Page 63 of Rebirth

Maisie freezes. Then she smiles sweetly. “Now why would I do that?”

“To control the others.” I release her and step back, a chill going through me. “You did this. You made them attack us.”

Maisie rises to her feet, brushing dirt from her clothes. “It was necessary for the greater good. A small sacrifice.”

“The greater good?” I raise my gun, aiming it at her heart. “You’re sick.”

She turns on me, eyes suddenly spitting venom and I realize something else. Her moods are ill-placed. Almost as if she’s not in complete control of herself.

“The world has ended, if you haven’t noticed,” she spits. “Maybe because you’re one of those bitches fucking the enemy.”

I can only stare at her, my neurons working overtime as I try to make sense of all this.

“How did you know that?” I whisper. “How do you know about the others mating with the Vullan?”

It wasn’t on the flyers. There’s no way she’d know unless she’s been to Unity or…

I gulp, eyes dropping to the earth beneath my feet.

The network of veins…

For a moment, just a flash of fear shows in Maisie’s eyes before it disappears and she’s soulless again.

“None of your business. The world needs leaders again and you’ve come and ruined it all.” She glares at me, face contorting with rage and once again, I note her sudden change in emotion. “You ruined everything!”

I tighten my grip on the gun even though I know I’m out of bullets. “What are you talking about?”

Maisie snarls. “My whole life, I’ve been an outcast. Poor, unwanted Maisie with nothing and no one. Until it told me it didn’t have to be that way.”

“It? What are you talking about?” She ignores me, but I’m pretty sure I know what it is. I met it. Saw what it did to that deer. Those people who were part of this camp. That woman floating in He’rox’s lab.

Maisie’s eyes glow with victory at some memory replaying in her mind. “It felt so good to have power over someone, make them do whatever I wanted.”

Realization washes over me. “Those people…they were your servants.”

“Slaves!” Maisie spits. “Doing my bidding, getting me food, gifts, anything I desired. I was omnipotent! They did whatever I wanted. I only had to think it.”

“At the cost of their lives,” I whisper. “They were people, with families, hopes, and dreams. They survived a fucking apocalypse! And you turned them into your puppets to feed your ego.”

Maisie shrugs. “Whatever.”

I stare at her, struggling to comprehend how she could be so callous. So cruel. “You don’t even care that you killed innocent people. Their lives mean nothing to you?”

“Not nothing,” Maisie replies. “But sacrifices have to be made.” She smiles at me, sending a chill down my spine. “This is a new world,” she whispers, voice going so low, it’s almost hard to hear her. “Those aliens came here to make this world anew. They left us a gift, Sophie.”

My whole being stiffens. “You’re a monster.”

The smile slips from Maisie’s face as she lunges for me. But she’s too slow. The whole time I stood there, I waited for her to move. For her to run. Grabbing her hands, I spin and slam her into the nearest tree.

She lets out a soft sound of pain before she slams her knee upward into my belly. I grit my teeth, biting so hard that I draw blood.

“Fuck you!” I spit on the ground and spin with her, slamming her into the forest floor. She chokes on what I hope is blood.

Pressing down into her, I hold the gun at her temple again.

“Tell me how you did it. Tell me how you infected those people or I will fucking kill you right now, right here, I swear it.”

Maisie chokes again and laughs but I see the fear in her eyes.

---