Paroxysm (Book 2): Paroxysm Aftermath

by Ashleigh Reynolds

  Gemi pulled the map out of her pants pocket and scanned it again. At this point she probably had it memorized and Jaxton knew his way to the river for the most part, but it helped focus her errant thoughts. The past few weeks had been more than intense. And now that she was out in the open, making her move, it all crashed down on her. Pressing her so hard she felt like she might suffocate.

  On top of it all she was now having odd visions.

  “Trail!” Sann shouted over his shoulder and pointed toward their right.

  The map was rather old so when their surroundings began to match what was on paper she let out a small sigh. At least they had that going for them.

  Gemi folded the map and crammed it back in her pocket. They would be following the trail for the most part until it intersected with a river.

  Despite her unease, her body got a thrill from being surrounded by nature once again. The sun, the wind, the smell. Something about it called to her soul. Even the burning in her muscles as they stomped up the steep incline leading farther into the trees felt good.

  Sann walked slightly faster than them. He took the lead, keeping an eye out in front. Every once in a while she caught him glancing over his shoulder at them, an odd expression on his face. She was going to murder him if he kept this little game up. He was being more than obvious even after promising that he wouldn’t tell Jaxton.

  A sudden rustling in a nearby bush had them all spinning, weapons drawn. Gemi peered around the shrub and jumped back as a rabbit darted out. She lowered her knife instantly, her free hand clutching at her chest over her heart.

  “Wuss,” Sann mocked as he holstered his gun.

  She glared at him, sliding the knife back into the sheath at her waist. She wanted to stick her tongue out at him, but wouldn't stoop to his childish level. So instead, she flipped him off. Probably not any better, but it felt good. That only won roaring laughter from him as he started walking again. Jaxton nudged her with his elbow and rolled his eyes dramatically.

  At least Sann irritated more than her.

  “I think we can definitely make this by nightfall,” she said.

  “If more bunnies don't get us,” Sann called.

  He was so obnoxious. It would be so easy just to trip him and watch his head smash into a sharp rock. Gemi's steps stuttered at the sudden unexpected thought. Her heart raced and not from the rabbit scare.

  Jaxton's eyebrows pulled together as he watched her. He must have read the horror all over her face. She could fix that for him by digging her knife into his eyes. Wouldn't have to look at anything after that.

  Gemi stopped in her tracks and tried to take a deep breath. It was as if an elephant sat on her chest, squeezing all the air from her lungs.

  “You okay?” he asked, worry painted all over his face.

  “Yeah. Just got a little dizzy,” she lied.

  “Not going to pass out again, are you?”

  She shook her head and chewed on her lip. As fast as the feeling came it disappeared. But it left her terrified.

  “The hell we waiting on?” Sann called.

  “Give us a second!” Jaxton turned back to her and cupped her cheek.

  She didn't want to be coddled, but his warm hand on her face helped her focus. Little by little her heart rate returned to normal.

  She smiled at him and stepped out of his grasp. “I'm okay now.”

  His face was tense as he continued to stare at her. They had spent enough time together that he knew something was wrong even when she was lying about it. And she lied about a lot of things lately.

  Gemi forced her smile to widen and turned back to the trail in front of them before he noticed the fear in her eyes. Sann had already abandoned them, heading down the trail alone. The tune he whistled floated back to her. Good lookout he was.

  “What was that?” Jaxton asked suddenly at her side.

  “I told you, I got dizzy.”

  “That's what you said back in the tunnel right after you passed the hell out.”

  She heard the worry in his voice mixed with anger. It made her blood boil. She was a grown woman who had been through a lot. Things he had brought on her the day he stole her away from her family and helped murder her sister. Things that she should make him pay for.

  She turned on him and let everything wash over her. Her fist connected with his jaw, all the strength in her body thrown into it. It made a satisfying sound as it sent him stumbling backward, completely caught off guard.

