Chapter 7 - The Brink of Darkness
“What is that?” Yates demanded, grabbing my wrist with surprising strength. “Lawson, put that down! You can’t inject an unapproved biological compound directly into their veins! It’ll kill them instantly!”
I whipped my arm around, breaking his grip with a sharp, violent shove that sent the doctor stumbling backward against the medical cart.
“Get away from my children, Franklin,” I snarled, my eyes blazing with a terrifying intensity that made the veteran doctor freeze in his tracks. “You gave them ten days and offered them a grave. I’m giving them a chance.”
I didn't wait for him to argue.
With trembling fingers, I located the IV catheter line hooked into Jonah’s thin, pale arm. I pressed the tip of the syringe against the injection port, hesitating for a fraction of a second as the rhythmic beep-beep-beep of the heart monitor slowed to an agonizing crawl.
Please, I prayed silently, closing my eyes. Take me instead.
I depressed the plunger.
The shimmering blue fluid vanished into the plastic tubing, flowing directly into Jonah’s bloodstream.
I held my breath, counting the seconds in my head.
One. Two. Three.
For a terrifying moment, nothing happened. The heart monitor flatlined into a long, continuous tone.
“Lawson, look!” Yates gasped, horror stretching across his face. “His vitals are dropping—”
Before Yates could finish the sentence, a sharp gasp rattled through Jonah’s chest. His back arched off the mattress, his eyes flying open as color instantly flooded back into his chalk-white cheeks. A sudden, deep cough shook his frame, and the heart monitor roared back to life with a strong, steady, galloping rhythm.
“Dad?” Jonah whispered, blinking rapidly against the light.
“I’m here, buddy. I’m right here,” I choked out, a wave of overwhelming relief washing over me, bringing hot tears to my eyes that I didn't bother to wipe away.
Without wasting a second, I turned to Blythe’s bed.
Her breathing was dangerously shallow, her skin ice cold to the touch. I jammed the second half of the syringe into her IV line and depressed the plunger all the way.
Again, the agonizing pause.
Then, like a spark catching dry tinder, Blythe’s chest heaved. Her eyes opened, bright and clear, and she let out a soft, confused whimper before reaching out a small hand toward her twin brother.
Jonah immediately reached across the space between their beds, their fingers interlocking tightly just as they had hours before.
Yates stood frozen by the monitor, his mouth hanging open, staring at the digital readout in sheer, unadulterated disbelief.
“It’s impossible,” Yates muttered, shaking his head. “Their white blood cell counts... they’re stabilizing. The marrow is... it’s regenerating in real time. What was in that syringe?”
“Miracles, Franklin,” I said quietly, stepping back from the beds and wiping my face. “And you didn't prescribe a single drop of it.”
Before Yates could answer, the heavy double doors of the suite were kicked violently open.
Dust, smoke, and shattered wood exploded into the room.
Crosby Vane stood in the doorway.
He was older than me, dressed in an immaculate charcoal suit that remained untouched by the chaos of the raid. In his hand, he held a sleek, silenced pistol. Behind him stood four armed enforcers holding smoking rifles.
“Well, well, well,” Vane said, stepping over the threshold with a cold, predatory grin. “Looks like I missed the party. But it seems I arrived just in time to collect the last loose ends of my old friend’s little science experiment.”
I slowly turned around, placing myself directly between Vane and the twins' beds, my hand sliding down to the grip of my Sig Sauer.
“You’re a dead man, Crosby,” I whispered, my voice dropping into a dark, venomous tone that made even the ruthless drug lord pause for a fraction of a second.
May you like
Vane chuckled, raising his silenced pistol and pointing it straight at my forehead.
“Maybe, Lawson,” Vane smiled, his eyes gleaming with sick satisfaction. “But I’ll die knowing I wiped out the last of the bloodline. Say goodbye to your little miracles.”
