It’s the last thought I have before I close my eyes.
Chapter 21 - Waverly
Ashley and Lydia both lie dead on the floor next to me. I look up at Samuel while he wipes a smudge off of his gun. His callousness makes me sick.
“Why don’t you kill me?” I ask
“Because you’re going to help me find Jeremiah and Mitch,” Samuel answers. “Their time is up, and I know you know where they are.”
“But Ashley just told you that she killed them,” I say.
“And I believe Ashley is a liar,” he argues. “You’re going to take me to where they stand or where their bodies lie. Either way, their time is up.”
I look toward the door, knowing that Samuel’s time is about up, too. I don’t know where they are, but I won’t have to lead him to Mitch. Mitch is coming here. I don’t look forward to the abuse he’s going to dole out to me, but I know it’s only because he doesn’t understand. He can’t understand what I saw. Ashley was going to kill him, wasn’t she? According to her, she killed all the others too. But now, I’m not so sure. What if she was bluffing all along?
I don’t have time to contemplate it as the door swings wide and Mitch rushes through. The look on his face is pure shock and anger. I hear the click of Samuel’s gun readying just above my head, but little does he know, Mitch would probably like to see me die.
Mitch walks forward calmly. Confidently. He carries no weapon in his hands. I look back at Samuel and see that he no longer points the gun at me, but at Mitch.
“My, my,” Samuel smiles. “I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re here, but you’re a little late, I’m afraid.” He motions toward Ashley’s body. “Of course, you showing up only confirms that killing her was a good call on my part.”
“Drop the gun,” Mitch tells him.
Samuel’s gun falls to the floor as he lets go of it.
“Don’t make any movements unless I tell you to,” Mitch says.
I look back at Samuel and he has a blank stare across his face. When I look at Mitch, I can see tears welling in his eyes as he looks down at Ashley’s body.
“I want both of you to stand against the wall and stay quiet,” he says, not even looking at us.
I don’t know how. I don’t know why, but my limbs seem to move involuntarily at his command. What is this strange influence that Mitch possesses? I get up off the floor and walk to the wall and set my back against it. I stand only a few feet away from Samuel. I have seen all this before, but I still can’t figure out why he’s able to control us like this.
But then a thought strikes me and I feel my mouth fall open. The Starborn blood. That’s why the canister felt lighter than before. Mitch had already been in the room. This was the power that was in the blood. With a command, Mitch can now make anyone bend to his will. That’s why Samuel dropped the gun. That’s why we’re standing against the wall. Then I think about Ethan. He’s coming for me, but now I don’t want him to. He’s only going to suffer the same ending as us.
Mitch falls to his knees next to Ashley and scoops her bloody head into his arms. He begins to sob uncontrollably as he buries his head into her neck. “This was never supposed to happen!” he screams. He looks up and his eyes find me. I dread what’s coming next. “This would have never happened if you hadn’t been so stupid!”
He sets Ashley’s body down on the floor gently. He then stands and starts walking toward me. I shut my eyes as he reaches high into the air and slaps his hand against my cheek. But he’s not finished. His arm comes back and this time it’s his knuckles that catch my other cheek. I see a bright white light, but this time it’s not a vision; it’s from the dull, aching pain.
I can feel the tears and blood trickle down the side of my face. Mitch screams in my ear, yelling for me to get back up and stand against the wall. I do so without argument. I have to. I have no other choice. The tears that fall have little to do with the pain I feel in my face, but more to do with the fact that Ethan rushes into the room, probably after hearing the commotion.
I can feel my eyes widen when I see Ethan. He’s carrying a rifle and is ready to fire, but Mitch commands him to stop, get against the wall and do nothing without permission. Ethan does as he’s told without argument.
Mitch then turns back to me with large tears streaking down his face. His jaws are clenched tightly as he grits his teeth. He rears back and slaps me across the face again. The pain is blinding, but at least I’m able to keep myself up this time.
This is as far as I have seen. Past this point, I don’t know what is supposed to happen. All I know is that my theory of multiple futures to choose from is out the window. Everything I’ve seen so far has happened except for the vision I had of Remi and Evie, and the vision of Ethan walking through the street…
The realization hits me like a truck. Touching someone multiple times gives me multiple futures, but not alternative ones. The things I have seen all happen at different times. They are not possibilities based on decisions I make. I saw Ethan kissing me on the roof—of course that was going to happen before he was shot in the middle of the street. But even so, that doesn’t mean it will happen soon. There is still time to figure out how to stop it.
Mitch turns away from me and faces Samuel. “You killed her, didn’t you?” he says. “Answer me!”
“Yes,” Samuel says.
Mitch sticks his fingers in his hair and pulls, biting his lip as if to hold in some immense anger that would cause him to lash out. “You’ll get what’s coming to you soon enough,” he says. He now looks at Ethan. “And what are you here for, to finish the job?”
“I’ve been looking for Waverly,” he answers.
“Oh, I get it,” he says. “You two are a thing, are you?” He spits on the ground in front of him. “You two have no idea what you were doing. You messed everything up.”
“She was going to kill you,” I say. “She said that she killed the others. Remi, Gabe, Jeremiah…”
“She didn’t kill any of them,” he answers, looking toward Samuel. “She was working both sides. With us and with Shadowface. Your Remi and Gabe are not even in Elkhorn anymore. And I was recently with my father.”
