The Beyond: Dystopian Survival Fiction (The Breeder Files Book 4) by Eliza Green (most popular novels TXT) 📗

All eyes were on Dom; it quickened his pulse. He had no idea how to do this. Anya stood in the middle of the room. Her hands were two fists, as though she were using them to keep her true emotions back. When he rejoined her, her fists unclenched and her hard look softened.

How had Max managed to do this, to speak to a room full of people relying on him to keep them safe?

Dom cleared his throat. ‘We had a chat with Agatha just now.’

Jerome stood up. ‘And? What did she say?’

Dom told them what the Beyond and the Region were, according to Agatha.

Jerome frowned. ‘What does that even mean?’

‘It means she could be lying to keep us here.’ said Anya. ‘Or she could be telling us the truth.’

June said, ‘What’s wrong with staying here? Why would we want to go back to the Region anyway? The machines were trying to kill us.’

Sheila had that look on her face, the one that said she didn’t trust people. ‘And Agatha just blurted it out?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Why?’

Dom blinked. ‘I don’t know.’

Anya said, ‘She told us after we demanded she open the door and bring the others across.’

June frowned at Anya. ‘I don’t understand. She promised it would open today.’

‘And she said just now it wouldn’t be opening again. That it was too risky.’

Alex stood and jabbed a finger at the room. ‘That’s bull. We have to open it again!’

Dom looked at Frahlia. The little girl was staring at Alex, slightly pulled back from him.

A hardened soldier stood up. ‘What do we do?’

Dom shoved his hands into his pockets and answered honestly. ‘I don’t know.’

‘You can’t leave them in the Region. We barely got out alive.’

‘It’s possible they haven’t survived,’ said one of the younger soldiers.

‘So we leave them to die without knowing for sure?’ Sheila growled at him. She turned to Dom. ‘We have to get that door open. You know we do.’

‘I’m with Sheila,’ said Jerome.

He’d been quiet up until now, not offering much of an opinion.

Dom sat on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands. Around him, the others discussed their predicament. Their strained voices made it hard to focus. The bed dipped beside him. A familiar, warm hand on his calmed his racing heart.

Anya bent her neck and looked into his eyes. ‘It’s going to be okay, Dom.’

Her beautiful, blue eyes. Their time at Arcis came rushing back to him. The tests, the trials. The battle in the landscape. They’d almost died. But they hadn’t. Against the odds, they’d survived. Max had given his life to save them. Jason had, too. Their deaths had not been in vain. They’d found the Beyond. But they hadn’t all made it. And that was on him.

‘Charlie and Vanessa doubted I could do this. Maybe they were right.’

She shifted round to face him. ‘Charlie and Vanessa are stuck on the other side. They’re relying on you to help them.’

He kissed her lips, needing to feel more than her hand. She sagged against him.

Pulling away, she said, ‘You’ve got this, Dom. You always have.’

With a nod, he stood. ‘We need to find a way to open the door.’

Alex smiled. ‘I might be able to disable the security in this place. I found a backdoor into their program last night.’

They could do with all the help they could get.

‘Do it.’

Anya’s brief nod at Dom gave him the reassurance he needed. This was the right call, despite what Agatha had said. For all he knew, she could be lying. And one thing was certain: He would not leave the others to die.

Ω

Before Alex had slipped out of the room, he’d told Dom that disabling the security wouldn’t take long. Dom had sent one of the soldiers with him.

But it did take long. An hour longer than Dom had been prepared to wait.

The soldier had returned ten minutes ago, but without Alex. He’d said Alex was right behind him, but when the Breeder didn’t show, Dom readied to go after him.

Preparing to leave, he told the others to wait. At the door, he’d barely touched the handle when it moved on its own and the door opened.

Finally.

Except it was one of Agatha’s men.

‘This room is on lockdown.’

Anya stood up sharply. ‘Why?’

Dom backed up to the bed and caught her wrist.

‘One of you was caught trying to disable the security system,’ said the base soldier.

Alex.

‘That makes all of you a threat.’

Anya pulled out of Dom’s grip. ‘Please, let us speak to Agatha. We can straighten this out.’

‘No.’

The soldier closed the door. Dom heard the clunk clink of a lock being turned. Anya rushed to try the handle. The door wouldn’t open.

Dom rounded on the soldier who’d made it back. ‘What the hell happened?’

His eyes were wide, his face flushed. ‘Alex was in the control room. I-I was keeping guard. He told me to head back, that he was right behind me. He must have triggered an alarm.’

A worried June pleaded with Dom. ‘Do something. He was trying to help us.’

He squeezed her arm. ‘I will. I promise.’

But Anya had an odd look on her face.

‘What is it?’

She looked up at him before her gaze flicked to June, then away. ‘I saw Alex last night. He was in the control room doing the same thing he said he would today. Except, then, he didn’t trigger any alarms.’

‘They must have different security during the day, that’s all,’ said June hotly.

Her cheeks flushed red. ‘I guess that’s it.’

The door opened again and an irate Agatha entered the room. Her furious gaze landed on Dom.

‘You and you’—she pointed