Poison
Dinner was short-lived. Zack had pegged Krit, Ty and Syl's apartment, as base
and he didn't like being away from it. And I suppose if any place would be our
base, it would have to be the apartment. It was bigger than our motel room. I
didn't know about the place Max and Logan were staying.
So we ate and went back to "base".
I immediately saw that the place was empty. I knew that Krit and Ty were down on
watch. Zack had actually gone through with his stupid plan. I didn't know where
Syl was and Max and Logan weren't here yet. Zack had called them and asked them
to spend most of their time here. Max had said they would be over in a little
while.
I dragged Zack to the couch and forced him to sit down.
"Relax." I ordered, "We're safe. You don't have to be on guard all the time."
"Yes, I do." Zack replied stubbornly, "We all do."
"You act like such a five-year-old sometimes."
"Well, I did have a screwed-up childhood."
"It's like babysitting, I swear."
"You're good with kids."
"Right." I said sarcastically.
Zack smiled. Sometimes, I swore he enjoyed annoying me.
"You're a pain in the ass, Zack." I informed him.
"I know."
"Well, as long as you know." I said, leaning against him, "Pain in the ass or
no, you're still a good pillow."
"I wonder if they planned for that when they engineered me."
"I'm sure use as a pillow was very high on the Manticore priority list."
"You never know."
I rolled my eyes. Zack stood up and went to the window. I watched him silently.
I was disturbed to see his eyes narrow and his jaw tighten in that way that said
he was mad. Without a word, he whirled around and disappeared out the door, not
even bothering to close it behind him. I closed it for him and went to the
window to see what had upset him. It didn't take too long for me to spot Krit
and Ty down on the street.
"Ewww." I said to myself, "No wonder he got ticked off. Krit's so dead."
They were so distracted they didn't even notice Zack come up behind them. I
guessed that Zack said something because they both jumped and turned to stare at
him.
Suddenly the door burst open. I whirled around and saw some of the familiar
DayTechCore guys. They swarmed me, grabbing my arms. I felt something prick my
skin before I twisted out of their grip and started kicking their asses. But
they weren't fighting, they were retreating. What was it with these guys and
retreats?
I would have gone after them, but I suddenly wasn't feeling so good. I was a
little dizzy.
Okay, it was time to sit down until the room stopped spinning. This couldn't be
good.
I think I might have blacked out for a minute because the next thing I knew,
Zack was leaning over me, looking concerned.
"Cade, what happened?" he asked.
"DayTechCore boys decided to stop by and party." I said, "My only question is
why did they leave without killing me or kidnapping me? They had the perfect
opportunity."
"I don't know." Zack shook his head, "But you're bleeding."
I looked down at the arm that Zack held and saw a small spot of blood.
"It's nothing." I said.
"It looks like a needle wound." Zack frowned, "Did they inject you with
something?"
"I don't know. Maybe. I just...I feel kind of weird."
And then Zack faded out of my vision and all I could see was blackness.
***
I should do something. I hated just standing around doing nothing. I'd call Max
and Logan. That's what I'd do.
I went over to the phone and dialed the number they had left for their motel.
"Room 19, please." I told the guy who answered.
I waited to be transferred.
"Hello?"
"Logan?"
"Hey, Ty. What's wrong?" he asked.
"I think you and Max should get over here. Something's wrong with Cade." I said
and hung up.
I turned around to see Zack glaring at me. He jerked his head towards the door,
carefully laying Cade back on the couch before heading out the door himself. I
followed, glancing at Krit. He followed me.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Zack yelled.
Krit and I both just blinked.
"Because you two couldn't behave, Cade's…" Zack trailed off, probably because we
didn't know what Cade's condition was yet.
He was right, though. It was our fault. We had been on watch. It was our job to
look out for those guys and give the heads-up so this wouldn't happen. If we
hadn't been…this wouldn't have happened.
"I'm sorry." I said.
