by CJ East
Venkat rushed to Kinch and they reunited in a laughter-filled bear hug. “Kinch, it is so fantastic! You must tell me how this wondrous event has come about.”
He gripped Venkat’s shoulders with his large hands. “I will tell you everything. You won’t believe a word of it. But get the others first, and be quiet about it.”
The expression on the young Indian turned to concern as he nodded. “It will take time. I must be careful because things… have changed.”
“I understand. Don’t worry brother. I’ve come back to set everything straight.”
Venkat could not conceal the toothy smile which beamed joy from his soul. The door shut leaving him alone in his cell. It was the first time he felt safe and at peace since he left the colony. He sat on his bed and immersed himself in the familiarity of his room.
The quiet in his mind was unsettling. He remembered Pythia and called to her. He closed his eyes and sunk into his mind searching for her. Was she dead?
The inner landscape of his mind were crystalline caverns of pulsing energy. A hum like the working of an enormous electrical transformer sent ripples of color down complex pathways.
He sensed a cold, dead place and turned to it. The power it radiated was strong, but dark. The crystals which spiked out of the area pulsed with the color of smoky glass. An unnatural hallow of charred crystal appeared as if something had been burned out of hole. Elatus.
Kinch felt a sudden dark rush of poison touch his mind. The strength, confidence and arrogance of Elatus. The remorse he felt for betraying him to the guardian was replaced with a cold indifference. He turned from the scorched lair of Elatus with disdain for the dragon’s foolishness. He was home at the colony now, nothing else mattered.
A bulging cyst snagged his attention. Through the opaque crystals he discerned the rhythmic breathing of a living creature. It had to be Pythia, spent from exhausting her strength to teleport to the surface.
The size of her adulterated canker was twice the size of the burnt cavity of Elatus. The dark pollution of her energy flowed toward his feet and filled him. An instant intoxication of superiority filled his mind.
The strength and self-confidence of Elatus lingered like a ghost child in the burnt abscess left behind. Pythia gave him something he valued more - shrewdness, cunning, and the ability to heal himself. He would never be manipulated again. He would be the one pulling the strings of the puppets.
A soft click jolted him from his concentration. It came from the outer world. Grace Chen stood in the open doorway, her hands covering her mouth. Her mind portal glowing.
She checked the hallway then closed the door with her back against it. “Kinch, you are alive!”
He stood. “Yes. Are you doing okay?”
“Yes. But how are you alive?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute when the others come. Tell me what I’ve missed.”
“It has been crazy. It is nothing like before. Viktor declared emergency powers over the American team. He said it was to control the rebellion started by Colonel Sullivan and Jeff Curtis.”
“Of course. He addressed the American problem. What about your team?”
“He took over the China team after you… after we buried Hong Li. Tai is in a coma. Viktor said children could not command.
“I see. Arjun is Viktor’s lackey and Doug got religion real quick when he realized where this was heading.” He looked for confirmation.
Grace looked to the floor. “Doug is dead. Only Sashenka lives from the Google team. The Americans are dead as well. It was said they joined together to take over the Operational Command room. They were buried yesterday.”
A piercing stab split Kinch through his center. He was the cause of all this death. If only he had been strong enough, smart enough to stop Viktor.
Grace put a hand on his shoulder. “This is not your fault. This is all Viktor’s plan. I will never forget you sacrificed yourself for Chang - for us. Do you hear me Kinch?”
He stared forward, his jaw working back and forth in contemplative rage. “Chang is better?”
“Yes, thanks to you. He is ashamed he did not make the stand you did, but accepts your forgiveness for betraying you to save me.”
“He made the only choice he could. A situation forced upon him by a monster.”
Chang slipped in and closed the door with his back to the room. “Why the secrecy?” He turned to see Grace standing over the sitting form of his dead friend.
Kinch stood with a smirk. Chang walked with measured steps of disbelief. His expression changed to joy as he lunged the last two steps and lifted his friend in a loud embrace. Kinch cried out from the tight hold.
“Easy Tiger! You’ll break me in half.”
