Lance couldn’t sleep. Everyone around him was breathing long and slow, curled up in the back corner of the bar. The room was nearly pitch black, and the door was closed and locked. The windows on each side of the door allowed him to look out at the street and the police cars patrolling. Lance had deemed it necessary for one of them to stay awake in case they were found. Anyone looking into the window wouldn’t be able to spot them in the darkness, but if Caleb had found out about the Rose and about Lance’s store, it was only a matter of time before Derek’s bar was targeted.

Eric had told Kaela and Derek of their fight in the sewer while Derek disinfected and bandaged his hand. Derek recounted what happened in the Rose, but only after Kaela left the room in tears.

Hearing what they’d had to do to survive sent a chill down Lance’s spine. He tried not to stare at their bandaged arms.

Lance was curled into a ball in the corner, watching the silhouettes of all the sleeping bodies.

Even the beast slumbered, certainly more comfortable than anyone else in this bar. Lance was wide awake. Fear was his blanket, and his heart could only settle for a handful of seconds before the memory of those purple veins flashed in his mind.

His head was spinning. Somehow, he’d been injected with nanobots. Yet the beast inside of him… What was it? A figment of his imagination? A side effect of the nanobots? The question he’d been replaying in his mind ever since was no less terrifying as it popped into his head again. Can Caleb track me?

However it worked didn’t matter. It was the only logical explanation for how Caleb kept finding them. It also meant that Caleb already knew about Lance’s nanobots. It meant that he couldn’t control him. If he could, he would’ve tried already.

But that was how he kept finding them.

It was Lance.

Caleb could sense Lance’s nanobots.

He had to put a stop to this, had to get away from the others. He couldn’t afford to put them in danger. Had he been faced with that question days ago, he wouldn’t have cared. But now Kaela, Derek, and even Eric were his family. The closest thing to one he’d had his entire life. He couldn’t let them die because of him.

With a quiet groan, Lance sat up and surveyed the three sleeping bodies scattered across the room. Their chests rose and fell. They were all sound asleep. If he left now, he could get out before they knew what happened. He would go to Caleb. He needed answers—about how he’d been infected, for starters. Then he would fight him. Or he would try, at the very least. He could try to leave the city, but if Rob had been right days ago, plenty of soldiers were guarding the perimeter of the city. More than Lance could afford to fight or sneak through.

Lance stood and padded to the kitchen. He paused at the back door for a breath before stepping out. The night air was cold, and it dug its fingers around his body. A chill went up his spine as he walked, but it wasn’t from the cold. This would likely be his last night breathing in such air.

He made it to the entrance of the alley, where he stopped and waited. He listened for any sign of movement, for any cars patrolling, before he took a step toward the street.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Lance nearly fell over, and when he looked back, Eric’s head was peeking out from the back door. His eyebrow was raised, and a smirk played on his lips.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Lance said. It wasn’t a lie. “I thought if I went out for a walk, it would help.”

Eric closed his eyes and shook his head. “You’re a terrible liar.”

Lance gulped, helpless as Eric closed the distance between them, cane in hand.

Lance swore under his breath as he stood before Eric—no limp, no care about putting weight on his leg. No hiding it now.

When they were face to face, Eric spoke. “I think you forgot this.” He held up the cane, offering it to Lance.

Lance made no move to grab it. Instead, he wiped his hands on his pants and refused to break eye contact with his father.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Eric asked. “Because that pathetic limp you tried after we killed Daniel was not believable in the slightest. And now this?” He clicked his tongue. “You would be a terrible actor.”

Lance crossed his arms. “Anything else you’d like to get off your chest?”

Eric raised that eyebrow again. “Getting a little confrontational, are we? If you’d like to keep that attitude, I can—”

“I’m leaving,” Lance said. Also not a lie—not technically. “I’m sick of all this. I’m sick of being stuck with you three and almost getting killed at least once a day. I’m sick of being hunted down by a madman who only wants you to begin with.” He took a step closer to Eric, inches from his face. “I’m especially sick of you. Of the mind games you play and the constant reminder that out of every bad thing that’s happened in my life, the worst was finding out that you are my father.”

Eric appeared unfazed by the harsh words, and Lance’s anger grew. Before he could spout any more truths, someone spoke from inside.