"No, Ty. Sorry doesn't cut it." Zack growled.
I didn't know what to say, so I just looked at the ground.
"Come on, Zack…" Krit started to protest.
I sensed more than saw movement. When I looked up, Zack had Krit pinned against
the wall, a hand at his throat.
"Don't even think of speaking to me, Krit. You're the one who started this. You
couldn't keep away from her. You couldn't leave well enough alone." Zack said,
lifting Krit off the ground by the throat as he spoke.
Krit struggled, but Zack was not letting go. I carefully tugged on Zack's
sleeve.
"Zack. Zack, please." I said quietly.
Zack roughly released Krit. He shoved past me, bumping into me with enough force
to make me stumble into the wall. The door slammed after him. I was stunned. So
stunned I almost forgot Krit for half-a-second. Then, I heard him cough and
dropped to his side.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yeah." Krit coughed again, rubbing his throat.
"He is right. This never should have happened." I said, "They never should have
been able to sneak up on Cade."
"It shouldn't have happened." Krit agreed, "But it did. Zack strangling me isn't
going to help Cade. We need to figure out what the hell they did to her and fix
it. Not stand around playing the blame game."
"No." I said, but I wasn't really listening.
We didn't need to play the blame game because it was my fault. All my fault. So
I had to do something about it.
I heard a car brake sharply and a moment later Max was in the building. Logan
followed a little later. They spotted us and quickly came up the stairs.
"What happened?" Max demanded.
I shook my head and gestured inside. I helped Krit get back to his feet and
followed Max and Logan inside. I saw that Cade was awake. Or at least, was
waking up.
"I'm co…co…cold." Cade stuttered.
"She's in shock." Logan informed us.
Zack quickly took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. Logan stripped the
comforter from Krit's bed since his room was closest. He handed it to Zack and
Zack wrapped it around her, as well.
I felt lower than dirt. It's not like Krit and I deliberately meant for this to
happen.
Zack wrapped his arms around Cade like a final layer to this cake. Cade nestled
into Zack and muttered something
"What? What did you say?" Zack asked her hurriedly.
"Ick."
"Did you say ick?" Zack asked her.
"Smell like Krit."
If the mood had been lighter, we all might have laughed.
"Hey, I heard that!" Krit whined from the corner.
Zack gave Krit the look of death.
"Okay, okay. Backing off." Krit said, holding up his hands in surrender.
"Sleepy." Cade announced, closing her eyes.
"No, Cade! No, you can't go to sleep." Zack insisted.
But it was too late. Cade had passed out again. I hadn't known I could feel this
bad.
Suddenly, the phone rang. We were all here, except Syl. It must be her. Slowly,
I walked over and picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hello." a male voice said, "I suppose you're wondering who this is."
"Just a little."
"My name is Royce. And I have something you need." he said.
"What the hell did you do to her?" I demanded.
"She's been poisoned. I have an antidote, but unfortunately it will only work if
you get it to her pretty soon." Royce said.
"What do you want for it?" I asked suspiciously.
"A live sample. I need a live DNA sample. My guinea pig, if you will." Royce
said, "You could even bring in the poisoned one, if you want. Cut your losses."
"God damn you." I swore.
"I'm sure he will." Royce replied, "Go to the warehouse where my men intercepted
you for the trade."
There was a click as he hung up on me. I set down the phone and turned to the
others.
"That was Royce. He poisoned her." I said slowly.
"He's dead." Zack said simply.
"Anything else?" Logan asked.
Slowly, I shook my head. I had already made up my mind. I knew what I was going
to do. It was my only option, really, the only way I could clear my conscience.
I was going to trade myself for Cade's antidote. It was my fault, after all. But
I couldn't leave without at least one goodbye.
"Krit, could I talk to you outside?" I said, heading for the door.
It was a minute or so after I walked outside that Krit followed.
"Krit." I said quietly from behind him.
He heard and turned to me quickly. Without even realizing it, I was moving
towards him. I stopped a short distance from him, my hands rising to cradle his
face.
