— The milk is poisoned.
Alex's eyes snapped open. For a second he didn't know where he was, then it all came back at once.
— What? — He looked at his empty glass. — But I drank all of it. — He turned. — Sofian, you too?
— Me too. And Eddie.
Haïssi didn't speak. He sat where he was, hands on his knees, eyes on the floor. He wasn't as afraid as Zenon had expected him to be.
Stronger than he looks.
Alex turned toward him. His face was pale as the walls around them.
— Why didn't you drink?
— How am I supposed to trust the man who killed our friends?
— No. — Alex said it slowly. Something was forming behind his eyes. — That's not the reason. You're the spy.
— Not the time for this. — Haïssi cut him off, firm. — When Cypher shows up again, we need to have something to say. Not have lost each other.
No one heard him.
Sofian was gripping his broken glass with a shaking hand. He raised it suddenly, angled it at his own throat before anyone understood what he meant to do.
— Sofian!
Alex lunged and grabbed his arm.
— What are you doing?
— This is better. — His eyes were red. — Dying at the hands of those monsters? Let go of me. Tell me, Alex. After every hour we've spent here, has anything changed?
Alex kept his grip on the arm. He didn't answer.
— Sofian. — Finally, quietly. — I understand you. But next time Cypher shows his face, I will find something. I promise you that.
The wall lit up.
None of them were ready for it.
— I didn't expect you to get here this fast. — Cypher's face looked pleased, and that was what bothered Zenon most. — You've earned a prize. I'll give each of you one question. Ask, and I'll answer once I've heard from everyone.
Sofian shouted before the words could be pulled from him:
— Do we have a chance of surviving this?
— Is this a joke? — Eddie's voice was weak.
— What was in the glass? — Alex asked.
— **Why did you make me do this?** — Haïssi said.
Everyone went silent. Cypher looked at Zenon, and waited.
— Not going to ask? You'll waste your turn. — Then, in a different tone, slower. — I noticed you didn't drink yours. Answer me that first.
Zenon lifted the glass. He looked into it for a moment. Then he tipped it back and drained it in one motion, not looking at the screen.
He set it down.
— There's your answer.
Cypher smiled the smile of a man watching something he'd already predicted.
— Aren't you afraid for your life? — With real curiosity, more than mockery. — I gave you permission to ask, and you ignored me and spoke on your own terms. You're reckless.
— I'm not bound by rules I never agreed to. — Zenon said it calmly. — And why don't you come down here so I can ask you face to face? You've got some advanced weapon, or maybe something our minds can't even hold, like what I saw on the beach. — He paused a beat. — Isn't that right, Aristian.
Cypher sighed.
— You really are reckless. — His tone shifted into something more formal. — Seems the milk's starting to work. Fine, your answers: this isn't a joke, and yes, you have a chance to survive. The milk was a neural stimulant, sharpens emotion and thought... and hunger too. — He looked at Zenon. — And since your friend didn't ask, I'll throw in something free: we've already hinted at the spy's identity. Look at what's missing from one of you that the others all have. Hand them over alive or dead, and you'll earn an extra forty percent. That would let you—
The sound of the impact cut him off.
It was Zenon.
The glass flew across the room and struck the screen hard enough to shatter it. Glass sprayed outward. Cypher's face vanished mid-sentence.
In the control room, Cypher stared at the dead screen.
— Damn it. He actually broke it. — His fingers froze over the keyboard. — This kid is going to be trouble.
Zenon crouched and picked up a shard of glass scattered on the floor. He gripped it on both sides and snapped it down until it was closer to something his hand could hold.
— They're trying to provoke us. I don't think what he said was real help.
— And how would you know? — Haïssi said.
— It didn't convince me. That's all I've got.
— You're the spy! — Sofian screamed. There was more despair in his voice than anger. — Let's hand him over. We'll survive.
Alex turned toward Zenon.
— Will you let us?
— Idiots. — Zenon said it with exhaustion, not contempt. — Grab pieces of glass, defend yourselves. No one's guaranteeing you what comes next. — Then, firmer. — And handing me over? Forget it. I'm not sacrificing myself for... how many of you, I'm not the hero of this story.
— He's right. — Haïssi said. — Don't let them break you like this. What if we voted? Democratically?
— I'm for handing Zenon over. — Sofian said.
— I'll go with the majority. — Eddie said.
— We're not going to agree on anything. — Alex cut in. His eyes were widening, the milk was finally taking hold. He looked at Haïssi. — I'm with Sofian. We hand Zenon over. That piece of bread... that settled it for me.
— We're not sure of anything. — Haïssi said. — We shouldn't—
— If we hand over the spy, we survive, don't we? — Eddie's voice was the voice of a man convincing himself more than asking.
Haïssi tried to say something. But Alex had already picked up his glass and cracked its edge against the table.
— Will you let us hand you over without a fight?
Zenon looked at him.
— No. That's illogical.
— Doesn't matter. — Alex took a step forward, his hand trembling slightly despite himself. — They said dead or alive. I don't think I can kill you, but I'll hurt you until you give in.
He charged.
Zenon tried to dodge but Alex's broken glass caught him in the shoulder. He felt the burn before he saw the blood. He staggered back, then further back, until he found Eddie and Sofian in front of him, and the wall behind.
No way out of here.
Alex came at him again, faster this time. Something in his eyes no longer resembled the Alex who'd argued with him hours ago.
Zenon thought it through in a fraction of a second.
If he hits me now I could die.
Die...
Die? Here?
There's a way out...
There's one way out.
And before Alex's hand could reach him, Zenon drove the glass into the front of his own neck.
There was no screaming. Just the sound of a body falling, then a heavy silence that everything exploded out of a second later.
Blood sprayed across the white wall. Haïssi collapsed backward from the shock. Eddie and Sofian started screaming words that made no sense. Alex clutched his own throat with both hands, and with unbelievable slowness, his hands slid away.
The room lit up red.
In the control room, Cypher was trying to reconnect to the screen when the door opened.
A masked figure entered.
— Sir. We have a problem. The alarm lights in the selection corner just went off.
Cypher pulled his hand back from the keyboard.
— What?
He rushed out.
When he opened the door with his card, he stopped.
The room was split in two.
In the first half, Haïssi sat with his head in his hands, shaking. Sweat and tears ran down together as he repeated in a low voice: it can't be, it can't be, I didn't see this, I didn't see this. **No one told me about this part.**
And in the second half, three bodies on the white floor turned red. And in the corner, leaning against the wall, Zenon. His face was expressionless. Wounds covering his whole body, and blood that wasn't all his own.
Cypher approached him. Stopped two steps away.
— Who did this?
Zenon lifted his head and looked at him.
— I did.
To be continued…