Sabin, A Seven Novel

by A. M. Hargrove

  “Um hmm. That’s what they all say. And that trying to make a point thing—I’m sure you succeeded. I’m sure your points will be to the tune of black and blue ones by tomorrow, embedded on my arm. I have enough bruises already, thank you very much.”

  And that she does.

  “Fine, I understand. But we still need your friend’s name and address. Unless you want her dead.”

  Then all hell breaks loose. “Of course I don’t want her dead, you assface. What kind of a person do you think I am? I’m not like that. I’ve never ever hurt anyone in my life. It’s always the other way around. I’m the one that gets dumped on, used, and abused. It took me a whole fucking year after I moved out of my parents’ house to even be able to make a single friend.” By the time she finishes, she’s yelling at me. Then her hand flies up to her mouth, covering it as though she’s shocked she’s spewed out all those telling words. She grabs a pillow and buries her face in it. I’m not sure if she wants to hide herself from me, or if she’s simply shocked at what occurred. But when I see her body shaking, I know the answer. She’s crying. Now I feel even worse, like the lowest of the low. I’ve made the poor girl cry. I’m the biggest shit.

  Walking around the bed, I sit down and pull her next to me as I put my arms around her. She flinches from me at first, but then relaxes onto my chest as she sobs.

  “I’m sorry,” she ekes out.

  “Whatever for? I’m the jerk who made this happen. I’m the one who’s sorry. You called it. I’m the worst kind of ass.” I pet her hair as the sobs continue. I’ve never been very good at this sort of thing, but I really do feel terrible for making her cry. And that is disturbing in itself. I rarely feel bad about anything I do. I lift up the sleeve of her shirt and now I feel like a piece of dirt. There’s a nice shade of purple forming into my handprint. Goddammit. What the fuck is wrong with me?

  Serena finally lifts her head and her eyes lacerate me. It feels like she’s taken a hot jagged knife and jabbed it straight into my guts. Her eyes never leave mine when her index finger pokes me in the chest and she says through her tears, in a low but firm voice, “Now you listen to me and listen to me good, buddy boy.”

  Buddy boy?

  She sniffs, wipes her face, and gives a little sob. “Don’t you ever manhandle me like that again. If you do, I will twist your nut sack so hard, you’ll be hitting all the high notes when you sing. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Sniff, sniff. “I get that you’re trying to protect me, but that doesn’t give you the right to bully me in the process.” She uses her shirt to wipe her face.

  I swallow hard and shake my head. Well, fuck me. She just gave me one dressing down. This woman doesn’t mess around. She doesn’t look the type that can swing a punch so I ask, “You can fight?” I never would’ve guessed, since she never put one up when I went to her apartment.

  She gives one final sniff and wipes the few tears that still dribble. “Yes. I’ve studied Krav Maga. Well, I would suck against you because you’re so, so fucking big! And you shocked the heck out of me when you were invisible and all.”

  We are a bit intimidating. “So, your friend?”

  “Okay!” Frustration pours out of her. “Her name is Tara Miller and she lives in Durham, North Carolina.” She gives me her address. “But I swear, if you ever lay a hand on me again!”

  “We’re trying to save you! The Shaurok are most likely headed to Durham as we speak. And if we don’t do something fast, they’re going to try to get Judgment Day and your little friend Tara is going to end up looking like she was put through a meat grinder.”

  “Stop trying to scare me!”

  I grit my teeth and hiss. “I’m not even close to scaring you. You have no idea what will happen if they get their hands on Judgment Day.”

  “Judgment Day?”

  “Yes. Judgment Fucking Day!”

  “I-I don’t know what that means.”

  “Of course you don’t.” My manner turns brusque. I know I’m being the world’s biggest dickwad, but right now, my men are my main concern and they’re getting ready to take a damn beating to get the thing back.

  “You can’t expect me to know these things.”

  “No, but I can and do expect you to give me answers when I need them. And if I tell you to do something, I mean do it now, not in ten minutes or the next day. My men are trying to save your ass. And now your friends’.”

