986 (Complex Series, #1)

Chapter Twenty-One

The Official holds her hand out further. I bite my lip, trying to buy a little more time. I motion for her to take another step back.

She doesn’t. “Give me the shot.”

I gasp and point at the opposite wall. The Official frowns and glances behind her. I pull make my arm to throw the shot to Piper. The Official turns back to face me, confused. Too soon. She sees the syringe just as it leaves my fingers’ grasp. Too late to stop.

She puts out a hand to catch it. It bounces off her palm and spins in the opposite direction. She scrambles after it, bobbling it on her fingers. Unable to get a firm grip. It finally bounces too far. She dives to catch it. The floor illuminates her face, clearing away all the shadows. I gasp. No.

The syringe shatters on the floor. Glass shards scatter. The blue splashes up, coating the Official.

 I don’t know how to react to what happens next.

Bumps burst along the Official’s face, puffing anywhere it can. Horrifying ridges. Purple. Yellow. Green. Black. Red. Puss leaks out.

I want to rip my eyes away, get this horrible scene out of my mind. But I can’t. I can’t stop staring. It’s too terrible to continue watching. It’s too terrible to stop. Too terrible to think. You can only stare.

She clutches her face, screaming in agony. The scream clashes against Annie’s. It echoes of the walls. She blindly crawls backwards, clawing at her face. She tries to scratch away the liquid that’s already soaked into her skin. Blood seeps from her pores, pooling in the ridges. Her desperate fingers smear the blood. A drop smacks the floor. Another hits a puddle of blue with a horrible fizzing noise. She collapses into the same puddle. There’s more of the horrible hissing.

I’ll never truly erase her screams from my ears. Her breathing becomes labored. Her hands swell the same grotesque blue, purple, yellow, and black.

Officials flood out of every door, wearing tight gloves, masks, and goggles. Ten of them, each carrying a stretcher. They pull out a small machine and place it next to the blue puddle. It sucks it away, no trace of the blue left.

The Official on the ground has gone still.

A different Official shouts, “Get her on the stretcher.”

They lift her up, pulling straps over her body. I can’t tell whether her chest is moving or not.

Two Officials quickly roll her away.

Two more surround Annie. They have to pull Sienna out of the way. She still shouts things to Annie, futilely trying to calm her down.

The Officials force down Annie’s arms and legs. A syringe appears, glistening a dark green. They plunge it into her arm. She falls limp. They pick her up, setting her down on the stretcher. They carry her away. What does the green do? I’ve seen them use it on a few people. Does it knock you unconscious? More than that?