will forever happen to you. So you have to go out there and experience the world and make the most of it, because if you don’t, life will one day come knocking on your door and you won’t like what it has to say.”
I eyed him suspiciously. “But what if I do that and life is bad? Like falling out of a tree bad.”
“Then you’ve gotta fight, kiddo,” he said fiercely. “Because life will be bad sometimes. It’ll test you and push you and you’ll want to give up, but if you do it’ll suck every drop of happiness out of you until there’s nothing left.”
“I don’t want that,” I murmured.
“So fight,” he growled, his eyes flaring. “Fight with the spirit of the warrior I know lives in you. Fight for the good days. Fight to be stronger than anything the world hurls at you, fight for what you want. Always, Tatum, always. Because no one but you can make your life what you want it to be.”
“But how do I know what I want?” I asked in a small voice. The world felt too large sometimes, like there were too many doors and windows and I didn’t know which ones to go through.
I liked the sun and the sea and playing with my sister. I liked burgers without pickles and silly emojis like squids and potatoes. But I didn’t know what I wanted from life. The question was too big. There were too many answers. And I didn’t have any.
Dad gave me a knowing smile. “You’ll know it when you find it.”
“But what if I don’t know it?” I asked sheepishly.
His smile dropped away. “Then you’ll know it when you lose it.”
“Oh,” I breathed.
“But the world is full of second chances, kiddo,” he promised. “You can make things good. Any situation. No matter how bad. It can be good again. I swear it. You’ve just gotta be brave enough to give life hell. Don’t settle for less. You’re not here to bow to the world, beautiful girl, you’re here to make the world bow to you.”
I woke like I was rising out of the deepest, darkest of waters. My eyelids were too heavy to lift and the familiar rattle of the air conditioning unit sounded as a wave of cool air gusted against my cheek. My lips were bone dry and I tried to move my tongue to wet them, but the sedatives still held me in their grip.
A buzz sounded then the door opened and voices moved into the room.
“I feel sorry for her,” a man muttered.
“I don’t,” another replied. “The world has gone to shit, Alan, and I want it back. I want my damn life back.”
“I know, I do too, Jonas. I just…” Alan sighed.
“Don’t be an idiot, she’s just one girl. Thousands of people are dying every day because of the Hades Virus. What’s one more to save the whole world?”
“I guess,” Alan gave in and my pulse beat out a grim tune. “How much longer do you think she’ll last?”
“As long as we can make her live.” A thermometer was pushed into my mouth and the cold metal bit my tongue. A beep sounded a minute later. “Jesus. Get the heating up in here. Who the hell was on the last shift?” Jonas snarled.
The air conditioning soon switched to a warm rush of air and I realised how numb I was as my fingers began to tingle with sensation again.
“I bet it was fucking Gary, he couldn’t keep a goldfish alive for an hour, let alone a girl,” Alan muttered.
“He’ll be fired before noon,” Jonas said under his breath, taking hold of my arm then a needle slid firmly into my skin.
More strength began to curl through my body, and I managed to crack my eyes open and take in the guy whose face was hidden behind a visor and a face mask beneath it. His attention was on the needle in my arm as he drew out a vial of blood. Alan was across the room gathering more vials and I clenched my jaw determinedly as I saw a small window of opportunity.
I flexed my toes, assessing the strength in my right leg as I glared at this asswipe of a human being beside me. Dad had taught me to fight no matter what. Fight for the good. Make it good, Tatum.
I lifted my leg fast and slammed the heel of my bare foot into Jonas’s groin, knocking his arm away from the