“What?” It was Kaela. She was standing just outside the back door. Hurt glazed over her eyes as she looked at Lance. “Your father?”

Eric closed his eyes tightly, as if wishing this was a dream. Then he sighed and turned to Kaela. “Of course not. He’s just…” He shook his head and cursed at the ground, clearly seeing no point in lying anymore. “Damn.”

Anger slowly crossed Kaela’s face. “Are you… Are you serious?!” She raised her voice, marching toward them. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me from the beginning?”

Eric opened his mouth to answer, but Kaela just scoffed and turned away.

“Son… son?” She shook her head. “Why didn’t you just say that all along?” She rubbed her face. “You strung me along like a puppet for days! I kept asking why you brought him into our group, and all he turned out to be was your son? Why didn’t you just lead with that?”

“Kaela,” Eric started, but Kaela turned away again.

Lance would’ve laughed if he wasn’t scared she would aim her wrath at him next.

“Oh my God,” she muttered. “You are such an asshole.”

“Kaela,” Eric said again, catching her attention this time. “I wanted to protect him.” His voice was even softer than it had been when he’d told Lance. “I thought if nobody knew, he wouldn’t become a target. He wouldn’t be used to get to me.”

Kaela glanced toward Lance then looked back at Eric with a frown. “If you really wanted to protect him, you wouldn’t have brought him into this business to begin with.”

Lance uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands into his pockets. “He wants me to take over when he’s gone.”

Kaela shook her head. “I can’t believe this.” She went silent for a moment. “Why are you two even out here?”

Eric turned his head back to Lance, a question behind his eyes. Great, now he had two of them to deal with.

“I told Eric I was leaving,” he said.

Kaela’s eyes filled with anger, and Lance’s heart rate spiked. “Why?” Lance made to respond, but she opened her mouth again. “Are you stupid? Caleb knows who you are and what you look like. If we separate now, we’re as good as dead. We need to stay together.”

Lance shook his head. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. “I can take care of myself. Just let me go. I don’t want to be a part of this anymore. I’m done.”

Kaela crossed her arms. “I don’t believe you.”

Lance gritted his teeth. “I’m telling the truth.”

“No, you’re not.” Kaela marched closer to him.

A voice rang out. “What’s going on out here?”

Lance cursed at the starless night sky as Derek stepped out from the door, as quiet as ever. He eyed Lance carefully. “Lance?”

Lance shook his head at Derek. “I’m leaving, okay? It’s over.”

“Go to hell,” Kaela said, her voice quivering. “After everything we went through, you seriously want to just leave us like this?”

There’s no going back now, Lance thought. He was infected with the nanobots. Eventually, the beast would convince him to give in to it, like it did back at the sewer. It would seduce him into giving it more and more room until it took over entirely. Until he became a new Caleb. The thought sent a shudder up his spine.

The beast growled as if protesting the idea, defending itself.

How am I supposed to know you won’t take me over?

The beast purred. Show them, said the whisper in the back of his head.

Lance physically shook his head. He was surrounded, and all he wanted to do was run off. Even with that, Derek would track him down. A wave of nausea crashed into him, and the beast purred again.

Show them.

No.

Yes. It was a hiss now. A demand. Lance’s throat constricted, and he didn’t know if it was the beast or if he was panicking.

Show them! The beast snarled.

“No!” He didn’t mean to say it out loud. The word came out, and his throat relaxed. “I won’t.”

Worry crossed Eric’s face. After another wave of nausea the beast repeated the order.

“What?” Eric’s voice was drowned out by Lance’s own thoughts. A single star in a black sky.

Lance didn’t respond. Couldn’t.

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“No!” Lance yelled.

Eric backed away. Traces of fear ran along his face, but he covered it quickly. Kaela didn’t bother covering the fear on her face. Derek put a hand on Lance’s shoulder.

He didn’t even think as he blindly threw a punch.

Derek dodged, and Lance fell to the ground. He’d put too much of his own weight behind the punch. He tried to stand.

The beast growled a defiant growl, and Lance’s body became weak. The beast stripped him of his strength.

It could do that to him now?

“No,” Lance said again. “You have no say over my body.”

He whirled to face the trio. The beast went silent then growled. His chest tightened, his heart pounded, and his teeth gnashed. He balled his fists, anger tainting his heart.