"Krit." I said again before he could say anything, "Whatever happens in my life,
I want you to know that I will always remember you. Always and forever."
I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, memorizing his scent. I kissed him quickly
before turning and running down the stairs and out the door. It must have been a
whole 15 seconds before he realized what I must be doing. I heard him calling my
name and ran as hard as I could. I couldn't let Krit stop me now. Not while I
still had a chance to save Cade.
***
As I faded into what must have been unconsciousness, I felt colors. I can't
explain how, but I did. Swirls of colors which gradually seemed to clear. I
could see perfect now. I could see Zack. He smiled.
"How about Ash?" Zack asked offhand.
I shook my head clear.
"What?"
"How about we name the baby Ash?" he repeated.
I stared at him.
"We are not naming a human being Ash!" I exclaimed and for good measure I threw
in, "Ever."
Zack laughed.
"Well, it beat Colt." he whined.
"Good point." I replied.
"Jon?" he asked.
"Getting better."
Zack grinned and raised an eyebrow.
"How about Seattle?" he winked, "It would be fitting."
I playfully slapped his arm.
"No way."
I sat down on the couch and shifted positions. Zack followed suit. I rested my
hand on my stomach. I paused for a minute and then it hit me.
"I know what the baby's name is."
Zack continued to smile.
"Oh yeah, what?" he asked sarcastically.
"Ben." I declared.
He stared at me for a good long minute.
"Ben." he sounded uncertain, but finally concluded, "I like it."
"Good 'cause it's not debatable." I informed him.
"Oh, really." his look was mischievous.
"Really." I stated firmly.
He came in close.
"Everything is debatable." he said jokingly, placing his own hand on my stomach.
"Yeah, well, I could still kick you're ass." I teased.
"Oh, like last time?" his mouth moved to say more, but he cut off his own words.
"What?" I asked.
"The baby kicked." he stared at my stomach as if it just now had set in; me,
him, baby him. That kind of scared me. Would he freak?
"Neat."
I let out a relieved sigh, then raised an eyebrow.
"Did you just say neat?" I asked.
He put a finger to his lips.
"Shh."
"What."
"The baby is agreeing with me." he joked.
"Oh, yeah right. I think the baby is just trying to kick your ass, too…"
I felt as if I was being pulled, being called back to reality.
I slowly opened my eyes. Why was it so hard to do that? Why was my vision so
blurry? Why was I wrapped in a blanket? Why was Zack holding me so tightly,
rubbing my arms? Why did I care?
"Zack." I said, my voice sounding distant and odd to my ears.
"Cade." he said, sounding somewhat relieved.
"Where am I? I asked, "What happened?"
Zack frowned.
"You don't remember? Cade, you were poisoned. You went into shock." Zack said,
"How do you feel? Are you still cold?"
"I feel… out of it. I'm tired." I said.
"You can't sleep anymore, Cade. You have to stay awake. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes." I nodded.
What a stupid question. I would do anything for him.
"Wait right here. I'm going to get you some water. We need to keep you
hydrated." Zack said.
"Sure." I agreed.
Like I could really go anywhere. Moving my eyes had been tough, I couldn't think
about moving my whole body.
It suddenly seemed like the whole world was bursting with noise. I covered my
ears, unable to figure out what was causing the repetitive banging noise until I
saw Max hurry to answer the door. I silently thanked her.
On the other side of the door was Krit. He looked frazzled.
"Where's Zack? I need Zack. Where is he?" Krit asked quickly.
He didn't wait for Max to answer, but pushed past her.
"Zack! Zack! Where the hell is he? Zack! Oh, god. The asshole better still be
here." Krit yelled.
I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but couldn't seem to find my voice.
"Krit, calm down. Shut up, calm down, and make sense. What is wrong?" Max
ordered him, forcing him to stay still by grabbing his arms.
