Remus: #6 Read online

  She froze when a key clicked in the lock.

  It was too late.

  The closest thing to her was a chair, but it would be better than nothing. Maybe she could shove him out the door with it and escape that way.

  She picked up the chair and held it in front of her body.

  The door creaked open, and she took a deep breath. It was now or never.

  “Jenna?” a feminine voice said.

  She nearly laughed from the adrenaline that surged through her body.

  “Oh thank God,” she whispered and dropped the chair to the floor.

  Nyx stared at the chair.

  “Death by chair?” She raised a brow.

  Jenna shook her head.

  “I don’t have time to explain,” she said quickly. “Romulus will be here soon.”

  Nyx pulled the pack off her back.

  “Then I think we’ll be needing this,” she said.

  Jenna could have cried at seeing the pack. It was the one thing they had going for them right now.

  Jenna grabbed the bag and pulled out her guns. It felt good to strap a gun on. She held up a gun to Nyx.

  “You know how to use this?” she asked.

  Nyx shrugged. “Point and shoot,” she said. “We had a little training in guns, but our education was a bit different than your friends at Luna Lodge.”

  Jenna frowned, but didn’t have time to figure out what she meant. She was just going to have to trust that the strange woman would do what needed to be done.

  “Where is Magnus?” Jenna asked, pulling dynamite out of her bag.

  “Freeing the others,” Nyx said.

  Jenna nodded and counted the sticks. They had to do this right, or they would all end up buried in this mountain.

  “Does he have a way to get them out?” she asked.

  Nyx glanced out the door. “Yes,” she said. “We need to move if we’re going to.”

  Jenna nodded and grinned at the woman. “Ready to burn this place?”

  Nyx laughed. “I knew you were my kind of woman. Let’s go blow shit up.”

  * * *

  Rem’s body seized on the table, and he felt like there was ice in his veins. He shook so badly his teeth rattled in his head. Talking became impossible.

  That damn scientist had doomed him.

  “What the hell is going on with him?” Nero shouted from the door.

  Harold shook his head. “Just some pre-reversal jitters.”

  He pulled out another syringe, and Rem groaned as it was injected into him. His lungs felt heavy, like they were filled with water. He tried to suck in deep breaths, but they came out more like gasps.

  “What are you doing?” Nero shouted. He moved into Rem’s view.

  His face was contorted in rage.

  Rem’s body shook through the dose. It was getting better. Still, he wasn’t sure if it was better due to the shot or that he was just dying slowly. Maybe a little of both.

  “Agatha has not approved this!” he shouted again and pointed a finger at the scientist.

  “Yes,” Harold said quietly and looked down at Rem. “And where is Agatha?”

  Rem raised a brow and looked over to Nero. His eyes had turned bright yellow.

  Nero narrowed his glowing eyes at the scientist. “What have you done?”

  Harold picked up the last needle and smiled at the beastly man. “It’s amazing what a little tranquilizer will do.”

  Nero growled loudly. “If you’ve killed her, you’ll have the Council to answer to.”

  Harold shook his head. “Not killed her,” he said. “It would take more than an elephant tranquilizer. She’s just taking a little nap.”

  A loud boom echoed through the cave. Bits of rock and dirt crumbled from the ceiling and rained down on them.

  “Is that your doing?” Nero said, glaring at Harold.

  The scientist ran a hand over his head to brush the dirt off. His face far more pale than before, Harold shook his head.

  Nero turned to Rem, who had stopped shaking but was still having trouble getting his mind clear to understand what was happening.

  “Go see what that was,” Nero shouted to the Glycons.

  The mindless tools raced out the door to do his bidding.

  Nero stomped over to where he lay.

  “This is your woman,” he spat out. “She came here to cause trouble, and that’s just what she’s done.”

  Rem couldn’t disagree. Jenna had been stirring up trouble since she got there. He could only hope that the blast was from her and that she was fine.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Harold mumbled next to him. “None of it matters.”

  Nero turned and glared at the scientist. “Shut the fuck up,” he growled. “I’ll deal with you later.”

  “No,” Harold said firmly.

  Rem struggled to free himself from the straps that bound him.

  “What?” Nero said.

  “You are an abomination,” Harold spit out. “You were a mistake, and you should have never existed.”

  Nero pulled out a knife and pointed it at the man.

  “You shut your fucking—”

  Nero’s words were cut off as Harold launched himself at the surprised hybrid.

  “Dei judicium,” he shouted.

  Rem watched in horror as the last needle slammed into Nero’s chest, piercing his heart.

  Nero shook on the floor as Rem had.

  Harold climbed off the hybrid, a bright red patch of blood on his stomach.

  “Let the gods judge you now,” Harold whispered, Nero’s knife embedded in his stomach.

  The man struggled to make it to Rem. Harold’s hands shook as he removed the straps one at a time. With his hands free, Rem sat up in time to catch the large man.

  Another loud explosion rocked the cave.

  “Go,” Harold whispered.

  Rem struggled. Harold was a man who did much to help him escape, and yet he was a man who did so little for others.

