The Immortal Coil

by J. Armand

  I couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe it was the thought of what my parents’ happy faces must have looked like while they were hanging the plates, or maybe it was the fact that they would never get to see their thoughtful surprise come to fruition. I couldn’t fight off the feeling of emptiness creeping up inside me. I had no home, no family, and nowhere to go now. I dropped my bag on the floor and sat on the bed with my head in my hands, fighting the urge to cry. I could hear footsteps approaching my room, but didn’t look up.

  The footsteps paused at the doorway before continuing inside.

  “I’m sorry.” It was Lyle apologizing again. He took a seat next to me.

  Hearing Lyle tell me he was sorry made me wonder if there was anything really left for me to lose after this. “I’m going to stay here.” I kept my head down, not wanting him to see me with tears in my eyes again.

  “You can’t, it’s not an option,” he said, and picked my bag up off the floor.

  “I thought it was over when Noah killed those people in New York and let me go. The Archios would take care of the mutants, my parents would have all the answers for my infection, and life would go back to normal. But he was right. I’ll never escape this life now,” I mumbled, pulling away from him as he tried to drag me by the arm.

  “I know it must feel like the end. But it’s not.”

  I had already messed up Lyle’s life back in New York by getting him involved, and now there was a good chance he would be killed because of his association with me, just like my family. The best thing I could do for him now was part ways, but the little I knew of Lyle so far told me he would be too much of a good guy to just walk away.

  I stood up, looked at my bag in Lyle’s hand, and summoned it to my side.

  “Come on, man. We can talk on the way if you’re up to it.” He gave me an encouraging smile.

  I stepped back, eyeing the gun in the holster under his jacket. Confused, Lyle looked at me and then down at his gun. I pulled it through the air to float in front of me, pointing it at his head.

  “Dorian, what are you doing?” He spoke calmly with his hands up. “If this is because of what I did in there, getting revenge won’t make things better.”

  “This isn’t about my parents. I don’t want to mess up anyone else’s life, so we go our separate ways here.” I was going to miss Lyle’s optimism.

  “Dorian, you haven’t messed up anyone’s life. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have survived by myself back in your apartment building. I owe you my life.” Lyle was holding his hand out to take the gun, but I kept backing it away just out of reach.

  “I don’t want to hurt you. Just get as far away from me as you can.” Whether or not he really felt none of this was my fault or he was just trying to talk the gun down didn’t matter. I had to scare him off. I held my hand out in front of me and knocked him onto his back down the hallway.

  I stared at him, not knowing what else to do as he got back up.

  “This is what they want,” he groaned. “They want you vulnerable and alone, but you’re not. Whoever tried to kidnap you is still out there. It’s too much of a coincidence that this keeps happening around you. They infected your parents knowing you’d be coming back here. Don’t just throw yourself at their mercy.”

  Lyle sounded like he was pleading for my life and not his own. He was throwing away a free ticket to leave all of this behind, one that I wouldn’t have so nobly ignored if I was him.

  “It’s never going to end,” I said and placed the gun to my head. “The police are being manipulated, my parents are dead, and no one can help. They’ll never stop and no one around me will be safe.”

  “No! Dorian, don’t do this,” Lyle yelled. “We can get help. You aren’t alone, don’t waste your life like this.” Then it hit me. Something Lyle said reminded me what of Noah told me before I left. Don’t waste my time by getting yourself killed. “Dorian, listen to me,” Lyle continued trying to reason with me.

  I didn’t know why, but Noah had risked healing me with his blood and trained me to use my powers in a way I never thought possible. If anyone could help, it was him. He taught me for a reason and it couldn’t have been just because he was bored.

  I surrendered the gun, placing it down on the floor between us. Lyle approached carefully with his hands out and replaced the gun in his holster.

  “I’m sorry.” I kept my head down, too embarrassed to look at him.

  “Don’t be. You’re a good person and considering everything going on, you’re handling it pretty well. Just promise you won’t give up.”

