Apparent Power: DiaZem Trilogy Book One

by Dacia M Arnold

  “I’m so sorry,” Scott whispered in the dark and kissed her head. “I had no idea you were in danger. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay home with Caleb. I had to wait an entire day to get the word you were alright. They had me take a train to get the affected in Kansas and said I could pick up Caleb and meet you when I got back. I can’t believe I helped them.”

  “They were hoping you would lead them to Caleb. I am thankful for Gia. Did I tell you my dad hired her? Remember how I wanted the other nanny, but she declined at the last minute? I’m just glad everything worked out in the end.” Valerie smiled and found her husband’s hand. “How lucky are we? I love you more than anything.”

  “I love you so much.” Scott kissed her hand.

  She held him tighter as the truck turned into the resort parking lot. When the vehicle stopped, Major and Jack got out of the cab and walked around to open the back to release the rest of the team. Valerie had a renewed sense of strength. The fear which had gripped her during her trek washed away. When she stepped out of the vehicle, the afternoon sky was thick with clouds threatening rain. Her journey was over, and she welcomed the weather. The parking lot was quiet, and just a few cars were in the lot. No one came in or out, and there was no power to the massive building. The sliding doors stayed open and warm and humid air blew from the inside like the building was breathing. There were a few people in the lobby who disappeared when they noticed the men in blue uniforms.

  “This way.” Valerie led the team in a jog to the farthest corner of the hotel. She knew where she would find Caleb. The clue was so smart, and she had no doubt what Gia intended to convey with the French birthday card. Valerie ran down a hallway that opened into a giant atrium. A stream running through the hotel was stagnant and lightly smelled of algae. She followed the water around to a bridge. The artificial island hosted a cluster of restaurants like Little Paris where she had taken Gia for her birthday. The restaurant was empty, and with a quick once over she decided there were no more clues.

  “The room is on the third floor. 356.” She found the stairs, heart pounding, and ran up as fast as she could. 395 was the first room. She sprinted down the balcony of rooms overlooking the restaurants and the stream. She flew past each room until she came to the right one. Her heart sank to her stomach. The door was open. Without bothering to knock, she pushed the door to see Gia face down on the bed.

  “Gia? Oh, Gia!”

  At the sound of Valerie’s voice, Gia lifted her head. She had fresh blood coming from a cut on her lip and a significant bump on the side of her forehead. Tears poured down her face. She shook her head to Valerie. Caleb was not there.

  Valerie collapsed on the floor as Griff walked in and lifted the girl from the bed. He held her tight, brushed her hair aside to examine her head wound and kissed her mouth.

  “They took him and just left. They must have planted a bug in the house. They knew where we were. I’m so sorry. I tried to stop them,” Gia cried to Griff.

  Griff rocked his fiancée and reassured her.

  Valerie watched the two in disbelief. She had been so close to him. Caleb was in this room just minutes before she arrived. She was numb. Scott stood next to her in the doorway, his eyes heavy with defeat. He moved across the room to a sitting chair, picked up Caleb’s security blanket he carried everywhere, and held the fabric to his chest. When he turned to her, the sadness in his eyes broke Valerie’s heart.

  Lights in the room sprang to life, music could be heard down toward the island, and the pumps moved the water in the stream. Valerie stood up, confused. A loud rumbling came from overhead.

  “Planes,” Major said, entering the room. He stopped and looked at the two on the bed.

  The sprinkler heads popped down from the ceiling and sprayed water all over the room and everyone in it.

  “No,” Major whispered. He looked at Scott just as the electricity exploded into the room.

  “Valerie, stop,” Jack yelled over the volume of the surge.

  “It’s not me!” As the words left her mouth, Scott was hit by the electricity, then Griff, then Gia who was still in his embrace.

  Valerie screamed as Scott fought the pain. She reached out to him, trying to pull the energy away, but the current carried on through her and continued the path to the couple on the bed. She tried to control the power, but could not. She wrapped her arms around Scott and held him as tight as she could. What felt like an eternity was over in fifteen seconds.

  The current, sprinklers, and all power stopped at once. Still screaming, she lowered Scott’s weight to the ground. Major fell to his knees at the sight of his dear friend embracing the young woman on the bed. They heard more screams coming from outside the open door behind him. Jack held Hyka out on the balcony as she stared at the destruction.

  “Phase Two,” Hyka said to no one in particular.

  Major had seen this event in his dream. He had known they were going to lose Griff, Gia, and Scott. She should have been able to stop it. Her pain turned to anger. Valerie kissed her deceased husband on his forehead, letting tears fall onto his lifeless face before standing. She did not dare look at the bed, at her friends. She moved past Major, who was sitting on his knees. She walked out the door to the balcony.

  “There are survivors. Like us. We need to bring everyone together, as many as we can find. Jarrett has taken everything from us. I’m going to make him pay.” She clenched her teeth hard, fighting the tears, but could not stop them.

  Just as her knees buckled, Jack scooped her up like a child and carried her to the next room. He kicked the door in with little effort. The room was covered in water but was vacant. He stood her on her feet, opened the closet, and handed her a dry robe.

