Shine: Season One (Shine Season Book 1)

by William Bernhardt

  “Stand down.”

  “But Chief—”

  “You heard my orders.”

  “If we’re going to capture those Shines—”

  “The situation is being handled. By abler hands than yours. And believe me—in a few minutes, you do not want to be anywhere near Chronicle Tower.”

  A pause. Hesitation. That woman had a problem taking orders from anyone. Even under circumstances like these. “Understood, Chief. We’ll stand down.”

  He touched his glasses stem and shifted to another link. “Dr. Coutant?”

  There was no response.

  “Dr. Coutant? Where are you?” He pressed the button again. “Damn it, Coutant, answer me!”

  Nothing but static.

  84

  Dream watched as the metallic plank extended to meet the choppercar dock. A few moments later, the rear window on Trent’s penthouse office retracted.

  “And here we are again,” Dream said. “The last place on earth I ever wanted to see again.” She shoved Trent out of the car. “Shut that damn thing off.”

  Trent moved hastily onto the plank. A few moments later, he was in his office. He reached under his desk and pulled out a small device about the size of his hand.

  “This is a transmitter,” he explained. “It links to the much larger apparatus on the roof.”

  “Do I look like someone who cares?” Dream said. “Save the explanations for Gearhead. Just turn the damn thing off.”

  He did. Only a few seconds later, she felt her strength returning. Everyone else might think her Shine was the least of them. But to her it was everything.

  “Thanks, Trent. Now get back in the car.”

  “No. I won’t be returning with you. I have other plans.”

  “Like what? Finding some more Shine slaves to drool over?”

  “Don’t presume to understand everything that’s going on here, little girl.”

  “I might know more about it than you do, you pathetic little dog biscuit.”

  He started toward the door.

  “Do you seriously think I’m going to let you get away? After what you tried to do?”

  “And how do you think you’re going to stop me? By reading my dreams?”

  She ran around in front of him. “Did you hear what I said? Get back in your flashy midlife crisis choppercar.”

  His lips curled. “I turned off the cage because I can see that the monster will do more damage than the Shines in the short term. But don’t for a minute mistake that for an alliance. You Shines are stupid little whores. Abominations. And you’re the sluttiest of them all.”

  Her teeth clenched tightly together. “Get. In. The damn. Car.”

  “I will not.”

  Her hands began to glow. She stretched her arms out to their full length.

  “You will,” she whispered.

  Something happened.

  Trent catapulted back, off his feet and flying. He hit the desk, tumbled head over heels, then fell through the window, thudding down on the plank.

  He looked up, dazed. “What…are you?”

  Dream slowly walked to him. “Something you never imagined possible.”

  Trent reached behind his back—and withdrew the letter opener. He raised it to throw—

  And never completed the motion. Her arms shot out, glowing.

  Trent flew off the plank into the air. He screamed.

  She stood at the window, bracing herself against the high winds, watching as he plummeted sixty stories.

  This would be hard to explain to Aura and her merry band of rebels.

  And even harder to explain to the others.

  ***

  Harriet felt power surge back into her body.

  Thank Gandhi. With her Shine back in full force her abilities increased a thousandfold. And she would need everything she had.

  This signal was unlike anything she had ever detected. Something had completely taken hold of those officers’ minds, and it wasn’t coming from their superior officers, either. It was coming from much further away. It wasn’t radio, or cellular, or wifi, or anything else she recognized.

  This was a completely foreign technology. Completely…alien in design.

  And a word kept repeating itself in every transmission she managed to lock onto.

  Helsinki.

  She knew she didn’t have the power to track the signal to its source. But she thought that if she created enough static, blasted it with enough interfering signals, she might be able to interrupt it. At least for a little while.

  She focused so intensely it made her head hurt. She had never worked her abilities so hard in her life. But she had to. She had serious doubts that Tank could take down that monster, even with her full strength restored. But she was certain Tank couldn’t do it and dodge gunfire at the same time.

  She concentrated so hard her head hurt and her knees trembled.

  Shine, she told herself, brows knitted together, thinking as hard as she could possibly think. Shine!

  85

  Aura felt power crackling through her body. She felt like herself again.

  “Dream did it,” she murmured. “I can Shine.”

  “Me too,” Twinge said. “And listen.” She paused a moment. “The cops have stopped firing.”

  “Thank Gandhi. Now if we can just—”

  The Creature leaped forward, crashing down on the concrete. It swished its hands through the air. Those hands were the size of a large pizza. And it didn’t have fingers. It had claws. Long strong claws, twice the length of normal fingers and sharp as knives.

  Please be careful, Tank. Please.

  The Creature started toward them again. Tank leaped in to intercept.

  The Creature roared, bending forward. Its face was covered with pulsing blisters and oozing sores. The skin seemed to shift and twitch in a chilling, fluid way. It seemed to become more repellent with each passing minute. Almost as if it were…deteriorating.

  But there was still something human about the eyes. Some semblance of a person. Some person trapped.

  Someone not completely different from herself, when she was locked up, isolated, confined, tortured.

  This was just the latest iteration of something that had been going on for far too long.