  “I still don’t understand. You’re talking in riddles.”

  “Take a good look around you, Serena. And then use your powers of deduction. You’re an intelligent woman. I think you can probably figure it out.”

  “Why are you so reticent?” she asks.

  “Need to know.”

  “Yes, I need to know,” she shouts.

  That does make me chuckle, but I turn away so she can’t see me. “Need to know means you don’t need to know. It means I’m only telling you the very minimum.”

  She lets out a huge huff. “Duh. I know that. But I want to be informed.”

  “I’ll inform you of the necessaries.”

  “But …”

  “No buts, Serena. This is my call.”

  She mutters, “Jerk,” under her breath, thinking I can’t hear her.

  “You can call me anything you want. The main thing is keeping you alive and well, and getting back Judgment Day.”

  “Getting back Judgment Day. That doesn’t make an ounce of sense.”

  “It would if you knew what it was.”

  “Will you at least tell me what it is?”

  “Judgment Day?”

  “Yes, dammit!”

  “It’s the so-called necklace you so casually let all your friends borrow.”

  “Why the heck do you call it that?”

  I point to a seat and Serena takes it. “You asked why I call it Judgment day? I’ll tell you. It’s what it is.”

  Her eyes narrow as she says, “I had a feeling there was something strange about that thing. It would always feel warm when I held it. Most of my friends were freaked out by it and wouldn’t wear it.”

  That certainly is one piece of good news for a change. “It has unique properties. It’s part of a weapon system called Paradox.”

  “Weapon system? Paradox?”

  “Yes. Judgment Day is the activator.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Sighing, I say, “I don’t suppose you do. The necklace itself, the black chain, goes around a mechanism in Paradox and then the stone fits into a receptor. When placed inside, and when the chain is dropped into the slot, Paradox is activated and then … Judgment Day.”

  “I still don’t get it.”

  “Serena, did you ever read your Bible, or any kind of religious teachings? Did you ever hear about what happened at the end of the world?”

  She eyes me and nods. “Yeah, Judgment Day, as in that Judgment Day?”

  “That’s why it’s called that. It has the ability to destroy the world and the rest of the universe.”

  “Oh, hell to the fucking no. And I was wearing that thing around my neck? What in the world? Who the hell are you people? And don’t you dare give me some kind of bullshit answer here.”

  Our eyes link and I say nothing.

  “You’re not like me, are you?” she asks.

  She’s finally catching on. My head oscillates slowly.

  “Please don’t bullshit me.”

  “This is no bullshit, sweetheart. That’s why we need to get to Tara before the Shaurok. Now I have to go. Stay with Edge. He’ll keep you safe while we’re gone.”

  “Jesus, now I wish you hadn’t told me.”

  “I’ll ask Rafe about your things.”

  “Is there Wi-Fi here?”

  “Wi-Fi?”

  “Yeah, so I can get on the internet?”

  “Serena, there’ll be none of that for now. You can be tracked that way, and that wouldn’t do at all for your safety.”

  She frowns. “No, that wouldn’t be safe, w
ould it?”

  When I get to the bedroom door, I turn to her and say, “I’ll be back.” Why do I feel so guilty? I’m only trying to help her. Because I scared the shit out of her and … enough. I march back to the sec center where Rafe practically tears my head off when I walk through the door.

  “Where the hell have you been? The fucking Shaurok are in Durham!”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. We need to go. Now.”

  “Right. Take Verus and Andros.”

  Rafe shakes his head. “You misunderstand me. There are at least fifteen of them. In several gangs. We all have to go. Now.”

  “Fifteen! They’ve never travelled with so many.”

  “Yes they did. When they were searching for Juliette Hart.”

  “Where did you put Serena’s things?”

  “In the storage closet off the kitchen. But she won’t be needing most of it.”

  “I told her about Judgment Day.”

  “About damn time. We need to go!”

  All of a sudden my neck is killing me. “Yeah. Give me another minute.”

  “We don’t have a fucking minute, Sabin. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Don’t ask. I need to … can you just handle this?”

