Winter's Awakening: The Metahumans Emerge (Winter's Saga #1)

by Karen Luellen

  He thought about the depth of devotion the Winter family felt for one another, and thought he understood. Being an only child of a single parent, his dad was his world.

  Michelle, his stepmother, was cold and distant. She never even tried to be Cole’s friend. Sometimes Cole felt even further from his dad when she was around.

  But yeah, if his dad was taken like the kids’ mom was taken; Cole thought he would do whatever it took to get him back, too.

  “What are they going to do if their mom dies? Where will they go? Who will take care of them? What if that bad guy, Dr. Williams, keeps trying to hunt them? How are they ever going to feel safe?” Cole’s mind was spinning with questions.

  “I don’t know, Cole. But I do know our friends need us now, so we’re going to help them. We’ll figure the rest out one problem at a time.” Dr. Andrews found himself speeding up a little. He was just as anxious as his son to get to the hospital.

  “Let me call Greg Burns. He’d want to know what happened to the kids, too. He felt awful that he said what he did back at the restaurant in front of the kids. He’s been blaming himself for their disappearance ever since. And I wonder if he can get us any information besides what the news is telling the public.” With that, Dr. Andrews picked up his cell phone and made his call.

  Chapter 61 Identification

  Evan’s blood donation for his sister went fine. They were administering the transfusion now. He sat quietly in a chair beside her and watched. Just as he was starting to worry again about his mom and Alik, Betty the nurse, knocked lightly on the hospital room door and peeked in.

  “Evan, there were three unidentified people brought in for treatment from The Institute. Would you like to go see if any of them are your family?” The nurse asked gently.

  After swallowing his fear back hard, he responded, “Yes, I would.”

  “I’ll go get a wheelchair and be right back,” she saw Evan’s questioning expression and responded with a shrug, “It’s hospital policy.”

  She returned moments later with a wheelchair. Evan eyed it suspiciously, but obliged. He was worried about what he may find when he went to view the patients. He took one last quick glance at his sister lying still in her bed drawing strength just knowing she was still alive.

  “Ready, Evan?” The nurse asked gently.

  “Yes, I’m ready.” Evan responded and felt her push the chair forward. It was only a quick ride down the elevator and they were back in the emergency room area.

  Evan was in a fog of fear when he heard Betty, his nurse ask someone if the John and Jane Does were still in the area. He was wheeled forward to a curtain that was drawn around a bed. It was obvious there was a person lying in the bed; he could hear all the machines that were connected to him beeping and humming.

  “Okay, Evan,” the nurse said in a prepare-yourself voice. “This is the younger male. He suffered a lot of lacerations to the head and neck.”

  When Evan heard that, he knew this wasn’t Alik. This was the guy who had hurt his sister and got mauled by Maze. A quick glance confirmed his suspicions.

  “This isn’t my brother. I don’t know this guy’s name.” Evan said honestly. He was already craning his head around looking for the two other persons he was to be shown.

  “Okay, let’s go find the Jane Doe. She’s across the hall.” The nurse continued pushing the wheelchair, but not fast enough for Evan’s liking. He jumped from the chair, rushed into the room and stopped dead in his tracks.

  There was a body under all those tubes but he couldn’t tell whether it was female or male. He stepped closer to try to see the face and immediately regretted what he saw.

  This poor person had been badly beaten. Badly. He looked for any indications that this could be his mother, but everywhere he looked was covered in gauze, tubes or swollen bruises. He couldn’t tell if this was his mother.

  Evan stood over the mangled patient and began to sob. His tears weren’t gentle or quiet. He didn’t know if he should wish this to be his mother. His heart was breaking and there was no amount of logic or intellect that could rescue him from being human.

  “Please sit down, Evan.” The nurse helped him back into the wheelchair. His sobs were so full of pain, the veteran nurse felt awful for this poor lost little boy. “Oh, sweetie,” she cooed wheeling him out of the room. “I was going to warn you how badly injured this patient was, but … well. Could you tell if she is your mother?” The nurse was passing tissues to the child now waiting for a response to her question.

  Evan simply shook his head, no.

  “Do you think you’d like to see the last John Doe, or do you need a break?” she asked thoughtfully.

  Evan stuttered through his tears, “N-n-o br-reak. Let me see h-him.”

  With a weary look, she rolled the child down two doors and on the right. Fortunately, the person lying on the bed was sleeping peacefully.

