The Bloom Series Box Set: Bloom & Fade

by A. P. Kensey

  10

  “You’ve injected others before this?” asked Colton.

  Kamiko pushed some of her perfectly straight, black hair behind her ear. The motion lifted the hem of her white shirt an inch above her belt. Colton looked away when he found his eyes drifting down to her exposed midriff.

  “You find me attractive,” she said.

  “I find you repulsive,” he replied.

  “You are not a good liar.” She finally got bored with her inspection of the room and turned to face him. She crossed her arms and tapped a slender finger against her elbow as she chewed on her bottom lip in deep thought. “Now we just need to wait and see if any of your friends are immune,” she said at last.

  “I hope they all are,” said Colton. “I hope they mop the floor with you and your goons.”

  “The prisoners know that if they lash out, I will kill everyone in this compound.”

  Colton looked into her eyes, searching for a hint that she was bluffing. He could find none. She had the ruthless look of a girl detached from her own humanity—void of sympathy and love.

  He looked past her into the hallway. A brief thought of running for it crossed his mind.

  Kamiko smiled as if she were reading his thoughts. “If I find you missing, I will torture everyone you left behind until you return—or until they are dead.”

  “You’re going to kill us anyway,” said Colton.

  She shook her head and some of her hair fell in front of her face. “Not true. As long as I get what I want.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want you all to behave while I finish my work so I can tell Alistair how you were all good little boys and girls. And I want you to tell me where I can find Haven Kincaid.”

  Colton almost told her Alistair was dead, but didn’t think it was wise to correct her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

  Kamiko smiled without humor. “There’s another lie. I know she lives in this facility. I know she left recently, but I don’t know her destination. If you tell me, I promise that no one will die.”

  “She went to visit her grandma in Egypt,” said Colton. A fraction of his strength returned and solidified into hard defiance.

  Kamiko lifted her chin and looked down at him. The little amount of light in her eyes disappeared completely. She turned and walked to the door. “You will follow me now,” she said quietly. The soldier reappeared. He nodded his head in the direction of the hallway and pointed his rifle at Colton’s chest.

  Colton stood slowly, fighting the dizziness that clouded his head. He left his room and followed after Kamiko. The soldier stayed right behind him, brushing Colton’s heels with his steel-toed boots. Kamiko led them down the hallway, her silhouette swaying from side to side with the fluid movements of a predatory cat on the prowl.

  She led him out to the dome room. Soldiers just like the one from Colton’s room were stationed all around the massive, circular area. Two stood before the heavy door to the freight elevator which led up to the garage—the garage that was now presumably collapsed after the earlier assault. More men patrolled the balcony that half-encircled the room, their insectoid eye-shields looking robotically from person to person.

  Dormer stood at the railing on the second-tier platform, looking down at Colton. He gripped the railing firmly with bone-white knuckles. His brother Adsen lay on a cot next to him. One of the soldiers stood over Adsen, probing his temples with some kind of medical instrument. Colton saw no sign of Marius or Corva.

  Kamiko walked to the middle of the dome room and stopped near the crashed fan that used to spin far up in the ceiling, at the very apex of the dome. She beckoned to a soldier and he walked over quickly, pushing Noah Kincaid before him. Kamiko took Noah’s arm and pulled him to her, then let go as if disgusted by his presence.

  “Haven’s brother,” she said, studying Colton’s face. He hoped he was giving no indication that she was right. “There’s something about him,” continued Kamiko. “Something we can’t quite figure out.”

  “I’m not going to help you,” said Colton.

  Kamiko went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “He’s not immune, but the disease isn’t working on him the same way.” She waited for Colton to take the bait.

  “What disease?” he asked at last.

  “The virus we injected into everyone here.”

  “Virus?”

  “Don’t look so stupid, Colton. You’re infected. Look at your arms.”

  Colton didn’t need to. He clearly remembered the black veins beneath his skin.

