by Zara Zenia
His words hit me hard. They were a shock but they also didn’t surprise me, nor did they make me recoil because I feel the same way too. As we've been on the run, the two of us together day after day, I've also felt myself fall for him. But I've been too scared to tell him because in this situation, who knows what will happen to us from one day to the next.
"Jarick," I leaned back so I could look at him in the eye. "I know what you mean because—"
There was a bang and a clatter. I screamed and shield my face as splintered wood flew across the bed. The door flew off the hinges and there were men in the room. Before we got the chance to run they were surrounding us.
"Jarick!" I yelled as I pull the bed sheets up around me.
"Madison…” one of them leaned into me, “We've been looking for you."
Chapter 18
Madison
"Orbans," Jarick whispered to himself.
He leapt from the bed, his face red with rage. He connected his fist into the face of the nearest person. He hit the floor immediately with his legs buckling out beneath him. Then chaos. The other men descend on Jarick, limbs flailing, guns raised and pained yelps as the alien who had just been so sweet to me, had been overcome with a bloodlust I couldn't imagine he possessed.
He was relentless, unafraid of their weapons and pummeled his fists into the second one, then the third. When I thought he would have exhausted himself, he caught a second wind, reaching a fugue state as he spun in the air. His foot reached the man's head with the grace of a dancer but the savagery of a warrior. His victim was out cold, lying on the ground with a river of blood streaming from his head.
Suddenly there were more of them in the doorway. Like an interchangeable collection of men in suits, it’s hard to keep track of where they are or how many are entering the room. But Jarick wasn’t intimidated and he advanced on each one with the cool and collected calm of a professional fighter.
"Jarick!"
Victorinth appears, her face ashen with shock. With the fearlessness that only a sibling can feel for another, she joined the ruckus and flung herself into the middle of the violence. She isn't as strong as her brother but what she lacked for in power she makes up for in skill. With a precision I'd never seen, she flew in the air and landed a perfect punch into the jaw of an unsuspecting Orban. I saw his eyes roll back in his head for a fraction of a second before he too collapsed to the floor, falling on top of a pile of his comrades.
Then it was over. The three of us were breathless despite me not having moved from the bed. My heart was hammering hard, my cheeks were hot with the thrill of watching such a spectacle. Jarick looked down at the wounded men as pride swelled in his chest. His muscles were bulging, his sweaty skin glistening with the built up moisture of the fight. I've never seen anyone look so sexy, or dangerous.
Victorinth joins him at his side and looked down at the bodies. She seems disgusted but satisfied with the carnage they had both inflicted.
"We're in real trouble now, aren't we?" she turned to her brother.
"We are now."
There was an eerie silence in the room like the calm before a storm. It was so thick and heavy, it was as though we weren’t alone. I felt choked by it. I couldn’t explain it. Glancing around the room, I saw there was no one but us three and the bodies. There was a groan somewhere next to the bed as an unconscious Orban was roused from his unconsciousness. Jarick saw to him fast and kicked him in the head, knocking him out once again.
In the moment I felt so exposed but I didn’t know why. There was a silent presence in the room, one that was as insidious as the force behind all of these attackers.
"We need to talk," Victorinth clutched a hand to her brother's shoulder.
They huddled in the corner with their whispers floating out from them, filling the room with inaudible words. I still felt watched and pull the bed sheets around me tighter. My stomach was in knots, my heart was beating faster and faster. There was sweat on the back of my neck. It chills and lingers on my skin. Then there was something cold upon it, or rather someone. Breath. I could definitely feel breath on the back of my neck. But I dismissed it as the nervous aftermath of witnessing such a brutal fight.
Yet as I turned around, I saw that my fears were not unfounded. There was a body crawling up from the pile on the floor.
"I'm good at playing dead aren't I?" he whispered into my ear.
I was too afraid to call out despite Jarick and Victorinth only being a few feet away. If only I could gather the strength to reach out and touch them—but I was too afraid and frozen in place with fear.
There were fingers around my throat, the cold steel of a gun pushing into my temple and the smell of blood twitching at my nostrils. I finally saw the face of the Orban beside me. It was menacing and covered in blood that seeped from a cut to his forehead. He wasn’t trying to hide his identity any more and had reverted back to his original alien form with his blue skin and large eyes. There were peculiar markings on his hands, red dots, and lines that signaled some sort of hierarchical place within the alien elite.
"I'll shoot her right now!" he bellowed with his voice ringing in my ears. "I'll kill her. Just you watch. I'll kill her right this very second unless you give yourself up."
Jarick and Victorinth spun around in shock. Her eyes were wide with terror, his with fury.
"Don't do it!" I begged. "We've come this far; you need to get away from here. Run!"
Jarick didn’t listen to me. Instead, he gave his sister a quick hug.
"I'm sorry," he said softly.
Then he walked over to me.
"I'd do anything for you," he kissed me on the cheek.
Tears ran down my face. I knew what was coming next.
"I'll go with you," he said to the Orban, with a defeated look on his face.
