Dying Light

by Kory M. Shrum

  Or so I think.

  Caldwell pivots on his heels and Gloria’s gun goes off, firing two bullets into the pavement and one into Jesse. Then he’s upright beside Gloria, and I think I’m going to see it again—Caldwell snapping someone’s neck. But Nikki is firing her gun into the space where Caldwell stands and he’s forced to teleport again. He reappears over Jesse’s dead body and grabs a hold of her. He disappears.

  Jesse disappears with him.

  We stand beside Jason’s ashes, in the radius of the charred pavement.

  “Oh my god.” I’m shaking. “Oh my god, what just happened?”

  Gloria shoves her gun into the holster hidden beneath her coat. “He’s going to kill her while she’s dead.”

  “She was dead?” As the flames died, so did the shield around me, just like when we jumped from the building.

  “Taking Jason’s healing power killed her.” Gloria kicks at the pavement. “The same thing happened when Caldwell took Chaplain’s power. We just have to hope she wakes up faster than he can kill her. Or wakes up enough to at least erect her shield.”

  “It’s a reboot,” Nikki holsters her own gun. “When you install new programming, you have to reboot.”

  God, no. Jesse wake up. Wake up while you still can.

  Chapter 24

  Jesse

  This is the weirdest dream yet. I must be dead. Gabriel and I stand in another one of those ethereal dreamscapes. It’s like I’m floating in a giant red Jell-O mold.

  “What the hell happened up there?” I’m not sure why I should think that living is up there, but it’s what comes out of my mouth nonetheless.

  Gabriel looks me over, circling me as if inspecting me more closely. “You assimilated Jason’s healing powers.”

  “Uh, okay. And that killed me?”

  “It is a tremendous influx of power.” His voice holds a hint of chastisement. The insubstantial dreamscape solidifies to a jungle landscape. Small chattering monkeys jump from limb to limb. Enormous colorful birds take flight, pushing themselves up through the dense canopy.

  “This is nice,” I say, taking a turn about the place. “A little humid, but it’s pretty.”

  “You favor life?”

  “Uh, what kind of question is that?” I ask.

  “You want a world full of life.”

  “Oh god.” I throw my hands up. “Are we back at this again? Here’s an idea. How about we don’t destroy the planet we already have, and then we won’t have to build a new one.”

  “Fire brings growth. Fire brings rebirth and improvement.”

  “It also brings death, destruction, and an end to M&Ms and French fries. What kind of world is that?”

  I instantly regret this question. Gabriel envelops me in his wings, blocking out the light of the jungle.

  I see myself standing in a frozen wasteland, as if through someone else’s eyes. About ten feet away, my eyes are feral, clothes askew. Then a deep purple light begins to glow inside me. The light shines through my eyes and mouth as I part my lips to scream. I throw my head back as black wings erupt from my spine, falling out onto the white snow. The violet light explodes from my mouth and shoots up toward the sky, growing brighter and brighter until I can’t see my other self anymore.

  I push away from Gabriel. “That’s what’s going to happen to me? That’s me? Exploding?”

  He doesn’t answer. He only watches me with cautious eyes.

  “And what does that do? What the hell will that change?”

  “Calm yourself.” Gabriel extends his hands as if to take hold of me again. I jerk away.

  “No. You’re telling me I’m going to grow angel wings and explode. There’s nothing to be calm about! And my only alternatives are worse. Either let myself be murdered by a sociopath or be responsible for the whole world going down in flames.”

  Gabriel grimaces. “Your heart is beating too fast. You must protect your body.”

  “Oh because if I just die, then what? What happens to a partis whatever if they’re dead dead, but no one absorbs the power?”

  “Then another is called.”

  For half a second that sounds great. If I just die, then some other person can be partis and deal with this crap. But then who would resist Caldwell?

  “You’re sad,” Gabriel says.

  “No shit, Sherlock. Did you think this was happy news?”

  He reaches for me.

  I step back. “No.”