  “But this little guy,” said Kamiko, “this little guy is special. The virus is working much more slowly on his system. He’s a fighter.” She knelt down next to Noah and pinched his nose playfully, then winked at him. “Aren’t you, little fella?” She patted his cheek a little too hard and stood up. “I think he’s the Nova that escaped from Bernam’s lab.”

  Colton had to look away to hide his surprise. No one outside of a few people at the Dome was supposed to know that. There was no way to know what someone might do to a boy like Noah if they learned he was a hybrid. Bernam had already cut him open to study his insides, and Haven and Colton both vowed they would never let anything like that happen to him again.

  “That’s what I thought,” said Kamiko. A brief smile touched her lips and then disappeared just as quickly.

  “I never told you anything!” said Colton loudly. He lunged for Kamiko but the soldier behind him grabbed Colton’s shoulder and clamped down on him like a vise.

  “You didn’t have to,” said Kamiko. Dark blue flame ignited in her eyes as she studied Noah. “I would guess he is far too young to display any abilities.” She spun him around, as if she would find a switch that would activate his hybrid power. “Pity.”

  “I want my sister,” said Noah quietly. He was trying his best to be brave, but he could only pretend for so long.

  “She’s not coming for you, little Nova,” said Kamiko. Noah began to cry. “No one is coming for you.” She turned to Colton. “And if you don’t help me, none of you will leave this place alive.”

  11

  Haven found the black sedan waiting for her on the third floor of the parking structure. She unzipped her backpack again to hunt for the keys and her finger brushed against something cold—something she hadn’t noticed while hunting for the gummy bears. She pulled out a small black box. It was a perfectly sealed plastic cube. Haven frowned as she studied it, then she realized what it was.

  She quickly threw the tracking device over the railing of the parking structure and watched it shatter to pieces on the ground below.

  “It’s too late,” said a voice behind her. She reeled around, already reaching deep within for her energy. She breathed a sigh of relief when Bastian stepped out of the shadows with his hands raised calmly. Roku appeared behind him but stayed half in the darkness at the back of the parking structure. Bastian smiled. “Sorry, Haven, but we had to follow you.”

  “You put it in my backpack at the airport,” she said. “You’re a real jerk.”

  He looked genuinely hurt. “We have to find the Dome. If you won’t go with us, then getting help from your friends is the only way to stop Alistair.” He took a step toward Haven and she backed away.

  She looked out of the parking garage at the city of Bozeman and thought it over. “A good friend once told me that the Dome was open to everyone like us,” said Haven. “They wouldn’t turn away anyone who needed help.”

  “That’s right,” said Bastian.

  “But not the kind of help you need. You want to ask my friends to follow you and die trying to kill a man who has turned himself into a monster—if he’s even still alive.”

  “He’s alive,” said Bastian. “I’m certain about that, Haven.”

  She stepped toward the railing at the edge of the third level, checking for ways to quickly escape if the situation went bad. “What happened in Chicago?” she asked. “How did you get away from the th
in man?”

  “I’m strong on my own,” said Bastian. He nodded toward Roku. “But we’re stronger together. That’s the whole idea in getting help to go after Alistair. The longer we wait, the more people will die.”

  Haven looked at him warily. She had the distinct feeling he was holding something back. “Is Roku your counterpart?”

  Bastian laughed. “You mean Mr. ‘Rock-You’ over there?”

  Roku grit his teeth, keenly aware that Bastian was poking fun at his expense. “Row-koo,” he said, pronouncing his name phonetically.

  Bastian rolled his eyes. “I know how to say it. I’ve said it a thousand times, right? It’s just a bit of fun, Rock. But to answer your question,” he said, turning back to Haven, “no. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting my Conduit yet.” He winked at her. “Got any sisters?”

  “Don’t make me lose my lunch. Has Roku met his Source?”