  “I think I have an idea.” I started to explain, but police sirens outside cut in.

  “How the hell did they get here so soon?” Lyle exclaimed. I tossed him a clean shirt from the laundry to change into as we made our way downstairs.

  I stopped short, and doubled back into the hall by the kitchen. Lyle grabbed a knife from the counter and put it in his back pocket. Flashlights were already shining in the back windows as the police searched the premises. A loud banging on the front door shook the house. I looked to Lyle, hoping he would have some professional insight into the situation. He motioned to go back upstairs and led the way, making sure we weren’t spotted.

  The banging on the door continued, followed by the voices of several police officers talking. I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but it probably wasn’t good news for us. We made it to the upstairs hall unnoticed until Lyle tripped into the laundry basket by the bathroom. He tried to catch his balance using the bookshelf on his left, but didn’t see my mom’s porcelain figurines. I could just imagine the noise they would make as they all fell and shattered. Through sheer will, I froze Lyle and the figurines in midair before they could make contact with the floor. I floated the figures safely back to their shelf and put Lyle back on his feet. He gave me a thumbs-up and walked carefully to my room.

  My room faced the back of the house and overlooked a decent-sized lawn. Lyle immediately went to the window and checked the situation outside.

  “They’re going to —” Lyle didn’t get to finish before the sound of the front door being kicked open startled us. “—force their way in.”

  “Think you can break our fall?” Lyle whispered as he opened the window. He started climbing out, not giving me much choice.

  I watched as he jumped down to the patio. I had to resist the urge to check behind me when I heard the cops climbing the stairs. Halfway through his fall, I caught Lyle and levitated him to safety the rest of the way. I could hear the footsteps of the police right outside my door. Lyle was waving for me to jump from below. I wasn’t sure what made me more nervous, getting caught by the police or falling to my doom. I remembered practicing with Noah and realized at least Lyle wouldn’t be waiting to stab me on the ground below. I guess that was the point of Noah’s unorthodox training; after that, everything else didn’t seem so bad.

  I held my breath and jumped down. This was getting easier and easier each time. I was able to slow my fall and glide past the patio onto the grass. Lyle ran over to me from where he was crouched against the house. He pointed out that the window was still open. I tried closing it as gently as possible, but I still didn’t have the hang of fine manipulation, and the window slammed shut.

  My stomach clenched and my heart sank in my chest. I heard the police shouting inside the house, but couldn’t tell if it was because of the noise or the discovery of my parents’ bodies. My body began to feel cold and numb and my bite wound throbbed under the bandage. I turned to Lyle, who was just staring at me. Everything was going dark and my head spun like I was going down a drain. I forced myself out of it and looked down at my arm. The veins running the length of my forearm were darkening. Lyle still stood there, but wasn’t saying anything. He jumped back when I looked him in the eyes.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked while holding my bad arm.

  “The whites of your eyes are all black, like … those things.” Lyle looked fre
aked out, but regrouped after remembering our situation. “We have to move.”

  The backyard was fenced off and on the other side were trees that went on for a few yards before meeting up with the road. Lyle hopped the fence and I took a running jump, boosting myself farther up at the highest point. I immediately dropped like a rock after clearing the fence. There was a shooting pain behind my eyes and my ears started to ring. The sinister death rattle of the mutant creatures reverberated in my head. Whatever was inside me causing the infection was calling out. It felt like something was squirming its way through every blood vessel in my body. I was on the ground gasping for breath and feeling pins and needles over my entire body.

  Lyle tried to help me up, but my body wasn’t responding. I could hear his voice in the distance calling my name even though he was right there next to me. I needed Noah’s blood again to fight off the infection, or else I would turn into one of those monsters. But after a minute, the painful sensation began to subside.

  “Every time I use my powers, the infection gets worse. I think Noah’s blood is starting to wear off,” I told Lyle as I got to my feet. We started making our way through the trees as quietly as possible, as if that still mattered.

