Running while carrying a woman is no easy feat, even for someone in as good a shape as I was. Running for your life while carrying a woman was an impossible task. I wasn’t even sure how I was accomplishing it at this point. It was like I had flipped a switch in my mind that had turned off everything essential, except what I needed to run. It felt mechanical, like I was a robot, only capable of running, yet it freed my mind to think about some things.

I hated suggesting that we leave Ms. Dale behind. It was a practical suggestion, but it still didn’t sit right with me. I knew that Violet had, and likely was, still considering it. I understood her hesitation, I shared it with her. I wasn’t eager to have someone’s death on my hands.

I imagined it was worse for Violet. She had seen so much death the past few days, and been responsible for more than a few. I could tell that her decision to rescue Ms. Dale was a bit of a selfish one, for multiple reasons.

The first was that the two women shared an emotional connection. Violet was downplaying it, but I had picked up on it when she had talked about her. There was an affection there, which made sense, considering Ms. Dale had clearly been a mentor for Violet.

The death that had been haunting Violet for a while was also playing a major role in her decision. I could see the guilt and regret in her eyes when she talked about the deaths of the last few days—she hadn’t wanted anyone to die—she felt responsible. Because of that, it was like she was trying to prove to herself, and the world, that she could actually save someone. I wasn’t sure that Violet was aware of that drive, but it was readily apparent to me.

But I could also tell that Violet wasn’t only considering her emotions in saving Ms. Dale. There was a logical reasoning behind it. Violet had questions, and Ms. Dale could have some answers. It was all about surviving until she could get those answers.

I couldn’t blame Violet for being selfish: I had questions as well. The mysterious egg that was the focus of all this, and Lee’s letter… It was nagging at me, like an unfinished puzzle with missing pieces. I guessed that was why I decided to become a warden. A lot of people, when they saw my size and fighting prowess, assumed I became a warden for the more violent aspect of it, but I liked solving things, and was more intrigued about understanding the why and the how, than beating down the who.

Truth be told, I only liked fighting in the ring. I liked the rules and the structure of it. Causing harm to someone was better if they knew that they had signed up for it, as twisted as that sounds. There was an expectation in cage fighting, a knowledge shared by both competitors, that someone would get hurt, and we accepted it.

Most people who committed crimes or did illegal things did it with the hope of not hurting others. In fact, they tried everything to avoid it. Most crimes were non-violent, so there was a certain expectation that their arrest, if it came, would be non-violent as well. This wasn’t always the case, but it made me uncomfortable to inflict violence upon them when they didn’t accept that as a reality of their crime. It didn’t stop me from doing my job, of course, but it did keep me from being aggressive toward criminals who hadn’t hurt anyone physically when they committed their crime.

Of course, if they met me with violence, then I had no problem showing them exactly how violent I could be…

Violet’s hand on my shoulder jerked my mind back to reality. I had been running on auto-pilot, but now I felt blood pouring from multiple bite wounds on my neck and arm—Violet had been doing her best to keep the red flies off of me, but they’d still gotten through.

I glanced over at her. She was pointing off to the left, and shouting something. I realized that I was having problems understanding her—likely the blood loss and exhaustion were messing with my senses.

She shouted something again, her lips forming words that seemed foreign to me. I blinked, trying to clear the cobwebs from my head and focus on the now.

“Viggo!” Violet said, her hand squeezing my arm tightly.

“Yeah!” I responded.

“Flashlight!”

I held out the flashlight, which she took, replacing it with an aerosol can. I immediately began spraying it over me and Ms. Dale, letting the cool mist envelop us. I could feel the sting on my skin as some of the droplets made contact with open wounds. I knew there were a lot more we couldn’t see.

Violet took off in the direction she had pointed, and I followed. It seemed like she was moving toward the densest part of the foliage. I wanted to shout at her to stop, because running through that would be dangerous. Then I realized, the density of it would help provide cover from the massive swarm that was threatening to envelop us. It would help diffuse their numbers, and if they collided with a tree or branch hard enough, they would die.

I admired her sharpness as I pushed through the leaves. Using the forest as a shield was dangerous, and we had to slow down our pace considerably, but still, it would probably help more than it hurt.

