Spark: One of Us Series

by Faulks, Kim

  “Where?” She turned her gaze to the night. “Can you feel them?”

  They were a jumble of panic inside my head. First her father, and now the others. “West…they’re west.”

  “Stop the car,” she murmured. “Finley, stop the car.”

  I lurched forward and threw my hand out, smacking the back of the seat as the Hummer braked hard and skidded to a stop on the side of the road.

  Voices crowded in. They were wave after wave of desperation and pain flaring deep into the bed of my palm as I clenched my fist.

  “Can you guide me?” She fumbled for her seatbelt. “Pitch! I said, can you guide me?”

  The more I fought, the stronger Sixth held on. Spark yanked the handle and climbed from the car. Flickers of neon light lit up the night. She stepped out onto the edge of the road and lifted her hand.

  A breeze whipped up, casting strands of her hair into the wind. Finley and Mavi followed, climbing out of the Hummer as the darkened clouds came alive.

  “I need you to guide me.” Spark turned her head, her eyes boring into mine. “Otherwise I can’t find them.”

  She didn’t understand. None of them did.

  Not the voices in my head.

  Or the scars they left behind.

  “I remember her,” Spark answered. “From that place. She was my friend. She never left me…never let them come for me, not without a fight. I owe her, Pitch. I need to fight for her now.”

  Her pain was a tornado, sucking me under, tearing me free. I’d heard her voice inside my head ever since that day in the aquarium when I was a boy…just as I heard it now…

  Beast…

  Animal…

  Kill…

  Just a filthy…dirty beast.

  I gripped the door handle and shoved as hate coiled inside me like a snake. We all carried demons from that place, all suffered nightmares. But they cut a little deeper, lingered a little stronger inside her.

  I didn’t know the things that’d been done to her…but I could guess.

  I rounded the rear of the Hummer and headed for the road. Mavi lifted his hands high, and the clouds moved above us, swirling and swelling with the kind of ferociousness that stole the air from my lungs.

  “She’s…” I started and closed my eyes as I took the last step to join her. Voices and panic filled my head. I lifted my hand, as the bitter wind crawled along my skin and into my lungs. “She over there.”

  “I want to touch you,” Spark whispered. “Is that okay?”

  I opened my eyes, and her fingers hovered close. My heart raced, carving through me as I answered. “Yes.”

  Our fingers touched and then slid together. I remembered my hand over her mouth…shh, they’ll hear you. She moved closer, pressing her arm against mine as the clouds swirled high above.

  “I can feel them,” she murmured. “Like a white noise inside my head.”

  I closed my eyes, pushing her focus further…harder, and felt her flinch and moan.

  “Wait, it’s too loud…” she moaned. “I can’t…there’s too many.”

  And still they came, like hundreds of thousands of marching steps hitting, wave after wave.

  I hate you!

  Please don’t leave me...

  I want to do this. You turn me on, and no, I don’t love my wife anymore.

  Over and over, wave after wave, and through the constant drone came a scream. Sixth!

  “There,” I growled and shoved her energy toward the panicked sound. “Can you hear her?”

  “Yes,” Spark whispered.

  I winced at the sharp, bitter scent of ozone and caught my breath.

  Thunder snarled above us, slipping across the sky as the predatory swirl of bruised clouds circled like a beast.

  She was tracking them…I turned to Mavi, with his hands raised high and a look of pure purpose on his face, and knew he was caught in her storm, just as much as she was captured by my power.

  In this moment we were one…one purpose…one need.

  Her hand tightened around mine, fingers clenching tight. The storm raged above us and moved west, savage flickers of white light cut from the sky, but the deafening roar was fading now—just a sullen snarl in the distance.

  “I can hear her clearly now,” she murmured. “Her pain, her terror. The storm is coming. She can see it.”

  “Can we get back on the road now?” Finley growled.

  She opened her eyes and nodded.

