The Darkest Hour(65)

“Dr. Nacht is busy at the moment, but he sent us here to administer a new dosage,” Sabine tells her.

Tilly pulls back. “Where’s Nurse Keser?”

“She’s unavailable, too.” As she nears the bed, Sabine tucks her hand slowly into her pocket for the antidote.

Tilly scoots onto her cot again. “I’d like to speak to Dr. Nacht. Please don’t come any closer.”

“He’ll arrive very soon. In the meantime …” Sabine springs on Tilly and stabs the needle deep into her thigh. I rush in to clamp my hand over Tilly’s shouts for help, but it doesn’t matter much because the antidote is quick to set in. Tilly’s back arches, just like mine did, and her teeth clatter like a jackhammer as the chemicals race their icy fingers through her bloodstream.

“Where do we go from here?” I ask.

“Above ground. There’s an emergency staircase not far from this room. We’ll run for it.”

“Run for it? That’s the plan?”

“It’s our only choice,” huffs Sabine. “I didn’t have many resources down here. We won’t be completely defenseless, either.” She lifts her jacket to reveal two pistols she has tucked into her belt loop.

“Two pistols?” I say. Against the entirety of the laboratory’s forces?

“These were hard enough to come by as it is. And I have a few more ideas up my sleeve.” She doesn’t elaborate on what these ideas are, though. “Don’t worry. I’ll get us to the stairwell. Now help me with Matilda. We’ve waited too long already.”

Tilly shivers on her sheets and murmurs nonsense about how she can’t disappoint Dr. Nacht. She’s in no condition to go anywhere, much less make our escape, and I tell that to Sabine.

“Take her left arm and I’ll take her right,” Sabine replies. She hoists Tilly’s arm around her neck. “Hurry, Lucienne—”

The door opens, and Dr. Nacht stands in its frame. His mouth is open, ready to greet his favorite patient, but he almost drops his clipboard at the sight of us.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demands, sweeping into the room. His gaze narrows upon Sabine, but it’s Tilly who responds.

“Dr. Nacht?” She can barely get the words out because her teeth are clacking together so loudly. “They put a needle in me. I’m cold.”

The shock on Dr. Nacht’s face swiftly shifts to horror, then fury. “What have you done?” he hisses at Sabine. “Dear God, what have you done?” He whips around, probably to call for the soldiers. Sabine tries to chase him down, but she stumbles against Tilly’s added weight. She gapes at me.

“Stop him!” she cries.

My legs stumble into motion before I realize what I’m doing. My feet aren’t used to running yet, but Dr. Nacht is old and slow and I yank him down by his collar. He struggles to shake me off, and we go tumbling next to the medical cabinet. Before he can scramble away from me, I pin down his arms.

“Fr?ulein, listen to me!” he says, wriggling under my weight. “You’re confused. I’m here to help you.”

His words tug like a lure at me. It’s the serum, I know. Or what’s left of it. But I push past its remaining effects. “Helping me by turning me into your puppet?” I spit at him.

He blanches when he sees that his plea has no effect on me and cranes his neck toward Tilly. “These women are trying to hurt you, Matilda! We have no choice but to exterminate them.”

Tilly’s head whips from him to Sabine and then to me. She’s trying to fight the serum, but it still has a stranglehold on her. “I don’t … I don’t know …”

“Help me!” Dr. Nacht cries.

Tilly’s face goes slack. She tries to break from Sabine’s grip, but to Sabine’s credit she doesn’t let go.

“Matilda!” Dr. Nacht says again. He begins screeching for help, and it won’t be long until someone hears him. While I silence him with one hand, I reach into the cabinet with the other, wrapping my fingers around a syringe stored inside. Moving fast, I jam the needle into his neck and inject every drop of the serum into his blood. Dr. Nacht goes rigid and gasps as the fire sears through him. A literal taste of his own medicine. It’s not enough, though. I have to finish the deed.

I take out another syringe and swat away Dr. Nacht’s outstretched fingers that are attempting to block me. The whites of his eyes are showing as he realizes what I plan to do. “Please!” he begs.

A tremor shakes through my hand, just like with Schuster and Travert, but this time I don’t hesitate. I bring the needle down, straight into his heart. He gasps and lurches up. The pain must be excruciating, yet his gaze searches for mine still.

“What have you done?” he whispers.

I make sure that those words are the last he’ll ever utter.

When his chest stops moving, Sabine breaks the silence. “Is he dead?”

I nod once. Slowly I get to my feet. A memory swims up in my mind, something that Sabine told me weeks ago—one of her pieces of advice. But she was right that time. The killing does get easier.

Tilly wails at the sight of Dr. Nacht gone limp, but Sabine quiets her with another dose of the antidote. I run toward them.

“Stop!” I say to Sabine. “You said that another dose could kill her!”