ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ Tethered ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Chapter 13

━━─── • ───━━━

• Luna •

Days passed, and while there were no more instances with the Lazarus floor, and no one was attempting to persuade her and Amir into procreating like there was no tomorrow, Luna had developed a general feeling of discomfort.

The fights had resumed, but no other Defectives were involved. She was kept away from them for some reason, even though she knew they were still available. During her training, she was forced to utilize her energy on a messed-up version of target practice for anyone who was assigned to her.

Minus the guns, bullets, and knives.

It still shocked her that they were training her as if she had been enlisted into the military. She told Amir about what happened in the hallway while they were in the bathroom.

His face was flushed with surprise. "Seriously?"

It was difficult to hold a conversation while knowing that they were most likely being listened to. She had told him about the pregnant woman and what Greer had explained to her quickly and discretely.

"That's horrible." Amir cocked his head. "It's crazy how they've been messing with people's lives like this. And then they produced hundreds, if not thousands, of Lazarus descendants around the world? Things have gotten grim."

And Amir was right. Neither of them had anticipated learning about this aspect of the organization. What they had witnessed in the facility was all too real, and Greer would have no reason to mislead Luna. BARDA had many sides, so everything he had explained had to be true in some way.

All of this was much bigger than them. They wanted out of there, to have a future where they were not a freak science experiment or controlled by a sinister organization, and what BARDA was doing with the Pure Souls and the others had far-reaching implications that went beyond what either of them could fix. She just knew that they needed to run as soon as an opportunity presented itself.

Greer arrived shortly after breakfast and escorted her to the treatment room. She was expecting to see Amir, but they had him doing something else. She resented the fact that she had no idea what they were doing to him, and that neither of their abilities was functioning properly. That was made certain by BARDA.

"What are we testing today?" Luna asked as she sat on the bed. In the small room, it was just her and Greer.

"I honestly don't know."

"That is helpful." She looked at him and took a deep breath. "How does it feel? Being one of their projects?"

He crossed his arms. "How does it feel to be an origin?"

"I feel like a human." She sighed. "I'm just a regular person."

"Then you understand," he said. "You and I aren't that different."

Greer was unlike anything she'd ever seen. "Can I ask you a question?"

"It depends on what it is."

"Did you know your parents?"

He exhaled after taking a deep breath. "No."

"And you're not curious about who they were?"

There was a brief pause. "It's not something I've thought about much. I can't go back in time. There isn't much I can do about anything."

Luna detested the monotone tone as if none of this mattered to him. "Is that enough for you? No questions, no research, nothing?"

"Yes. None of that frustrates me."

She sat up and crossed her ankles at the end of the bed. "Were you born in this facility?"

"Actually, no. I was born in a Florida hospital. Above ground."

"Oh," she uttered, forming a small 'o' with her lips. She had not expected that response. "Did you grow up here, then?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever lived somewhere else?"

"I did when I was eighteen. For our training, my batch was relocated to a different location." He stepped away. "You're very interested in us, huh?"

"Yeah." She sat with her hands in her lap. "Is that a problem?"

"It's just . . . I'm not used to discussing my life."

She cracked a small smile. "I bet. Have you ever lived above ground on your own? Especially since they are assimilating you into society."

He shook his head and flexed his jaw. "That wasn't in the cards for me."

"Have you ever wanted to . . . live alone?"

He opened and closed his mouth.

"You're curious about it. I knew it." Luna grinned, knowing she was gradually figuring him out. She couldn't see his eyes beneath his beret, but his attitude hadn't changed. He wasn't allowed to do many of the things that others were, which saddened her. "Even if you wanted to live above ground someday, they probably wouldn't let you. You've never attended a public school or eaten at a fast food restaurant."

"I've been to Wendy's before," Greer replied calmly. "And an Outback. I've tried some of their steaks."

"That's good. At least, you've eaten something that they don't serve down here."

His lips twitched. "The food here is adequate."

