by Matt Ryan
Minter shifted in his seat and glanced at Rick. The world might be putting Marcus on a pedestal, but if they knew what he put in them with the cure he brought, they might think differently of the man.
Marcus hadn’t wasted a moment of time, taking over ZRB, right behind Zach, proclaiming he’d do everything different and humane. The world ate it up. And why wouldn’t they? He brought back, in short order, the world they had once known. All he wanted in return was controlling interests in their companies. He owned or influenced many major companies now and each new announcement, merger, and ribbon ceremony Minter had to watch on TV made him sick. But the man did deliver. ZRB trucks filled the stores with food and medical supplies quicker than anyone thought possible.
“At every turn, he’s been ahead of them . . . us. We tried over a dozen times to get to him over the last year and none of us even got close. I just hope this plan is different,” Minter said.
“This is an all or nothing kind of deal. I’m ready to die for this,” Rick said.
Minter agreed. His life didn’t matter as much as protecting his child and grandchild, but that went without saying. It just felt like, each time anyone had a plan to go against Marcus, it went the exact opposite as planned. How do you prepare for the exact opposite? Harris’s plan did exactly that. Their role would be to do the obvious and hope Marcus did the opposite.
“How far away are we, you think?” Rick asked.
“A hundred miles, give or take a few.”
“We better turn off our phones.”
“We take the batteries out of them at seventy-five miles away. Julie was pretty specific about it.” Minter handed over his phone to Rick.
Rick nodded and took the phone. “You think Alice is watching us right now?”
“No question about it.”
HANK WATCHED GLADIUS SLEEPING IN the morning light. She was a late sleeper and he didn’t want to disturb her; besides, he enjoyed watching her.
She stirred awake and rolled on her back. “You watching me again?”
“Yes.”
“So creepy.”
“You want me to stop?”
“No, I like creepy.” She reached her hands out for him. “Come here.” Hank snuggled up against her in bed. “Today is the first day this gets hard, isn’t it?” Gladius asked.
“Yeah.”
“Our little world-jumping party is over. We had some fun, though, didn’t we?”
“Mostly.” Hank thought of the many times Gladius nearly got them kicked out of cities and the few times she almost got them killed.
“You think he’s still following us?” she asked.
“There is no chance he isn’t.”
She sighed and rolled to kiss him on the cheek, then the mouth, which led to more. It didn’t go unnoticed that she’d crumbled under his charms, failing miserably to keep her lady shop closed until Snackie Cakes met her mouth.
When they left their hotel room later that morning, Hank wondered if the man in the cloak might jump them in the open. He scanned the streets for anyone suspicious. The towering buildings around them didn’t give much cover and Hank suspected the guy would try to stop them on the road. “Ready?”
Gladius tossed her bag in the backseat. “Yup.”
Hank didn’t question her and stepped on the pedal. “Are you pretty sure he is who you think he is?”
“I think so, but I guess we will be finding out soon,” she said.
They left the city and drove onto the countryside. For a while, the suburbs dominated the landscape. Hank spotted the ocean a few times until the trees started in. Soon they drove through a forest with enormous redwood trees. It reminded him of the Arrack world and the brief time they spent walking through a similar forest.
Harris had ruined that world. Hank wanted to go back to it at some point. He wanted to see if the mist was gone, and if maybe a few Arracks held on. Maybe they had even made a comeback, much in the same way Earth and Ryjack had.
“You think your dad will like me?” Gladius asked, cutting into the silence.
“What’s not to like?”
“I don’t know, the few first-time meetings I’ve had haven’t gone well. I’ve even ended up screwing—”
“He’s going to love you.”
She smiled and didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “You know, when I was working at ZRB, they had a vending machine with all kinds of candy bars. I tried them all and many were great, but there was one that stood out for me. I liked it so much, I found myself going back to it each time.”
“Which one?” he asked.
“A Butterfinger.”
“Better not lay a finger on my Butterfinger.”
“What?”
“Nothing, just an old ad.”
“Do you think they are still making those?”
“I’m sure they are, but Marcus owns many of those companies now.” She frowned. “Maybe,” Hank added, “that one is untouched.”
“He better not have laid fingers on my Butterfingers.” She laughed. “That’s so funny.”
Hank saw the marker on the side of the road and pulled the car onto the shoulder. He got out and looked at the mile marker sixty-four. Anyone else wouldn’t have paid attention to the three circles drawn under it, like ripples in water. It was Harris’s mark for a stone nearby. Hank gazed at the tree and thought he heard the ocean in the distance.
He tried to stomp down the ferns and other plants, to make an easier path for Gladius. At least she wore her long pants today. He was sure she had her knives on as well. “You doing okay, baby?”
“Yeah, but I’m not literally a baby . . . I think I can handle some weeds, dude. You don’t need to trample Mother Nature on my account.” She brushed back her hair and walked around a bush.
Hank smiled. He rarely had to guess her mood, and liked it that way. She was easy to read. He understood her. “I see the ocean.”
“Good.”
Hank fought every urge he had to glance back and search for the man following them. He was sure he wouldn’t be too far away. This would be the spot he’d pounce if things were reversed. He slowed down and waited for Gladius to get by his side.
