Heart of Annihilation

by C. R. Asay

  I felt moisture on my face and wiped drool from the corner of my mouth, thankful that we were being transported in pitch darkness.

  “Yeah, I’m . . .” I turned onto my shoulder. All my muscles were achy and tight. I was helped into a sitting position. “We’re not there yet, are we?”

  As if in answer, the truck rattled. I could picture the endless rows of vegetables and elegant rakes of vineyards as we drove through the salad bowl of the world. The Gilroy Garlic festival would be in full swing this time of year, and the wineries would be busy with drunken taste testers. That world slept as we drove past, quietly rolling toward our deaths and possibly that of billions.

  I suppose it could be worse. I wasn’t wielding a bloody knife and slicing people’s throats.

  I shuddered. No, actually I wasn’t sure what was worse.

  “Rose, we were talking while you were . . . Anyway, you can’t give it to her. The Heart. You can’t let the commander get her hands on it.”

  “I know,” I said quietly.

  “Stall for time,” Rannen said, his voice high and hopeful. “Xavier will come.”

  I wished I had anything near the confidence in Xavier that he was exuding.

  “Sure, Rannen. Stall for time,” I said bitterly. “You really don’t think the commander’s not going to put a bullet in your heads if I tried that? Sorry guys, but I sort of used up your ninth lives with my last pointless stunt.”

  “Of course, Rose, if you’d rather knock the commander’s head out of the park with one of those electrical things you do, feel free.” Thurmond chuckled darkly at his tasteless joke.

  The violence of the image pressed against my mind. It hurt. I locked my hands back into my braid and rocked back and forth, trying to banish the pleasure Caz was feeling for Thurmond’s idea.

  “Okay, not funny. Sorry.” Thurmond pulled me into a secure embrace and breathed into my hair.

  The truck slowed. My heart hammered against my rib cage. I clutched Thurmond’s shirt, terrified to let go. Rannen leaned closer on my other side. The engine continued to idle, then we turned right and accelerated again.

  My stomach plummeted. That was most likely the turn from US-101 onto Jolon Road, which gave us less than fifteen minutes before we arrived on the base.

  “Xander will come,” Rannen said, his voice stubborn. “I know he’ll come.”

  “Why? He hates me.” If there was one thing I’d learned from Caz and her visions, it was that I couldn’t trust Xander to help me.

  “But he doesn’t hate me. I guarantee he’ll be there.”

  “Who are you to him, Rannen?” I whispered against Thurmond’s shirt. Rannen didn’t answer, and I was beginning to see a pattern when the questions got too personal.

  Thurmond started to say something, but Rannen’s voice cut over the top. “He’s my uncle, Kris. He raised me. My uncle Xan.”

  The words hung in the air, heavy with implication. The last few pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

  Xander, my brother. His nephew, Rannen. Rannen—Manny. My son.

  I broke out of Thurmond’s grip and stumbled to my feet. The truck swayed, threatening to knock me down. My head pounded in unbearable anguish.

  I felt the Rethan rain on my skin, the intermingled rage and terror tearing me apart. I saw through Caz’s eyes as she caught sight of Manny hiding behind Xander.

  The little face staring back, eyes so filled with despair she thought she would drown. Her laughter dying to quiet whimpers.

  Shackles clacking onto her wrists, drawing all voltage from her body in an exhausting flood of numbness. Something scorching her palm. Acrid smoke pouring from her hand, searing her nose in the scent of burning flesh. Caz tearing her arms away from the marshals before they could send her through the RAGE portal. Falling to her knees, her hands reaching for her son.

  “Rannen!” She was screaming his given name, making him hear her. “Rannen!”

  My head blistered as the vision vanished. I rolled my neck. What had I done? Despair, corroded and pungent, dragged me down to the murkiest recesses of my mind. Caz waited, a predatory creature wanting nothing more than to annihilate her captor—kill the warden—vanquish Kris Rose.

  “Rose!”

  The sound of my name pulled me away from the demonic clutches. Like a drowning woman breaking the surface of a lake, my mind gulped in Thurmond’s voice.