Just then, Zack walked back into the main room. Krit flipped when he saw him. He
jerked out of Max's hold and flew at Zack.
"You bastard! This is your fault!" Krit growled, swinging at him.
Zack caught Krit's fist and twisted his arm around behind his back. Krit didn't
fight him.
"No. It's my fault. It's all my fault." Krit said, sounding defeated.
"What the hell is he talking about?" Zack demanded, shoving Krit away.
"It's Ty." Krit said.
"What? What about her?"
"She's…gone." Krit whispered.
"What do you mean she's gone?!" Zack yelled, grabbing Krit by the collar and
yanking him over.
"She…I think she's going to turn herself in…to try and save Cade." Krit finally
said.
Great. Now I felt guilty. As if being poisoned wasn't enough.
"What?" Logan asked, confused.
"You couldn't hear. But we could. Royce wanted to make a trade, one of us for an
antidote. Ty took him up on it." Max explained.
"Damn it." Zack said, going into a string of colorful expletives.
Zack was frantically pacing around the room, sizing up his options. He mumbled
profusely to himself. All his options sucked, that was obvious. What was also
very obvious was his only choice, he had to go after Ty. If Royce got a hold of
Manticore technology, we would all be screwed and my death would be minor in
comparison to that.
"Zack." I called.
He quickly rushed to my side.
"You have to go after her." I informed him.
"I know, but I can't leave you." he said, his eyes full of worry.
"Go. That's an order." I gave him my best look of resolve and knew that it came
out rather weak.
Zack smiled weakly and spoke softly.
"Don't die. That's an order." in an even softer voice he whispered, "I love
you."
"Go." I repeated.
"Krit, Max, you're coming with me. We'll find Syl on the way. Logan, you watch
Cade." everyone moved to obey Zack's orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Authors Note:
Why do I get poisoned? Out of all of us, I get poisoned! Grrr! Please R&R. Hope
you are still enjoying this 'cause lack of ideas is driving us crazy, but we do
it all for you. LOL!
Cade
Dinner was short-lived. Zack had pegged Krit, Ty and Syl's apartment, as base
and he didn't like being away from it. And I suppose if any place would be our
base, it would have to be the apartment. It was bigger than our motel room. I
didn't know about the place Max and Logan were staying.
So we ate and went back to "base".
I immediately saw that the place was empty. I knew that Krit and Ty were down on
watch. Zack had actually gone through with his stupid plan. I didn't know where
Syl was and Max and Logan weren't here yet. Zack had called them and asked them
to spend most of their time here. Max had said they would be over in a little
while.
I dragged Zack to the couch and forced him to sit down.
"Relax." I ordered, "We're safe. You don't have to be on guard all the time."
"Yes, I do." Zack replied stubbornly, "We all do."
"You act like such a five-year-old sometimes."
"Well, I did have a screwed-up childhood."
"It's like babysitting, I swear."
"You're good with kids."
"Right." I said sarcastically.
Zack smiled. Sometimes, I swore he enjoyed annoying me.
"You're a pain in the ass, Zack." I informed him.
"I know."
"Well, as long as you know." I said, leaning against him, "Pain in the ass or
no, you're still a good pillow."
"I wonder if they planned for that when they engineered me."
"I'm sure use as a pillow was very high on the Manticore priority list."
"You never know."
I rolled my eyes. Zack stood up and went to the window. I watched him silently.
I was disturbed to see his eyes narrow and his jaw tighten in that way that said
he was mad. Without a word, he whirled around and disappeared out the door, not
even bothering to close it behind him. I closed it for him and went to the
window to see what had upset him. It didn't take too long for me to spot Krit
and Ty down on the street.
"Ewww." I said to myself, "No wonder he got ticked off. Krit's so dead."
They were so distracted they didn't even notice Zack come up behind them. I
guessed that Zack said something because they both jumped and turned to stare at
him.
