The Chimera Vector (The Fifth Column #1)

Chapter 53: Ever an Ill Death

Sophia wrapped her arm around her head to muffle the piercing sound that filled the donut-shaped corridor. Behind her eyelids, she saw the grenade’s xenon lamps pulsing viciously. They made the corridor walls hot like the surface of the sun.

She traversed the floor on her hands and knees and found herself halfway across the body of an Elohim. He writhed beneath her, blind and disoriented.

All the Elohim had collapsed to the floor. Cecilia had fallen too. Her off-white trench coat was difficult to see among the white combat suits the Elohim wore, but Sophia found her. She collapsed beside her.

The flashing dissipated. Sophia had five seconds before the Elohim’s vision would return. She guessed a further ten seconds before they gathered enough coordination to fire their PEP rifles, paralyzing her.

While Cecilia was still protecting her eyes, Sophia took the opportunity to rifle through the trench-coat pockets with her good hand. She found a bulky wallet and opened it. Inside were four needles, four vials and alcohol swabs inside a pouch. Sophia could see four vials inside. Each one had a different color. One was amber, one was vivid blue, one was crimson and another violet. She recalled the Axolotl Chimera vector being violet in color and the Anti-Psychopath being blue. Cecilia was smart enough to carry a backup. One of those vials had to be the Chimera vector. Sophia held onto the wallet.

The Elohim stirred around her. Cecilia reached down with one hand and took her P99 pistol from under her trench coat.

An Elohim grabbed Sophia’s leg, pulled her flat onto her stomach. The wallet slipped from her grasp. Cecilia sat upright, gripping her P99. She pulled back on the slide.

Sophia crawled to her knees and elbowed the Elohim who was grabbing her. His grip slipped. Cecilia reached for the wallet. Sophia whisked the pistol from the Elohim’s hip holster and aimed it at Cecilia.

They were aiming at each other.

Sophia squeezed the trigger.

So did Cecilia.

Cecilia’s round struck Sophia in the chest. Burned through her skin, her lungs, blew out her back.

Shuddering, Cecilia collapsed where she lay.

Sophia turned over, onto her knees, breathing hard. Her right lung had taken the round. She almost passed out. Breathing felt like swallowing lava. She was too scared to feel her back, see how much flesh was missing. She didn’t want to guess how many minutes she had left before death.

Cecilia’s gloved hands were wrapped around the wallet. Sophia shoved the pistol between her knees and pulled at the wallet, but Cecilia wasn’t going to give it up so easily. Sophia’s peripheral vision told her the Elohim around her were starting to recover. She was running out of time.

Forcing herself to stand, she half-ran, half-staggered to the cell door that imprisoned Damien, Jay and Denton. She found the General’s severed finger on the polished concrete floor, picked it up and pressed it into the fingerprint scanner. She heard the Elohim behind her reaching for their PEP rifles.

The red light above the fingerprint scanner faded and the green light blinked on. The cell door opened.

Sophia collapsed. The pistol slipped from her grasp. She saw Damien and Jay rushing towards her. They checked her wound.

‘We need first aid!’ Jay yelled at Denton.

‘That’s not going to happen,’ Denton said.

Sophia tried to hang on, to stay conscious. She followed Denton’s gaze to the Elohim standing on either side of Cecilia, PEP rifles aimed in her general direction. And there was Cecilia, also standing, seemingly unharmed.