  “Alik! Alik! That’s my brother, Alik! Oh, thank you, God. My brother!” Evan was crying fresh tears, but this time, of joy. He hugged his brother with unrestrained happiness. The nurse looked on with tears in her eyes. Thank God, he found some of his family.

  “Mmmm...ugh…ouch. Evan, dude…get off me.” Alik smiled through his fogginess. The pain medicine they’d given him to help with the concussion was working wonders now. “Where are Mom and Meg?” Alik asked. He tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea hit him and he lay back down even before the nurse had a chance to object.

  “Meg is upstairs. She had to fight a…” Evan realized he couldn’t say ‘metahuman.’ So he changed in mid-sentence, “…a bad guy who hurt her leg pretty badly. They’ve stitched her up and she’s gotten a blood transfusion. I made them use my blood, Alik,” again acutely aware that the nurse was listening, “because of our special blood type.”

  Alik frowned, then understanding slipped into his eyes, “Right, our special blood type. Good thinking, Ev. What about mom? I brought her to the ambulance. She was beat up really badly, Evan. Do you know where she is?”

  Evan’s eyes were crying again with the realization that the mangled faced woman was his mother. “Yeah, Alik, I saw mom. She’s here. They’re trying to help her, but she looks really…”

  “…bad, I know.” The brothers huddled together on the hospital bed and prayed for help as tears continued to flow.

  Chapter 62 Old Friends

  A familiar voice interrupted the boys’ quiet discussion.

  “Nurse, would you please make arrangements for Alik Winter to be moved to the same room as his sister, Meg?”

  Everyone turned to see who just spoke. Dr. Andrews smiled genuinely at the boys.

  “Dr. Andrews? You came!” Evan jumped from the bed and ran to the kindhearted doctor who had helped them back when their mother first disappeared.

  And then another familiar voice spoke, “I couldn’t let dad have all the fun.” Cole peeked around the curtain with a mischievous smile.

  “Cole! Oh, man it’s good to see you guys!” Alik called from his bed.

  “What do you say, nurse? Can we get all these kids in one room?” the doctor asked politely.

  “Of course, doctor. I’ll see what I can do.” Nurse Betty smiled and squeezed Evan’s shoulder as she left to make arrangements.

  Chapter 63 Just the Beginning

  “I’ve reviewed your mom’s file myself. I can’t stress enough to you how fragile her condition is. She has a long road ahead of her.” Dr. Andrews was sitting in the large hospital room where Meg and Alik had been transferred.

  Evan was sitting on a chair between his siblings, so obviously thankful to be back together.

  “When she’s stable, I’d like to have her transported back to my hospital in Kansas where I can oversee her treatment, personally. Would you guys be okay with that?” Dr. Andrews asked.

  “Well, we wouldn’t want to be away from our mom…” Meg’s voice trailed.

  “Oh, of course not! You three would come with us. You could stay with me and Cole as lon
g as your mom was still sick. After that, Margo would decide where you guys live,” Dr. Andrews said.

  The boys looked over at Meg. It was she who could tell if the doctor was earnest.

  Meg smiled widely and answered for all of them. “Yes, thank you, Dr. Andrews. I know our mom would agree. As soon as you feel she can handle the trip, we’re in.” This time her eyes caught Cole’s and held it for a moment. She sensed a wave of affection pouring from him and blushed.

  “What’s going to happen with Dr. Williams and The Institute?” Evan asked.

  “Yeah, how are we going to explain to the police why we did what we did to get mom? No one would believe the truth.” Alik’s blue eyes looked bloodshot. He really needed to rest.

  “You remember my friend, Greg Burns? He’s working on that part for us. Try not to worry too much. You three just focus on getting better. Okay?”

  “Dr. Andrews, I have to tell you before I forget,” Meg began feeling sleepier by the minute.

  “Williams told me there were others, dozens of metahumans he’d created. He went on and on about his devotion to this ‘super race.’ He bragged about how powerful they were. He kept hinting about all the ‘great things’ he would have them do for mankind.” She breathed deeply and forced herself to go on though fatigue and medicine were trying to drag her under.

  “He told me the boys and I were three of the first metahumans and something about the original formula was unique. He couldn’t replicate the ‘gifts’ he gave us. When mom took us from The Institute, she destroyed or took all the data on our formula. They had to start from scratch after we were gone. And though they did create a working formula, it was never the same as the original. He wanted me and the boys because we were the only link to that original blueprint.

  “He’s not going to stop hunting us. And he created an army of metas to help him do whatever he wants. We’re going to have to find him before he finds us. We have to stop this monster…” her voice trailed as a wave of exhaustion overtook her.

