Enigma

by Tonya Kuper

  He was about to step forward when I blinked and Pushed a stone in front of his foot. He tripped, falling to the ground. I Pushed a metal cage around him. It disappeared.

  Max sneered. “I may only be a Retractor, but you’ll have to do better than that.”

  “Oh, I will.” I let my energy flow and it crackled as I Force Pushed Max. His body tore through the dusty air, smashing against a large rock formation, and plummeted to the ground. He lay in a lump at the base of the rock.

  It wasn’t until I was hovering above him, crouching by his side, that one of his eyes cracked open. I’d never gotten close enough to see that the roots of his hair shined gray. A finite line existed between the dark, dyed hair and his natural hair color.

  Blood smeared down the rocky surface behind him, from the back of his head. “I almost had your older brother.” He coughed. “And I was so close to having you, too.”

  The energy within my body made my legs tremble under me. I bent forward, grabbed both his wrists, stood, and pulled him away from the rock formation. Using all my strength, I dragged him through the dirt and brush. His body made a print on the ground like a snake, the heels of his shoes digging into the soil and leaving a wavy trail in his wake.

  I dropped him in an open area, away from the rocks. Max let out a low groan when his head hit the ground. Neither of his eyes were open.

  Electricity bit my skin and flared inside me with each heartbeat. I glanced up to the dark clouds gathering above us. In that moment, I knew I was more powerful than even I had thought. But something was different. I could feel it. I could feel the intensity and amount of energy flowing through me. And I could control it.

  I Pushed the growing storm above us, building the heat and cold and electricity. The wind whipped through my hair and dust swirled around us. The energy inside me correlated with the changing environment, mounting with speed and a tangible tension.

  I gave my energy some slack, loosening my grip just enough. Lightning flashed so bright it was as if the sky burst open. I didn’t flinch, though, I anticipated the lightning. Less than a second later, thunder shook the earth under me.

  I walked backward from Max about twenty feet. He lay on his back, both eyes still closed. Dust flew into the air as I dragged my boots backward.

  Max was almost dead, but I didn’t want to kill another living being. I knew what that felt like.

  Another rumble of thunder reminded me of Reid and Santos’s motorcycles. Santos. Max used Santos as a puppet and put his life on the line. Max did the same to Dee. He used her child as leverage. Max contributed to the death of my brother. He ordered the murder of my dad.

  He’d played so many people and destroyed so many lives. And that was just the beginning of a long list.

  A fury, deep in the center of me, surged. I released my hold on the energy, on the rage, on the fear. Electricity tore through me, heating my flesh and tingling every nerve ending. I felt like an unleased animal. Wild and free.

  I gave a final Push. A silver-white streak ripped a jagged line in the black clouds down to Max’s body. I Pushed harder and the lightning blazed brighter.

  I relaxed and no more lightning. The wind immediately calmed and I let my posture sag, my body tired.

  Where Max lay was now a lump of smoking flesh and bone. Max was no more. He couldn’t control Oculi or kill innocent people any longer.

  I wasn’t happy. How could I be happy about ending someone’s life? One murder didn’t justify another. Max murdering my dad didn’t justify me murdering him. I did, however, welcome the relief of knowing he couldn’t hurt anyone else. I took one last look at his body. I barely Pushed and the Earth crumbled under Max’s remains, like a sink hole. His body was gone, the ground swallowed it.

  I inhaled, the smell of rain in the air, and gave one last Push and blinked. The ground was solid and a large boulder sat in the place where Max was buried.

  I pivoted and ran back to everyone else. I shifted my thoughts to finding Reid and eventually getting out of here to Mom and Eli. The clouds dispersed, first scattering so the blue sky peeked through between them, then fizzling into nothingness. The sun shined bright again, no indication of an electrical storm.

  People ran in all directions. Bodies lay in unnatural positions.

  Reid ran up a staircase that manifested one step at a time to fight a Consortium guy. I headed for Kat, two Consortium soldiers circling her. I sprinted, about to pass right by the crashed UTV, and I fell, my cheek striking a rock.

  Holy shit balls, that hurts.

