We walked over to Red, and there were some soldiers walking behind us. Some were carrying injured soldiers with them. I said, “I hope no one died.”
He said, “I don’t know. I hope not.”
We reached the gate and said, “Boris? What about Vicky?”
He tapped on the panel to go in and said, “I should have killed her.”
I gasped and said, “Why? She didn’t mean any harm. She is doing what she thinks is right.”
He said, “You were going to shoot her.”
I said, “God no! I wanted to scare her cause I was pissed off of what she said about you.”
He said, “Lina. She has been a bitch to you since you were young. She made your life miserable and you always turned the other way and ignored her.”
I was puzzled and said, “What?”
He said, “I’m glad that you don’t remember that. But she always made you feel low and unimportant. At times I found you crying alone in a corner near Alliance. Other times, your friends tried to comfort you and helped you ignore her. She was mean and ruthless. I have no idea why she was heartless towards you. It was more than jealously. Just pure hatred of towards you and what you will never have.”
I said, “What I didn’t have?”
He said, “Yes. A family. A home. Someone to defend you when you were weak.”
I stared at him and said, “That’s not a reason to kill someone Boris.”
He gestured with his hands and angrily said, “What do you want me to do now?”
I said, “You have to go to her and apologize for what you did.”
He said, “What? No! Never!”
I said, “Boris! If you don’t then you will go nowhere near me ever again! She is human and she has her flaws. No reason to be cruel!”
He gasped and said, “Are you serious! Of all that she has done to you!”
I said, “Just do it!”
I walked in through the entrance and towards the ward upstairs. I felt sick and my head was barely carrying my body up. I entered a door and Bob and the others were waiting for me. Bob said, “There she is.” He ran to me and hugged me tightly. I said, “I need to lay down.”
He took me across the hall and I laid on the bed. I said, “Hook me up later. Let me sleep.”
I opened my eyes and saw the sun rays gleaming on the floor. I raised my head up and looked around. There was no body in sight. I put my head back on the pillow and hoped that Boris apologized to Vicky. She must be here at the ward. I got up and walked to the door. I opened it and I stood in the hallway. Which room was she in I kept wondering. The best solution was to ask the doctors.
I went across the hall and opened the door. I saw a doctor who said cheerfully, “You look a lot better this morning! I should tell them to get you something to eat.”
I said, “Not now please. Can I ask you something?”
The doctor said, “Yes.”
I said, “Is Vicky here?”
The doctor said, “Oh. I will check for you.”
I stood still waiting for the doctor to search on the computer screen. The doctor came back and said, “She must have come here way after you. I didn’t know. Are you sure you want to see her?”
I was confused and said, “Yes? Is it ok?”
The doctor touched my shoulder and said, “She is not well. She has genetic mutation that they found in her last night and of her organs are functioning slowly. It’s too late to do anything anymore. The bullets from last night were very external. Barely a scratch and they were easily taken out.”
My eyes widened and said, “What room?”
The doctor said, “Two doors to the right of your room.”
I sprinted to the door and opened it. I walked to Vicky’s room and held the door knob. I was hesitant to go in. I stared down at the ground for a few seconds and opened the door. I saw Boris sitting down on a chair and another man, it might have been her husband. They looked at me and Boris said, “It’s my fault.”
I shook my head and stared at Vicky. She was laying down on the bed with her eyes closed, beautiful long golden hair, and a pale tone of her skin. I walked closer to her side and stared at everyone. The man said, “I’m Alex. Her husband. You must be Lina.”
I nodded and said, “I didn’t want this to happen. I never meant it to be this way.”
Alex said, “It’s not your fault or Boris. Vicky has many personality flaws that were causing endless problems in our marriage. This genetic mutation is a wakeup call for us.”
I stared at Alex and then at Boris. I said, “It’s not fair to her. She doesn’t deserve this.”
Alex stared at me and said, “Lina. I think you should go rest. You being here is not good for you. I don’t want Boris to suffer like I am now.”
I stared at him and Boris got off the chair and said, “I will take you back to your room.”
I walked out silently with Boris to my room. He motioned for me to lay down and he sat on the chair. He then said, “After you left, I went over to her office. The door was wide open and she was laying on the ground. I thought she was dead. I took her to the ward and the doctors removed the bullets. They barely made a scratch because I aimed it to the sides of her legs. When they took them out, they hooked her up to the machine and scanned her body for any other problems and why she was still unconscious. They noticed that her motor functions were shutting down rapidly. They ran a DNA analysis and found that her genes were quickly mutating in every part of her body. I told Alex what happened and he told me that she knew but didn’t tell anyone. She wanted to die alone.”
I stared at him and said, “Why? Why did this happen to her? She was not born with it.”
He said, “I know, but like John told us earlier, they discovered that it may happen to anyone at any time. It can happen to me tomorrow.”
I said, “But how can we stop it?”
He stared and shook his head, “I don’t know Lina. Humans have suffered so much in the last century. It could be this very earth that we stand on and eat from that is causing it. We don’t know.”
I looked away from him and stared down at my hands. I didn’t want to hear anymore. I felt Boris staring at me and I said, “John has resigned from his position as General.”
He looked at me and said, “Yes?”
I said, “That means that I am rightfully in charge now. I hold the power in Intelligence, if the compound still wants me.”
He stared at me wondering what I was thinking and said, “Lina? What are you getting at?”
I said, “Intelligence has smart scientists who want to help our world. They were swayed to another direction for no purpose other than blind power. They need to find a cause and cure for this mutation. I have to go back and make sure it happens.”
He nodded and said, “I agree.”
I said, “Now what about Triangle, the trucks and supplies?”
He said, “They left this morning. I guess many people want to find a new home.”
I said, “Oh no. Did they have genetic mutation?”
He said, “I don’t know. But there were many that left. Close to 500 people.”
I gasped and I said, “That’s more than half of Triangle.”
He said, “I don’t know Lina. I can’t think anymore.”
He lowered his head to the ground. I got off the bed and said, “You’re still the General of Red. Act like it.”
He looked at me with wide eyes and I said, “I have to go now. You know where to find me.”
I winked at him and walked to the door. He didn’t stop me.