  Twinge touched her on the shoulder. “I’m going after it. Before it tears Tank apart.”

  “How?”

  She shook her head. “Something’s…happening to me. Inside. I can’t describe it. I’m changing.”

  “I don’t think there’s anything you can do.”

  “That thing still has a body. Internal organs of some sort. And whatever it’s got, I can mess with it.” Twinge rushed forward. “Hey, Ugly! Look at me!”

  Twinge dove under the Creature’s arm and behind it.

  “Over here, loser!”

  The Creature roared and pivoted. Twinge bolted to the side.

  The Creature howled again. Tank jumped into the fray on the other side. The two kept the Creature disoriented, distracted, torn between two possible food sources.

  Now if they could just think of a way to kill it.

  Twinge moved about a hundred feet away, trying to lure the Creature from the other Shines. But it hesitated. For the first time, she thought she could detect the Creature thinking.

  It wanted to go after Twinge. But something kept pulling it back to the larger food supply.

  Twinge moved closer, shouting. “You want some Shine? Come after me, you ugly gargoyle. Catch me if—”

  The Creature whirled around, surprising them all at its speed.

  “Get back!” she shouted, not nearly fast enough.

  The creature caught Twinge in the face and lifted her into the air. A claw jabbed into her face.

  Into her eye.

  “No!”

  Twinge screamed, loud and blood-curdling. Tank tackled the Creature around the legs, making it lurch forward. The Creature stumbled, flinging Twinge’s body away in the process.

  Twi
nge rolled across the shambled street, then crashed into a curb.

  After that, she didn’t move at all.

  86

  Aura’s eyes widened. “Twinge!”

  She wanted to run to her. But the Creature stood between them.

  Tank appeared at her side. “I got this.”

  “How are you even standing up?”

  “Never mind. You all should retreat. Get somewhere safe.”

  “Tank, you’re exhausted. You can’t possibly—”

  “Just watch me.”

  Something black twitched under the skin on the left side of Tank’s face.

  She pretended she didn’t notice.

  Tank leaped forward. But this time, Tank did not directly engage the Creature. She just kept it occupied. Diverted. It swung, she dodged. She taunted it, drawing its attention to her. She worked like an outmatched prizefighter. She knew she couldn’t get a knockout, so she tried to go the distance.

  Tank knew she couldn’t beat it, especially not in her current exhausted condition. She was just buying them time.

  Mnemo managed to pull Twinge out of the fray while Tank kept the Creature occupied.

  She knelt beside Twinge.

  Her face was hideously mauled. Her left eyeball had been punctured.

  She clasped Twinge’s hand and concentrated. She scanned, trying to find the right part of her brain, the damaged tissue, the severed cartilage and tendons. Somehow, in the midst of all this chaos, she had to focus.

  First order of business was stopping the tremendous bleeding. She put Twinge’s natural blood clotting into hyperdrive. She knew clotting was normally activated whenever tissue damage instigated protein release causing platelets to adhere to the damaged area, thus releasing fibrinogen and turning liquid blood into a solid and clotting.

  If she triggered the release of enough fibrin, it would stop the bleeding. If she did too much, it would turn Twinge’s blood into cookie dough.

  She concentrated, channeling all her ability and then some.

  She heard the fighting in the background, shouting and screams. She remained focused.

  The bleeding stopped. The wounds closed. But she couldn’t repair the eye. It was too far gone, too damaged.

  She’d done all the healing she could, but something inside her wanted to do more.

  Healing is just the beginning.

  She pulled away, her mouth gaping. What was that?

  “Let me help.”

  She glanced over her shoulder.

  Dr. Coutant stood behind her. Holding a syringe.

  “Get away!” She shoved Coutant backward, knocking her to the pavement. “I won’t let you hurt my friends.”

  “I came to help.”

  “I’m sure.” She pinned the woman down on the pavement, pressing her hand around her throat. “I noticed all the remorse you had when you were torturing me.”

  “You know nothing about me. You don’t even know that I’m—” She stopped short.

  “What?” She tightened her grip. “You’re what?”

  Behind her, she heard a pained cry. The Creature had landed a solid blow on Tank. Tank stayed on her feet, but she couldn’t take many more like that.

  She heard a squeal of tires. The getaway car careened to a stop a few feet away. Gearhead got out. “What’s Coutant doing here?”

  “I don’t know. We’ve got to help Tank somehow.”

  Coutant struggled against her stranglehold. “I can…help Tank.”

  “Bull. I let you go and you’ll chainmail us all.”

  “I won’t.” She held up the syringe. “This is a chemical antivirus. It will reverse the PI process.”

  “Talk English.”

  “It will slow that monster down. It’s the only thing that will.”

  “And you just happen to have it in your pocket?”

  “I had it developed a long time ago. After an earlier test subject—a rat—almost killed me. Use it, Aura. That monster isn’t just venting undirected anger. It wants you. It wants the Shine. Its primitive, infantile mind believes that consuming Shine will make it more powerful.”

  “It’s a Shine…vampire?”

  “It’s genetically programmed to crave the enzymes found only in Shine blood. That’s how they guaranteed it would attack you.”

