by ID Johnson
“Is she… dead?” Brandon asked quietly.
“No, she’s better,” Jamie said, still checking her pulse. “Better than she was, anyway. We need to get her back to the hotel so I can continue to monitor her condition.”
Fighting tears, Brandon scooped her up and followed the doctor out of the train station into the night.
Chapter Seventeen
Cadence usually dreaded waking up when something bad had happened; she hated that space between wake and dream when she knew she was on the precipice of pain but couldn’t quite remember why. This time, things were different, however. When she awoke, she had no recollection whatsoever of what had happened or where she should be, not until she tried to roll over. Then she realized her hands were restrained, and it all came crashing back around her. She opened her eyes to find herself in a poorly lit room laying on what appeared to be some sort of antique gurney, her hands strapped down beside her. She was thankful the bag was gone from over her head, but the scene around her was not a welcome sight.
Across the room, she could see what looked like a steel jail cell. In it, chained to the wall with two hand manacles, was a monstrosity she could only assume were the remains of Gibbon. His face was contorted so that he was barely recognizable, the animal like growl sketched on his face, his fangs protruding from his mouth so that it appeared he couldn’t even keep it closed. He was only wearing black shorts, and his muscles had stretched and strained against his skin in such a way it appeared as if his body were pulsating with each flex of his physique. Pulling against the chains like a dog chained to a post, he paced back and forth the few steps that he could manage, clearly agitated in every way possible.
On the floor just out of Gibbon’s reach, Cadence could see the body of a man. It looked like he had been wearing a suit at one point, but in its tattered and filthy condition, it was hard to tell. This must be Dixon, she thought. It was impossible to tell if he was still alive or not from this angle. Cadence thought no matter what Giovani had in store for her, surely it couldn’t be as bad as this man’s plight.
She heard chatter, both on her IAC and from the other side of the room. She was able to ascertain from the conversation that Aaron and Christian were desperately searching for the elusive tunnel opening by the light of Cale’s helicopters, that Aurora was closing in on Howard on Jeweler’s Row, and that Jamie had given Cassidy the Transformation Serum, and she was resting.
Cadence only had time to let them know she was okay before she was forced to give her attention to Giovani who had crossed the room and was standing next to her now. “Shut up, Zabrina,” he said over his shoulder. “This is my operation. You let me make the decisions.”
“They will find us,” Zabrina warned. “It’s just a matter of time.”
“And when they do, Gibbon will be ready.” He turned his attention to Cadence now. Standing over her, shadows playing off of his fangs and his steel gray eyes, it was hard for her to focus. She pulled up against the restraints, but whatever they were, they were strong, and she couldn’t budge.
“Well, if it isn’t our lovely Miss Cadence. You are a little early, my sweet. Gibbon over there isn’t quite ready to be unleashed to the world just yet. No matter. He is still ready to dispatch you.”
Giovani flipped her gurney up so that she was almost vertical and walked over towards Gibbon’s cage. “Stephen,” he called. “Look who is here! It’s your step-mother, Barbara. Do you see her over there?” Giovani asked, gesturing at Cadence. “Do you remember the bad, bad things she used to do to you?” Gibbon pulled against the chains and growled. “Do you remember how she used to touch you? How she used to tell you not to tell your father or else she would do the same to your little brother? Do you remember the times she came into your room late at night while you were sleeping?”
With each word, Gibbon grew more and more angry, straining against the chains and roaring like a wild animal. “Now is the time, Stephen,” Giovani said, grabbing the bars of the cage and sticking his face through. “Now is the day you will get vengeance at last!”
Those words evoked a battle cry from the beast, and pieces of brick crumbled to the ground from around the shackles.
Giovani laughed maniacally and stepped back away from the cage. “Nina!” he yelled in the direction of a narrow hallway Cadence could barely see to her right. There was also a door on the other side of the room, behind Giovani, which Cadence could only assume was the tunnel.
“Nina isn’t here,” Zabrina reminded him. She was standing with her arms crossed, over towards the hallway, far back from Gibbon and Giovani. “Everyone left as soon as they saw that creature, everyone except for Dalton, and he is upstairs keeping watch.”