  I rolled over and Vice President Brown crawled on top of me, a gun in his hand. “No!” I screamed. I Retracted the gun, but it reappeared.

  The VP sat across my chest and a blindfold manifested over my eyes. “You shouldn’t have this much power, Josie. This disabling serum will rid you of your Oculi abilities.” Something pinched my arm, but the weight of Brown suddenly vanished. A headache banged in my forehead and temples, almost debilitating me completely. Nausea swept through me and I scrambled to get the blindfold off.

  It was like everything was happening in fast forward. Zac wrestled his dad to the ground, dust billowing into the air. Brown tried to buck Zac off, but Zac punched his dad in the face. Blood spurted from Brown’s nose. Zac managed to grab his dad’s hand armed with the disabling serum syringe and stabbed the needle into his dad’s leg.

  Brown lay in the dirt, unmoving. Zac staggered as he tried to stand, watching his father.

  I picked myself up and walked to Zac, shielding my eyes from the sun. The brightness didn’t seem to be helping my sudden headache. “Thank you.”

  Dirt caked in the crevices of Zac’s face. “He still got some serum in you. I’m sorry.” He shook his head, his gaze leaping between his dad and the empty syringe in his hand.

  “He could’ve killed me, though, so it could’ve been worse. Much worse.”

  My head still drumming, I perched one hand on my hip and held the other one in front of me. I needed water. I tried to Push a bottle of water into my hand. Nothing.

  21.

  Reid

  There were a few Consortium soldiers who scattered into the desert. We weren’t going to go after them. Anyone of rank within the Consortium was dead. My dad called to let me know that Josie had killed Max. I hadn’t seen her since the Resistance backup finally showed up. Maybe twenty minutes. It wasn’t long, I knew that, but it felt like a lifetime not seeing her for myself, not knowing she was safe.

  I stood on the lip of the ridge and spotted Josie’s red hair. I jogged down the ledge and sought her out again. This time she was already looking at me. She started running and so did I.

  I was exhausted, but I forced my body to move faster. I needed her like I needed air.

  She was ten feet from me.

  Josie jumped into me, swinging her arms around my neck, and I picked her up. Our lips crashed and I could finally breathe.

  She slid down me to stand and stared up at me, smiling. Her eyes sparkled in the late afternoon sun, reflecting everything we’d been through—sadness and joy twisted together. “You okay? God, Josie. I almost lost you.” I pressed my lips to hers and I didn’t hold back. Though there was nowhere to go, I pulled her closer. I wanted to breathe her in, soak her up. Finally, she was mine and I was hers.

  I moved my lips to her ear. “I’m in love with you, Josie Harper.” I wasn’t sure why I said it; all I knew was that I had to. Maybe it was because she was the reason I felt again after years of trying to shut everyone out. Maybe it was because I realized that “tomorrow” was never a certainty. Either way, it didn’t matter if she reciprocated the feeling. I just needed her to know.

  I didn’t wait for a response. I dipped my head to kiss her again.

  With our bodies still smashed together, she tugged her mouth away from mine. “I love you,” she whispered, tickling my lips. Her lips collided to mine. I never knew three words could undo me and stitch me back together in the same breath.

  I laced
my fingers through hers. A mixture of sweat, dirt, and makeup painted her face. Loose hair no longer held in her ponytail fluttered in the breeze or stuck to her pink cheeks. With the bandana around her neck, boots, and covered in dirt, she resembled one of the characters from one of those post-apocalyptical games, like Fallout. “We need to get out of here before the President arrives.”

  She nodded. Dead bodies littered the ghost town. Most of them were Consortium soldiers, but enough were Resistance. Too many.

  Zac had been sitting with his father nearby. “I’m going now, Dad.”

  Vice President Brown looked around. “What do you mean? You’re taking me with you.”

  Zac shook his head. “No, I’m not. This is your mess.”

  Brown tried standing but wobbled back to the tuft of grass he’d been sitting in. With his office attire, he stuck out, completely out of place. “You can’t leave me. I don’t know what I’ll say. How will I explain this? I don’t even—uh, wait. Where will you stay? You’ll need money.”

  The VP’s gaze bounced around and he mumbled no repeatedly. He was on the cusp of delirium. “You need me, Zac,” he yelled, his face red.

