Frozen Flesh

by A J Donovan

  I don’t want to kill her.

  “Get down on the ground,” I mutter to Diana.

  “What?”

  “Just do it!”

  A block of ice forms in my hand and I hurl it at Lana. The banister comes dropping down onto us and I shove Diana to the floor and throw myself over her, pouring that same ice through my body and over my skin.

  It feels like getting hit by a train.

  The pain is muffled by that cold power rushing through me but I can still feel it. I use it, letting the pain fill me until I have the strength to push myself to my knees. Power swirls and flows through my limbs. Diana stares up at me with wide eyes.

  I push my hands under the metal and take several deep breaths, then I get my feet under me and stand, pushing the huge metal banister off us. It rolls onto its side and hits the floor with a crash, denting the wooden panels.

  The room looks like it was hit by a tornado. Ice and metal lie scattered around us. The staircase is barely standing, a mountain of broken wood and splinters. Lana is lying by the doorway. She’s unconscious but I can feel her heart beating. She is alive.

  Diana walks to her and lifts her weapon.

  “Don’t kill her,” I say. “She was trying to do what she thought was right.”

  “She was wrong. She tried to kill us, Jake. She almost succeeded.”

  “She made a mistake. She doesn’t deserve to die for it.”

  Diana lowers her rifle. “Fine. I’ll listen to you this time, but you can’t save everyone, Jake.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you?”

  We look at each for a moment but then a burst of gunfire in the next room grabs our attention.

  Diana and I run towards the violence. We pass through the doorway and both of us stop suddenly, trying to take in the scene in front of us.

  Rafael, Duke and Chip stand in the centre of the room. Terry Goldstein and his son are in front of them. The two groups are facing each other with weapons raised and ready to fire. Two people lie nearby, their bodies covered in bullet holes and surrounded by pooling blood.

  Confusion makes me hesitate. How are Terry and his son on Reggie’s side? They barely know him. Lana is the only one who had a reason to help him.

  “Please, lower your weapons,” Terry says. “We don’t want to hurt you.”

  Rafael moves in a blur and a white flash of bone sticks out of Terry’s back. A strangled noise forces itself out of my throat before I can stop it.

  Duke and Chip unload a stream of bullets into Ted, Terry’s son, and the man falls to the ground. Rafael retracts his bone blade with a sickening noise and blood spurts from the older man’s chest as he collapses beside his son.

  I can’t believe it.

  Rafael turns to face us. “I thought I heard someone,” he says. “Jake, Diana, you’re right on time.”

  The other men lift their rifles again and Rafael lunges towards us at impossible speed.

  Diana fires a wide stream of bullets that makes all three men duck for cover and she pulls me back out through the doorway. She kicks it shut behind us and keeps dragging me with her. I force my feet to follow her while my mind struggles to process what happened.

  “They betrayed us,” I manage.

  Diana glances around a corner before pulling me into another hallway. “Don’t have time for this, Jake. Get yourself together.”

  I curse and shake my head violently, trying to clear my thoughts. “You’re right,” I say. My voice sounds loud in the silent hallway. We’re alone.

  “Rafael isn’t following us,” Diana says.

  I frown and look over my shoulder. “Why not?”

  She shrugs. “If I had to guess, I’d say he was afraid of you. The element of surprise was the only real advantage they had. Rafael is dangerous but he is no threat to you if you’re ready for him.”

  We come across an empty bedroom and slip inside. “What do we do?” I ask.

  “We should run,” Diana says. “We should get out of here and never look back.”

  “We can’t do that.”

  “I know. That’s what we should do, it’s the smart play. But that’s not what we’re going to do.”

  I can tell that Diana is coming up with this on the spot, but I don’t care, I trust her judgement. She has mastered the ability to react to a crisis as it happens. After all, we have had a lot of chances to practice over the last few weeks.