Giovani’s face fell. “They left? Why would they do that? Don’t they want to be a part of the coup? Don’t they want to claim their place in history?”
“What they want is to survive—and not be ripped to shreds by that… thing,” Zabrina spat.
“You will not talk about him like that!” Giovani yelled. “Get me Dalton,” he hissed between clenched teeth.
Zabrina’s eyes were daggers as she spun, and drawing a key ring from her pocket, fished through six or seven large silver and bronze keys until she found the right one. She opened the creaky door, slamming it behind her. Cadence could hear the sound of her boots clicking on the steps before she screamed for Dalton and clambered back down the stairs.
Giovani was standing perfectly still, arms crossed, waiting.
“Why are you doing this?” Cadence asked, softly. “None of this is necessary.”
“Shut up,” Giovani demanded, turning his head to look at her and then swiveling it back to the door.
“Gibbon, I’m not your step-mother,” she said quietly. “That was her. She just went up the stairs.”
The monster looked confused for a moment before Giovani returned his stare to Cadence and yelled, “SHUT UP!”
Zabrina was back, a questioning expression on her face, but she simply stepped away from the door, and once Dalton entered the room, she locked it behind him. He watched her turn the key, nervousness written all over his face, before he turned to face Giovani.
He couldn’t have been much more than seventeen or eighteen. And he was freshly turned as well. Cadence could tell by his darker complexion. He hadn’t completely paled yet. She almost felt sorry for him—almost.
“There she is,” Cadence whispered just loud enough for Gibbon to hear. His eyes darted from Zabrina to Cadence, his brow wrinkling.
“Don’t listen to your whore of a step-mother, Stephen,” Giovani barked. “Now, Dalton, you will remove the detective from the cage.”
Zabrina quickly crossed over to the cage and unlocked the door, holding the key inside the lock until Dalton, who was clearly walking on shaking legs, approached. It wasn’t until he was ready to enter that she flung the door open, and as soon as he squeezed through, she slammed it again, ready to lock.
Dalton stayed as far away from Gibbon as possible as he grabbed Detective Dixon by the legs and pulled him towards the gate. Zabrina opened it for him, and he brought the body out into the middle of the floor and dropped him. Cadence couldn’t tell if he was still alive, but it didn’t look like it.
“Very good,” Giovani nodded. “Now, you will go back into the cage and unleash our friend Stephen.”
Dalton’s eyes widened. “Sir?” he asked.
“Well, go on,” Giovani insisted.
“But he’ll… kill me,” Dalton choked out.
Giovani took one step toward Dalton, who retreated a few steps, and said, “He may. He may not. Do as I say, or I will most certainly kill you.”
Dalton inhaled sharply, and with a big gulp, he stepped back over to the cage where Zabrina handed him a small silver key. As he entered, he walked very slowly, with his arms out in front of him in a protective stance.
“It’s all right, Stephen,” Giovani assured him. “Dalton is our friend.”
The monster seemed a
bit tranquilized by Giovani’s soothing voice. With trembling hands, Dalton unhooked the first manacle. Gibbon did not move. Dalton reached across him to his other hand, and inserted the key. Turning the lock, he prepared to run, but just as the empty shackle clanked against the wall, Gibbon’s powerful hand shot up and grabbed him by the throat. He began to squeeze. Dalton’s eyes bulged out of his head. The boy attempted to scratch his way free, but Gibbon was far too strong for him. In a few seconds, Dalton’s head popped free and his remains turned quickly to ash. Gibbon began to laugh, and Giovani joined him. “Nicely done!” Giovani applauded his monster. “Now, it’s time for the true testament of your strength. It’s time to kill your step-mother!”
Giovani crossed over to Cadence and began unstrapping her from the hospital bed. “Ahhh, I can hardly wait,” he said. He unhooked one hand, reattached the steel rope from earlier, tied her hands together, and then unhooked her other hand from the bed.
“How am I supposed to defend myself if my hands are tied together?” she asked, once she realized what he was doing.
