Dylan frowned and pushed her way past Saul and Tara, shocked recognition nearly robbing her of speech. “Ethan? Is that you?”
Ethan halted midstride, his mouth falling open. “Dylan!”
Dylan laughed and threw herself into his waiting arms. “What are you doing here?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he said, staring at her with shining eyes. “I thought you were dead, yet here you are in the flesh.”
“I never thought I’d see you again,” Dylan admitted.
“Neither did I, and I’m—”
“Yeah, yeah, this is all very lovely, but you’d better hit the road before these people wake up,” Mara interrupted.
Ethan sobered, and he pulled away from Dylan’s embrace. “You’re right, of course. We need to hurry.”
Dylan nodded, her face still wreathed with smiles. “Yeah, we can catch up later.”
“Did you get all of our stuff?” Tara asked.
“Yes, I did. Most of it was still in the Humvee,” Ethan replied. “I placed your weapons on the backseat.”
“What about the cure?” Saul asked.
“Let me check,” Tara said. She ran to the Humvee and pulled out a metal chest from beneath the front seat. “Got it.”
Ethan stared at the case. “That’s the cure? The cure that Dylan told me about?”
“Yes, I—”
“Enough, already. You can talk all you want on the road,” Mara said, stamping her foot.
“She’s right. Let’s move out,” Saul said, climbing behind the wheel.
“What about these guys?” Dylan asked, indicating the sleeping raiders.
“Leave them,” Ethan replied.
“We can’t do that. What if they hurt more people?” Dylan said with a pointed look.
“Well, we can’t murder them in their sleep,” Ethan said.
“You can’t, but I can,” Mara said, leaning down to grab a gun from the nearest sleeping form. She tucked it behind her belt before producing a wicked-looking knife from her pocket.
“Mara!” Ethan protested. “What are you doing? We need to leave.”
“You can go. I’m staying,” Mara replied. “I’ve got plans for these people.”
“Plans? What plans?” Ethan asked with a stupefied expression.
“Why do you think I helped you escape?” Mara asked with a sigh of exasperation. “Out of the goodness of my heart? It was for revenge, you dummy.”
“Revenge?” Ethan repeated.
“Exactly. Now get into your car and fuck off. I want to do this alone, please.”
“I’m not leaving you here,” Ethan protested. “You’ll die.”
“You know what’s funny?” Mara asked with a crooked smile, walking toward the closest raider. She knelt down next to him and admired the knife in her hand. With the other hand, she lifted the raider’s head and cradled him in her arms.
“No, I don’t. Nothing about this strikes me as even remotely funny,” Ethan replied.
“The name Mara means bitter, and I’ve always wondered why my mother called her only child, Bitter.” The girl shook her head, a sad smile hovering on her lips. With one swift move, she cut the raider’s throat. His blood spilled onto his chest in a crimson river, and his steady breathing turned into a wet gurgle. “Now, I know.”
“Oh, my God. You killed him,” Ethan cried, taking a step back.
“And I’ll do worse to the rest of them. Especially Lila,” Mara replied, her lips twisting into a sneer.
“Mara,” Dylan said, reaching out to the girl. “You can’t mean that. Come with us, please.”
Mara shook her head and stepped away from the limp corpse at her feet. “No, I can’t. There’s nothing out there for me. Nothing.”
“You’re young, and you still have so much to live for. Revenge isn’t everything,” Dylan pleaded. “Let me show you.”
“You’re kind,” Mara said as her face hardened. “And naive. Some things you can’t come back from. Leave before it’s too late. I’m staying.”
“Mara, come with us,” Ethan said, adding his pleas to Dylan’s. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”
“Oh, but it does, Doctor. Thank you for giving me this opportunity,” Mara said, her expression as bitter as her name.
Dylan stepped forward. “Mara, I—”
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the school’s doorway and pointed an accusing finger at Mara. “You! I knew I should’ve killed you right from the start, but Seth felt sorry for you. He wanted to keep you as a pet.”
Mara bared her teeth and dropped into a crouch, the knife blade winking in the light from a nearby fire. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, Lila.”
Lila laughed. “Oh, please. As if a little worm like you could take me down.”
Before anyone could move a muscle, Lila flung herself at Mara. The two crashed to the ground and rolled around, each trying to gain the upper hand. Mara elbowed Lila in the face, and the woman’s head snapped back. Rich blood flowed from her split lip, but she only laughed. “I’ll make you pay for that.”
She punched Mara in the face, and grabbed for the knife. Mara reacted by thrusting her knee into Lila’s stomach and throwing her to the side. In the process, she lost the knife. It landed between them on the dust, and they faced off like two rabid dogs.
With a harsh cry, Lila went for the weapon. She snatched it up a mere second before Mara could and launched herself forward. The two tumbled across the concrete. Lila ended up on top, her hands clutching Mara’s knife. By slow degrees, she pushed down on the blade until the point nicked Mara’s throat, drawing blood.
“Now, you die,” Lila said, her lips pulling back in a predatory smile.
“Never,” Mara cried, her single eye flashing with defiance.
“Do you remember when I scarred your pretty face? When I melted away your skin?”
“No!”
“You’ll never be human again. You’re a freak.”
Mara shrieked, an incomprehensible string of syllables that expressed her hatred and rage. A thin stream of blood poured down the side of her neck, the blade cutting ever deeper.
“Do something!” Dylan cried, though she didn’t know who she was talking to. Her hands felt at her sides for a weapon, but she had none and could only watch the scene unfold in growing horror.
A single gunshot echoed through the air, and Lila froze. A hole appeared between her eyes. With a grunt, she toppled