Suddenly the door burst open. I whirled around and saw some of the familiar
DayTechCore guys. They swarmed me, grabbing my arms. I felt something prick my
skin before I twisted out of their grip and started kicking their asses. But
they weren't fighting, they were retreating. What was it with these guys and
retreats?
I would have gone after them, but I suddenly wasn't feeling so good. I was a
little dizzy.
Okay, it was time to sit down until the room stopped spinning. This couldn't be
good.
I think I might have blacked out for a minute because the next thing I knew,
Zack was leaning over me, looking concerned.
"Cade, what happened?" he asked.
"DayTechCore boys decided to stop by and party." I said, "My only question is
why did they leave without killing me or kidnapping me? They had the perfect
opportunity."
"I don't know." Zack shook his head, "But you're bleeding."
I looked down at the arm that Zack held and saw a small spot of blood.
"It's nothing." I said.
"It looks like a needle wound." Zack frowned, "Did they inject you with
something?"
"I don't know. Maybe. I just...I feel kind of weird."
And then Zack faded out of my vision and all I could see was blackness.
***
I should do something. I hated just standing around doing nothing. I'd call Max
and Logan. That's what I'd do.
I went over to the phone and dialed the number they had left for their motel.
"Room 19, please." I told the guy who answered.
I waited to be transferred.
"Hello?"
"Logan?"
"Hey, Ty. What's wrong?" he asked.
"I think you and Max should get over here. Something's wrong with Cade." I said
and hung up.
I turned around to see Zack glaring at me. He jerked his head towards the door,
carefully laying Cade back on the couch before heading out the door himself. I
followed, glancing at Krit. He followed me.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Zack yelled.
Krit and I both just blinked.
"Because you two couldn't behave, Cade's…" Zack trailed off, probably because we
didn't know what Cade's condition was yet.
He was right, though. It was our fault. We had been on watch. It was our job to
look out for those guys and give the heads-up so this wouldn't happen. If we
hadn't been…this wouldn't have happened.
"I'm sorry." I said.
"No, Ty. Sorry doesn't cut it." Zack growled.
I didn't know what to say, so I just looked at the ground.
"Come on, Zack…" Krit started to protest.
I sensed more than saw movement. When I looked up, Zack had Krit pinned against
the wall, a hand at his throat.
"Don't even think of speaking to me, Krit. You're the one who started this. You
couldn't keep away from her. You couldn't leave well enough alone." Zack said,
lifting Krit off the ground by the throat as he spoke.
Krit struggled, but Zack was not letting go. I carefully tugged on Zack's
sleeve.
"Zack. Zack, please." I said quietly.
Zack roughly released Krit. He shoved past me, bumping into me with enough force
to make me stumble into the wall. The door slammed after him. I was stunned. So
stunned I almost forgot Krit for half-a-second. Then, I heard him cough and
dropped to his side.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yeah." Krit coughed again, rubbing his throat.
"He is right. This never should have happened." I said, "They never should have
been able to sneak up on Cade."
"It shouldn't have happened." Krit agreed, "But it did. Zack strangling me isn't
going to help Cade. We need to figure out what the hell they did to her and fix
it. Not stand around playing the blame game."
"No." I said, but I wasn't really listening.
We didn't need to play the blame game because it was my fault. All my fault. So
I had to do something about it.
I heard a car brake sharply and a moment later Max was in the building. Logan
followed a little later. They spotted us and quickly came up the stairs.
"What happened?" Max demanded.
I shook my head and gestured inside. I helped Krit get back to his feet and
followed Max and Logan inside. I saw that Cade was awake. Or at least, was
waking up.
"I'm co…co…cold." Cade stuttered.
"She's in shock." Logan informed us.
Zack quickly took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. Logan stripped the
comforter from Krit's bed since his room was closest. He handed it to Zack and
Zack wrapped it around her, as well.
I felt lower than dirt. It's not like Krit and I deliberately meant for this to
happen.
