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have to.” She
walks up to me, stopping just short of me while she looks me
straight in the eyes. “It’s why we have to stop this; stop all the
changing. It’s time for people to be free instead of experiments.
And you can do that, Kayla.”
    I glance over at Tristan and then back at
Nichelle, knowing she’s right, feeling it in my bones. I need to
stop this; stop innocent people from getting hurt.
    It’s time to save the world.

Chapter 6

    We—or rather I—decide I better do something
with Tristan’s body before darkness arrives. Maci wants to bury
him, however I refuse to do it. Even the buried smell of death
would attract the vampires and that’s the last thing I need at the
moment. I remember the ditch on the outskirts of the colony that
Aiden and I jumped over the night before and it seems like a good
place to take him. Aiden wants to go with me, but I tell him no
because I don’t trust him, and besides, he’ll move too slowly in
daylight. Deep down, though, I simply want to get away from it all
for a while; clear my head.
    I pick up Tristan’s lifeless body and sling
it over my shoulder, trying not to think about what I’m doing
because it hurts my stomach when I do. Then I leave the cave and
head out into desert where the sand has been dampened by the rain.
The sky is starting to tinge orange on the other side of the
clouds, which means the sun is lowering and nighttime will soon be
here. I keep my pace quick and my footsteps light, knowing the last
thing I want to do is be out at dark. Yes, vampires aren’t a
problem, but the abominations are.
    After what seems like an eternity, I reach
the ditch secluded just on the edge of the city limits and
carefully lay Tristan’s body down in the soft dirt. Then I do
something really weird and I don’t even know why, other than I fill
some sort of finality in the moment. Without even thinking, I
tenderly run my finger down his cheek as I remember the way he used
to be, before the Highers got their hands on him and changed him;
made him a killer and pawn to be used against good people. He was
innocent. He could barely harm a thing and they had turned him into
a monster.
    I grow furious as I think about all the harm
the Highers have caused. It is getting late and I am tempted to
wait around to watch for the Highers, see if they come out to feed
so I can try to pick them off one by one. However, as my temper
subsides, I realize the only way to for me to seek revenge against
them is to put an end to everything.
    “ Rationalize,” Monarch whispers in my
head. “Keep a level head and wait until it’s time.”
    I want to tell him to shut up, remembering
what happened back in Cell 7, but I’m not really sure if he’s even
talking in my head or if it’s a memory. Plus, what he’s saying
seems right; I need to keep a level head. The Highers, vampires and
the abominations all must go. The only way to do that is to find a
cure and I’m the key to finding it. So, even though it kills me, I
turn and head back to the cave.
    ***
    When I get back, it’s dark, which of course
means the vampires are out, yelping and nipping at each other,
their eyes dripping blood, their bodies decaying flesh. But they
keep their distance from me, especially because I walk on top of
the boulders; jumping from one to the other, making sure none of
them follow me. Their cries echo through the night as I climb
calmly up to the cave, quickly slipping inside before putting the
rock in front of the entrance again.
    It’s darker inside, yet my night vision
allows me to see everything clearly as I walk to the back, stooping
low to avoid hitting my head on the section of the cave that dips
downward. I can see where everyone is sleeping. Aiden, who is
leaning up against the wall, has his eyes shut, although I’m fairly
certain he’s wide-awake, listening to me walk around.
    I don’t go to him, heading off in the
opposite direction, instead, and step over Nichelle’s leg that’s
stretched