by B.V. Bayly
Chapter Eighteen
Gabriel quietly shut the door to the small bedroom. His heart raced in his chest. Who was at the door? All he could hear was the murmur of muffled voices and the echo of feet on the slate entranceway. Gabriel didn’t move. He stayed pressed against the door, his ears trying to decipher every sound from the other side. The muffled voices just blended together – he couldn’t tell who was talking – Adin or another man? Even his own breathing and heart blocked out any sound. He was pinned in the room until Adin came to get him.
A thump resounded from outside the door. A pair of footsteps clacked along the slate floors towards him. They stopped and the bathroom door swung open, knocking into the shared wall of his room. Gabriel swallowed hard and stepped back from the door. His chest vibrated with heat. Every hair on his body stood on end. The footsteps marched closer. Adin’s room door was opened. Someone rustled around inside. Gabriel backed up towards the wall. There was no window, nowhere to go. Even if there was a window, he was over two dozen stories up. He was trapped.
The handle twisted and the door swung open.
Gabriel stared at the old man in the doorway. It was Dr. Cymru. He didn’t know if should be afraid or relieved.
“Hello, Gabriel.” The old man half-smiled at him. “I wondered if we wouldn’t find you here.”
Gabriel didn’t say a thing. Dr. Cymru had aged well since he had last seen him as a child, over ten years ago. His face was still slender, with the pointed nose and his wire-rimmed glasses resting perfectly on his face that Gabriel remembered. His eyes were sharp, and they flashed brightly as he stared at Gabriel. His hair was thinner and whiter.
“Nothing to say?” Dr. Cymru raised his eyebrows.
“What do you want?” Gabriel didn’t move.
“I think we should have a discussion – you, Adin, and I.” He stepped back from the door and waved his arm for Gabriel to come out.
Gabriel swallowed hard and stepped forward. Every muscle in his body was tense. He entered the dark hallway and marched forward. His pace slowed as he entered the main room of the apartment. His heart started to pound in his chest. Adin was on his knees, his lip cut and bloodied. A man stood over him with a gun pressed into the back of his head.
Gabriel could barely breathe. “Let him go.” His body flashed with heat.
Dr. Cymru circled around him as if Gabriel was his prey. “Why?”
“Because I told Adin not to say anything.” Gabriel couldn’t take his eyes off of his brother. “This isn’t about him.”
“What is it about?” Dr. Cymru stepped in between Gabriel and Adin. He stared at Gabriel with a bloodlust in his eyes.
“You came for me – don’t act like you didn’t.” Gabriel’s hands rolled into fists.
“That I did.” Dr. Cymru snapped his fingers. “That blast on the farm was recorded by the ambulance. We know exactly what you are.”
The armed man behind Adin holstered his weapon and waved. Two more guardsmen stepped into the apartment. They marched towards Gabriel.
Gabriel’s eyes jumped between them as they approached. He stepped back nervously.
“Stop!” Adin shouted as he climbed to his feet. “Dr. Cymru, please,” he pleaded.
The armed men stopped just in front of Gabriel. Dr. Cymru paced the ground in front of Adin, just behind them. “This would have played out differently, Adin, if you had just told me.” The old man stopped. “Instead, you hacked our systems, smuggled out case files, asked a lot of questions – all about ore users. You didn’t think we would notice? Your actions told us exactly where Gabriel was.”
Adin spread his hands. “We would have come to you in time, we just –”
“Shut up, Adin.” Dr. Cymru turned his back on him. “I’m disappointed in you. Gabriel’s coming with us.”
“He’s my brother!” Adin shouted at him.
“And you know exactly what he is!” Dr. Cymru glared at him. “He’s dangerous.”
“No, he’s not.” Adin shook his head.
“We beg to differ.” Dr. Cymru stood his ground. “Two are already dead. I don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, you do.” Adin stepped up to the old man. “You run the company – you don’t have to do this.”
Dr. Cymru didn’t say a word.
“You said you thought of us as family.” Adin was pleading again. “This isn’t how you treat family. If you feel that way – you can’t do this.”
“If I was family – if you truly felt that way – you would have brought him to me immediately. You would have trusted me to help.” Dr. Cymru snapped back at Adin.
“Where will you take him?” Adin swallowed hard.
Dr. Cymru turned and stared at Gabriel between the armed men. “A research facility for his kind. A place to keep them controlled – keep them safe from the public.”
Adin shook his head. “No.”
“It’s not your choice.” Dr. Cymru kept his focus on Gabriel. “Take him.”
The center guard pulled out a long magnetic strap. “Put out your hands.” He glared at Gabriel.
Gabriel did as instructed. His wrists pressed together, his finger interlocked. The magnetic strap came to life and painfully cinched his wrists. The other two guards each took out other magnetic straps with leads attached to them. They slid them around Gabriel’s torso, cinching his arms to his sides. The guards jerked on the leads, pulling Gabriel forward.
