Soul Finder (The Immortal Gene Book 2)

by Jacinta Maree

  “Don’t worry, I’ll get you there.”

  He ran with me bouncing on his back. It hurt like hell, but the white pain behind my eyelids only made me more determined to get there faster. Just end it. One way or another, just end it.

  By the time Hiro made it to the safe house, I was shaking so much I could barely stand it. There was a massive queue lining up at the doors. Hiro took us to the front of the line.

  “My friend needs help! Please?” He ran toward the security guards and they quickly barred our entry.

  “Whoa! Whoa!” Arms shoved us back. “You have to pay up first.”

  “What? But, we don’t have any money!”

  “No credit, no service.”

  With the strength I had left, I lifted my head. “I’m…dying!”

  The guard crossed his arms. “Die somewhere else.”

  Fucking asshole! I thought as Hiro spun us back toward the crowd. “Can someone help us, please? We need money! Please?”

  He pleaded with everyone, walking up and down the aisles, with no success. I begged him to put me down. He did, carefully setting me against the wall. I slouched across the ground, panting hard in short, fast breaths.

  I heard him running up and down the line. Begging people. Pleading them for help. He eventually ran back to me, frustration bringing tears to his eyes.

  “Nadia, I don’t— No one is listening. I don’t know what to do!”

  “Hiro,” I managed. “Get…Diesel’s…backpack!”

  “What? Why?”

  “Just…get…it!”

  He disappeared for a couple of hours, or maybe more, it was hard to judge. Crying helped ease some of my frustration, but it gave me a splitting headache. The rattling of Diesel’s backpack sounded from the distance. I looked up at Hiro’s return. I didn’t care to ask how he convinced Diesel to give up his backpack. Part of me suspected he wouldn’t even notice it was missing. As long as he had his precious McKinnon.

  “Here! Here!” Hiro fell to his knees.

  “Pick…me…up.” He picked me up. I hobbled on one foot, barely able to keep my balance. “Over…there.” I motioned to the front of the line and Hiro obeyed, carefully carrying me.

  We were stopped at the doors by security again. “I need…a doctor!” I demanded.

  The guard didn’t move. “Come here one more time and I will send you to the morgue instead!”

  I dug my hand into Diesel’s backpack, clenched the pills and threw them at him. The guard’s eyes expanded at the amount of D400 hitting the ground.

  “Get. Me. A. Doctor. Now!”

  Chapter Twenty-Four:

  I had two broken ribs, one that had pierced my lung and caused internal bleeding. A plastic tube fed into my chest, pumping the air out and inflating the deflated organ. The D400 bought me my own room and a personal doctor, who was all too eager to wait on me hand and foot for extra tips. Hiro sat with me the entire day, but the heavy painkillers kept me in and out of consciousness.

  They fixed everything that was wrong with me. Ointment soothed the blisters on my feet. The cough in my chest was gone. My strained back muscles numbed into tingles. My stomach bloated from all the food and water I consumed. Antibiotics and vitamins cleared my head. I had never felt so energized.

  I paid for an extra night. Why would I leave when I was offered a soft warm bed, working plumbing, a shower and as much food and drink as I wanted at a click of a button? When night rolled over, I bribed the doctor again to let Hiro stay as well.

  We played cards all day to pass the time, but when it came to going to sleep, Hiro elected to stay in the chair. It wasn’t a comfortable sleeping spot, so I wiggled across the mattress and patted the extra space for him to climb in.

  “No funny business, I promise.”

  Hiro gulped, slipped out of his shoes and climbed onto the bed. He didn’t get under the covers, but it was a warm enough night not to need to. The pillow sunk a little further beneath his weight and the dip in the mattress tipped us together. I noticed he was smaller than Diesel and he kept his arms strictly crossed. Whenever Diesel slept by me he automatically took over the entire bed. The heat from his skin alone could strangle me. Hiro was not like Diesel.

  “Are you all right?” I nestled onto my side, carefully aware of the tube sticking out of my lower rib. Hiro’s body straightened into a plank.

  “Yes. Fine.”

