The Last Mate on Earth

Part 1 - Chapter 12

* * * Hayden’s POV * * *

I lose sight of Hope in the commotion. “Hayden, stop. You are not a soldier, stay f*****g put”, Hedley starts his rant. I yank out my earpiece and drop it on the studio floor to stop Hedley yelling at me.

Focus, Hayden.

My heart pounds under my suit as I scan the encounter room through the screen in the observation room, and my eyes catch the lifeless body of Mother Hannah and the hands that are still around her throat.

The Parents are beating helplessly at Lawrence, but their frail, fifty-seventy-year-old fists make no impression on him. Half of Hedley’s security team are uselessly clicking the triggers on their weapons.

Idiots. Every gun in the building is chipped, programmed not to fire when pointing at Hope.

Hope. Where is she? I jump the table and move into the meeting room and into the mass of veiled women. As I scan the chaos I see her. Her green eyes flash in my direction through the thin strip of her black veil.

One of Hedley’s men has his arms around her waist and is pulling her away from the danger, out of the line of fire, so the weapons will reactivate and eliminate the threat.

When I turn back, Lawrence’s face is barely a metre away from my own. He is muttering something under his breath, which sounds like a prayer. He’s not fazed by the chaos around him, by the armed men scrambling frantically towards him through the sea of Parents.

He is focused as he releases his grip and pulls off the veil, revealing the face of the woman he’s killed. His muttering stops. He has failed. He drops the body and lunges at the nearest veiled Parent.

He knows Hope is still in the room. There is a sudden metallic click that echoes around the walls. Every gun is armed – Hope is out of the line of fire. I turn back in time to see her hands clawing at the open door as she’s pulled from the room towards the lift – but not before she witnesses the execution of Prospect Number Two.

The room lights up as a dozen guns open fire on Lawrence. I only see it through the reflection in Hope’s horrified eyes before she’s dragged into the corridor.

Run, Hayden. I bolt as fast as I can, ignoring every obstacle in my way, hurdling over the table and chairs, bumping into the Parents and Hedley’s security team, taking full advantage of being a nobody.

I reach the hallway in time to see the lift doors closing on Hope and her guardian. My heart stops at what I’m seeing. Everything about this is wrong.

Hope backs into the edge of the small, spherical space, terror on her face. The security officer is staring at the doors, visibly willing them to close faster. His eyes flick up and lock with my own. In that fraction of a second I read his thoughts. It’s as though all his inner demons scream at me, revealing the true intention of his rescue.

Noooo. Move Hayden. Kill him, my mind screams at me.

The doors close on them as I bolt towards the lift, arms reaching out for Hope. I’m two feet away when it begins to descend, a deafening shriek from inside making the walls vibrate.

“Hayden!”