“Pace, are you alright?” she asked catching him off guard. No particular reason why she did it. Not like she wanted to ease his strained imagination. Ines belonged to no one and so he had no basis to be jealous about her.
He had glanced at Pembroke then, his bronze eyes returned to her. He was handsome, too. Black neatly cut hair and tanned skin. Unfortunately, it really reminded her of her ex-husband. This was an issue. She hated Marus for everything he’s done to her. Ines couldn’t blame Pace for Marus’ wrongdoings.
“I’m fine,” Pace said defiantly.
“Why no one cares about me?” Toggy whined.
They seemed to be good people. She retreated into her mind. Thinking of all the bad things that have happened since the day she learned that she wouldn’t have children. From that moment her life has turned upside down. But was it a bad thing? Partially yes, people died because of her, and who knew, maybe more would soon die. Heat in her stomach started choking her. She stifled a horrible feeling. She couldn’t panic. None would be able to help her if she fell to the ground.
“We’re close to the Small Bay,” captain said. “And it seems we found the third man.”
Ines strained her eyes and her mouth fell open. It was indeed the one who accompanied doctor and Balander. Thinking of it now, she realized he had never introduced himself. A strange man.
He almost climbed onto a small hill ahead of them.
“Ouch,” Toggy groaned.
Pace shot forth like an arrow.
“Wait!” Ines called after Pace before she could shut her mouth. The old man heard her, he looked back and a surge of panic he hastened. He will drop dead. There is no way he can outrun Pace.
Pace was half-way to him.
“Captain, what can we do?”
“Don’t worry, Pace won’t kill him.”
In fact, the geezer stopped running once he reached the top. He just stood there and glared at something in the distance. When Pace joined him there. He did the same. What are they seeing there?!
Ines, captain, and Toggy climbed a hill. Down the coast at the edge of a small bay lay a town as captain had predicted. But everyone’s attention was captured by the sight of the sea and rows of black ships, which were losing black clouds.
“We’re too late,” Toggy’s weak voice croaked.
“They have no sails,” the old man noted. “What are they?”
“The Government warships. Some called them battleships,” Pembroke replied in a neutral voice. He gave nothing. No emotions came from him. This was impossible. “They would shoot you before you could make it into a shouting distance.”
The old man fell to his knees. His eyes filled with tears.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to report you or anything. All I wanted was to leave this cursed island,” he said. “My name is Raba, by the way. I don’t have a habit of introducing myself.” He looked around and realized that his two companions weren’t with them.
“They have their own mission to carry out, Raba,” Pembroke said. “We must focus on the situation at hand. Judging by the distance, I say we have six hours before they’ll start bombardment.”
“Will they though?” Raba asked. “Doctor believed that the Government wants her back.”
“I hope he is mistaken,” Pembroke had said then began descending the hill. Everyone followed him.
The slope was uneven and traitorous. Toggy was the first to tumble. After him, fell Pace. Raba immediately slowed down, while captain didn’t seem care. Seeing two marines tumbling down, yelling something unintelligible made her want to laugh, and so she missed the rabbit hole. As she went flying headfirst, she cursed her clumsiness.
This side of the hill seemed awfully long. The world spun and when the volatile motion came to an end, everything kept whirling around. She groaned trying not to return her breakfast, she had stuffed before the marines appeared to take her.
Somewhere to her right, Toggy groaned. She wanted to do the same, but her throat clenched. She opened her eyes and froze. An ocean of terror mixed with a puddle of delight in a deadly blend. An electric current jerked her. Her heart suddenly increased the beat rate. Ines’ body felt like on fire.
Her gaze dropped again and met Pace’s transfixed eyes.
Chapter 15
Pace
Her hands pinned him to the ground.
The moment he realized what happened, Pace’s heart threatened to squeeze itself through his throat. His eyes widened in shock. He had pleasant thoughts about her, but this already, when everyone was watching them? Not the best timing. Oh, and there was something else.
