Perfection

by Melissa Koberlein

  This girl really was a wonder. Iris wanted to strangle her on the spot.

  “Doesn’t matter.” Steel’s lip curled up sardonically.

  Gage’s breathing hitched. He looked at Iris, his eyes searching for the truth. When he found it, her heart shattered into a million pieces. His hand slackened in hers and let go.

  “Why?” he whispered.

  Her throat went dry, and her hands trembled. The only thing she could muster was, “I’m sorry.”

  Gage turned his attention back to Steel, and all hell broke loose.

  Gage

  “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaac was playing softly in the background when Gage lost his shit. He wasn’t sure why he noticed, but for some reason, it fueled his fire.

  Steel was backed up against the catwalk, sneering at him. Gage stepped forward, and Steel hopped up onto the catwalk. Gage followed, launching himself up, his fists clenched, shaking with adrenaline.

  It’s the truth. She was mine long before she was yours. Steel’s voice was in his head again. Sloppy seconds, brother.

  “I’m going to kill you.” Gage leapt at Steel, tackling him to the stage floor. On top of Steel, he punched him a few times until Steel kicked him off. They stood, circling each other as the guests gathered around the stage, gasping at the ugly spectacle playing out where beauty had just been.

  “Kick his ass, Gage!” Luke and Derrick hollered in unison.

  Gage lunged and grabbed Steel’s arm. They grappled together, each trying to land a punch.

  I promise it was a pity fuck, Steel said in Gage’s head. At least the last time.

  Images of Iris in Steel’s arms flooded Gage’s mind as if appearing out of nowhere. Somehow, Steel was forcing his memories in. Gage roared and kneed Steel in the stomach. He doubled over, and Gage saw his opportunity. He kicked Steel hard and sent him back to the stage surface.

  “You are so easy to rattle.” Steel laughed. Gage advanced again, but Steel, with some surprising agility, sprang back on his feet. He pulled out a switchblade from his pocket. “You want to play for real, bro?”

  “Steel, no!” Iris yelled.

  As soon as Gage heard her voice, he faltered. That was all it took for Steel to get the upper hand. He grabbed Gage, turning him around, with the knife to his throat.

  The crowd gasped.

  Gage pried at Steel’s hand, bending it back. Steel yelped and dropped the knife. They faced each other once again.

  Steel charged, and Gage couldn’t move fast enough. Steel grabbed his arm and pinned it behind his back. Just below them, Gage could see Iris. She had tears in her eyes and was covering her mouth with her hands. Evie and Mazy were holding her arms, keeping her at bay.

  Don’t worry. I taught her well, Steel taunted.

  More images of Steel and Iris together flooded Gage’s brain. He couldn’t escape, couldn’t push them away. He bore witness to their acts as if he were there in the flesh. His stomach turned. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block his brother’s voice and images from his mind. But the torment continued. Details about their intimacy, how many times they were together, how much Iris enjoyed being with him.

  It was too much. He couldn’t take any more.

  Gage tossed his head back, catching Steel in the chin. Steel released him, staggering back. Gage threw himself at his brother again. They locked in a violent embrace, each fighting for the upper hand. They stayed like that for a while, turning around and around, looking for an opportunity. The sound of the crowd around them died out, or so it seemed.

  That’s it… Steel thought.

  Gage inhaled sharply, and his rage toward Steel released in a physical, tangible way. Like a discharge from his mind and body sent a shockwave through the store. It felt good, and he welcomed it.

  Steel smiled just like he did the time they fought on the basketball court. I knew I could break you. His mouth hardened, as did his eyes. He grabbed Gage by the shirt, face inches away. Now, I’m going to take everything from you that should have been mine. Just like I took her.

  Gage’s grip on Steel’s arms tightened as another surge of rage welled up inside him, begging for release.

  There was a loud crack from above. Gage looked up to see a light fixture plummeting from the ceiling, headed directly for them, and pushed away in the nick of time. The light crashed down on Steel, knocking him down.

