“Yes, you did. Thank you.”
Another scientist popped up next to him, his eyes wild. “You’re from headquarters. Fucking GenCon.”
“Pretty.” Now there was a third, and he reached out to stroke her leg.
A fourth one snarled and knocked his hand away. “Mine.”
By the time Dr. Renfrey released the final strap, she was surrounded by scientists. When she had met them before, they seemed insignificant, more interested in their work than in her. But now they were focused on her, expressions ranging from hostility to lust, and terror was an icy ball in her stomach.
“Dr. Renfrey,” she said quietly. He was the only one who still seemed to retain any control.
“Leave her,” he ordered, but they weren’t listening.
Another hand reached for her, cold and strong, and a second grabbed her shirt sleeve and ripped it away. Her heart pounded so hard she felt sick.
“What the hell is going on here?”
She never thought she would welcome the sound of Louisa’s voice, but all of the men, with the exception of Dr. Renfrey, turned away from her and focused on Louisa instead. She heard muttered snarls as they started across the floor to the other woman.
Louisa, of course, tried to brazen it out, ordering them back to their duties. They didn’t obey. Serena didn’t see who attacked first but the other end of the room exploded into chaos. One of the scientists went flying, then another, but there were too many, and Louisa disappeared beneath the bodies.
“I… should do something.”
“No.” Dr. Renfrey shook his head, but his eyes were focused on the carnage and he licked his lips. “It’s too late for her.”
The struggle didn’t last long, and a curious stillness descended over the room as the fighting ceased. The men gradually wandered away. Perhaps the violence shocked whatever was left of their humanity, or perhaps they were simply sated. None of them looked at her.
“You should go now,” Dr. Renfrey said, his voice dreamy. He started to reach for her, then pulled his hand back.
“Where’s John?” she asked urgently. “I have to get him out of here. What did she do with him?”
“Try the ship,” he murmured.
She didn’t know where it was, but at least it was a start. “Thank you.”
“Go,” he repeated, but as she made her way cautiously across the room, he followed her.
She didn’t want to look at Louisa, but she couldn’t help it. The woman’s chest was literally ripped open, her heart removed, but even as Serena started to look away, she saw Louisa’s eyes open.
Oh my God. She was still alive.
Some foolish impulse drove her to her knees beside the body.
“Louisa?”
“I didn’t expect that.” The words were barely audible.
“It must have been the nanites.”
“You don’t want to believe that, do you? You want to think it was something else. That we were already monsters.” Louisa’s eyes closed, then fluttered open again. “Maybe that’s the secret. That we’re all monsters deep inside.”
A last rattling breath and Louisa was gone.
“Pretty.” A hand touched her hair and she looked up to find two of the scientists had returned. She had waited too long.
She tried to scurry backwards, afraid to make any noise in case it attracted more attention. She cast a pleading look at Dr. Renfrey, but he only stared at her, that odd, dreamy look on his face. A cold hand closed around her ankle, dragging her back, as she searched frantically for something to use as a weapon.
A harsh growl erupted and then John was there, crouching in front of her. She wanted to throw herself into his arms but she didn’t want to distract him. The hand released her ankle, and she tucked it beneath her. The two men stared at John, but then they ducked their heads and moved away.
“Are you all right?” he asked, still glaring around the room.
“Yes, now that you’re here.”
“Did… did you get the nanites?”
“No,” she said quietly. “I refused, and Dr. Renfrey didn’t force me.”
“You refused? Oh, thank God.”
The sound of his name seemed to catch Dr. Renfrey’s attention, and for a moment, his gaze focused on them. “You’re all right.”
“Yes. Thanks to you and John. Are you all right?”
His face distorted. “I can feel the madness squirming inside me. Go now.”
“But what about you?”
“No hope for me.” He looked around the lab at the other scientists. “Or for them. Time to die.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to blow it up,” he said, his expression far away. “It ends with us. You should go now.”
He turned and wandered away.
John put a gentle hand on her arm when she tried to go after Dr. Renfrey. “He’s right. Time to put an end to this. Let’s go.”
She took a last look around, at Louisa’s body, at the obviously mad scientists, at Dr. Renfrey stooped over more vials. He was right. There was no hope here.
They were halfway to the entrance to the complex when John jerked and looked down at his wrist. He swore, then picked her up and started to run.
“What is it?”
“Your scientist friend doesn’t mess around. It’s going to be a hell of an explosion.”
Even as he spoke, a low rumbling started behind them.
“Will we make it?”
When he didn’t answer her, she realized he didn’t think they would. She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck. “I love you, John.”
“I love you too, Serena.”
His pace increased, the walls flashing by as she clung to him. The rumbling increased as well, echoing through the stone tunnels. By the time he burst out of the lab entrance, her ears were ringing, but she heard him shout something as he leaped forward. For a confused moment, she thought the ground was moving beneath her, and then she realized they were astride Winston and he was flying across the desert in great, leaping strides. John thrust a breathing mask across her face as he bent low over the horse’s back, urging him on, and she huddled between his body and the horse’s.
A deafening roar echoed across