  Exhaustion moved in, dark circles crowded her eyes. Dulling the blue. She gave a nod, and then a weak smile and dropped my hand. Her steps stumbled. I lunged, grabbing her elbow as she pitched toward the open car door. “You okay?”

  She wasn’t, still she mumbled something and climbed back inside. I shoved the door closed, took one last look at the storm as it hunted its prey and rounded the rear of the Hummer.

  She was quiet, fingers furled and then clenched into tight fists as I climbed inside, and the others followed.

  “We good?” Finley glanced at me in the rear-view mirror.

  There was nothing else I could do now but nod. The car lunged forward, gravel crunched under the tires as we climbed back onto the road.

  Her hand slipped against the seat, she dragged the notebooks onto her lap and gripped the edges.

  “Gotta keep driving.” Finely glanced of his shoulder toward her. “Otherwise he’ll slip away.”

  “I understand,” she murmured. Still she clasped the notebooks tight.

  “What else did the doctor say?” I nodded toward the book as she turned to me. “In the books?”

  “Nothing.” Lies slipped from her lips.

  “You asked what we remembered from that place,” I murmured. “What do you remember?”

  The truth was all there, glistening like a shards of ice in her eyes as she answered. “I remember her…the girl with the purple hair. That’s all.”

  I caught the movement as Mavi glanced to Finley and spoke. “You’ve got to remember more than that. We were in there for what? A few months. What’s the first thing you remember after that?”

  Goosebumps raced across my skin as she whispered, “I remember the night I was left by the side of the road. I remember the night they found me.”

  “Your Mom and Dad, right?” I urged “The Senator?”

  Her gaze lost its grip on reality, staring at the rear of the passenger’s seat. “I remember them saying, you’ll be a good girl, won’t you? My little sleeper cell…”

  “Sleeper cell?” Finley snarled and jerked his head toward her. “What were you, their goddamn plant?”

  “They set her up.” I shook my head. “That’s why she can’t remember. How old were you when they dumped you?”

  “Nine. They found me when I was nine.”

  “So you were there after we all left? They made you stay behind? Why? Where the hell were your parents?”

  Her pale skin turned ashen. The muscles on her throat worked as she swallowed. But there were no answers and as the lightning flickered faintly in the distance I knew we weren’t done with this storm.

  Not by a long shot.

  Spark

  Where the hell were your parents?

  I winced at the words. The truth stuck in my chest like a twig wedged tight.

  It’s okay, Elizabeth. Daddy’s home.

  My heart sped as heat raced through my chest. White markers on the side of the road whipped past as we raced through the night.

  “Do you remember?” Pitch urged.

  I couldn’t face him. I couldn’t even face the truth. “No,” I murmured. “I don’t remember anything.”

  The Hummer surged and then lost ground, slowing rapidly as a red light glowed on the dashboard, casting the crimson hue across Finley’s face.

  “Sonovabitch!” He gripped the wheel and eased us onto the shoulder of the road as the light turned solid and the car stalled.

  “What is it?” Mavi leaved across.

  “Goddamn engine light.” Finley rode the brake
s, pulling to a stop.

  Steam billowed from the front of the car, the white mist all I could see. Finley popped the hood and then climbed out.

  “Grab your stuff,” Pitch murmured. “Looks like we’re walking.”

  Tears spilled down my cheeks as desperation clawed its way into my throat. Second by second my old life was slipping away. First Mom…and now Dad—like they didn’t exist—like my entire life was a lie.

  “Spark?” Pitch called.

  I grabbed the books and stuffed them into the backpack before I shoved open the car door. My feet moved on their own, stepping onto the asphalt and leaving the car and everything behind.

  Beast…

  Animal…

  Killer…

  My boots hit the road and drove me forward.

  “Spark?” Finley called behind me, as I punched my heel into the road and lunged into a run. Lungs expanded, drawing in the pain and the hurt.

  “Jesus fucking Christ!” he roared.

  Car doors thundered…boom…heavy steps echoed as I pushed harder, striding out. Familiar sounds rushed through the night. I’d get to him. I’d find him anyway I could. Tears blurred the distance, melting to the faint glare of oncoming lights.

