To Be A Champion

Chapter 32: Ego

"I have half a mind to make you pay for that in here, but it would do nothing but waste my time." A wicked grin makes its way onto her face, and my entire body tenses. "Plus, you still did help me escape in a way. That Frances is always so watchful of me on cameras, but apparently seeing you and that husband of yours, as well as that Colonel you're so desperate to save, distracted her so I could escape." She looks quite proud of herself. "I've been working on a way to get out for awhile. Just needed the right opportunity. Just in case you never came to help me."

I swallow down the rising fear. "I don't see why you thought I would help you at all, considering you hate me."

"I do hate you." She scowls. "But you know that I can't kill you in this dreamscape, and you're stronger and more skilled than me in the real world. We're both dying, Callista. And while I'm sure you would kill me if given the chance, you know that if that somehow doesn't work and your mind continues to deteoriate, then you'll have killed the one person who probably could have saved you by making us new bodies."

I take in a long, deep breath. "You shouldn't have broken out. You're infected with red fungus!"

Catherine tsks. "Oh, yes, I remember listening in and Frances giving that part up. She also told you how there's something similar to the red fungus in my blood, but not quite? Just similar enough to slow down the fungus even more than it already is."

"That doesn't matter-" I start, but she cuts me off.

"It's in you too, you know. I was in your head when you unlocked Pro. Feive's files, something I was never able to do. I heard her talk about it. Makes sense that it was the inspiration for the hive mind. Curious about those folktales she mentioned. She never told them to me, whatever they were.

"I suppose it's a lucky thing that the red fungus couldn't be contained in us clones. Imagine what would have happened if that was in your bloodstream undetected and you took those nanites. You saw what it did to that... what did Janine call it? A P-Type?" She laughs. "Although the thought of you becoming like that abomination is rather appealing."

A low growl leaves my throat. "Stop changing the subject."

She doesn't listen. "And it makes sense now as to why she loved you more even though she'd never met you. Feive never told me about who we came from. I never asked. But at least now I know she loved you more than me because you looked the most like Cassidy. But I'm not upset. This just means her love for me was real, and her love for you was because you are nothing more than a carbon-copy of someone else."

Her eyes shine. "A replacemanent."

My vision goes red.

"Shut up!" I lunge for her, but she quickly dodges.

"Faites attention à votre tempérament," She says with a mocking tsk. "Wouldn't want your anger to get the best of you."

My jaw is clenched so hard my teeth are actually starting to hurt. "You can't leave the island if you're infected."

She rolls her eyes. "Believe me, I have no intention of coming and infecting everyone on Mor Island or on the mainland. I have no doubt you will find a cure. I have my ways of steering clear until the time comes. I've managed to reprogram those laser turrets to not recognize me, so I should be safe for at least awhile, as long as I avoid some of the other defenses here. And I know that island Niomh is now free of zombies since Jones got them all to come to Mor after causing that massive explosion."

"How did you manage to repogram the turrets?" I ask, and she huffs.

"You know I am sixteen years older than you, yes? I was twenty-eight when the apocalypse started. I have a degree in computer science and in nursing. I know how the programming here works better than almost anyone." She face twists into something bitter. "Pro. Feive knew this, which is why she put in extra precaustions for her files so I could never hack them... And then you come in and simply knew the passphrase, and you just so happened to have a registered retina scan because you have Cassidy's eyes. Always lucky, you are."