Embers & Ice (Rouge)

by Isabella Modra

  “I’m sorry Lass, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave,” he grumbled in a thick Scottish accent.

  Hunter didn’t respond at first. She was rubbing her fingers together, her mind still deep in a place she couldn’t escape from. Watching the sea animals twirl together in the water was just about the only place Hunter could find peace and almost forget…

  “Hunter?” Tom nudged her and she sucked in a gasp.

  “Sorry, Tom, I wasn’t… I’ll go.”

  Tom readjusted his knit cap and pursed his lips. “You can use the back door, I’ve already shut up the garage. And we’re closed tomorrow for the holiday, so...” He walked off to fetch a bucket.

  Shoving her hands deep into her pockets, Hunter smiled once more at Rose and Halle. Hunter spent a lot of time wishing she could swap lives with Rose, so that the only person she needed was her mother, always by her side. She would give anything to have a mother, even just to tell her that everything would be okay. That she wasn’t alone.

  Hunter headed out into the warm, summer weather and felt nothing but a slight breeze as she walked to the subway. New York was beginning to darken, telling Hunter it must be later than she thought. The subway was crowded with men and women returning home from work, with their faces pressed into books or their eyes wandering. Hunter sat beside a woman chewing gum as though she were trying to exercise every muscle in her jaw. It didn’t bother Hunter though. Nothing did.

  A strong, sticky blast of wind picked up when Hunter left the station and hurried down Collins Street to the fourth apartment building. She was far south in Manhattan, a neighborhood she was only familiar with because of the Chinese restaurant she no longer worked at.

  After punching in the code and jogging up the flight of stairs onto the first floor, Hunter fished out her key and unlocked the apartment. Inside, she could smell fried chicken. The television was playing an early episode of 90210.

  “Hey!” called someone from the kitchen and Alex Dempsey peered around the corner, her mouth stuffed with carrot and her blond hair tied up at the nape of her neck like a stumpy tuft of grass. “Did you pick up milk Hunter? And also, we’re out of smokes.”

  Hunter dumped her bag by the door and collapsed on the beat-up sofa. “So?”

  Alex threw down her spatula and leaned over the bench separating the kitchen from the living room. Hunter rolled her head to the side and met the same frowning face that had been staring at her for weeks now.

  “It’s your responsibility to get the cigs, Hunter, since that’s all you consume these days. And milk. I told you this morning.”

  “Yeah. I forgot.”

  “Babe,” Alex began in a soft tone that always alerted Hunter to another one of her friend’s ‘I think it’s time you picked yourself up’ speeches. “I know you’re hurting, but-”

  “Please don’t lecture me for the billionth time. I’ve had a rough day.”

  “Oh please, you had a rough day?” Alex started. Hunter rolled her eyes and walked to her bedroom, but Alex followed her anyway. “Kin screamed at me more times than humanly possible and I had to work an extra hour because Ash went home sick. Then, I coughed up rent for the month because you were out watching fishes swim around in their tanks and not making a living. Hunter-” She threw out her arm against the door frame and stopped Hunter from running back into the living room. “I know what it’s like to lose someone. I don’t have parents either and I broke up with Michelle a few months ago. Now I’m on my own. I’ve been there too.”

  Hunter sighed, stripping off and shoving on shorts and a band T-shirt while Alex drawled on about how difficult it was dealing with her sexuality whilst trying to get an education, but she wasn’t listening. She’d heard it before. And she couldn’t take another minute of it.

  But where could she go? Who else would offer her a room, even if it could only fit a rusty single bed and a cupboard they found on the road a few weeks ago. Who else in the world could she turn to?

  It had been just under a month since Prom. Since Eli died. Since Joshua killed him and nearly destroyed her. And since then, she hadn’t heard a word from him. Nor had she any luck in finding Jack.

  At first, Hunter wandered around debating what to do with herself. Suddenly the life she once had felt like someone else’s. School no longer mattered. She couldn’t bring herself to return to the apartment to gather her things and move out. She couldn’t even think about Joshua without breaking down in tears.

