“That sounds nice,” Liz said. She was gazing at me with a look of admiration in her eyes, although I wasn’t exactly sure why. I tried to continue the conversation before the staring lasted too long.
“So then, that’s why I was able to penetrate your shield? Because your ability knew I wasn’t a threat?” I wondered, feeling like we finally had our answer.
“No, it’s not.” Liz said quietly. “Remember, I said I can stop people from coming in if I want. And I did want to.”
We all remained quiet, patiently waiting for her to continue. It was clear we were missing something, so we just had to wait for her to explain the key piece. After a few seconds, she did. “My shield’s weakness…” She then paused and sighed heavily, closing her eyes momentarily.
Ava patted her arm. “Take your time.”
Liz glanced up at her and then started over. “My shield is mental in nature, sort of like a telekinetic barrier…and my weakness is any ability that is also mental in nature. That’s why I could be brainwashed by that woman.” She scoffed then. “I was convinced that man was my brother. Really, he’s a monster who killed my parents…and I protected him for years.” She then abruptly looked up at me, her expression furious. “I’m glad you killed him.” The moment she said it, her expression was instantly apologetic for her sudden outburst, and looking down at her lap. “Sorry.”
I didn’t want to dig into her past by probing for more information, so I tried to move the conversation along. "It's okay...so then, I guess that means that I must control my blood with my mind. Sound about right?”
Suddenly, Liz’s head snapped up at me and her eyes were wide. “You don’t know?” She whispered in disbelief.
I glanced at Trinity, her expression just as confused as mine. Her eyes narrowed as she looked back at Liz. “Know what?” She asked.
Liz looked up at Trinity and then back at me. “I’m just surprised you don’t know how your ability works.”
“And you do?” Trinity asked, her tone a little hard.
Liz nodded, keeping her eyes on me. “I…I asked…while I was there…about the guy who saved me.” She hesitated, still holding my gaze, but continued to talk about me in third person, speaking to Trinity. “There was a women who stayed with me the entire time – a scientist – she was willing to tell me about him…” She stopped then, and it was uncomfortably quiet. She finally continued, speaking directly to me. “You aren’t controlling your blood with your mind…your blood is your mind. Or rather, your body and mind aren’t separated like normal people – they are one unit, completely inseparable. When I asked what she meant, she told me that even if you lost your head – your brain destroyed – you wouldn’t lose your mind even for a second. Your body would just regrow your head, as if it was replacing a fingernail.”
I was so focused on what Liz was saying that I didn’t notice Trinity’s reaction. My first thought had been concern that Liz knew I couldn’t be killed. I had figured that her knowing would reduce the effect of my performance earlier, but I guess I did say that even if she ‘tried’ to kill me I wouldn’t hurt her. But then I realized from the corner of my eye that Trinity was trembling. I looked up at her to see her staring at me, her eyes wide with fear. And for the first time, I knew it wasn’t a fear for me. For the first time, it was a fear of me.
Everyone’s attention snapped to Trinity when they saw my expression. Ava twisted in her seat and froze. Likely, none of them had ever seen Trinity afraid before – certainly not terrified like she was now. I wasn’t sure what to say, I didn’t understand why she was looking at me with such panic, but thankfully she had the courage to speak.
“Jake…” She whispered, her voice trembling. “I…I know what you eat…”
Dread filled my chest as I prepared for the worst. Whatever it was, it must be horrible. The moment she said it, everyone except for Liz glanced at me and noticeably leaned away. They had no idea what it was, but clearly if it terrified Trinity then it must be horrible.
Trinity’s wide eyes never left mine. “Jake…your ability…it’s vampiric in nature…you’re a blood drinker…”
As she revealed what she thought she knew about my diet needs, both Ava and Zayden relaxed a little. Clearly, they were both just as confused as I was as to why that was so bad. Sure, it was different, but people donated blood all the time. It’s not like I would have to kill someone, unlike her ability. Why was she so upset about that revelation?