  “We’re going to find the prisoners,” she says. “Reggie’s whole plan is last minute. They didn’t hear that broadcast until yesterday, so they didn’t have much time to put this together.”

  “Which means what?”

  “All the prisoners will be in one place.”

  “Are you sure?” I ask. “Besides, how do you know they’re keeping prisoners? They killed Terry and Ted on the spot, as well as a whole bunch of other people.”

  “They weren’t valuable,” she says. “And most of them were newcomers. I’m sure Reggie wants to keep people like Betty and Molly alive. They would never help him do all of this, but they’re too useful to kill.”

  “Or too dangerous to keep alive,” I say.

  Diana shakes her head. “No. You know how Reggie is. His ambition blinds him to everything else. They add to his power. If there’s any chance of keeping them in his arsenal, he won’t hurt them.”

  “He sees them as objects,” I say. “Trophies.”

  “Weapons,” Diana says.

  I take a deep breath and let that familiar anger come back to me. Right now, this is what I need. I can deal with everything else later.

  “Where is he keeping them?”

  Diana thinks for a moment, then grins. “Follow me.”

  ***

  We find three guards standing outside the door. There were dozens of mattresses, piles of supplies and gallons of water in that room. It was the heart of the house. I agreed when Diana suggested this is where they would keep the prisoners. I think the presence of three guards confirms her theory.

  “Stay here,” I say. “I’ll take care of this. They can’t hurt me.” I let ice flow through my skin like armour and walk towards them.

  Diana follows me, of course. I don’t think I ever imagined she would actually listen to me, but I had to try.

  The men start firing as soon as they see me. I step in front of Diana and let the bullets ricochet off my skin, then send out a quick burst and knock the weapons from their hands. Diana steps out from behind me and fires three shots.

  “The others will have heard the noise,” she says, stepping over their bodies and grabbing the door handle. “We have to hurry.”

  We crack the door open and see the surviving members of our group sitting inside the room in a frightened huddle.

  “There aren’t as many guards as I was expecting,” I whisper.

  Diana makes a quiet sound to acknowledge her agreement. “I guess a lot of them must not have wanted to help him betray everyone else.”

  “I don’t see them with the prisoners,” I say. “Do you think they’re dead?”

  “Probably.”

  “We should get everyone out of here while we have the chance and then we can come back and deal with Reggie and the others.

  Diana nods and we hurry inside, realising our mistake too late.

  “Don’t shoot,” Reggie says, smiling infuriatingly and raising his hands towards the dozen men standing back against the walls with their weapons aimed at us. “Not yet, anyway. I want to give them another chance to change their minds.”

  Power flows through me and swirls under my skin. My palms tingle as ice pulses in my hands. The power is eager to be unleashed.

  Reggie laughs and strolls across the room. We don’t dare move but I glance around the room to look for the faces of the people I care about. Betty is in the centre of the group. Her eyes are big and wide and she looks terrified. Anger rushes through me at the sight of her. She is kind and caring, there isn’t anything bad in her, she doesn’t deserve this.


  Reggie follows my gaze and nods. “Yes, I thought Betty might be a problem. We were worried that she might warn you not to come.” He shrugs. “Maybe she did. It’s not like you would have listened anyway.”

  Diana curses him under her breath and lifts her rifle. Ten guns aim at her.

  “Don’t be stupid, Diana. You’ll be dead as soon as you pull the trigger.”

  “But so will you,” she replies. “And you don’t want that. This whole mutiny is about you, Reggie. You’d sacrifice anything for power, except your own life.”

  Reggie’s smug demeanour falters for a split second, but it’s enough. She’s getting to him. “You insolent girl,” he hisses.

  “Forget this,” Diana says. She pulls the trigger.

  Rafael throws himself at Reggie and the bullet catches Rafael in the shoulder instead of ending Reggie’s life.

  The rest of the room explodes into chaos and noise.