  Hunter had thought long and hard about why she’d been able to grasp the fire. She should have given in to it. She was angry and terrified and fuelled by grief. Why did it not consume her like it consumed Joshua? Was it the voices of those she loved? Was it love itself? There had to be another element to her powers, an explanation as to why it had a mind of its own. The volcanic stone could not be human.

  However, she had no room in her mind to explore this theory, not when she had to find Jack. The very night of Eli’s death, after she had turned her back on Joshua in the warehouse, Hunter went looking for him. He was in more danger now than ever. Joshua’s perception of science and all things abnormal were never incorrect. If he was sure Jack was special, he was most certainly right. Which meant that not only would Joshua be hunting him; the Agents would be on his back as well.

  But Jack didn’t return to his empty apartment. There was no trace of him. She went back a few days later, but Clare had vanished too with all their belongings. The apartment owner said that Jack never came home, and Clare moved in with her friend to finish school. The only place left to look was the very last place she would ever venture. There was no way, not even if her life depended on it, that Hunter could bring herself to search for him at Eli’s house.

  “Hunter!” Alex screamed and Hunter snapped out of her reverie and blinked at Alex in the doorway, who was practically yanking her hair out in frustration. “Where the hell do you go?”

  “What?”

  “I was talking for, like, ten minutes – I swear – and you didn’t move an inch.” Alex looked exhausted, no longer her usual lively, mischievous self, and for that Hunter felt terribly guilty. She didn’t want to be a burden on her friend, not when her life was so screwed up. The sooner you find Jack, the sooner you can go into hiding and get out of her hair.

  “I’m sorry that you and Eli broke up. I know you want to hide out here, believe me, I’d be doing the exact same thing.”

  Hunter looked down at her toes, guiltier still that Alex didn’t know the truth. But it was safer for her.

  “And I really hope that things get better for you,” she continued, “but you need to wake up. You’re not focused, you quit the restaurant and you dropped out of school before you could even sit your SATs, and all because of a break up. What the hell do you plan to do?”

  With a sigh, Hunter shoved her hair up in a ponytail and slapped her hands by her side. “I’m sorry Alex. I’m a mess at the moment, and I swear I’ll pay you back one day for letting me crash here. I just need… I need a little longer to get my head screwed on. Then, I promise, I’m out of here and on the road to recovery.”

  Alex’s face softened immediately. Her eyes even glistened with tears. She pushed herself away from the doorframe and wrapped her long, skinny arms around Hunter’s neck.

  “No, I’m sorry. I don’t have any right to tell you how to run your life.” She pulled away and kept a firm grip on her shoulders. “And hey, what do I know? I’m a twenty-two year old lesbian studying media at a community college and living by myself.”

  Hunter gave her a warm smile and squeezed her elbow. “That’s not true. You have girls here all the time.”

  Alex scoffed and ruffled Hunter’s hair until she slapped her away. “Yeah yeah. Come on, the chicken is probably burnt, but I have leftovers from work.”

  “Great,” Hunter said sarcastically, smiling all the same. “Just what I wanted.”

  They sat down with their microwaved noodles and dim-sim and watched Alex’s favorite movie – Mean Girl
s – while Hunter tried to think of anything but Eli, who was forever on the forefront of her mind. Every breath felt like a deep ache in her chest, an ache that couldn’t be cured no matter how many aspirins she wolfed down or how many hours she spent watching the dolphins play.

  So many times she caught herself getting to her feet and almost walking out the door with the intention of catching a cab to Eli’s. Countless hours she spent erasing the last memory she had of him; lying motionless, blue and dusted with icicles on the floor of room twenty-three. How long would it be before she forgot him completely, before she lost his scent or the unique color of his eyes or his cute, boyish laugh or his strong hands as they skimmed her neck and brushed her hair away? How was this fair? Why did Joshua take him away from her? Did he enjoy it? He sure seemed amused when he held her in chains of ice and laughed as she squirmed.