“You’re touching her…” Toggy noted.
Now that he mentioned it…
It didn’t matter. He was only nineteen.
Pace couldn’t resist her sight. She represented every canon of beauty. A long rave hair, perfect physique, and her tits. They weren’t large like his father’s female friend. Just the size of oranges. And he could drown in her emerald eyes.
“That young one is an idiot,” Raba said a moment later.
It seemed he wasn’t the only one ensnared in the claws of the coincident. Ines didn’t move a muscle, and Pace had bad feelings about this. His cock already began stirring to life. If she felt him… not that it’d be embarrassing. Pace had nothing to be ashamed of, but the timing sucked.
“There is no time for mingling,” captain said. “Nothing we can do about this now. We must get on the ship.” Pace gauged that captain sounded like himself. He isn’t worried about me. What the hell? I hoped he’ll show more affection.
Ines stood up leaving hollowness where her hands touched him. Was this the strange disease? Or something else? The echoes of their contact still reverberated throughout his body when Ines extended her pale hand to him.
He accepted it and… peculiar sensation dawned on them. He felt her emotions as if they were his. She could do the same. He knew it. For the split second, they were connected in the way undescribed by any word. Their souls entwined together.
At the core of that moment, Pace and Ines stood at the top of the world and understood it all. The feeling left them the next moment. Emptiness spread in its place.
Pace got to his feet. “Did you experience it… too?” he asked knowing well she did.
“Shouldn’t we go?” Raba asked hoarsely and at first, Pace thought that the geezer was speaking to him and Ines. Then his eyes found captain.
Pembroke’s gaze was heavier than a train Pace had once tried to lift. He stood and watched them in an indescribable way. It lasted too short for anyone to consider grabbing captain and dragging him away.
“Yes,” Pembroke finally agreed, but something changed in him, or was he shaken? Three days were not enough to know for sure.
Raba and Toggy rushed toward the town without another prompt. They were happy to get on board of a ship and leave. Ines followed them, though before she had given Pace an extended stare that almost melted him.
“Wait,” captain said when the three of their companions walked out of the earshot. “What did you experience when she touched you?”
“I can’t say for sure, but it was similar to a trip, though on some new level.”
“Your fates were entangled at that moment. The shock wave alerted every user of the Soul Release in miles. I felt high just from being nearby,” Pembroke admitted with a note of bewilderment.
“It seems I’ll need to go to this More, after all. I’ve tried to avoid that man.”
“More is eccentric and whatnot, but you won’t find anyone with his skill.”
Captain’s words didn’t do much to soothe him. Why did Mist tell me all these horrible stories about their doctor? Pace sighed.
*
Pace
The main street was separated from the water by the storm wall. There was one wooden pier at the end of which their brig swayed on the gentle waves.
Bodies of older people lay everywhere. There was nothing of this in the main port. Somewhere in the
town people clashed. At least two houses were burning. Did their brains just turn into mush? A disease struck them and instead of working together to figure out a way out of this, they started killing themselves. Pace didn’t see how doctor was going to convince anyone to go with him.
“Don’t touch them,” captain meant Toggy and Raba. Pace and Ines didn’t care anymore. Pembroke carefully stepped between bodies. There were at least forty of them. Pace looked at the buildings and saw the demolished windows and broken doors. Mass panic must have gripped people of the Small Port.
Raba rushed toward the ship. Toggy turned to check on them, but captain nodded to go.
“Go—”
Something exploded beneath Pace’s and captain’s feet. They were thrown into the air. Pace landed with a loud thud and pain blinded him temporarily. He didn’t know when Ines got to him. The captain Pembroke managed to end up on his feet. He looked unscathed.
In the place of explosion stood a man clad in a heavy black coat. He had a long mustache and even longer raven hair that gleamed. He wore black gloves, which he pulled tighter as he watched captain.