“How did you… where did you?” He shot a confused glance to Grace as he lowered him to the ground. He stared at her in disbelief. “This is happening? It is real?”
Her face glowed as tears of relief trailed from her eyes. “Yes, I do not know how, but it is real.”
Chang pushed Kinch back, examining every part of his body. Satisfied he erupted a loud laugh and grabbed him again. Kinch’s body protested with a dull, “oomphf” from the air escaping his lungs.
Venkat had slipped in during the commotion. He interrupted in a hushed yell. “Quiet! Quiet! I could hear you all the way down the hall. Pushpa will be delayed.”
They broke apart with Kinch smiling and his arm around Chang’s neck. He pushed Chang roughly on the bed. He made a formal bow and invited Grace to join her beau. He turned to Venkat with mock refinement. “Then we only require the presence of Miss Sashenka Vavilov. May I inquire as to the expectation of her arrival?”
Venkat’s ever-present smile faded. “I could not reach her. She is detained in Viktor’s quarters.”
Kinch seemed to shrink in size. “Detained. For what? What did she do?”
Grace interjected. “For being a beautiful Russian girl.”
His fists popped together like the snapping of green twigs. His eyes shot to the faces of the others. “Okay, who do we have left? Pushpa?”
Venkat answered with a soft disgrace. “Yes, she is with Tai. She knows to come here.”
“That leaves Viktor and his Cossacks - Brzezinski, Malenkov and Zhukov, right?”
Venkat nodded his agreement.
Kinch pivoted to the wall thinking. “Five and a half if we include Arjun and a broken Tai.”
Chang leaned forward with his hands on his knees. “Kinch, we can’t win against the Russians.”
Kinch made a slow, smooth turn. “There isn’t going to be a ‘we’. This is personal. And it is time for payback.”
At this Chang shot up from his seat and jammed his finger into Kinch’s chest. “Number one. You are not in charge here. Number two. No one is going anywhere until we get some answers on why you aren’t dead!” His mind portal blazed with energy.
“Okay. You are right. I owe you an explanation. Take a seat, Buddy.”
Kinch began to tell his story. He detailed the blue door and the city of Arx. He told them about Amica and her family. He explained how he had grown in power, especially when linking with Amica against Drakon.
Their expressions told it all. There was consensus of disbelief coming from his friends.
A familiar voice hissed in disappointment. “Why do you waste your time asking these creatures to believe your tale? Your companions scoff at a madman! Force them to believe you. Their portals are open to any suggestion, any command.”
Kinch closed his eyes and spoke with his inner voice to the three glowing portals before him. “I have told the truth. Stay here until I return with Sashenka.”
Vengeance
Kinch closed the door to his room with the shocked teenagers watching after him.
He padded down the cold basalt hallway with a locked gaze. He worked a plan of attack. Anger swelled in his breast and clouded his mind.
Pythia hissed the seductive words. “Kill them all.”
His nostrils fla
red as he inhaled the words. “I cannot. My friends already fear me. Sashenka would reject me. I will remove their fangs.”
There was a short pause from her. “The one holding her, the one you fear. He deserves your mercy?”
The anger intensified as he shot back. “I do not fear Viktor! He is not my objective, he is an obstacle. The safety of the girl is the goal.”
“Your mercy is weakness. If you do not eliminate these threats, you insure their reprisal.”
“There will be no reprisal.”
The bulky figure of Brzezinski scanned the open commons looking for the teenagers. He spun to face Kinch’s booming voice.
“Hey! Ski! How’s your sister?”
Confusion flashed over the man’s thick face. He took slow steps nodding at the sturdy boy. A wicked smile curled over his face. “I regret not killing you, slippery boy.”
“You can’t waste your life looking back on broken dreams, Brzezinski. You have to face forward, so you can see me punch you in the throat again.”
“Always with the talking. Your empty words change nothing. I will finish this now.”
“No, what is going to happen is I’m going to break the right side of your body.”
Brzezinski scoffed as he pulled a utility knife from his pocket and swaggered forward. “No more talking malchik.”
