by Stacy Buck
Alaric fell back grabbing his nuts.
"You...cheap son of a bitch," Alaric squealed, but Carter didn't let up.
He let the power build within him just as he had done before, and at the exact right moment, he pushed the fire to his feet. The flames burnt right through the bottom of his shoes and his feet shot fire from their soles like rockets. Alaric was climbing to his feet and Carter was there to meet him. With his fists out like superman, flying just a few feet above the ground, Carter blasted right into Alaric. The initial dual punch to the gut did little to hurt the muscled torso of Alaric, but Carter kept on the gas. Using Alaric like a battering ram, Carter flew right into a nearby cabin. With Alaric's back leading the way, they burst right through the cabin's outer wall. Logs exploded into kindling and wood shavings rained from the sky.
A woman screamed. It was Lucy, having taken shelter inside her cabin. She was now right in the line of fire. Carter twisted his waist and tucked a leg in, sending Alaric and himself into a barrel roll. They barely missed poor Lucy as they exploded through the outer wall of the cabin and back out into the yard. Carter slammed on the brakes, tucked his legs, and hit the gas again. The flames shot from his feet again in one quick burst, spinning him around to a sitting position, and he landed gingerly back on his feet.
Alaric was not so lucky. He sailed through the air for some distance before finally wrapping backwards around a thick fir tree. The tree was strong, but Alaric proved to be stronger and the tree's trunk snapped off at its base. A pair of Users ran for their lives, escaping at the last second, as the top of the tree crashed through their cabin.
"I see you've learned some new tricks," Alaric said dusting himself off. "I've learned some too."
Alaric jumped above the height of the cabin roofs. He landed knee and fist first at Carter's feet. The ground beneath Carter shook, and he was thrown from his feet.
Carter put out a hand to stop Alaric from approaching.
"She tried to suck me dry," Carter said. "That's the truth. She tried to suck my powers from me and I gave over to her. I sent my powers to her. I didn't resist, and my powers burned her alive."
Alaric just kept coming.
"I know," Alaric said.
"You know what?" Carter asked.
"I know that everything you've said is true," Alaric whispered.
"Then why are you still trying to kill me?" Carter asked.
"Because I don't care," Alaric said. "I loved her, and you took her from me."
"You're mad," Carter said.
"Yes I am. I thought that was obvious," Alaric said.
"No, I mean you've gone mad. You are bat shit crazy." Carter slid back along his ass as Alaric got closer.
"Maybe," Alaric said plainly, but with a wild look in his eye. "It changes nothing."
Alaric grabbed Carter by his sweatshirt and Carter slapped at the overpowering man's big arm in a desperate attempt to keep him away. With one swift jerk, Alaric hoisted Carter from the ground, lifted him overhead, and tossed him across the yard. Carter flew, only he had no control of which direction he went this time, and unfortunately for him, Carter went face first into a mound of dirt. Carter thought he heard his neck snap, but he could still feel his arms and legs.
Slowly, he flopped over onto his back to find Alaric right there on top of him again. Using both hands, Carter lit a fire in his palms.
"You think you're little fire tricks are going to stop me?" Alaric asked.
Carter threw both fireballs at the same time. The first was dead on target, but Alaric swatted it aside with his forearm. The second went wide, missing him by a long shot.
"Pathetic. You haven't come close to harnessing your true power," Alaric said lifting Carter from the ground yet again, but the big man was wrong. Alaric froze, then jerked forward as Carter's second fireball came around like a boomerang, hitting Alaric right in the back of the head. Alaric's head lit up like a light bulb. His hair was a wildfire. Alaric screamed with surprise, but he was far from unprepared. Pulling the shirt up over his face, Alaric quickly smothered the flames.
"Son of a bitch!" a now bald Alaric shouted.
Blinded by the shirt over his face, Alaric never saw Carter's fiery punch coming. A loud crunch came from Alaric's nose.
"Now we're even," Carter said.
