by J. D. Cavan
“Forever?” another boy said. He was short and bulky.
“Yes, this is what you are called to do now.” She always felt a little bad about Actualizing Potentials, truth be told. They honestly didn’t know what they were in for. She’d never met one that regretted it, however.
She remembered when she used to give them a choice. She’d asked the Potential if they wanted to go forward, and rarely if ever did they refuse. But when numbers were this low, the sales pitch was straightforward—and unless one of them ran screaming from her, it was happening.
“Listen to me carefully.” Samantha stopped talking for second. She heard someone walking in the hallway outside the cafeteria. She tensed up but then let out a sigh of relief. She stood motionless in the corner, out of sight, as a school monitor walked past them and down the hall.
She turned back toward them. “Once this happens, and you’ll know when it does, you have to take this bag and get out of here immediately.” She put the satchel on the table in front of them. “It’s full of money. I’ll meet up with you later at a different location.”
“Get out of here, why?” the short boy asked nervously.
“I’ll explain everything else at the other location. For now, just understand that who you really are isn’t totally accepted by others.” She didn’t want to scare them off by telling them that once they were Actualized, they were open-season for Replica. “Does one of you have a car to take the others out of here?”
“I do,” the tall boy said.
“Promise me you’ll all leave right away, together. Is that a promise?” They all nodded. She was intent on making sure they fled. She’d seen Potentials get Actualized and immediately get blown away by Replica.
Jackie sat down in a chair in front of her. Samantha checked the hallway again, closed her eyes, and then opened them. She let her Red Star emerge, dimly at first, before growing and shinning out. She could see the other Potentials. They had awed looks on their faces as the Red Star, the key to their awaking, began to spin and search out the lock that needed opening.
She held her breath, and hoped as she peered into the corner of Jackie’s right eye. Come on, come on, give me the Red Star, she said to herself, before a shape and light slowly revealed itself inside Jackie’s eye.
It was the light blue burning circle of the strength and intellect Ereb. Her heart sank. It was a huge disappointment.
She watched the click of the switch, the giant light bulb go on inside of Jackie as she became Actualized as an Ereb. Jackie’s mouth dropped open and an indiscernible confidence seemed to flow through her. Jackie stood up and lowered her head in deference and gratefulness to Samantha, allowing the next Potential to come in her place.
The girl with the tattoos was all strength, the tall guy strength and intellect, and the bulky nervous one, intellect and compassion. No high status or synchronic sense Ereb. Another devastating blow and more bad luck. Without a high status or synchronic sense Ereb, they wouldn’t be able to locate any other Potentials.
Samantha watched all four of them leave out a back door that was close to the cafeteria. She then raced outside to the parking lot and was filled with relief. The SUV was parked in the same spot and there was no sign of Replica.
She walked over toward it and opened the passenger’s door. “Let’s go,” she said. Luca smiled at her, clearly happy to see her before taking the SUV out of the school parking lot.
“How’d it go?” he asked. She could hear the hopefulness in his voice.
“All four Actualized,” she said. Luca took his eyes off the road for moment and glanced at her expectantly. “They were all strength and intellect. Oh, and compassion. I’ll take it.” There was a pause.
“Right, we’ve got more numbers now, and that’s what we need.” He sounded confident, but she could tell there was serious defeat behind it. He checked his rearview mirror as he drove down the street. The neighborhoods were rural mostly, houses scattered over landscapes of burnt grassy field.
“Stop off somewhere, we have to kill a little time,” she said. “We’re meeting them outside of town.”
“Okay.” Luca checked the mirrors again. “We’re not getting followed, you pulled it off. Good job, Sam.”
They stopped off at an empty diner before they planned to meet up with the new Actualized. The tattooed girl’s family had a hunting cabin on Lake Acworth and no one was there. The plan was simple. Tell them about their powers, and Replica, and then find James and the others immediately.
Samantha sat at the counter with Luca and silently drank coffee and waited. She wasn’t going to talk about the obvious and very serious problem they faced. Without Pete, they had absolutely no way of finding more Potentials. They were at the end of their rope.
She put her face in her hands. The time it was going to take to meet up with the Potentials, find James and the others—given that they were still alive—and try to organize some plan to attack Aion to stop the human extinction seemed totally impossible.
She took a deep breath and blew air out of her lungs. It was time for them to go, and she headed to the bathroom while Luca went to pay the check and head to the truck. She caught a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror as she walked in. She didn’t look like herself. She looked worn out, like the life had been drained out of her. She rinsed her face in the sink and pulled her hair back, then went into her bag and found a tie. She tossed her bag over her shoulder and adjusted it in the mirror. She sighed and gazed at herself in the mirror again. Then she heard the bathroom door open and close.
The stalls blocked her view of the door so she waited to see who it was. She felt a slight surge of adrenalin pick up inside her body as she slowly walked around the stalls and toward the door. She turned the corner to see who it was. She couldn’t believe it.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Ben Myers said.
“What are you doing here?” she asked quickly, her body tensing.
“I need to talk to you,” he replied.
She stared at him intently. “You have two seconds.”
“Aion has let me capture you instead of kill you. They agreed to let me study you,” he said.