  The disheveled clothes and dirty face surprisingly worked on Zac. He rested his hands on his hips, exhaustion evident in his stance. Kat stepped to Zac’s side, then Cohen. Josie and I moved closer to Zac.

  Zac’s gaze lifted to mine. I gave him a slow, deep nod, hoping he’d understand that I meant we stood with him. We had his back. He was one of us.

  Zac stared at his dad for a moment, the wind whistling around us. “I’ll be fine and so will you, especially for someone who was approving and aiding murder. You should be in prison.”

  Lines formed in Brown’s forehead. He seemed confused or shocked by what was happening.

  “Good-bye, Dad,” Zac said.

  Clearly upset, Zac started toward us and handed Josie a vial. “It’s the enhancing serum that you handed off to my dad. I was right. He had it on him. It’s yours again.”

  He walked toward the chopper waiting on the dirt road. Kat joined Zac, looping her arm through his.

  Harrison gestured and the remaining Resistance ran up the ridge to a different helicopter or one of the military cargo trucks waiting. Cohen and Harrison walked to me and Reid, staring at the vial in my hand.

  “Is that the enhancing serum?” Cohen asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Dangerous stuff.”

  Josie held it between her forefinger and thumb so we could all see it.

  Dad patted Josie on the shoulder. “You should probably talk to your mom about whether or not you need to do anything to that before you take it.”

  “What?” Josie and I said in unison.

  Dad turned to me. A gaping cut bled at a diagonal across his dirty cheek. “Brown injected Josie. She can’t Push or Retract. The enhancing serum is dangerous, but if anyone is going to take advantage of it, it should be Josie, under the supervision of the scientist who recreated it—her mother.”

  I wasn’t sure how to feel about Josie not having abilities. In a way, I feared for her, since a lot of Oculi now knew who she was. But part of me was relieved. Maybe she could have some normalcy.

  Without another word, Dad walked to the chopper where Zac and Kat waited. Cohen followed Josie and me into the chopper. Once we were seated, the other helicopter perched atop the ridge, full of Resistance members, took off.

  Resistance trucks rolled out. We lifted into the air and we all watched the scene below, knowing the President and Secretary of Defense would be there any minute. Dead bodies lay around the ghost town, in the middle of nowhere, with the Vice President the only survivor.

  Kat held Zac’s hand, both sets of their eyes fixated on the only living body below. His dad. I felt for him. That had to be difficult. He’d need support, and he had it in us.

  My dad slapped Cohen’s back in an approving way as he moved to talk to the pilot. Cohen, holding a cold compress to his swollen eye, gave me a half-ass smile.

  Josie watched the ghost town disappear from our sight. I couldn’t imagine what she was feeling right now. I didn’t know what to say about her killing Max or how to console her about her dad. I did know that she was one of the bravest people I’d ever met, though. I closed my hand around Josie’s.

  Without looking at me, she flipped her hand over and weaved her fingers through mine, our palms pressed together.

  The ground was no longer in my sights. All I saw was the blue of the sky, cloudless. Clear. Safe.

  I scanned the bodies around me. I had a dad again. I had my best friend back and got to know a friend better. I even made a new friend in Zac. And I had the girl I’d always loved. I had a lot to be thankful for. We all did.

  This battle was over. For now, anyway. But I wasn’t done with the important people sitting with me in the helicopter. This was just a new beginning.

  Josie

  I walked Hannah to my front door. She lugged her oversize pink duffle bag behind her. Her fingernail polish bag stuck out of the zipper that wouldn’t close all the way. I glanced down at my manicure. Hannah was a talented artist, nail art included.

  It had been two weeks since the battle in the ghost town. Hannah had stayed with me at home in Florida for the last two days.

  She opened the front door, walked onto the porch, and dropped her bag. Her frayed shorts showed off her long brown legs, and her cover-girl hair blew in the breeze. She looked different to me now. She hadn’t changed in appearance since I’d seen her—we were only apart for three weeks. It was me who had changed. It was the way I saw her. I’d always been a little envious of her looks and even her perpetually optimistic attitude. She was just as beautiful as she was two weeks ago on our video chat from the Hub, but now I appreciated her model-like features and characteristics more. And it wasn’t like she was less pretty or sweet. I think it was more the fact that I’d become more confident in myself, in my uniqueness.