Alaric ripped his shirt to shreds revealing the blood running from his nose.
"Even? How are we even when you killed the woman I love?" Alaric asked.
"I'm done reasoning with you," Carter said and he popped Alaric in the eye with a left jab.
Alaric's face turned red, smoke practically coming from his ears.
"Punch me again," Alaric said, and Carter obliged, laying punch after punch on Alaric, but the big man hardly seemed phased.
"Now it's my turn." Alaric, cold and calculating, waited for just the right moment, and as Carter threw a right hook, Alaric punched Carter fist to fist.
Carter's wrist snapped. Oh, how he screamed and yelled with his hand flopping about on his broken wrist. Alaric wasted no time hitting Carter again with an upper cut that sent him jumping into the air. Alaric followed right behind, jumping into the air, and slamming down on Carter with both fists, driving him back down to the earth. Again, Alaric was there, and before Carter could hit the ground, Alaric kneed Carter in the gut.
"Who's even now, you son of a bitch!"
Carter's stomach roiled and he thought Alaric's knee to the gut might make him puke. He crawled on all fours, trying desperately to put some distance between him and the savage man. Walking casually, Alaric reached down and grabbed Carter by the back of the neck. Carter knew he was in serious trouble. He searched for something in his arsenal to fend off Alaric, but the banana sized fingers just squeezed tighter around his neck.
"I didn't do it on purpose," Carter said.
"What's that?"
"I didn't mean to do it," Carter said.
"I don't care!" Alaric roared, lifted Carter overhead, and was about to drop Carter on his knee, undoubtedly breaking his back.
Carter panicked. The blood rushed from his veins. Fire exploded out of his pores and his entire body ignited in flame. The skin on Alaric's hands sizzled, and he tossed Carter aside as fast as he could get his hands away from him.
"You don't care!" Carter echoed.
He was past panic now, having given fully over to his rage. Alaric balled up a pair of still smoking hot hands into fists and marched forward, a grimace of determination on his face.
"That's right. I don't care. I just want you to pay for what you've done. Whether you meant it or not," Alaric said.
Carter's pulse was racing like a thoroughbred. The flickering flames that surrounded his entire body turned into a blazing inferno. The world turned blood red as his eyes peered through the flames. He held both arms out and pushed. Fire, a solid wall of it, shot out from Carter and engulfed Alaric.
With a growl of defiance, Alaric shielded his face with his forearm and leaned into the flames.
"I'll kill you!" Alaric shouted as he stomped forward against the fire.
Carter wasn't listening. Flames, ten foot tall emanated from the top of Carter's head and shoulders. Fire crawled across the ground and sprouted up until it reached the flames coming from Carter's head, encompassing Carter in a sphere of fire. But Alaric trudged on, pushing forward into the fiery hell. Carter was almost within his grasp. Any man but Alaric would have turned back long ago. Third degree burns bubbled across most of Alaric's body within seconds.
Alaric outstretched a meaty hand as he closed in on Carter. Realizing his impending doom, Carter pushed himself to the limit and beyond. The fire emanating from Carter's body went from bright yellow, to a brilliant blue, and finally a blinding white. Carter unleashed flames that burned like the heart of a sun. He was going nuclear.
"Carter! Carter finish him!" Through the near blinding light, Carter could just barely make out the outlines of Walt, Barber, and Evan standing outside the door of the big house.
He wasn't sure which one of them spoke the words, but he turned to Alaric and found his outstretched hand burned down to the meat. The skin on the big man's face was sagging as if it was melting right off the flesh.
"No," Carter said.
With a flash of bursting light Carter wiped out the flames.
"No," he said again.
Alaric fell face first to the blackened ash that had once been the yard. The giant man didn't move again. He just laid there, a sizzling pile of flesh and scorched skin. Carter dropped to his knees and scooped the unconscious Alaric up into his arms.
"What are you doing?" Walt said running up to meet him. "Finish him while he's down. He tried to kill you."
