Page 63 of Calico Descending

Shaking my head, I squeeze her, my whole body quaking with a sob. “No. No, Roz, c’mon. Wake up. Wake up!”

Fingers snake beneath my arm, nudging me to my feet, but I wrench my arm away. “She’s gone, Cali. We have to go.” Not even the calm in Valdys’s voice can subdue the panic that’s consuming me.

Shaking my head, I hold her against my heart. “I can’t leave her.”

“She’ll have died in vain, if you stay any longer.”

As much as I want to fight him, and stay here with her, he’s right. She risked her life to get us out of here. If I stay, it’ll have been for nothing, but the thought of leaving her here feels wrong.

I lift my head, turning to see Titus holding up Cadmus, who twitches beside him, skin pale. He stands bent over and weak, covered in markings that will make for new scars. Arms curled into himself, he reminds me of the males who come out of provocation tests. I’ve seen them, sometimes, on my way for weekly checkups with Doctor Tims, when I’ve passed by their observation rooms. My curiosity is only overshadowed by the incessant tick of the clock that winds down the seconds until our opportunity slips away, or someone notices the carnage we’ve left behind in this place.

Lowering her head to the floor, I kiss Roz’s forehead, shutting her eyelids closed. “I’ll see you in the stars,” I whisper, and push to my feet.

I reach for Neela and tug her to come with us, but she wrenches her arm back and shakes her head, eyes set beyond me. I glance back to Titus and Cadmus behind me, and its only right then that I remember it was Cadmus who attacked her.

Swinging my attention back to Neela, I wipe my tears away and wave her toward me. “He won’t hurt you. I promise.”

Her eyes fall on me and back to him, while the seconds tick off in my head.

“C’mon, Neela. You’re either with us, or you’re not. What’ll it be.” I’d hate to think Roz died for nothing, but the longer she stands and contemplates, the less patient I become.

When she finally reaches back for me, I grip tight to her hand and tug her closer. “Let’s get the hell out of this place.”

Chapter 29

Neela leans into me, as the five of us sit tucked behind a stack of crates against the wall of the loading dock. Across from us, six silver boxes stand in a line at the end of a ramp, waiting to be wheeled onto the truck—boxes that hold the mutations. Legion soldiers swarm the place, and if not for the back door that Roz pointed out, I’m certain we’d have been spotted and shot down.

“We need a distraction,” I whisper to Valdys, beside me. “We’ll never get all of us onto that truck without one.”

“Had it been just the two of us, as I suggested …” He shoots me an unamused glance and nods his head toward the boxes. “I can think of one massive distraction. We let one loose.”

The thought of such a thing has my stomach twisted in knots, but he’s right. Letting a mutation loose will surely allow us to go unseen. “The one at the end. It’ll come charging out at the first thing it sees.” A shiver winds down my spine at the visual of whatever poor guard happens to be standing in it’s path.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He lurches forward, but I reach out for him. “Are you kidding me? You’re like a walking bullseye out there.” He could barely squeeze behind the crates, let alone between the narrow boxes. “You’ll be shot dead before the box opens.”

“And you think I’m going to let you scamper out there to let one of those things loose? It’ll sniff you out before it bothers with any of the soldiers.”

“Give me your shirt.” Holding out my hand, I flick my fingers toward him, watching his brows lower to a frown. “Four boxes left. We don’t have much time. Shirt, please.”

With a huff, he awkwardly peels off his shirt, knocking his elbow against the crate in front of him, and when I slide the garment over my head, I’m swimming in his metallic scent.

Bare chested, he kneels to the ground beside me, with his knee hiked up, shaking his head. “I don’t like this.”

“I’ll be fine. How do I open them?”

“The remote would’ve been convenient right now.” He points toward the silver box, the last one I’m to open, where three of them still remain on the dock. “There’s a manual button you can press on the side of it. Do you see?”

Following the path of his finger sends my gaze to the small black circle on the outside of the cage. “You’ll press the circle, and a panel will slide out. There’s a switch you can flip that’ll open it. You’ll have about five seconds to get the hell out of there.”

“Okay. Easy enough.” I turn to face him, setting a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll meet you in the back of the truck.”

He sighs and grips my chin. “Don’t do anything crazy, woman. I’m in no mood to tear off heads.”

“I promise.” I push up from my crouch and tiptoe around Titus and Cadmus, who stares at the floor, shaking as if he’s just been pulled out of an ice bath. I scan the path to the box, and find a stack of cardboard boxes that will serve as my first stop. From there, I can shoot across to the first silver box. Then the second, hiding behind each one.

As the soldiers push one of the silver boxes up the ramp, I dash out from my hiding spot, and slide to the floor behind the stacked cardboard.

Peeking around it, I notice the easy stroll of soldiers off in the distance, telling me they didn’t see me. The two loading the cages reach the top of the ramp, and are quickly swallowed into the belly of the truck.

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