Kinch shook his head. “Brzezinski, you are dumber than a bag of hammers. I specifically said I was going to break the right side of your body. Then you put a knife in your right hand. Did your mother…”
Brzezinski sprinted the last three steps and thrust the razor at the boy’s neck. Kinch batted the thrust away with his left forearm and gripped Brzezinski’s wrist. He jumped into the air smacking his palm against Brzezinski’s muscular neck, pushing him downward.
He twisted his legs behind the Russian’s back and the big man lurched to his side. Kinch spread Brzezinski’s wrist far from his downward held neck. He rode the big man down and crashed to the stone floor on Brzezinski’s backward bent arm. A crunch, a loud pop and a howl of pain signaled success.
Kinch rolled to his feet and faced Brzezinski. His right arm was broken and dislocated at the shoulder. He raised his leg with a slow, measured aim and slammed his bare heel into the side of the man’s right knee.
He dug his thumb and forefinger deep into the Russian’s throat. He gripped the windpipe until Brzezinski reclined. “The next thing I snap will be your lower vertebrae unless you tell me where Viktor is.”
The man’s eyes bulged with suffocation, trying to speak. Kinch gave one last flex and released his grip.
He coughed in spasmodic gasps. “Control room.”
Pythia hissed her warning in his mind. “Finish him.”
Kinch stepped over the broken man to the control room hallway. He addressed her with concise instructions. “There will be three, maybe four men in this room. I will take the man in charge. You slow down the others - and don’t kill them.”
He pushed open the doors to the large control room. Viktor sat in a chair speaking to his two soldiers and Arjun. “You see gentlemen. Here is an example of why loose ends should always be tied. It was why I was so disturbed by his escape from the colony. The fact he stands before us is a testimony to never giving up, you see?”
Pythia whispered a soft suggestion. “This one could be a strong ally to rule your kingdom.”
Kinch disregarded her offer. He noted the short pipes in the hands of Viktor’s dogs. He scanned the room for objects which could be used as weapons. He gazed at Viktor. “Lucky me, to discover all my loose ends in one place.”
“Your walk with death has not improved your situational awareness. I was expecting you to beg forgiveness from Brzezinski. It appears you have not come to live in peace. You have come on a fool’s errand.” Viktor motioned to his men forward. Zhukov and Malenkov strode across the room with a malicious urgency.
Kinch prodded Pythia with his inner dialog. “This would be a good time for you to take action.”
“There is no need. They are like infants.”
Zhukov stared at him with hatred and a lust for revenge. He was moving with more motivated steps than Malenkov. The boy’s open portal blazed with anger and a desire for Viktor’s approval. Zhukov would strike first.
Kinch felt tension in his right leg, an instinct to widen his stance for conflict. He fought to remain relaxed. They were five feet away. A terrifying thought flashed in his mind. Was Pythia setting him up? Could she jump to one of these men?
The men took a last step winding back their weapons. The battlefield sense invaded his mind like adrenaline. It heightened his perception and slowed time. He focused on the attack - their shoulders, knees and centers of gravity. Zhukov was aiming high. Malenkov at his ribs.
The weapons reach the apex of their recoil. They were upon him. He had been betrayed.
A shrill inner command rang through his mind with a shaking force. “Sleep!”
The attackers fell limp to each side of motionless Kinch. They fell like birds shot in flight, flapping to the floor.
Kinch tried to suppress his relief. He smirked at Arjun and instructed Pythia. “The little one too.”
“Sleep!” She commanded. Arjun collapsed like a marionette with cut strings.
A stunned silence gripped Viktor as he assessed his fallen men and the sprawled Arjun at his feet. His mouth hung open trying to form words. “How did you… what have you become?”
Kinch leaned down to pick up the pipe in Zhukov’s limp hand. He leveled his gaze at the General, stepping over the boy. “I have become what you most fear. A force so strong, you are exposed to the light of truth. You are my shadow - weak, powerless and cruel.”
Viktor eyed the boy with a confused hatred. “You are a soldier. You understand your Sully would have taken the same action. The Earth is at war. It was an unfortunate but unavoidable end game.”
He came to a bold stop in front of Viktor, his eyes measuring the man. The Russian seemed deflated, on his heels.