  “Change your clothes.” He did not ask her, and she did not argue.

  She went through the motions, turning on the light without touching it and closing the bathroom door. As she took her clothes off, she realized they had been burned and left little covered. Her shoes had even melted. She removed what was left of her garments and covered herself with the soft hotel robe. The thick cover reminded her of the one hanging outside of her shower at home. One Scott had bought for her. Her mind was a battlefield of wanting to tell him how sad she was and then remembering why she was so sad. A cycle on a loop making the pain worse with each iteration. Everything reminded her of his body in the next room. But his soul was gone. She pulled open the door to receive her next set of directions, too disoriented to think of what to do on her own.

  Jack had flipped over the mattress of the bed, offering a dry place to lie down. He had also pulled out the sofa bed and had taken his boots off, lain down, and closed his eyes. She knew he was not sleeping. None of them would sleep.

  Valerie opened the mini refrigerator and without glancing at the labels, grabbed three small plastic bottles. One by one, she drank. Grief dulled her senses, and she was unable to taste the alcohol. She tossed the empty bottles into the trash can and crawled onto the mattress. She lay down facing the wall and stared, waiting for the liquid to take effect. The hole in her heart felt more significant than its host. She was empty. A shell of her person. She did not want to talk or even breathe. Despair shook her soul and with her tears came a scream so loud she threw up. She pulled a wet pillow into her and squeezed the bundle close to her body. She buried her face until it hurt, trying to stifle the emotional pain. Every time she would open her eyes something would trigger a memory. A small desk lamp reminded her of Caleb’s bedroom and how Scott would turn the little light on and hold Caleb during thunderstorms when he was scared. Scott was everywhere. Everything brought his memory back to her mind, ripping her apart over and over again. For hours she lay like this, rocking back and forth, cycling through various intensities of sobs until fatigue finally won and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

  In the middle of the night, the phone rang loudly, and a small red light blinded her in the pitch black. Her head pounded. She was dehydrated and confused,
groping in the dark for the receiver.

  “Hello?” she answered, groggy and unsure of where she was.

  “Ms. Burton, I’m calling to convey my deepest condolences for your loss,” a man’s voice said on the other end.

  The death of her husband the day before seemed like a horrible dream, but the slimy voice with his audible smile brought back the reality of the situation.

  “Thank you, Dr. Jarrett,” Valerie answered.

  No one had come or gone from their party, yet Lucas knew where she was and the fate of her spouse. She had to be careful of what she said and did. He was watching her somehow, but she needed to gain the upper hand despite being underneath his watchful eye.

  “It is my pleasure to inform you: young Caleb is safe and having a great time with Grandpa Burton. Would you like to talk to him?”

  The mere suggestion choked her.

  “Say hi to Mommy, Caleb.”

  “Hi, Mommy!” Caleb’s sweet voice was oblivious to the situation and loss of his father.

  “Hi, Sweetie-Petey.” Valerie could not help but cry from heartbreak and relief.

  Lucas had won this battle. He had made it to Caleb before her. He could now dangle the child on a string to get Valerie to cooperate. Lucas needed her for his plan and knew she would do anything to make sure her son was safe.

  “I love you so very much, Baby. You be a good boy for Grandpa and Uncle Kev.”

  “Okay. I love you too, Mommy.”

  “Now, Ms. Burton, I would send a vehicle to you, but I no longer have drivers, and my conductors cannot operate a vehicle on their own. This would require me to make a personal appearance. Since you have yet to cooperate, we are behind schedule, and I must tend to matters here in the facility. So, neighbor, why don’t you take a trip down the street and see your family? They miss you.”

  Valerie could hear the amusement in his voice while she fought to keep her frustration and tears silent. She had to pull herself together and buy some time to develop a plan.

  “Have the decency to let me bury my husband. You can expect us this evening.” She did not wait for a response before ending the call. Hearing her son’s voice left no question in her mind of where she was going next. She had to look forward, or risk losing herself in the trauma of the previous day. She just wanted the entire world to stop and mourn, but her son could not wait. Scott’s end was not the end of the fight. His death was just the beginning. Valerie lay back down on the bed and closed her eyes. She cried until she fell back to sleep.

  Hyka pushed the door open, slamming the heavy wood against the wall. Jack jumped to his feet from the sofa bed, but Valerie did not move. Lucas was no longer hunting her. He could not take anything else from her.

  “You up?” Hyka asked Jack who was caught off guard

  He could not articulate his anger at being woken up. Instead, he huffed trying to find the words.

  “Everyone is waiting at the French place downstairs.”

  Valerie got up from the bed and walked past Hyka out the door to the balcony. There were about fifty college-aged kids assembled at the restaurant with a few smaller children. One girl held a tiny baby.

  “We gathered everyone in the hotel. The power surge took their energy, so they all regressed in age like we did. There are about seven other casualties, not including ours. We collected them in one area to say some nice words.” Hyka tried to be as sensitive to the facts as her vocabulary would allow.

  “Where is Scott?”