  We were almost to the road when we heard gunshots ring out from behind us. At first, I thought we were being shot at, but the sound was too far back. It was coming from the house.

  “We need to go back.” Lyle stopped.

  That was a terrible idea. “Did you forget that you're wanted? If we go back we’re going to get attacked either by mutants or police. At least the cops all have guns.”

  “Avoiding arrest isn’t more important than saving lives. I’ll never get it off my conscience if they die because I didn’t go back to help. Every man counts, and you have superpowers. If they’re shooting, then they aren’t in on this like the police in New York.” Lyle started running back to the house before I could finish my extensive list of reasons not to.

  The sound of gunfire continued and they were up to about thirty shots. I couldn’t believe whatever the cops were fighting was taking that many bullets and they had to be at pretty close range. I ran after Lyle, wondering what they were even shooting at. Only my parents’ bodies were in the house, but I thought they weren’t coming back anymore after Lyle took care of them.

  My question was answered soon after the gunshots had finished. A large shadow was closing in from overhead just before we reached the fence. Lyle was still in the lead by a good ten feet. He grabbed his gun, but was only able to get one shot off before the cause of the shadow overtook him.

  I could see the shape of a man twice the size of Lyle bearing down on him. He smacked the gun out of Lyle’s hand and lifted him into the air by the throat. Lyle grabbed the knife in his back pocket and jammed it into his attacker’s arm. The man didn’t even flinch; he just used his free hand to pull the knife out and tossed it aside.

  I ran up to them, shouting to get the guy’s attention. I could hear Lyle gasping for air as he resorted to kicking the man as hard as he could, but still to no effect.

  The man turned to face me, his murderous intent made crystal clear by his sadistic gaze. His eyes were glowing in the moonlight, and judging by the length of his facial hair he hadn’t shaved in years. He was at least six foot eight and dressed in tattered jeans and long coat with an equally torn and dirty shirt underneath. Each fingernail ended in a sharpened nail and when he snarled I could see his incisors were dramatically longer than normal. This wasn’t another mutant and it wasn’t one of the Archios either. He was nothing like them; he was more of a hulking feral beast than a supermodel.

  Aurelia had said the man who was after me used to be an Archios, but this guy certainly didn’t look the part. This one had to be responsible for infecting my parents, or at least working with whoever had.

  Anger boiled up inside of me. I wanted to make him pay. I wanted to kill him, but he’d already shrugged off being shot at and stabbed like it was nothing. I had to help Lyle, who was still struggling to break free, but I wasn’t sure what I could do against someone his size.

  The behemoth of a man was coming my way, dragging Lyle behind him. I could see the kitchen knife lying next to a tree. I tried willing it to me, but the slithering feeling in my veins began again. I heard the same eerie growling as before and so did the man. He stopped in his tracks, looking around confused for the source of the sound.

  The man turned his attention back to me and smiled wickedly. He said something, but I couldn’t hear anything other than the death rattle coming from what was in my veins. I could see him tighten his grip around Lyle’s neck. Someone his size could have killed Lyle easily, but he seemed to enjoy toying with him and feeling him suffer. Lyle went limp on the ground and the man held him up for me to see. I wanted to shout, but couldn’t open my mouth. I wanted to summon the knife to me, but had no concentration. Everything swirled again as I started to lose control and black out.

  I could hear Lyle’s voice yelling, but couldn’t make out the words. I was strangely numb. I wasn’t panicked from the attack anymore, or happy to hear Lyle’s voice letting me know he wasn’t dead. My heart wasn’t even racing. In fact, it was surprisingly slow.

  I tried to ask what happened as my vision returned. I was still standing in the same place. “Do it again!” Lyle yelled as he crawled to where his weapons were thrown. “Dorian, snap out of it! Hit him again! Quick!” Lyle was still shouting, but I didn’t understand what he meant. What had I done?

