BEYOND THE DEAD ZONE | COMPLETE

Twenty-One |

Twenty-One |

Cora Meitner-Maxwell...why did that name sound familiar? I squinted my eyes at her, trying to rack my brain as to why it seemed so familiar. She didn't look like anyone I would know but that name sounded like I should recognize her face.

"Who are you?" I asked again.

She blinked at me patiently, "Helen Meitner is my biological mother."

"And your father?"

"Technically, it's Eric Maxwell."

I tilted my head, "What does that mean?"

"Well, I'm a test tube baby, my mom put an egg into a tube, and then used my biological father's deoxyribonucleic acid to make me," she said awkwardly, giving a wave, "Hello."

I blinked once, then twice.

"What the fuck is deonextrick acid?" I demanded.

"DNA?"

Whatever. It explained why I knew her name. Helen Meitner was the woman in here before her, and Eric Maxwell was a scientist I think. I've heard his name from the other leaders. He apparently was after the illicit before the cure was made. My body tensed, if he was still around that meant bad new. Bad—very bad news.

"Where's your dad now?"

She shrugged, "Well, he's kind of dead?"

"What?"

"It's complicated," she chuckled, "But he was bonded with the virus in a particular way, kind of like your mother. So when he died, his body was extracted and his cells contained before they could disintegrate."

This information sounded insane.

I shook my head, a startled laugh slipping from my lips, "My mother isn't infected. She's an illicit. Like my Dad is. They were apart of the thirteen original."

She frowned, "No, you must be mistaken. Erin Brooks was the first."

"Yeah," I was growing annoyed, "The first illicit."

Her face paled, "N-no that's not right. I don't know who archives your facts within the wall but they're clearly altered. The thirteen included: Ophelia Anon, Leon Piers, Aribella Anon, Sebastian Wolf, Oliver Star, Colton Anon, Barron Rivers, Sam Dore, Molly Well, Nicole Well, Tyren Well, and Oden Well. Your mother was not an illicit. She was—"

"That's enough Cora."

I looked over at the door where Helen stood with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. My gaze skittered between them and a new panic filled me. What the hell were they implying about Mom and why did it sound like they were implying she was...something else.

"No, I don't think it's enough," I replied coldly.

I wasn't a kid anymore and I wouldn't allow the truth to escape me. Whatever it was, I could handle it—I had to. I could feel my palms growing sweaty. This was what we came here for and it suddenly made sense. Very slowly, all the secrets my Mom kept made fucking sense.

"Eero," Helen said slowly, "I understand there are many questions you have for us, and they will be answered with time. I don't think laying this much information on you would be good for anyone—even if you think otherwise."

I held my chin high, "I'm not an idiot. I can make inferences. Jason Brooks was my grandfather right? Trying to come up with a cure for cancer? Let me guess, Mom was the lucky cancer kid? The thing that was meant to save ended up destroying the world."

She smiled, unfazed by my words, "You're correct."

"And Eric Maxwell?" I demanded, "Why was he trying to hunt down the illicit?"