  My heart. My soul. It hurt so much. I’d found out who I was, the person I’d overcome. I’d become someone different . . . better. And yet none of it mattered, except what I did right now.

  I opened my eyes in the darkness. My cheeks burned. Thurmond touched my arm. I threw it off.

  Where was the door? I felt along the wall until I found the latch. Thurmond had already tried to get it open. It was padlocked from the outside to keep us from escaping. But electricity caused heat, which could cause . . .

  I gripped the inside handle and sent a hot electrical charge against the latch, different from any other current I’d wielded before. The latch burned red, scorching the flesh of my branded hand. Destroying that connection to a life I’d never wanted.

  With a lurch the lock gave, and I flung the door upward with a thundering rattle. Cool moonlight and rushing wind flooded into the back. Trees flowed past, nestled against low canyon walls. The curvy road wound under the tires of the truck, not too fast, but faster than I liked. I held my burned hand to my body, inhaling the cool night air and rocking with the movement of the truck.

  Dad once said, You can make every right decision in the book, and things can still go wrong. You can only hope the peace you get from doing what’s right will carry you past the dark times.

  Dad was right. He was always right. And the right decision couldn’t be about the temporary welfare of my small circle of comrades when an entire dimension was at stake. The trouble was, I’d already proven that sacrificing Thurmond was impossible, and Rannen . . . I scrubbed a hand down my face. The answer was so simple.

  I needed to eliminate the threat to Earth. And the threat in this case wasn’t deadly weapons, the commander, or even Caz. The threat was my willingness to sacrifice the whole world to spare Thurmond and Rannen.

  “Dammit, Rose, why didn’t you open it before?” Thurmond stood at my shoulder, staring down at the road.

  Rannen weighted the truck on the other side of me.

  “Hey, Rannen.” I rested my hand on his arm and looked up into his silvery eyes. “I remember my dad telling me to always do my best and let the chips fall as they may. I’m sorry that Caz . . . I mean, that I didn’t do my best on Retha. You know, as your mother. I’m so sorry.”

  Rannen’s face relaxed, and he chuckled. He touched my shoulder. “Someday I’d very much like to meet your father, Kris. Anyone who can turn someone like Caz into a person like you is worth getting to know.”

  I forced a smile and said, “Roll when you hit the ground.”

  Rannen swayed, his eyes locked on the road, and then launched himself out. The weight of the truck shifted alarmingly, throwing me into Thurmond’s arms so that I didn’t see Rannen land.

  Thurmond held me tight. I swallowed. His intoxicating closeness, his musky scent combined with soap, wasn’t making this any easier.

  “After you,” I said, pulling away.

  “You just said goodbye to Rannen,” Thurmond said, his arm still tight around my shoulders. I sensed him trying to catch my eye. Why did he have to be so observant?

  “Go.” I jerked my chin toward the road. “There’s not much time.”

  “You first,” he said with a stubborn tilt of his head.

  “T, could you just . . .”

  Thurmond’s answer was to hug me close. I wrenched myself out of his arms but he grabbed my wrist and held tight. The burn on my hand throbbed and my shoulder ached from the strain.

  “Get off the truck, T,” I said, through clenched teeth.

  “We’ll jump together.”

  “Devon . . .”

  Hi
s eyebrows drew over his eyes. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”

  What are you doing? Caz hissed into my mind. My head pounded.

  “Get off the truck or I’ll make you get off the truck!” I shouted.

  “No way in hell, Rose.”

  His fingers dug into my wrist. He was much stronger than me and he knew it, but there was one thing he hadn’t taken into account. The truck jolted around a bend, throwing us off balance.

  I directed a small charge of electricity into my free hand and sent my fist smashing into his jaw.

  CHAPTER 37

  I clung to a rope dangling from the door, swaying with the movement of the truck in an attempt to stay on my feet. The road rolled under the tires, the moonlight speckling through the trees. All was quiet except the rumbling of the motor and the wind rushing past.

