The Last Bastion of the Living (The Last Bastion #1)(110)

“When there were more of us, we were able to breach the system a few times. Our last incursion was a few months ago. We had collected the weapons left behind when the mission to expand the perimeter failed. We salvaged what we could from the armor and equipment left behind. We failed and lost many of our…Anomalies. It’s difficult to...” Mariano wavered on his feet slightly. “It’s difficult to think when the hunger is so intense. Only living flesh makes it go away entirely. The flesh of the Scourge only takes the edge off of it. ”

“You killed Inferi Boon!” Omondi’s voice was a sharp bark of anger.

“We hunger!” Mariano bared his teeth.

Maria felt tears in her eyes. This was the man who had meant so much to her, altered, changed, and monstrous.

“Did you eat each other? Did you attack each other?”

There were uneasy looks among the three.

“Did you?” Omondi persisted.

“The hunger creates insanity. There were incidents in the beginning, but we banded together to try to fight the hunger.” Alkan’s voice was cold, devoid of emotion.

“But you hunted us like animals and killed us. Ate us!” Omondi seemed even bigger and more imposing.

Mariano took several sharp steps toward him and screamed, “We were hungry! We were irrational and...and...”

“You’re irrational now!” Omondi lashed out and gripped the man by one of the straps on his armor. Shaking him, Omondi shouted, “We’re Constabulary! We protect the city! We protect each other!”

“I want to go home! I want to see my family! I want to not be a monster!” Mariano bellowed in Omondi’s face, his red eyes wide and frantic.

Alkan and Reese began to walk swiftly toward the two grappling men. The Aberrations tracked behind them.

Maria cursed as she lifted her weapon, aiming at Alkan. “Holm, take out Martinez if you have to.”

The other woman nodded.

In the time since her father’s death, Maria had longed to see him one last time. To hold him in her arms and tell him how much she loved him. It was cruel irony that she was able to see him one last time just to watch him die. Maria activated the exterior speaker on her helmet.

Mariano and Omondi continued to shout at each other, each struggling to wrestle the other man to the ground.

“Release him, Vanguard Martinez!” Maria shouted, her voice strong.

Mariano froze, his gaze searching along the blank face of the building.

“Step away from the Chief Defender now!” Maria ordered.

“Maria?” Mariano questioned. He pulled away from Omondi, his red eyes sweeping back and forth over the empty windows.

Taking a deep breath, Maria steadied her nerves. “Si, papa.”

“Mi hija, ?dónde estás?”

Maria tentatively stepped into view, her gun swinging toward her father in a slow arc. His red eyes fixed on her and she feared he would attack. She was not a Scourge, Boon, Anomaly, or Aberration. As the seconds ticked away, she realized she and the others were something very different. Dr. Curran had created a new creature altogether.

“Speak to me as an officer,” Maria said in a tense voice.

“You’re here. One of us,” her father said. He was utterly shocked by her appearance and he released Omondi.

She nodded.

Omondi drew his weapon. “Tell your people to fall back, Mr. Martinez.”

Mariano hesitated, then waved his hand. The Anomalies and Aberrations ceased stalking toward the building, but their stances were that of predators, waiting and watching.

Mariano studied his daughter’s face. “Maria, do you know how Inferi Scourge identify each other?” Mariano’s red eyes shifted to gaze into her eyes.

The other creatures were staring at her as well.

“Sight,” Maria said at last.

“No. The virus within our blood tells us who is one of us and who is not. Maybe it’s the virus whispering in our cells like a communal brain, or maybe it’s somehow hidden in your scent. I look at you and I know you’re Inferi Boon. Everything inside of me says you’re one of us. Yet, you look human.”

Maria shifted her weight slightly. “What’s your point?”

“Inferi Scourge cannot think for themselves. They’re creatures of instinct. If the virus inside of them says you’re one of them, then they will not attack. Right?”

Maria shrugged. “They can be dangerous when stimulated by the possibility of prey.”

“Sure. But when you’re standing face to face with one, far away from the…humans, they know you’re one of them. They’re not going to wake up and attack you.”

Narrowing her eyes, Maria wondered what he was driving at.

“Mi hija, I’m not Inferi Scourge. I can think! I can see! I can choose my actions. Right?” Mariano grinned at her, his red eyes disturbing with their brightness.

“What is your damn point?” Omondi demanded.

“My point is that I can choose to go against the virus. I can decide for myself what I will and will not do. If I wanted to, I could attack you, kill you, devour you because I can think and override my instinct that says you’re Inferi Scourge!” Mariano noted her discomfort at his words. “Of course, I would never do that to my own daughter. But I have to ask, mija...what are you?”