Cryostorm (Touch of Frost)

by Lynn Rush

  “Tell me. What is it? What’s doing this to you?”

  Blank eyes returned. His fist collided with my chin, and the back of my head cracked against the brick. White lights exploded in my vision.

  With both hands, I pushed him, and dislodged him from me. I threw on my ice thrusters and up I went. To the roof, like earlier.

  “Nate. Listen to me. Stop. You don’t want to kill me.”

  He tilted his head as if confused how I’d gotten up there. “Can’t kill Mandy.” He shook his head and fell to his knees.

  “There you go. Fight it.” I paced two steps to the left, then back. The thick snow didn’t allow for much movement. “Come on, Nate.”

  His face darkened, like he held his breath too long. Veins bulged on the side of his neck as he shook his head. His fisted hands pounded his thighs.

  “Run. You have to get away.” He clenched his teeth. “I can’t stop. I can’t—I’ll hurt you.”

  “You won’t kill me. You can’t. You love me. I know it, Nate. You won’t—”

  “Not kill. Bring in.” He shook his head. “Must bring Mandy in.” His voice had gone deeper than normal. A chilly, calm tone. Like a robot.

  “Nate,” I screamed.

  He rammed his shoulder into the wall, so hard everything shook. I scurried up the roof, best I could in three feet of snow, and moved to the left, toward a tree. I could grab that for stability. The snow shifted beneath me from the battering ram hitting the side of the house.

  He had to be injuring his shoulder. All I heard were grunts. I reached for the branches, leaning over the old building and pulled myself up more. So, he’d been choking me only to render me unconscious, to take me in. But to whom? The Center or GenCorp?

  Okay, yeah. Probably should have told someone I was coming here. I never was known for making the best choices in the world. This would rank up there as one of the stupidest. If I even made it through, because I knew one thing was fact.

  I would die before going back to The Center.

  Nate continued to ram against the building while I made my way to the top, with the help of the tree branches. With one hand squeezing a sizable limb, I unzipped my jacket half way and dug out my phone. At least I wasn’t stupid enough to not bring it.

  Speed dial Georgia. She’d come with the cavalry.

  Another shake of the building loosened the snow beneath my feet. Of course my phone was the first thing to go as I reached for the trees to keep me steady. “Shit.”

  Like an avalanche, the snow shifted off the sloped roof, along with my phone. I leapt into the tree and hugged the trunk with strength a kola bear would have been proud of. Inching around to the side, I found a branch for footing and stabilized my position.

  Guess I’m tranqing the guy. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a dart. No gun or anything, but hopefully my strength would allow me to throw it hard enough to break his skin. My heart hammered at the thought. I didn’t want to knock him out. I hated punching him like I had.

  No choice. I had no choice. I—

  Wait. What if I agreed to go with him? He wouldn’t have to fight me. He’d probably been programmed to knock me out and bring me in. The tree shook. I looked down, and sure enough, he was pushing it. No need to ram this one, it wasn’t big enough to withstand his strength, and with the cold making everything so brittle…yeah, just another one of my brilliant ideas climbing up here.

  Gravity yanked me down as the tree fell into another. The contact jarred me loose, and I plummeted to the ground. Through the thick snow, my shoulder managed to find a boulder to collide with, and a resonating crack rattled through my body.

  “Ahh,” I screamed and rolled onto my back, sinking into the snow in time to see the tree headed straight for me. I’d landed directly in its path. I iced down, the thickest ice I could conjure. If it stopped bullets, it’d stop a tree, right?

  Nate appeared over me, and the tree landed in his open palms. “Go.”

  I called my ice back and pushed up with the arm that still worked. But quickly sunk into the snow, face-first. God, I was tired. Tired of the cold. Tired of being attacked. And just—tired.

  The dart had fallen out of my hand, too, so I was screwed. I had one more, but it was in the pocket of my jacket on the same side as my broken shoulder. Of course.

  I called on my healing ice, but Nate’s strong hands yanked me into his arms.

  I flopped like a rag doll, hoping he’d think I was knocked out for a second. In the next breath he cradled me like a groom held a bride and started running. Each step jarred my shoulder.