I had barely started running in the thicket, when suddenly I was out of it again, a giant white structure looming up in front of me. I pivoted, making a hard left, and I heard the soft plops as the red flies chasing me hit the wall at breakneck speeds.

A path was carved out around the structure, and I followed Violet’s bobbing flashlight beam, chasing after her. How had she known this was here? It was exactly what we needed—but it was such an odd find that it almost seemed surreal.

There were no windows, and I could tell the structure was made of concrete. The path around it had been carved out from the wilderness, but as I ran, I could see that the surrounding plant life remained. In fact, it seemed like it had been cultivated, which was smart. It was perfectly hidden, buried deep in The Green.

It wasn’t very big, either. I rounded the corner after about twenty feet, and came to another wall about forty feet long. Violet was already turning the corner to the next part, and I pounded after her, Ms. Dale flopping against my back.

The red flies were back, buzzing around me. I compressed the nozzle to the spray, keeping them off us, but it slowed me down a little. I could hear Violet shouting from ahead.

I staggered around the corner, my breathing now coming in ever shorter bursts. Violet rushed toward me, excitement lit upon her features.

“There’s a door,” she shouted. I nodded, and struggled to put one foot in front of the other. My legs were shaky. I could see the silver entrance ahead, but my vision was becoming blurred.

As Violet continued spraying me, I felt the sting from a dozen new bites. I realized that they had been on me, biting me all along. Blood was also dripping from several bites on Ms. Dale. We were slathered in the stuff.

Violet grabbed me, trying to pull me after her. I watched the excitement morph into concern, and realized I was growing dizzy. I felt like I was lying on my back, trying to watch people who were upside down.

Then I remembered Samuel. “The dog,” I rasped. “Where is he?”

Violet shook me, and said something again. I stared at her blankly. Blood was pouring from her now, and I realized that I was holding her back. Samuel would be okay—he was a resourceful dog. If he had been smart, he would have fled into the jungle away from us. Violet, however, wouldn’t abandon us to save herself.

Looking into those gray eyes, I did the only thing I could to save her life.

“Go,” I said, pulling Ms. Dale off my shoulder and thrusting her into Violet’s arms. She staggered under the other woman’s sudden weight, but I was already stumbling away from her.

I heard Violet shouting, presumably my name, as I moved out of the reach of the aerosol spray. Immediately, the red flies swarmed me. I couldn’t feel their bites, but I could feel thousands of wings beating across my skin as they pelted against me.

I sank to my knees, struggling to smash as many as I could. Their bodies burst under my hands, as I released even more blood from their bodies into the air, encouraging the feeding frenzy. I couldn’t hear Violet over the sound of the red flies, so I had to hope that she took the opportunity I had created for her to make it to the door.

I felt my body start to give out. I began to fall over, the dizziness and exhaustion overwhelming my will to remain upright.

But something caught me before I could hit the ground. I looked up, and there was Violet, one hand on the back of my neck, her fist full of the collar of my shirt. I watched as she struggled to pull me with one hand, her hand using the other to spray the aerosol can over us.

I felt a surge of anger at her for disregarding my noble self-sacrifice. I was literally sacrificing my life for hers, and she was still risking her neck to save me.

Ironically enough, that anger helped fuel my exhausted limbs. I clung to it, using it to stand up, and start staggering to the door. Behind me, I heard Violet spraying the aerosol container, keeping the swarm at bay. The aerosol can was failing, I could make out the hissing sound of it cutting in and out.

I didn’t look back, knowing if I did I wouldn’t make it to the door. I staggered over the threshold, tripping over Ms. Dale’s unconscious body as I did so. I managed to catch myself, but I sat down hard, the dizziness making my vision grow dark.

I heard Violet shutting the massive airlock door behind us. Several red flies got in, swarming over Ms. Dale.

Violet was bleeding from several spots, blood trickling down her neck and arms. She stepped over Ms. Dale, her movements disjointed. I could only watch as she reached the other side of the small room.

I wasn’t sure what her intention was, but it became clear to me as she hit a red button that was glowing dimly on the other wall. Immediately, a white gas started pouring from the ceiling, covering us all.

And then everything went black.