  “Harriet said it wanted to eat us…”

  “Harriet was right. So let me up.”

  “You must think I’m incredibly stupid. You work with the people who are trying to kill us. Project Intensify.”

  “I didn’t know Estes was going to unleash this beast. It was supposed to be an experiment, not a weapon. I tried to get him to pull back but he wouldn’t listen.”

  Harriet appeared in the background. “I can confirm that she has been in communication with Estes. And Estes disconnected while she was talking.”

  “I still don’t trust you.”

  “They’ll do anything to control you. Or kill you.”

  “Why are they so scared of us? We’re not that powerful.”

  “Yet. Haven’t you sensed changes taking place? Haven’t you sensed your powers evolving? Becoming even more than they were before? Why do you think everyone keeps trying to convince you that Shine is evil? A problem. An addiction. Because they want to hold you back. They want you to repress the enormous power you hold within you.”

  “I still see no reason to trust you.”

  “I can help you, Aura, if you’ll just—”

  She was interrupted by the sound of Tank crashing into the wall behind her.

  Tank didn’t get up.

  Nothing stood between them and the Creature.

  “Trust me,” Coutant continued. “Trust me or we’re all dead.”

  She didn’t know what to do. But the truth was, she had no choice.

  She let go. Coutant scrambled to her feet.

  The Creature rushed toward them.

  “How are you going to deliver the injection?”

  “There’s only one way.” Coutant held the syringe over her head like a spear and rushed toward the Creature. The two careened toward one another. When they came close, the Creature swung. Coutant ducked, then leaped up into the air, the syringe aimed at the Creature’s temple.

  A second before the syringe connected, the Creature swatted her like a fly.

  The syringe crashed down on the pavement. And shattered.

  The Creature picked Coutant up, its eyes flame red. It squeezed her with more pressure than any human could possibly bear. Then it flung her aside.

  Somehow, Tank got back to her feet and launched herself at the Creature, pushing it back.

  While Tank struggled, Aura knelt by Dr. Coutant’s side. Coutant bled through her eyes and ears. A huge bloodstain welled up under her blouse.

  She tried to heal Coutant, but it was impossible. The damage was too extensive. Coutant would be dead in minutes.

  “Listen to me, Aura,” Coutant could barely keep her eyes open. “That science experiment gone bad…is just a diversion. They’ve planted a PK-10.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A very big nasty bomb. Just…Just like the one that took out Seattle. And Santa Monica.”

  “Then—“

  “That’s right. It wasn’t your fault. Or Perfume’s. You were both framed. They planted the bombs, waited for a Shine to Shine, then exploded them.”

  “So we’d be blamed.”

  “And that will happen here too, if you don’t disarm it.”

  “Where is it?”

  Her voice crackled. “In…your getaway car. They planted it after Gearhead left.”

  “How do we stop it?”

  “You can’t. If you try to disarm the bomb, it will explode. You’ve got to get it out of here. You don’t have much time.”

  “Why are you helping us?”

  “I never wanted to work for those people.” Her eyelids fluttered. “I had no choice. They forced me. They knew…They knew about…my daughter. The only way I could keep her safe
was to help them.”

  Icy fingers clutched at her heart. “Who is she? Who’s your daughter?”

  Coutant’s hand covered her own. “I think you know.”

  “What are you saying? Tell me!”

  A soft smile played on Coutant’s lips. “Despite everything I was forced to do…I have always loved you.”

  “Are you seriously suggesting that—”

  Too late. Coutant was gone.

  She stood up. She had a million things to consider—but one took immediate precedence. “Shines, listen to me. There’s a bomb. We—-”

  She heard the car engine roar.

  Gearhead drove away. In their getaway car.

  She pressed the stem on her glasses. “Gearhead! What are you doing?”

  “Getting rid of the bomb. I heard what Coutant said.”

  “You don’t have much time.”

  “Less than a minute, if this readout is correct.”

  “Park it somewhere safe and get away.”

  “No time. There’s a playground on the other side of the Bradbury. If it blows there, no one will be hurt.”

  Except you, she thought. “Gearhead, you should’ve waited for us to discuss—”

  Mnemo cut into the transmission. “Gearhead! Don’t do this!”

  “Sorry, sweetheart. No choice.”

  “We could draw straws.”

  “No. I’m the least valuable member of this team.”

  “Not to me! Gearhead, come back!”

  Several seconds passed before Gearhead spoke again. “There’s nothing to discuss. I’m not going to let some stupid bomb take out the woman I love. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Mnemo. I’d do anything for you.”

  “Gearhead!” Mnemo cried. “Come back!”

  She heard a sharp intake of air. “For that matter,” Gearhead continued, “I love all of you. More than enough to do this. Thank you for bringing us together, Aura.”

  “Gearhead, get out of that car.”

  “Say goodbye to my friends for me.”

  “No!”

  From several blocks away, they heard the explosion. The ground rumbled. Even the Creature was knocked off its feet. The surrounding buildings crumbled in a rain of dust.

  Black clouds rose over what was left of downtown.

  And finally, the titanic noise was followed by a hideous silence.