The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion #2)(119)

Torran was glad to see it.

It was agonizing, sitting in the small chamber. They’d fed him once and let him use the sanitary facilities twice. No one spoke to him anymore except Yates. She didn’t call him by his name anymore, but by “lab rat.” The sharp-featured woman with the fair hair took obvious delight in his suffering. He’d never had a negative interaction with her, so he wasn’t sure why she was so cruel. Maybe it was her nature.

Though it was difficult to look at the spot where Lindsey had died, Torran cocked his head to watch the two women arguing.

“Is this the same virus you gave Maria Martinez or not?” Solomon was shouting.

“It’s a very close variation,” Dr. Curran answered. “It should grant the exact same immunity as the one I gave her.”

“Without the Anomaly or Aberration side effects?” Solomon pointed a finger in the scientist’s face. “I want answers, Curran. The only person who could lead us to Martinez is dead thanks to you and Carter!”

Rage filled Torran, and he clenched his hands into fists. Lindsey had been so much more than a mere pawn, but the people standing on the other side of the glass would never comprehend that truth.

“Give it to the lab rat,” Yates suggested.

“I have to make sure the dosage is correct to avoid side effects,” Dr. Curran snapped. “There are many factors that I have to take into consideration.”

“Then take them into consideration and try it on him. I want to know if it works or not.” Solomon was obviously close to losing her temper. Her face was aflame with anger.

“We should have just given it to one of the dead bodies,” Yates uttered while giving the scientist a distrustful look.

Dr. Curran leaned toward Yates, her expression virulent. “Then you’d have an Abscrag on your hands. This virus has to be given to the living to take full effect and avoid creating a creature that’s smart enough to hunt us for our flesh. Abscrags eat us.”

“She’s not lying. They do. I saw it with my own eyes,” Torran said. “And though the idea of ripping your throat out is highly appealing, Yates, I don’t enjoy the thought of becoming a cannibal.”

Yates sneered at him.

“But didn’t Maria return to life?” Solomon asked.

“Yes, but she’s the only one. The others went feral,” Dr. Solomon replied. “That’s why the dosage is so important.”

It was then Torran realized she was lying. The SWD had only divulged certain details to the public and Constabulary, but Lindsey had told him everything Dr. Curran had disclosed. Maria Martinez had received a different virus from the rest of the Inferi Boon and that was the reason for her unique return to life. Dr. Curran was buying time, but for what reason? Torran was imprisoned, and she was under constant watch.

Torran’s heart thumped a little harder as he replayed Lindsey’s death. Running his hands through his hair, he almost hyperventilated when a wonderful, yet terrible revelation struck. Dr. Curran had been holding Lindsey’s hand. The woman was cold, aloof, and had a terrible bedside manner. That she would give Lindsey an iota of sympathy even at her passing seemed odd for the scientist. So what if she’d been holding Lindsey’s hand for another purpose?

It was madness to even entertain the idea, yet Torran couldn’t help his broken heart from wildly latching onto the possibility that Dr. Curran had given Lindsey the virus.

Which meant what?

The rest of the argument was lost to him as Torran sat in his cell, daring to hope on the impossible.





Chapter 34


Huddled in the Rescue Hub, Lindsey gnawed on a protein bar while observing the vid screens. It felt odd, returning to the location after escaping so dramatically two days before. Climbing up the ladder, she’d wished with all her heart that Torran was with her. In his place was the altered aerial drone. Hopefully together, their unlikely team could rescue the man she loved and humanity at the same time.

On the other side of the hub a mini-fuel revitalizer chugged away. She’d discovered it at a security depot and, with Teeny’s help, dragged it to the Rescue Hub. After raiding several more city security posts, she’d sent Teeny to deposit cameras and scanners around the rescue center where the Gaia Cult had taken refuge.

Swallowing the vanilla-flavored protein mush in her mouth, Lindsey was relieved she wasn’t craving anything red and fleshy. Her appetite seemed to be exactly same. After staring into the mirror in the sanitation station for ten minutes, she was certain her eyes were not tinged with red. She was definitely Inferi Boon, and not an Abscrag.

The door to the hub opened, and Teeny stomped through the entrance, clutching a helmet in its pinchers. At least she thought it might be stomping.

Lindsey eyed the drone thoughtfully. “Teeny?”

“Yes, Mother?”

“Are you having a temper tantrum?”

“I had to climb down to the lower city and recover the helmet from the river,” came the response. “Without fuel, I was unable to fly. It took a very long time.”

Leaning over, Lindsey eyed the little drone. “You mad?”

Tapping a claw against the floor, the drone’s camera-tipped stalks turned away from her.

It was definitely not happy with her.

“Heh, what do you know? That A.I. proggie is working. You’re developing a nice little personality. Just don’t turn on me and try to kill me in my sleep.” Lindsey straightened and took another bite of her protein bar. Spotting an issue in her code, she quickly typed a new string of text.