  Gage sat up, his breathing ragged and looked around. “Jesus Christ!”

  Bodies were strewn on the floor, some of them convulsing. Adam and Iris were the only two still standing in the entire place. He jumped down from the catwalk, his breathing labored.

  “What the hell happened?” Gage asked Adam.

  “Everyone collapsed,” Adam replied.

  “Everyone besides us,” Iris added through veiled eyes.

  Something in the pit of Gage’s stomach recoiled as he remembered his recurring nightmare. It was just like this. “Are they—”

  Adam kneeled and cradled Evie in his arms. He sighed, relief on his face. “They’re okay. I scanned their vitals.”

  “And him?” Gage looked back at the stage where Steel fell. He appeared to be unconscious.

  “He’ll live.”

  Gage nodded, sweat and tears mixing together on his face. He gasped for air that wouldn’t come. He should help them, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. He looked down at his hands, shaking uncontrollably. He felt woozy and on the verge of passing out himself. “I can’t breathe in here.”

  Iris reached for him, but he recoiled.

  “Don’t,” he said. Visions of her with Steel danced before his eyes, taunting him like ghosts. His breath caught as the walls around him closed in. “I need to get some air.”

  Gage headed toward the front door, trying to stay on his feet. He emerged from the shop parched for breath. He put his hands on his knees trying to slow his breathing.

  A familiar voice asked, “Gage? Is that you?”.

  He looked up. Mr. Garcia.

  “Are you okay?” Garcia asked.

  It felt like he was losing his mind, and he no longer cared about the suspicions he had toward Mr. Garcia. He staggered a few steps.

  “Gage, do you need help?”

  “Help?” The world spun, and Gage reached for anything solid. When his head hit the sidewalk, everything faded to black.

  Part II

  19

  Reverb

  Gage

  Gage opened his eyes and immediately closed them again. His head felt like a bomb had gone off inside. He moaned and covered his head with his hands, rocking over into a fetal position. He was in a bed—but whose, he had no clue.

  A door opened, revealing the silhouette of a woman. She sat next to him on the bed. “Gage, can you hear me? It’s Dr. Rice.”

  “Yes.” He continued the rocking, tears in his eyes. “My head hurts really bad.”

  “Okay. It’s going to be all right.” She grasped one of his arms.

  He felt a prick and burning as something entered his system. He turned back over on his back. “What was that? What did you give me?”

  “It’s a mild sedative. It will help calm you down.” She picked up a bottle of ibuprofen and shook three into her hand. “Here, sit up. These are for your head.”

  Gage took the pills from her hand and swallowed them down with some water. He lay back down and covered the sides of his head with the pillow. “Why does it hurt so bad? It’s like my head is about to split in two.”

  “I’m not sure. Garcia called me.”

  He sat up, a new sense of panic about him. “Where am I?”

  “Lay back down.” She pushed him back. “You’re in his apartment, and it’s safe. You’re lucky he found you when he did. Your vitals were all over the place. Erratic heartrate of 160 and your blood pressure was 140 over 90.”

  “The fashion show. All those people…are they okay?”

  Garcia entered the room. “They are. The doctors are calling it a mass psychogenic illness. They’re s
till looking for the cause.”

  “What does that mean?” Gage asked.

  “It means that a large group of people fell ill at the same time. Most of them have recovered without any apparent harmful effects,” Naomi explained. “It’s quite remarkable actually. There were no bacterial or viral agents present.”

  “What do you mean by most?” Gage asked.

  “Well, there were some injuries when they collapsed. But nothing too serious,” Naomi said.

  If his head didn’t feel like it was about to explode, he would have laughed. This was Ashwater they were talking about. Add mass hysteria to the list of odd happenings.

  Naomi stood. “You should get some rest. That sedative should be kicking in.”