I stare at the floor in disbelief, completely blindsided by the fact that Ashley had been on our side. I wasn’t the one that killed her, but I might as well have been.
“Our goal has only ever been to take down those that want power over others,” Mitch says. “She was dying because of you.”
I don’t have any words. It’s true. Maybe if there had not been fighting and war in the streets, she could have gotten proper medical attention, but as it was, she had been bleeding out and was not long for this world either way.
Like seeing only the corner of a painting, a short glimpse into the future hardly lets you see the whole picture.
“Do you know what it’s like losing the one person that you love?” Mitch asks.
I don’t know if he’s waiting for an answer, but one passes by my lips anyway. “Yes.”
He stares at me, his eyes ablaze with anger, his cheeks wet with tears. “Well,” he says, “maybe it’s time you revisit that feeling.” He looks at Ethan. “You there.”
Ethan looks at him.
“Take a walk on the street at the west side of the building,” Mitch commands. “Make no noise. Just keep walking.”
“No,” I say. My chin and lips tremble. I know what is about to happen now. I understand. I can’t let it happen! I won’t let it happen!
But I’m fixed to my spot. There is nothing I can do because Mitch has a hold of my body. Is there a way for my will to overpower his? Is it possible for me to retake control?
I try, but no matter what I do or think, I can’t move my legs. It’s as if Mitch used his words to strap invisible bindings to me, and I can only go free with his say-so.
Ethan starts to leave the room, and just before he walks through the door, our eyes connect and he smiles at me briefly. He knows this is it. He knows there is no s
topping it, and this is his way of telling me that it’s all right.
But it’s not all right. He turns and closes the door behind him. The dread and fear I feel is the worst I can remember.
“Please don’t do this,” I say. The front of my shirt is wet from my streaming tears. The night Ethan and I just spent together was so sweet. I can’t imagine that it was our last one. He has been with me through the hardest part of my life. He’s been my rock.
“I know it has all been a mistake,” I continue. “I know that I shouldn’t have shot Ashley, but I was only doing what I thought was right.”
“That’s the problem isn’t it?” Mitch says, staring out the window. “People are always doing what they think is best. Of course, that’s how all of this started in a way. Shadowface was doing what she thought was best.”
“She?” I say.
Mitch smiles and shakes his head. “My mother. Olivia. I just found out.”
“I can help you,” I plead. “Ethan and I both. We can help you finish this.”
“I have a purpose for you,” Mitch says. “But first, Ethan is going to be out of the picture.”
“Please don’t,” I say.
“Come look out the window,” Mitch says.
My feet move in that direction, even though all I want is to run downstairs and try to stop Ethan from walking away.
Below, Ethan begins his slow pace down the street. This part of the building faces away from the fighting that has been going on in the other part of Elkhorn. That’s why I didn’t recognize it in the vision. I’ve never seen this street before.
Ethan walks confidently, rifle in his hands. He knows what is about to happen, but I don’t think he fears it like I do.
Mitch walks away from the window. I don’t even have to watch him to know that he’s going to pick up the rifle that is next to Ashley’s body. In just a few seconds, he’s going to aim the gun at Ethan and take the shot. When Mitch comes up next to me with the rifle in his hands, everything within me wants to take it from him and beat him with it, and then shoot him until there are no more bullets. How could he be this cruel? I know he’s hurting, but it was a mistake. They shouldn’t have been so secretive.
He stares at me, but I don’t give him the benefit of a glance. Not until he commands it of me.
“Look at me,” he says.
My head turns, and my eyes lock with his.
He takes a deep breath. “Take the gun from me.”
My stomach drops. What is he doing?
I reach out my hands and take the rifle from him.
“Aim the gun at Ethan’s heart,” he says.
It doesn’t matter how I feel on the inside. It doesn’t matter that tears flow from my eyes and my mind is trying to fight every bit of what Mitch orders me to do.
“Please stop this,” I say as I close an eye and line up the sight to the left side of Ethan’s back. “We should use this power to stop Shadowface, not fight each other.”
“Stop talking,” Mitch says.
My mouth closes.
The scene before me is beautiful. Serene even. As I watch Ethan, he walks with determination, but with peace. He moves farther and farther away, the sun shining on his back, the early morning casting long shadows. The new day is dawning, but to me this feels like the end. When I had this vision, the thought never entered my mind that it would be me that carried it out.
My aim is fixed and I have a clear shot. My finger hovers just above the trigger. The voice in my head is screaming, but no one else can hear it.
Mitch takes a deep breath before issuing the command that I’ve dreaded to hear.
“Now,” he says. “Pull the trigger.”
The story continues in book three of The Starborn Ascension: Into The Shadows.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jason D. Morrow is the author of The Starborn Uprising, The Starborn Ascension, and The Marenon Chronicles. He enjoys playing guitar, making fun videos, and spending time with his lovely wife, Emily, and their dog, Winnie.
Books by Jason D. Morrow
Prototype
Prototype D
Prototype Exodus (Coming Soon)
The Starborn Ascension
Anywhere But Here
Away From The Sun
Into The Shadows
The Starborn Uprising
Out Of Darkness
If It Kills Me
Even In Death
The Marenon Chronicles
The Deliverer
The Gatekeeper
The Reckoning
Be sure to ‘Like’ Jason D. Morrow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jasondmorrow
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For more from Jason D. Morrow, and to sign up for his mailing list, visit www.jasondmorrow.com.
Away From the Sun Page 24