  Hunter’s fingers tightened around her chopsticks until they cracked in half. Alex was laughing so hard that she didn’t hear her gasp. Sick of the movie, Hunter stormed into the kitchen and threw down her plate, grabbed some cash from the fruit bowl and crossed the apartment to the entryway.

  “Hey, where are you-”

  “Out,” she snapped and wrenched open the door. “We need milk.”

  The wind outside was nasty and hot and the streets were empty. The convenience store was at the end of the main street, and she planned on taking no detours. Not after the last time she ventured into the dark night and killed a man.

  When did my life become a pit of endless death? she asked herself. She couldn’t remember a time when things were normal, when she didn’t have the ability to walk through fire or draw it from within herself and shoot it at people – people, meaning Joshua. She couldn’t remember living with Joshua, growing up in that empty apartment or going to school and sitting alone in the cafeteria where everyone pointed at her and hissed the words ‘slut’ and ‘skank’ behind their hands. Her freshest memories that didn’t make her stomach clench were of Eli. Of kissing beneath the veranda at Raoul’s, or under the bleachers, or on his bed. Of dancing at Prom and feeling blissfully happy before the walls crumbled and chaos erupted.

  A car she didn’t see sped past her and drove right through a puddle made from a drain leakage, splashing dirty water over her back. She gasped and squeezed her eyes shut. A memory washed into her mind of the night she met Eli, when they ran from the boring University benefit and saw a silent film. Hunter had fallen for him right then and there, but not until now had that become clear to her. He was the only person who saw her for herself; as a lonely girl who just wanted to love and live normally. If only he hadn’t loved her back, he might still be alive.

  The fire burned inside Hunter, as it so often did when she thought of Joshua. She almost didn’t notice a couple taking an evening walk with their dog. When she looked back over her shoulder, she could hear them whispering about her and frowning, as if they knew her.

  Hunter couldn’t escape those people. Since she put her face on television and every news broadcast channel the night she ran into a burning restaurant to be a hero, everyone seemed to recognize her. But doing so only saved one life. The consequences were far greater. Not only did the little act of kindness put her identity at risk, it killed Eli. Because after that night, Eli knew her secret. And that was why Joshua killed him.

  With fresh tears burning in her eyes and her chest heaving, Hunter stopped against a gate to a local elementary school, breathing in. For a moment she wondered if she’d ever be okay.

  It was then that they came for her. Hunter somehow sensed the danger even before the black Mercedes van sped down the street and skidded to a halt on the road only feet from her. For a moment she was so frozen in fear, like a rabbit caught in a hunter’s line of fire. Then men in black suits holding weapons like hand guns spilled out of the van and the flames burst to life inside her.

  She would not go down without a fight.

  FOUR

  The elevator could not have been slower, but Joshua was in no hurry to get back to his apartment. With his arms full of groceries and the irritating jazz music in his ears, Joshua was regretting giving up his luxurious suite to move into room fifty-seven and the lab. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t afford the apartment upstairs. It just felt so empty without Hunter living in it. There were too many touchy memories.

  Besides, living in the trashy room outside his lab – where the furniture still smelled like damp carpet – was the best way to keep an eye on Eli and… the teacher.

  Joshua held his breath as he entered room fifty-seven against the pungent smell of age. It had been over two months since Prom, and still the apartment didn’t feel like home. It was, after all, only a front for the lab that lay hidden behind it, just in case the Agents followed him home. No one would think to lift the picture frame on the mantelpiece of the fireplace where the hidden lever was that unlocked the secret coded door revealing his sound-proof, impenetrable laboratory. No one except Hunter.

  Still, it was strange to be living in this room, especially when it was so uncomfortably homey. Joshua hated anything comfortable. If it wasn’t stiff, it was cold or modern or disgustingly expensive. That was how he liked it.

  Joshua dumped his groceries on the vinyl kitchen bench, gazed at the small apartment and sighed.

  God. I’m living in Paul McCartney’s bedroom.