  He rebounded quickly, his eyes flashing with anger, mirroring her own. But, instead of acting on it, he straightened his shirt and hooked his rifle over his shoulder.

  “Do you want to tell me what that was about?” he asked.

  “You were pissing me off.”

  Sann coughed from behind them, coming back when he realized they weren't keeping up. “Lovers’ quarrel?” he mocked.

  Gemi didn't hesitate this time. She ran at Sann, dipping her shoulder down and nailing him square in the gut. Being shorter had its advantages sometimes. He flew back into the dirt with a grunt where he lay grabbing at his stomach and trying to catch his breath.

  Her eyes scanned the trail for a rock, preferably a decent size and sharp. He whined about it enough, the fake time she smashed his head in. It was time to let him feel that for real. It would teach him...well nothing because he would be dead. But it would be an amazing scene.

  She had just spotted the perfect one when Jaxton's arms wrapped around her and pinned her own to her sides.

  Damn his brute strength.

  She remembered that time in the tent when he took her down. He had always been stronger than her. But this time she wasn't terrified and knew a few moves of her own.

  Gemi bent forward and brought her head back up into his face. It hurt like hell, but it did the trick. Jaxton was so startled that he let go of her and stepped away, holding his nose. It was bleeding only a little, but, God, she wanted to see more.

  Too bad for her that in her frenzied state she forgot about Sann. He kicked the back of her knee forcing her to the ground. She rolled out of the way and into a crouched position right as he moved to kick her again.

  “Sann, what the hell are you doing?” Jaxton yelled.

  He ignored him as he charged at her, trying the same maneuver she had. It was obvious that he didn't love the idea of being beat by a girl. He also wasn't thinking now that rage got the best of him. She quickly sidestepped and thrust her foot into his back. He toppled to the ground, hitting his chest hard before rolling into a ditch and kicking up a cloud of dirt.

  Gemi glanced around looking for the rock again. It was perfect. But then she found the knife at her waist and had a better idea. Rocks would be a quick show of strength. Blood and gore. But a knife, that would be slow and precise work. It took only a few well-placed stabs to draw it out. Or if she was feeling particularly garish she could go for a full-on disembowelment.

  She was stalking toward Sann when she met Jaxton's gaze and stopped in her tracks. He had a look of shock mixed with utter sadness. His nose had stopped bleeding, leaving a small, smeared trail to his lip and a slight bruise was forming over his cheekbone, marring his otherwise perfect face. Something about the sadness in his eyes made a switch flip in her head and she took a few steps back, her free hand thrust in front of her palm out.

  She was losing it just like the others. It was only a matter of time. She saw the sign in the cave. She should have realized it then and turned back, but she was stubborn and refused to see anything other than her plan. A plan that was built on a speck of hope. One that everyone played along with because they wanted something to cling on to as well.

  “Stay away,” she screamed taking another step back.

  If she tried she could probably run back to the base before she lost it completely. But that would just put the others in danger. Her best bet was to run in the opposite direction as them, deep into the forest and hope that her crazed brain wasn't good at telling direction.

  �
�Gemi?”

  His tone was so sad, so defeated. Pain radiated through her chest as if her heart actually broke in two. If it was the last thing she did, she had to save them. Even Sann. He might have been an asshole, but he was her asshole and they had been there for each other through the past few months and long before that, if her scattered memories were correct.

  “I'm sorry,” she whispered. It was barely audible to her, but Jaxton heard it. His eyes brightened as he took a step toward her.

  Her feet moved under her, propelling her forward a few feet before a blinding pain lanced through her head. She crumpled instantly into a heap on the ground, gripping and hitting her head as she screamed. It was as though she was being electrocuted, each jolt sending her further toward the edge.

  Blood-filled images assaulted her brain. As each one came, she found herself craving more. She fought them at first, but that increased the pain. Her face scratched against the dirt and she heard someone far-off speaking to her, but she couldn't concentrate on anything but the pain.

  Pain and blood.

  Blood and pain.