  “You can relax.” He nodded but didn’t relax. I frowned softly. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

  Hiro twisted around. “What? Oh! No, not at all. Sorry, I’m just…well…Diesel—”

  I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “Let’s not talk about him.”

  “Did something happen?” Hiro looked at me. I could only shrug. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I will be.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say in these types of situations.”

  I sat up onto my elbow as a thought crossed me. “Hiro… by any chance was I your first kiss?” Hiro’s face froze. I laughed. “How adorable.”

  “It’s not adorable. It’s embarrassing.” He inched a little further into the mattress. “Was it…was I bad?”

  My smile widened. “Who do you want to impress?”

  Hiro shrugged. “No one.”

  I turned to look at the ceiling. “You know, it could be just you and me from now on. Diesel got what he needed. Jacky and Logan have Diesel’s memories. There’s really no need for us.”

  Hiro softly sighed. “What would we do?”

  “I don’t know. Get jobs? Work for the rest of our lives?”

  “Work in a place like this?” Hiro motioned to the hospital.

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “What I want.” He stalled on the thought. “Hmm, never been asked that before. What do you want?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know anymore. I thought I had what I wanted, but I guess not. In the end, we really are alone in the world.”

  “We have each other.”

  I tried to smile, but the sincerity wasn’t there. You are here for now. But you’ll leave too. One way or another, you’ll leave. “Did you have anyone your age where you grew up?”

  “Yes, but we had nothing in common.”

  “I understand the feeling.”

  He cleared his throat. “Nadia, we’re friends, right?”

  I smiled, feeling myself settle against Hiro with complete ease. “Yes, we’re friends.”

  I dreamt of Diesel that night. The feeling of abandonment sank into my skin, pulling my subconscious toward him. Hours after Hiro fell asleep, I continued to think of Diesel. I thought of how he hadn’t bothered to come looking for me. How he wouldn’t know if I was dead or alive, and didn’t seem concerned by it. I guess it really is over between us. As soon as he had McKinnon, he had what he wanted. What he really wanted.

  Morning rose, and with it I reluctantly sat up. The nurse removed the tube. A new life awaited, one that didn’t follow Diesel. Hiro woke a bit after breakfast, and after we ate and showered, we packed our things to leave for good.

  “Well, I guess this is our last day before joining the real world again,” I said.

  Hiro sighed contently by the window. “I think I am going to miss our time as a group.”

  “What? Not enough bullets being shot at you?” I walked over and stood beside him. Out the window, sheets of grey clouds blanketed the sky, sucking up the heat and sunlight. A storm shifted across, bringing the threat of rain. “I’m guessing Diesel will want his things returned. Did you see where they went?”

  Hiro nodded. “What’s in there anyway? Something kept digging into my back on the way over.”

  I pulled over Diesel’s backpack and looked in. Out of the large stash of D400 he stole from FRIM, we were down to only three doses left. Deep inside he had stuffed pots, quilts, shoes, jackets, cutlery and other strange junk. I zipped the bag up.

  “He really was losing his mind,” I muttered.

  “He
y, wait, before we go.” Hiro pushed off the windowsill and ran out into the hallway. He quickly stopped and spun back. “Wait, first, close your eyes.”

  I rose an eyebrow and hesitantly closed my eyes. Moments passed when something small rattled on the table by the door. I opened my eyes to see Hiro had brought in a music player.

  I laughed. “What’s this?”

  “I’ve always wanted a party and you said I could do whatever I wanted.”

  “How did you even organise this?”

  “When you were showering I just asked the nurse. He said he could help.”

  “Is this even allowed? I mean, we are in a hospital after all.”

  “We have a private room. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He hit a button on the player and a chirpy, fast-paced beat picked up. He bounced along with it.

  I crossed my arms, feeling a little awkward. “Hiro, I don’t—”

  “Oh, come on, it’s just me. What’s there to be embarrassed about?”

  Hiro, to put it nicely, was a massive dork. His dancing consisted a lot of finger pointing, shoulder rolling and shuffling from foot to foot. Despite myself, I laughed.

  “You’re not allowed to laugh if you don’t dance.”