  “No!” he asks. “Pull your shit together.”

  “My shit is pulled together. Our little miss over there is one damn … aw, hell. Never mind. I’ll handle her. Just go and I’ll do the guiding from this end. Someone needs to stay behind anyway. I sure as fuck can’t have her out there. She is no meek thing, let me tell you.”

  Of all the reactions I expect from Rafe, laughter wasn’t one of them. But the fucker throws his damn head back and howls. Yes, howls. Like I’ve never heard him.

  “What in the hell is so funny?”

  He can’t even answer me, because now the bastard is doubled over. He’s so loud, the rest of the men have stopped what they’re doing and are now staring at us. Bloody fucking hell, the SOB is making a scene. He knows I don’t do scenes. Ever. Unless I’m the one making them.

  “Stop!” I use the voice. The one that makes my team shudder. It has no effect on Rafe. The rest of the seven raise their brows. This is not good. I clamp my hand on his shoulder and shove. “Do I have to beat the laughter out of you to get you to stop?” Now my voice is low, and deadly. This time it has the desired effect. Rafe straightens up and looks me square in the eyes.

  “No. But the girl has gotten to you. Worse than Juliette. She’s under your skin, Sabin.” He grins again.

  Juliette. I’m beginning to think she was a cupcake compared to Serena. Thinking back to the night Juliette stood outside and called us all a bunch of chicken shits because we would never show ourselves to her makes me want to grin. But Serena, she would haul off and throw a jab and not even bother to yell.

  “Whatever. We have a job to do and I can’t leave her alone. She’s trouble, Rafe. If I take her to Durham, I have no doubt it will become a shit show.”

  “Sabin, are you telling me you can’t control her?”

  “No. I’ve got this handled.”

  While I’m running through different scenarios in my head, Rafe says, “We have to go. That friend of hers may be in trouble soon. The last thing we want is for the Shaurok to get Judgment Day.”

  “Go. I’ll monitor things here.”

  “No. We need your fighting skills. Edge needs to stay, as planned.”

  “Okay.” I yell for Edge and tell him what to do. “You’re in charge here and you need to protect Serena.”

  The men gear up and I tell them I’ll meet them in a few minutes.

  Serena is sitting on the edge of the bed when I return.

  “Hello.”

  She looks up from the floor. Something must have been very interesting down there.

  “Rafe put your things in the storage closet in the kitchen. If you’d like, you can go get them. I have to leave for a bit. Edge is in the sec center and will protect you while I’m away.” She licks her lips and it’s distracting. Everything about her is distracting. “Go and join him in there.”

  “I didn’t think I was allowed in there.”

  “Change of rules.” I walk away. This is ridiculous. It’s time for me to get my head on straight. Why is it every time she opens her mouth, I get a damn hard on? By the time I join the rest of the team in Durham, they are getting ready to move on Tara Miller’s apartment.

  “Do you have any info on the girl—that Tara Miller yet?” I ask.

  “She’s not home. We’re going in now,” Rafe says.

  Edge monitors every move the team makes. “You have four gangs of Shaurok moving toward you,” he lets us know. “Sabin, Rafe, you don’t have much time.”

  “Moving in now,” Rafe responds.

  “Go, go, go,” I command. “Take four men. Exterminate them and then find Judgment Day. Whoever gets to it first, send it back with one, but I want the rest of you to terminate the remaining Shaurok. Dust those mothers. That’s an order.”

  “Yes, sir. Hear you loud and clear,” Verus answers.

  “Don’t forget to do a memory wash on Tara Miller, if she comes in when we’re inside,” I remind him.

  “Will do, Sabin.”

  “Keep us in your sight lines, Edge.”

  “I’ve got all of you on visual,” he responds.

  The surveillance has Tara’s apartment scanned from all angles. Edge observes, and says he detects some motion from the rear. He commands the complink to bring the visual in closer and tells us another gang of Shaurok is moving in.

  “Sabin, you’ve got a problem. Get the rest of the men to Tara Miller’s. Another gang is approaching from the rear.”