  Gage didn’t want to go to sleep, but his mind and body craved it. He nodded and rolled over on his side. Before his mind receded completely, he heard Naomi say to Garcia, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  Iris

  Iris sat in a chair opposite Evie’s bed in the hospital. She wouldn’t cry. She couldn’t. There was too much going on. Adam pursed his lips, concern etched on his face. He was sitting in the chair next to Evie, holding her hand. She’d woken briefly after the event at the fashion show but had since fallen unconscious again. Most of the others had recovered by this point. But Evie had been very close to Gage and Steel. Iris was still computing what had transpired last evening. Since she and Adam were unaffected by the mass illness, it had to have something to do with the human brain. She also knew that whatever transpired between Gage and Steel on the catwalk had caused it.

  Evie’s mom, who’d recovered hours ago, left to get them something to eat. Her dad stopped in momentarily but had to head back out. He said the press was having a field day with the incident. Iris got up and walked to the window. There were a bunch of people with cameras and microphones standing outside the hospital doors.

  “Are they still there?” Adam asked.

  “Yep.” Iris turned back to face him and crossed her arms. “We need to talk.”

  “Not right now.” Adam squeezed Evie’s hand in both of his.

  “Adam, look at me.” Iris moved to the other side of the bed, trying to force him to look up. “Serena will be back soon.”

  He glanced up, eyes unreadable.

  “You exposed yourself,” she said. The light fixture didn’t just fall all by itself. Adam had used his still-functioning ocular laser to knock it down to break up Gage and Steel.

  “If I hadn’t interceded, those people would have been in much worse shape.” Adam stood and walked over to the window. He was right, of course. The energy coming from Gage and Steel had been getting stronger and clearly was the source of the people collapsing around them. Adam continued to stare out the window. “Do you ever miss it?”

  “Sometimes.” She knew what he was talking about—her lethal capabilities. If she was being honest, she did, especially where annoying humans like Shannon were concerned. But she wasn’t that stoic, unfeeling droid any longer. She cared about people now. She thought about Gage and the look of betrayal in his eyes when Shannon had revealed her secret. Her eyes filled with tears.

  “Hey, I’m sorry.”

  She didn’t know if he meant for her not having her weaponry or what she was really upset about, but she needed comfort desperately. She reached for him, and he drew her into his arms as she sobbed against his shoulder.

  “He hates me now,” she said. “He’ll never forgive me.”

  “No, he doesn’t. I know it feels like that right now, but he’ll realize that it was in the past and you’ve changed.”

  “I don’t think so. Steel is not only his worst enemy but his brother. He’ll never get over it.”

  Adam grasped her arms and pulled back. “That’s not true. The only reason he left is because he’s obviously dealing with…” He glanced at Evie. “This.”

  He was right about that. Gage Strickland was no ordinary human. He had some kind of ability that had caused all those people to drop like flies. But now he’d disappeared. She had no idea where he was, if he was hurt, or worse.

  “I wish I could help him somehow.” Her hands were clammy. She knew all too well how it felt to be different, and she didn’t like him dealing with that on his own.

  “Wherever he is, give him some time.”

  Iris nodded. She didn’t really want to give him time, but based on her calculations on human conflict of this nature, it was the right thing to do.

  “It’s going to be okay.” Adam squeezed her tightly, mussing her hair playfully.

  “Did I miss something?” A sleepy Evie asked from the bed.

  Adam was by her side in a nanosecond. “How are you?”

  “Well,” she said, propping herself up in the bed and rubbing her eyes, “I feel like I just took the longest nap.”

  Serena stood in the doorway. “Honey, how are you feeling? Should I get the doctor?”

  “I’m okay.” She looked back at Adam. “Where’s my sketchbook? I had the weirdest dream.”

  Serena sighed. “I’m calling your father. Don’t go back to sleep on me.”

  “I won’t.” Evie smiled at Adam.

