After firing off a message to the team about Joseph, I make my way to my parents' safe house for our weekly dinner. I try not to miss it, because I know these moments are numbered, and I want my parents to have some happy memories with me to look back on after I'm gone. Having good memories of Sparkle, Elisabeth, Sacajawea and Nic are what keep me functioning on my worst days.
Light is spilling from the windows, and I can hear excited chatter even before I open the front door. I take a breath before entering the chaos that is now the permanent state of their home. Mom and Dad were looking for a new project to put their energy into now that the court case is settled, and Lady Cleo put them to work promoting the launch of the reality series, targeting Evolved viewers.
"Darling! You'll never guess who's joining us for dinner!" Mom says, sweeping me into a tight hug.
I glance over her shoulder and see Ava hovering by the dinner table, an uncertain expression on her face. I haven't seen my best friend from high school since I graduated, and part of me thought our worlds were too far apart for us to stay friends.
"Hey, Ava. I'm glad you're here," I say, giving her a tentative hug that she returns.
She tucks lock of hair behind her ear. "Your parents thought I could help attract younger viewers to your series. I've been hyping it on social, and getting the word out on college campuses."
"It's quite impressive," Dad says. "Your friend here had the idea of reaching out to Throwback Allies groups on campuses across the country, and sharing the early clips that Sun gave us."
"Hits on the show's site have gone through the roof since then," Mom gushes. "The pilot of the series is going to be the most-watched show of the year, mark my words!"
"Congratulations, that's amazing," I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster. "And, uh, thanks, Ava."
The front door opens, and a frazzled-looking Addie comes in. I do a double-take, not sure I've ever seen her look frazzled before.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
She nods and gives me a significant look. There's more she'll share with me later.
"Apologies for being late," Addie says to Mom and Dad.
"No apologies needed! We ordered in Chinese food," Mom says.
Over dumplings and orange chicken, we all share what we've been working on. Even with the addition of Ava, it's a relaxed and comfortable setting. At least until mom looks up at me and gasps.
"Joan, you're bleeding."
I dab a napkin to my mouth, thinking it's my gums. They are sore, but I realize my nose is also dripping with thick, red blood. Whether it's from the events of the day or the sight of the blood, I'm suddenly dizzy.
A vision hits me with sharpness and clarity.
Mom and Dad are sitting in the front row of Seattle Secondary's auditorium, clutching each other and crying. Every single seat is filled, and I recognize face after face.
Students from Seattle Secondary are a few rows behind mom and dad, sitting with the teachers. I look for my friends, and see Marie, Sun, and Kat huddled in the back, sitting with Hautey and others from the Chrysalis. There are also hundreds of others whose faces I don't recognize. Everyone is wearing black.
With dread, I turn my eyes toward the stage. A giant photo of me is propped on a stand, surrounded by flowers. Harriet approaches a podium and clears her throat, twice, like it's hard for her to speak.
Whizzing through the air are tiny cameras capturing every second of the spectacle for the news media, who must be somewhere in this crush of people.
"We're here today to remember our daughter, our friend, our champion, Joan Fasces," Harriet says.
So it must be.
The vision ends, and there is a high-pitched ringing in my ears. Mom and Dad are shaking me, and Ava is white with fear.
"I'm okay," I whisper. "I forgot to take the antidote. I'll get it and be fine."
Mom sobs, dabbing at my bleeding nose with a napkin. "I didn't know it was this bad. I didn't know."
"It's okay, Mom."
Dad's on the phone with someone, talking rapidly. Addie leads me to the couch and helps me lay down, carefully propping my head up on a cushion.
"Bow before my burden, do not break?" I ask her with a wry smile.
She gives me a knowing grin of her own, but I can tell it's forced. It's hurting her as much as my parents to see me like this, but she's being strong for me, as she always is.
"Oh, we'll be breaking all right. Breaking Strand's backbone, so they can never hurt anyone like this again," she whispers fiercely in my ear.
Someone pounds on the front door, and Dad rushes to open it. I'm expecting Justus or Harriet, but, instead, Mav hurries in, holding a vial of the antidote like it's the most precious thing in the world.
"I'm here to save you, Joan!" he says, handing the vial to Addie with shaky hands.
"My hero," I say, giving him a close-lipped smile so he won't see my bleeding gums.
Addie carefully tips the contents of the vial in my mouth, and I swallow, wincing at the taste. It never gets better.
Mav snatches a glass of water from the dinner table and gives it to me. Behind him, Mom, Dad and Ava watch helplessly. Even though I'm still weak, I push myself up so I'm sitting.
