Grim Vengeance

by Jennifer Reinfried

  “Where are you going?”

  “To Emma.”

  “You don’t have any powers. You’ll be killed.”

  Isaac ran toward the fight outside at a quick jog. “I don’t give a shit.”

  —-

  Emma backpedaled away from the man she’d collided with, fear closing her throat.

  “Shh, it’s fine, it’s just me.” Lucas grabbed her and pulled her close. “Where’s Shawn? He needs to get away from them. If either survives—”

  “I know, I know. But I can’t do anything. No one can. They’re too powerful. We need to run. We need to get out of here, now, before they turn back on us.”

  Lucas nodded and glanced above her. His face went slack, and his lips parted. Turning, Emma caught the sight of the night sky as another bolt of lightning ripped through it. Countless wraiths were illuminated, more than she thought could be possible, and she fought the urge to scream again.

  “Oh, God.” Lucas’ face was pale in the moonlight, rain streaming down his skin. “Go.” He shook her once. “Run. I’ll round up the rest and send them after you.”

  “I’m not leaving without them, without you. We might not be able to win, Lucas, but I’m not leaving anyone behind. If this is the end, I’m dying with my friends. With my family.”

  Before he could reply, a clump of wraiths swung out of the sky and headed in their direction. Horror filled Emma’s racing thoughts, and she pressed herself against the wall again. Lucas, however, simply stood and watched them come.

  “You’re right,” he muttered. He gripped her hand and squeezed. “Together.”

  Emma swallowed, then nodded once. She faced the wraiths that shot toward them.

  “Come on, you fucks!” Lucas screamed. He pounded his chest with his other hand. “Come on!”

  Emma’s breathing hurt her chest. She swiped rain and wet hair out of her eyes as she watched her death approach. Thinking only of Isaac, she counted the seconds down.

  Four...three...two...

  A long, drawn-out cry of rage tore from her throat and joined Lucas’ as the wraiths, mouths open wide, sailed over their heads and flew into the woods behind them.

  Dumbfounded, she stared at Lucas. “What...what the hell?”

  He scowled at the trees. “I’m fine with it.” With a final glance behind him, he pulled her forward. Still shocked, Emma followed, feet slapping in the mud. They pulled up at the edge of the building and peered around the corner.

  “Oh, shit,” Lucas mumbled.

  Charlie was on his knees in the rain, with Jaxon’s arm still in his grasp. His head was thrown back, sandy hair slicked and dripping. Wraiths shot away from the pair in clumps, flying away into the night.

  “No! No!” Jaxon was screaming, other arm outstretched toward the sky. “Come back! I own you!” The last of the wraiths disappeared. He fell to his knees. “What have you done?” he said in a hoarse voice. “You released them. They’re mine.”

  Charlie ignored him. Finally letting go of Jaxon, he stepped forward to Shawn’s huddled form.

  Oh, no. Emma gasped and tightened her grip on Lucas’ hand. “Why the fuck didn’t he run?”

  “One of them must’ve still had a hold on him.” He turned and looked at her, pain etched on his face. “He’s going to kill him.”

  Determination set her mind at ease. “Like hell he is.” She jerked her chin behind her. “Go around the other way. I’ll be the bait. I’ll stall them.”

  Lucas hesitated a moment, staring into her eyes, and was gone.

  Pulling long breaths in and out, Emma stepped out into the open.

  “I’m here, you fucks.” She stood with her back straight, ignoring the rain that fell into her eyes. “Bring it.”

  Charlie’s attention snapped away from Shawn, and he graced her with a manic grin. Jaxon didn’t seem to have heard her. Still on his knees, he stared at the sky where the last of the wraiths had vanished. Emma could just make out his mutterings about how he’d let them go, how they were set free on the world, and then Charlie was in front of her.

  “Don’t hurt me. Don’t touch me.” Emma flung the commands at him, grinning as he froze, fury on his face. “Aw, did Vance’s blood wash off? Darn.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you, bitch. I just need you.”

  “Not happening.” She lifted her head in defiance.

  “I didn’t need you any-fucking-way!” Jaxon screamed at the sky. He suddenly surged to his feet. Turning, his eyes locked on Emma. Charlie instantly went rigid in front of her. “I told you,” Jaxon said as he stalked forward. “She’s mine. Deal’s off.”