“I. Don’t. Care,” he replied. Zabrina had a gun drawn on her from where she stood in the corner, and she knew trying to fight Giovani would result in her demise, but she was tempted to try it anyway considering it would probably be a much less painful death than what she was about to endure at the hands of Gibbon. Still, thoughts of her family gave her courage, and as Zabrina unlocked the cage and shoved her inside, she was focused on the monster across the room. He still hadn’t moved.
She had about a foot of rope between her hands, but she knew she would have to find a way to get rid of the binding before she could fully protect herself. She immediately began to look around the cell to see what she could use to try and break free. There was only the cot against the wall and the two chains hanging near Gibbon, nothing else.
And now, he was looking at her.
“Hey, Stephen,” she said quietly. “My name is Cadence. If… if you, uh, want to get out of this cage and go back to your apartment, maybe we can help each other.”
Gibbon looked away, his eyes falling on the picture of Barbara that Giovani was holding just outside the cell. After a moment, Gibbon turned his attention back to Cadence and began to growl.
***
“What are we missing?” Aaron asked Christian as they walked around, practically in circles, looking for the place where Giovani and Cadence had disappeared. The helicopters both circled overhead, using their bright light to illuminate the ground where the Guardians were searching, but so far it had done no good.
Aaron stopped pacing for a moment and surveyed the area slowly one more time. Where would you hide an entrance to a tunnel? If it wasn’t in the ground, where else could it be? And then he noticed a small pier jutting out into the river. It looked as if the water had receded a bit recently as the near end of the pier was not over the water at all. “That’s it—that’s got to be it!” he yelled at Christian as he took off running for the pier.
Christian followed but hung back a bit as Aaron began to bounce on the end of the wooden and rock structure. There was a bit more give than there should have been, and using his X-ray vision, he could see a steep flight of stairs beneath the planks leading back in towards the city, back towards Jeweler’s Row. “It’s here!” he yelled to Christian.
“Brilliant!” Christian exclaimed as he hurried to help Aaron determine where the door hinged and to carefully flip it open.
“We found the tunnel!” Aaron let the rest of the team know. Now, they would just have to make it to Cadence before it was too late.
***
“Hey there, big guy,” Cadence said as Gibbon began to walk toward her. “You must work out a lot.” Her hands were still attached to each other, but she had pulled on the steel enough to stretch it out so that she had about two feet between them now. Still, she would be at a disadvantage if he attacked—when he attacked. She had her arms down in front of her, leaning against the wall as if she was only there to hang out for a little while.
Gibbon stopped in front of her and began to laugh. It wasn’t a giggle of glee, but a laugh so maniacal, it made Giovani seem sane. Cadence had met her fair share of beasts over the last year, but never had she looked into the eyes of a creature and saw the same amount of diabolical evil as the pair of black eyes glowing back at her now.
Within seconds, the laugh morphed into a growl, and almost before she could react, Gibbon reached for her neck with both hands. She was able to dodge out of the way, slipping under his arm, causing him to punch into the air in frustration, and there was now a crater in the brick where his fist made contact.
Cadence was behind him now. He turned to face her, swinging as he did so. She slid out of the way of his left hook, but he caught her in the shoulder with his right, sending her careening into the steel bars, hard. But she didn’t have time to lick her wounds as he was coming for her again. This time, she grabbed ahold of the cage and used it as leverage, kicking out as she did so. She met her target, and Gibbon stepped back with an “oomph” holding his stomach.
There were noises overhead, the sound of guns being fired and heavy footsteps. Cadence didn’t have time to check in on her IAC to see exactly what was happening, but she believed part of her backup may have just arrived. As Gibbon came at her again, she stepped out of the way, swinging at him with her clasped hands as she did so. He got her in the side, sending her flying against the back wall, but not until after she did some damage to the left side of his head.
Giovani and Zabrina were arguing now. Cadence couldn’t hear the whole conversation, but it seemed like Zabrina was ready to leave, and Giovani wanted to stay and watch the fight. She was worried—afraid LIGHTS would break down the door and storm in, killing them both. She wanted to take the tunnel.
