Doc's face was withered and pale. He lay limply in a hospital bed, his torso supported by a heap of pillows. There were multiple tubes taped to his skin, attached at the other end to clear bags of liquid.
"We've proceeded with chemotherapy treatments," Van said quietly, answering my question before I'd even thought it out.
Doc hadn't looked so bad when I last saw him, had he? I tried to remember, but the image of his face was a blur in my memory. I'd been too drugged out to really notice details, beyond recognizing that it was Doc I'd been speaking to.
"So you're sober now, eh? Does that mean you're back to resenting me?" He asked hoarsely.
I chuckled halfheartedly. "I'll never forgive what you did. But we don't need to talk about that now, considering..." I trailed off.
He smiled. "Considering I'm dying?"
"Yes...that." I'd never been around someone on their death bed before. I had no idea what to say. "How...how did things get bad this quickly?"
Van stepped in to answer. "Sometimes cancer can be relatively asymptomatic until things get, well...very bad. He's probably had it for a long time, and now the tumors have metastasized, unfortunately. There is little we can do, but we're trying." He folded his hands together, wearing a somber expression.
I was torn, unsure if I truly cared about the life of this man before me. Part of me thought any death was tragic and still loved him like a father just as I did before his betrayal.
Another portion, and I wasn't sure how significant, wanted to revel in his pain in the name of revenge. The image of him squeezing Kyle's hand around my knife blade flashed in my mind.
It had not been my fault when Kyle was caught, I finally decided. That blame laid entirely on Doc.
But then another thought crossed my mind—maybe if Kyle hadn't occupied the soldiers while I escaped the school, they would have overrun both of us. Then we'd both be stuck here. Without hesitation, I would take this fate for Kyle to be free. It was better me than him.
Yet all of us could be free if not for Doc and Jason's betrayal.
"So, where's Jason?" I asked, forcing myself back to the present. I folded my arms across my chest.
Doc weakly cleared his throat, suddenly appearing uneasy. He stole a glance toward the far corner of the room behind me, and I turned.
Then my actions were controlled entirely by the searing hot anger that burned its way through my bloodstream. When I spoke again, my voice came out as a seething shout. "You miserable, disgraceful little sack of—" I was interrupted by a big hand being clamped over my mouth. I immediately tore it away and wheeled around to meet Van's panicked expression.
"Keep it down," he warned. "Both of us will be in massive trouble if—"
He reached out to stop me, but I shrugged away from him, turning and slowly stepping forward.
I leaned over the chair where Jason sat, digging into both armrests with my sharp fingernails. He sat there wide-eyed and bewildered, draped in a blanket as if he had just been sleeping. "You'd better be damn thankful they would shock me if I moved too fast, otherwise I'd tear you to shreds right now," I hissed, heaving in deep breaths between my words. "No, actually, I think I'd rip your spine from your body and bludgeon you with it." I smiled, baring my teeth at him. I stared wildly into his eyes until I glimpsed a hint of fear. His pupils dilated, and his breathing was quick and shallow.
Kyle had taught me to read body language.
But then I remember that the physical signs of fear and attraction were much the same.
Abruptly, I straightened and turned away from him, having expelled most of the anger from my system. My blood gradually stopped boiling, and my heart settled for a more relaxed pace.
Now I wanted to put a wall between us and pretend he wasn't there. Anything to get him away from me, so I would never have to think about him again. I didn't care if he spontaneously combusted right behind me.
"If it's any consolation, Tess, they're keeping me here too," Jason said plainly. The sound of his voice made the hairs on the back of my neck bristle. My hands charged with a different kind of electricity, urging me to act defensively.
I'd turned my unguarded back to him. Kyle had drilled it into my head to always watch my back.
It took me a moment to actually process his words, but when I did, my mouth dropped open. I had to concentrate to manually make it shut again. That's what Doc must have meant before, when he said the government hadn't kept their end of the bargain. Doc and Jason were supposed to go free if he handed the rest of us in.
I slowly realized everyone was staring at me. My eyes darted between Doc and Van. "What? I'm calm now, I swear." But they didn't look away.
"Tess, your eyes..." Doc said.
I knelt at the metal desk by Doc's bedside, fed up with their lack of explanation. With a gasp, I spotted my face in its warped reflection.
The whites of my eyes had turned blood red.
My hands began to tremble. I tried to calm myself. I felt fine.
But I looked like a one-woman horrorshow. I stood on shaky legs and faced Van. "What is this? What's wrong with me?"
He gripped my shoulders, perhaps to steady or calm me, and leaned down to stare into my eyes. "Looks like subconjunctival hemorrhage—broken blood vessels in the eye. It's usually not a huge concern. They can happen with strain, and you were yelling. But..."
"But?"
"I've never seen the whole eye go red like that. And it's usually only in one." He released my shoulders and straightened up. "How do you feel?"
"Fine." I rubbed the back of my neck, then hurried to drop my arm when my fingers grazed the implant again. I didn't want Van to realize I knew about it. And I really didn't want to think about it.
"I don't think it's any cause for concern," Van said hesitantly. "It just looks a bit shocking."
Van grabbed a key ring from his pocket, picked out one particular key, then unlocked the top drawer of the metal desk.
I held my breath as he pulled it open. This was my opportunity. Inside the drawer, I glimpsed a shiny pair of scissors. They were only inches from my hand. However, there were still three sets of eyes watching me. I needed to shift their attention.
"So, how long does he have left?" I nodded toward Doc.
I'd intentionally chosen a...challenging, tactless question. The moment the focus shifted to him, I slid my hand into the drawer and swiftly grabbed the scissors. I held them against the inside of my wrist as discreetly as possible, then settled on crossing my arms to completely obscure them from sight. My hospital gown had no convenient pockets or sleeves.
Doc and Van hadn't seen what I did. They were talking back and forth, utterly unsuspecting.
My heart swelled with the hope that escape was no longer an impossibility.
Then I glanced over my shoulder at Jason. My pulse stuttered when I met his eyes, staring back at me with curiosity. He knew. I quickly averted my gaze and obscured the panic on my face.
I'd forgotten how perceptive he was. I remembered his fingers brushing my arm when it was bruised from my hospital stay in the City. He'd uncovered our lie—that Kyle and I had made a small...detour on our mission. And it seems he'd kept it secret because Doc mentioned finding out from the government, not his son.
Maybe he would keep another secret. Apparently, it was the one thing I could possibly trust him for. Doc's past words echoed in my mind: "My son has had a little crush on you for a long time."
Was that it? Jason liked me too much to rat me out? For whatever reason, he'd chosen me to save over everyone else. Though he was incredibly foolish to think I would ever go along with his plan.
Van was speaking only to Doc now. I didn't register the words anymore, barely noticing the subdued drone of their voices. While they were occupied, I discreetly glanced back at Jason.
He smiled at me, raised his index finger to his lips just as he had at the school, then lowered his hand and looked away as if nothing had happened.
I had no choice but to trust a traitor not to betray me.
If Jason messed this up for me, I'd kill him.