Becoming (Core Series Book 1)

by Ronnie Barnard

  Eric split down the middle and shifted into Jason and Core’s likenesses moments before the three Dark Breed wolves burst through the bushes. They slowed to a walk when they saw their targets waiting and shifted into human form. One of them looked past Eric, directly into the back window of the SUV. A snarl erupted from his chest as he shifted back to wolf form and accelerated after the car just as it crested hill that led up to the overpass. They saw nothing but road and sky as Joseph drove them through the intersection and back on the on-ramp on the other side.

  One of them did not take the bait, get out of there! Eric shouted, panic rife in his voice.

  Be careful, please, we will get away. Thank you for your sacrifice. We will see you again in the future...I promise, Core thought as tears ran down her cheeks. Then she saw the wolf crest the hill behind them, approaching at top speed.

  I am banking on that, ma’am, Eric said.

  “Can this thing move any faster?” Jason shouted at the driver. “We are being followed!” Joseph watched his rear view mirror, and his eyes grew wide “Yes, sir!” he shouted and floored the petrol. The SUV accelerated in a surge of power and they veered back onto the highway, where he sped well past 150 kph. Cars behind were slowly accelerating out of the accidents that had occurred when the wolves ran down the highway, but for the most part the path was clear.

  The Dark Breed was not too far behind them, its massive paws gauging deep holes into the tarmac. Joseph swerved through the cars on the road as the SUV topped off at 200 kph. The wolf shouldered past a few cars that blocked his way and sent them hurtling off the road in great balls of white smoke. The creature’s red eyes glared at them, fixated on the back of the SUV. He bared his teeth and let out a massive growl that reverberated through the air, even louder than the SUV’s engine, which screamed at nearly seven thousand revs. The wolf approached on their left side, alternating his glare between them and the road ahead.

  Thirty seconds...agh! The connection to Eric broke.

  “He’s gone!” Core shouted.

  The wolf slammed into the side of the SUV, and Joseph yanked on the wheel to keep the car from toppling. They swerved wildly across the highway, just barely avoiding a car on their right. The wolf lowered his head and jumped for the roof, but Joseph pulled left at the last second and the wolf overshot, landing on the other side. His legs buckled under him and he struggled to regain balance. Then he launched himself into the air once more. Joseph performed the same manoeuvre, but this time the wolf shifted to a man in midair and grabbed the loading rail on the roof.

  He grabbed the roof on either side and tried to peel it back like the top of a can, breaking the windows and tearing pieces from the frame as he strained. Jason and Core could have jumped out and sped straight for the airport. But, they couldn’t leave Joseph to die. Core shifted her right arm into a long, glimmering blade, and slashed at the Dark Breed’s fingers. Jason did the same, and went to work on the daemon’s left hand.

  “Swerve from side to side to knock him off the roof!” Jason shouted at the driver. He wanted to climb onto the roof and kick the crap out of this guy. The cold fingers of anger burned up his insides. Joseph turned the SUV wildly from one side of the road to the other in an attempt to dislodge the daemon. It stuck to the roof like glue to paper, still tearing the metal off, bit by bit. He threw pieces of the roof over his shoulder; they slammed into a car behind them, shattering its front window. The car skidded to a halt next to the road, and the driver shook his fist out the window, hooting and shouting profanities.

  The daemon reached into the driver’s window of their SUV and scratched a deep gouge in Joseph’s throat. Joseph screamed, and anguish smeared across his face as he closed his eyes in pain.

  Core shifted into the shape of a large man. She reached out through her side window and grabbed the daemon from the roof, hauling him off the roof of the car. The daemon tried to scratch and bite at her arm, but she evaded his attempts. He shifted to his wolf form in mid-air, before crashing into the bushes in the centre of the highway. Leaves and branches soared up where he landed.

  Joseph grabbed his neck with one hand while trying to steer the SUV with the other. A dark flow of blood seeped down his shirt and over the seat. He remained conscious, but groaned with pain. Core dragged him from the driver’s seat, while shifting back into her true form, a wild look of fear in her eyes. Jason scrambled behind the wheel, flooring the SUV as he sat down. They narrowly missed rear-ending a utility vehicle that plodded along before them. Jason looked back at Core with large eyes. “Is he okay?” he asked.

