Then her hand darts to the gun at her belt. In one move, she whips it out, points it at the door, and shoots with barely a glance.
The bullet hits the emergency sensor.
Every light in the building shuts off in unison. The room plunges into blackness—then is washed in crimson red as emergency lights flare on.
The door clicks open at the same time an alarm begins to wail overhead.
Jax swings her gun toward the button on my gurney, right next to my head, and fires. Another perfect hit. My metal cuffs snap open. I almost collapse to the floor.
She points toward Hideo’s gurney, firing again. He’s freed, crumpling to his hands and knees.
In the scarlet glow, Zero’s silhouette is an ominous black hole. Even though he’s embedded in a machine, I can sense the surprise coming from him.
Adrenaline born from terror surges through me. I scramble to my feet and sprint toward Hideo.
Zero’s head snaps to Jax. “You’re with them,” he says, his voice low and deadly.
Jax doesn’t answer. She just faces him with her steady look and raises her gun again. “No,” she replies. “I’m with you.”
Then she shoots him.
28
Zero’s reflexes areinhumanly fast. His body snaps sideways—Jax’s shot misses his neck and instead hits him in the shoulder with the scream of metal tearing through metal.
Jax fires again, but Zero lunges for her at the same time. Her second shot strikes his leg, sending up another shower of sparks. His leg twists oddly, throwing off the grace of his movements.
I reach Hideo. He’s struggling to his feet, but his motions are slower as he fights against whatever drug is coursing through his system. I pull his arm over my shoulders and force him upright. We make a run for the door.
Zero turns to stop us, but Jax’s hits have broken parts of the suit, making him limp. Still, he’s terrifyingly fast. As we reach the door, Zero’s metal fingers close around a fistful of my shirt.
Jax is on him in an instant. Under the red lights, her eyes have the savage glint of a killer. She strikes his wrist as hard as she can.
She can’t break the metal, but it is enough to loosen his grip and for me to slide through. “This way,” she gasps out over the alarm as she shoves the door open and darts out into the hall.
Hideo and I rush after her. Behind us, Zero’s suit twists in our direction.
The halls are washed in bloody light. Around the bend comes the pounding of footsteps growing louder and louder.
Jax glances at me. “Everyone in this building is under his control,” she whispers. “Get out of the institute. Don’t go through the front—there are guards swarming around there. Do you remember the way to the side entrance?”
I retrace the path I’d taken through the building on my first night here, then nod. Beside me, Hideo is regaining some of his strength, but he still leans heavily against me. We’re not going to be able to move very quickly.
“Good,” she continues. “Get out, then find a way into Zero’s mind. When—”
She cuts off. Her stare darts over my shoulder, and I turn to see Zero’s dark silhouette behind us.
He flattens one metal hand against the wall. Overhead, all the speakers installed in the ceilings buzz with static, followed by his deep voice.
“You’re wasting your time.”
Every scarlet light in the building goes out, plunging us into total darkness.
I can’t see anything, not even my hands in front of me or Hideo at my side. It’s as if we’d been swallowed by a void. At the same time, a round of clicks come from the building’s doors, the unmistakable sound of locks being activated.
I can be everywhere,Zero had said. And now, his mind is operating the institute’s security system, trapping us in.
From the speakers, Zero’s voice envelops us in this impenetrable darkness. “Why are you doing this?” he asks. His question is for Jax.
