Marked

David was Abby’s son.

The man who had once spared her life was now delivering her to someone who planned to end it. The irony of it all almost made her laugh.

The hallways leading to Abby’s office were littered with a few passer-byers, their eyes huge saucers of shock. Hushed whispers, intermingled with barely concealed threats skittered after them as the group walked past.

Their weapons had been taken away, but Rachel held on to the comfort of one last weapon she held that no one could take from her, carefully mulling over all the ways she could use it.

Abby’s office, in its entirety, was like a steel box, with four metal walls and only one glass pane as a door that let in little to no light.

The room was no longer decorated by a cheery sunrise or faux beaches—no, it was now bathed in stark reality. It was the perfect setting for abandoning all pretenses and baring the truth out in the open once and for all.

The plant in the corner of the room smelled of sweet rot, the single desk bleeding into the darkness of the walls where the fluorescent lights couldn’t quite touch. Abby stood, adjusting the flap of her jacket as she wound around her desk towards the group. She went straight to Rachel, eyeing her with eyes the color of storm clouds.

“We welcomed you into our home, gave you shelter, food, and safety, and this is how you repay us?”

Rachel realized Abby didn’t know yet that they had overheard the conversation between her and the nameless capital man. If she wanted to continue playing the benevolent leader, Rachel would humor her.

“You’re right...” Rachel trailed, making her voice as apologetic as possible. She cast her eyes to the ground, her shoulders slumping in mock defeat. “How could we have betrayed your trust when you gave us a purpose in life?”

“That’s right,” Abby replied, straightening her back.

“I mean, all the trouble you’ve gone to...training us, getting the antidote when we got sick. You’ve sure done a lot for us...“—She cast her eyes back up to take in Abby’s reaction— “And I can’t help but wonder what you get out of all of this?”

“What I get?” She scoffed. In her periphery, Juan twitched and Simone’s eyes remained glued to the ground. “What I get is the certainty that the capital will soon be brought down no thanks to people like you who spread evil and bite the hand of the person who feeds you.”

Rachel inched closer to Abby but David placed a halting hand on her shoulder, stepping between her and his mom, just where she’d wanted him.

A crude laugh escaped Rachel’s lips. “Oh Abby, it was nothing personal, really. Don’t you know that the world isn’t about good and evil anymore? It’s about surviving. I was just trying to survive.”

Abby’s mouth worked to form a response but her eyes betrayed how shocked she was to have her own words thrown back into her face. As if to insult Rachel with her lack of response, she spun around and tapped her fingers against her desk.

“Get them ready for transport.”

“What about Officer Rodriguez, ma’am?” A guard inquired.

“Her too. We have no room for traitors in our home.”

“I wonder if this what your husband envisioned when he brought everyone to the bunker? You know, you never told me what happened to him but he must be dead if a monster like you was left in charge.” Rachel said sweetly.

Abby spun around quicker than she thought was possible, chest rising and falling rapidly, lungs looking as if they would burst through the fabric of her white blouse. She could no longer ignore Rachel, not after that, and she planned to use it to her full advantage.

“Don’t you dare talk about my husband!”

“Why? Did you abandon him in the capital too like you’ve done to so many others?”

“That’s enough out of you,” David growled, gripping her arm and giving her a slight shove.

“I’ve done only what is necessary to ensure the survival of my people!”

Ignoring David, Rachel bent around him so Abby could see the smirk plastered on her face. “Is that what you tell yourself to justify what you’ve done? What would your husband think of you if he knew who you work for?” Rachel was grasping at straws. After all, she didn’t know if Abby’s husband had been any better than her but judging by the pain-stricken look on the older woman’s face, she thought she had struck a cord somewhere.

Realization and confusion slowly spread across Abby’s face, draining the color from her cheeks. Rachel could almost see the wheels spinning behind her eyes as she tried to think of any way she might have given up her dirty little secret.

“Leave us!” She ordered. Her ears and the back of her neck flamed red, a few strands of gray hair escaping her perfect up-do. “You too, Michael.” Abby said to David who apparently wasn’t named David at all.