A few feet ahead, a beachside bluff sloped toward the ocean below. The waves crashed and he breathed in the salty mist in the air. The fog covered much of the ocean, but the sun had started burning it away. Soon, the whole sky would be clear.
“It’s down here,” Hank said and took her hand.
She held onto him and took careful steps in her platform shoes. Their feet sunk into the sandy bank and the sand found the small air holes in Hank’s shoes to infiltrate. He walked, trying to stay on top of the sand for the rest of the way down the sandstone cliff butting up against the shore. Walking around the last sandstone wall, he spotted the Alius stone.
He half expected another person waiting there, but it was empty. Some tree branches and a few rocks had fallen into the circle from above. The firm ground in the circle felt good under Hank’s feet; if needed, he could rush the man following them.
“Don’t move.”
Hank and Gladius raised their hands in the air and turned toward the voice. A man with a cloak covering his face, stood at the top of the sandy bank. He pointed a gun at them and took a step down into the sand, heavily favoring one side.
“Marcus?” Hank asked.
“No.”
“Well, before you kill us, why don’t you show yourself?” he asked.
“You won’t like what you see.”
“I sort of have to insist on this one point.”
“Fine, you should bear witness to what your friend did to me.” He pulled back his hood and revealed his face.
Gladius gasped and covered her mouth.
Hank grimaced but didn’t pull his gaze away. Half of the man’s face looked as if it had been crushed in and then healed back over. Hank squinted and tried to find the man in there. “Emmett?”
“What’s left of him,” Emmett said, staggering down t
he sandy hill. “Neither of you look all that surprised.”
“We had our suspicions,” Hank said.
“How long have you been on our trail?” Gladius asked.
“I caught up with you about two towns back. When you look like I do, people want to tell you whatever it takes for you to leave,” Emmett said. “This,” he pointed to his damaged face, “is because of Joey and I mean to do the same to him. Now, where is he?”
“You’re after him?” Gladius clarified.
He kept his gun pointed at Hank, while he limped closer, staying just outside of the circle. “Marcus wants the little one, but I have been given Joey.”
“We aren’t going to give up our friends,” Hank said.
“I didn’t think so.” Emmett sighed and pointed his gun at Gladius.
“No, you can’t shoot me, please,” she cried out.
“I’ll be doing the world a favor, ridding the world of a renowned whore such as yourself,” Emmett said.
“No,” Gladius begged. She held up her hand as if that might protect her. “Please, you don’t need to do this.”
“Hank, tell me where they are and I’ll let her live.”
Hank’s heart pounded in his chest and everything in him wanted to tell Emmett what he knew to save Gladius, but he stuck to the plan. “No.”
“What?” Emmett said. “I will kill her and then use you to get to them. You know this, right?”
“I do. I’m sorry, Gladius, but I can’t give up my friends.”
“You . . . how could you?” She glared at Hank.
“Fine.” Emmett fired three shots into Gladius.
She screamed and grabbed her gut, swaying in a large circle while continuing to yell. “Oh no, you got me.”
Emmett stepped into the circle, confused by Gladius’s strange behavior. He fired three more shots and she fell to the ground.
Hank didn’t watch Gladius as much as he watched Emmett’s feet. Once they were well within the boundary, he jumped to the stone and typed into it.
“What are you doing?” Emmett fired his remaining bullets into Hank’s back.
“Here we go,” he whispered, thinking of Lucas’s catch phrase. They shifted from a cliff-side beach to a partially charred forest on the mend. Hank turned to Emmett.
Emmett staggered backward and pulled the trigger on his empty gun. “You should be dead. What is this?” He jolted in a seizure, his gun falling out of his hands and onto the forest floor. Behind him stood Trip, holding a Taser gun. Trip kicked Emmett’s gun away and tied him up.
“Hey, Dad,” Hank greeted.
“She okay?” Trip motioned to Gladius.
“Sold it a bit heavy, don’t you think?” Hank asked.
Gladius rose up and got to her feet. “I have risen from the grave and now I will feast on your brains.” She held her arms out and staggered toward Hank.
“You have shields?” Emmett said, pulling at his restraints. “You idiots don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Shut up.” Trip kicked him in the gut.
Emmett laughed. “You are all so stupid. Don’t you know you’re only hurting yourselves? You stop us and you all die.”
“What are you talking about?” Hank asked. “How are you even alive?”
Emmett kept laughing. “When I shot myself in the head, my assistant took me away and Marcus found me dead. I should have stayed dead, but he healed me, built me a new face. Do you know the rehab I had to do in order to even walk again?” He rolled with his hands tied behind his back and sat on his butt. “He showed me, he showed me everything. I was so stupid in trying to take over MM, but I didn’t know. I didn’t know they were out there.”
“Who is out there?” Hank asked.
“It’s only a matter of time and if we don’t have Marcus and the little one, we are all doomed.”
“What the heck are you talking about?” Hank asked.
Emmett only laughed to himself and shook his head.
“Emmett?” Gladius said. “Hello!”
Emmett didn’t respond.
“Do you have any idea what he’s talking about?” Hank asked Gladius.
“No freaking clue.”