  Pain for pain.

  PART 2

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Gemi stumbled forward, grabbing at her head and screaming. It was a sound he had never heard anyone make before. She screamed as if her life depended on it. As if her brain might burst out of her skull if she stopped. It built until it was the only thing he could hear, drowning out all other sounds of life around them.

  She hit the ground hard, facedown as Jaxton ran to her side. His eyes swept the forest, searching for whatever caused her sudden outburst of pain. But there was only them. His eyes settled on her as he rolled her over.

  He reeled back at the sight of her. Soft pink lips and porcelain skin had been replaced with pale blue lips, a complete contrast to the red hue her skin had taken on. Her eyes were staring up toward the sky unseeing. All life and sense of self vacating them. She thrashed under his grip, teeth gnashing, yet somehow not muffling the sound emanating from her.

  “What the hell is wrong with her?” Sann asked as he ran back to them, after dragging himself out of the ditch he rolled into. “Cover her mouth or something. She’s going to give us away!”

  Jaxton ignored him and kept his attention on Gemi. “Gemi? Can you hear me? What's wrong?”

  Her eyes snapped into focus and shifted to his face. She stopped moving. Stopped screaming. All familiarity was wiped away, leaving behind the face of the woman he loved, distorted by a menacing smile. Jaxton pulled away and lessened his grip on her, his heart stopping from what he saw in her eyes.

  Death. It was the only way to describe it.

  Sann on the other hand didn’t hesitate. He stepped back and drew his gun from the holster on his hip. Leveling it at her chest he took another step back. “Get away from her, man.”

  Jaxton registered the gun in his hands and jumped up, putting himself in between them. “What are you doing?”

  “She's lost it, man. I saw that same look in Allon.”

  “She's fine.” Jaxton put his hands up and took another step toward Sann. He was lying, and he knew Sann could tell, but he needed to defuse the situation before she got killed.

  Gemi moaned from the ground and murmured something under her breath. Her voice dropped several octaves, sounding like another person was talking through her. It was eerie and unlike anything he had ever seen or heard.

  “Dude, seriously, move. She’s going to kill us.”

  “Just stop! We can figure something else out. We don't have to—”

  Jaxton was cut short as Gemi launched herself at him. She landed with such force on his back that he was sent sprawling to the ground facedown. A sharp knee jammed into his back as nails dug into his flesh. None of his limbs could find traction beneath him with her wild movements pushing him farther into the dirt.

  The world was a momentary blur as she lifted his head by the hair and smashed his face into the soil. Flashes of trees, hands, dirt, and a similarly startled Sann all filled his vision as he struggled to regain focus on his surroundings.

  All of his instincts as a fighter muddled with his fear of injuring her. Every time he went to make a move, he hesitated, thinking about all the ways it could lead to hurting her.

  And then she moved in for the kill.

  Her arm wrapped around his neck, pressing into his Adam’s apple and pinching his airway. For someone so petite, she was as strong as any man. He had trouble gaining traction with his feet before, and now that his body was being deprived of oxygen, it made it all the worse.

  She growled close to his face, sounding close to a feral animal that had been cornered. Jaxton dipped his head, barely avoiding the teeth aiming for his ear. As he moved, he noticed the gun trained on her again. Panic rose in him as he ignored his fear of hurting her and grabbed her arm, sliding his fingers into the shallow gap between their skins and thrust his body to the side. It sent both of them rolling with him landing on top of her, his back to her chest. She let out a groan, but didn't stop her assault.

  “Fuck!” Sann spit and holstered his gun.

  Sann ran to them and pried her arm off of him. Jaxton rolled to the side and took in a gulp of air. His lungs burned and his neck throbbed. But he’d live.

  He couldn’t say the same for her.

  Sann was straddling her head and struggled with her flailing arms. After ducking out of the way of a few badly aimed blows, he was able to pin them down. She growled and snapped her teeth at him in response. Jaxton slung his bag off his shoulder and tossed it to the ground. The doctor had to have packed something just in case. The man was always prepared.

