by Tracey Ward
I hold up my hand to her, asking her to stop. To listen. “Before you get lost in the body count, think about who we’re talking about. You said it yourself; they’re Vikings. They raid, rape, and murder their way across the globe. How many lives would we be saving by killing them?”
“We’re not murderers. We’re not them.”
“What do you plan to do with Jokinen when you see him? Are you going to Slip inside his mind the way you did with Sandrine and lock him up? What if we leave one of his generals alive and they take over? Or Naidu? We can’t keep cutting heads off the beast because they’ll just keep coming back. We have to stab it in the heart and take it down for good. It’s the only way we’ll ever be safe.”
“And not to be a bitch about it,” Campbell adds curtly, “but you know both Carver and I have killed before, right?”
“So have I,” Brody says, his voice hard.
“And I,” Liam agrees softly, his eyes downcast, his face etched in shadow and regret.
Beck nods his head mutely, his hands clasped tightly on the table in front of him.
Campbell gestures to the table. “Are we all murderers?”
Alex flinches. “God, no. Of course not.”
“Because we did it to protect people, right? So how would this be any different?”
“It’s just so many lives.”
“Yeah, but none of them civilian.”
“Not that we’ll know of,” Justin mumbles nervously.
Campbell glares at him. “You’re not helping, kid.”
“Sorry, but I agree with her. It’s a lot of people to kill.”
“How many would you be comfortable with?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then how do you know this is too many?”
“Okay, wait,” I command, halting the discussion before it spirals totally out of control. “Let’s take a step back here. Campbell is right, we need to do recon to figure out what we’re dealing with. Right now it’s all second hand knowledge from a potentially unreliable source. Let’s get our own intel and go from there, but for now we need to rest. We’ve got people at this table who haven’t slept in over twenty-four hours and others who are coming up on their time to go down. We need a new security rotation now that we’re merging forces.”
“Fry is still MIA,” Alex points out bitterly.
Liam frowns. “I’ve been told she’s in the forest throwing a fit.”
“Still?”
“She has a lot of stamina. Especially for holding a grudge.”
“We’ll go on without her,” I tell him. I raise my eyebrows at Campbell. “Team Captains? I’ll take a recon team, you take a base team.”
He smirks. “I call Beck.”
“I’ll take that as a yes. Okay, I call Alex.”
“Of course you do. Liam.”
“Brody.”
“Gwen.”
Liam scowls at him. “There’s no reason for Gwen to be on a security team. She has no powers.”
“Oh, I’m not saying she’s on my team. I’m just calling dibs. It seemed like the right time.”
“Could you perhaps take this situation seriously?”
Campbell feigns offense. “I take dibs very seriously.”
“Justin,” I call.
“I’m with you?” Justin asks eagerly. “Even after what happened?”
I smile at him and his excitement. “Yeah, man, you’re with us. And I’m going to teach you to fire a gun. Just don’t shoot me. I don’t regen.”
“I promise, yeah. No problem.”
“You get a cyborg and I get Temper Tantrum Fry?” Campbell complains.
I shrug. “You shouldn’t have wasted a pick on gettin’ the hook-up.”
“Worth it.”
“Yeah, tell me that again when Gwen is slapping you in the face and Fry has a knife in your back.” I nod to Liam. “Can the others here do anything that could be useful to us? We know what Stewart can do, but what about Trina and Britta?”
Liam wrinkles his nose doubtfully. “Not really. Trina can manipulate electricity, but not effectively. Most of her interactions are accidental. She turns lights on and off, blowing bulbs more often than not. And Britta has a similar ability to Kimberly’s, telekinesis, but it’s weak at best. She can only move small objects. Nothing bigger than a candy bar.”
“We could at least use Stewart’s camouflaging.”
“I wouldn’t advise it. Stewart is in control of his ability, but he has other problems. He’s twenty-six but his mind is closer to ten years old. He would be very difficult to keep focused.”
