After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) (10 page)

Malcolm waved a hand toward her dad. "If it makes you feel any better, your father died a long time ago. This is merely his shell. John Anderson isn't in there anymore."

Tears slid down Paivi's face.

"He was a good man," Malcolm said quietly. "He didn't deserve this. None of you did. But take the story with you. Never forget what they did to us. Don't let it be in vain." Malcolm stepped aside and the monster did the same.

Xavier grabbed Paivi as her knees failed and slid his arm around her waist. He moved toward the door.

"What about the others?" Peter's voice drifted in from the doorway. "We opened all the doors."

"Don't worry. Most of them are too far gone to move on their own. Only the good doctor here could have gotten them moving."

He placed a hand on Paivi. Evil, hatred, death. It poured through her skin and she yanked her arm away. His eyes widened in shock.

"I'm that inhuman that I can't even touch a human anymore." Malcolm stared at his hand in horror. He fingered the bag of blue liquid in the opposite hand and met her eyes. "Go to the mouth of the mountain. When you get there, unfreeze Dr. Todesengel and then run."

Peter appeared in the doorway and slid his arm around Paivi's waist from the opposite side and helped Xavier steady her. Paivi hung limp in their arms, allowing them to drag her through the corridors. She was vaguely aware of the staring eyes looking at them from the doors they'd opened up and down the corridors.

The halls were silent, but for the sound of machines whirring here and there. Their footsteps echoed down the long corridors.

"Where are the others?" Xavier's voice floated into Paivi's ears.

"I told them to get out as soon as that all happened," Peter said. "We're nearly at the exit, Paivi. Can you do this?"

"Yes," she whispered.

Paivi blinked her eyes. The sun poured through the entrance of the mountain, bringing her back to life. She planted her feet firmly on the rocky ground at the entrance. Peter and Xavier looked at each other before slowly removing their arms. They kept their hands on her shoulder, and for that she was glad. She could feel their energy awakening hers. She hadn't lost strength in a long time. But there was something about that place. It was not for the living.

Not anymore.

She glanced down the dirt road to the car. Dennis had the engine running and the rest of the group was piled in the back. They were ready to run.

Paivi sucked in a deep breath, allowing the energy fill her weary body. She hoped it would make the distance. She put her hands in front of her, forcing down the sorrow and the pain that threatened to overwhelm her.

Her fingertips glowed brightly as she pictured trails of energy racing through the corridors and colliding with Dr. Todesengel. The golden energy flew into the mountain, into the shadows. She was thankful for the heat of the sun on her skin.

Paivi closed her eyes, begging for an image from the energy. She could see it racing along, the doors a blur, the faces behind them not visible.

Behind her eyelids, she could see the energy crashing into Dr. Todesengel's still form. He instantly came to life and backed against the wall. A few streams of energy hung in the air above, giving Paivi a connection to the room.

Malcolm Davis patted the monster of Paivi’s dad gently on the arm before turning to Dr. Todesengel.

Malcolm's eyes widened. He stared at Dr. Todesengel and pulled the IV from his arm. The IV bag dropped to the floor with a thud. Blue liquid dribbled from the needle onto the floor, burning a hole in the stone.

He smiled at Dr. Todesengel, who screamed in terror. Malcolm's skin went from ashen gray to bright red. Light poured from his eyes, mouth and nose.

"Let's go!" Peter shouted.

The vision faded. The earth shook violently at their feet as Peter and Xavier ran to the truck, dragging her behind. Rocks crumbled around the entrance and giant boulders crashed down on the spot they had been standing moments ago.

Lola and a few of the others reached down from the bed of the truck and pulled them up as Dennis gunned the engine down the dirt road.

Behind them, a blinding red light blasted through the rocks that had fallen at the mountain's entrance and everyone threw hands over their eyes. Just as quickly, it was sucked back into the entrance and an explosion rocked the earth and the mountain. Piles of rock tumbled down the mountainside, destroying what remained of the entrance.

Paivi uncovered her eyes and stared at the mountain. She could feel nothing. Her body was numb from a pain that shredded her very soul. Paivi wondered if she would ever be able to feel anything again, any joy, any love.

She had said that at the least, she wanted to give her dad a proper burial, free from the horrors he had known.

She had failed.

Chapter 12

Paivi struggled to feel something. Her eyes were trained on the ruined mountain. Its peak still stabbed the sky, but the hole, the darkness within, was no more. Voices floated around her as the group planned their departure.

"What happened in there, Xavier?" Paivi heard Lola whisper.

He simply shook his head in response.

Paivi understood.

There were no words for it. No words for the crimes that the doctor had committed against nature. A week ago, Paivi would have been convinced that the EOS camp itself was hell on earth, a place void of hope or retribution. Somewhere one could only pray to silently fade into death.

But the mountain was death over and over again. Set on repeat. The highest level of inhumanity.

It was true evil.

Paivi's body was on autopilot.