I glanced over at Zane finally to see that he had decisively not relaxed. If anything, he was more tense now that he understood why Trinity was so worked up. Clearly, there was something only the two of them knew, and I had to know what it was.
I looked back at Trinity to see that her eyes were unfocused now, and she was shaking.
“Trinity,” I whispered.
Her eyes instantly focused on mine again. “What?” She asked, her voice barely audible.
“I would never hurt you.” I tried to keep my tone as gentle as possible.
She nodded, tears suddenly appearing in her eyes. “I know,” she whispered. She then lied. “I’m fine.”
“Trinity, you’re shaking.”
She slowly held her hand up and looked at her trembling fingers like they weren’t hers. It was like her mind was lost in its own world. When she didn’t say anything, I spoke again.
“Trinity, what do you need me to do?”
She shook her head, clutching her hand up to her chest. “It’s not you Jake. Just give me a second.”
I paused, hesitant. “Trinity, do you…want to sit…” I reached my hand out slowly towards her, and I knew immediately she understood what I hadn’t said. We had just talked about it on the ground. I was asking if she wanted to curl up in my lap – if that would make her feel safer, since obviously I wasn’t the actual source of her fear.
She looked at my open hand and nodded abruptly. “Yes,” but she didn’t move a muscle, still trembling.
“Do you need me to get you?” I asked quietly.
“Yes.” She said looking down.
I reached forward, not having far to go, and gently grabbed ahold of her wrist at her chest. I then tugged on her gently, and she willingly let me pull her down the aisle and into my lap. Once I had readjusted her into a comfortable position, with her head against my chest, she unexpectedly started sobbing. She covered her face with her hands, and I wrapped my arms around her tightly, placing one hand on the back of her head.
Zayden was completely shocked by the whole thing, exclaiming, “Holy Shit,” in a low voice.
Ava abruptly hissed at him. “Shut up.”
Surprisingly, he listened. I realized he wasn’t trying to be a jerk, he was just as shocked as everyone else. They had probably never seen Trinity uncomposed like this, with the exception of earlier today when she almost cried in front of them.
I looked up at Zane to see that he was looking towards the front of the plane, still tense.
It took Trinity a few minutes to calm down, but once she had, she took a deep breath to explain herself. “I knew a blood drinker once,” she said in a low voice. “It was before I was in the military. He…kidnapped me…and enslaved me…I was basically his personal blood bag for almost a year.” I quickly rubbed Trinity’s shoulder in comfort, and she looked up at me. “A major characteristic of a lot of blood drinkers is that their consciousness isn’t in the brain. When that man kidnapped me, he looked like a zombie. His head had a hole in it, and his guts were partially torn out. Yet he remained alive.” She sighed. “He couldn’t heal like you can, but he got lucky with me – when he drank my blood, it did heal him. That was his true power – when he drank a metahuman’s blood, he could borrow their powers. He had been looking for someone like me, someone who had the ability to heal.”
I understood what she was saying, but I was still confused. “Why didn’t you use your power on him?” I wondered.
Trinity just shook her head. “I was only nine then, and I didn’t know I had an a
bility beyond seeing in the dark. I had no idea I could defend myself, not to mention that him borrowing my power by drinking my blood weakened it temporarily.” She then paused and looked down. “It was Zane’s team that rescued me. They had a metahuman then who could sense other people’s powers, so they spared my life – knew I would be useful.”
I quickly looked up at Zane again to see that he was still looking away. From his expression, it was clear that he remembered that day just as vividly as Trinity did. It was a secret he had kept from everyone, a secret just between him and her. I suddenly understood a new level of the respect Trinity had for Zane. It went far beyond him having been on the team the longest. In many ways, she had him to thank for waking her up from a horrible nightmare. He was also the only one around now who had seen her when she was weak, vulnerable, and defeated. No one else had known what lie behind her façade of indifference.
“Where’s the girl who spared you?” I wondered absentmindedly.
Trinity sighed. “She’s dead Jake.”