“Preexisting condition or compliments of your dad?”
“Which do you think?”
“I think your dad was a raging dick.”
“You’ll get no arguments from me, mate.”
I glance at Alex and my stomach knots. She’s fading so fast. I hate seeing her weakened like this. Especially considering what I’m about to ask her. “Alex.”
“You want me to stay up to get on the same sleep cycle as you,” she guesses immediately.
I grimace apologetically. “You can get a nap for sure, but we do need to turn you around.”
“I can do it.”
“I’ll give you a boost while you sleep. Maybe we can make a nap count for more than it should.”
“I’ll take you up on that.”
“What do you mean by a ‘boost’?” Justin asks, his eyes alight with interest.
I like him. He’s full of questions, just like me.
Alex smiles affectionately at me. “Nick’s a battery. Like a heavy-duty, marine cycle kind of battery.”
“For real?”
“Look at him the next time we’re inside a Slip. He glows like the sun.”
My brow pinches, my mouth falling open in surprise. “I do?”
“I’ve never told you that?”
“Never.”
“Yeah, you light up in a Slip. I can actually see how strong you are and it’s insane. A little scary. Really hot.”
“Physically hot?”
“Yeah, you are,” she answers with a wink.
I chuckle. “No, I mean do you feel heat radiating from me during the Slip?”
“No. You just look like a supernova. You don’t feel like one. You feel like I said; a battery.”
“Can you see anyone else’s abilities in a Slip?”
“I’ve never paid attention. I only noticed you because there was no way not to.”
I look at Liam quizzically. “What do you think?”
He yawns, shrugging. “It sounds strange.”
“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got? ‘It sounds strange’?”
“I don’t have all of the answers, Nick. Believe it or not, sometimes this is all just as fascinating to me as it is to you.”
“You sound like Alex.”
“I’ll try not to take offense to that.”
“Hey!” Alex snaps indignantly.
“What about you?” I ask Liam, watching him rub his long fingers over his eyes. “What kind of sleep schedule are you on?”
“I sleep normal hours; evening to morning. Gwen, my patients, and I all do. Only Fry and Justin were on alternating schedules.”
“Great. Go to bed.”
He drops his hands, blinking at me in surprise.
I don’t give him time to respond. I turn to my crew. “Campbell and Beck, you too. We’ll see you in the morning for your shift.”
Beck nods slowly, already standing. He’s exhausted and still recovering from his flu. I don’t need to tell him twice. Liam follows right behind him. Campbell, however, stays in his seat, staring at me blankly.
“What?” I ask him.
He doesn’t answer. He looks at me for a long time before slowly standing and heading for the door.
“Dude, what?” I call after him.
Again, he stonewalls me. He lets the door shut hard behind him, the lock clicking softly in place.
“What’s his deal?” Bro
dy asks.
I shake my head. “I have no idea. Sometimes Campbell just loves to be difficult.”
“Never noticed.”
“Yeah, it’s real subtle.”
I stand, going to the head of the table. Alex looks up at me with tired eyes and a warm smile.
“Hey, handsome,” she mumbles.
I smile down at her. “Hey, beautiful. You ready to go to sleep?”
“Am I not already asleep?”
“So close.”
She groans, standing slowly. “Let’s do it.”
I put my arm over her shoulders, pulling her in close to my side. She leans into me heavily, the warm, soapy scent of her swirling around me. The strawberry smell of her hair filling my nose. I lean in instinctively to kiss the top of her head. It’s a PDA, not usually my thing, but it’s also Alex. And she is everything.
Brody, Alex, Justin, and I leave the kitchen/dining hall to go to the rec room. It’s dark when we step outside, the rain finally giving up and going to bed. The ground is wet, the air chilled by a cold wind still riding up the mountainside off the ocean. I look up as we walk, searching for stars, but I can’t find any. Low cloud cover blocks the sky like a ceiling over our heads. It feels suffocating. This whole island does. I wish I was in a dream. I could swirl my finger through the clouds like water, pushing them aside to bring out brilliant diamonds cutting through the black silk of space. I want to try anyway, dream or not.