“I’m supposed to believe that?” she replied.
“You don’t understand. You have to believe it. This isn’t just about you or Ereb,” he said desperately.
“I don’t have to believe you, and you’re right, Mr. Original. I don’t understand. I don’t understand you or Aion at all,” she said.
“Understand this—they’re going to kill you if you don’t come along peacefully, and then you’ll be dead, and so will the human race.” He stopped for a moment. “My name is Ben.”
It was silent. She wanted to walk out, get to the Potentials, and meet up with the others, but her synchronic sense kept pulling her back in.
“Answer my question. How exactly are you going to study me?”
“If I tell you, will come with me?”
“No!” She glared at him. She was horribly torn inside. One part of her said run away from this guy, but another part said otherwise.
“I have to go. Someone’s waiting for me and I’m putting him at risk.” She moved toward the door again.
“Please,” he stood in front of her. “I’m out of options.” His face darkened.
“Listen to me, Ben, the reason I don’t follow my synchronic senses anymore, which is like losing an arm or leg, is that your lovely Replica show up to try and exterminate me and my kind. So there’s no way I’m giving up, surrendering, or coming with you.” She found herself stuck. There were no good choices. She stepped toward the door again.
“Don’t leave.” He took a hold of her hand, and she allowed it—then she felt it again, her synchronic sense. It became painful for her. She couldn’t deny it. She clutched his hand, and even though she didn’t know what it was, somewhere she knew they were the same, struggling for the same thing.
“I don’t trust you,” she muttered, looking away from hi
m. She felt his body move closer to her. She fought him, but then she looked up into his eyes. She could feel his longing and his suffering and his desire mixed into one before he kissed her. His mouth fell open, and the kiss was like an explosion. Her head was dizzy and her body released a tension that could have blown the walls out before she heated to a thousand degrees. She pried herself away from him.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. One part of her wanted to knock him out cold, and the other part wanted to kiss him again.
He dropped his head. “I don’t know. I just want to stop this.”
“Why don’t you come with us, fight on our side,” she said. “We’ll figure out a way to destroy Aion together.”
“It won’t work.” His eyes were so sad and desperate.
“You’re right, it won’t.” She couldn’t go with him. She had to meet Luca—he was in parking lot and he’d be flipping out in two seconds, worried about her.
“I have to go now,” she said. Her synchronic sense was telling her that this was right. It mixed with her other feelings now, the ones that were drawing her to him. She denied both of them and moved toward the door.
“Follow your heart, your synchronic sense.” She heard him say as she opened the door.
“That’s not my heart.” She walked out. As the door shut, leaving Ben Myers behind, she thought she heard him say one final thing.
“Forgive me, Samantha.”
15
SHE REACHED THE parking lot and walked briskly over toward the back where the SUV was waiting. As she got closer, Luca jumped out.
“What took you so long?” he asked, looking concerned.
“I’ll explain once we’re outta her,” she replied, quickly heading toward the passenger side.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” Luca said, pain in his voice.
“Get in.” Samantha sneaked a peak over her shoulder to see if she could spot Ben coming out of the diner. Luca could tell, and he shook his head.
“What’s going on, Sam?” he asked.
“He was there,” she said.
“I knew it! What did he want?”
“I don’t know, I left,” she replied. She felt ill. Lying to Luca and walking away from Ben twisted her up inside, making her feel miserable. She was more alone than she had ever been in her life.
Luca drove down a long empty dirt road before they finally reached the cabin, which was actually a large house on the lake. There were no cars. The new Actualized had obviously not arrived yet.
Luca put the SUV in park and just sat there, staring out the front window. She had the door half open before she stopped.
“What is it?” she asked.
He looked at her strangely and then said, “Nothing.”
Luca got out and they started to walk toward the house when she spotted something over the trees. Her heart skipped a beat and then she focused and saw them. Three Replica drones shot up into the sky.
“No!” she said as both of them turned to run back to the SUV, but it was too late. Replica vans ripped into the driveway. They didn’t even have time to get to their weapons before they were surrounded, Replica pouring out of vans. Then General Zim emerged. They stood yards away.
She growled to herself, her heart breaking and then turning to stone. Ben betrayed her.
The Replica were heavily armed and General Zim took a step forward. The drones must have been following them, but now had disappeared from sight.
“You have one chance to come with us. The female, step forward slowly. The male, remain where you are and do not move,” Zim announced loudly. She saw the van door open and waited to see if it was Ben, but it wasn’t. It was a Replica carrying an injection device.
She didn’t move, and then Zim waved a hand toward another van. A Replica emerged from the back, escorting someone out. The person was cuffed and hooded.
She glanced at Luca for a moment. The Replica shoved the masked person to their knees before removing the hood. It was Pete. His face was bleeding and badly beaten up. Her heart sank.
“I tried to warn you, I’m sorry, they’re torturing me!” he cried, his voice shaking.
“Shut up!” Zim backhanded him, knocking him out cold. She clenched her jaw and glared at Zim.
“Put him back in the van,” Zim ordered, and a couple of Replica picked up Pete’s lifeless body. Zim smirked and nodded his head. “We have you. Surrender.”