  Oh, God. Emma stepped backward, heart hammering her ribcage. Before she could try to run, a flash of lightning showed her Lucas charging up behind Jaxon, and for a moment, she let herself hope.

  Jaxon took in the flicker Emma’s eyes had made and turned.

  Lucas was a mere five feet away, nearly within grabbing distance, when his body spasmed.

  “No!” Emma screamed. She leapt forward as Lucas crumpled to the ground, eyes already unseeing. “No!” She fell on top of him, clutching at his shirt, hitting his chest with her fists. This is my fault. I told him to do this, to attack. He only obeyed because of my fucking power, and I got him killed.

  A pressure began to grow in her skull, bringing fresh pain. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shouted, “You killed Shawn!” The intensity of the pressure lessened. Emma turned and stared into Jaxon’s eyes. “You killed your brother!”

  He blinked, confusion in his expression. “No, I didn’t. That’s his fucking clone.”

  “No,” Emma spat. She pointed at Shawn, who was finally getting to his feet, still holding his left arm. “That is Lucas. They changed their looks, they wanted to confuse you, get Shawn away from you. Lucas risked his life to stop you, and you killed Shawn instead.” She rose to her feet, fingers trembling. “You sick fuck. You killed him.”

  Jaxon was frowning. “That doesn’t make any—” His head snapped backward as Emma’s fist connected with his jaw. Charlie snickered, amusement on his face. He stepped back, watching.

  “How could you?” she screamed. “How could you do this to people who cared about you?” She hit him again, and again, knowing he could kill her at any moment, waiting for the end.

  Another punch started a gush of blood from his nose. Startled, Jaxon tipped back and stumbled away. Emma stepped forward and kneed him in the stomach. With a gasp, he fell to the ground. His eyes found Lucas’ body, and he grimaced. “Shawn...?”

  She didn’t give him time to think. She kicked him, crying out with wordless sounds. Jaxon’s head snapped back, and he finally locked eyes with her. “You disgusting piece of shit,” she gasped. “You killed your brother. He loved you.” She threw every ounce of her power behind each word. “Your father turned on you. Your wraiths left you. Your partner betrayed you. But Shawn always loved you. No matter what you did, he still wanted to save you.”

  “Emma!” Isaac’s voice rang out behind her in the distance, but she didn’t break contact with Jaxon, who had begun mewling, clutching his stomach, unable to tear his gaze from hers.

  “Now he’s dead,” she continued. She stood over him, rain dripping from her hair. “You killed Shawn.” Her foot connected with his ribs. He cried out but still didn’t look away. “You’re going to leave us alone. You’re going to kill Charlie. And then, you’re going to fucking rot in—”

  A strangled cry sounded, and rough hands grabbed her from behind. Emma gasped and struggled, but the grasp was too strong. How the fuck did he...?

  “Trust me,” Charlie snarled. “I could care less if you kill him. But I have other plans for you and don’t need you getting yourself murdered.” He began to drag her backward, and she screamed.

  “Jax!” she sputtered. He was still looking at her, and she locked eyes with him once more. “Don’t let him take me, Jax. Don’t let him hurt me. Help me. For Shawn. Help me.”

  Charlie joined in her pleading. “Jaxon,
don’t you dare. You know she killed your friend. You want to let me take her, get the revenge you want, let me drain her and use her and hurt her.”

  Jaxon blinked, looking between the two of them. He slowly rose to his feet, two fingers pressed against his right temple. “What...?”

  “Jax, please.” Emma struggled in Charlie’s grasp, writhing and twisting to no avail. He let out a mirthless chuckle, then stuck the blade of a hunting knife in her right thigh. Emma opened her mouth and screamed, the sound mixing in with the heavy pattering of the rain.

  Isaac’s cry joined hers, and she gritted her teeth, quieting, squeezing her eyes shut. The pain in her leg was bright and sharp. Tears slid down her already wet face as she watched Isaac charge up behind Jaxon.

  “Behind you,” Charlie said casually.

  Emma blinked and locked eyes with Isaac, who jerked to a stop, feet flinging mud and grass as Jaxon grabbed him with an invisible hold. Isaac’s face was contorted as if he hadn’t even felt it, rage apparent. He called out to her, shouted her name. His death is going to be my fault, too.