  “You want to understand. It will be easier, if you comprehend what you must do.”

  I stay out of his reach. Do I want to comprehend what I must do? No. Not really. I want to be eating an ice cream sundae and watching reruns of Dead Like Me. How did I get here? What the hell am I doing with my life?

  “Ugh. Fine. Show me whatever.”

  Gabriel stretches his wings out to envelop me once more. In the darkness, he places a finger on each of my temples.

  The visions come again.

  The Earth began beautiful and pristine, with its blue skies and cool waters. I watch it turn black. Green land becomes a landfill. Blue skies fill up with gray smog. Thousands of animals running through open plains fall dead, laying scorched in charred forests.

  Make a new world, or there won’t be one.

  That is the choice.

  “And what will happen if I don’t?” I look up and see his green eyes glowing in the dark. “What happens if I refuse to explode?”

  Gabriel opens his wings to reveal another world. This place is the apocalypse—there’s no other word for it. The world burns. Buildings are in ruin, remnants of concrete crumbling in a gaseous backdrop the color of cinnamon and amber, reduced to monotones in their degradation. To my right, the body of a woman sits bent over, her hands over her head, frozen forever as a statue of ash.

  I recognize the ears, the fingers, and the curve of the jaw.

  Ally.

  I reach out to touch her ashes and they disintegrate under the lightest pressure.

  “No.” I step back. “What you’re asking is impossible. I can’t do this.”

  His wings stretch wide. His eyes grow brighter. “Wake up now, Jesse. Wake up.”

  Chapter 25

  Ally

  I turn around twice, but see no one. People shuffle along the street as if completely unaware of anything that just took place.

  “She’s gone,” I say. It’s a horrific declaration that shreds my insides. “He’s probably cutting her head off right now.”

  I sink to my knees and cover my head with my hands. I pull at my hair until I feel some of the tension release, and I draw deep unsteady breaths.

  “We don’t know that.” Nikki places a hand on my back. I shrug her off.

  Dead, dead. I’m never going to see her again. Or if I do, it will only be because Caldwell will want me to see what he’s done to her. He’ll relish in my pain.

  “Hey.” Nikki kneels down beside me. “Just breathe, baby. Be positive.”

  “Be positive?” I throw my head back and laugh. “You saw the knife. You saw what he was trying to do. We distracted him for seconds at best.”

  I press my palms to my eyes and they come away wet. I try to blink back the tears and pull myself together, but I can’t even see the sidewalk beneath me; the pavement is blurry.

  “She’s not dead,” Gloria says.

  I lift my head to look at her. “How can you be sure?”

  She motions for us to follow her down the sidewalk. “There’s one more thing that has to happen.”

  “But you were the one who screamed no. You looked convinced he was going to kill her.” I wanted to point out that it was her reaction more than anything that had sent me into a panic.

  “I wanted to slow him down.” She searches the surrounding street and frowns. “We need to get moving.”

  We march away from the scene of the crime. I cast one look over my shoulder at the black circle of evidence we’re leaving behind and hope that we can benefit from Caldwell’s deception
s this once.

  “What’s going to happen to her now that she absorbed his power?”

  “The more power she has, the less stable she’ll be.” Gloria looks both ways and then jaywalks across the street. A taxi honks and she flips him the bird. “This is the first time she’s absorbed someone else’s power. I suspect she’ll need time to adjust.”

  “We should go back to Tate Tower,” Nikki says behind me. “We still have time before the so-called explosion.”

  Gloria stops walking and turns toward her. “If you want to go back, that’s fine. We aren’t going back.”

  “With all due respect—” Nikki’s voice is steady and placating. “Jeremiah needs to know that Jason has been eliminated. He should reallocate those resources to better use.”

  Gloria squares her shoulders. “Call him now and tell him.”

  Nikki pushes the earbud in her ear, holding it down until it glows blue.

  “Tamsin here. Jason has been eliminated. Reallocate resources.” She listens for a moment. “Understood.”

