“Adam! No!” Lisa’s voice distracted Adam from behind.He turned to tell her to get back.A sharp, fiery pain stabbed his side as the iguana swatted his stomach with the five sharp claws on its upraised foreleg.Adam had no idea if the scream came from him or his sister, as he hit the wall so hard that his ears rang.Then he rolled down the few rungs of steps to the hard ground in excruciating pain.His whole body was on fire as blood oozed out of the five deep gashes in his stomach.He blinked up incomprehensibly at the high-arched ceiling.The heavy steps of the two creatures approaching from opposite sides sounded like gongs in his head.“Stay away from my brother!” he heard Lisa screaming at the top of her lungs as Layla pulled her back from running down the staircase towards him."Good,” Adam thought weakly. “Keep her away.”The ringing sound in his ears wouldn’t stop and for a moment, he thought he was dead as he stopped hearing anything.The iguana that was directly in his line

With her heart in her mouth, Sophia navigated the path of the hatch. The facility was full of intriguing designs, like the chrome and black hatch. As much as the facility was a place of great scientific discoveries, the architect who designed it seemed to have put much thought into aesthetics as well. She knew that if the situation had been different, she would have spent weeks exploring and marvelling over the many intricacies that made up the facility. Sophia had wanted to take the exam that would qualify her to enrol in an architecture school. Cain had agreed with her and had even teased her that she was going to be a finicky architect. He had always liked to tease her love for detailing, and meticulousness. Tears formed at the back of her eyes and she blinked them back firmly as she held the rag tightly in her hand. She had already thought of how she would convince whoever caught her that she was only at that part of the facility to do some cleaning. Whether whoever it wa

“I swear, I didn’t do it!” Jeremy said desperately as Shelby came to him in the compartment where he was held.It had a glass, reinforced door, which means Shelby could see his mouth move but couldn't hear him talk.Yet she understood the desperation in his eyes.She gestured for him to look at her mouth, then she mouthed. “Do not be afraid, okay? We will sort this out.”She saw relief on Jeremy’s face, then, in his typical teenage arrogance, he mouthed. “I am not afraid. I am just sorry I couldn’t beat that asshole to a pulp.”She smiled sadly and nodded.Then she motioned that she was leaving.“Thank you,” she said to the injured soldier, who was lounging in a chair close to the compartment.He looked carefree, like he was just sitting there to recuperate but Shelby knew he was assigned there to watch Jeremy.She had to beg him to let her see Jeremy.Though he only shrugged nonchalantly, like it was none of his business, Shelby knew she would have been kicked out or reported if he h

Adam threw out his arms to protect his head as the truck tumbled over and over again.Lisa’a scream accompanied the crashing sound of the truck.The tools in the toolbox tumbled out, and Adam felt a sharp sting as something struck his arms.Another sharp cry rang out just before the truck stopped at a precarious position near the bend of the road.Adam raised his head to see Layla holding on tightly to the door with one hand, with her other hand tightly cinched around the neck of the steering wheel.Her legs were splayed over the compartment divider, almost touching the roof of the truck.She blew her mahogany mane out of her face as she turned her head towards Adam.Adam could see a cut above her brow.“Is…”The scream came again, more agonising this time around.She turned her neck sharply towards the source and winced with pain as Adam scrambled up from where he was thrown across the dashboard.He felt a sharp pain on his back where the truck's front glass had broken against his ba

Adam asked to see Marriane.He assured the lieutenant that he would get his wounds checked, by the way, and the latter let him go.The doctors’ quarters were still off-limits to the others, so Marriane was wheeled to a temporary viewing room where Adam could see her.She was lying unconscious and unmoving.Adam had to be reassured by the doctor again for him to believe that she would be fine.“For how long?” he asked as the female doctor opened her medical bag and asked him to take a seat on the padded bench close to the bed.The doctor looked at him uncomprehensively for a moment, then asked, “You mean how long can she survive without the medication?”Adam nodded as he gritted his teeth while she dabbed his wound with antiseptic.“It would do her body good to get the transfusion as soon as possible. Trauma has already weakened her body and that has impacted the oesophagus more. The cancer could spread more if she stopped taking her medication for too long. I believe her five-year lif