Chapter 38
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“If you don’t put me down, so help me Cameo, I will-”
“Shut up.” He crept around a corner, still clutching the thrashing girl. He put her down, pinning her arms to her sides, keeping her immobile. “Look, Infinity. I get it. You hate me. You won’t listen to a word I say. But right now, this is not about us. This is about me and my army against a dictator and his army. The whole world depends on us. We. Aren’t. Letting. Him. Win. Do you understand me?”
Infinity nodded sullenly.
Cameo let out a breath. “Good. Now, I’m going to let you go and we are going to work together to get out of this mess I got us into.”
Infinity nodded again, still staring into those breathtakingly gray eyes. Those dark, wild, crazed eyes. Those kind, caring, loving eyes.
How she hated those eyes.
Cameo slowly released his bruising grip on her arms. She stood still for a fraction of a second, turned.
Ran as fast as she could.
She made it three hallways. She slammed into a guard, who cried out in pain as she punched him in the ribs. She heard Cameo’s footsteps pounding behind her.
“Infinity!” the guard hissed, followed by a string of curses. He took off his helmet.
“Ethaniel!” she gasped. “Oh, my- I am so sorry. Your gunshots, and the- oh my word.”
Ethaniel rubbed his sore torso, grimacing. “It’s fine.” Cameo came up behind Infinity and she made to run again, but Ethaniel held her in place. “We didn’t break you out just to get you killed, got it? You’re staying right here.” She snarled, but didn’t move.
“We’ve gotta get out of this place,” Cameo muttered. “It’s like a maze down here.” The trio darted around the corner, straight into a platoon of soldiers. Infinity glanced at Cameo.
“More of ours?” she asked.
Instead of answering, he dove into the troop, wielding a gun with lethal accuracy. Blood sprayed across his face, spattering his hair, dripping from his eyelashes. Ethaniel plunged in behind him, brandishing a long hunting knife, finishing off anyone Cameo missed.
Within minutes, not a soldier was left breathing. Dark crimson stained the floor and walls. Cameo stood in the midst of it all, panting, blood making dark trails along his face. Infinity watched his face, curious to know what had happened that transformed the sweet, unstable boy she knew only yesterday into the ruthless killer standing before her.
“Murderer,” she whispered.
Blood squished beneath his boots as he traipsed through the carnage. A murderer, that’s what he was now. He had fought hard to keep his hands from shaking as he pulled the trigger, over and over and over.
Infinity’s voice rang in his ears.
Murderer.
It was for your own safety.
Murderer.
I did it for you.
Murderer.
I had to protect you.
Murderer.
“Я ЛЮБЛЮ ВАС!!! Я НЕ ХОТЕЛА ЭТОГО ДЕЛАТЬ, НО Я СДЕЛАЛА, ПОТОМУ ЧТО Я ЛЮБЛЮ ТЕБЯ! Я всегда буду защищать тебя, Бесконечность, даже если ты не веришь в это.”
“Cameo!” Ethaniel hissed, eyes darting around every darkened corner. “Really? You really think now is the best time to start screaming in Russian?”
“Shut up,” Cameo grumbled under his breath, storming down another hallway. At the end of the passage, a metal door stood embedded in concrete, rusty and old and locked. Cameo grabbed the ancient padlock in his fist, and wrenched it away from the wall. Chunks of concrete exploded from the wall and landed harmlessly on the ground. Hatred building in his chest, Cameo kicked open the door and began climbing the stairs that lay beyond it.309Please respect copyright.PENANAnDgVyYOUs8
Up four, five, six, seven flights of stairs, up and out into the whithouse lawn. Cameo climbed out of the trapdoor and walked away. He raised his arm high above his head as Ethaniel helped Infinity out of the stairwell. Across the lawn, Tanner nodded defiantly. Suddenly, the sky lit up with a bright orange glow. At Tanner’s signal, Cameo’s army threw hundreds of lit torches at the White House, setting it on fire. A crackling sound filled the air as tongues of fire jumped around the building. Flaming curtains flapped out of open windows, sending showers of sparks raining down on Cameo’s shoulders. He faintly smelled burnt hair and ash landed in his eyelashes like snowflakes, but he didn’t turn away from the burning building.
A massive crack sent shockwaves through his bones. The roof caved in, sending fiery beams and broken glass across the burning lawn.
Within mere hours, the White House was reduced to nothing but a smoldering pile of ash and rubble.
Cameo knew his job was not yet finished. Millions of children still needed to be returned to their homes, and there would probably be an emergency election to find a suitable replacement for Beau Jaiden. But that would all come after.
Right now, he had to deal with the press.309Please respect copyright.PENANA8q4F0qPebj