"Sometimes. Have you ever been to a mall? A library? Have you ever seen the Grand Canyon?" She kept coming up with questions to fill the silence, but she also wanted to get to know Greer better. He'd been in the real world before, so he'd likely experienced some of these things. "What about Thanksgiving or Christmas? Have you ever eaten an overcooked turkey during the holidays?"

"I'll venture a guess and say you're asking me these questions because you believe you're better than me." He took a step forward when she gulped. "You've gotten to do some of those things, and you're telling me that I haven't lived because I'm under their control. But the thing is, you don't have to say it or contradict me because of it."

"I wasn't doing that," she insisted.

"Really, Luna? Because that's how it sounded."

She swallowed, unable to look away from him. "I didn't mean anything by it. I promise."

"When I said I was grateful to be alive, I meant it." He straightened up. Luna heard his next words in her head without saying moving his mouth. 'I already know I haven't lived a single day. Most of us haven't.'

She gasped at his voice and the bleak despair of his words. "Most of you?" she asked softly.

He took a step back and nodded. "Most of us."

They were silenced when the door opened. The major, Alisha, Nurse Evans, and another soldier entered, followed by Dr. Reynolds. She and Greer's conversation vanished from her mind. Seeing Major Thibeau and Alisha together didn't help her nerves.

The doctor went straight to the counter and began fiddling with the instruments inside the cabinets. When he picked up a small device that looked like a blowtorch, ice-covered her veins. "What's going on?"

Alisha waited in the corner, a clipboard in her hand. "We have a special test for you before we try it on anyone else."

Luna shivered as she remembered the last test that involved their devices. "And you need to use a blowtorch for it?"

"Now that you've demonstrated that you can control certain aspects of yourself, we can move on to more important trials," she explained, but Luna wasn't listening. Her attention was drawn to Dr. Reynolds and the small lighter he was holding between his fingers. "Amir has shown that he can successfully heal, but we need to confirm that he can heal more severe injuries before we can bring in other participants."

A piercing ache hit her chest, and her body shook on the bed. "You have to . . . to use me?"

"Yes, we shouldn't harm an innocent person if Amir can't heal you."

Oh, God…

"I am an innocent person," Luna remarked, flinching as the soldier in the room touched her foot. "I don't deserve any of this."

"Well, in Sam's words, blame your father," Major Thibeau said, taking a step next to her. "We don't want any problems during this test."

Luna glared at the man and growled, almost lunging at him and snapping his neck.

She took a deep breath, but her lungs seemed to have shut down. BARDA could have done this to any of their other prisoners, but they chose her. They knew Amir would want to completely heal her, and they needed to see the full scope of his capabilities. It was wrong and immoral, but they were ruthless and left no one with a choice.

She almost objected but realized it would be pointless. Their minds were made up, and they were ready to begin inflicting pain on her regardless of what she cared about. "We . . . we can do something else."

"We've noticed from the last time that having you and Amir in the same room is not the best strategy," the major explained. "Amir will arrive after the procedure."

"You call this a procedure?"

He inhaled, and then his eyes opened. "This is a trial for us, and you agreed to anything as long as you had access to your husband. It's either this or we burn your body in the incinerator."

The incinerator?

"You're all monsters!"

Greer shifted his posture out of the corner of her eye. 'Do whatever they want, Luna. It's for your own good.'

'I can't do it,' she told him, shaking her head. 'They want to burn my skin.'

With a lighter in his hand, the doctor moved to her other side and stared down while checking her vitals. "Her pulse is racing, but it's likely related to this."

"That's irrelevant," Alisha said. "We have to get this done."

"That we do," Major Thibeau mumbled while Luna bore her stare at him. "We need you to lie on your stomach for this to work."

Her lips couldn't stop trembling, and her nerves would not stop shivering. Her throat was as dry as a desert, and all she wanted to do was burn these people from the inside out, just like Vikram. "What happens if Amir is unable to heal me?"

"If that happened, we had taken care of another problem, which is you," Alisha said from the corner. "But you and I both know he's not going to let you go easily."