  “Spark, just wait goddamnit!” Breaths punched through Finley’s words.

  Still, I never stopped, never slowed. I ran just like I always did.

  Always running…the words filled my head. How can you stand and face anything when it’s always one step behind?

  Their faces filled me…Finley…Mavi, and Pitch. They’d come for me, they’d helped me…they cared about me. They could be all I had left…

  My knees locked, the next stride a lurch before I caught my balance and then came to a stop. Headlights washed over me. I blinked into the yellow glow.

  They could be all I have…

  Daddy…

  I couldn’t feel him. Not in my head…and not in my heart. What if they…

  “Hey!” Finley gasped behind me as the oncoming car came over the rise and then whipped past.

  “W-what if…” I tried to say the words. My knees shook and the world seemed to tumble as I hit the asphalt hard. My palms slapped the bitumen, digging coarse fragments into the flesh. I stared at the black road as tears fell to splatter like raindrops on it. “What if he’s already dead?”

  The words conjured an image.

  Black fabric over his mouth, against his face...sucking tight as he breathed, just as it’d done to me all those years ago.

  Only in my mind they held a gun to his head, and that sickening scent of Cool Water filled me.

  Bang!

  I flinched with the sound inside my head. Acid spilled into the back of my throat.

  “Hey!” Finley dropped to his knees. “What the hell was that about? Talk to me…talk to us.”

  But it was Pitch who touched me. It was Pitch who pulled me into his arms. Strong hands held me gently and lifted me to my feet. There was fear in Finley’s eyes and a cold hunger in Mavi’s as they waited for me to say something… Anything.

  “You don’t have to,” Pitch murmured. “If you’re not ready, you don’t have to say a damn thing.”

  It’s okay, Elizabeth. Daddy’s home.

  I closed my eyes and rocked with his words. “He said he was my father….my real father.” And like a torrent, the truth spilled free. “I remember him from that night he left me. I remember his eyes, his smell. I remember how afraid I was of him, and when…and when I look in the mirror I see him inside me.”

  “Fucking Hell…” Finley murmured. “This is why you ran?”

  Heat rushed to my cheeks as his calloused fingers traced my jaw and then lifted my chin. “I want you to listen to me. You are not your father. You’re not anything like him. You didn’t force yourself out of that car as a kid, and you sure as hell didn’t kill your Mom, no matter what you might think. You’re the one fighting here, the one sacrificing everything. I know a fighter when I see one. I’ve spent most of my damn childhood in juvie for something my father forced me to do, and I’ve been running from that ever since. I can change my skin, Spark. I can even change my face, but I can’t change the demons. Those I carry with me all the goddamn time. But you have to face them at some point, we all do. So, this is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna find your dad and get him out of there. Then we’re gonna tear these sonsofbitches apart.”

  Lightning flared inside my head. Far off in the distance, the storm still raged. I could feel the power, still feel the rage trapped inside me.

  “Okay?” Finley murmured.

  His dark eyes seized mine. Truth echoed from within, truth and scars and hate. His lips parted, and the corner of his eye twitched. He moved closer, only slightly and glanced at my lips.

  My heart thundered, mingling with the growl of the storm inside my head. Headlights splashed against his face as he craned his neck. There was a second where my breath caught, a second where I almost closed my eyes—a second where I would’ve given anything to feel something other than the pain and the panic.

  Pitch’s hand trembled against my arm. Mavi looked away as the headlights behind us grew brighter, and just like that the moment was gone.

  We stumbled to the shoulder of the road together.

  “You okay now?” Finley murmured as headlights splashed across his eyes.

  He lifted his head and then dropped his hand, glancing at Mavi before turning back to me. “We’re going to find him, okay? We’re gonna find your dad.”