  Just when he thought Sann had it under control, Gemi rolled into a ball and, with all her strength, pushed her feet into his chest and sent him flying. She quickly rolled over and slid a knife out of her boot. She crouched low, teeth bared, her eyes flashing between the both of them. When Sann regained his footing and produced the gun again, she took off into the trees.

  “Damn it!” Jaxton yelled and slung his backpack on before taking off after her.

  She was fast. Always had been. Her feet carried her farther into the forest and out of his sight line long before he’d even begun chasing after her. But her laughter let him know where she was. It was high-pitched and a little too exuberant, carrying back to him even over the sound of his heavy breathing.

  He heard Sann pounding up behind him and sped up. Pushing his legs and still-recovering lungs to the max. He needed to catch her before Sann did so her could defuse the situation.

  Midstride, the laughter suddenly ceased and so did her footfalls. Jaxton came to a stop and spun around in a circle. They were deep in the forest now. Dim light filtered in through the tree coverage, but there was no sign of her.

  “Catch me if you can,” she taunted, the sound bouncing off the trees.

  Jaxton turned in the direction he was sure it came from in time to see Sann blast past him, gun drawn. He ran through the trees with little effort, ducking and gliding between branches with barely a stutter.

  Jaxton groaned and started after them. He had never been so worried and so pissed in his life. Friendship or not, Sann wouldn’t think twice about killing her. He saw it in his eyes when he first pulled the gun. It didn't help that the two of them, for whatever reason, had been at odds for weeks.

  Sann took a sharp right, and Jaxton followed, winding around the bend just in time to see Gemi fly out from a bush and plunge a knife deep into Sann's shoulder. He crashed to the ground. Hard. As his momentum sent him tumbling, she ripped the knife free and took off again into the bushes.

  Jaxton slid to a stop next to him. Sann was grinding his teeth together and holding back the flow of blood and the strain of curse words he knew were on the tip of his tongue. A shot rang out, and they hit the ground. Jaxton threw his arm out protectively over Sann’s head and looked around them.

  “Where’s your gun?” Jaxton asked when he saw that both his hand and holster were empty.
>
  “Son of a bi—”

  Another shot resonated around them as the bullet struck a foot from their faces.

  “Come on.” Jaxton helped him to a standing position and ran back the way they came.

  Sann followed, but at a much slower pace since he was preoccupied with stemming the steady flow of blood that soaked through his shirt and coated his arm.

  “What’s your master plan here?”

  “Let's take a play from her book.” Jaxton ducked behind a giant redwood and pulled Sann with him.

  “You can't run from me!” she screamed.

  Jaxton glanced around them and spotted a decent-sized branch lying on the ground next to an exposed root. He weighed it in his hand. It would do the trick, but he would have to be careful how hard he swung.

  “I'll get you one way or another!” her voice called out right beside them.

  He flattened himself against the bark and peeked out in the direction her voice was coming from. She was sauntering toward them as if she didn't have a care in the world. She clutched the gun in one hand and the bloody knife in the other, as if she was weighing her options and didn’t want to give up either.

  Jaxton moved toward the other side of the tree so that he could circle up behind her. He dragged Sann with him and pressed him into the trunk on the back side where she wouldn't be able to see him.

  Stay here, he mouthed and stepped out right as she passed by.

  He moved behind her and swung before she could hear him. He winced as the branch connected with her head with an audible crack.

  She sank to the ground motionless. Jaxton kicked the weapons away and rolled her over. Her face was slack with eyes closed, resembling more of the woman he loved and less of the crazed maniac that possessed her body.

  Sann came out from behind the tree and scowled at her. He dropped his gear bag from his shoulder and cringed as it made contact with his injury. He pulled out the measly supply of medicine they had and slipped his injured arm out of his shirt. Once settled he produced a needle and thread and through clenched teeth he worked on closing up the wound.