  Loose strands of my hair, a pure Rethan silver, flicked around my face. Sweat beaded my forehead from the fight with Thurmond. I’d been able to push him out when the truck slowed around a bend, unconscious but still alive. He’d rolled a few times and come to rest on the shoulder of the road. I’d watched him until he was out of sight, hating what I’d done, hating the necessity of it. Hating myself.

  Very clever, Kris, Caz whispered. Eliminate Zell’s leverage. The Heart of Annihilation is as good as ours.

  Aside from the whole friggin’ brigade the commander was sure to put in our friggin’ way. Yeah, I was a friggin’ genius.

  The canyon opened into a flat plain covered by dry, yellow grass and scattered trees. Eucalyptus, if I were to guess. I recognized where we were now. My heart crowded my lungs. Fort Hunter-Liggett rose to the left, a collection of lights and simple, blocky buildings. Power poles lined the road, the scalloped wires surging with electricity. I flexed my fingers. It felt good to have the voltage building again.

  A cluster of men and military vehicles blocked the road. For one hopeful moment I thought it was the soldiers of the base, come to stand in the way of the commander.

  The commander’s bright silver head of hair shone in the moonlight. She was buried among her troops, there to greet me and keep me compliant. My eyes narrowed. We’d just see about that.

  The truck slammed to a halt. I gripped the rope to keep myself from pitching head first out the back. I set my face into the cold mask which I envisioned on Caz. Time to sell this.

  The first soldiers to round the truck faltered in surprise at the sight of me standing in the open back, one hand holding the rope, a smile plastered on my face.

  The warm California air carried the scent of eucalyptus to me. I inhaled deeply, aware of the pounding ache above my ear. Caz pressed cold memory fingers against my brain.

  I made eye contact with the nearest soldier and then casually examined a trickle of electricity striking between my fingers. I threw in a hint of dramatization for affect. He stumbled backward, lifting the rifle. I followed him with my eyes. Sergeant Sanderford pushed him out of the way and limped to the base of the truck.

  “Get your ass down here, Rose. Time to lead us to that weapon.” Good ol’ Sanderford. He stared at my hands. I rubbed them together, making the voltage crackle and pop in a bright blue light.

  Sanderford tossed his head and the soldiers stepped back, leaving room for me to jump out of the truck. I held the grin tight on my face, my eyes locked on Sanderford. I finally released the rope and sat quickly on the edge of the truck bed before my legs could give way.

  Sanderford glared when I didn’t make another move and then craned his neck to look around me.

  “Where’s Thurmond?”

  “Thurmond?” I lifted my eyebrows, feigning genuine curiosity. “Oh yeah, him. Rannen too, right?” I shrugged. “Dumped their corpses on the road a ways back.”

  I glanced around at the other soldiers, a smirk on my face, and swung my legs childlike.

  “You killed Thurmond?” Sanderford’s mouth hung open in disbelief.

  I was suddenly worried that I’d underplayed my hand. I widened my grin, letting the electricity crawl up my arms. He clenched his jaw, his face set in uncertainty.

  “Ma’am?” Sanderford hollered over his shoulder. When the commander didn’t immediately appear, Sanderford grabbed the arm of the nearest soldier. “They can’t be dead. Go find ’em and bring ’em back here.”

  I stopped swinging my legs. The tall staff sergeant, who looked like he’d rather cross Al-Qaida than butcherous little ol’ me, took a hesitant step away. I read his name from his uniform and let it slide off my tongue as if we were old army buddies.

  “Sergeant Jacks, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He jolted to a stop. I went on. “You wouldn’t believe the fight they put up when they realized exactly who they were riding with. I had to fill them full of enough voltage to drop a mammoth. Which means there’s enough residual energy running through their bodies to take down you and any other vigilante who gets too close.”

  Sergeant Jacks didn’t move, indecision all over his face. I lowered myself out of the back of the truck, not trusting my leg to take any jumping. Sergeants Sanderford and Jacks, along with the rest of the soldiers, widened the circle. The rattling of weapons sounded as they were all lifted to aim at me.

  “Rose, stay there,” Sanderford hissed, his voice tight in fear. “I don’t want to see or feel nothin’ electric.”