Lance wondered why they held such fear at the sight of him, then he looked down at his hands. His veins were glowing bright purple.

Neither Eric, Kaela, nor Derek seemed focused on that. They were all staring at his eyes. He looked down at a puddle next to his feet and nearly burst into tears. They, too, glowed a bright purple. The beautiful green irises of his mother were gone, replaced with the sick violet hue.

For just a moment, he considered clawing them out. In his clouded state of mind, he didn’t know if this was even real. Then he knelt down and placed a hand in the freezing-cold puddle water.

He closed his eyes and prayed none of them would take the chance to kill him—not yet, at least. The beast stopped growling as the cold water seized his hand. Slowly, his body relaxed. His chest loosened its grip on itself, his heart settled, and the beast made no attempts to growl again.

When Lance opened his eyes, the emeralds were back. Tears trailed down his cheeks in his reflection, but he couldn’t feel them.

Someone called his name. He didn’t know who, not even when he looked up. Fear painted their faces, and he couldn’t blame them. He was now the living embodiment of all the suffering they’d experienced the past few days. A mirror staring back at them with all their haunted memories.

“I didn’t know,” Lance whispered. He couldn’t stop the tears from falling as he sat on the cold ground. His body was exhausted. The beast had tricked him, weakened him enough to reveal the secret hiding under his skin. Even now, as he shivered on the ground, stripped of strength, he looked at his hands. His veins were back to their natural light-blue color. “I swear I didn’t know.”

He looked up one last time, the fear on their faces replaced with confusion. They looked at each other as if expecting someone else to speak.

Lance controlled his breathing and composed himself. He wiped the tears from his eyes. The secret was out. He should have known he couldn’t keep it long.

“When did you notice this?” Derek asked. He looked disgusted to be near Lance at all.

He didn’t blame them, didn’t blame the anger that crawled over Kaela’s face. Because of these nanobots, Rob and Amari were dead, and Kaela’s employees were burned to ash, as well as George. Eric stared at the ground with his brow furrowed as if trying to figure out why he hadn’t put the pieces together earlier.

“Just a while ago, when I went into the bathroom,” Lance said. He could only focus on what he said and his own breathing. He reminded himself to breathe in then out. He let the breaths come and go like waves on a beach, back and forth.

“Your leg,” Eric said. “That’s how it healed so fast.”

Derek’s eyes widened as he looked at Lance’s leg then Eric’s cane.

“And the strength you showed. The ability to fight so well… That explains all of it.”

Derek scratched his chin and turned away. “The first time you showed something like that was after Daniel found Eric’s building. Right before we went into that little hiding spot, you took down that soldier.”

Lance tried to recall any time he could have been injected but came up with nothing. The first time the beast spoke to him was when that burned soldier tried to kill him. Before that… nothing.

“So that’s why you want to leave,” Kaela said. “Because you know you’re infected. What are you going to do?” She narrowed her eyes. “Were you just going to disappear… or were you going to join Caleb?”

“Kaela!” Derek scolded.

“What, don’t act like you weren’t thinking it too. What if Caleb has control of him and is calling him back?”

“He’s not,” Lance said. “I promise.”

“Then where were you going?”

It hurt to lie, but he couldn’t tell them. He took a deep breath. “Literally anywhere else besides Caleb.”

Kaela unclenched her fists. “What?”

Eric stepped forward. “Let us go with you.”

Lance shook his head. “No, the point is to get away from all of you. How do you think Caleb keeps finding us?” He hesitated, tears welling in his eyes. “Everywhere Caleb has found us, I’ve been there too.” The tears ran down his face. Everyone that had died, died because of him. Their blood stained his hands. Monster. “He… He found us because of me.”

Kaela tensed, her eyes wide.

Eric’s voice was weak as he stepped closer to Lance and muttered, “You don’t know that’s true.”

“It is.”

“Let me come with you.”

Anger flickered in Lance’s chest. “Don’t act li—”

“And if you make another remark about me not being there for you… I’m here now. You can hate me for all I’ve done. God knows I’m not a fan of myself, either. But you’re still my son. If Caleb finds you, you’re dead.” He cradled Lance’s face. “I can’t lose you too.”

Lance stared into Eric’s black eyes. He was being genuine. He really wasn’t lying.

