CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE - THOMAS
“No,” I yell, clutching my head. She’s in me. That bitch, Cyan. The second Lincoln shattered her, I collected her memories. She’s inside me.
No. It’s Sullivan. Sorry, bitch. No room for you in here. Sullivan, the master of the dark places in my head, has some kind of hold on her. Some kind of quarantine.
Take control, Thomas. But that’s not Sullivan. It’s Cyan. She’s here. Inside me. She’s got my thoughts. She’s controlling me.
“Get out of my mind, you bitch!”
Fight her, Thomas. Sullivan is trying to hold on to me. Desperate to keep me with him. But there’s a link… there’s always been a link, I realize. Ever since I let Sadie in my head.
We come in twos, Cyan whispers. When you let my sister in, you let Uzi in too, you fool!
How many fucking people are inside me right now?
“Thomas!” Sadie’s call for help makes me struggle to open my eyes. Uzi’s got her by the hair and he’s dragging her into the center of the room. Sheila’s robots come over the side of the broken front window, dragging Iziah’s body behind them.
“Thomas!” Sadie calls again.
I reach for her with my hand. But it’s stupid. I’m all the way across the room. And Cyan is there anyway. Fighting with Sullivan.
He’s strong, but she’s… a force. I have to help him.
“Thomas!” Sadie is still calling me. And that’s when I notice… none of my friends are still standing. No Lincoln, no Case, no Molly, no Lulu….
“Thomas!”
I need to help them.
Thomas.
I need to help Sullivan too.
Thomas.
But it’s too late. Because that’s Cyan. Inside my head. In control.
You’re mine now, Thomas.
Sullivan is gone. Molly gone. Lulu, Case, and Lincoln, gone.
I need to help them. I need to help them all.
Silly Thomas, Cyan croons inside me.
“Help me!” Sadie calls.
I open my eyes, the pain from Cyan’s takeover so severe, my blurry world spins. I squint, try to focus. And then I see it. I realize just how badly I’ve lost this fight.
Uzi has Sadie in the middle of the room. Iziah is lying down beside her. Already lifeless.
But she’s next.
I can feel Uzi’s build up in my mind. I am linked to that motherfucker, so I feel it.
He lets loose a mind blast right over top of Sadie and Iziah. It literally blows their minds. If Iziah wasn’t dead, he surely must be now. Sadie’s body goes limp. She crumples under his force.
Everything is silent.
“Silly Thomas,” Cyan says, through my mouth. “You have far too many loyalties, my stupid little puppet. Didn’t your Prodigy school ever teach you about divide and conquer? You have to pick and choose who you will be loyal to. And you can only have one. Lesson learned, huh?” She tsks my tongue. “But you learned it just a little too late.”
“Come on,” Uzi says, reaching for my hand. I take it. Only it’s not me. It’s her. Cyan. I am Cyan now. “He initiated the satellites, remember? We’ve only got about eight hours before the whole thing goes down.”
“I can’t wait,” I say. Then there’s a sick moment when I realize… I’m still me. But now Uzi’s my partner.
Thomas…
But it’s faint. She’s gone. Sadie is gone. She doesn’t matter anymore. Uzi and I are the only ones who matter now.
“We’re gonna take over the world, Thomas.”
“Yes,” I hiss. “But don’t call me Thomas again, you dick. I’m still Cyan.”
Uzi laughs as we walk out the door. “You know I’m gonna come back for Sadie and wake her up. I’ll need her to be my little fuck-doll again when this is all over.”
“I wonder if I like girls now?” I ask Uzi. We laugh together.
“You can like whoever you want, Cyan.”
We get in the car and slam our doors at the same time. And we laugh all the way down stupid Lincoln Wade’s five-mile-long driveway.
“Isn’t it great that these Alphas set up the whole thing for us?” I say.
“We are gonna fuck that city up good, Cyan.”
“Yesssss,” I hiss back at him. “We are.”
It’s still dark but it won’t be for long. And by the time we get down the mountain it will be a brand-new day. We’ll be the ones to take down Cathedral City, not these worthless Alphas. And when we’re done… Prodigy will control everything and everyone.
Bye-bye, Alphas. Your delusions-of-grandeur schemes are ours now.