  “Go,” Harold said a little louder. “It is time I meet my own judgment from the gods.”

  Rem fought within himself for a moment longer. Another explosion, this time closer, caused bits of the ceiling to cave in. If he didn’t move, it would all be for nothing.

  He nodded to Harold and raced to the door. The whole place was unstable.

  Rem paused as he passed Nero. The hybrid panted in pain, jerking and twitching. Rem could only guess that it was harder for him since he had less of the essence already in his system.

  “I’m going to regret this,” Rem mumbled.

  He reached down and heaved the man over his shoulder. The walls around them rumbled, and he leapt out the door. Rock crashed to the floor in the room behind him, burying it. He could only hope at that point Harold had not suffered.

  Nero, still writhing in pain, twisted to be placed on the ground.

  Rem stood him against the wall, his face resting against his arm as he leaned against them. It was strange for the hybrid to turn his back on his enemy like that.

  “Why?” Nero managed to get out, his words nearly lost against the wall.

  Another tremble raced through the cave, and this time Rem was sure the explosion was near. He ran to the end of the hall and looked down the way he had come. Smoke and debris clogged the air. There would be no way he could smell her this way.

  Something rumbled again, and he looked up at the crack that ran the length of the hall.

  “Nero, we have to get…”

  He trailed off as he stared at the empty space where they hybrid had once been.

  Slabs of rock fell from the ceiling overhead as the hall started to cave in.

  “Shit,” Rem said and raced to a door down the hall.

  He wasn’t quite sure where it led, but it was better than being crushed. He could only hope that Nero had enough strength to get out of the hallway on his own.

  He pushed through the door, entering the winding hall leading to the darkness below.

  C
hapter Fourteen

  “Light one more,” Jenna said to Nyx.

  They had taken out a good number of the sections, but she couldn’t be certain how much farther it would be until she found Rem. Her only hope was that he had been able to get away during all the explosions.

  A loud crack echoed throughout the hall. She froze, afraid the ground around her might break way. She hadn’t exactly been practicing controlled demolition.

  A wall shifted from its upright position and landed against the wall across from it.

  “Nyx,” she called out. “Maybe you should wait.”

  The words were barely out of her mouth before the explosion rippled around her. The walls trembled, and for a split second, she could see Nyx on the other side of the hall.

  “Run,” she shouted as the ceiling fell in between them.

  Jenna turned, not quite sure where to go. Nyx had been her guide and so far, she had been very lucky.

  She’d never run so hard in her life. The ground was uneven now, and it was a struggle to stay upright, but somehow she managed. She turned the corner and found herself in the great hall.

  The great hall remained standing at this point, but it wouldn’t be much longer until it fell apart.

  Thick, jagged pieces of the cave crashed into the center. She’d have to be quick if she was going to make it through this.

  A noise drew her attention across the room. Glycons. More than she even thought were in the place.

  It looked like her luck had run out.

  Jenna drew her gun and took aim.

  The quaking wasn’t going to give her the aim she needed. After she fired the first shot, they would know where she was, and with all the shaking, there would be no way to hit them all. They would be on her before she got them all.

  She took a deep breath and searched her bag. One stick left. It would blow the room for sure, but the only way it would work was if she could make it to the door just behind the podium. It had to lead to a way out.

  Jenna took a deep breath. Doing this might seal her in though, and that wasn’t all that appealing. She glanced over her shoulder to the hall behind her. The dust was thick, and she knew that it wouldn’t last much longer either.

  She looked over to the Glycons. There was a chance they could make it out, and the thought chilled her. Forget the lodge, these creatures would kill every last person in their path. It wouldn’t matter who they came across.

  On top of that, the hybrids would likely be blamed. Thanks to reporters like Jill Charity, the public would place the blame with the lodge.

  Taking a deep breath, Jenna tucked the lighter and dynamite in her pocket. Drawing her gun again, Jenna worked her way into the room. Maybe if she stayed against the wall, she’d be able to make it.

  She crept along the wall, trying to stay as quiet as possible. Her eyes stayed trained on the Glycons across the room. They stood around, as if not really sure what they should be doing.

  The room shook hard, and she slid a little, her shoes scraping loudly against the floor.

  Jenna froze, her gun still trained on the menacing beasts. Rocks crashed all around her, but she was more worried they might hear the hammering of her heart. It was so loud she could have sworn they would.

  The Glycons continued to huddle in the back.

  She let out a breath and continued the arduous trek along the wall.

  Her breathing came easier the closer she got to the door. When it was nearly in sight, she smiled.

  A loud shriek came from inside the door, and Jenna felt a chill pass over her. Within seconds, someone pinned her to the ground. Her hands pushed back at the mushy flesh of the Glycon that had been waiting on the other side of the door.

  She could hear the other Glycons across the room answer the call of one of their own.

  The beastman snapped its warped human-like teeth at her. The stench that rose off it made her gag, but she swallowed down the feeling.

  One of her guns lay next to her. All she had to do was grab it. But that would mean taking a hand off the Glycon, and there was no chance if she did.