  She was sobbing. “He’s losing a lot of blood,” she yelled over the noise of the wind blowing through the open windows and the torn roof.

  “We are...almost out of it...” Joseph said through deep breaths. He was sweating profusely, and groaned in pain.

  The other two wolves caught up with the third one, who came skittering out of the bushes. Together, all three accelerated towards the SUV.

  Core looked out the back window. “Here they come...faster!” she shouted. She kept her hand on Joseph’s wound. He was curled in a pain that reminded her of Jason’s conversion.

  Jason watched the rear view mirror as the daemons approached with incredible speed. One approached on either side of the car while the third came at the back. Jason felt fear and adrenaline coursing through his veins, and anger building inside him. Why couldn’t he and Core just have some peace for once? Why was everyone after them, hell bent on their destruction! He fumed inside and wanted to rip the throats from these monsters.

  How do you kill an immortal? There was no time to ponder this question; the wolves jumped at the same time, their attack coordinated to inflict the most damage.

  Jason slammed on the brakes. Core held onto the seat in front while steadying Joseph on the seat next to her. The wolves overshot their attack and landed in the road ahead. Jason pulled left and floored the petrol, accelerating past as the wolves turned to compensate. Black smoke started drifting from them—they howled like banshees in pain and flailed around in a mad dance of agony. Moments later, they disappeared.

  Jason did not wait to find out what had happened; instead, he pushed the SUV as fast as it could go to get away from the scene. Ribbons of white steam, barely noticeable in the gushing wind, seethed out of the bonnet and along the edges of the vehicle.

  “He’s dying, Jason,” Core said over the roar of wind and motor.

  “No...I...am.... You need to kill me...please....” Joseph looked up at her, blood running out of his nose and eyes, his eyes large with fear. “I am becoming one of them,” he whispered through pain-filled gasps. She looked at his neck, where the wound had begun to close.

  “I can’t do it,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I can’t take the life of someone who helped us...not like this.” She sobbed and looked at Jason in desperation, pleading in her eyes.

  “Please!” Joseph begged, his eyes filled with fear. Jason’s arm shifted into a sharp metal blade. He quickly pushed the blade through Joseph’s heart, which immediately became a useless, mangled muscle. Joseph screamed in pain, curling around the blade and grabbing it with his hands. His eyes were wide with uncomprehending terror. Moments later, he let out a long, rattling breath and blinked dully at Core and Jason. “Thank you...” he whispered, the words hardly noticeable but for the movement of his lips. The life drained from his eyes until there was nothing left.

  Core lay back in the seat, crying. Small drops of rain splashed on the shredded roof of the SUV; soon it was pattering down through the holes in the roof, washing Joseph’s blood into thin pink streams. Jason kept on driving to the airport, creating from himself a makeshift roof to cover the holes. After a while, Core stopped crying and climbed into the front seat, leaving the lifeless body of Joseph in the back.

  Core was exhausted from all the...the feelings that had flooded through her. Adrenaline, fear, anger, hate, love...she had thought she understood these feelings, but until she had a human bo
dy she had known nothing.

  “We will get through this, Core, one day at a time,” Jason said, looking over at her with troubled eyes. He put his hand on her leg, and she leaned into his shoulder, clinging to his arm. “We have each other, and that is enough for me, no matter whether we are battling daemons from the future or an enemy from the past. You are here with me, and that is more than I had this morning,” he said softly.

  “I love you, Jason,” she said as they drove into the airport parking lot.

  White steam billowed from the bonnet of the SUV. The engine had overheated during the chase and was now sputtering through its last legs. They stopped in a bay far away from any other cars. Core got out of the car and reached around Joseph’s body to retrieve the yellow envelope.

  She turned back to Jason. “What are we going to do with his body?” she asked, looking tired.

  “I will ask someone to come and pick it up...we will need what is in his blood,” he said with a smile. “Don’t worry, we will give him a proper burial. Just not today.”