  “Stop. Shoulder. Broken.” I barely got out the words through the stabbing pain.

  He must have heard, though.

  So Robo Nate cared if I was hurt? Saved me from the tree. He stood there, as if paralyzed, holding me. I glanced around quick and saw we were deep into the trees. Did he know where he was going?

  “Heal.” He ordered it like I was some soldier.

  Tears of pain and anger stung my eyes. I called my healing ice to the surface. It encased us both. Maybe I could heal him of whatever was controlling him. I focused on my shoulder and Nate’s brain. Whether it was suggestions or robotics or whatever, please, just heal from it. Please.

  He jerked. His grip around me tightened. The crackle of my ice and bones clicking back into place vibrated through me. He flinched, and I curled against him. Please work. Please work.

  Healed of my broken bones, I turned off the ice and slid my hand in my jacket. Last dart. Last chance. I curled my cold fingers around the cylindrical device and squeezed. He took off running again without a word.

  The forest whizzed by in a dark blur.

  “Nate, please,” I whispered, burying my face in his neck. He had a jacket on, but my forehead still met some of his exposed flesh. “I love you. I love you so much.”

  He flinched, but went on. He was in there somewhere, and I would find him. Somehow.

  I yanked out my dart and buried the needle in the side of his neck. His eyes went wide but he kept on. In the next second, he slowed. Grunts leaked out from his clenched mouth.

  “Mandy,” he said.

  I looked up and saw my Nate.

  “When I’m unconscious run. Get back to Georgia.” His eyes slammed shut, then popped open. “Don’t meet me again if I contact you. It’s a trick.”

  “No. I’ll bring you back. I’ll—”

  Shit, I didn’t know where I was. Three strikes and I was out. First was leaving without telling anyone. Second losing my phone. And now knocking him out when I didn’t know how to get back.

  I couldn’t be worse at this girlfriend, superhero thing if I tried.

  “No. Run away. I… don’t… want to… hurt you.”

  We slowed to a stop, and he stared down at me. Then he leaned forward and captured my mouth with his. His cool lips pressed against mine with a violent, urgent need. But then he went limp and we fell to the snow.

  “Man, I hope that stuff keeps you down as long as it kept Lois down.”

  I rolled him off me. Once to my feet, I hoisted him into my arms. The jackets we wore made it tough for me to keep a tight hold on him, so I positioned him over my shoulder and started backtracking. How far had he run? With his speed, even with the snow slowing him, he had to have gotten pretty far. Shit. Could anything else go wrong?

  Wait. I didn’t just ask that.

  “Yes I did,” I screamed. My voice echoed off the trees towering over me. Each step I took fueled my anger even more. The setting sun robbed me of nearly all the light. No moon up high yet so everything was a dull grey on black look. Deep in the woods. Sub freezing weather.

  “Come on, God. Are you up there? Send me a lifeline, would you? I deserve at least that.”

  After all the crap I’d been through since Mom and Dad were murdered and I morphed into what I was, nothing had been easy. Agents. Constant moving. Scott and I always alone. Well, until Georgia. Tears streamed down my face.

  Now Nate. I�
�d found someone I loved. Who loved me. Wanted me. Cared about me. Then The Center had to go and mess that up, too.

  I hit a patch of thicker snow and stumbled. Wait a minute. Thicker snow? I glanced around. No footprints. I’d been following his trail but must have veered off.

  “Damn it.” I set Nate down and climbed out of the little hole I’d fallen into. Only went up to my waist, but still. I stood over Nate and scanned the area. I couldn’t see crap, and I for sure didn’t see any footprints other than those I’d just made.

  My breath billowed out in front of me. I looked down to Nate’s limp body. The shoulder of his dark jacket looked frayed against the white snow. I reached down and sure enough, it was shredded. Probably from ramming into the brick building to get at me. And then the tree.

  He looked so peaceful, and I wanted to curl up in a ball next to him and sit there. I shook my head. “No. I’ll get him back to Georgia, Jasmine, and Tim. We’ll figure this out.”