Zack wrapped his arms around Cade like a final layer to this cake. Cade nestled
into Zack and muttered something
"What? What did you say?" Zack asked her hurriedly.
"Ick."
"Did you say ick?" Zack asked her.
"Smell like Krit."
If the mood had been lighter, we all might have laughed.
"Hey, I heard that!" Krit whined from the corner.
Zack gave Krit the look of death.
"Okay, okay. Backing off." Krit said, holding up his hands in surrender.
"Sleepy." Cade announced, closing her eyes.
"No, Cade! No, you can't go to sleep." Zack insisted.
But it was too late. Cade had passed out again. I hadn't known I could feel this
bad.
Suddenly, the phone rang. We were all here, except Syl. It must be her. Slowly,
I walked over and picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hello." a male voice said, "I suppose you're wondering who this is."
"Just a little."
"My name is Royce. And I have something you need." he said.
"What the hell did you do to her?" I demanded.
"She's been poisoned. I have an antidote, but unfortunately it will only work if
you get it to her pretty soon." Royce said.
"What do you want for it?" I asked suspiciously.
"A live sample. I need a live DNA sample. My guinea pig, if you will." Royce
said, "You could even bring in the poisoned one, if you want. Cut your losses."
"God damn you." I swore.
"I'm sure he will." Royce replied, "Go to the warehouse where my men intercepted
you for the trade."
There was a click as he hung up on me. I set down the phone and turned to the
others.
"That was Royce. He poisoned her." I said slowly.
"He's dead." Zack said simply.
"Anything else?" Logan asked.
Slowly, I shook my head. I had already made up my mind. I knew what I was going
to do. It was my only option, really, the only way I could clear my conscience.
I was going to trade myself for Cade's antidote. It was my fault, after all. But
I couldn't leave without at least one goodbye.
"Krit, could I talk to you outside?" I said, heading for the door.
It was a minute or so after I walked outside that Krit followed.
"Krit." I said quietly from behind him.
He heard and turned to me quickly. Without even realizing it, I was moving
towards him. I stopped a short distance from him, my hands rising to cradle his
face.
"Krit." I said again before he could say anything, "Whatever happens in my life,
I want you to know that I will always remember you. Always and forever."
I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, memorizing his scent. I kissed him quickly
before turning and running down the stairs and out the door. It must have been a
whole 15 seconds before he realized what I must be doing. I heard him calling my
name and ran as hard as I could. I couldn't let Krit stop me now. Not while I
still had a chance to save Cade.
***
As I faded into what must have been unconsciousness, I felt colors. I can't
explain how, but I did. Swirls of colors which gradually seemed to clear. I
could see perfect now. I could see Zack. He smiled.
"How about Ash?" Zack asked offhand.
I shook my head clear.
"What?"
"How about we name the baby Ash?" he repeated.
I stared at him.
"We are not naming a human being Ash!" I exclaimed and for good measure I threw
in, "Ever."
Zack laughed.
"Well, it beat Colt." he whined.
"Good point." I replied.
"Jon?" he asked.
"Getting better."
Zack grinned and raised an eyebrow.
"How about Seattle?" he winked, "It would be fitting."
I playfully slapped his arm.
"No way."
I sat down on the couch and shifted positions. Zack followed suit. I rested my
hand on my stomach. I paused for a minute and then it hit me.
"I know what the baby's name is."
Zack continued to smile.
"Oh yeah, what?" he asked sarcastically.
"Ben." I declared.
He stared at me for a good long minute.
"Ben." he sounded uncertain, but finally concluded, "I like it."
"Good 'cause it's not debatable." I informed him.
"Oh, really." his look was mischievous.
"Really." I stated firmly.
He came in close.
"Everything is debatable." he said jokingly, placing his own hand on my stomach.
"Yeah, well, I could still kick you're ass." I teased.
"Oh, like last time?" his mouth moved to say more, but he cut off his own words.
"What?" I asked.
"The baby kicked." he stared at my stomach as if it just now had set in; me,
him, baby him. That kind of scared me. Would he freak?