She felt her tense body give up and relax. This was a no-win situation, she knew it. She might be able to save Luca if she turned herself in to them—and maybe Pete as well. She glanced over at Luca.
“Forget it, they’ll kill you too,” he said. “Eventually.”
Zim raised his arm and the front door of the house opened, and if things couldn’t get any worse, they just did. The four Potentials she had just Actualized walked out with their hands tied behind their backs, armed Replica surrounding them. They looked distressed, and the short bulky boy high on intellect and compassion was crying. Jackie caught her eyes and begged for help without words.
Zim had them kneel down in front of him. He reached around his back and pulled his pistol out and cocked it.
“I’m not going to ask you again,” he aimed the gun at the back of Jackie’s head.
Samantha noticed Luca slowly inching toward the SUV, trying to reach his blaster. It wouldn’t work—there wouldn’t be enough time, and she could tell they’d already blocked her telekinesis with their eye-shields. If only she still had her Time Grip, but that option was long gone.
She turned away from them to look at Luca. She shook her head slightly to get him to stop, but it was too late. He made a move to the SUV to get his gun. She startled as multiple rounds went off. She swung around to see all four of the newly Actualized Ereb lying dead on the ground. Luca stopped and turned to see as well. Zim had quickly put a bullet into the heads of each one of them. Red blood mixed with the red streak in Jackie’s hair. It hadn’t been a sign of good luck after all.
It felt like a giant weight fell on top of her. She wanted scream, but nothing came. Then she felt a rage, and then something calm, like the quiet before a storm. Her breath was low and her fists were clenched. Everything went silent around her. She drew on all her bitterness and resentments and allowed it to flow up into her body. All the Ereb Zim ruthlessly killed, Lilith and Noah, and all the rest. She held the feelings inside her, containing it like she was harnessing an energy source or creating a powerful explosive device. She let it build and build.
She craned her neck slightly and whispered to Luca, “Get to the blasters.” She took one step, and another, and it appeared as if she was giving herself up—but then she picked up speed, and suddenly she was racing at Zim like she’d been shot from a cannon.
Replica opened fire, but as they did Samantha began to turn and twist, cartwheels at first that moved into a series of front flips. Like a rocket, Samantha’s body looked more like a spiked morning star spinning wickedly at its target. Zim seemed momentarily shocked, taking steps backwards, firing but missing her.
In midair she unraveled and straightened her body horizontally, and landed feet-first directly on Zim’s chest. The force knocked him off his feet, and she quickly slipped up on top of his shoulders, locking her legs around his neck as they both went crashing to the hard dirt. She grunted loudly as she viciously choked the life out of him.
Replica ceased firing at her. The risk of hitting Zim was too great, and instead they dealt with Luca, who had gotten into the cab of the truck and was delivering a ton of rounds from his assault blaster.
Samantha had her legs wrapped tightly around Zim’s massive neck and he was gasping for air. She would crush his spine if she could, and continued to squeeze. He was so big and strong, however, that he was able to stand up, pulling her with him. He reached up and grabbed her hair and yanked it forward. She felt herself whip off his back and smash down in front of him. He then kicked her in the gut, sending her flying.
She rolled to a sto
p and decided to played possum, lying motionless on the ground while he came up to her. This gave her a chance and she landed a quick sidekick perfectly on his knee. Zim buckled, and he dropped to the other knee. She stood up and kicked him in the nose, blasting him sideways. She felt someone grab her arm and she turned, ready to punch.
“Samantha!” Myers shouted as he yanked her arm. She ripped it away and clenched her fist and then swung around to check Luca. He was surrounded by heavily armed Replica. Dead Replica lay all around him, but they had finally subdued him and taken his weapon. Luca looked into her eyes and her heart dropped. It wasn’t fear or anger she saw. It was deep hurt. Luca looked at her and then at Ben.
“Let him go, and I’ll go with you,” she said to Myers.
“Release him, now! We have the girl,” Myers ordered. The Replica didn’t move, but instead shifted their attention to General Zim, who was struggling to get up.
Zim picked up his Glock from the ground and walked over toward her. His eye-shield had cracked and he slowly took it off his face. She felt his steely dead eyes dig into her. He raised his gun and pointed it at her head.
“Exterminate him,” Zim ordered, never taking his cold eyes off of her. Shots rang out as Replica gunned down Luca in front of her.
“No!” Samantha shouted. She ran over toward Luca, kneeling down by his fallen body.
Luca’s body was twisted. He was lying mostly on his back with his chest heaving in and out, blood pouring out underneath him. His eyes were half shut.
“Luca!” Samantha cried frantically. “No, no, no,” she repeated over and over again. “Don’t leave me!” she moaned, tears falling from her eyes. She wanted to pick him up as if she could carry him away, but she held him on the ground and watched his eyes close.
“I’m sorry,” Luca struggled to say, blood coming from his mouth. “I didn’t save you.” He tried to whisper something else, perhaps that he loved her, but his breathing stopped.
Then there was silence, and her world imploded. She finally let Luca’s body rest on the ground before slowly getting up. She was numb inside.