No More Tricks

No More Tricks
Trix's POV…

I appeared at the top of the stairwell overlooking the eastern wing of the palace. For a moment, I remained still. The palace was unusually busy. Guards moved through the corridors in greater numbers than usual, weapons drawn and eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. Something had changed. Or perhaps I was simply seeing it differently now.

I activated the X-ray vision in my eyes. The walls disappeared. I could see straight through them. Jarox was still trapped in his bedroom. Several imperial guards stood outside his door, just as Father had ordered. I shifted my focus. Farther down. Deeper. Then, I found Gary. He was suspended inside the holding bay. Father was standing in front of him. Even from this distance, I could see the electrical chains wrapped around his body.

I swallowed. Then I looked farther. There. Abigail. She was in a small room with brightly painted walls. It looked almost like a child's bedroom. Except for the cuffs around her wrists. She was awake now. Walking around. Restless. Her eyes constantly moved toward the door.

In the room beside hers were several Krug scientists monitoring her through a wall of screens. I deactivated my X-ray vision. There was no more time to waste. I reached beneath my garment and pulled out the needle. The transparent pathogen sat inside the syringe. One injection. That was all it would take. I attached the needle securely and hid it beneath my garment. Then I started walking.

I didn't know whether I was doing the right thing. But I knew what the Narrator had told me. I knew what I had seen in the cells. I knew what I had discovered. And I knew what Father intended to do with Abigail. I reached the corridor outside her containment room. I became invisible. The cameras continued scanning but I walked past them. None of them detected me.

I reached the scientists' room. I quietly opened the door. Before anyone could react, I released the sleeping gas. The gas spread rapidly. I closed the door. Then locked it. Inside, the scientists began coughing. One of them tried to reach the alarm. He didn't make it. Another stumbled toward the door. His knees buckled. One by one, they fell. Within minutes, the entire room was silent.

I became visible again. I entered. The scientists were unconscious. I moved to the control panel and began working. My fingers moved quickly across the interface. The containment system unlocked. The cuffs around Abigail's wrists deactivated, though they remained attached. Then the door opened.

I rushed inside.

"Abigail."

The little girl spun around. Her face immediately brightened. "Trix!"

She ran toward me. I caught her. She wrapped her arms around me tightly.

"You came!"

I hugged her back. "I told you I would."

She pulled away. "I knew you would."

I smiled faintly. Then I looked her over. My smile disappeared. "Did they hurt you?"

She shook her head.

"Did they cut you? Take blood?"

"No."

"Did they take anything from you?"

She shook her head again. "They didn't do anything."

I studied her face. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

She suddenly looked sad. "Something happened to Mommy."

I remembered now that she had been there when Feran killed Morgan. Abigail saw the whole thing.

"I'm scared."

I pulled her against me. "Nobody is going to hurt you."

She held onto me. "You promise?"

"I promise."

My hand slowly moved beneath my garment. My fingers wrapped around the syringe. I felt its weight. This was it. One injection. And Abigail would be gone forever. I pulled it out slowly. She couldn't see it. She was still pressed against me.

I looked down at her. My creation. The child I had once dreamed of using to build an army. The child I had later decided needed to die to save the world. My hand trembled. I raised the syringe.

.

.

.

Gary's POV…

Feran continued talking. I remained suspended from the ceiling. My body still tingled from the last electrical shock. The Emperor stood before me. "You're alive because I have plans for you."

I said nothing and he smiled.

"You'll be studied. And it won't be pleasant. Killing you now would be mercy."

He stepped closer. "You've caused this empire too much suffering. You'll be tortured first. Experimented on. And eventually killed. Then discarded like the human trash that you are."

I remained silent. Feran's expression changed. He clearly expected something from me. A threat. An insult. Anything. But I gave him nothing.

"Nothing?"

I didn't answer.

"You don't have anything to say?" His patience disappeared. "Say something!"

He raised his hand. The chains exploded with electricity. Pain tore through my body. I screamed this time. My muscles locked. For several seconds, I couldn't breathe. Then the electricity stopped. My body hung there, shaking. I slowly raised my head.

"What would you like me to say?"

Feran stared at me. I breathed heavily, staring directly at him. "That you're right? That I'm afraid of torture and death? That you're going to win?"

Feran smiled. "It doesn't matter." He walked closer. "Whether you speak or remain silent, your end is coming."

He looked around the holding chamber. "There will be no escape this time. No one is coming for you. Your friends are gone."

I thought about Gatrina. Trix. Jarox… Amara! I refused to let him see the fear in my eyes.

"The Underground is finished," Feran continued, "My forces have crushed the last of their resistance. And soon, my hybrids will be ready. They'll be deployed everywhere. Every human resistance cell on Earth will be wiped out. And if more resistance rises..."

His smile disappeared. "Perhaps a more permanent solution will be necessary."

I understood what he meant. Human extinction. Feran wasn't bluffing. He genuinely believed he could erase humanity.

"You'll never succeed." His eyes narrowed. "You will be stopped."

The chains flashed. Electricity surged through me again. I screamed. Then it stopped. Feran stepped closer. "By whom?"

I struggled to breathe. He stared directly into my eyes. "Who will stop my empire?"

I said nothing. He smiled. "There is no one else standing in my way, and you are out if your tricks, Killer. This is the end of your fight. Accept it and prepare to meet your end."