Lance sighed then pushed Eric’s hands away. “You never had me.” He backed away. “And if he finds me, at least he won’t find the rest of you.” He gave a last glance at Kaela and Derek, at the sadness on both of their faces. “Don’t follow me.”

Lance walked away, rounding the corner and escaping those staring faces.

He almost smiled when Derek’s voice rang out. “Wait… Did you just say son?”

* * *

The streets were hollow. Eerie. No civilians walked the streets, and no cars drove by other than police cars and armored vehicles. Lance didn’t bother hiding from them.

The sky was pitch black, an ebony blanket over the city, and the streetlights cast a haunting orange glow on the path Lance walked. He couldn’t tell if anyone was watching him from the rooftops, not that it mattered anymore.

He just walked. He walked the streets, waiting until he was found. Every turn he took, he held his breath, anticipating a gun in his face. He eyed every small movement in the shadows.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds at a time and just breathed, trying to ignore what he was doing and focus on the silence around him.

Doubt crept into Lance’s heart as time passed. The beast remained silent, and he felt no eyes upon him. Still no people, and now even the patrol cars had disappeared.

Lance wrapped himself in his own thoughts as he walked, making no attempt at keeping his steps silent. He wondered what Caleb would’ve done if they’d all simply left the city. Would he have lost control? Allowed the nanobots to take full control over him and gone on a tyrannical rampage? The officers were already harassing citizens on the street. They were beaten, arrested, and treated like criminals. A man like Caleb didn’t give up. He would’ve just moved from city to city if he had to.

They would never have been able to escape.

The beast stirred, and Lance stopped, listening closely. At first, the silence remained unbroken, but then the distinct sound of a car came his way. The beast growled, and Lance tensed. The sound escalated until a car rounded a corner.

A normal car.

Lance averted his eyes and continued walking, shoving his hands into his pockets. They trembled, and the beast didn’t stop growling. The car drove past then stopped.

He kept walking, but when the growling didn’t stop, he walked faster and prepared himself for a fight.

A door opened, and someone cleared their throat behind him. Lance stopped, his heart hammering in his chest, and he turned.

“Well, if it isn’t the man I killed in the church,” Caleb said. His eye was healed. He spread his arms out with a laugh and a wide smile, as fake friendly as a church pastor. His veins glowed—his eyes too. Even his skin had gained a purple tint. “I was just on a friendly drive through this quiet little neighborhood and—”

“You knew where I was,” Lance interrupted, shifting on his feet. He could barely stand to look the man in the eyes for more than a few seconds. “The nanobots, right? That’s how you always knew where we were. You tracked me.”

Just like that, Caleb’s arms dropped, and his smile turned more carnivorous than friendly. “I put a lot of work into making this entrance fun for both of us.” He sighed. “Well, it wasn’t like I could track Malcolm. Somehow, he made his nanobots invisible to mine. That left you.”

Lance balled his fists and waited for Caleb to finish laughing. “You don’t think the civilians notice those purple veins you have jutting all over your body? Not to mention your eyes…” Lance looked at them for a second too long and shuddered.

Caleb smiled and locked his hands together. “Good question.” He looked over at a bench about five feet away and sat on it with a groan. “As far as Arachna is concerned, I was captured and injected with some foul liquid. It burned all throughout my body, and if my loyal soldiers had not found and rescued me, I would likely be dead. I was taken to my private doctor and miraculously healed. Though whatever I was injected with left me scarred. It changed the color of my veins and eyes.” He looked at his hand. “And anyway, I may be able to return them to their normal color once I’ve discarded this city like the garbage it is.”

“You sure about that?”

Caleb leaned back with a sigh. “Of course. I’ve done it before, after all. Malcolm helped me return them to normal after a particularly annoying couple almost exposed my operations. If I did it with Malcolm, I can do it without him.”

“Your soldiers won’t be so happy to find out you’ve been controlling them.”

Caleb’s smile twisted Lance’s stomach into a knot. “I’ll relinquish direct control over the soldiers, but the nanobots will continue to whisper in their heads. I will always have them under my thumb.”

Lance gritted his teeth. The smug man sat before him, and it was all he could do not to leap upon him and tear his face apart.