  Bastian’s smile dropped slowly. “We’ll talk about that later, perhaps. Do you still not trust us after we saved you at the airport?”

  “Trust is hard to come by these days with so many people wanting to cut you open like a lab rat. Can I go now?”

  “We were never forcing you to stay.”

  Haven kept her distance as she found her keys and got into the black sedan. Bastian put his hands in his pockets as she started the car and drove down the ramp to the second floor. She followed the ramp to the exit and had just pulled onto the street when Roku slammed onto the hood of the car from above. He landed on all fours like a cat, glaring at her through the windshield.

  Bright blue flames burst from Haven’s skin, sizzling the fabric of her seat. The steering wheel beneath her grip softened from the excessive heat she funneled down her arms and into her palms. Roku jumped off the hood and quickly opened the driver’s door. Before Haven could release her energy, he reached in and grabbed her wrist. Blue flames licked up his arm from her body and he groaned in pain. She knew that a pairing of Conduit and Source who were not counterparts always ended badly for one of them, it just depended on who was stronger. Haven had untold amounts of pure energy deep within her, and it would be too much for Roku to effectively absorb and release—if he held on too long, the energy would build up within him and soon the feedback would melt his internal organs.

  Still, he gripped her wrist. His eyes flashed blue and he screamed. Haven screamed, too, but not from pain. She screamed because Roku shared his memories.

  She saw a small building on fire and knew it was Roku’s home. Bright red flames burst from the windows. A woman screamed for help from within. She spoke Japanese but Haven understood her words perfectly. The woman called for Roku to come and save her.

  Haven saw her own hands, but they were masculine hands, Roku’s hands, shaking from exhaustion, covered in ash and blood. She ran past a broken window and saw Roku’s face in the shattered reflection. She had no control over her/his movements—she was simply reliving his old memories.

  Roku ran into the house despite the pounding red flames that reached out for him. Haven felt heat on her own skin as Roku ran up the steps to the second floor of the house. His mother lay on her side by the window, a fallen beam across her burnt chest. The flames vanished from the beam when Roku knelt and lifted it from her body. Haven felt the energy flow through her skin as Roku tried to drain the room of flame. There was too much raw energy for him to capture; too much to redirect away from his mother.

  He scooped her up and jumped out of the window. Just before he hit the ground, he released most of his stored energy downward with a quick burst that took the form of a shockwave, pushing ash away in all directions and negating the momentum of his fall. He landed easily on his feet and set his mother down on the ground. Haven watched his hands as if they were her own, reaching out to brush a strand of black hair away from his mother’s still face. Red flames danced in the reflection of her lifeless eyes.

  More people were screaming.

  Roku looked up and the entire neighborhood was on fire. Lee cackled with mad laughter and darted into the shadows. A moment later, his twin brother Dane appeared, gleefully firing a wide stream of red flame from his hands into a group of people running for safety. The flames consumed them and pushed them to the ground.

  Roku stood to face the twins. Lee and Dane saw him instantly and turned away from their other helpless victims. Dane put his hands on Lee’s shoulders and his red flames engulfed them both. Roku ran at them but it was too late. A beam of focused red energy shot out from Lee’s chest and hit Roku in the stomach. The solid stream of plasma lifted him into the air and flung him through the second floor wall of his own home.

  The house crumbled around him and the last thing Roku saw was a flaming beam of wood drop from the ceiling and hit his face.

  Haven gasped when Roku finally released her. She was back in the parking garage in Bozeman, sitting in the black sedan, far from Japan and from the flames of the dead twins.

  Roku crumpled to the ground next to the car. His skin smoked and blue fire flickered over his body like a dying candleflame. Haven looked down at him and noticed the burn scar on his neck for the first time. It was a thick patch of rough skin that covered the entire left side of his neck and disappeared beneath his shirt collar.