My ego is insisting I could do it.
My reason is worried that my ego is right.
Brody holds the door to the rec room open for Alex and I. Justin follows in close behind us. It feels good inside, warm. I lead Alex to the couch in front of the TV and grab the blanket off the back.
“How long can I sleep?” she asks, her voice small. Spent.
I shake the blanket out, draping it over her. “A couple hours. I’ll stay put the entire time. Hopefully I can help make it feel like a full night’s sleep.”
Justin takes a seat across from us, sitting forward eagerly with his elbows on his knees. “How would you do that?”
“It takes physical contact, but once we’re touching, I can pour energy into her. Simple. We’ve only ever done it trying to enhance her abilities. I don’t know for sure it will work as a replacement for sleep, but it’s worth a shot.”
“Can you only do it with her?”
“We’ve only ever tried together.”
“Can you try me?”
I look at Justin warily. His hand is outstretched, his eyes excited. It feels weird to think about touching him like that. I’ve always thought of it as an intimate thing between Alex and I. Part of that connection we have that’s danced us around each other almost our entire lives, finally bringing us into each other’s orbit like a constellation being born. Asking me to hold his hand and give him part of my power feels a little like he’s asking me to kiss him. No tongue, just a little lip service, but still awkward as it can get.
“I’d rather not,” I mutter.
He retracts his hand slowly, his face falling. “Was it weird that I asked?”
“A little.”
“Sorry. I’m just—I haven’t been around many other supers and you guys actually have powers that are worth something. I’m so freakin’ excited to work with you.”
“It’s okay, man,” I chuckle. “We’ll try sometime, okay? But right now Alex actually needs the help.”
“No, I totally understand. Yeah. Definitely give it to her.”
“Hey, Brody, how about while I’m doing this you give Justin a lesson on firearm basics?” I un-holster my pistol, spinning it in my hand to hold the grip out to him. “You can teach him on this. We’ll get him his own when he’s ready.”
“You got it.” Brody takes the gun, immediately dropping out the clip and checking the chamber. When he finds it empty, he snaps it back into place. He nods to Justin. “I hope you were watching because that was lesson one – if you’re going to clean or inspect your gun, you clear it first. Clip and chamber.”
Justin’s eyes are alert as he watches the gun in Brody’s big hands. “Will you show me how you opened it like that?”
“Yeah. Come on over to the card table with me. I’ll walk you through it.”
As the guys head to the other side of the room, Alex settles in next to me, resting her head on my lap like a pillow. Her long, auburn hair spills over my leg, shining and cold. I run my fingers through it, smoothing it back from her face. With that simple touch, I let some of my power roll over her.
Her eyes close happily, her lips lifting into a contented smile.
“You have no idea how good that feels,” she purrs.
I grin, doing it again. “Relaxing?”
She hums, nodding faintly.
I watch her face as I trace the seashell of her ear, making her shiver with delight. It works every time. It makes me smile to do it. To know it. It makes me proud that I know her the way I do. In ways no one else on Earth does. I keep stroking her hair, running my fingers lightly along her scalp where I drop a waterfall of my energy from my fingertips. It washes over her, soothing her. Replenishing what she’s lost.
“I don’t think you’re a killer,” she whispers. “I think you’re a hero. You’re my hero.”
I pause, startled by the statement. “I know that.”
“The look on your face earlier when I said we’re not murderers. It was bad.”
“Bad how?”
“You looked angry.”
I pinch my lips together thoughtfully, stroking her hair in long, methodical lines. “I don’t think I was angry.”
“Hurt?”
“No.”
“Sad?”
“No.”
“Hangry?”
“What is ‘hangry’?” I laugh.
She smiles, looking up at me with amusement in her deep, gray eyes. “It means you’re angry because you’re hungry.”