  Suddenly, her pain was gone. Her fear dissipated. Her anger bled dry. Emma fell limp against Charlie, and, still staring at Isaac, uttered, “Take me.”

  Charlie looked at her with amused shock. “Good girl,” he said in a whisper. “That’s my good girl.” He waved a hand in the air, skin slick with rain. “Drop him. She complied.” Relief warmed Emma’s entire soul as she watched Isaac drop to the ground, free of Jaxon’s grasp.

  “No!” Isaac shouted even as he fell to all fours. He scrambled to his feet and charged at Charlie.

  “Isaac, stop!” Emma leaned forward. “You need to let him take me. Just stop.”

  He wouldn’t stop. She knew he wouldn’t even as she screamed at him to do so, even if she threw every ounce of her power at him. Time slowed for her as she glanced around the battlefield. Lucas’ crumpled form lay a few yards away. Mari’s flashed in her memory. She had no clue where Aaron was, or Duncan, if they were even still alive. Shawn was slumped over on the ground where he’d fallen to his knees, eyes closed. Isaac continued to run at Charlie with murder in his eyes. They didn’t stand a chance, and Emma at once knew what she had to do to save her Isaac.

  “Jaxon!” Her voice was clear and sharp. She dragged her power forward, pulling it away from Charlie, and she focused every single ounce of it that she could muster at the telekinetic Synth before her. “Jaxon, kill Charlie. Kill this piece of shit.”

  His expression faltered. She hit him with another blast, saying, “Snap his spine. Kill him.”

  Emma stumbled as Charlie spun her around and backhanded her. She fell to the ground just as Isaac reached them, tackling Charlie into the wet mud. She wanted to stop them, but the real threat at the moment was Jaxon. Now that she was free of Charlie’s power, she stood a chance.

  She rose to her knees. “Kill him. Now, Jaxon. Kill Charlie!”

  “No! Goddammit, Jax.” Charlie’s pleas were trembling. Emma shot a quick glance over her shoulder at the struggling pair. Isaac had already bloodied Charlie’s face. She looked back at Jaxon, who was obviously trying to get his own thoughts under control from her persuasion. Isaac cried out in pain, and her thoughts faltered.

  Isaac rose on his knees above Charlie and wrapped his hands around his throat. A sudden flash of something bright glinted in the night as Charlie’s arm shot upward, and Emma screamed in time with Isaac yet again.

  “Leave him alone!” Emma tangled her fingers in her hair as she yelled. “Charlie, leave Isaac alone!”

  All at once, Charlie went limp, his hands dropping to his sides. A large hunting knife dropped to the ground next to him. Dark blood spilled over his stomach and chest, and at first, Emma felt her stomach flip, hope flooding through her. Charlie’s hurt.

  Isaac fell forward.

  Charlie pushed away and scooted backward. Emma ran forward, ignoring him. She pulled at Isaac, ignoring his cry of pain. I have to know, I have to know. Oh, God, please no.

  Isaac rolled onto his side at her urging. His face had drained of all color, and he clutched his stomach with both hands. She screamed wordlessly, voice now hoarse and throat raw from the countless times she’d already done so, and pressed her own hands over his.

  “Oh, Isaac. Oh, baby. No, no, no.” She couldn’t make a full sentence.

  “Emma...” His eyes were glazed with pain.

  “You lived through the last one. You’re living through this one, too, dammit.” She rose to her knees, pulling him up, when something heavy landed on her chest.

  Emma opened her mouth, but no sound would come out. She felt the rain on her face, the pain in her throat sore from screaming, the crushing pressure in her chest. It grew and strengthened until she couldn’t breathe. But all she saw was Isaac. She tried to reach out and touch his face, but her hands were already clutching her shirt with tight fists. Her mouth tried to form words, but nothing came out. She fell to her knees, unable to breathe.

  Isaac’s eyes went wide. He was yelling something, but she couldn’t hear anything but a roar in her ears. Like the ocean...

  The world went black.

  —-

  Shawn woke to someone shaking him. He mumbled under his breath and attempted to roll onto his side.

