The Collective

Chapter Twenty-Six

     I let go of Alex's hand. She'd just been getting sicker, and sicker. We spent half the night on the bathroom floor. She spent most that time throwing up.

     I peeled myself out of the chair, shutting the door behind me. Regan sat at my desk, flicking through the pages inhumanly fast. The end of the document came up. She glanced back at me, shaking her head slowly.

     Damn it. Everything I'd found, everything I had on Oversight was gone. I knew it was stupid to go after her files, but I was desperate.

     I raked my fingers through my hair. What was the point of this? As far as I could tell, whatever the plan was would cause most economies to fall over night. That combined with whatever they gave Sam would wipe out most countries within a matter of weeks. There would be riots and a rapid uptick in crime. Millions of people would lose access to clean water. Hundreds of millions of people were going to die. No amount of money would matter after that happened. Control was the name of her game. If she didn't have anything left to control, what was the point?

     Something crashed in the bedroom. I ran towards it. Alex slumped on the bathroom floor, dry heaving. She hadn't eaten in the last 36 hours. She collapsed onto her side, moaning.

     I swept her up. "Come on."

     She stared at me, gripping my shirt. "Make it stop. Please. Let me go. Just let me go."

     "You're gonna be okay, alright? Just hold on. Hang in there."

     She shook her head slowly. "No, no. Let me go. Just let me go."

     Absolutely not. I tucked her back into bed. She passed out almost immediately. I folded her hand in mine. Her skin burned. She was coated in sweat, despite the fact she hadn't stopped shivering for hours.

     "I don't think you should be here." Regan's voice floated in from the other room.

     She probably didn't need back-up, right?

     "I told you not to come here!"

     Two sets of footsteps rushed towards me. I let go of Alex's hand, getting to my feet. I saw him before he saw me. My blood cooled. I stalked towards him. He kept coming, hands held up, the universal sign for I come in peace.

     We were so past that. I shoved him against the wall, arm against his throat. All it would take was a little bit of pressure...

     "Wait, wait!" He gasped.

     "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you now," I growled.

     "Ethan, we need him. Hear him out." Regan's hand on my shoulder almost sent me through the roof.

     I pressed my arm down harder. He held me captive and tortured me. He tortured Alex in front of me. It was his fault she was in there, dying. Seeing him again was poking at something I didn't like.

     "I can help Annie," he rasped.

     I stiffened. Alex coughed, making my decision for me. I forced myself away from him, standing on the opposite side of the room, the couch and a coffee table in between us. I paced back and forth, forcing air in and out of my lungs. "Talk. Now. You have 30 seconds. I don't believe you, you don't leave this room."

     "Fine. Yes," Max said. He took a deep breath, stepping behind Regan. "There's a research facility in Utah. I am 80% sure they can help her there."

     I froze, fingers curling into my palms. "80% isn't going to help her." And, even if it could, it wouldn't matter. We were approaching the point of no return, and we didn't have enough time to get her there.