“So why are you so carelessly prowling the streets tonight, Lance? Here to give Eric up, finally? Maybe you want revenge for me trying to kill you in that church? Perhaps you’ve even decided that running is futile, and you’re surrendering to me.” He listed the possibilities off on his fingers as if they were nothing more than an account of what he’d had for breakfast that morning. Prideful. Arrogant. That gentlemanly stature he’d had at the church was gone.

“I never asked to be a part of this,” Lance said. The beast was poised and ready to strike. “Eric started all of this. It’s him you want, isn’t it? Not the others?”

“Ah.” Caleb hummed. “So you didn’t want to sell your friends out back at the church because of those two I met at the… What was it called? Red Rose?” He chuckled. “It certainly was once I was through with it.” He looked down at Lance’s tightened fists, and Lance relaxed them in response.

The way Caleb talked about those people suffering so casually. It was almost intentionally horrific, just to spit in Lance’s face. Yet as Caleb smoothed out a crease in his pants, it became obvious that the drug had simply corrupted him to the point where he barely resembled a human.

Lance wondered if that would happen to him the longer the nanobots swam in his blood. The beast didn’t respond.

“I guess that means those two survived my attempts to kill them?” Caleb grinned. “I’m truly amazed by how your group manages to escape so many of my attempts at murdering them.” He looked Lance in the eye. “I would be furious if it weren’t so impressive.”

“I’ll take Eric’s place,” Lance said. “You can do to me whatever you wanted to do to him. In return, you can continue with your plan to take over the world or whatever the hell you want… but you have to leave Arachna alone. That includes Kaela, Derek, and Eric.” Lance couldn’t resist twisting his face in disgust when Caleb motioned for him to sit down. “I think we can agree there has been enough death.”

Caleb patted on the bench, right next to himself. Lance took a hesitant step, then another. It wasn’t until he sat down that Caleb smiled and spoke. “I agree that there has been way too much death filling these past few days. Especially when the point of this drug to begin with was to avoid such a thing.” He laughed.

Lance frowned. A question sparked in his mind, and it was out of his mouth before he could stop it. “Were you ever planning on making the drug public?”

“No,” Caleb said without missing a beat. “Well, Malcolm was, but he was always so naïve. Easy to manipulate too.” He chuckled again. “I suppose that was how you corrupted him so easily. You convinced him to make a cure for something as wonderful as this.” He gestured to his neck, where the veins glowed brightest. “I had to kill him. To save him from himself and your group. Breaks my heart. God rest his soul.”

He put a hand on Lance’s shoulder. Lance gritted his teeth so hard they hurt. It took every ounce of self-control not to snap Caleb’s wrist.

The beast went wild inside of him, growling and snarling and snapping. Lance felt a chain break inside of him, and when he opened his mouth, he couldn’t stop the words coming out. “You’re so full of shit.” He stopped his hand from shooting to his mouth as Caleb’s grip tightened on his shoulder. Lance waited for the punch, the stab, the choke. Caleb’s hand became more of a burden with each passing second. He opened his mouth again before he could stop. “You didn’t care about killing Malcolm.”

Caleb squeezed even harder then let go, leaving Lance’s shoulder burning from the touch. “There it is.”

Lance glared at him.

Caleb continued. “That thing writhing around inside of you. I felt it in that church basement too.”

“What are you talking about?”

Caleb scoffed with a smile.

“Look, about my friends?” Lance said. “I need to know you’ll spare them if you take me instead.” The beast growled at him, but he ignored it. It was the biggest risk he’d taken yet, but even with the nanobots corrupting him, Caleb was still a businessman, and surely he wouldn’t go against a sealed deal.

More cars arrived, then sirens. Police cars flooded in from both sides of the street. From around corners, they appeared, one after the other. Caleb stood, and when Lance did the same, Caleb pushed him back down. The cars drove to him and stopped, at least ten police cars and five armored vehicles.

All just for him?

It was almost flattering.

The doors opened, and officers used them as cover. Pistols and rifles and shotguns were all pointed at him by the heavily armored men and women. Caleb beamed at all of them, his hands firmly held together behind his back.

The beast growled at them, but seconds later, it whined. Too many, it cried. Too many.

Lance’s head spun. Even the beast knew they were outnumbered. If he tried to fight now, it would be over.

One last police car drove beyond all the others and parked right in front of the bench.

Rotoya wore a proud smile on her face as she stepped out. “Miss me?”