  She knew the pain of losing her parents to insane men. She knew the desire for revenge and how it drove her to master her abilities so she could stop other families from suffering the same fate. Haven could tell from the emotions raging through Roku’s memories that he was still in the grips of his vengeance—it drove him forward, compelling him and guiding all of his decisions.

  Haven reached down and rested her hand gently on his shoulder.

  “The twins are dead,” she said. “Dane and Lee both.”

  Roku’s face was slick with sweat and he shook from exhaustion. He searched her face, hesitant to believe her. Finally he nodded solemnly, then laid his head on the ground and closed his eyes.

  Bastian ran down the spiral ramp of the parking garage and skidded to a stop next to Roku.

  “Ach,” he said. “What’s he gone and done now?”

  “He’s gone and found you two a ride. Get in.”

  Bastian smiled. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Hurry up before I change my mind.”

  Bastian laughed and helped Roku to his feet. He shook him vigorously as they walked around to the other side of the car.

  “You old dog, you,” said Bastian happily. “You old, brilliant, wonderful, dog!” He slapped Roku on the back as he climbed slowly into the back seat. Roku groaned and slumped down behind Haven. Bastian got in the passenger’s seat, still grinning.

  Haven shook her head but couldn’t keep the amusement out of her own voice. “You don’t do much else besides smile, do you?” she asked.

  “Only save the world now and again,” he said with a wink.

  “You know I can’t promise that anyone will go with you.”

  “Never hurts to ask.”

  “And Roku is going to pay for that dent he left in the hood of the car.”

  “We’ll get you a new car.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Sure. Just as soon as I strike it rich.”

  “I won’t hold my breath.”

  “Too bad. I was hoping for some peace and quiet.”

  She glared at him quickly, then realized he was kidding. “You’re not funny,” she said.

  “I’ve heard otherwise.”

  Haven put the car into gear and drove out onto the street. She headed to the edge of town to find the hidden dirt road that wandered across the desert toward the Dome. She thought of Noah and of Colton. The knowledge that she would soon be with them filled her with a pleasant warmth, and she was happier than she had been in a long time.

  12

  There were seven survivors of Bernam’s med-lab still residing in the Dome. A total of twenty-eight had been pulled from the depths of his torturous hospital a year ago, each in a different state of mental and physical i
nstability.

  Most recovered quickly and left the Dome, vowing never to reveal its location to another soul. The seven who remained were too infirmed to leave. Two had slowly been showing signs of recovery over the past few months. Adsen, Dormer’s brother, was one of them. His body was weak but his mind was sharp as ever, eager to uncover the mysteries of recent events.

  Colton saw the burning desire for information in Adsen’s eyes; he could see the deep wheels of thought turning as the man sat on the edge of his cot on the second-tier platform, looking down at the dome room floor. He plucked at a scraggy brown beard dotted with patches of grey. Adsen was tall, like his brother, but much thinner due to his long imprisonment. His clothes fit him like a poncho fits a broomstick.

  Dormer sat nearby, watching his brother closely. Colton had first thought Adsen was older, mostly because of the deep, worried lines etched on his gaunt face from his time with Bernam and his machines. He was shocked to discover they were fraternal twins. Given Adsen’s emaciated appearance, the brothers seemed like two different generations of the same man, one in his early forties and the other pushing sixty.

  “Did she say anything to you?” asked Adsen, his eyes constantly searching the floor below. “Anything at all about what they did to us?”

  “Just that she infected us with a virus,” said Colton. “She wants us to figure out the rest on our own.”

  Adsen grunted and thoughtfully chewed on the inside of his cheek while he looked at one of the other sick men nearby. “Virus,” said Adsen. “Hmm.” He scratched at his neck and laid on his cot. Tiny black veins appeared above the collar of his shirt, slowly creeping up toward his head. All of the other refugees were showing the same symptoms, just like most of the original inhabitants of the Dome. Yet neither Dormer nor Adsen were showing any signs of being infected with the virus. Colton thought it might work more quickly in certain hosts.