"If you know he won't let me go, why do you need to do this?" Not only would she feel pain, but he would as well. She didn't want her husband to be aware of what had been done to her. Kai was under their control and had pain inflicted on him, and she was certain Ethan felt it. It was unbearable.

"We're in Phase Three of The Tethered Trials," Dr. Reynolds explained, his face sympathetic. "I'm sorry you have to be the patient for us, but we need to know how strong Amir's ability truly is."

Her eyes shifted to Greer, but he maintained his posture straight ahead. She knew this trial had to happen, and it was going to be worse than she could have imagined. Her skin may be scarred by the end of it, regardless of her husband's powers.

"Don't fight with us on this, Luna. Once Amir heals you, then both of you can sleep in your room," the major said, placing his hands on either side of her. "If you don't cooperate, we do have restraints."

She lifted her head, her gaze locked with his, and her shoulders squared. Was he putting her to the test right now? Fury consumed her completely, and when it was all over, he was on top of her hit list, surpassing Alisha.

Once Luna turned around and lay on her stomach, all she could do was stare at the floor. "One day, you're going to become acquainted with this blowtorch," she fumed.

Everyone became quiet and stoic.

Then Greer's voice floated inside her mind. 'Be brave, Luna. You've got this.'

She gasped for air, too terrified to listen to what he was saying or think about why he was trying to help her.

The back of her shirt was lifted, and cold air rushed over her body, sending goose bumps up her spine and down her shoulders. This was déjà vu all over again.

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Fear was gripping her body with razor-sharp talons.

'Luna . . .'

A prickly, sharp flame pierced the middle of her back, just below her shoulder blade.

'Don't think about it, Luna. Focus on something good.'

She opened her mouth to speak but stayed quiet.

With a quick jerk of her arm, fire lit her back, an intensely deep, stinging sensation that split her skin and muscle.

Luna didn't take a breath. She couldn't.

She could only scream until her body finally gave out.

• • •

• Amir •

Amir didn't feel particularly dapper.

His heart had started pounding like crazy about three minutes ago. He was sick to his stomach and couldn't put one foot in front of the other. The sensation felt vaguely familiar. Shortness of breath was another issue. When Luna was shot, he'd experienced his own brand of horror, but that didn't make sense. She was relatively safe here, at least from random exes with guns, aside from Sam. But there was no reason anyone would hurt her. Not right now, but he knew the organization had done things to other spouses to force their loved ones to do something for them.

While he and Greer made their way down the hall on the medical floor, a warm tingle soared along the back of his neck. Luna was close by. Great.

But as he got closer to her, the sick feeling, general dread, and pressure expanding in his chest worsened.

This was not good. Not at all.

Amir stumbled, nearly losing his balance, and a big dose of 'what-the-hell' erupted. He never faltered. He was very composed. Or stable.

The guard performed an eyeball scan in front of one of the many windowless doors. The door clicked open. The moment Amir got a good look at the room, air punched out of his lungs.

His worst nightmare had come true, with frightening detail and clarity.

There was no one near Luna, but there were people in the room, even if he didn't notice them. He only saw Moon. She was lying on her stomach, her head turned to the side. Her face was unnaturally dull and distorted, and her eyes were barely open. Her brow was slick with sweat.

Dear God.

So much blood was seeping off her back, pooling on the gurney table she was lying on, and pouring into the pans beneath the bed.

Luna . . .

Her skin . . . Her skin had been seriously damaged. There was no part of her back that was unaffected. They'd poured hot wax all over her. Amir was fairly certain the tissue was . . . He couldn't even finish his thought.

He had only been in the room for a second when he lurched forward, knocking the security team out of the way. When he got to her side, he tripped and threw his hands out to catch himself. They landed on the floor in pieces of her flesh. It was drenched with blood.

"Christ," he whispered. "Moon . . . oh God, Moon, I . . ."

Her lashes didn't flicker. Nothing. A strand of her hair clung to her moist, bleached cheek.

Amir's heart was racing erratically, unable to keep up, but he knew it wasn't only his heart. It was also his wife's. He had no idea what had happened. Not that he didn't want to know, because he did, but it wasn't what was important right now.