"This looks worse than it is. It's my fault for missing a dose."
Dad shakes his head. "You told us about the H2IV, but I didn't realize..."
Mom buries her head in Dad's shoulder, unable to control her tears.
"The team is working on a cure," Addie says briskly. "And I've made progress in my work at Strand. One way or another, Joan won't be depending on them for long."
"Plus, Joan's strong," Mav says, sitting next to me so that his warm little body is pressed against mine. "She's a survivor, like me."
My heart aches at his words. The idea of what I'll be putting Mav through when I die makes me sick. He's endured so much pain and loss, and mine will be another that he'll have to carry on his narrow little shoulders.
All I can do is be the best version of myself for him and my family, for as long as I can. I change the subject, trying to sound as upbeat as possible. "Mav, want to tell everyone about your role on the reality series?"
Mav grins, and launches into a story about his scenes with Jin and Blu, as they navigate going to school and working to help fight for Throwback rights in their spare time.
Mom and Dad pull chairs over so they can sit next to me, and Ava brings the Chinese food to the couch so we can all keep eating. For a little while, we have a normal evening, and I bask in their love while I still can.
~ ~ ~
Mom and Dad try to insist that I stay with them for a few days, but I'm determined to go back to the Bunker so that Justus and I can curl up on my bed, like we do every night. I only have so much time with him, and I won't give up a single night of having him next to me.
As a compromise, Addie escorts me and Mav home in her very old car. Mav falls asleep on the way, his head against my shoulder. When we reach his mom's house, Addie helps him to the front door. Mav's mom, Grace, waves to me from the doorway, and then puts her arm around Mav's shoulders. Helping save her is at least one thing I did right.
Addie comes back in the car and sets the nav to the entrance to the Lab that's closest to the Bunker.
"Tell me about what had you looking so worried earlier," I say as soon as she's settled in her seat.
"It's good news, in a way," Addie says, though her expression is pained. "I was given additional clearance at Strand to clean a laboratory I didn't even know existed. But the work there..."
She shoulders start shaking, and it takes me several seconds before I realize that Addie is crying. I wrap my arms around her and she cries harder than I've ever seen her cry in my whole life. Dread settles in my stomach,. Addie never loses control like this.
"You can tell me when you're ready," I whisper to her.
She shakes her head and straightens her spine. "You need to know. I sent Harriet the actual footage that I recorded, along with my notes. But don't look at it, Joan. You can't unsee what that monster does."
"Lexi?"
She shakes her head. "His name is Dr. Rodriguez."
My breath catches in my throat. I recognize that name. I saved Dr. Rodriguez's life when Crew was planning to have him executed, only to learn later that his R&D center was responsible for killing Throwback babies.
"He's still at Strand? Even after the article exposing what he'd done?"
"There was never concrete proof, at least enough that he could be prosecuted. And his R&D center is still very much active at Strand, though it's now on the main campus, several levels below ground."
"Is he still..." I can't bring myself to finish my sentence.
"He's not spending his days murdering and dissecting Throwback babies any longer, if that's what you're asking," Addie says. "But it's not much better. I'm not allowed into the lab itself, but I do dispose of their waste, which gets me close enough to get the occasional look inside. From what I've seen so far, there are cells in there with Throwbacks inside. He's experimenting on them. Torturing them. I saw a young woman strapped to a table, and she was in the very final stages of death from H2IV. Blood was pouring from her mouth and nose, and her body was covered in bruises."
"He must have been pushing her body to its limits to see if it would activate any genetic mutations that she carries."
Addie nods. "She couldn't have survived. Even if she was given the antidote, by that point her organs were failing. On top of that, Dr. Rodriguez was administering electric shocks, and her body was jerking on the table. Blood was everywhere. I've never seen someone in so much pain."
"He really is a monster."
"I took a look through the trash before it went in the incinerator. There was enough food waste to be supporting at least a dozen people. Maybe more, if they are underfed. What if there are children down there?"
I squeeze Addie tighter. "We're going to stop this, I swear it."
"I need to get inside that lab. Someone must be cleaning the cells, disposing of the bodies when someone dies. You can be sure that it's not an Evolved doing that kind of dirty work."
"Be careful. If they figure you out, they'll kill you."
"I'm not afraid of them, Joan. In fact, they should be terrified of me, because I will not rest until I see every single person working for that company brought to justice."
Goosebumps break out on my arms. I just hope that Addie succeeds before someone at Strand discovers her deception.