“Oh.” I felt like an idiot for asking her that. Of course the answer wasn’t going to be positive. If she wasn’t on the team anymore, then that likely meant either she was dead or locked away in some prison. I hesitated then, wondering if I was going to be stupid enough to ask what was on my mind. “Did he…” I began.
“Did he what?” She asked, sounding more composed. She was still looking down, laying against my chest.
“Never mind.” I quickly replied.
She sighed. “Just say it Jake. I won’t answer if I don’t want to.”
I hesitated again, and then decided to ask. “Did he…do anything else to you? Other than drink your blood?”
She shivered slightly and was silent for a long time. Of course, her silence answered the question for her.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
“I’m okay now…” She whispered back. “It’s just hard to unlearn fear.”
“Please don’t be afraid of me.” I replied quietly.
Trinity immediately readjusted herself, twisting her torso towards me, burying her face against my chest. At the same time, her arms slid around me, her hands clasping behind my lower back, and she squeezed tightly. I tightened my embrace a little too, and we just held each other in silence for a few minutes.
After a while, she whispered. “I’m sorry. I haven’t met a blood-drinker since then…I wasn’t expecting it to affect me this much…” She sighed and sat up on my lap to look at me. Her face was buffy from crying, especially around the eyes, but she didn’t have tears in them anymore. “Jake,” she said more loudly, her voice more determined. “Do you feel thirsty?”
My eyes widened slightly. And then I looked away as I thought about it. “N…No, I’m definitely not thirsty.”
“And you’re not hungry?” I shook my head, causing her to frown. “Jake, I need you to tell me how you feel right now.”
I smirked at her slightly. “You mean other than happy that I have you in my lap?”
“I’m serious Jake. Tell me what sensations you are experiencing right now…” She then hesitated, readjusting herself slightly. “I mean, other than being aroused.”
I blushed and looked away. “Sorry.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. Just tell me.”
I sighed, and stared at the window as I thought about it. “I guess…” I began slowly, trying to evaluate what sensations I was currently feeling. “I do feel a little chilly, but it’s not really that bothersome.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “How long have you felt like that?” She asked, placing her hand on my arm as if trying to feel my temperature. It must have felt normal, because she didn’t seem too surprised.
“I’m not sure,” I answered honestly.
Zane spoke up then. “Even when you were running earlier today?”
I nodded. “Yeah, last night too. Actually, now that I think about it…” And then it hit me. “Oh…”
“Oh what?” Trinity asked.
“Well, actually, I felt really cold yesterday…after I was impaled trying to protect you…” Trinity’s eyes widened suddenly, and I continued. “And then I felt a lot warmer…still chilly, but a lot warmer…after I killed…”
Her eyes narrowed then. “Weaver?” She asked. I nodded. “Then that’s it Jake. You are hungry right now, but your perception of hunger is temperature. The colder you feel, the hungrier you are.”
I sighed, not wanting to admit it. “But I didn’t drink any blood…”
“Maybe not,” Trinity agreed. “But that doesn’t mean you didn’t absorb any blood.”
I held her gaze then as I thought about it. I realized what had to be done eventually. I was going to have to see what happened when I touched blood. I sighed again. “Well, I guess there’s only way to find out for sure.”
Surprisingly, Trinity’s expression didn’t change. “I agree,” she replied. Her hand then shot over my shoulder towards Ava. “Knife.” She demanded.
Ava quickly slipped it into her hand and Trinity had it in her lap in a flash.
“Wait!” I exclaimed. “I didn’t mean right now.”
“I’ll be fine,” she murmured as she punctured a hole in her forearm with the tip of it. She then held it up to me.
I was shocked that I suddenly found myself wanting it. She was right all along. She held her arm up to my face, and I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”
Her expression was confused briefly, seeing the change in my demeanor. I gently pushed her arm back down, and then laid my hand on top of the large bead of blood that was forming. I sensed Ava and Zayden both straining to get a better look at what I was doing. The moment my palm touched it, I could feel the warmth seep into my arm. It felt amazing, causing me to sigh.