  She felt the tears well in her eyes. All this work, and she was going to lose this way. She snapped her eyes closed. There was no way she would let a pair of glowing Glycon eyes be the last thing she saw.

  The weight suddenly lifted off her. Jenna opened her eyes to bright red ones. She scrambled back until her mind recognized just who was looking back at her.

  “Hurry,” Rem shouted.

  She looked to where the Glycon lay. His neck was at an odd angle.

  Jenna grabbed her gun and raced with Rem to the dark door.

  “Wait,” she said once they were on the other side.

  She reached into her pocket and frowned.

  “Jenna,” Rem said and growled a warning.

  The sound of the Glycons as they moved through the rubble of the room reached her ears.

  “We need to move,” he said and pulled her arm.

  Jenna shook her head. “I don’t understand. I had one…”

  She trailed off as she stared through the door at the stick on the floor near the dead Glycon.

  There was no time to grab the explosive. She pulled out her gun and leveled it as best she could.

  “We won’t be able to take them all out,” he said.

  Jenna turned to look at Rem and smiled.

  “We will,” she said.

  The first bullet hit the floor near the body. The quaking worsened.

  She took a deep breath as a Glycon passed the body. The beasts would be on them any moment.

  She ignored everything else, concentrated on her shot and squeezed the trigger.

  She couldn’t take her eyes off the bright burst from the stick.

  Even if she was far enough not to be blown up, she was still too close. Jenna screamed as she was tossed back.

  Warm arms wrapped around her as she dropped to the ground. The ground shook violently.

  “The whole place is collapsing in on itself,” Rem said in her ear.

  She glanced back into the great room one last time. A part of her could almost feel sorry for the helpless creatures. Never once had they asked to be made that way. All of them had just been tools of the Horatius Group.

  Still, they couldn’t exist. As they were, they posed a danger unlike the world had seen. She couldn’t even process what they would be like roaming free, mindless and savage.

  A large rock crashed in front of her, and she was glad to shut out the images. In the end, the Horatius Group always seemed to come out on top. She would take the victory, no matter how it made her feel inside.

  * * *

  They walked in the dark for some time. Rem watched as Jenna tried to shine her phone at her feet, so she wouldn’t trip. For him, this was the easy part. Seeing at night was like breathing. When her battery went dead, he led the way.

  “How did you escape?” Jenna asked in the darkness.

  He was glad to not have her see his face. Despite his joy at seeing her, he didn’t want to talk about the death or what Harold had done to him. Still, he had to say something.

  “Your dynamite,” he said. “It distracted the Glycons enough that I was able to run.”

  He watched as Jenna slowed and took hold of his arm.

  “I didn’t know where to look,” she said. Her hand squeezed his arm. “I wanted to, but there was no time. The only thing I knew was that I had to do something.”

  Rem grinned. “Well, you certainly did something.”

  She looked in his direction and despite not being able to see him, she smiled.

  “Nyx was leading me to you, but we got separated,” she said. Her voice trembled with worry.

  Rem placed a hand on her own.

  “No one knew this place better than her,” he said. “I’m sure she made it out.” He sighed loudly and looked around. “I think we should worry more about our own situation.”

  Jenna searched around blindly.

  “I hear something
,” she said quietly.

  Rem had been following the roar of the water of the underground river. Where there was water, there would be a way out.

  “We’re getting closer,” he said.

  Not five minutes later, the descent came to an end, and they stood in a long hall.

  Rem could sense something. He couldn’t totally explain it, but he knew this is where they’d kept Magnus and Nyx’s people.

  He glanced down the hall at the room at the end. It could be dangerous. More Glycons were likely lurking there.

  “I need you to stay here,” he said.

  Jenna frowned at him in the darkness.

  “So you want to leave me here in the dark by myself?”

  Rem gave a small chuckle. “Maybe you want to come with me and fight blind?”

  She glared at him but shook her head.

  He placed his hands on her shoulders.

  “I’ll just be a moment,” he said

  Jenna nodded.

  He placed a kiss on her lips and then sped away.

  The taste of her still lingered there as he made his way along.

  Rem paused outside the door. Two Glycon guards lay dead on the floor.

  The door hung open as he stepped in the room. Cell after cell hung open wide, clear of any life.

  “He got them,” Rem said, smiling to himself. Magnus had made it in time.

  He still wished he’d been able to follow to get the stone. As long as Agatha had it, there would always be trouble.

  A scream echoed off the walls.

  “Jenna,” he shouted.

  Rem ripped through the door and into the empty hall.

  He could smell her blood there.

  * * *

  Jenna hissed as the Glycon tossed her roughly to the floor. Her ribs were raw from the struggle after the creature had scratched her. She was unlikely to be able to escape from one, and with several around, it seemed impossible, especially since she’d dropped her gun when she was hit.

  “I see I finally get what’s mine in the end,” Romulus said from the shadow of the overhang, barely visible.

  Despite the destruction throughout the facility, red lanterns provided some dim light. Probably some sort of emergency lights.

  Rough waters flowed at her back and kept her a safe distance into the cave. She could see as it splashed against the cliffside and knew she’d never survive falling off a cliff into some underground river.