"I knew you would."
The gun was removed from my head. At last, the Orban released his grip on me and I tumbled down onto the bed. Reaching up my fingers to my temple, I feel the deep welts that were created from the barrel of the gun. Victorinth and I watch with a deep sadness as Jarick is marched from the room and taken outside to a waiting van.
"Tell me, traitor. Was it worth giving yourself up for a human?" I heard a voice come through the open door.
"Yes," Jarick said. "Anything for her."
Chapter 19
Jarick
As we walked to the van, the Orban captor had his gun pressed into my side. It was pushing into my broken rib causing a riptide of pain to soar through my bones. I’d worked so hard to try and heal my body! Over these last few weeks I was starting to feel the broken bones in my side begin to fuse together and feel normal once again. But now I’m reminded of the injuries I suffered at the hands of the Trojan Group. I remembered the way they pressed the Taser into my body and pulsed hundreds of electrical volts through me. And I remember the way they laughed in my face as I cried out in pain. I’m raging, livid, so completely out of my mind with anger that I wanted to kill the Orban who was walking me to the van.
But there was a noise behind me. It was coming from the motel room and as I turned to look, I saw Madison hurrying out the door, buttoning up her jeans as she ran. Her eyes were ablaze. She ran headlong with the vase from the bedside table in her hand. Before I could say anything, she smashed it into the side of my captor’s face. He crumpled to the ground as a glittering snowstorm of glass rained down over him.
“I always hated that thing,” Madison says.
I was aghast and horrified that she was capable of such an act of violence but I was filled with a tremendous pride and a deep feeling of gratitude.
“Madison!” I pulled her to me. “I can’t believe you did that!”
“I heard what you said. You said you’d do anything for me and I just wanted you to know that I’d do the same for you.”
“I can see that,” I pointing to the unconscious body on the floor.
Victorinth popped her head out the side of the door. She’s waving he
r hands dramatically.
“Hey! We need to get out of here. People will have heard the commotion. I’m surprised they haven’t sent backup already.”
“She’s right,” I nodded.
“But what about this guy?” Madison points to the Orban on the ground.
“Allow me.”
I pulled the gun from between his limp fingers and point it to his own head.
“Girls, look away.”
And I shot directly into his skull with a bullet straight between his eyes. Blood ran down his face and pooled around my shoes. Looking up I see that Madison and Victorinth were shielding their faces with their hands.
“It’s over,” I told them. “We can go now.”
Madison leapt into my arms. I could feel her hot tears cling to my cheek.
“It’s ok,” I soothe her. “You’re safe now. I promise.”
Epilogue
Jarick
We’re on the move again, the adrenaline rushing through us as we make yet another getaway. We left most of our things behind, grabbing only the essentials. It seemed that with every new place we went, the bag on Madison’s back got lighter. We didn’t know where we were heading. All we knew was that we had to distance ourselves from the motel room that was piled high with bodies.
Before we ran, we contemplated taking one of the radio repair vans that the Trojan Group were using, but we dismissed the idea as quickly as we thought of it. It’s too risky. They’d no doubt be tracked and easy to spot if you were a fellow Trojan employee. We decided our best bet was to leave on foot, walking the three miles up the country road to the nearest bus stop. The owners of the motel told us a few days ago that from there we could make it to the nearest town if we ever felt like sightseeing. At the time we’d all shrugged our shoulders and made polite excuses as to why we had to remain indoors, but today I am grateful for the information.
I did, however, feel exposed in the way that a wild animal must feel out in the open as a hunter watched through the crosshairs. As we walked I couldn’t stop myself from looking at all the land around us as I tried to spot an assassin, an Orban who’s intent on seeing us captured or dead.
At least the day light was dwindling and soon enough we would be safe beneath the shroud of darkness. But until the night sky blanketed us in darkness, I was still wary of being seen. No matter how many times I checked that we were alone on the road, I couldn’t stop looking over my shoulder. Every rustling breeze in the leaves was a threat, every passing car filled with potential captors.
“Relax,” Madison linked her hand in mine. “Please. You look as though you’re about to have a heart attack.”
I knew she was just trying to be nice but I could see the terror in her eyes too. I could feel her hand in mine, her newly bitten fingernails were spiking into my palm. She was just as scared as I was, if not more.
“I’m fine,” I lied. “I’m just looking out.”
“Me too,” Victorinth jogged to catch up with us. “How long until we’re at the bus stop?”
“I think it’s only another few minutes away. We’ve been walking for ages already,” said Madison who was squinting through the twilight to see better. “If I’m not mistaken, it’s that big rusty shack thing. Can you see it, Jarick?”
“Yes! I think so. Come on!”
We ran to it, somehow thinking that arriving at the dilapidated structure would bring us some much needed safety. Except when we arrived all we could see was a bench and a timetable. Although there were three walls to shield us from the chilled wind, there wasn’t much else to protect us.
“How long until the next bus?” I ask Madison who was running her finger down the timetable.
“Shit! They’re only every four hours.”
