CHAPTER 28:
COLLATERAL DAMAGE
The nurses stepped forward, their voices firm but calm.
They readjusted them on their beds, strapping them in just
in case. A nurse injected them with a sedative, and they both fell back
unconscious.
"They need rest," the other nurse said. "The effects of the
neurological reprogramming are still wearing off. Their bodies need time to
fully recover."
"How much longer?" I asked.
"A few days," the nurse replied.
A few days.
Like time was something we had the luxury of.
Malik exhaled sharply beside me. "So we wait."
I didn't like it. I didn't like leaving them—not when they
had just come back to us—but there wasn't much I could do. So we stepped out.
Malik took the opposite route down the hall, leaving just Eliana and me. We
walked side by side in silence, the weight of everything pressing down on us.
"El," I said, "what really happened back there? At the
facility?"
She sucked in a breath, shoulders tensing. Then, finally,
she met my gaze.
"…You really don't remember?"
I shook my head.
She closed her eyes. "Alright, then."
And just like that—
I was there again.
***
"The first sign that something was wrong was the way Steven
moved.
It wasn't him.
His eyes were empty, his face slack. Every step, every
strike—it was too precise, too mechanical. The facility's control over him was
absolute.
He lunged at you, Jamal. You tried to talk him down, but
there was nothing left of him in that moment. The reprogramming had turned him
into a weapon, and you were the target.
Michelle was worse.
My God. I still haven't gotten over Stella's terror before
the lightning struck."
"Lightning?" I echoed, eyes widening.
Eliana gave a slow nod. "Yes, Jamal. Lightning."
She continued, her voice tighter now. "Michelle somehow
controls the weather.
The bolt was headed straight at me. A second later, and I
would've been dead. Jarred pushed me out of the way just in time. But
Stella—the last thing she said was:
'My kids.'
And just like that, Jamal, she was gone.
Antony and Brittney."
"Where are they now?" I asked, my hands gripping my jacket.
"The teen quarters. Antony's around fifteen, and Brittney's
thirteen. We owe it to her to protect them, J."
I nodded, pressing my lips together.
She exhaled sharply and went on. "I tried to snap Michelle
out of it, but nothing. It was like she was completely erased, replaced with
something bionic. The only option left was to beat it out of her—but that felt
like suicide. I was barely moving; my wounds weren't healed yet. She had no
mercy. I barely dodged a pile of scissors flying straight at me when suddenly…"
Her voice softened, almost hesitant.
"'Eliana, run.'"
I stiffened. "She spoke?"
"Barely," Eliana murmured. "Her voice was cracked. But it
was so her—it made my chest tighten. But the moment passed like a flicker of
light before a blackout, and she was gone again… Back to kill mode."
A lump formed in my throat as I braced for her next words.
"I saw it.
The murder in her eyes.
She turned on me.
My injuries from the last fight were still fresh. I was
barely standing, but she was relentless. Every hit rattled my bones. Every
block sent fire through my muscles. I was losing. My breath failing.
Then, just as she was about to rip my skull open—the boys
stormed in."
"My God," I muttered.
"I'm not done yet," she shot back, eyes sharp.
"Sorry, I'm all ears." I raised my hands in surrender.
"Good." She took a breath and continued.
"Malik's men weren't ready for her. She tore through them
like a storm, but they held back at my request. Somehow—somehow—they managed to
pin her down long enough to strap her into a containment unit. She screamed the
whole way in, thrashing like a caged animal, but once the restraints locked,
she went still.
I barely had a second to breathe before I turned and saw
you, Jamal.
Or rather—what you had become.
O6X had completely taken over.
I don't know if you can imagine how terrifying you looked."
I could, but I doubted it would be anywhere close. I didn't
reply, just shook my head slightly.
"You just gave Steven the beating of his life and were now
dragging him toward us. I don't know who was more terrifying—you or Michelle.
The boys strapped him down, too. It should've been over.
But then the enforcers arrived.
They sent everything they had at us. Gunfire. Explosives.
Drones.
We were already battered, barely holding on. We couldn't
fight. We could only run.
And then—
You spoke.
Your voice cut through the chaos, cold and absolute.
My heart almost burst open at the next words that came out
of your mouth.
'Take care of the others. I'll hold them off.'
I tried screaming you out of that stupidity, but you didn't
even recognize me. At all."
I was still processing the disappointment in her eyes when
her elbow jabbed my arm.
"Ow," I let out a low grunt.
She didn't reply—just smiled, then dove deeper into the abyss.
"Malik shot back.
'Jamal, don't—'
But you still weren't listening.
'Get them out. Now.'
You barked.
He didn't push further. He just nodded and signaled his men
to hold me."
"Damn," I sighed.
She glared at me again. I just raised my hands in surrender.
She eyed me, then continued.
"You went deeper inside. We went outside.
I tried to fight my way back to you. I swear, I tried. I
couldn't lose you again.
I kept screaming, but they dragged me into the truck, held
me down. I screamed, kicking, clawing, my throat raw from the effort.
And then they sedated me."
"Damn, babe."
The word slipped out
before I could think. I froze for half a second, expecting her to call me out
on it—but she didn't.
She just looked at
me, eyes flickering with something unreadable. Then, as if it was the most
natural thing in the world—
"Not over yet, baby."
Her voice was soft, like she was pulling me back to the
present. Then she kept going, dragging me right back into the nightmare.
"I was out for a few minutes when suddenly—
BOOM!
A blinding explosion.
The force of it rocked the earth beneath us, gutting half
the facility in a wave of fire and destruction. The shockwave sent tremors
through the truck, the heat licking at our backs as we sped off.
I screamed. Wailed. The nurses held me down, wailing as
well. The men gripped their rifles tightly in anguish. They all removed their
berets, holding them to their chests."
I reached for her hand, noticing the tears welling in her
eyes.
"We mourned you in that truck. The silence was so
suffocating, it felt like we had all died back there with you."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"Then—
Thud."
She swallowed hard.
"Something heavy landed on the roof.
Everyone froze. Weapons raised.
Then the hatch—the one with that gun thing on top—just
ripped open."
"Torrent," I corrected, shifting slightly to avoid another
elbow to the ribs.
"Yeah, that."
She went on.
"It must've weighed a ton, but it tore out like paper."
Then her grip on my hand tightened.
"And then you dropped inside."
"For a second—just a fraction of a second—we thought you
were okay.
Relief hit so fast it almost hurt.
You glared at everyone in the truck for half a second, as if
taking a headcount.
Then—"
Silence hung between us.
"You collapsed."