“No. I’m not hungry and I’m not angry.”
“I’m still sorry.”
“Don’t be. You didn’t hurt me, Alex.”
“Will you tell me if I do?”
I hesitate. I want to agree because I know that’s what she wants to hear. But is that the truth? If she hurt me would I call her on it or would I bury it? Would I pretend it didn’t happen? Would I let it wedge itself between us?
“I’ll try to,” I promise, doing the best I can for her.
She nods against my thigh, curling in closer to me. Closing her eyes. “I’ll try to make sure you never have to.”
It’s a nice promise. It’s also impossible. We’ll hurt each other, and often, because that’s what happens when you get close to people. We’re all thorn bushes with beautiful flowers that pull people in, but eventually they’ll reach for us the wrong way, they’ll dig too deep at the heart of us, and the barbs will be there waiting. The best I can do is remember to say I’m sorry and hope she’ll heal.
Hope she’ll still love me as her blood runs red across her palm.
CHAPTER TEN
MAX
Fry is a ghost. According to the girls, she never came back to their dorm last night. No one has seen her since her argument with Liam, and if I didn’t doubt his Evil Scientist status, I’d say he Slipped her out of here and dumped her somewhere remote to keep the peace with Alex and Carver. But Stewart said he saw her in the woods blowing crap up like she loves to do, so she must be around here somewhere. Lucky for her, she’s not in this kitchen. I wish I was just about anywhere else in the world myself.
It’s overcrowded in here, the addition of our team pushing the place to its limits. Everyone is awake right now. The night crew is scarfing down their dinner before heading to bed and the morning crew is just waking up, prepping for the day. All of Liam’s people are here, including Nudie Stewie. And Gwen. Gorgeous Gwen looking good in baggie gray sweats and a tight blue tank top. Her eyes are hooded and tired, her hands wrapped tightly around a coffee cup like it’s her only hope of surviving t
he day. She looks intense and grouchy. Definitely not a morning person.
The person that’s taking up the most room is ironically the smallest in the space. Naomi sits at the far end of the table, a good three feet separating her from everyone else on each side. No one but Carver and Liam can stand to be close to her for too long, and even from here at the far end of the table, I feel the vibes rolling off her. They’re not good. They’re messing with my gut, making me lose my appetite, and that’s kind of pissing me off.
If this is her with her Fear Ray on low, I’m not psyched to see it on high.
Carver sits down across from me, a white coffee cup of in his hand. He looks completely zapped. A long night of playing generator to Alex has put a dent in his resources. She, on the other hand, is bright-eyed and bushy tailed after just a few hours of sleep. She’s actually singing quietly to herself as she pours her cereal behind me.
“What’s the plan for today?” Carver asks me.
I take a bite of my Lucky Charms, munching loudly. “I was thinking about walking down to the docks,” I say around a mouthful of marshmallow stars. “Get a lay of the land.”
“Probably a good idea. I’ve never been down there.”
“They’re all but destroyed,” Liam announces from near the toaster. “My father had them destroyed when we left for the last time. The airstrip as well.”
I inhale another spoonful of cereal. “Still worth the walk.”
“What is wrong with you?” Gwen demands sharply.
I pause mid-chew, looking up at her. She’s glaring back at me. “That’s a broad question. You’re gonna have to narrow that down for me.”
“You’re gonna have to close your mouth when you’re chewing or I’m gonna make sure Liam has to wire your jaw shut.”
The entire room freezes, put on PAUSE by her venom.
“Whoa,” Trina whispers in amazement.
I swallow, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “You don’t like the way I eat?”
“No,” Gwen replies tersely. “I don’t like that you eat like a sentient trash compactor. It’s getting on my last nerve, so close your mouth while you eat and maybe don’t pack your jaw full of food before you’re going to answer someone.”
I lift the left side of my mouth in a grin as I bring a heaping spoonful to my lips. She watches with narrowed eyes as I push the food in my mouth, closing it slowly.