Rick Yancey - The Infinite Sea

Ben : Dumbo, how is it? Dumbo!

Dumbo : It’s bad, Sarge.

Ben : How bad?

Dumbo : Pretty bad…

Ben : Oh, Christ. I can freaking see that it’s bad, Dumbo!

Evan : Ben—listen to me—you have to listen to me—we have to get out of here. Now.

Ben : Why? We got her contained—

Evan : Not for long.

Ben : Sullivan can handle her. Who the hell is she, anyway?

Evan : ( unintelligible )

Ben : Well, sure. The more the merrier. Guess we’re well into Plan B. I’ve got you, Walker. Dumbo, you have Poundcake. Sullivan will take the kids.

Ben eased down beside me, placing his hand on the small of my back. He nodded toward the door.

“We can’t bug out until the threat’s neutralized,” he whispered. “Hey, what happened to your nose?”

I shrugged. Swipe, swipe went the tongue. “How?” I sounded like I had a bad head cold.

“Pretty simple. Somebody takes the door, one low, one high, one to the right, one to the left. Worst part the first two and a half seconds.”

“What’s the best part?”

“The last two and a half seconds. Ready?”

“Cassie, wait.” Evan, on his knees behind us like a pilgrim at the altar. “Ben doesn’t know what he’s dealing with—but you do. Tell him. Tell him what she’s capa—”

“Shut up, lover boy,” Ben growled. He tugged on my shirt. “Let’s roll.”

“She’s not even in there anymore—I guarantee you,” Evan said, raising his voice.

“What? She jumped two stories?” Ben laughed. “That’s great. I’ll pop her broken-legged ass when I get down there.”

“She probably has jumped—but she didn’t break anything. Grace is like me.” Evan was talking to both of us but looking desperately at me. “Like me, Cassie.”

“But you’re human—I mean, your body is,” Ben said. “And no human body could—”

“ Her body could. Not mine anymore. Mine has… crashed.”

“You getting all this?” Ben asked me. “Because to me, this sounds like more of Mr. E.T.’s bullshit.”

“What do you suggest we do, Evan?” I asked. Despite the mighty tasty blood in my mouth, the rage was draining out of me, replaced by the very uncomfortable and, by now, very familiar feeling of being in five thousand fathoms over my head.

“Get out. Now. It isn’t you she wants.”

“Sacrificial goat,” Ben said with a nasty smile. “I like it.”

“She’ll just let us walk away,” I said, shaking my head. My sense of drowning was growing more acute. Could Ben be right? What was I thinking, trusting Evan Walker with my life and the life of my brother? Something was off here. Something was wrong. “Just like that.”

“I don’t know,” Evan answered, which was a point in his favor. He could have said, Sure, she’s an okay person once you get past her itsy-bitsy sadism problem. “But I do know what will happen if you stay.”

“Good enough for me,” Ben announced. He backed into the room. “Change of plans, boys. I’ll handle Poundcake. Dumbo, you take Megan. Sullivan’s got her brother. Drop your trunk and grab your junk, we’re goin’ to a party!”

“Cassie.” Evan scooted beside me. He turned my face toward his, ran his thumb over my bloody cheek. “It’s the only way.”

“I’m not leaving you, Evan. And I’m not letting you leave me. Not again.”

“And Sam? You made a promise to him, too. You can’t keep both. Grace is my problem. She… she belongs to me. Not the way that Sam belongs to you; I don’t mean that…”

“Really? I’m surprised, Evan. You’re usually so clear about everything.”

I sat up, took a deep breath, and slapped his beautiful face. I could have shot him but decided to let him off easy.

And that’s when we heard it, like the slap was the signal it had been waiting for: the sound of an attack helicopter, coming in fast.

THE SPOTLIGHT HIT NEXT: Brilliant bright light flooded the hall, poured into the room, flung hard-edged shadows against the walls and floor. Ben raced over and yanked me to my feet; I grabbed Evan’s arm and tugged. He pulled free, shaking his head.

“Just leave a gun with me.”

“You got it, pal,” Ben said, handing over his sidearm. “Sullivan, get your brother.”

“What’s the matter with you guys?” I said. I couldn’t believe it. “We can’t run now.”

“What’s your plan?” Ben shouted. He had to shout. The roar of the chopper smashed down anything softer—by the angle of light and the sound, directly over the hotel now.

Evan wrapped his fingers around the splintered doorjamb and heaved himself to his feet—or to his foot; he couldn’t put any weight on the other one. I shouted in his ear, “Just tell me one thing, and for once in your ten-thousand-year-old life be honest. You never intended to rig a bomb and escape with us. You knew Grace was coming and you were planning to blow both of—”

At that moment, Sammy banged out of his room, one hand locked around Megan’s wrist. At some point, the little girl had acquired Bear. Sams probably gave it to her—he was always passing that bear to someone in need. “Cassie!” He barreled into me, hitting me hard in the gut with his head. I hauled him onto my hip, swayed, Jesus, he’s getting heavy, and grabbed Megan’s hand.

A maelstrom of icy wind roared through the broken window, and I heard Dumbo scream, “They’re landing on the roof!”

I heard him because he was practically climbing into my back pocket trying to get into the hall. Ben was right behind him, Poundcake leaning against his side, the big kid’s arm draped around his shoulder.

“Sullivan!” Ben shouted. “Move it!”

Evan locked his fingers around my elbow. “ Wait. ” He looked up at the ceiling. His lips moved soundlessly, or maybe there was sound and I just couldn’t hear it.

“Wait?” I hollered. The general sense of panic had become quite specific. “Wait for what ?”

Eyes still heavenward: “Grace.”

A banshee howl rose over the thrumming of the rotors, increasing in volume and pitch until it became an ear-piercing, unearthly scream. The whole building shook. A crack raced down the ceiling. The horrible hotel prints in their cheap frames toppled from the walls. The spotlight winked out, and a second later, the explosion, and a superheated blast of air rumbled into the room.

“She got the pilot,” Evan said with a nod. He pulled me, Sams, and Megan into the hall and said over his shoulder to Ben, “ Now you go.” Then to me: “The house on the map. It’s Grace’s now, but it won’t be after tonight. Don’t leave it. There’s food and water and plenty of supplies to last through the winter.” Speaking very quickly now, almost out of time—the 5th Wave might not be coming, but Grace was. “You’ll be safe there, Cassie. At the equinox…”

Ben, Dumbo, and Poundcake had reached the stairs. Ben was frantically waving at us, Come on!

“Cassie! Are you listening? At the equinox, the mothership will send a pod to extract Grace from the safe house…”

“Sullivan! Now!” Ben bellowed.

“If you can figure out a way to rig it…” He was pressing something into my stomach, but my hands were full. I watched wide-eyed as my little brother snatched the plastic baggie holding the bomb from Evan’s hand.

Then Evan Walker cupped my face in his hands and kissed me hard on the mouth.