  “Okay, okay!” I gently bobbed my head along with the music, warming my body up to the idea of dancing. Hiro pulled me in and I twirled beneath his hand. We were both terrible dancers. He kept standing on my feet and I accidentally elbowed his nose twice, but in the end, it didn’t matter. We danced without a care in the world.

  “Good-bye sleeping on the cold, hard floor!” Hiro cheered and tossed the pillows from the bed.

  I laughed and joined in. “Good-bye smelly body odour!”

  “Good-bye eating out of a trashcan!”

  “Good-bye living out of a backpack!”

  “Good-bye uncomfortable itchy clothes!”

  “Good-bye Nadia the Soulless!”

  We cheered and tossed the bed sheets like graduation caps. Laughing and twirling, I stumbled into Hiro’s chest when the music suddenly turned off. We both turned toward it.

  Diesel stood in the doorway.

  Like repelling magnets, we leapt away from each other. Cold sweat covered Diesel’s front, his black hair plastered against his oily head. His dark eyes were heavy, clear signs of a restless night. Immediately, his body tightened. Knuckles formed. His attention shifted to Hiro, deepening the snarl on his face. There was that look again. The same one he gave McKinnon, rage curling every crease in his face.

  “Nadia.” He breathed my name scornfully, and I immediately clenched up. He stepped forward and I quickly cut across, barring his advancement and holding Hiro behind my back.

  I glared at him. “What are you doing here?”

  “Looking for you.” His eyes fell to me. “You should know better than to run off!”

  “Are you joking?” Diesel’s expression didn’t change. He really had no idea I was injured? “You know what, I’m glad you’re here. Saves me the trouble of returning your junk.” I stepped around him and shoved his backpack into his chest.

  Diesel didn’t move. My understanding of him, of our situation, started to break apart at the seams. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t leaving.

  Hiro sidestepped around me. “I’ll let you two talk in private.” The moment he moved Diesel’s attention snapped back upward. Fury sparked.

  I grabbed Hiro’s sleeve. “You don’t have to leave, Hiro. Why are you here, Diesel? What do you want?”

  “Don’t ask stupid questions,” he growled. “I’m taking you back with me.”

  “Why? You have McKinnon now, which is clearly more important.”

  “More important?” he repeated, confused by my meaning.

  “Seriously? Look around you. Why do you think I’m in a hospital, huh? For fun? I cracked two ribs and punctured my lung, not that you showed an ounce of care. Where the hell were you when I needed help? It was Hiro who carried me here. Hiro saved my life.”

  Diesel’s glare hardened.

  Hiro cowered away. “I saved her just as friends. I swear nothing happened.”

  I crossed my arms, feeling all my rage and desperation grip my shaky voice. “If I’m so important, then why weren’t you there for me?” Diesel didn’t respond, revving up my anger. “You are such a hypocrite.”

  Again, no response. Hiro whispered behind me. “Let’s just head back, just for a bit, okay?”

  “Fine. Whatever.” I grabbed Hiro and pulled him around with me. “But after we’re done, Hiro and I are leaving. Without you.”

  The intense walk across town felt like we were hostages in Diesel’s care. Diesel’s attention burnt into Hiro’s back. He never spoke, but his body language was clear enough. If he had seen me kiss Hiro, there would be a lot more than just glares.

  Logan and Jacky were set up inside an old office building. They turned on our entrance with annoyed sighs. Jacky sat back from working on the device where beside her sat McKinnon completely bound to an office chair. He had soiled himself, probably because they hadn’t allowed him any freedom to use a proper toilet.

  “So, you finally found them? About time,” Jacky said to Diesel.

  Logan crossed his arms. “Where did you two run off to exactly?”

  Diesel roughly shoved Hiro out of the way and stormed past.

  I touched Hiro’s shoulder but he quickly moved away from me.

  “I was at the hospital,” I growled, making sure I was loud enough to reach Diesel as he stormed across the foyer. “Hiro saved my life.”

  “You could have said something to us,” Logan lectured.