"Neat."
I let out a relieved sigh, then raised an eyebrow.
"Did you just say neat?" I asked.
He put a finger to his lips.
"Shh."
"What."
"The baby is agreeing with me." he joked.
"Oh, yeah right. I think the baby is just trying to kick your ass, too…"
I felt as if I was being pulled, being called back to reality.
I slowly opened my eyes. Why was it so hard to do that? Why was my vision so
blurry? Why was I wrapped in a blanket? Why was Zack holding me so tightly,
rubbing my arms? Why did I care?
"Zack." I said, my voice sounding distant and odd to my ears.
"Cade." he said, sounding somewhat relieved.
"Where am I? I asked, "What happened?"
Zack frowned.
"You don't remember? Cade, you were poisoned. You went into shock." Zack said,
"How do you feel? Are you still cold?"
"I feel… out of it. I'm tired." I said.
"You can't sleep anymore, Cade. You have to stay awake. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes." I nodded.
What a stupid question. I would do anything for him.
"Wait right here. I'm going to get you some water. We need to keep you
hydrated." Zack said.
"Sure." I agreed.
Like I could really go anywhere. Moving my eyes had been tough, I couldn't think
about moving my whole body.
It suddenly seemed like the whole world was bursting with noise. I covered my
ears, unable to figure out what was causing the repetitive banging noise until I
saw Max hurry to answer the door. I silently thanked her.
On the other side of the door was Krit. He looked frazzled.
"Where's Zack? I need Zack. Where is he?" Krit asked quickly.
He didn't wait for Max to answer, but pushed past her.
"Zack! Zack! Where the hell is he? Zack! Oh, god. The asshole better still be
here." Krit yelled.
I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but couldn't seem to find my voice.
"Krit, calm down. Shut up, calm down, and make sense. What is wrong?" Max
ordered him, forcing him to stay still by grabbing his arms.
Just then, Zack walked back into the main room. Krit flipped when he saw him. He
jerked out of Max's hold and flew at Zack.
"You bastard! This is your fault!" Krit growled, swinging at him.
Zack caught Krit's fist and twisted his arm around behind his back. Krit didn't
fight him.
"No. It's my fault. It's all my fault." Krit said, sounding defeated.
"What the hell is he talking about?" Zack demanded, shoving Krit away.
"It's Ty." Krit said.
"What? What about her?"
"She's…gone." Krit whispered.
"What do you mean she's gone?!" Zack yelled, grabbing Krit by the collar and
yanking him over.
"She…I think she's going to turn herself in…to try and save Cade." Krit finally
said.
Great. Now I felt guilty. As if being poisoned wasn't enough.
"What?" Logan asked, confused.
"You couldn't hear. But we could. Royce wanted to make a trade, one of us for an
antidote. Ty took him up on it." Max explained.
"Damn it." Zack said, going into a string of colorful expletives.
Zack was frantically pacing around the room, sizing up his options. He mumbled
profusely to himself. All his options sucked, that was obvious. What was also
very obvious was his only choice, he had to go after Ty. If Royce got a hold of
Manticore technology, we would all be screwed and my death would be minor in
comparison to that.
"Zack." I called.
He quickly rushed to my side.
"You have to go after her." I informed him.
"I know, but I can't leave you." he said, his eyes full of worry.
"Go. That's an order." I gave him my best look of resolve and knew that it came
out rather weak.
Zack smiled weakly and spoke softly.
"Don't die. That's an order." in an even softer voice he whispered, "I love
you."
"Go." I repeated.
"Krit, Max, you're coming with me. We'll find Syl on the way. Logan, you watch
Cade." everyone moved to obey Zack's orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Authors Note:
Why do I get poisoned? Out of all of us, I get poisoned! Grrr! Please R&R. Hope
you are still enjoying this 'cause lack of ideas is driving us crazy, but we do
it all for you. LOL!
Cade