Waves of rage swelled from the pulsing lair of Elatus. Kinch welcomed its intoxicating dark power. “It is merely war, I understand Viktor. And Sashenka? A traitor to Mother Russia?”
The General scoffed as he scrutinized the boy’s relaxed position. He lingered on Zhukov’s pipe in the boy’s relaxed hand. “I will never stoop to justify my actions to an Amerikos of your low intelligence and breeding.” Viktor positioned his arms and legs defensively. Kinch stared into the darkness of the commando’s mind. He saw the barbarism, the amoral code of strength, the cruel sadness of his life. He saw fear.
“You will stoop. You will beg.” Kinch threw his right arm forward and flicked his wrist upward. The metal pipe caught Viktor under his chin, snapping his head back. Viktor stumbled back against the desk, then rounded behind it. He wiped the blood from his jaw with a cruel smile.
He gripped a wide dagger from the control desk. “Naive fool. Are you so simple to believe the American propaganda? Your great nation destroyed civilization! We intercepted encrypted orders to eliminate the Russian team! Your nation no longer exists and you still cling your ignorance.”
Kinch glared at the dagger as he advanced toward the desk. He reached into Viktor’s mind with his inner voice. “It doesn’t much matter what happened on Earth. You murdered my friends, their blood cries out for recompense.”
He entered Viktor’s portal. “I’m watching you kill Sully right now. Can you see yourself setting the C-9 charges? Fascinating isn’t it? Your mind is a play thing to me, Viktor. A broken, dirty toy.”
Viktor recoiled with instinctive horror at the violation of his mind. He raised the dagger as if it afforded some form of protection or threat.
Kinch leaned toward him. “Do you feel the despair now? The terror felt by those you abused and murdered? The helplessness they felt from a ruthless monster of overwhelming power?”
Viktor’s fear galvanized to desperate action. He swung the blade at Kinch’s head in a fast arc. Kinch d
ucked as the edge whistled its path over his head. Viktor leapt forward with a thrust at the boy’s chest.
Kinch jumped back, his arms high over his head. His arm whipped down aiming his metal pipe for the outstretched wrist. The pipe smashed into Viktor’s top thumb and fingers, cracking bone and sending the dagger clanking to the basalt floor.
He reversed the swing of his pipe and backhanded the baton into Viktor’s cranium. A tubular thud reverberated as Kinch mercilessly delivered two rapid strokes to Viktor’s head as he hit the floor.
Blood trickled from the man’s forehead, temple and cheek. He rolled to his back as his trembling head struggled to lift from the floor. Kinch tossed the clanking pipe beside Viktor’s wincing face.
Kinch crouched with his elbows on his knees and tilted to the disoriented man. He reached for the dropped dagger. Viktor fought to gather his wits, watching Kinch finger the blade in absent thought.
Kinch spoke into Viktor’s mind in a slow, calm voice. “You will answer for your wasted life and those you have hurt. The misdeeds of your life will torment your thoughts without end. Be afflicted by remorse and regret.”
Viktor gave a last defiant glare before his expression went blank. His eyes closed with resistance and his head slammed against the floor.
Kinch rose and turned toward the door.
“It is not enough!” cried Pythia. “He killed your people and abused your woman. Do you think he would treat you so gently? Listen to me! You have not seen the centuries of depravity I have witnessed. It is your right to make him suffer for what he has taken from you.”
Kinch stopped to consider her words.
Her tone changed to a silky compassion. “Perhaps you can help his immortal soul? By cleansing with fire?”
He felt her poison seep into his heart. Her cruelty filled his cold chest as he turned to the defenseless man. Viktor’s eyes were closed but his mind portal pulsed with a claustrophobic thrashing.
Kinch replayed the memory he had stolen from Viktor. Sully held an expression of pure defiance as he faced death. Kinch prodded his own memory of Sully’s dismembered legs after the explosion. If the roles were reversed and Sully was avenging Kinch’s murder, Volkov would pay dearly. It would be medieval. Kinch had heard the stories of Sully in Syria and Pakistan.