  If I rolled my eyes anymore, they would have fallen out of my head. “Excuse me,” I muttered and chased after Diesel. I found him in the next room, his back hunched and hands gripping the edge of a table. He had just punched a hole in the wall, leaving flakes of plaster sprinkled across the carpet. I didn’t walk any closer. “Stop being such a brat, Diesel. And leave Hiro alone.”

  “Why should I?” he asked without turning around.

  “It’s because of him that I’m even alive. Don’t stand there and act like the victim. You made your choice. You choose McKinnon. And now it’s my turn to make my choice.” I turned to leave before stopping myself. I turned back. “You are so cruel, Diesel. If you loved me at all, you would stop playing these games. With you, it feels like I’m trapped in hell. Can’t you see how unhappy I am? Just…let me go.”

  There was a knock on the door behind me. “You ready?” Jacky stepped through with the case in her hands.

  Diesel nodded.

  Logan followed in after her and helped set up. I scoffed and left the room, joining Hiro and McKinnon back in the main foyer. I didn’t acknowledge them as I sat down.

  “So…” Hiro started but fell silent.

  I crossed my arms.

  Ten minutes of silence passed when noise kicked in from the other room. Grunts of pain, followed by the buzz of electricity. I looked over at the closed door where yellow lights blinked rapidly beneath the gap.

  Hiro leant forward onto his knees. “You’re not going to watch?”

  I shook my head. The doors suddenly opened. Jacky waved me over. Nervously, I jumped up from my seat and ran toward her. Something must have gone wrong, I automatically presumed and instant dread filled me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “We need your help.” She stepped aside for me to walk in. Diesel sat in an ordinary office chair, the electronic-pad positioned at the points of his temples and neck. His wrists and legs were bound to the chair with rope. Logan stood behind him, stopping the seizures from throwing him to the ground.

  I reached him and touched his warm, clenched hand. “What do you need from me?”

  “Well, you said you were there when he saw the files. Thought you could help us locate the memory.”

  “Diesel doesn’t want me to watch.”

  “Then just pretend you didn’t.”

  I took a shaky breath and nodded. Jacky s
et up a chair beside her in front of the screen and continued to turn the dials. The screen shuttered with white noise and I took a big breath, trying to prepare myself for the onslaught of horrors that is Diesel’s mind.

  The picture blurred and then sharply focused. I gasped. It was of Diesel, when he was just a very young boy. His unkempt black hair had grown long and tangled with neglect. Nervously, he crossed the street before sidestepping into an alleyway. He retrieved a plastic bag filled with powder, imbedded in his shoe, and wedged it into a crack in the bricks. Drugs? He checked over his shoulder and bolted from the drop-off. He crossed the street but was abruptly caught. The Sweeper scanned his eyes and yanked him up off the ground. Diesel’s tiny fingers gripped the giant robot’s hands. His desperate pleas for his mother warping into terrified sobs.

  Jacky jerked the memory forward impatiently. Iced blue distorted the screen. The door opened, releasing crisp fog into the room. The Cryo-tanks. My hand clenched, watching the focus flutter back into Diesel’s eyes. He was pulled from the tank. His weak body hit the ground. A dark man stood over him. Two swift kicks rolled Diesel onto his back. He groaned, his voice just freshly broken from puberty. As the man reached down to grip Diesel’s throat, Diesel swung out and punched him in the mouth.

  Blood stained his teeth. “Good, you feel like fighting today.” The man laughed and I recognised the placement of the scar on his lip.

  “Senator Able?” said a voice behind them. Diesel squirmed and kicked against the senator’s tightening grip. “Remember, nothing fatal, sir.”

  I reached for the knob and fast-forwarded. Diesel groaned and bucked in the chair. His breathing quickened and sweat ran with the bend of his neck.

  Jacky eased back uncomfortably, recognising the familiar layout.

  I slowed the device down when I noticed myself appear on the screen. My hand snapped back from the control panel. I must have jumped too far ahead as I watched Diesel collapse on the ground outside of the I.O.S. fire. I saw myself in the corner of his vision; ash blackened my sweat drenched face. My leg remained stiffly straight and exhaustion drained the colour from my cheeks.