  He stepped up to the edge of the road and waved as the car behind us neared. They weren’t going to stop…not for three guys…

  I dropped my hand from Pitch’s arm and moved toward the road. White lights were blinding. I blinked into the glare and lifted my hand, shielding my eyes. The dark outline behind the wheel was all I could see. Still the car never slowed, only veered toward the middle of the road, horn blaring as it flew past us.

  “Asshole!” Finley dropped his hand and followed the glow of rear tail lights as the car sped away. “Fuck.”

  “Come on.” Mavi reached for my hand. “We’ll start walking.”

  “Wait,” Pitch murmured.

  Faint lights splashed against the asphalt. I lifted my gaze to the dark horizon as Pitch spoke again. “It’s a truck.”

  Please…I raised my hand and stepped onto the road.

  The growl of the truck deepened as faint light grew brighter.

  “It’s not going to stop,” Finley snapped. “For fucks sake…”

  Miles slipped away between us, every second we stood here was a second too late for Dad. I stepped up onto the road and lifted my hand.

  “Spark, what the hell are you doing?” Finley stepped closer.

  But the truck was climbing over the rise. Headlights splashed the Hummer on the side of the road as I clawed the last glint of power I had left, calling the energy above me to the clouds once more.

  Lightning forked across the midnight sky, arcing down in a blinding glare of white.

  The guys were darkened blurs lunging for the shoulder of the road as the deafening crack filled the air.

  My ears hummed, lungs swelled.

  “What the Hell!” Finley shouted. “You need to warn us next time you do that!”

  Gears ground together as the truck finally slowed. Red paint shone against sparkling chrome as the hiss of air brakes filled the night and the truck came to a stop.

  The driver’s door cracked open and the driver leaned out. “What the fuck, are you guys okay?”

  Finley glanced toward me and smacked his palm across his jeans. “Yeah, we are. Our Hummer died back there, so we could do with a lift.”

  “Well, get in,” the trucker urged. “I can take you as far as Dawn if that’s where you’re headed.”

  “We’ll take it.” Finley glanced to me.

  I followed the others to the passenger’s side. Mavi was first to step up. He yanked open the door before climbing in. Finley gripped my waist as Pitch held my
hand, guiding me up and into the cab.

  “Ma’am.” The trucker nodded. “I thought for sure you was struck by that bolt. That’s what made me pull over.”

  I ducked my head and stepped between to the sleeper at the back. Mavi reached for my hand, sitting next to me.

  The passenger’s door closed with a thud, and we were rolling, lurching forward as the truck gathered speed. “Where you folks headed?”

  Finley made for the passenger’s side. “Well, first to get a ride to replace the Hummer, then…”

  “East,” Pitch answered the driver. “We’re headed east.”

  I tried to stifle a yawn, and watched the white lines blur.

  “You can close your eyes and have a rest, if you like.” The trucker glanced up to the rear-view mirror. “Fresh sheets on today, the wife packed them especially. I won’t be getting any shut eye anytime soon, so be my guest.”

  I tried to shake my head, tried to say the words…no, but thank you.

  Instead I found myself nodding. Mavi shifted to the side and held my hand as I lifted my feet onto the bed. His fingers were warm against my shoulders—comforting. Mom waited for me to close my eyes, filling the darkness until she was all I could see.

  Slick tears welled in the corners of my eyes, slipping free to slide down the side of my nose. Mavi’s fingers moved in circles, rubbing my shoulders, brushing my hair.

  Dad comforted me like this. He was the one who held me. He was the one who protected me. But Mom fought for me. I held onto her now as the darkness rushed in, sweeping over me like a gathering storm, until I was lost once more.

  Finley

  She slept. Soft snores filled the cabin of the truck and even though the driver chattered and laughed, I just wanted to sit here, and listen to her.

  She fucking hit me, like a goddamn bolt of whatever she held inside her head. I was struck, fried and focussed on her. I didn’t think about my problems, didn’t think about the others—only her.

  I glanced over my shoulder to where she lay on the bench. It was barely big enough for one, but her knees were drawn up to her chest and Mavi was wedged against the side. He rested his hand on her shoulder, his gaze fixed on her face.