  Meg’s battle wasn’t remotely over, but for now, she was going to have to let her body rest. She was trying to calm herself by thinking about her family. Her brothers were safe. Her mother was alive and getting help from Dr. Andrews, a very trusted friend. And her best friend Maze, much to the hospital’s chagrin, was sound asleep under her bed.

  The room continued to talk softly as she drifted off. I just need to sleep a little, and then I’ll get back to planning what to do next.

  Epilogue—A New Focus

  Location: Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean

  His hand slipped into his pocket and pulled out two silver orbs. He began rolling them in his hand hoping the familiar scraping of metal on metal would soothe his fury.

  Beside him his companion shifted in her seat. Her taste was impeccable, Dr. Williams noted. Her Prada shoes were almost as stunning as her legs. But even they weren’t enough to distract him from his thoughts.

  How dare those puny, insignificant rodents come to him and threaten him! How dare they challenge him, disobey him!

  Of course, it was deliciously ironic that those kids just moved his plan forward a few days. He had the fire extinguishing sprinkler system secretly disabled and his research moved to his new facility the week before. The Institute was to have a tragic and accidental fire due to some faulty wiring and aided by the additional explosive chemicals he brought in to the main building.

  Good, he’ll just collect on his multi-million dollar insurance policy that much quicker, and those rodents will be held responsible for the destruction. Foolish imps!

  Ah, but what a waste. All those gifts he gave them, and look at the thanks he got. Oh, and that miserable woman Margo! She started all of this, the ungrateful wretch.

  Wasn’t it he who discovered her right out of college and gave her all the opportunities in the world to work on meaningful research? She was to be his new shining star working on the Infinite Project. Hadn’t he been watching her for two years before he handpicked her? Hadn’t he personally escorted her around his lovely facility and shown her the glory of which she would be a part? How could he have misjudged her so badly? She had been so ambitious. All that military training should have taught her to follow orders.

  She had no family of which to speak. Her parents and sister had been killed in a car accident years ago. She was the perfect candidate for his work. She would have come with him when he developed the training facility. She could have had everything. Hadn’t he given her every opportunity?

  Venom coursed through his veins and a flash of bile chased up his throat. He would get revenge. He would have those children, dead or alive. And he would kill that vile woman with his own hands.

  More twirling of the familiar metal balls helped him take a slower, deeper breath. Well, he should be at peace and know that retribution would be his new motivation. And he always obtained his goal when given a focus. He should almost thank the Winter family for giving him a new reason to develop his army even faster. They were headed for battle.

  Winter’s Storm Ahead

  A thousand miles away, Maze, who was sleeping at the foot of Meg’s hospital bed, sat up and growled at the dark figure standing in the doorway of the room she and Alik shared. In the blink of an eye, he shifted into a fighting position. The silver hair bristled on the back of his neck and his sharp teeth glistened in the dim light.

  About me

  I grew up the only girl in the middle of two brothers. I adored both of them in their own ways, but never really fit into their worlds. Like my characters Alik and Evan, the boys were very different.

  If I wanted to have a playmate, I had to gear up to go dirt-clod fighting, be the losing team of (broken) green army guys or brave the flimsy bicycle ramp my older brother was focused on.

  Either that, or plan on helping to erect intricate Lego architecture while hearing the mathematical algorithms and possible big-bang theories of what happened to dinosaurs from my little brother.

  Needless to say, I suffered a lot of skinned-up knees, elbows and even scraped off an eyebrow or two trying to keep up with the older brother and probably still have a Lego imbedded into my thigh from sitting on the floor surrounded by the teeny-tiny pieces in my little brother's realm. (Oh, and did I mention I hate math?)

  Often by myself, recuperating from my brothers' attentions, I created entire worlds of make-believe and adventure with my stuffed animals and books in my bedroom. Hours of storytelling, personally made sound effects and character voices entertained me to the point of utter happy distraction. Hindsight shows me, I've been a storyteller all my life.

  Thanks to my brothers, I have a lot of stories to tell. I love you Jeremy and Field. You're the best brothers a girl could have—even if you did scar me for life on more than one occasion.

  I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to email me at mailto:karen.luellen@gmail.com or visit me on Facebook under Winter’s Saga. Thanks for reading!

  Hugs,

  Karen Luellen

  PS: Winter's Storm—Retribution, the sequel to Winter's Awakening, is nearing completion and will be released through Kindle Publishing, November 2011.

  Brace yourselves. The Storm is coming!

  Table of Contents

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