Luna's hand.
Cross had won. Again. He'd accounted for every move we could make. Every person we might turn to for help.
"What do we do?" Luna whispered.
I stared at the phone lying in the dirt. At the evidence folder that had cost so much to protect. At Luna's terrified face.
Kael would want us to run. To save ourselves. To expose Cross even if it meant sacrificing him.
But I couldn't do it. Couldn't let the person I loved die in agony while I ran away.
"We surrender," I said. "We go back. We trade ourselves for Kael."
"Aria, that's suicide—"
"I know." I picked up the phone. "But I'd rather die trying to save him than live knowing I let him be tortured to death."
I took a deep breath and spoke into the phone: "Marcus? Tell Cross we're coming. We'll surrender. Just... please... don't let him hurt Kael anymore."
Marcus was quiet for a long moment. Then: "I'm sorry, Aria. But I can't do that."
"What? Why not—"
"Because I'm the one who told Cross where you were." Marcus's voice filled with sick triumph. "I've been working for him for three years. How do you think he always knows your next move? I've been feeding him information the whole time. There is no rescue. There is no hope. There's only Cross and his vision for the future."
The line went dead.
Luna and I stared at each other in horror.
Kael's best friend had betrayed us. Had been betraying us from the start.
We were completely alone.
And Cross was coming.