  Gloria shifts her weight. “What did he say?”

  “He’s working on the evacuation. He’s also doing damage control. Caldwell missed a few minds I guess, but Jeremiah said he’d make sure we aren’t implicated in anything.”

  Gloria’s shoulders inch down away from her ears. “Good, because we have work to do.”

  Chapter 26

  Jesse

  I wake to strange purple light shining in my eyes. I blink and rub my lids, but the light is still unbearable.

  “Gee-zus.” I try to sit up, using my hands to shield myself from the godawful light. “Can we get a dimmer switch in here or something?”

  “It’s your shield,” Caldwell says.

  I peek through my fingers and find him sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the room. He’s the picture of composure. His eyes are downturned. He runs one fingernail under another, scrapping out something beneath. His legs are crossed and he clasps one knee with his hand. It’s the lip curl that gives him away.

  “You control your shield, don’t you? If you don’t like how bright it is, tone it down.”

  Gabriel?

  The shield dims but doesn’t fade completely. A lighter purple sheen continues to throb around me.

  “Why is it so bright?”

  “Your original power gets stronger with every ability you absorb. The power I have now with four gifts is exponentially more than what it was when I first left the camp.”

  “So my shield is stronger?”

  “And your fire, I suspect. Try not to incinerate us.”

  I look around the room and realize it’s not The Needle. This room has a door, first of all, and it’s square.

  “Where are we?”

  “You’re in the Unified Church compound. I can’t take you back to The Needle in your current state. It isn’t safe.”

  “What about my dog?”

  Caldwell gives me a look, not unlike if I’d just spit on his shoes. “He remains unharmed.”

  For how long?

  “How do you feel?” he asks me.

  I examine my arms and legs. The blisters I had from Jason have healed. My skin is smooth, flawless. Well, unless you count the gross, crusty stuff on my hand and under my nails, which I’m pretty sure is brain. But no scratches. Hell. No bruises even.

  “It’s your fault I got his power. I wasn’t going to touch him. So why are you being pissy about it?”

  Caldwell’s eyes cloud over. “What did your angel show you?”

  “A bunch of gibberish. Why?”

  “Think.” Caldwell hisses. “Can you remember any specific images?”

  Like all dreams, Gabriel’s visions are rushing away from me, dissolving in deep water.

  “It was just more crap about how I’m going to go all super nova.”

  “Did he explain the Big Bang? Did he show you that this won’t be the first, or the last such explosion? They occur all over space and time and will continue to occur forever. Once a species develops consciousness, then the rebirth is made possible. Consciousness is one of the primary elements of a universe, yet it’s more than that. The apex’s responsibility falls to the most destructive of species. Elephants for example, are highly intelligent. But they aren’t being asked to die and give new life to our corner of the universe.”

  “So it’s punishment?” I ask. “For being dicks.”

  “There are twelve partis who house this power, and so it will be until there is one—the apex.”

  Here we go with The Highlander shit again.

  “And the apex will become one with the Thirteenth element—”

  “Whoa, what? Did you say become one?”

  “Yes.” Caldwell blinks. “Join together.”

  “No, no, no. I haven’t accepted the idea that I’m going to die no matter what. Now you’re telling me that I have to become one with an angel?” I pull at my face. “You’re talking about sex, right? I only know one way to become one.”

  “The interpretation is unclear.”

  I rub my eyes. “God, I hope so.”

  “But you would join. Intimately.”

  “Ew. Just stop. You’re making me sick,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. This does nothing to alleviate the pressure building there.

  Caldwell stands, running a palm down the front of each pants leg. “I have to go.”

  “Fine, let’s go.” I stand and feel a tug on my arm. My right forearm is shackled to the bed. “Oh god, no. Not this again. We’ve done the shackled to the bed bit. It never ends well.”

  “It’s for your own good.”

  “Said every abuser ever.”

  “I’ve been gone for too long. I need to attend to my affairs, but I can’t have you running around until we are sure you can handle the extra power.”