  “Okay, I just can’t bear leaving him here,” she said.

  “We won’t leave him here. We will go meet the people Eric talked about, and ask one of them to fetch the body. After all, it has Damian’s Nanites in it. It can help us know what we are up against,” he said. “If our people can make fake passports, then fetching a dead body from this vehicle will be well within their capabilities.” He smiled and put his hand on her leg.

  “You are certain?” she asked, and looked at him with a frightened look in her eyes.

  He smiled. “I can only work with what I have, and what we have is right here in this envelope,” he said.

  “That does not mean they can manoeuvre a dead body through international borders,” she said as life slowly drifted back into her blue eyes.

  He looked back at Joseph’s lifeless body. “Getting him through border control will be just another day at the office, I bet.”

  She frowned. “How can you be so certain of that? We don’t know anything about these people...for all we know, we are walking into a trap,” she countered.

  Jason kept his calm. “I understand where you’re coming from—we shouldn’t just trust anyone...but if we were walking into a trap, don’t you think the car would be surrounded by now?”

  She looked around the car park. It was empty. “I suppose...I just feel apprehensive,” she said.

  “Trust me,” Jason said with a wolfish grin, “if we are walking into a trap, they are the ones who will be surprised.”

  “Ooo, big man!” she teased. “But don’t let overconfidence be your downfall.” She adjusted her clothes and sat up in the front seat. “If we are going to do this, then now is just as good a time as any.”

  “Agree,” he said and opened the door. As he got out of the SUV, he shifted into the white attire that Eric had worn. He walked around the car to meet Core at the back bumper.

  Her brows lifted and a smile spread over her face. Her dull mood lifted slightly. “Wowee!” she uttered, looking him up and down, the smile not reaching her tired eyes.

  He turned and put his hands on his chest, grinning brightly. “You like?” he said.

  “I like!” she said, slipping her arms around his waist. They walked to the terminal building. She was quiet next to him. He felt her gloomy mood through the connection and he gave her a hug. She looked up and smiled. He smiled back and kissed her on the forehead. Her spirit seemed to lift.

  The rain fell endlessly, cold large drops splashing on the ground next to the roof as they ran towards the departures building.

  They entered the sliding door and looked for the information counter. The small airport had a row of counters down one side, where many passengers were in the process of checking in; bags were dropped onto a conveyer belt that would transfer them to the waiting airliner outside. Others were milling about, waiting for arrivals and travel partners. They heard the rumbling sound of planes taking off outside and the tinny chiming of announcements for the next departure.

  They walked briskly to the information counter situated to the right of the entrance, and a middle-aged woman sat watching them approach. She wore a light green dress, which had a fine white pattern visible in the material. Her blond hair was neatly fastened in a bun behind her head, and her round face was subtly made-up, giving her a friendly but professional appearance. She smiled as they approached.

  “Excuse me, ma’am,” Jason said with a smile on his face. “I am Mathew Saunders and this is Jessica, my wife. We have a private jet waiting for us?” He held tightly onto Core’s hand.

  “Yes, Mister Saunders, we have been expecting you. Follow me, I will take you through to your jet.” She stood up and walked back behind the counter through a door into a back room, only to appear from a side door next to the reception. She waved and they joined her as she led them towards a door on the far side of the check-in terminal. A sign above the door read ‘Private—Staff Only’. She stopped at the side of the door and entered a security code into the electronic pad; they heard a click as the door unlocked. The woman pushed the door and held it open for them to pass through.

  Right on the other side was a small, gleaming jet with its door open and two men dressed in black suits waiting for them. The men both wore sunglasses and held umbrellas.

  “There you go, sir, ma’am...I wish you a pleasant journey and hope to see you again,” the woman said. She turned and left them in the doorway.

  Core held onto Jason’s arm as they crossed the tarmac. Rain pelted down on them. One of the two men jogged towards them and held the umbrella over their heads to keep them from getting drenched. Rain bounced off the umbrella and splattered around him in a fine mist.