  The noise in my head faded, as did the cold slithering feeling in my veins. A few feet away the man was reeling in pain while holding his shoulder where his arm should be.

  Lyle got up and grabbed his knife and gun. He ran over and shoved the gun in the man’s mouth, firing until the clip was empty. The man howled in pain and grabbed Lyle by the leg, pulling him down. He easily overpowered Lyle and tried to sink his fangs into Lyle’s neck, but Lyle stabbed him in the throat, causing him to stagger.

  “Dorian, do something!” Lyle shouted at me. I just stood there, not sure what I should be doing or what that strange feeling was inside me.

  The man pulled the knife out of his throat and attempted to stab Lyle in the forehead with it when I stopped him. I put my hand out, directing his movements. I could feel him struggling against my will and he was incredibly strong. I made him turn the knife to his own chest and stab himself through the heart. His eyes went dull and his body went lifeless as though someone had flicked the off switch on a homicidal machine. His tremendous carcass lay motionless on the grass with the knife sticking out of his chest.

  Lyle got up once again and retrieved the knife. Instantly, the psychopath sprang up and leapt on him. Lyle turned just in time and replaced the knife in his heart, causing him to shut down like before.

  “What the hell was that about?” Lyle screamed at the body, confused and furious. He kicked the guy in the stomach, but there wasn’t so much as a flinch.

  “I guess staking just paralyzes them.” I stared down at the corpse. “Are you okay?”

  “I’ve been better, but I’ll live.” Lyle cracked his neck and dusted off his jeans. “How do we kill this thing now before someone finds it and takes the knife out?”

  “We should burn the body to make sure he’s dead for good, but there’s no way we are going back to my house now to get stuff to start a fire.” It was a miracle that more police hadn’t arrived by now, but I didn’t want to push it.

  Lyle kicked around in the dirt by some tree roots and picked up some sticks. “These are too wet. It must have rained here recently and the humidity doesn’t help.”

  “Dorian?” he asked suddenly. “Where’s the body?”

  I turned around to check. The body was gone, along with our brief moment of levity. We looked at each other and then all around us.

  “Let’s talk about what exactly you did before, and why you didn’t do more of it a lot sooner.”

  “I don’t know. The infection took over whe
n I was trying to get your knife. I blacked out and when I came to you were shouting at me.”

  “You don’t remember tearing his arm off and it turning to dust?” Lyle pointed to a small pile of ashes a few feet away. “The mutant noises coming out of you? The demonic stare?” He was making me sound scarier than the mutants.

  “No. I heard the noises in my head, but that’s it. I didn’t think I was that strong.”

  “Well, you saved my life again, but you weren’t in control, and that’s a problem. No crazy psychic powers unless we’re being attacked, then feel free to go nuts.”

  I led the way toward the back road and kept checking over my shoulder at every moving branch. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched, but Lyle didn’t seem to notice as he kept talking. “I’m out of bullets, not that they did much anyway.”

  “I need to go back to France.”

  “How did I know you were going to say that? Right now you’re the only link I have to figuring any of this out, so I guess I’m coming along,” Lyle said as we reached the road behind my house. “Which way?”

  “There’s a train station a couple miles up the road this way,” I said, and pointed the way to our left. “We can take it to reach the airport.”

  We walked in silence to the station, each of us trying to process the night’s course of events. The only sound around was the chirping of crickets and the occasional breeze. The road we were on was only one lane and lined on both sides with trees. The area wasn’t very well-lit. Streetlights were few and far between here. Even though this was where I had grown up, the place felt foreign to me now at night.

  The laughter of a man off in the distance broke the silence. It wasn’t jovial good-joke laughter. It was the maniacal “I’m going to get you” kind. We took off running the rest of the way to the train station with the sound of someone crashing through the trees after us.

  A gathering of lights ahead marked our destination. Lyle checked behind us as we ran. “Yeah, don’t look back,” he warned.