Trinity winced.
“Oh!” I exclaimed. “Does that hurt?”
She grunted in discomfort. “You’re digging into me.”
I looked down at my hand lying relaxed on her forearm, and then realized it was my blood that was digging in. “Sorry,” I said quickly as I pulled my hand away, leaving a string of crimson connecting us. I had to exert some self-control to make my blood fully retract, because part of me wanted it to stay in the warmth of her arm – to pull that warmth into my body.
Trinity noticed the subtleties of what had just happened, as she gently placed her hand over the small wound. “I think you might be hungrier than you originally thought.”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “You might be right.” I looked down again, feeling ashamed. “Sorry.”
“Jake, it’s alright. We can work with this. Now that we know, you can make sure to fill up on the battlefield, and they can start storing some backup blood on the base in case you need it.”
“Are you sure? They won’t want to kick me off the team?”
Zane surprised me by scoffing. “Trust me Jake, they’ve tolerated a lot worse before.”
I looked at him then, having to remind myself that the fact that I needed blood wasn’t the actual reason why Trinity was so upset and Zane so tense.
Ava chimed in then. “It’s true Jake. They have tolerated much worse. At lunch earlier, when we realized you weren’t eating, we had significantly more horrifying concerns than what it has turned out to be.”
I twisted to look back at her, seeing the seriousness in her expression. “I’m guessing I don’t want to know, do I?”
She shook her head. “No, trust me. You definitely do not want to know.”
I sighed as I looked at Trinity again. “What should we do about the fact that I’m hungry right now though? This is a rescue mission, right? Does that guarantee killing will be involved?”
“Well, no…technically not. We might be springing him from a building filled with bombs or something, but most likely–”
Liz interrupted, surprising everyone by cutting Trinity off. “You can have some of my blood.”
I abruptly looked at her in shock, and she looked away embarrassed. “Li
z,” I said tentatively. “I promised I wouldn’t hurt you. I’m not going to break that promise.”
Her face was flushed red. “This is different though. I’m giving you permission…to take what you need from me.” She then looked at me as I tried to wrap my mind around what she was saying. “I owe you my life, which means all my blood is yours now. It belongs to you now. I…” She paused, biting her lower lip and looking away. “…belong to you now.”
Zayden echoed my thoughts perfectly as he cursed underneath his breath, emphasizing each syllable. “Holy shit.”
I was surprised that I recovered the fastest out of everyone, blurting out the first thing that popped in my head. “Umm, Liz?”
“Yes?” She asked quietly, still looking away.
“After this mission, you’re probably going to start living with us…”
“Really?” She said abruptly, her expression a mix of excitement and embarrassment.
“Yes,” I replied slowly, “which means we will be seeing a lot of you. So…let’s take this whole ‘I belong to you now’ thing a little slower. Okay?” Her expression seemed slightly pained then, as if she was hurt by my words. I tried to be as gentle as possible. “There will be plenty of time to work through all this. But right now, we need to focus on the mission. Can you please do that? That’s what I need from you right now.”
She looked up at me then, seeming to sense that I wasn’t fully rejecting her, and nodded somberly. I sighed, and then slowly turned around in my seat. Trinity was staring at me with wide eyes. She had clearly still not recovered from the girl’s comment. I cleared my throat, and then patted the seat next to me.
She stared at me for a moment, before giving me a quick nod and sliding off my lap. As she sat down, I heard Ava whisper underneath her breath “Stockholm syndrome,” and suddenly everything made sense, because I had heard about that before.
Liz had probably fallen in love with her abductor as a means of self-preservation. Granted, she was brainwashed into thinking it was her brother who she was unequivocally devoted to. However, now that Weaver was dead, an emptiness had been left behind in her mind and heart – an emptiness that defined who she was, or at least had for many years. And now, she was struggling to cling to something else. Anything else.
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