“Well,” she says, shrugging, “technically the Jeep saved you. Not me.”
“What about when you almost showed the guy your assets?” I smile, trying to coax her into a tease fest Kane would be proud of.
She ignores me, however, not taking the bait.
I look back to the road ahead, and watch as several police cars and ambulances, blow by us, no doubt headed to Ocean Drive.
“Who the hell are these people?” I ask myself aloud.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Nicole asks me back.
My silence answers for me. I have no idea what she means.
“My children will rise soon, and be led by the worst of them.” I know where she’s going with this, but I’m not sure if it’s connected or not. “From under the ruins, they will come, at the beginning.”
I don’t want to admit it, but… “I think you’re right.” I then tell her what Susan said.
“So it is her kids?” she says, fully believing her own hypothesis.
“Looks like it.”
“Do you think this guy was the worst of them like the warning suggests?” I ask.
“I don’t think so,” she replies. “He felt like more of a soldier—a pawn.”
As much as she trusts my judgment, I trust hers.
I breathe in deep, running the possibilities through my head. I don’t like any of them, and instead of tiring myself worse, I just recline my seat a little and close my eyes.
“I gotta get some rest,” I say. “Think we can make it to northern Georgia by tomorrow?”
I peek over and see her nod. “So we’re skipping the airport?”
Now it’s my turn to nod. “Better safe than sorry. Stopping now doesn’t’ seem like a good idea. May as well keep going and not loiter for too long. I’d like to take full advantage of this head start.”
She nods again as I close my eyes and think of the rest of my team. Then, I recall something that Susan said.
If only you knew your true potential…
* * *
Susanoo laid still as his body healed. His eyes were closed, reluctantly taking the opportunity to contact the others. The last time he’d spoken to them they were beginning their individual assaults on the additional members of Boyd’s team.
“Phoenix, report,” he said sternly.
“These two have proved…elusive…but I have them where I want them, Susanoo.”
“When?”
“Soon, brother. Very soon.”
He mentally smiled towards his sister. Phoenix had never let him down. Neither had Anu for that matter. Then, there was Terra… She was the most inexperienced of the four, having less drive than they did. She was extremely powerful—the most powerful if she so chose, but lacked the will to fully use her gifts.
“Terra.”
“Yes, brother?” she replied, nervously.
“Report.”
He heard only silence in their communication, instantly telling him she had failed.
Disappointing…
“I send you after the weakest of them all and you can’t even take care of him. He isn’t even a soldier.”
“He had help, Su—”
“Excuses!” He let the berating sting a while longer. Then he spoke again. “Don’t let it happen again.”
“I won’t…”
He quickly cut the communication and tried Anu.
“Anu, report.”
Nothing.
“Anu, I said report.”
Still nothing.
“Anu!”
He sighed.
Anu had been known to go rogue on occasion, focusing wholly on his task. Of the power they wielded, his was the most difficult to control. While the natural power of the Earth’s land and oceans were the most devastating of what the planet could offer, the sky itself took the deepest of concentration to manipulate. It wasn’t that Anu didn’t want to speak, it’s that he couldn’t while summoning it. Any lapse in focus could mean terrible things for him and his prey.
It was truly a primal force to be reckoned with.
The older man, Fehr, didn’t stand a chance.
His eyes opened to a bright and clear south Florida sun, but before he could even contemplate enjoying the view, he wailed in agony and fear. His back arched and he clawed at the ground, kicking his legs in protest. Susanoo’s mental intrusions carried none of what he felt now—nor did the other Judge’s. This was a far stronger force invading his mind, piercing its depths like a hot poker.
“You have failed,” the hiss-like voice said. It scraped down his spine, making his skin crawl.
“No, my lord,” Susanoo croaked, his body still locked in terror, “I have only been delayed.”
“Fool!”
The voice boomed through the Judge’s consciousness, threatening to tear away his very existence. Susanoo screamed for the master to stop, begging for mercy and another chance, but all he did was laugh.
“You’re weak, Susanoo. If I wasn’t resigned to using you and your siblings, I would have destroyed you all centuries ago.”
His body was released and the attack on his mind lessened. Susanoo breathed in heavily.
“Phoenix and Anu may have better success with their weaker prey,” he quickly added, desperately trying to ward off another cerebral invasion. “Boyd is much more powerful than we realized. If he were to unlock his true potential and—”
“Don’t tell me about power!”
Susanoo’s body writhed again, lifting off the ground a foot before being violently slammed back down, cracking the asphalt beneath. The master laughed again at his torment.
“It’s ‘your’ job to make sure he makes it to the tower ‘before’ he comes to that conclusion, while he’s still unsure of himself. It’s only a matter of time now. I do not care what condition he is in or if he is willing or not. We—you—must succeed.”
Susanoo would like nothing more than to bury a fist right into the master’s face and cease his mocking tone. It had been years since he had forcefully entered his mind. It was a dangerous way to begin a communication. It’s why he and the other Judge’s would send a pulse first. Then, they would allow entrance and reduce the risk of harming each other.
