Edge of Humanity: Book 2 in the Saving Humanity Series

CHAPTER 20

Caleb needed to go somewhere confined. The universe expanded beyond him at a ridiculous rate. He felt like he was being torn in 800 different directions, and it wouldn't stop until he fell apart. He slid under his bed and pulled his knees up to his chest. He thought for sure Dr. Maudas would follow him in and ask him to talk about what happened, but he didn't. Caleb wouldn't tell him anyway. After what just happened, there wasn't much to be said.

His brain seemed to have righted itself for the most part, and he didn't see the world in flashes anymore. He had a pounding headache though, one threatening to tear his skull apart. He placed his forehead against his knees and drew in long breaths. His body shook with anger, fear, and guilt; his stomach tied itself into knots. He should have done something more to save the man.

Like what?

Anything.

He could have tackled Dr. Maudas to the ground and released the restraints before fleeing outside. He could have kicked and screamed and been more assertive in why Dr. Maudas shouldn't conduct the experiment.

The voice in the darkness sighed.

Caleb knew exactly what it meant, and it caused him to pull himself into a tighter ball. He couldn't have done anything. Any action he took against Dr. Maudas would have resulted in an RBZ restraining him. The experiment would have been conducted no matter what; the outcome would have been the same.

Caleb's shaking lessened slightly, but the pain in his gut and the hollowness in his chest remained. The voice in the darkness was right. He was weak and pathetic. He couldn't do anything right. It became apparent the voice didn't want him to disappear to protect himself, it was to keep others safe. If he stayed, those around him would wind up getting hurt.

A debilitating sense of sadness washed over him. He had really wanted to rejoin the human race, have relationships, and create connections. Apparently, the universe didn't have the same plans. Caleb inhaled a shaky breath and pushed the thoughts from his mind.

* * * *

Caleb stared at his parents, his mouth agape, trying to process what they had just told him. The dead have risen from the grave. The world no longer made sense. Everything Caleb had ever known and believed to be true was destroyed with one sentence. The world rushed away from him at light speed and threatened to pull him apart. He wanted to climb into his bed and close his eyes. He knew when he opened them, everything would be okay again.

His knees gave out from under him, and Caleb slowly sank to the floor. He closed his mouth so he could swallow and continued to stare at his mom and dad. They stared back, their gazes shifting from Caleb to Nina. Caleb sensed someone wanted to say something, but no one knew what.

Several long moments of silence passed. Caleb's thoughts drifted to the code he'd been working on and how he'd never get the chance to finish debugging it. He felt empty and like a failure. Of all the things in the world he probably wouldn't be able to do again—go to school, find a girlfriend, get a college education—not being able to fix some code should have been low on the list, but it was his entire focus, and he had no idea why.

His father cleared his throat. "I know we're all in shock about this news, but does anyone have any ideas of what we should do?"

The family looked at one another, hoping the answer would magically appear on someone's face.

"Anything?" The defeat was apparent in Dad's tone.

Caleb took a shaky breath. "I think we should stay put. Board up the house and hunker down until we know exactly how serious the situation is."