  “Mister Saunders, a great pleasure to finally meet you and your wife.” The man’s deep, base voice was calm and assertive. “We have a flight to Honolulu, where we will refuel, and then we are flying you to your headquarters in California.”

  Core looked up at him, surveying his features, as he followed her and Jason up the steps and into the plane. “Come make yourselves comfortable and enjoy the trip,” the man said as they settled into the luxuriously cushioned seats inside. “Jenny, your flight attendant, will be with you shortly.”

  “There is a beaten up white SUV in the parking lot. Can you send someone to retrieve the body in the back seat? We will require it,” Jason said.

  “No problem, sir.” The man walked past them and through the curtains in the middle of the plane. The second man closed and secured the door, and then poked his head into the cockpit and shared a few quiet words with the captain.

  A tall, skinny woman with long, light-brown hair bent down.

  “Champagne?”

  She held out a tray with two glasses that resonated slightly from her soft, tenor voice. Core took the glass—it felt cold to her touch—and sipped at the drink. She was almost afraid to relax....

  The sharp, sweet beverage sent goose bumps down her back, and she giggled in surprise at the sensation. Jason looked at her knowingly and laughed.

  “It will be another couple of minutes before we take off,” the attendant said, and she walked back to the kitchen.

  Ten minutes later, they were settled in and watching the world fly by. Jason bent over and kissed Core slowly, something he had wanted to do since they had last emerged from the facility. Now she leaned in and embraced him for the first time as a real woman.

  The future was uncertain—that much she knew. As long as she had Jason, Core was prepared to face anything.

  But the first thing she wanted to face was something that she had dreamed about for many years.

  She leaned over, pulling Jason close to her as their emotions took control....

  The story continues in

  Mere Mortal

  The stunning sequel to

  Becoming

  Ronnie Barnard

  She slowly crept forward. Her gun – safety off – was pointing ahead. She scanned the dark building in
front of her, and was taking slow deliberate steps. Somewhere water dripped from a pipe, and it echoed eerily through the abandoned building. The floor was littered with papers, sand and old pieces of abandoned rubbish, dating from a time when this building was still in use. The air smelled putrid. A corner was coming up and she moved to her left to hug the wall. Her heart rate was steady and her breathing unlaboured. With her back to the wall and gun held up to the side of her chin, she quickly scanned the corridor to her right, before leaning around the corner.

  The corridor was empty, and nothing was lurking in the shadows. To her right a short corridor ended in a broken window, looking out over the yard in front of the building. Outside the daylight was not helping to chase away the darkness on the inside. She followed her gut; it was telling her she will find him, waiting somewhere in the darkest recesses of the building. The deep, revolting, and breath gagging smell of rotting flesh drifted slowly on the windless currents. She was getting close. His lair must be up ahead. This time she would find the bastard. She rounded the corner and stayed close to the wall, listening intent for movement.

  Her partner was somewhere in another part of the building. A thought jumped her, and she quickly turned the radio to silent. Phew! She thought. A closed door was the only entrance at the end of this corridor, and soft light flooded through the cracks and around the door. She stopped, held her breath as she watched for movement on the other side, but nothing showed.

  She quietly moved forward, gun at the ready. Her heart rate picked up as she approached the dirty, faded double door. Suddenly a bat flew from its perch above her head. It made her cringe down and almost fired a shot at the bat. She breathed hard, and her heart rate was peeking. She could feel the adrenaline coarse through her. She sat, breathing and focusing on the door in front of her, trying to steady her body. She dare not lose focus at this point, it would mean her end. Seconds passed, and the bats wing flaps disappeared through the broken window behind her. She readied herself, and was about to move when a shadow ran along the bottom of the door. She watched as it quickly ran from right to left and disappeared. Her knuckles was white on the gun as she held it out in front of her, finger poised on the trigger. She took a deep breath – for a moment closing her eyes – and moved quickly. In one fluid movement she rammed the door. It burst inward, swinging open all the way, sending dust and paper billowing away in its wake. She ran through the doorway. The darkness was complete; there were no light on this side of the door. There was no possible chance that a shadow could pass through a light source, if there was no light source to begin with.