  “Wake up!” A sudden smack of bright pain lanced across his right cheek. Gasping, Shawn sat up to see Aaron, face wild with fear, blond hair matted.

  “What...?”

  A cry bounded through the night. Shawn turned in time to see Isaac, one hand pressed to his stomach, the other reaching out toward Emma, who knelt in the mud before him. Jaxon was a few paces away, grinning, and Shawn knew what had happened even before her body was flung backward. A surge of agony and horror burst through Shawn the moment her back connected with a tree trunk, the sound somewhere between a crack and a thump.

  Isaac screamed and fell forward.

  Charlie screamed and reached out.

  Shawn screamed and charged his brother.

  Before Jaxon could even fully turn around, Shawn gripped his head with his good hand and twisted with his entire strength. For a moment, he could feel a telekinetic grasp on his heart, but it vanished as Jaxon’s neck separated from his spinal cord and his body went limp. Screaming, his vision red with rage, Shawn yanked upward. A sick, wet, tearing sound made it to his ears as he ripped his brother’s head off.

  All the rage, the fear, the disappointment, the mourning he’d felt over the past few months, all the people who had been killed, how his own father was murdered by his psychotic brother, all of it spilled through him. His fingers spasmed, and Jaxon’s skull crumpled.

  A hot wetness trickled down past his knuckles, along his wrists and forearms. The crimson trails mixed with the rain. He couldn’t look at his brother’s face. As each emotion fled from him, leaving nothing but an emptiness he’d never felt before, Shawn released Jaxon’s head. It made a wet slapping noise when it hit the ground.

  He didn’t hear what Aaron was yelling.

  Shawn fell to his knees on the wet ground next to his brother’s body and let out a shuddering sob.

  —-

  Isaac’s raw throat had been long dry as he stared at the spot of ground where Emma’s body lay. He did not run forward, did not try to stand. He knew she was gone. Her wide eyes had bored into him as she clutched her chest. The sound her body had made when it collided with the tree played over and over in his mind as he continued to let out agonized rasps.

  Charlie began to yell, cursing Jaxon, screaming into the night. Shawn looked up, fury on his face, blood on his hands, and surged to his feet. He charged, knocking Charlie to the soaked ground and jumping away before the man’s hands could grab hold.

  Isaac scrambled backward, the pain in his stomach keeping his mind fresh. He should have felt relief, even as Shawn tore his brother’s head from his shoulders, but all he could focus on was the deep empty hole inside of him that Emma’s presence used to fill. He toppled onto his back and
shut his eyes.

  “No time,” a voice said beside him. Before he could even glance around for the source, hands started to drag him backward. Isaac cried out and glared up at Aaron.

  “Leave me alone.”

  “I’m getting you to Duncan. I bandaged his leg. He can help you while Shawn and I—”

  “No.” Isaac protested. Aaron paused. “I’m doing it. I’m killing that piece of shit.” His vision swam for a moment. He gestured at the other man. “Help me up.”

  Aaron didn’t hesitate to comply. Together, they rounded the half-destroyed building. Isaac reached a bloodied hand out to steady himself against the wet concrete while Aaron stepped back the way they came and peered out into the night.

  “Get me a weapon. Anything.” Isaac coughed and spat blood onto the ground.

  Without looking over his shoulder, Aaron said, “There’s a fire axe in the room on the left, after you go in the door. If you give me a minute I can—”

  Isaac didn’t hear the rest of the man’s words. He stumbled away from and hobbled back around the front of Lab 15. Hot blood coursed down him in a constant flow, but he ignored his wound. Rage and determination spurred him forward, kept him moving.

  He stepped up onto the rubble and dry heaved as the pain in his stomach flared. The sound Emma’s body had made hitting the tree played in his mind again, and he lurched into the building. Swiping his arm over his wet face, Isaac glanced around the interior and spotted the axe in its case, its head glistening in the moonlight.

  Isaac put an elbow through the front of the case. He reached out and gripped the handle, took a few steadying breaths, and pulled it free. Fresh agony in his stomach caused him to cry out, but he gripped the handle tight. He stumbled and nearly fell backward. After a moment, axe clutched in his hands, Isaac stumbled back outside.

  Rain soaked him as he made his way back toward Aaron, who shot a disapproving glance in his direction and peeked around the wall again.