Gibbon was coming at her again now, and Cadence was backed into a corner. There really wasn’t any place for her to go at this point, and he knew it. He smiled at her, baring his fangs, and the site of those razor like blades was incentive enough to find an exit. Cadence brought her left knee straight up, hoping to catch him between the legs. While he anticipated the blow and attempted to block it with his hands, she caught enough of his important parts to invoke a scream of pain from the monster. In his anger, he reached out and picked her up, throwing her across the cell. She hit the bars even harder this time, her head slamming into the steel. She would need a moment to recover, but then so would he. She glanced back over her shoulder to see him holding himself, leaning against the wall. Cadence leaned against the bars, trying to catch her breath.
Zabrina was angry now as the sound of searching began to filter down the stairwell. Clearly, LIGHTS was in the jewelry store attempting to find the entrance to the secret underground chamber. “You are going to end up getting yourself killed!” she screamed in Giovani’s face, and pushed him backwards, hard, against the bed Cadence had been tied to earlier, knocking it back horizontal.
Giovani was livid; Cadence could tell from his expression that he was about to snap. He shoved Zabrina back, and as she lost her balance and began to stumble, a hand shot out across the dirty brick floor, catching her heal and sending her tumbling back against the bars where Cadence was standing.
Instinctively, Cadence grabbed ahold of Zabrina’s hair and began to pull so that her head was pressed up firmly against the bars. Giovani watched in horror as Cadence changed her grip from his girlfriend’s hair to her neck and began to twist. There was a noise across the cell, and Cadence knew she needed to return her attention to Gibbon, but destroying the Vampire who had infected her sister was more important right now, and she tugged on Zabrina’s neck with one hand, the other tangled in her hair, beating her face against the bars as she did so. Zabrina was screaming and clawing at Cadence’s arm, which was dripping blood all down the front of Zabrina’s blouse. Cadence continued to pull, and as Gibbon grabbed ahold of her waist and yanked her across the room, Zabrina’s head came off with her. Even though Gibbon sent Cadence cras
hing against the back wall, it was very much worth it.
Giovani was screaming now, calling out for his beloved who was now a pile of ashes on the ground. He was afraid to get too close, afraid Cadence or Gibbon would grab him as well, but he did step over to Dixon and begin kicking him furiously, screaming, “No! What did you do? You will pay for that!” Giovani drew his gun from its holster and shot Dixon in the head.
While Cadence was both thankful for the help and sorry to see such a thing, she was glad the detective was finally out of his misery. The fact that his body did not disappear was puzzling to Cadence—how had he been infected and not turned? She didn’t have time to think about the mysteries of the reserva de sange right now. Gibbon was looming over her again, and she needed to find a way to stop him once and for all.
He had pulled the flesh back away from his mouth in order to display his fangs even more prominently. She was almost out of options and backed into a corner again. She assumed the same trick wouldn’t work twice, but kicking was about all she could do with her hands still bound together, and as he approached, she brought up her left leg, aiming for his gut.
Gibbon caught her leg and twisted sending a shot of pain up her thigh like a lightening bolt. Her knee popped, and as he used her own leg to pick her up and throw her back into the bars, she realized her ACL had snapped again. She landed with a thunk on the floor next to the door, and before she could even catch her breath, he had her foot, dragging her back towards him.
She grabbed onto the bars with both hands, trying to pull away from him, trying to pull herself towards something shiny she could clearly see lying just on the other side of the bars. Giovani was huddled on the ground across the room, crying, and he wouldn’t see, if she could just slide her fingers forward just a bit more.
As Gibbon yanked her backwards, she managed to grab the object with one hand and a fist full of ashes with the other. She kicked with her right leg, finding Gibbon’s face, which caused him to let go of her just long enough for her to scramble to her feet. As soon as she put weight on her left leg, it buckled, and she knew it was useless. Gibbon looked up at her, and stepping forward, he made another grab. Cadence held up the ashes and blew little bits of Zabrina right into his eyes, causing him to stumble backwards. She had a few seconds now; it just needed to be enough time for her plan to work.