Emmett laughed again. “I had every intention of killing you and then hunting down every last one of the Six.” He lowered his head and spoke to himself. “He must have known about the shields. He knew I’d fail in my pursuit. Don’t you see?” He looked up. “Even someone like me ends up doing exactly what he has intended, even if I had no intention of delivering the message.”
“What message?” Hank asked.
“Marcus wants a meeting. He wants to meet with all of you.”
“That is never going to happen,” Trip said.
“He thinks everything that has happened is a great misunderstanding and he wants to show you what’s at stake, the reason he’s done everything.”
“He showed you everything, did he?” Gladius asked.
“You’re damned right he did. I’ve seen what they do and it’s only a matter of time.” Emmett laughed again. “Personally, I hope you don’t meet him. I hope this whole world burns down around you.”
“It’s just a load of bull,” Trip said.
Hank stared at Emmett. “Where does he want to meet?”
“You can pick the spot and the time. He will not be armed or shielded.”
Hank laughed this time. “You think we’re going to believe that load of bullshit, after what happened to Samantha?”
“I don’t care what you think. I’m not saying another word.” Emmett crossed his arms and lowered his head.
Hank motioned with his head for Gladius to follow him. He walked to the edge of the circle, close enough so Emmett could hear. Trip stayed close to Emmett, pacing behind him. “What do you think?” he asked.
“We stick to the plan. Once we start doing what Marcus wants, we’re screwed.”
“You really think he’d come to us though, unarmed? We could end this very quickly.”
Gladius sighed. “Don’t be dumb. We stick to the plan. Minter and Rick are expecting us and there’s more to it than just killing Marcus, remember?”
A quick end to it all enticed Hank, which was probably the whole point of it. Marcus wanted them to lower their guard and gather in one spot, so he could swoop in and take Evelyn, and kill them all once he had his prize.
“Okay, we stick to the plan.” Hank motioned for his dad to pick up Emmett.
“Come on, now,” Trip grunted under his weight, “don’t give me any trouble or I’ll Taser you again.”
Emmett didn’t say anything and offered no resistance. Hank watched as Trip marched him out of the circle.
Hank took one step before Gladius put a hand on him. “We could leave right now, we could go and live on Vanar. I have endless money, we’ve done our part. Your dad could do the rest.”
“No, what are you talking about? I could never leave my friends like that. We have to see this finished or none of us will ever be safe.” He leaned closer to her. “You think he’s going to settle for just one of our kids? No, he’s going to collect them all and start some kind of evil baseball team. We’ll never be free until Marcus is taken care of.”
“Can’t blame a girl for trying. So where are we off too?”
“Marcus’s house.”
JOEY HELD OUT BOTH GUNS and scanned the field around the circle. Lucas knelt behind him next to the stone.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Lucas said.
Poly blew out two sharp whistles and the surrounding grass fields erupted with mutants running to the circle.
This was the part Joey hated. The mutants piled inside the radius of the stone. This was the point where they were the most vulnerable to an attack. Something as simple as one grenade would kill most of them.
Kris ran into the circle and gave Joey a thumbs up. Joey gave a quick glance to Poly and Julie. “Okay, hit it, Lucas.”
He typed into the stone. It hummed and he stepped away from it. “Here we go.�
��
They jumped into a dark dome.
The bright lights above clicked on and Joey held a hand over his head to shield the light. Poly rushed to the door and paced near it until a green light lit up above. She pulled it open. On the other side, Travis ran to her and wrapped her in a big hug.
Joey sighed and looked at Evelyn. She seemed happy as Edith bounced her and pointed up at the lights above. It might have been the first time Evelyn could comprehend artificial lights to that scale. Before arriving in Sanct, her only technology consisted of Panavices. And Joey wondered what Evelyn thought about jumping; did she have the intelligence to comprehend what had happened? Did she get they were somewhere else, another world? He didn’t think so, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she did either.
Leaving the dome room with all of the mutants, they greeted Travis and he shook hands and gave hugs. The President of Vanar, hugging a whole group of mutants, like it was some PR stunt. To top it off, he had Poly and Julie standing by his side. Just the sight of them in public would cause a commotion Joey thought reserved for boy bands. They’d all done their fair share of PR for the betterment of Vanar, but Joey never got to the point where he felt comfortable around Poly and Travis.
“Joey, so good to see you again,” Travis greeted with his politician hand out and matching smile.
“Travis.” Joey nodded and shook his hand.
“Lucas and Julie,” Travis said and looked at Julie’s stomach. “I didn’t know you were pregnant.”
Julie’s mouth hung open. “Who said I was?”
“Oh, well, I didn’t mean to imply that . . . You look very beautiful, Julie, as always.”
“I’m pregnant.”
Travis breathed out in relief. “Oh good, congratulations. Is it a natural?”
“Yes, we did it the old fashioned way.”
“Fantastic, does Marcus know?”
“No, and that’s one of the reasons we’ve been in hiding on Ryja—”
“Travis,” Joey interrupted, “I want you to meet Kris. Leader of the mutants.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Travis shook his hand. “If you want to start sending your people up the elevator and have them wait in my office, that’d be great.”