  “Don’t pretend like you’re doing this for me. You’re still trying to figure out how to use and manipulate me.”

  He doesn’t gratify me with an answer. Instead, he goes to the door and throws it open. He casts one last look at me from the frame. “Stay out of trouble.”

  Don’t count on it.

  Gabriel appears in the small room, looking around him as if expecting to find someone else.

  “Thank god,” I whine.

  “It is difficult to penetrate the magnetic field when you are close to one another,” he says again.

  “Yeah, I still don’t know what that means. Can you get me out of here?”

  “I cannot open locks.”

  “You better. Not only are you going to kill me, but you’re going to try to get sexy with me first? You’re in so much trouble. That’s entrapment. They have lawsuits against this sort of thing.”

  “I have never lied to you.”

  “That’s what a liar would say.”

  I search every remembered conversation that Gabriel and I ever had. Some of it suggests maybe this is where it is going. Be human while you still can. I’ll be everything you need.

  Then there was that time that he actually touched me, took my hand, and tucked it into the suit jacket so I could feel his lack of heartbeat.

  “Man.” I fall back onto the bed. “I should’ve seen this coming.”

  Gabriel kneels in front of me, placing one hand on the thin mattress cot beside me. He looks at me with upturned eyes.

  “Oh no.” My voice climbs toward hysteria. “Don’t start giving me bedroom eyes.”

  “I want you to be happy. It is easier for both of us, if you are happy.”

  “You want me to be happy?” My voice spikes. “For starters, never give me sexy looks again. I can’t have an invisible boyfriend! Then once your chastity belt is on good and tight, get me out of here. Give me Winston. Make Caldwell stop being a homicidal maniac and killing people so I can go live somewhere boring and normal with Ally. “

  “You want to be with Ally.”

  Yes, I almost blurt it. For some reason, I bite my tongue.

  “She is the companion yo
u wish for most?”

  “I feel like this is a trick. If I say yes, are you going to kill her and stuff her in the apex or something?”

  His brow pinches in confusion. “No.”

  “Because I don’t want her involved in the sexy-world-blowing-up whatever.”

  “She is already involved.”

  “Wait, whoa. What? What are you saying? Are you saying you’re going to kill her? That is not okay. If I get to pick the new world, I’ll pick one where she is alive and happy. Got it?”

  He blinks those green eyes at me.

  “No,” I shout. The air glimmers around me. “No. I will totally lose my shit right now if you don’t tell me you understand. Ally lives. Do you understand? No matter what, Ally lives. She’s going to be a grandmother that dies in her sleep with a fat pug sleeping on her feet, you got that?”

  His wings twitch against his back. “I understand what you want.”

  “But?”

  “But we do not always get what we want.”

  “No.” It’s all I can think of. No, no, no. “If she is going to die, you might as well kill me now. I’ll never be your apex.”

  “You will be the apex.”

  “No. Because I can’t imagine a world without her and I wouldn’t save a world without her in it.”

  As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize I’ve cursed myself. Never say never.

  Chapter 27

  Ally

  While regrouping in Gloria’s apartment, I’ve had nearly two hours of uninterrupted research. And thank God, because if I had nothing to do but sit here and obsess about whether or not Jesse has been beheaded, I would lose my mind.

  Fortunately, Nikki was distracted with her own work. Jeremiah sent her tasks, which she addressed remotely. And once that was done, she took inventory of her guns, stripping and cleaning each one thoroughly.

  I’ve also spent my time wisely. Since, thanks to Gloria, I knew only seven of the twelve on my list were partis, I worked to eliminate the others. It helped once I took Cindy, Jesse, and Rachel off the list—all known partis.

  What I was left with were nine names for the four remaining partis that we needed to unearth and investigate. I eliminated three more names right away: Sharon Ortega, Chris Trinidad, and Paul Lang. All are dead and can’t be one of the eight partis, including Jesse, that Gloria thinks still walk the Earth.