“I’m not leaving you alone with these people.”

“Maybe you should go, Michael.” Yalina purred. “Bless your soul, I don’t think you’re ready to hear what we have to say.”

“Michael, go!”

Voice laced with disgust, Juan asked, “No one knows what you do here, do they, *you bruja?”

“What are they talking about, mom?” Michael released Rachel’s arm. The blood slowly returned to her aching muscles and she stepped slightly behind him so he could no longer see her hands.

“Not even your perfect, little son knows? You’ve kept him blind, dumb and stupid, making him believe he’s fighting a great evil when in reality...you’re the biggest threat of all.” Yalina seemed to have caught on that Rachel was trying to create a distraction as she goaded Abby on further.

“You shut up! You shut up right now, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“The fear in your eyes says otherwise.” Juan retorted. She inched closer to Michael who stood with his hands on his hips, head whipping back and forth as he watched the exchange.

Rachel glanced behind her—all the guards had followed orders and abandoned the room. She looked down at her hands, still positioned strategically, though it had made her wrists go numb. She dug her nails into her skin until she bled and twisted her wrist outward, making the ties loosen their hold.

It was a trick she’d learned from a book once—how to place your hands just right if anyone ever tried to bind them. Almost giddy that it had worked, she didn’t waste a single second in letting the ties fall from her wrists and her fist collide with Michael’s throat. He fell to his knees, clutching at his neck as he gasped for air.

Abby’s eyes widened in minute surprise, quickly followed by an outraged cry. Before she could react, Rachel gripped Michael by his hair and twisted his head back so that her bleeding hand hovered over his mouth.

“Call it off.” Rachel ordered. “Call it off right now or I’ll infect him. I might not be sick anymore but the virus is still inside me.”

“Let him go.” Mouth pinched, face pale, Abby didn’t bat an eyelash. On the other hand, Michael was staring up at Rachel with fear-filled eyes, the promise of E-91 hanging in the air like the death sentence that it was.

“Mom.”

“It’s too late now. I already told them about you and if I don’t send you now they will come regardless. You’re done.”

“Then so is he.” Rachel shoved her hand closer to Michael’s mouth. He tried to twist away but Juan came to the rescue, somehow managing to hold his head between his bound hands.

Abby’s features became bathed in raw terror and she reached forward as if to halt them, “I’ll call it off, I will. Just let my son go.”

“Do it now.” Yalina ordered. “And you better be careful about saying anything else or Rachel will infect Michael.”

Abby fumbled with the screen on her desk, punching in keys to send a phone call. Rachel withdrew her hand slightly to let fat drops of blood land on the floor rather than in Michael’s mouth. She was breathing heavy, not able to believe they had been able to pull this off. It seemed too easy, and when that happened, it oftentimes was just the illusion of calm before the storm.

A chilling voice came over the intercom, smooth, cynical and almost inhuman.

“What are you bothering me for now, woman?”

Abby cleared her throat, shifting on the balls of her feet as she looked at Michael nervously. “I’ve decided to keep the three I told you about a little while longer. They might be useful, yet.”

“You play too many games, Abigail.” The man replied with a theatrical sigh.

“You should not have given me so much authority if you did not want me making decisions.”

Silence crackled on the line for a few moments. Rachel waited, muscles pulled so taut she felt she might shatter.

“Mom, what is this? What have you done?” Michael whispered. Abby signaled for him to shut his mouth.

“Keep them but be sure to send me another shipment by the end of the month if you want to uphold our bargain.”

“One more thing!” Abby said in a haste. “I need more vaccines. For my sons.”

Yalina rammed Abby’s side and shoved the end call button. “What the hell was that about!?” Yalina spat. “We told you not to say anything else!”

“I had to make sure my sons will be safe. You left me no choice.”

Yalina slammed her bound fists into Abby’s face, forcing a gush of blood to squirt into the air like a rainstorm of red pearls.

*you witch