  All the guards fire at us and I throw my hands out. A wave of frost knocks the bullets aside and I pour power into the ground, forming a wall of us in front of us. Bullets crack against while it is forming but it stands strong.

  “That was a close one,” I mutter.

  Diana doesn’t reply, she is busy taking out the men trying to flank us. I touch the ground and ice shoots across the floor, reaching each wall within moments and covering the entire floor between us and them. Diana keeps shooting, giving me time to cover the whole room.

  The traitors know what this means.

  “Please, stop!”

  “Drop your guns!” I yell. Pour flows fast and thick from my hands and the temperature plummets. Ice builds up on the floor and spreads up the walls.

  I look up at Diana. Her breath is clouding in front of her face but she’s smiling at me. We won.

  The clatter of weapons landing on the hard ground confirms it. We did it.

  I straighten up but my mind is still connected to the ice across the room. If anyone tries anything, I can kill them with a thought.

  I take down the ice wall in front of us. Two men are still holding rifles and there is lethal intention in their eyes. I freeze the blood in their fingers and Diana shoots them both before they can even cry out.

  Leo steps into the middle of the room. “Jake, it’s okay. It’s over now.”

  I nod. “We need to tie up the traitors and check them for any hidden weapons.”

  Leo returns my nod and walks to us. “Yeah, we should do that.”

  Diana frowns. “Wait. Leo, where were you this whole time?”

  “What do you mean?” he asks.

  Her eyes narrow. “Where were you? Whose side were you on?”

  Leo sighs. “You were always too smart for your own good, Diana.” He lashes out with the butt of a gun and strikes her in the temple, knocking her out.

  “Leo, what-”

  Leo has something small and black in his hand and he shoves it against my side. Pain explodes through my body and my vision dims. I find myself on the ground. I don’t understand how I got here. My thoughts are sluggish and I blink rapidly, looking up to find Leo standing over me.

  He used a taser on me.

  I try to reach for my power but I can’t focus.

  “I’m sorry, Jake,” Leo says. “I really am. But this is for the best.”

  I catch a glimpse of something rushing towards my head before I feel a sharp pain and then everything goes black.

  Chapter 28 - The Lake

  Kim

  Cole is the first to fire but everyone else is hot on his tail, including the doctor and her other companion. I didn’t even realise they were carrying concealed weapons.

  It takes a few seconds for everyone to realise that their bullets are frozen in mid-air. They form a shape resembling a wall between our two groups. The man who lunged at me is frozen too, one foot on the ground and the other raised inches above it.

  It looks like I froze time.

  “This is impossible,” the doctor gasps.

  I smile at her but there is no warmth in my expression. “Nothing is impossible anymore. This isn’t the same world we used to know.”

  I release my hold on the bullet and they clatter to the ground like metal raindrops. The man doesn’t move an inch, I don’t trust him not to attempt another attack.

  “I should kill you,” I say. I won’t, but it won’t do any harm to scare him a bit. “Why shouldn’t I?”

  His eyes widen and his hatred fades away, replaced by fear.

  “Don’t!” The doctor steps forward, raising her empty hands into the air. I don’t know where her gun is, but I trust Cole and the others to keep me safe if she tries anything. “Please, don’t hurt him. I can help you!”

  “What’s your name?” I ask.

  “Karen.”

  I see an opportunity to find out what these people are made of, so I ask, “Why do you save lives?”

  “What do you mean? I’m a doctor.”

  “You trained to be a doctor, you have the skills, you presumably have a passion for medicine, but this is the apocalypse. The world is ending. This isn’t your job anymore.”

  Karen takes a breath and I feel the air rush into her lungs. I won’t use it but I know I could tear her apart from the inside and there wouldn’t be a doctor in the world that could save her.

  “Love,” she says.

  I remain silent, waiting for her to explain.

  “Everyone is loved by someone. Everyone matters to someone. I lost somebody a long time ago. If I can spare someone else the pain I felt, I will. That’s why I keep going, I keep saving people. Haven’t you ever lost someone you care about?”