  20

  Answers

  Gage

  The effects from the night before had passed. Gage had never had a headache like that and hoped he never did again. He couldn’t stop thinking about Iris. The images Steel forced into his mind plagued his every thought. How could she have been with him? He was beyond terrible. But even worse, why didn’t she tell him the truth? He knew the answer as soon as the question entered his mind. That’s what she was going to tell him the night before the show.

  He rubbed his temples, still tender from the effects of the encounter. His heart ached. He couldn’t help but question why she wanted to be with him in the first place. Was he a replacement for Steel because they looked alike? Did she want to get back with his brother? Was she using him to make Steel jealous? There were so many unanswered questions, and it was making his head hurt again.

  A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and Garcia entered.

  “How are you feeling?” He handed Gage a glass of water and some more ibuprofen.

  “Thanks.” Gage sat up and took the pills. Better safe than sorry. He gulped down the entire glass. He was parched.

  “So, now would be a good time to tell you why I didn’t take you to the hospital last night.” Garcia sat down in a chair opposite the bed. “Even though the board at Bio-Core fired me, and with good reason, your grandfather has kept me on his private payroll.”

  “I’m sorry, he did what?” Gage frowned. What was this all about?

  “Your grandfather hired me.”

  “For what?”

  “To keep tabs on you.”

  Gage narrowed his eyes. There were lots of people in Ashwater that should probably be watched over, but him? “Why would my granddad want me to be watched?”

  “I think last night is a stellar example.” He stood up and ran his hand through his hair.

  Gage’s mind drifted to the fashion show. The unbridled energy that flowed through him as he fought against Steel. The anger and hurt became palpable and turned into something physical, something he had no control of. A truth formed deep in his mind. Steel wasn’t responsible for those people falling ill.

  “It was me, wasn’t it?” Gage looked up. “I caused those people to get sick.”

  Garcia shrugged. “I’m not going to pretend I know the answer to that. I’m not that kind of scientist. But your grandfather didn’t ask me to watch you for nothing.”

  “But why you?”

  “I needed a job, and your grandfather is good at creating opportunities.”

  Gage put some of the pieces of the past few months together. Garcia did seem to always be close by wherever Gage was. First at school, then working at Dixon’s, and he just happened to be walking by Dalia’s last night.

  “Well, they’ve all recovered.” Garcia cleared his throat. “
Evie Grayson was the last to wake, but she’s okay.”

  Gage sighed in relief. He hated the idea that he hurt anyone, let alone his friends. His mind drifted to Iris. The truth in her glassy eyes when she admitted that she had been with Steel was permanently etched in his brain. He couldn’t stop seeing them together. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, trying to clear his mind of her. When he opened his eyes, Garcia was pacing, scratching the back of his neck.

  “So, what now?” Gage asked.

  “I’m working on that.”

  “Well, shouldn’t you call my granddad?” The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end. Something was wrong. Why wasn’t his granddad here already?

  Garcia laughed nervously. “Well, because he’s currently speaking to the board at Bio-Core about the incident.”

  “Where’s my phone?” Gage looked at the bedside table and patted his pants pockets.

  “He’s not going to answer.” Garcia reached into his pocket and tossed him his phone. “He told me to keep you safe for now.”

  “Why would I not be safe?”

  Garcia frowned. “I think, perhaps, that’s something you’ll have to ask him.”

  An icy sense of foreboding slithered up Gage’s spine like a serpent. Something told him his granddad was in trouble. He scrolled through his contacts until he found Alec’s number. He tapped on his name and pressed the phone to his ear.

  A voice on the other end answered. “Gage, now isn’t a good time.”

  “I need to speak with my granddad.”

  “Sam is busy. You’re still with Garcia, aren’t you?”

  Gage took a deep breath. It seemed everyone was in the know except him. “Yes.”

  “Good. Your grandfather will contact you when he’s able, and Gage, stay safe.”

  The phone clicked off, and he set it down on the bed. “I need to go to Bio-Core.”