  “Don’t worry, Sarge.” I winked. “I promise you won’t feel a thing.”

  “Don’t shoot!” The commander shouted from the back of the crowd.

  I saw her bright silver head working through the pack. It was time to lead her far, far away from the Heart of Annihilation and let the chips fall as they may. I strode toward the road without any hesitation. They parted to let me through.

  “Rose, stop right there! Don’t move!” Sergeant Sanderford demanded. Several other voices joined in.

  “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” the commander shouted.

  I turned my back on them and stepped onto Mission Road. My toes touched the thick yellow line down the center and I stopped, suddenly wary. The glimmering lights of the base stood off to one side. My fingers trembled. Something felt wrong.

  Fort Hunter-Liggett was a small base with less than three hundred permanent residents. Even when different trainees were cycled in the count never came to more than four thousand, but on any given night Mission Road was always alive with joggers, while the noise from the officer’s club and rec center echoed throughout the valley.

  Now, nothing. Only quiet and emptiness. An alien feeling that wasn’t right.

  I sensed a source of power so potent I tasted the metal of it on my tongue. I stared past the soldiers, down the road toward the base and the historic Mission San Antonio de Padua.

  My head pounded for attention. I squeezed my eyes shut. My mind spun down the track of Caz’s memories until I felt the space between dimensions compressing her lungs. The desperate pain of a portal jump.

  The wild, pungent scents only found in the Earth. The warmth of the Heart of Annihilation cradled in her arms. Her hands glistening with the still wet blood of her husband, Vin. Stumbling across the coarse ground. Her feet hitting something more solid, almost like a road.

  I rubbed my arms, trying to remove the feeling of the outlandish fabric covering my skin, the bloody hands clamped around the silver, glowing object. My hands curled together as though still holding it, feeling its warmth and incredible power.

  I stood on the same road Caz had all those years ago. The electricity within my body magnified. The Heart called to me from less than a mile away.

  The Heart of Annihilation! Caz shouted, so close to the surface.

  I groaned, squeezing my head between my hands. I couldn’t allow her control over my body. There was one chance to save the Earth from Caz’s . . . from our precious Heart. I needed to destroy the source of the information. Run as far from the Heart of Annihilation as possible.

  And then I had to make them kill me.

  Kill you? Kill
me? With the Heart so near? No way, Kris.

  I whirled around to face the commander’s soldiers. Sanderford stood in the foreground, his weapon up, his mouth open wide as he barked orders at me in his best drill sergeant voice.

  “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot her!” the commander continued to yell, shoving her frightened troops left and right in her attempt to get to me before the unthinkable happened.

  I drew voltage into my hands and opened my palms to release the pent up energy in Sanderford’s rifle.

  “Kill me!” I shouted. “Someone just kill me!”

  Pressure crushed my head in unbearable agony. My mind jumbled and a dark malevolent force surged past my defenses. A scream tore from my throat.

  CHAPTER 38

  My heart skipped, and then resumed beating in a completely different rhythm. My breathing paused, and then came an inhale I didn’t control, tongue flickering out to touch my lips in an obsessive gesture. My eyes blinked open of their own accord and stared down the road, past Fort Hunter-Liggett, zeroing in on a barely visible building.

  I tried to scream again, but nothing came from my mouth. I knew the worst had happened. Something I should have anticipated. Caz had taken over, leaving me nothing but an observer in my own body.

  She didn’t look back at the soldiers. I wasn’t even sure she remembered they were there.

  One foot in front of the other, Caz followed the road as she had over twenty years ago after her blind jump through the portal. I witnessed her memories as she recalled the heat of the sun on her skin and the dust clogging her throat. The stickiness of Vin’s blood clinging to her skin.

  But none of that mattered now. For over twenty years she had been trapped as I was now, and during all that time she only had one desire.

  Step, step, step. I couldn’t stop my feet. Caz’s mind rattled through memory after bloody memory. Xander, Manny, Zell, Vin. Engineering the Heart of Annihilation. Murdering the council. Vin’s ultimate betrayal. We lost track of the present as we circled the past, leading us to the one thing we wanted more than anything.