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

looked back at her and nodded. ‘About four months ago. Why?’

She glanced up at Dom. ‘We knew their son.’

Agatha smiled. ‘They’ll be glad to hear. Not many who cross still have family alive.’

‘He didn’t make it.’

Dom rubbed small circles on her back. She felt the tension in his hand.

Agatha said softly, ‘I’ll tell them.’

‘Can you also tell them something else?’

Agatha stopped and looked at her.

The words wouldn’t come. What did she want to say about the boy who’d been so desperate to succeed he’d tried to rape her? His parents abandoning him had damaged him psychologically; he’d used everyone around him. She could see that now.

Agatha waited for her answer.

‘Tell them he died a hero and they should have trusted him with the truth.’

Anything else was in the past, where it belonged.

Dom leaned closer to her ear. ‘You’re a bigger person than me.’

Agatha gave a tight nod. ‘I’ve got some work to do. You two okay on your own?’

It wasn’t like there were many places to venture in the Beyond. But there was one place she wanted to go.

‘Is Alex being released soon?’

‘I hope so. We’re taking precautions at the moment. He was able to pass through the door undetected because our scanners did not pick up the chip implant in his head that Quintus had hijacked. We want to make sure Quintus is fully gone.’

‘I’d like to see him.’

‘That can be arranged.’ Agatha lifted her wrist and spoke into it. ‘Please give Anya Macklin access to the prisoner.’

She nodded at the pair and walked away, leaving Anya and Dom alone in an echo-filled space.

Dom’s deep-brown eyes were filled with worry. ‘Do you want me to come with you?’

They were no longer in danger, but she sensed Dom was still unsettled. So was she. Maybe when they left the base for the new city she’d feel different.

Anya shook her head. ‘I need to talk to him alone. Do you mind?’

He crooked a smile. ‘I’ll catch up with Sheila and June.’

Anya placed a hand on his chest. His heart beat was steady, but she felt a slight shake in his body. ‘Hey, you got us here to safety. Things are good.’

Dom smiled at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘See you soon.’

He walked away.

Anya followed the corridor to a split and took the left turn. It led her to a new area she had only seen with Agatha as part of their tour. It appeared no place was off limits to her now. That put her mind at ease.

She arrived at a room. Outside, two guards were posted.

One said to her, ‘Agatha said ten minutes.’

He opened the door and she entered a room that held a single bed and a bedside locker. In one corner was a metal chair. The room was as sparse as the dorms in Arcis had been. The grey blanket on the bed and the white walls reminded her of the unit she and Jason had occupied in Essention.

Alex was sitting on the edge of his bed. He looked up when she entered.

His mouth curved up on one side. ‘Hey.’

‘Hey, back.’ She closed the door and pulled the chair over to the bed. ‘How are you feeling?’

Alex smiled sadly. ‘Stupid. I almost got everyone killed.’

She sat down. ‘It wasn’t your fault. Quintus was using you.’

‘I felt him in my head, but I couldn’t do anything about it.’ He looked at his hands, turned them over. ‘He was controlling my thoughts and actions.’ He looked at her. ‘It was like when we were on Rapture.’

Anya shivered at the memory. ‘Carissa sacrificed herself to save us. To save you.’

‘What’s going to happen to her?’

‘Agatha says they’re going to wipe her mind and reboot her.’

‘Any chance she’ll remember us?’

Anya smiled sadly. ‘I hope so.’

She had managed to regain her own memories after the machine in Arcis had wiped them. Maybe Carissa’s memories would come back to her in the same way.

She nudged his leg with her foot. ‘Hey, Agatha says you can leave soon.’

Alex looked around his room with a sigh. ‘It may not be the fancy room we had in Praesidium, but it still feels like I’m a damn prisoner.’

‘Only while they make sure Quintus is gone.’

‘Sure.’

‘Agatha says I might have been born in this city, not in Praesidium. That it was impossible to have been born twenty months ago in the Region. That Quintus may have taken me as a boy—teen, I don’t know—and turned me into a Breeder.’

‘She must have a record of you entering the Region.’

He shook his head. ‘She says I may have already been in there when the Region was being set up.’

Anya changed the subject. ‘Did June come to see you?’

Alex nodded, looking anywhere but at her. She sensed something was up, that June’s visit had not gone as planned.

‘What are you three planning after?’

He released a sigh. ‘I don’t know. Quintus was the one who was happy to see Frahlia, not me. I don’t even know if I want kids.’

‘And what does June think?’

Alex looked up at her. His eyes glistened with unshed tears. ‘There’s no question. She wants to keep her, even though, biologically, she’s not hers. What should I do?’

It wasn’t a decision she could help him with.

‘Do what’s right for you. Whatever way you choose, I’m sure June will understand.’

Alex blew out a breath. ‘I really like June, but I’m also new to this. To the idea of freedom.’ He laughed bitterly. ‘All I’ve ever known is my short life in Praesidium. And according to what they told me, I’m not much older than Frahlia or Carissa.’

That was true. Alex had been under the impression he’d matured rapidly using