Breathe.

Blink.

Energy crackled under her skin, confused and uncontrolled.

Xavier placed his warm hand on hers. Out of the corner of her eye she could read the concern on his face. It did nothing to awaken her heart. She wondered if it still worked or if it had shattered and crumbled like the ceiling inside the mountain corridors.

After an eternity, Dennis pulled up to the entrance of the camp.

It buzzed with activity and commotion. Trucks and jeeps had been lined up at the entrance near a gas pump just outside the gates. EOS prisoners were preparing them to leave, filling each one with gas.

Peter jumped out of the cab of their truck and the truck bed emptied as Paivi's companions dissipated into the crowd. With a concerned look, Xavier joined them.

She remained. Alone. Unmoving.

After what seemed like hours but could have very well been minutes, her mom climbed into the bed of the truck. She slid next to her and slipped her arm around Paivi's waist.

"Paivi." She brushed at the dirt stains on Paivi's cheeks. "My dear, sweet daughter. Xavier told me what happened."

Paivi swung her eyes toward her mom, registering tears on her cheeks as well. They cut long trails through the dust on her face.

"He, well, he said Daddy was dead." She rested her head on Paivi's shoulder. "No one should ever see that. I'm so sorry. But you're so brave. You tried to save him. You did your best."

Paivi let the words sink in. She did her best? Her mom couldn't possibly know what happened in there. She was too normal. Just crying regular tears. Not soul-crushed, mind-numbing tears. She took a deep breath and swiveled her head toward the edge of the truck. Xavier stood there watching. He fidgeted with a small flame in the palm of one hand.

He had spared her the real news.

"I know it hurts to lose someone, Paivi. I lost your father not long after we arrived at the camp." Mom stifled a sob. "I mean, I know he didn't die then. Or maybe he did. I never knew. But at least I know the truth now. That he's in a better place. At peace."

Paivi could feel anger replacing her numbness. She wanted to scream, to release the pressure like a bomb exploding on a target. But she held it in. She needed to keep this rage and lock it in. Save it for those who deserved it. For those who had created this evil.

At that moment, Paivi didn't care if she lived or died. She cared that they suffered. The ATC. Stevens. People would die and she would be the Grim Reaper. She was ready to hand them a death sentence. Even a thousand of their deaths could not atone for the horrors they had inflicted. So maybe she would have to kill a million. Whatever it took to even the score.

They had tried creating monsters bent on destruction. They had turned her into a monster by accident. Only she wasn't their weapon to use, to control.

She answered to no one.

And she would make them pay.

Paivi allowed the energy to carry her. She stiffly sat forward and embraced her mom. Paivi was no longer human. Just a machine. She could feel nothing but the rage. She patted her mom gently on the back because it was necessary. It made her mom feel better. It made Paivi feel, well, nothing.

After a short embrace, Paivi jumped up without a word and leapt off the back of the truck. She strode toward Peter, who stood with a group of men and women.

"Are we ready to go?" Paivi asked woodenly.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked. His eyes widened at her sudden recovery. "Do you want to rest?"

"I'm fine." Paivi's face was expressionless. "We have a destination we need to reach. They're counting on us. Are we ready to go?" she repeated.

"Yes, we've only got twenty vehicles." Peter pointed to the line of cars, his brow furrowed. "But we've got a few thousand prisoners. We're not sure what to do. We don't want to leave anyone behind."

Dennis ran up, his stolen lab coat flapping behind him. "We may have a solution, but I'm not sure people will like it."

The group stared at him.

"Cattle cars." Dennis paused as eyes widened around him. "We found semis on the other side of the camp. Ten of them. It's still not enough for everyone, but it'll put a bigger dent in the group than these twenty vehicles."

"Gas them up." Paivi said without waiting for discussion. "If they want to come with us, we've got to take what we have. Make sure they raid all the food and water. We'll stop when we can. Anyone sick should be in the vehicles. Healthy people should be in the cattle cars or walking alongside. They can take turns and rotate."

The group stared at her this time.

"What? If you want to live, you'll do it." Paivi looked up at the sun. "And you better do it quick, we need to be on the road by nightfall. I have one last thing I need to do."

Paivi turned on her heel and stormed off.

She was determined to finish one goal, even if it didn't make up for her failure. Paivi grabbed a shovel from an abandoned worksite near the outer fence. She plunged it into the ground and began to dig at a rapid pace.

"Need help?" Xavier appeared at the edge of the shallow hole she dug. He had a shovel in hand.

Paivi looked up and continued her work. He jumped in and started working at the opposite end. They worked silently, digging down foot after foot. Paivi was drenched in sweat and her muscles burned. That pain was nothing to what resided in her soul. She pushed it aside and continued.

The sun threatened to sink below the horizon before they finished.

"I think it's ready," Xavier said, throwing his shovel to the side and wiping his sweaty face on his filthy EOS uniform.