“When they told me that the Navy had been contacted about this, I knew we’ll get two birds with one stone. It’s time for the peculiar boy to stop pestering our business. Are you ready for your death Pembroke?”
Pace twitched in Ines’ embrace. He felt that something bad was about to happen. Very bad.
Captain straightened up, then grinned at the man in black.
“That stupid grin won’t save your skin. You won’t get away this time!”
Captain had shrugged, then both men simultaneously jumped forward. When their fists met each other, shockwaves sent vibrations through the air and the ground.
“They must be using the Soul Release,” Pace winced as he pulled himself up. He needed to help captain.
“What’s that?”
“You should ask Toggy, that midget knows his shit.”
Toggy and Raba were already safe on the ship.
“Careful, Pace. You can hardly stand.”
“You must leave, Ines. You can’t stay here.”
“I won’t leave you.” It was the sweetest thing he has ever heard, but also the most painful. The ominous hunch felt like a physical blow to his stomach.
The fight continued and Pace's selfishness made him keep Ines close to him. He was mesmerized by her as much as she was by the fight. He was no jealous about that.
They were fast.
Extremely fast. Their movements left afterimages. Pace saw only blur when the deciding hit landed, and then the captain Pembroke was sent flying smashing against the storm wall.
Stones exploded and the shower of small rocks struck them.
“You must run,” Pace suddenly changed his conviction about keeping Ines close to him.
“Pointless,” the man in the black said. He seemed neither amused nor angry. Not much emotion in his eyes. “The island is in the lockdown. It’ll be destroyed because of the contamination caused by this test subject.” He pointed at Ines.
“She isn’t a test subject. She’s a person!” Pace warned him, but the man ignored him. “She’s under the protection of the Navy!”
“Is that so? Since when the Navy has a higher authority than the Government?” the man in a black coat asked as he slowly approached Pace and Ines. The young marine gnashed his teeth in his mouth. He knew he was powerless against this monster. Two days was not enough to learn the Soult Release.
Pace had clenched his fists straightening, then he stepped between Ines and the Government man.
“She’s under the protection of the Navy,” Pace repeated. “It’s not about authority. It’s about trust and conviction. If the Government's actions threaten people's lives, then there is no authority. It’s only a tyranny.” Ines's hands squeezed his shoulders.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m grateful for this.”
Pace turned to her and fought tears in his eyes. Why did her words sound like a farewell? Why? What did she plan?
“Ines…” His hands moved their own. They grabbed Ines’ face and without thinking Pace kissed her mouth. The sweetness of her lips prickled his. Pace’s body reacted instinctively to a powerful seduction that swept through him purging memories of every other woman he has ever been with. His pulse quickened and he couldn’t let go of her. Their souls were carved for each other.
An iron grip had taken hold of his shoulder and a brutal force pulled him away.
Pace flew back.
“Leave him!” Ines warned as she took a fighting position.
“Useless,” the Government agent explained patiently. He had thrown Pace away like a bag of bones and now he didn’t pay him anymore more heed. “You caused a lot of problems for us, but in some way, you helped get rid of…” He looked at the spot where captain Pembroke had crashed.
The body of captain was gone. The Government agent spun searching around for the incoming attack. Seeing his confusion, Ines laughed out loud, though she still didn’t move toward the ship. Pace wanted to yell at her to go, but every muscle of his body protested at the slightest motion. He might have been strong, but his durability was subpar.
Toggy waved to her from the ship, but she ignored him. Raba was nowhere to be seen. Pace wished that the rest of the crew appear and helped them. As Pace struggled with the slipping control of his muscles, the Government agent pulled a sphere from his pocket and tapped it.
“Activate the protocol, now.”
“No, no, no…”
“Why?! Why can’t you leave them alone?” Ines shouted, but the man in the black only slapped her casually, sending her hard against the cobbled ground.
“It’s none of your business.”
Pain exploded inside Pace’s head. The entanglement, the thing the captain had been speaking… it was a double-edged sword.