  I glanced around at the darkness closing in, wishing I had Georgia’s flame to light our way. The chill was seeping into my bones making them ache. I knew I couldn’t really get frostbite or anything, but I still felt the cold.

  And it wasn’t comfortable, either!

  Okay, then. I leaned down and hoisted Nate over my shoulder. I turned around and started backtracking my own tracks. They’d eventually meet his, right? If I could even see them.

  I walked and walked, finally hooking up with Nate’s prints from when he’d been running with me. Okay, I was strong, but not strong enough to carry him for hours on end. I pointed my fingers outward and streamed a slab of ice, long enough for him to fit on it. At the tip of the ice-sled, I fashioned a slight hook. Hopefully that’d work to pull it with.

  I slid his limp body off mine, and he slumped against my crude attempt at making a sled. A few dogs would have come in handy to pull this thing.

  I glanced around the darkness, then skyward. The moon was up now. Thankfully, some of its rays trickled through the trees. I found Nate’s footprint trail, then hoisted him behind me.

  Hopefully I made it before he woke up.

  Chapter 34

  “Okay, just a quick break,” I whispered to the trees as if they were people.

  My weary legs wobbled under the strain of trudging through the snow pulling nearly two hundred pounds of lean muscle behind me. My lungs burned like acid flowed in them instead of oxygen.

  This time, I couldn’t refuse Nate’s body. I fell to my knees next to him and started spraying a steady stream of ice walls around us. It’d keep the biting wind out. Just a little rest. I had to be getting close. I’d been walking for hours.

  With half walls erected around us, I finished the wall up behind Nate, then burrowed right next to him. I moved his arm out a little, settled in the crook. With a flick of my wrist, I finished off the ceiling of our little ice-hut and fell against him.

  Fatigue yanked at my eyelids. Every muscle in my body vibrated from overuse. The small space instantly heated like Georgia had flicked on her heater. So, it was true, my ice did take care of me, didn’t it?

  If only it could have healed Nate. I rested my cheek against his chest, too tired to care that anything was wrong. All I knew was that I was with Nate. After a quick rest, I’d keep going.

  Just a quick…

  Warmth tickled my toes like they were dipped into a steaming hot bath. Tingles jetted up my calves and into my legs. My heart leapt at the sensation, and a moan slid through my lips. What a fantastic dream. No more snow. No more blizzards. Only warmth and comfort.

  Was that the sun baking my skin?

  I rolled to the side, reaching for my Nate, and my hand landed on his smooth chest. Oh yeah, if his chest was already bare, this was going to be one of my better dreams.

  My body instantly came to life. Soft lips pressed against mine. His sweet taste, like he’d just eaten Red Vines.

  “Mmm. Yummy,” I whispered into his mouth.

  His tongue swept in and my taste buds went bonkers at the familiar taste. There might have been some chocolate mixed in there, too.

  I coiled my arms around Nate’s neck and pulled him onto me. The soft mattress pressed against my back as I absorbed his weight. My body exploded in mini fires all over.

  I loved dreaming.

  No worries. No cold. No ice. No Agents—well—unless it was a nightmare. But not now. This was nowhere near a nightmare.

  “God I love you, Nate. Missed you so much.” I buried my hands in his hair and pulled his face to mine even more. I opened my eyes to drink in his beauty. We were in a white room. The lights were dim, but everything was white. The walls, the ceiling, even the sheets of the bed.

  Strange place to dream about my first time with Nate. Oh well, I went with it and pulled him closer. He hesitated, and a flash of Blank Eyes Nate appeared, then flickered away as quickly as it had come.

  Wait. Blank Eyes?

  White everything?

  “Nate?”

  “It’s okay. We’re supposed to be together,” he said. His voice didn’t fluctuate at all. No tone changes. Flat.

  Robotic.

  “Nate.” My voice cracked. “Wait. What’s happening?”

  Dread clenched its death grip around my heart when he stared at me and furrowed his eyebrows. His veins bulged at his temple, and he stopped moving against me.

  “Oh, God.” I pressed my hands against his bare chest and pushed.

  He flew off me, and I shot up in the bed as his body slammed against the wall opposite from me. Next to where he’d struck there was a window. The curtains were drawn. By the looks of the white everything, my guess was there was a two-way window behind the curtains.