  Without warning, she nearly tackled me with a hug. I stumbled back a step. “Call if you need anything.”

  I squeezed her tight and reveled in the idea that I was with my best friend again. Two weeks prior, I wasn’t sure if I was going to live to see another day, let alone see her again.

  She’d been a huge comfort the last couple of days. We talked for hours upon hours about the Oculi world, what happened at the Hub, and the battle. And she cried with me as I talked about Dad’s funeral.

  We let go of each other. “I promise,” I said. My hand gravitated to the Dragon’s Eye necklace mom gave me. “But I think since Mom is officially retired now and she has a ton more time, we’ll be okay.” Mom was recovering physically from her injury, but was having a difficult time with Dad’s death and Dee’s betrayal. But she was making efforts to connect with me on an emotional level. Hannah and I talked about that at some great length, too.

  She swept her hair over her shoulder and smiled. “I know, I know. But still. See you tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  She strained to see around me with a smile that reached her eyes. “Bye, Reeeeeid. I want to meet this Cohen guy soon.” I’d shown Hannah a pic of Cohen, and she’d nearly drooled on my phone.

  Reid came out from the kitchen into the living room. “Bye, Hannah. We’ll get that set up. I’m sure he’d be happy to meet you.” He leaned against a wall and crossed his arms. “Oh, and thanks for taking care of my girl the last couple of days.” His gaze shifted to me and he winked.

  Hannah waved to Reid then leaned to my ear. “He called you ‘my girl.’ Ahhh!”

  I grinned as big as The Joker and bit my bottom lip in an attempt to hide my giddiness. “I know,” I squealed through my teeth.

  She blew me a kiss then slung her bag over her shoulder. “Tomorrow!” Hannah skipped down the stairs to her car parked out front in the afternoon sun.

  “Tomorrow!” I waved.

  Same ol’ happy Hannah. Her positive disposition and infectious smile was like a hug for my brain. I needed that,
her, more than I’d realized. She was simply comforting after all that had happened, after my world was flipped upside down.

  Leaning against one of the columns holding up the porch, I watched Hannah drive away. The bushes rustled in the breeze and the palm across the street swayed. The shadows danced on the driveway and front lawn.

  I couldn’t seem to get enough of the sun after spending time underground in the Hub. Maybe the light helped me combat all the darkness I’d experienced in the last several weeks.

  The day after the ghost town battle, I told Reid about my anxiety symptoms, the chest pains and all that. I started seeing a therapist right away. Well, I Skyped with a therapist in the Resistance specifically for Oculi. I was still having nightmares about Santos every once in a while, but the anxiety attacks had lessened.

  I was still randomly breaking down in tears when I thought about Dad. But it was more the fact that I didn’t get to say good-bye or be closer with him. I wanted to tell him that it was okay and I understood now what he and Mom were fighting for, and what I’d continue to fight for.

  The sunlight appeared and disappeared repeatedly on my body through the leaves. I inhaled the warm, humid air, promising myself to not take it for granted again. After the dry air in the Hub and the cold air in Maine, where my father’s funeral was, I looked forward to Florida weather.

  Mom held a small funeral service in my Dad’s small hometown in Maine. Stella was found alive in the Schrodinger’s Consortium headquarters in Los Angeles, but Dad’s body was not recovered. We decided it would be best for our family’s sake to hold a funeral for some closure. Reid and Harrison, along with several other Resistance members, were there to honor my father. Immediately after, they had to travel for a several days to figure out some Resistance logistical stuff, since the Hub was destroyed.

  I closed my hand around a ray of sunshine, as if trying to capture it. Mom and Eli were at the beach, catching rays, too. Eli was understandably having a hard time with Dad’s death, but we were all trying to make life better for him. Mom signed him up for summer day camps, Reid planned on teaching him how to play basketball over the summer, and I scheduled day trips he and I could take together. Hannah even played video games with him, and me, the last couple of days—and she was not a gamer.