A shape appeared above the Government agent and the kick that he blocked should break all his bones, but he didn’t even twitch. Captain hit him with an impetus of a speeding train. How could he withstand that?! Anger boiled in Pace’s veins seeing how his captain struggled with the Government bastard. I must help him. I must.
BOOM
BOOOOM
BOOOOOOM
Explosions rang all over. The island shook ominously, and the pillars of bright fire shot into the sky. Pace got to his feet only to drop to the ground a second later. He needed to reach Ines. She lay unconscious not far away from him, but also from the fight. Pace looked and shock gripped his heart. The brig was gone. They were on their own now. The Government ships were coming closer. At the moment the explosions sounded on the other side of the island. When they’d arrive here… it was going to ugly.
“Captain, we must leave!”
“Useless,” the Government agent said as he parred captain’s punches. “By the authority of the Government of the Seven Seas and the Lands Beyond, I sentence you to death.”
A lightning-fast strike found captain Pembroke’s stomach. A shockwave knocked Pace down. Captain was sent like a bullet toward the building. The wall exploded under the destructive force and captain disappeared in the cloud of dust. The breach in the construction caused the building to shake and to Pace’s dismay, it collapsed.
“No way,” Pace murmured.
The Government agent grabbed Ines with his gloved hands. He knew about the virus as he was careful to avoid her exposed skin. His knees bent over and the man in the black coat jumped up, then two black wispy wings had appeared from his back and he flew away.
“What the fuck is that?” Pace said watching as his girlfriend become a speck against the beautiful blue sky. Such a wonderful day to die.
Chapter 16
Toggy
“You must do something!” Toggy whimpered, his face paled as he stared at the oversized Government warships approaching their position. The brig stood no chance against their devastating power. Among the marines existed a consensus that the Government possessed the most formidable fle
et in the world. The role of the Navy was often debated among the lowest ranks, but Toggy believed that as admiral he’d make sure that the significance of the Navy would be revived.
He only needed to survive this day and the odds didn’t seem favorable. There wasn’t enough space between the warships to sneak out.
Commander who frowned and scowled a lot and ignored Toggy’s questions, now stood silent by the steering wheel.
Riss appeared on the deck, her eyes lazily swept over the view. She even smiled and waved at him! Was she deluded?
“So, where is cap, Togi?”
“It’s Toggy,” he corrected her. “Captain has been attacked by a man in a black. We should help them. Why are sailing away?”
Riss had looked at the approaching fleet, then said. “It looks like we have to get out our asses out of here.”
“But captain… and Pace.”
“What about them?” Riss asked.
“They are on the island. Aren’t the warships going to destroy it?”
The woman swung her long hair around, then she flexed her joints of her hands. She was insufferable for an officer. And why her uniform didn’t possess a rank?
“Listen, cap has his reasons to stay on the island. Our priority now is to get the hell out of here.”
“B-but how…?” Toggy stammered.
“Mist.” Mist? Lieutenant? How?
Lieutenant appeared on the deck. A man in yellow dreads and full lips looked out of place in the crew. Yesterday, he seemed like some who love fun, but now this man looked like the younger and harsher version of commander. Mist rolled his shoulder dropping his coat on the floor. He wore only a creased white shirt with tattered hem. His eyes were focused on the scenery ahead.
They had no more than sixty seconds before getting into the firing range of the warships’ fire. Raba escaped beneath the deck as if it’d help him survive.
Mist extended his arms in front of him and the air around them changed. Toggy’s sink tingled and he shivered seeing how threads of a mist snaked down the deck and further down over the board.
“What the hell… is this?” he asked but his voice sounded like it came from far away. He had shaken his head and found that the ship was surrounded by a thick mist. Was it one of the legendary gifts? So, the older marines didn’t lie, when they spoke about the unexplained phenomenon. Toggy hasn’t ever accepted their stories, though they were part of his childhood stories, Gull and Skull; Orion the Shipless; or Faithful Pirate.
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