“And when was the last one?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
She looked close to tears and leaned her forehead against the timetable.
“So now what?” Victorinth sat down on the bench and kicked at the dried mud around her feet.
“I don’t know,” Madison grumbled and sniffed.
I wrapped an arm around her and kissed her on the cheek.
“We’ll be ok. As long as we stick together, we’ll always be ok.”
I was trying to sound sure of myself but my voice said otherwise. It was shaky and nervous, a sign that I didn’t know what we were meant to do from one minute to the next. Madison tucked her hair behind her ears and looked at me.
“You always know what to say,” she kissed me back.
The three of us sat on the bench in silence for a moment. We could see out into the cornfields as the sky burned a dusky orange. I suddenly realized that if we waited until the next bus it would be dark. I was about to voice my concerns but Victorinth spoke first.
“Benzen talked about being on a bus, didn’t he?”
“I think so,” I tried to cast my mind back. “I think he used to get one to visit Allison.”
“Yeah … I think he did. He never spoke much about them though.”
“They’re just like cars,” Madison explains. “But bigger and have more people on them.”
“Ah…”
“And by the way, Jarick, you’re still partially in your Orban form. I can see your blue hands poking out of your sweater.”
“Oh!”
In my hastiness to leave the motel I had forgotten to properly change back into my human disguise, a mistake I’ve never made before. And with all the worry I had about being seen when I hadn’t even changed my appearance!
“I’m sorry. I’m an idiot. I can’t believe I did that.”
“Don’t ever call yourself an idiot!” Madison raged. “You’re allowed to make mistakes.”
I didn’t say anything. I felt ashamed of myself.
“Hey, look at me,” she placed her delicate fingers under my chin and raised my gaze to meet hers. “Don’t talk about yourself that way. No one here thinks you’re an idiot. Especially not me … just remember that you killed about twenty guys back there with your bare hands.”
“Actually one of those was with a gun,” I interrupted.
“Sure. ONE of them was with a gun,” Madison rolled her eyes.
“The police must be there by now,” I mused. “Someone would have heard the shots.”
“I have a feeling that place isn’t unknown to having the occasional gun shot,” she smirks. “And that heart shaped bed…” she shivered. “I’m actually kinda glad to be out of there.”
We share a laugh. Despite me not knowing much about the quality of hotels, I did at least recognize that the motel we were just in was disgusting. That much was obvious, but in a strange way, I was kinda sad to say goodbye. Every room we’d shared over the last couple months had been a home in a way, a refuge in which this strange makeshift family could feel safe. Now it would seem we were on a quest to find another home and who knows how long we will be there. If we ever make it there at all.
“Hey,” Victorinth stood up. “What’s that noise?”
“It sounds like a truck,” Madison stands up too. “Or a bus!”
“It is a bus!” I see it approach. “I thought we missed it.”
As it pulled up to the stop, the doors glided open and the driver smiles showing his rotten teeth.
“Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I’m never normally this late but there was a hold up. The motel back there is heaving with cops and all sorts of folk. Looks like there’s been some trouble. You’re not staying there are you?”
We all looked at one another then back at the driver.
“No,” Madison said.
And we climbed on board.
The rain was pelting down outside. The news was on the television at the end of the bed. There was a frantic reporter telling the viewers about a mass murder that took place in a quaint motel in Massachusetts. Madison and I didn’t have to say a word about it, we knew what the other was thinking. We stared at the screen in horrified silence and hoped that they didn’t mention us.
“There are three people wanted in connection with the murders,” the reporter spoke solemnly into her microphone. “A young woman in her twenties with a slim build and light brown hair. She’s travelling with a male and a female….”
“Oh my God!” Madison clapped her hands over her ears. “I can’t believe this. I don’t want to believe this!”
She pulled down her hands and looked at me.
“We’re in so much trouble aren’t we?”
“I don’t think there’s been a single day since we met that we haven’t been in trouble.”
We both laughed.
“You’re right. What’s changed?”
“Nothing … we’re still fugitives and we most likely always will be.”
At last, after a thankfully uneventful bus journey, we found our way into a nice little town called Meridian. It was big enough to get lost in with a somewhat large population but it was certainly not as big as New York, and it was definitely more populated than the last place that was in the middle of nowhere. Right now it seemed as though we’d found the perfect place. Of course Victorinth had her own room next door now, which I’m sure she feels more comfortable in, although I know she misses us. She’s been knocking against the wall every hour just to let us know where she is.
Meanwhile, Madison and I are snuggled beneath the covers with the minibar stocked up beside us. She handed me a beer and I took a sip before placing the bottle down on the bedside table with a clunk.
“I thought you were never going to drink again,” she raised her eyebrows at me.
“I changed my mind.”
“You’re fitting into the human race rather well,” she giggled. “Anyway, I think it’s about time we turn this off,” she grabbed the remote and switched off the television.
The room was plunged into a dark silence.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said as she ran her fingers down the center of my chest. “I think it’s about time I return the favor.”