  In spite of the smell, Joshua lingered in the apartment for as long as possible, unpacking the groceries and making dinner for two. Yes, for two. Joshua plated up a salad and cold chicken for himself and microwaved a quiche – because he hated using an oven – and stood behind the kitchen bench, trying to force himself to open the lab. Truth was, he didn’t want to face her. Not after yesterday.

  Joshua took his time preparing for the cryonics process, and after combining his old research with the new formula from the stone, it took another few weeks for Jennifer Smart to unfreeze. Joshua didn’t expect it to take so long, nor did he expect to actually succeed. He spent countless hours researching, re-researching and then doing so again until he was sure it would work. Even then, he didn’t know for certain.

  It was messy at first. As with any revival from cryonics, very advanced bioengineering and molecular nanotechnology was needed. Fortunately, Joshua saved well and had very good connections. Not to mention he could be very persuasive at times.

  The worst part of the revival was repairing Jennifer’s tissues. After the fire in the school, her skin was littered with burns, burns that made it that much more difficult to heal the tissue beneath the skin as well as on the surface. He worked very hard to balance the temperature and help her cells regenerate. It would have been easier if the technology was available, but – like always – Joshua was ahead of time.

  Jennifer soon awoke. The moment her breathing became normal again and her words formed actual sentences, the screaming started. Some cursing and gibberish that Joshua neither knew nor cared to know was involved. Joshua deflected her attempt to punch him with a flick of his wrist and a spray of ice that froze her arm stiff, but that only made her scream louder. He hadn’t been able to get a single word in to explain why he had frozen her in her hospital bed. She wouldn’t allow it.

  Since he couldn’t get a word in, he also couldn’t ask her if she felt any different. He feared she had lost some part of herself, and he didn’t know her personally, so he couldn’t determine whether anything had changed. So far, she wasn’t speaking in Spanish or behaving like a gorilla, so that satisfied him well enough.

  He hoped that by bringing her dinner and approaching the situation guardedly, she might actually calm down and listen.

  He was very wrong.

  The moment the door to the lab slid smoothly sideways and Joshua stepped into the bright environment, a female body collided with him from the left and he, the female body and both plates of carefully prepared dinner went crashing to the floor.

  Joshua had no time to suck in even a breath before Jennifer was on her feet again and stumbli
ng towards the door to freedom.

  “No!” He gasped, rolled over on his stomach and shot his hand up.

  A jet of ice burst from his palm and suddenly Jennifer’s feet were frozen to the floor, as if she’d stepped in fast-drying cement with one foot in front of the other. She wobbled for a moment, then became still.

  Ignoring the throbbing ache in his hip, Joshua ducked around Jennifer where he could close the door and lock it behind him. Then, he turned to face the woman who stood with her arms folded, her lips pursed tightly together and her chest heaving up and down.

  Joshua would have felt sorry for the woman and even a little guilty for locking her up for almost two months, had he not been so shocked – not for the first time – by how closely Jennifer Smart resembled Liz. It wasn’t her looks, per say, but more her stubborn and feisty nature. She glared in the same fiery way Liz used to. Her eyes were narrowed to slits and a string of hair was stuck to her lip in a way that made Joshua desperately need to flick it away. What’s worse, she wouldn’t say a thing.

  For some reason, Joshua preferred the yelling.

  “I know you’re still angry,” he said very slowly with both hands raised in calm surrender. “But if you let me, I will explain everything.”

  Jennifer didn’t flinch. “You want me-” she hissed through her teeth, “-to stand here and let you explain why I’m locked in some laboratory after you kidnapped me and did something really disgusting to my body? You’ve got to be joking.”

  “Uh, see, I’m actually not joking,” he replied. “I owe it to you, and I made you dinner-” He did a double take at the splattered mess that was his quiche and salad, and then bit his lip. “Well, that was your dinner but I can make you another one. Anyway, my point is that I would not have done what I did if there wasn’t a very logical reason behind it.”