The master fears no such thing.
“It is my responsibility—one I plan on following through with,” Susanoo replied. “We—I—will be successful.”
He was about to add “I promise” to the end, but refrained. Susanoo would make no such claim. If they did fail in acquiring their prize, then the consequences would be even that much more ghastly.
“See that you don’t fail me again…” The voice started to fade as the master began letting go. “Remember one more thing my judger of man… You may be strong enough to resist me, but the others are not.”
Susanoo’s breath caught.
“Fail me again and you alone will be responsible for your family’s deaths. I will personally discontinue their existences.”
13
Typhoon Lagoon
Orlando, Florida
Kane and Olivia skirted around the northern end of the waterpark’s main walkway, following its circuitous route around the central wave pool. They ran as fast as their slipping feet and wounded bodies would let them. No running! It’s what countless lifeguards used to tell him when he was younger. Then, they’d see the massively oversized youth that Kane was and back down. He wouldn’t have picked a fight with them, though, they were just doing their jobs. No, he just liked to watch grown-ass-men squirm under the gaze of a two-hundred-pound teenager.
“Merde!” Olivia shouted, hobbling as she ran. “That girl had a head like stone. I almost broke my leg.”
A few steps in front of her, Kane slowed and reached a catcher’s mitt sized hand out. He then took the much smaller woman, lifting her like she weighed nothing, and slung her across his back. She clutched her arms around his throat, careful not to choke him, and then wrapped her legs around his waist, locking ankles, wincing as she applied pressure to the badly bruised shin bone.
“Are you okay?” she asked, bouncing up and down as he barely slowed.
“You kidding?” he said. “You remember Brooks?”
She did. He was Kane’s former Ranger teammate, turned traitor. He was one of the reasons Dr. Boyd, her mentor, died that day.
“Of course, I do,” she said, snapping harder than she intended.
He didn’t hear it, though. “I had to carry his ass like this for a couple miles once. Jerkoff was clipped by around, right in the foot. It was barely a scratch, but he was slowing us down.”
“Okay,” she said, “I just wasn’t—”
“Brooks wasn’t much lighter than me, Belle,” he said, snorting out a laugh as he ran. “You’re about as heavy as my pack from boot camp!”
She kissed the side of his face. “You really know how to make a girl feel good about herself, don’t you?”
Kane shrugged and smiled. “It’s a gift.”
“Look out!”
Kane barely had time to react to Olivia’s warning, when a palm tree fell in front of them. He tried to skid to a stop, but couldn’t. The ground was just too slick for his bare feet to find proper traction. So instead, he took the added forward momentum and leapt the still smoldering palm, landing on the other side. His legs buckled a little as he landed, twisting his knee hard.
They both went down, crashing into a pile of large inner tubes. Luckily, they had been passing one of the numerous entrances to the park’s immense lazy river. It followed the walkway, all the way around.
They sat up in unison, Kane having to look over the yellow inner tube resting on his shoulders. He imagined he looked exactly like the Coke bottle ring toss game from a carnival. What he saw only made him wish for a weapon even more than before. It was her.
The petite Latina named Phoenix casually strolled down the same path they had been running through. Her hands were outstretched and her lips were moving—mumbling something to herself. It was just like Coaxoch when she conjured the stone creatures. As she continued forward, everything around her was set ablaze.
What I wouldn’t give for stone snakes, like before.
Kane looked on in shock and awe as she simply flexed her fingers. Each time she did, something new caught. Trees, inner tubes, and lounge chairs, they all instantly combusted. So did the various buildings around them. Nothing would escape her fury.
Well, hopefully not nothing… he thought, glancing at Olivia.
They both stood as one and started backpedaling, unsure of where to go. Phoenix was still a good forty or so feet away, but she’d surely be in range soon. The tree that just missed them was proof enough of her range and like any weapon, he was sure her effectiveness got better and better as she neared her target.
Kane took a step, but his balky knee protested, as did Olivia’s aching right leg.
“Now what?” she asked, looking up to him.
“Not sure, honestly,” he answered, looking down at her. “I don’t think either of us are in any shape to outrun her now.”
Olivia’s face dropped and so did her chin. Kane turned to face her, but instead of his eyes finding hers, they looked over her head, finding something else. Olivia saw his eyes light up and she turned. But her reaction wasn’t as positive as his.
The rear wall of the enormous wave pool sat not far from where they stood now. Kane hobbled over and took a look, not seeing a ton of promise in his quickly forming plan. But still, he headed for the pool’s rear perimeter fence and put his back to it, cupping his hands.
“Come on, Frenchie, up and over.”
Not really having time to argue, Olivia did as he asked and stepped up into his hands, cringing at the movement. As she gripped the chain link, Kane lifted her higher, making her yelp as he applied even more pressure. She adjusted and pushed off on her good leg and easily scaled the fencing, quickly shambling down the other side. Her bare feet actually made it easier finding footholds in the large chain links.
Kane then followed like a practiced monkey and climbed, landing next to Olivia with a grunt. He flexed his knee but didn’t voice a complaint. He was used to pain, it focused him.
