Free After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) by Karly Kirkpatrick

and Xavier in the corner.
    "I see you've met Dr. Todesengel." He nodded toward the man in the lab coat.
    Paivi could barely nod in response.
    "What did he do to you?" Paivi whispered. Her voice shook.
    "He made us weapons." He gestured toward Paivi’s dad. "He made us monsters of destruction. This was your father?"
    She nodded. "Why isn't he attacking you?"
    "It would be stupid to produce weapons that attack each other." The man chuckled. "We're programmed to recognize each other's presence. In such a small space, he could kill us all, so he stops. But if I leave," he paused, "it's lights out for you."
    He stood silent for a moment. His hospital gown hung on him like he was a coat rack.
    "I'm going to do something for you now. I'm going to save your life."
    Xavier tightened his grip on her arm. Peter peeked around the corner through the doorway, but said nothing.
    "Don't you want to come with us?" Paivi asked, her voice shaking.
    "I can't do that. Technically, I'm programmed to kill you, but you're safe as long as this needle is in my arm. And something has to set me off."
    "Like what?" she asked.
    "Anger. Hatred." He looked her over. "He created us to kill our own kind. I'm not sure what for. He's got all of us in a camp."
    Paivi knew why. There were more people like them in the world. Did Stevens know that too?
    "What will you do then? Just stay here?" Paivi inched forward, Xavier at her side. They were pressed close. She was ready for anything, but she was powerless. She only hoped she could trust what this man said.
    "Oh, no. I plan on destroying this place and everything in it." A crooked smile twisted across his bony face.
    "My...my Dad?" Paivi's heart sank to her feet.
    "Would you rather I release him to follow you? We can't be fixed. We're abominations of nature. Monsters." His eyes softened for a moment. "I was a monster in life, as well. I used my powers for my own agenda. I killed people. A lot of people."
    "MD." Xavier breathed next to Paivi. "Malcolm Davis? Head of the Righteous Front?"
    The man lowered his eyes and breathed deeply. "I can't change what I did in the past. I was a horrible person. I am a horrible person. I was the reason Stevens came up with the damned EOS list. But this is my chance to show one person that I was more than a murderer. I can save you."
    Paivi's head spun. Her eyes traveled over the monstrous form of her dad in front of her. She wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. She longed to erase this vision from her memory. It was the last time she would see him and she didn't want to remember him this way for the rest of her life.
    Malcolm waved a hand toward her dad. "If it makes you feel any better, your father died a long time ago. This is merely his shell. John Anderson isn't in there anymore."
    Tears slid down Paivi's face.
    "He was a good man," Malcolm said quietly. "He didn't deserve this. None of you did. But take the story with you. Never forget what they did to us. Don't let it be in vain." Malcolm stepped aside and the monster did the same.
    Xavier grabbed Paivi as her knees failed and slid his arm around her waist. He moved toward the door.
    "What about the others?" Peter's voice drifted in from the doorway. "We opened all the doors."
    "Don't worry. Most of them are too far gone to move on their own. Only the good doctor here could have gotten them moving."
    He placed a hand on Paivi. Evil, hatred, death. It poured through her skin and she yanked her arm away. His eyes widened in shock.
    "I'm that inhuman that I can't even touch a human anymore." Malcolm stared at his hand in horror. He fingered the bag of blue liquid in the opposite hand and met her eyes. "Go to the mouth of the mountain. When you get there, unfreeze Dr. Todesengel and then run."
    Peter appeared in the doorway and slid his arm around Paivi's waist from the opposite side and helped Xavier steady her. Paivi hung limp in their arms, allowing them to drag her through the corridors. She was vaguely aware of