“No!” Adin shoved the lead guard and rushed towards Gabriel.
The guard reacted immediately. He pulled out an electric baton and slammed it against Adin’s right arm. Adin screamed in pain and held his arm. The guard kneed Adin in the side, toppling him to the floor. He raised the baton into the air. The crackle of electricity jumped across its surface.
Gabriel exploded. His arms flashed with heat, and in an instant, he had snapped the magnetic chains around his wrists. Everyone around him moved as if in slow motion. The guards didn’t stand a chance. Gabriel slammed his head into the one on the right. His nose shattered with a splash of blood. Gabriel twisted around and drove his fist into the other guard’s chest. It erupted with a pulse of light as the guard was hurled backwards into the kitchen cabinets. Gabriel blinked to clear his vision from the white light that was trying to consume him. The nasty guard was still poised above Adin with his electric baton mid swing. He snatched the guard’s hand as it dropped down towards his brother. Time caught back up with him.
The guard jerked as he fought to keep control of his baton, but Gabriel crushed his hand with his own. The man screamed in pain and the baton tumbled out of his grip. Gabriel tossed him to the ground and stood over Adin. He pulled Adin to his feet and glared at Dr. Cymru. Furious, he marched towards the man.
“Ah.” Dr. Cymru held up his finger and pointed towards the doorway. Several other guards had their weapons drawn on him. “Look at you.” Dr. Cymru practically drooled. “The ore is already making new connections with your brain. You’re becoming one.”
Gabriel backed off and stood in front of Adin.
“It’s amazing.” Dr. Cymru smiled at him. “You’re faster, stronger. The ore’s energy is feeding every system in your body. Enhancing it – evolving it.”
“Enough!” Adin walked towards Dr. Cymru with his hands up. “No one needs to die. We can work this out.” His right arm shook in pain. “Please, Dr. Cymru – help us take out the shard. I know this isn’t the kind of man you are.”
Gabriel could barely speak. “Don’t trust him. He won’t let us go.” He needed Adin to listen to him, not believe this viper of a man. His whole body vibrated with power as his emotions boiled.
“Your brother’s right.” An evil grin smeared across Dr. Cymru’s face. “You’re not going anywhere – Gabriel is something we haven’t seen before. I’m not letting him walk away.” He shoved Adin towards the guards. They kicked his feet from under him and held him hostage.
“Why are you doing this?” Gabriel’
s teeth pressed together. His nostril’s flared – he was ready to fight if he had too.
“Because I need to know what you are.” Dr. Cymru glared at him. “Your kind is the key to the future and I will not have you waste it. Surrender, or I’ll be forced to have these men shoot your brother.” He walked towards Adin as more guards shuffled into the room. “If you want to save your brother, then you'll do as I tell you.”
“Gabriel.” Adin struggled as a guard pressed a gun to his temple. “You can’t beat them.”
Gabriel stared at the glass wall in the den. The ore pulsed in his chest. It flooded him with a hot buzz as he thought about the jump. He could feel the ore’s energy flow down into his legs. His muscles tightened. Hardened. The same sensation flooded across his hands. He stared down at them. Thin threads of white light crawled across his skin. They pooled together like water, covering his skin in a protective glow.
“Ten seconds.” Dr. Cymru raised his wrist watch. “Nine, eight, seven …”
They wouldn’t kill Adin if he wasn’t there. There was no reason for Dr. Cymru to do it.
“Five, Four …”
Gabriel spun on the spot and charged at the glass wall.
“Stop him!” Dr. Cymru hollered from behind him.
Gabriel hit the glass in a blast of light. The sound of glass shattering filled his ears. The howl of wind blasted his face. His stomach shot into his chest. His arms and legs flailed in the air as he dropped towards the ground. He twisted through the air, unable to see anything but the glow of light all around him. Fifteen seconds later, he slammed into the concrete.
The chaos of screams, screeching tires and the crack of broken stone exploded in his ears as he impacted the ground. His entire body hurt. Every piece of him felt like it had been slapped by a calloused hand. His eyes popped open and he struggled to his feet. The white light had disappeared from around him. He fell back down on to his knees, his legs unable to support him. His hands clawed at the broken concrete around him and he crawled out of the curved dent he had made in the sidewalk. Pedestrians formed a circle around him, frozen in disbelief. Gabriel knew he had to get out of there. He reached out and grabbed onto a man in a suit. The stranger, eyes wide and mouth hung open, helped haul him up onto his feet.
Gabriel forced his legs to keep moving. He trudged forward through the crowd, ignoring their hysteria and shouts of concern. He didn’t have long before TERA would come after him. He pushed his way through them towards the nearest alleyway. He had to disappear. He had to find help. He had to save Adin.