Creators(79)

“He used me to start the revolution. I would die for that a thousand times,” he said urgently, passionately. The fire that lived inside of him was in full rage now.

I rolled my eyes. “While your pledge to die a thousand times is noble, you only die once.”

“I know about what happened to Stephanie,” he said quietly.

I licked my suddenly dry lips. “I’m sorr—”

“She would have wanted to die for the cause,” he interrupted, blinking away the tears that pooled in his eyes. I did the only thing I could do for him in that moment; I pretended I didn’t see them. I kept what I knew about Stephanie’s final moments to myself. That my father’s cause was no longer hers during those final days. Watching Henry die had changed something for her. She gave up her mission to save all to save one.

But Henry wasn’t Stephanie. Even the news of her death didn’t change his need for revenge. I could tell him how she died for something purer, something worth dying for, but he would never see it that way. That’s when I realized that more than his love for her or me, he loved revenge best of all.

And I felt sorry for him.

“I don’t have a key card for this,” I admitted, turning my attention back to the door.

“Good thing I do.” He grinned, pulling George’s card from his coat pocket. Of course he did.

Once we unlocked the room, Henry surveyed his surroundings, making count of all the incubating chosen ones to ensure none had been removed from their cases. He pressed his face against one of the chambers, his reflection mixing with that of the very thing created to destroy him. “What were they thinking when they made these things?”

I shrugged. “They probably thought what every man thinks when he attempts to control the world—they’re making it a better place. I don’t think anyone truly intends to harm people when they go about this, destroy them for joy. I almost feel sorry for the creators,” I admitted. Maybe Abrams wasn’t so different from me—a girl betrayed. Maybe if she knew love, she would save the things she wanted to destroy.

“You care too much. You want to think the best of people. That’s a weakness.”

“You know who you sound like when you’re talking like that? The damn council,” I said.

Ignoring my insult, Henry walked past me and pointed to the control panel room. “Is that how I end this? George said you had the code.”

I felt sick. That was why my father had sent me down here. Not to take count but to end the lives of the incubating chosen ones. George had planned this moment long ago. He knew I wouldn’t kill them on my own.

He should have known I wouldn’t kill them now.

“I’m not telling you anything. So if you want to kill them, you’d better go find George and tell him to give you that damn code,” I spat.

Henry sighed. “I really don’t want to make this more difficult than it needs to be.”

He was right. This was more difficult than it needed to be. George knew me. He knew how I worked. That was part of the reason he had made my life so difficult. He knew I would fight Henry over the codes.

“He’s trying to distract me. Keep me busy,” I said slowly.

“What are you talking about?”

I raised a shaking hand and pointed it at my best friend. I would love him forever, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t shoot him. He couldn’t help my father take James from me again. “You’re going to tell me what my father’s doing, and you’re going to tell me right this second.”

Henry opened his mouth to protest when the alarm bells began to blare throughout the entirety of the headquarters. I clamped my hands over my ears to protect them from the painful noise. Henry, obsessively focused on the mission at hand, stalked over and dragged me to the control panel.

“The code. Now,” he ordered.

I shook my head furiously. “I’m not giving you anything. You can go to hell,” I snapped.

“We don’t have time for this,” Henry warned.

“You’re right. We don’t. George could have given you the code, but he needed you to keep me busy. He’s always playing games,” I muttered, walking past Henry toward the exit. Before I could get far, Henry grabbed onto my elbow.

“You can’t win,” I told him. “You do know that, right? Every chosen one up there now knows the building is being attacked. How the hell do you expect to beat them?”

“We don’t have to beat them,” he yelled over the noisy warning system. He opened his jacket to reveal a makeshift bomb attached to his chest. “We just have to slow them down.”