"No one is dying today," Carter responded.
A stunned Walt and Evan, their jaws hanging open, stepped aside as Carter made his way to the big house, but Barber wore a knowing little smirk and nodded his agreement as Carter passed by.
"Doc!" Carter yelled as he kicked open the door to Doc's office.
Gently, Carter set Alaric down on the same bed he had spent so much time in these past few weeks.
"Help him," Carter said as Doc came running down the steps.
#
Chapter Four
Epilogue
Epilogue 2
"So that's how it ends?" she asked.
"I wouldn't say that," I said. "I was wrong when I told Walt we weren't family. I'm going to stay at the compound with Walt and the others for the immediate future, and then we'll just see what happens."
"What happened to Alaric?"
"His body possesses super strength, speed, and healing. He'll make a full recovery."
"And if he comes after you again?"
"Then I'll be ready, but I get the feeling he won't." I leaned back and rested my arms against the back of the couch. It felt good to stretch them out. I was relieved just to be back in her office once again. With the fear of Alaric no longer hanging over my head, I could get back to working on me.
"And what about you?" she asked.
"What about me?"
"How are you doing?"
"Good," I said and for a change I wasn't lying.
The End
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this book please leave a review. If you didn't enjoy it you can also leave a review, but if you're just a hateful bastard, drink a nice cool glass of hateraide and simmer the fuck down. It's just a book.
A word from the author- Hey guys! Thanks for reading my crazy little tale about an addict with super powers. I wanted to take a moment and talk about all the drugs in this book. As a recovering addict myself, I think I am in a unique position to bring a realism to Carter and this story in general that most authors would simply not be able to. I've got over six years sober and going strong.
Recovery is no joke and my intention with this book was not to make light of the subject. Heroin abuse nearly ruined my life, but I was able to bounce back with a strong support system and lots of therapy. So please don't think I'm making fun of NA or AA or any of the great organizations out there that help recovering addicts. My intention was to write a story about what its like for a real recovering addict. All the normal human emotions you see Carter go through are real life emotions I have personally felt. I really poured my heart and soul into this book. I'm pretty sure that's what all authors do, but this book was almost like therapy for me. If you're an addict or a recovering addict or have been affected by an addict, know that it/you/they can get better.
That's it. I just wanted to say a little something before I go.
Thanks,
Stacy Buck 2014
Oh, and for those of you that enjoyed this first installment of Users, get ready for lots more to come. Users is going to be the premier Prime Evil Publishing series with many sequels, spin off books for characters like Barber, Alaric, and a super hero team book featuring the All Americans. First I've got to finish Clockwork Wings Book 2, look for it in early 2015.
You can check out more books from Stacy and Jenn like our alternate history horror series Squanto Undead: Wake the Undead the Collected Edition available now from all major book retailers.
http://www.amazon.com/Squanto-Undead-Collected-Alternate-History-ebook/dp/B00H8I2NH0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408468861&sr=8-2&keywords=squanto+undead
Or our steampunk Greek Mythology series Clockwork Wings: the Chronicles of Icarus the Collected Edition available now! http://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Wings-Chronicles-Icarus-Collected-ebook/dp/B00MLISH4U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414989185&sr=8-2&keywords=clockwork+wings
Also follow me on twitter at @stacybuckwritin or check out our website http://primeevilpublishing.squarespace.com/ to sign up for our email newsletter and get all the latest on our books, sales, and giveaways. If you sign up for our mailing list you'll get a copy of Squanto Undead: Wake the Undead Collected Edition Parts 1-5 for FREE!
Author Bio- Stacy & Jennifer Buck are a husband and wife writing duo born and raised just outside Seattle, Washington. Having known one another since they were just kids, they have the ability to play of the others strengths and weaknesses to write beyond what they could alone. Shortly after marrying they began writing their first series Squanto Undead, and have since finished multiple projects together. They live outside Seattle with their five kids, two cats, and one dog.