  I release my hold on the air molecules and the man drops to the ground.

  Cole steps up beside me and puts his hand on my shoulder. “You alright?”

  He’s so tall. How didn’t I notice that before? He must be over six feet. Why does it matter how tall he is? He’s watching me with his usual mixture of concern and warmth.

  “You need to shave,” I mumble. His stubble is thicker than normal.

  “What?”

  Some part of me realises that I’m focusing on the small details to distract myself from thinking about him.

  “Nothing.”

  “Are you sure you’re alright, Kim?”

  “I’m fine,” I say quickly.

  After a moment, I realise I might be telling the truth. I might be fine. Even if I’m not quite there yet, I’m as close to fine as I’ve been in a long time.

  I smile up at him.

  “You can join us,” I tell Karen. “But you’re responsible for your two friends. If they try anything, I will hold you accountable for it. Especially him,” I add, nodding to the man who lunged at me. “I am choosing to believe that he acted out of fear or self-preservation, and not out of hate.”

  “Thank you so much,” Karen says.

  I smile at her and then look at the man again. “We won’t hurt you unless you hurt us. Understand?”

  He nods. He doesn’t say anything but he looks less terrified than a few moments ago.

  “Thank you,” Karen says again. “You won’t regret this.”

  “We’ll see.”

  ***

  “We sent out another broadcast,” Click announces. “Told anyone listening that we are moving on. I also said that we wouldn’t be back at that rendezvous again, even though that should be obvious, if we’re leaving.” He frowns. “Does that make sense? It sounded better in the broadcast.”

  “No, that’s perfect,” I say. “Did you mention where we’re going?”

  “Oh, great. Yeah, we discussed it beforehand. Everyone thought it was fine. It means that Camp Turk knows where we’re going, if they’re listening. But we’re so close to the lake that there isn’t much chance of anyone intercepting us before we arrive.”

  I nod. “Okay. Sounds good.”

  “Jade brought some soldiers down to the rendezvous point and dropped off some supplies. They left written messages on the walls
and with the supplies, explaining where we went. It’s just in case anyone is already on their way to meet us and they don’t hear the new broadcast.”

  “It sounds like you’ve prepared for everything.” I grin at him. “Thanks for doing all this.”

  “No problem,” he says, grinning back at me. “We’re planning to leave soon. Everyone is packing up their things and meeting at the trucks in a few minutes.”

  “I better get going, then.”

  I go back to the small bedroom I claimed for myself and gather the few belongings I have. They all fit into a backpack. I also pack a bottle of water and some protein bars, just in case our plans get derailed.

  I sit down on the bed and let myself relax, calming my thoughts and focusing on that strange feeling in the back of my mind.

  Rex.

  I link with him easily. He is miles away, chasing a deer or some other prey. He loves his freedom and I find myself smiling. He would have stayed here with me if I asked him to, but I didn’t think it was fair to ask anyone else to accept having a beast in the camp. Now I realise he is better off out there, running wherever he wants without holding himself back. He is in his element.

  I come back to myself. I don’t need to tell him where we’re going. He’ll find me, he always does.

  The trip to the lake takes us through the day. Twilight starts to darken the sky by the time we finally see the settlement. We drive along a small dirt road beside the water and as I watch as they start to light fires and torches around the settlement. Hopefully it’s because of the fading sunlight, and it isn’t a signal that they’re going to kill us all.

  A long pier stretches out into the lake. There are people on it, I can’t tell what they are doing out there but I can see a few small boats around the end of the pier. Maybe they’re fishing.

  “Will they accept us?” Maria asks, breaking the nervous silence that was filling the car.

  “They will,” I say. “If they try to hurt us, we can stop them. We’ll stick together.”

  She nods. “We’ll watch each others’ backs. Protect each other.”

  I smile. “Exactly.”