  “Shit.”

  Nate rolled to his side, grasping his head. He curled his legs to his chest, and I think I heard his teeth grinding. “Freeze me,” he gasped. “Hurry.”

  “Nate?”

  “Hurry. Can’t. Hold. Much. Longer.”

  I leapt from the bed onto the floor. It, too, was warm, like it had a heater beneath it. So, this was either a nightmare that was really, really, real feeling, or I was back in The Center.

  Nate bolted to his feet with one push of his arms against the floor. He looked at me with wide, blank eyes. I streamed ice at his chest, pinning him to the wall.

  “Oh, God,” I whispered as the realization hit me. This was no dream. I was captured.

  The lights brightened, and a door behind me clicked open. I turned and streamed ice.

  “Calm down or I’ll drug you so you’re out until next Wednesday. Don’t you want to remember your first time?” The voice was female. Grating. One I’d not heard before from what I could tell.

  I cut my stream, but kept my hand up, at the ready. “Where are we?”

  “Back in the desert where you belong.” Still I couldn’t see the source of the voice. “Better than the cold snow and ice. Which is funny, considering that’s your gift.”

  “Bev?” I asked.

  “Very good.”

  Shit, that meant The Center didn’t have me. But I thought Bev wanted us dead, judging by the bullets sprayed in Minnesota. “How did we get here?” I stood straight and glanced at Nate. He struggled against my ice, but didn’t use his strength to bust through for some reason.

  “Nate is strong, fighting his programming. Quite an interesting development I must say.” She laughed. I imagined her with a long, pointy, wart-covered nose the way she chuckled. “But not that strong. He had no choice but to obey his programming.”

  My heart tanked. “Programming? Wasn’t enough The Center created him from a Petri dish, they had to go and put computer parts in him, too?”

  “The Center did enjoy playing God, didn’t they?”

  Finally, someone came into view. Through my half wall of ice, I could see white. Shocker there. She wore doctor’s garb to the hilt with the coat, shirt, pants, and her hair was back. Not in a bun, which was what I half expected it to be, but in a long braid that coiled ov
er her shoulder. Like a black snake.

  “Oh, and you don’t enjoy playing God? What the hell do you think you’re doing right now?” I glanced at Nate. “What’d you do to him?”

  “Nothing. That’s courtesy of The Center. We’re trying to see where he takes it.”

  “What’d they do to him?”

  “Really quite amazing. We never knew about him until after the fact. When he showed up in Aspers at college.” She smiled. “He’s still a bit of a mystery. Couldn’t get my hands on all his records like I’d hoped. They’re very well protected from our insiders at The Center.”

  Shit. Insiders. Why am I not surprised? I stepped toward Nate.

  “He has a chip interfaced with his human brain.” She shook her head. “We had to X-ray him twice to find it. And even then we almost missed it, it’s so interwoven with his human tissue.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “He’s programmed to bring you in. Alive, preferably.”

  “Yeah. Bring me to The Center. How’d we end up here? And in a bed?”

  “I’d like to tell you more, really I would.” She shook her head. “Okay. No, I wouldn’t, actually. But, if you don’t mind lowering your hands, I’d like to step in.”

  “Come in at your own risk, psycho.” I held my aim steady, ready to trigger a flow and freeze her skinny ass.

  “Watch your mouth. I can make your stay here very uncomfortable if I’m not kept happy.” Her dark eyes pinned me with a stare. “So, lower your hands.”

  I did. It’d take her a while to get through the wall I’d constructed. I faced Nate. He rested his head back, evidently resigned to the fact that he was trapped in my ice. His strength should have gotten him through it, but he didn’t.

  Always so strong and in control, he was nothing like that right now. I reached out and brushed the damp hair from his forehead, and he smiled, leaning into it. The eyes didn’t flicker bright like My Nate’s, but his smile sure was the same. I rested my palm against his cheek and brushed the skin below his eye with my thumb.

  He didn’t seem violent toward me anymore. The way he’d crashed against the building and then the tree to get to me before seemed to have dissipated. But how? Why? Did Bev’s team drug him?