What did they do to you?

"I've got you, Luna," he said, ignoring everyone else in the room. "You're going to be fine. Just hang in there."

He cursed as he turned, preparing to shed his physical form because this . . . this would require everything in him to heal her.

For a brief second, his eyes met Alisha's. "You're dead!"

She made a soft tsking sound as she tapped her pen on her clipboard. "We must confirm that you can heal on a severe level again. General Davenport was minor. Those wounds on Luna were meant to be fatal but to take time, unlike stomach wounds or inflictions on other portions of the body. You must heal her to keep her heart pumping."

One day, he planned to burn this woman alive.

Rage fueled him, and he shifted into his angelic form, the roar booming from the depths of his soul. The bed shook. Utensils clamored and slipped off the counter. The cabinet doors slid open. Locks were unlocked.

Someone muttered, "Fuck."

Amir gripped Luna's hands. 'Moon, I'm here. I'm here for you, baby. I will heal you with every breath I take.'

There was no movement, and the sour taste of terror encased him. Warmth radiated from his palms, and a silvery-white light swallowed her whole. "It's time for the next phase of the trials," he vaguely heard Major Thibeau say.

Healing Moon had worn him out. Everyone in that room was fortunate because he was sure he'd have taken out at least two people before they got a hold of him if he could move his body.

Soon after he had healed her, they attempted to remove him from the room. He'd never leave the staff alone with her. Alisha and Thibeau had already left, but the doctor stayed, checking Luna's vitals. He'd inform him that they were fine. She was fully recovered.

Amir wanted to do major damage to him.

And he assumed the doctor knew because he remained out of his way.

Finally, the doctor left. Only Greer remained. He didn't say anything, which suited him fine. What little respect Amir had for the guard disappeared the moment he realized he'd been in the room the whole time and hadn't helped her. They did all of this to illustrate that he was capable of saving her from the brink of death.

He was expecting a never-ending stream of half-dead participants next.

He ignored that reality and concentrated on Moon. He sat by her side, on Major Thibeau's stupid rolling chair, holding Luna's limp hand, smoothing his thumb in circles, hoping it reached her somehow. He hoped she'd passed out during the whole thing because she hadn't woken up yet.

Nurse Evans had come in to clean her up at some point. He didn't want anyone near his wife, but he didn't want her to wake up covered in her flesh, either. He wanted her to wake up with no memory of any of this.

Standing up, he told the nurse, "I'll clean her."

She shook her head. "But it's my—"

He shifted toward her. "I need to do this."

"Leave him be," Greer said coyly. "Your job is done."

The nurse appeared to be about to argue, but she eventually backed away. Greer turned his head as Amir removed Luna's blood-soaked garments and began cleaning her limbs. And her back . . . there were blisters, nasty-looking burn marks beneath her shoulder blades—reminding him of the many scenes he'd seen on TV when someone was burned.

He couldn't figure out why she was scarred this time. There had been a faint mark on her abdomen from the bullet, but nothing compared to this. Maybe it was because of how long it took him the first time he cured her. Perhaps it was because the bullet hole was so little, and this . . . this was bigger than anything he'd faced.

Greer shifted when Amir's throat made a low, inhuman sound. He gathered what little energy he had left and finished changing her. He sat back down and took her small hand in his. Until the guard broke the silence, the space was as thick as clouds.

"She should go back to her room."

Amir kissed her knuckles. "I'm staying with her."

"I wasn't going to stand in your way." He paused. "They didn't give me any instructions. You are welcome to stay here."

Amir imagined that a comfortable mattress would be better for her. He pushed himself forward, clenching his jaw as he slid his arms beneath her.

"You don't . . ." Greer began as Amir fully turned around and faced him. "I was going to say that maybe I could carry her. You don't appear to be capable of doing anything."

"I have her."

"You should—"

"It's okay," Amir grumbled as he lifted Luna's lightweight from the bed. "No one is touching her."

Greer nodded and turned to face the door. Amir turned Moon in his arms as gently as he could, worried that her back would