No time for pain, he thought as he searched for the next step in their escape. He found it a short second later and hurried over.
“Shit!” he yelled, seeing an insurmountable wall in front of him.
He looked left and found something else, though. A rooftop access ladder hung, bolted to the side of the wave machine’s surrounding structure. He really didn’t want to have to climb any higher, but he was used to altering his plans on the fly. He groaned again, looking over the much-too-tall concrete walls one more time before limping over to the ladder. The heat increased behind them, accelerating his decision-making process.
“Up,” he said, watching behind them.
“You can’t—” she stopped when he hissed and shoved her forward.
The ladder was on the left side of the rectangular structure, so they’d be out of sight for the majority of the time. They may even be able to lose Ms. Fireball if they get up it quick enough.
Olivia trusted Kane’s judgment and began to climb as swiftly as she could. She felt the ladder shudder under her. He was right on top of her, begging her to go faster. She did, shelving the pain in her leg for a chance of surviving the day.
As soon as Kane’s feet cleared the halfway point he felt a wash of heat kiss the back of his legs. If he had any leg hair, he’d have lost it for sure, but it grew in like a chimp’s so he’d routinely shaved it since high school.
“Go, go, go!”
Thankfully, Olivia was in good shape and pushed herself that much more. They both shot up-and-over the lip of the roof and fell to the sun-scorched concrete. Breathing heavily and checking his feet for burns, Kane sighed and leaned up on his elbows, grinning.
But the boyish smirk was erased from his face as a huge column of fire shot into the sky right in front of him, burning his eyes like he was too close to a campfire. He rolled backwards and got to his feet his eyes watering. He joined Olivia at the edge of the wave pool’s wall and looked down, wiping away the tears.
“How high are we?” Olivia asked, also peeking over the edge and seeing the water below.
“Does it matter?”
She looked at Kane, narrowing her eyes. She was not in the mood.
“No idea,” he said shrugging. “Twenty feet, maybe?”
“Maybe?”
“I didn’t build the friggin thing!”
And with that, Beast grabbed his beloved Beauty before she could argue…and tossed her overboard. He then quickly followed her as another column of fire shot into the air, singeing the hairs on the back of his head.
He heard Olivia splash into the water just before he went under, carried forward by the remains of the last set of waves. He kicked forward, staying under the surf as he found Olivia. She was calmly floating, looking in his direction with absolute rage in her eyes. Kane knew he’d get a talking-to when this was all over, but for now, he shooed her forward, getting another angry look.
As she surfaced for air, he kept on swimming, his much larger lungs doing what God intended them to do. He calmly breaststroked underneath her kicking feet as she sank like a stone, landing on his back. Surprised, Kane let go a flurry of air as he rounded on Olivia.
Her eyes said it all… So did her pointing finger.
It was pointed up.
“Damnit,” Kane said aloud. It came out like a garble of nonsense, but the look on his face conveyed the message clearly.
Both he and Olivia kicked like demons as the water around them began to heat up. They had literally gone from bad to more bad. If they didn’t clear the wave pool in time, they’d boil alive.
Under Washington D.C.
She waited and wept, unmoving until ordered to. She no longer wanted to serve him, but as Susanoo reminded her. “He is not one you simply walk away from.”
She agreed with her brother but knew her death wouldn’t be by her master’s ha
nd... It would be by Susanoo’s. She knew he didn’t like to be told what to do any more than she did, but he did his part without question. Anu and Phoenix were the same, but even more independent thinking than they. They would abide by their master, again without question, but were known to go off on their own to finish what was asked of them.
Like Anu in the desert.
He refused to answer Susanoo, caught up in the hunt—as did Phoenix. The only other reason would be if either of them was incapacitated. It rarely happened of course, but it had happened. Like everyone on the planet, even they didn’t like to speak of their failures.
My failures, she thought, tucked away in her handmade dugout. After she dropped into the earth she willed the ground to open a tunnel to the east. Why she chose that direction, she didn’t know. All she knew was it was towards the man she was sent here to kill. He intrigued her. While she lived with the human race, she never really confided in any of them.
This one is different… He has a good heart. I can feel as much.
She craned her neck up and looked through the small hole she had opened. It allowed air to travel back and forth. But she, like the others, didn’t need it to survive. She just liked the feeling of the fresh air surrounding her. Food, water, shelter—none of them were necessary actually. She didn’t know the exact science behind it, but their bodies would basically use whatever it needed to regenerate themselves. It’s just how it was. Technically, they were starved and dehydrated husks of themselves, but their immortal abilities kept them moving onward.
What would it be like to die? she asked herself.
“Terra.”
She shook her head against the intrusion, blocking it out. It was like a busy signal to the caller. It told them she was unable to answer back.
“Terra?”
She cringed as the voice pushed deeper. The soil beneath her dropped away as she quickly tried to escape it. The only place she felt relatively safe was deep underground whether by her own making or some natural fissure. There were so many undiscovered systems underground—most she knew of but kept to herself.
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