  I give the order and the rest of the men divert. I can barely breathe because I know in moments a terrible battle will ensue. And as much as I know my men are trained, I hate to see their lives in danger.

  “What’s happening?” I can hear Serena ask Edge.

  “You may want to leave,” he tells her.

  I can’t deal with Serena right now. I snap, “Get her the fuck out of there, Edge!”

  Too late. The Shaurok and my men engage. If she looks at the screen, she’ll recognize her underwater attackers. Then I hear her yell, “That’s them. The things that attacked me!”

  We’re outnumbered. The Shaurok stream in from all directions.

  “Rafe, behind you,” Edge yells.

  Rafe spins and executes a move that decapitates his attacker. Then he moves on to the next one.

  “Verus, drop,” Edge instructs.

  Verus drops, rolls, then comes up behind the one that was getting ready to rip his neck apart. With a lunge, he pierces the body with his weapon and the Shaurok lies dead at his feet. Two down, six to go. The fight continues, with Edge barking things out to the men, and them fighting back, until all the Shaurok are annihilated.

  “That’s Tara’s apartment,” Serena cries out. “How did they get there so fast?”

  I don’t respond. I need an all clear from my team. Right now, I don’t give a shit about her dumbass friend. My ears are open for more instructions from Edge. When my men turn the Shaurok to dust, and they vanish into nothingness, I hear Serena ask, “What did they do to them? Where’d they go?”

  “Rafe, an accounting, please?”

  “All good, Sabin. We’re heading in.”

  “Edge, anything else out there?”

  “No. Looking good right now,” he answers.

  “Got it. And thanks for the heads up on the Shaurok. You saved our asses.”

  “That’s my job. Let me do one more thorough scan. Okay, you’re good for now.”

  I give the order to continue on.

  Edge’s voice comes to me again with bad news. More Shaurok are heading toward us. Another gang of five this time, about a quarter of a mile away. Damn, they’re not giving up, persistent fuckers. Well, if it’s a fight they want, I guess they’re going to get one. The question is, how long can we keep this up u
ntil Tara Miller gets back or until we find the damn necklace?

  They’re damn relentless. Every time we take a gang of them out, another one shows up.

  “Rafe, get in there and do a thorough search. The rest of us will handle these mothers.”

  Rafe goes inside and the Shaurok are all over our shit. I’m taking hits all over the place, but my shoulders take the brunt of it. Edge yells at Verus and Helios to assist me, but the Shaurok do their worst before my guys nail them. I can barely stand, much less breathe, by the time those fuckers lie dead at my feet. My head was not in this fight and there’s only one reason. Serena. I have to blank her out, or I’ll more than likely end up a dead man.

  Edge’s voice comes to me and I’m having trouble understanding him. Things are turning hazy. I think my O2 levels are dropping. What the fuck! I’ve never been this bad before. It may be time to get out of here.

  Sabin tells me to stay with the one called Edge in the sec center. As I do, I watch things unfold and I’m not sure I want to see them. The bad thing is, I can’t seem to rip my eyes away from all the screens that hang suspended in the air like magic. Edge is giving the men information on where the Shaurok, those creepy things that attacked me, are located. Several skirmishes erupt and the fighting is vicious. Sabin’s men are quite fierce, cutting the Shaurok down and killing them quickly. In fact, they move so fast, it’s difficult to follow and I’m not even sure what they use to kill them. But it’s astounding when their bodies simply disappear, like they never existed. Things don’t add up here. And how the hell did they get to Durham so fast?

  Suddenly, Edge says, “Sabin, Rafe, you’ve got more uninvited company.”

  “What? I thought we got them all,” Rafe answers.

  “A gang of seven just arrived. Looks like they’re not giving in so easily here. Your unwanted guests are about to ring your doorbell.”

  The door to Tara’s apartment crashes in and Sabin and his men pour out, as they combat those disgusting creatures. Their eyes creep me out so much. They remind me of zombies, even though I know that’s silly. But then again, with everything I’ve been exposed to over the last twenty-four hours, maybe it isn’t.