Chapter 21 THE IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE

Chapter 21 THE IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE
Sera's POV

Jace's gun was pointed at my sister's head.
Lila's finger hovered over the broadcast button.
Cassia stood behind Jace, smiling like she'd already won.
"Choose," Cassia said pleasantly. "The broadcast or your sister. You have ten seconds."
My mind raced through possibilities. Could I move fast enough to disarm Jace? No, he'd shoot before I got close. Could Nova take the shot? Too risky with Lila in the way.
"Nine seconds," Cassia counted.
Lila's eyes met mine. She was crying but her hand stayed steady on the transmitter.
"Press it," Lila whispered.
"No," I said immediately.
"Sera, press the button. This is bigger than me. Bigger than both of us."
"I'm not losing you," I replied. My voice was shaking. "I already lost Mom and Dad. You're all I have left."
"Eight seconds," Cassia said.
Jace's hand trembled on the weapon. "Sera, please. Just step away from the transmitter. Let Lila go. We can all walk away from this."
"You really think Cassia's going to let any of us walk away?" I asked. "She's going to kill us whether I press that button or not."
Cassia's smile widened. "Actually, I'm willing to negotiate. Put down the transmitter. Come back to the Genesis Program quietly. Accept your assignment. And I'll let Lila live. She can go back to her supervised facility. Comfortable. Safe."
"Seven seconds."
"She's lying," Nova said quietly. She had her weapon trained on Cassia but couldn't get a clear shot.
"Of course she's lying," I agreed. "But what choice do I have?"
Lila's voice came out strong despite her tears. "You have the choice Mom and Dad died for. The choice to fight back. To expose the truth. To save everyone the Tribunal is killing."
"Six seconds."
"I can't," I whispered. "Lila, I can't lose you."
"Then don't," Lila said. She looked at me with absolute certainty. "Don't lose me. Remember me. Remember what we fought for. And finish it."
Her finger moved toward the button.
"No!" I screamed.
Everything happened at once.
Lila pressed the broadcast activation.
Jace's finger tightened on the trigger.
A shot rang out.
But it didn't come from Jace's weapon.
It came from behind Cassia.
Jace stumbled forward, blood blooming on his shoulder. His gun clattered to the roof.
Standing in the doorway behind Cassia was Kade.
His weapon was smoking. His face was covered in blood and bruises but his aim had been perfect.
"You shot me," Jace gasped. He fell to his knees.
"I aimed for your shoulder," Kade replied coldly. "Be grateful I didn't aim for your head."
Damon and Ryker burst through the door behind him. Both looked like they'd fought their way through hell.
Cassia turned to run but Nova was there. Weapon pressed to her temple.
"Don't move," Nova ordered.
On the transmitter in Lila's hand, a light turned green.
Broadcast active.
All across Neo-Genesis City, every emergency screen flickered to life.
Thorne's face appeared. His voice filled the air.
"The Sterility Plague was engineered. We created it to control the population. The Genesis Program isn't about repopulation. It's about maintaining power through fear."
The confession played. Every damning word. Every piece of evidence Lila had compiled.
Cassia's face went white. "What have you done?"
"We told the truth," I said simply.
Below us, the city erupted.
Not in violence. In shock. In horror. In rage.
People poured into the streets. Production District workers. Fringe residents. Even citizens from the Citadel who'd believed the Tribunal's lies.
They'd seen the proof.
They knew.
And they were done being controlled.
Cassia tried one last move. She pulled a hidden weapon from her jacket.
Nova's shot was faster.
Cassia dropped. Not dead. Just wounded. Bleeding on the roof where she'd planned to watch us die.
"It's over," Kade said. He moved to stand beside me. "The broadcast went out. The truth is out there. The Tribunal can't contain this."
Ryker was already checking his tablet. "Messages coming in from all sectors. People are rioting. The Genesis Centers are being stormed. Other Breeders are being freed."
Damon helped Lila stand. She was shaking but smiling.
"We did it," she whispered. "We actually did it."
I pulled my sister into a hug. Held her like I'd never let go.
We'd won.
Against impossible odds, against the Tribunal, against a system designed to break us, we'd won.
But the celebration was short.
Kade's tactical radio crackled to life.
"All units, this is Councilor Thorne. Execute emergency protocol seven. Eliminate all Genesis Program participants. Eliminate all defecting Wardens. Eliminate all resistance members. No survivors."
The radio went dead.
Ryker looked up from his tablet. His face had gone pale.
"What?" I asked.
"Thorne just activated the Phase 2 plague variant," Ryker said. His voice was hollow. "The one designed to target your genetic mutation. He's releasing it from the Citadel labs right now. Airborne. City-wide dispersal."
My blood turned to ice.
"How long do we have?" Kade demanded.
"Hours," Ryker replied. "Maybe less. Once it's in the air, anyone with Sera's resistance markers will start dying. And there's no cure. I haven't had time to synthesize one."
"How many people?" I asked. Though I didn't want to know the answer.
"Based on genetic distribution patterns?" Ryker's hands were shaking. "Maybe 10,000 people in this city carry similar markers. They'll all be dead by morning."
10,000 people.
Dead because we exposed the truth.
Dead because I chose to fight back.
Dead because of me.
"There has to be something we can do," Damon said.
Ryker was already calculating. "I need your bone marrow, Sera. To create antibodies. But the extraction procedure is dangerous. And even if you survive it, synthesizing enough antidote for 10,000 people would take weeks we don't have."
Kade looked at me. "There's another option. We storm the Citadel. Stop the dispersal at the source."
"Thorne's there," Nova added. "With his remaining loyal forces. It would be a suicide mission."
I looked around at the people on this roof.
Lila, my sister who'd risked everything.
Nova, who'd betrayed her entire career for what was right.
Kade, Damon, and Ryker, three men who'd become my reasons to fight.
"Then we make it count," I said.
I turned to Lila. "You stay here. You're not coming on a suicide mission."
"Like hell I'm not," Lila replied. "You don't get to protect me anymore, Sera. We're in this together."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to lock her somewhere safe.
But I saw the determination in her eyes and knew she'd just follow anyway.
"Fine," I said. "But you stay behind me. Always."
Kade was already coordinating with Nova. "How many Wardens can you get us?"
"Twenty defectors," Nova replied. "Maybe thirty if I reach out to secondary contacts. Against the Citadel's full garrison? We'll be outnumbered five to one."
"I like those odds," Damon said. He was smiling. Actually smiling. "Better than fighting alone."
Ryker grabbed my arm. "Sera, if we do this, if we storm the Citadel, there's a very real chance none of us survive. You understand that?"
I looked at him. At all three of them.
"I understand that 10,000 people are about to die unless we stop it," I replied. "I understand that Thorne needs to answer for what he's done. And I understand that some things are worth dying for."
I took a breath.
"Freedom is worth dying for."
Kade's hand found mine. Squeezed once.
"Then we go to war," he said.
The city burned below us.
The plague dispersal had maybe two hours before it reached lethal concentration.
And we had one chance to stop the man who'd killed billions and was about to kill thousands more.
One chance to end this.
Win or die.
There was no other option left.