The Last Bastion of the Living (The Last Bastion #1)(32)

Backing against the table, Maria pressed a hand to her still chest. Her fear was gradually diminishing as the Scourge started its second rotation around the room. Daring to drop her gaze, she studied her hand. Her skin had a faint undertone of gray and her nails were tinged with blue. Her scars gave her limb a faintly-ghoulish appearance. Slowly, she lifted the hem of her tank top and stared at the mass of scars over her chest and belly. Running her hand over the hard welts, she looked up at the Scourge, rage beginning to pour into her as her fear vanished.

“I’m not one of you!”

The Scourge tilted its head in her direction, its white eyes rolling around in its sockets as it sought out the source of the voice.

“I’m not one of you!” she screamed again, her emotions surging through her like a tidal wave.

With a grunt, the Scourge swiveled about, surveying the room.

“Do you hear me, f*cker!” Enraged, she rushed forward and shoved the Scourge into the wall.

It fell back, lost its balance and crashed to the floor. With a screech, it bared its teeth as its eyes darted around the room.

There was no fear now. Only rage. Maria grabbed it by its matted, filthy hair and heaved it to its feet. Its eyes kept swiveling, seeking, searching, for the source of the human voice. With a scream of despair, Maria hurled it across the room. It flailed, then fell again. Running after it, Maria grabbed it by the arm and wrenched it upwards. The creature howled in confusion. Pivoting on her heel, she shoved the Scourge headfirst into the table. Its forehead cracked against the corner, blood oozing from the wound and filling its eyes.

Standing over it, Maria could see its confusion as it clawed on the floor, its eyes searching frantically for a human. It never acknowledged her even when looking directly at her.

Maria pulled in a deep breath of air and screamed.

It joined its howl with her cry.

The Scourge always answered the call of their own.

Infuriated, she grabbed the Scourge again by the hair and hoisted it upright. It bayed again, calling out. Her wrath reducing her to a wordless state, she smashed its head against the table over and over again, decimating its face, then crushing its skull.

Anguish filled her as she finished killing the Scourge. It slipped from her grasp, the bloody remains of its head flopping with a wet sound onto the floor. Blood, brains, and bits of bone littered the table and chairs.

Looking down, she saw that thick, blackish blood covered her hands and arms. Numb and overwhelmed, she fell into a chair, resting her hands on her thighs. There was neither heart to calm, nor breath to still. She was empty inside.

“I’m not one of you,” she muttered to the dead creature at her feet.

In silence, she waited for Dr. Curran to return.





Chapter 9


Awareness sliced into her mind like a rapier. Reality assaulted her senses, consuming Maria. Her brain struggled to process her surroundings as fear filled her. Blinking her eyes, she twisted about in the chair she was seated upon and discovered her feet were secured to the floor and her wrists were fastened to the armrests.

Before her rose a bank of screens. She was no longer in the room with the dead Scourge.

“What are you doing to me?” she demanded, her voice sounding raw and fragile.

“A few tests, Maria,” Dr. Beverly Curran answered as she stepped into view. The room was dimly lit and the walls were plain and gray. The blond woman looked tired and a bit strained, but her smile held a hint of genuine warmth. “I know you’re still adjusting to all of this-”

“You have no idea what I am going through,” Maria snarled. “No idea! You locked me in a room with a Scrag, for god’s sake!”

Sitting on a stool near Maria, Beverly nodded her head. “Yes, I did. And I know it is no reassurance for me to say that I knew it wouldn’t attack you, but it proved to you and to us that the procedure was a success. You’re a walking, talking, thinking Inferi Boon that Inferi Scourge will see as one of their own. You have now become the most important weapon against the Inferi Scourge humanity has ever had. Do you understand that?”

Averting her eyes from the doctor, Maria stared down at her lap. Her chest was still and her lungs empty, yet she was alive. Alive enough to want to cry and to miss Dwayne.

“You lied to me.”

“We twisted the truth.”

Maria fastened her gaze on the doctor and glowered. “You took away my life.”

“To give life to others.”

Maria rubbed her dry lips together and wished she could clear her throat. Her mouth and esophagus felt horribly dry. “Tell me again that there’s an antidote. Swear to me that you can bring me back.” Leaning as far forward as she could, Maria stared into the eyes of the other woman, seeking out the truth.

“We can bring you back,” Beverly stated in a firm, calm voice. She met Maria’s gaze without wavering.

Sagging in her restraints, Maria closed her eyes. “I just wish you had given me a choice.”

“I understand that. I didn’t want to deceive you, but I’m not the only one making decisions around here. Protocols were decided upon and adhered to.”

Beverly did appear remorseful, which helped calm Maria’s nerves just a tad. Glancing toward the monitors, she asked, “What are those for?”

“More tests. We need to check on your responses to various stimuli.”