  “They are still in the room. We laid him on the other bed. We knew you wouldn’t want us to move him without you knowing.”

  Valerie nodded and was satisfied with the answer. She remembered how Hyka had once scared her, but now she found her to be something steady in her life that she could count on.

  “Dad wants to give Scott and Griff military honors. Not one hundred percent protocol, but the gesture would mean a lot to him. Also, there is a backhoe out in the far south parking lot. If you could help us out, that would save us hours of digging.”

  Hyka was the best person to handle these details, and Valerie was thankful someone had taken the lead. She gave an approving nod to Hyka to proceed with all plans for the deceased.

  Despite sleeping, she still did not feel like herself. She had horrible vertigo and was weak. She looked again at the group gathered at the restaurant, wondering how she was going to rally these people to action so soon after the tragic events of the night before. Many of them were hurting from loss. Valerie turned to address her friends who were exchanging whispers of their own. She lost her balance and fell backward, hitting her back on the balcony before falling to the floor. Jack caught her head and guided her to the ground as her eyes rolled back.

  Valerie woke up in the room Jack had taken her to the night before. She had been stripped of her robe, but dry blankets were pulled up to her chin, and she had an IV hung next to the bed.

  “You feeling alright? You got dehydrated and passed out. I am disappointed those three little shooters would knock a DiaZem on her ass,” Hyka joked, trying to keep the mood light.

  “I don’t think it was the alcohol. I threw up before I even got a buzz. Stress. My body is telling me to stop, but I can’t. I don’t have the luxury even to mourn the loss of my husband,” Valerie said, rolling over to hide her tears. Just when she needed to lead them to vengeance and victory, she could not even keep her eyes open. She was broken.

  “You need to rest. There is no rush,” Jack spoke up from the other side of the room.

  “If you help me outside, I can help with digging. Not physically, but I could keep the backhoe going. I need some air. This place is so humid.” Valerie needed to occupy her mind. Sitting unstimulated in a room, letting her thoughts wander back to Scott and the fact that he was gone was torture. She also needed to talk to Jack outside, and away from any surveillance the CDC might have access to. There might not be anywhere safe, but being around heavy machinery could offer a better environment for secrecy.

  “No,” Jack said with paternal authority. “You’ve been out for two hours, and frankly you look horrible. There are a few volunteers from the group to help outside. No one needs to see you like this. Just rest.”

  Anger welled up in Valerie’s throat. She understood what he meant, but denying her human emotion in front of the masses was infuriating. She felt her current state to be justified.

  “I am going outside. Someone will drive the digger machine, and we all need to talk. Get my clothes from the truck and bring me something to eat. I am starving.” Valerie felt a tinge of guilt for being so demanding, but she did not want to divulge too many of her suspicions. She had told Lucas they would be there by the evening, but at the rate things were going, they would not be there on time.

  Outside, the air was refreshing compared to the dank, humid atmosphere of the resort. The sky was the same overcast as the day before, but evidence of a recent rain still covered the ground. Valerie walked to the area where the backhoe was and where they would say goodbye to their loved ones. Five young men were already working in the area, three digging and two breaking down furniture to fashion wooden crosses to mark each plot. They rotated these jobs before noticing her approach.

  The backhoe’s engine turned over with ease but startled the workers out of their focused tasks. Jack gave a thumbs-up to one of the workers who took up a position in the driver’s seat of the vehicle and wasted no time getting started.

  “Dr. Jarrett called last night. He has Caleb and is expecting us to arrive this evening. He knew where I was and what had happened to Scott. I imagine he tapped into the hotel surveillance. We should assume he can see and hear everything, regardless of where we are.” Valerie stopped and took a seat on a parking curb close enough to the running machine that her three companions had to strain to hear her. “The only way to face this is head-on. We have to go in, but I have no idea how to fight once we get there.”

  Major exhaled hard and rubbed his brow. “I’m not going with you. S
omeone needs to stay back and gather reinforcements. If you can’t fix things from inside someone should figure out a different angle. Valerie, I do not doubt your ability to see this through, but you might find yourself in need of pocket aces.”

  Jack nodded in agreement which helped Valerie. She did not have the energy to argue. She understood Major was looking out for her.

  “I’m going in,” Hyka said, in case anyone wondered where she stood on the matter.

  Valerie smiled and nodded.

  “I’m coming,” Jack said next. “I’ll meet up with your old man and brother and try to pull others to our cause. Once they know the fate of everyone they left behind, hosting a revolt from the inside should be easier. Then all you have to do, Val, is play the game.”

  “How long do you think all this will take?” Valerie asked, motioning to the men making progress on the makeshift cemetery.

  “As long as you’re well enough, a couple of hours. Once we get two or three done on this side, we can move down the way and dig more. Give people room to pay their respects while we’re still working. We’ll do Scott, Griff, and Gia’s last before we leave, but that still will put us into the evening. We should wait until morning to move,” Jack suggested, unable to mask his concern for her physical state.

  Valerie shrugged. “Jarrett knows where to find me if I’m late. What else could they do?”

  The sky above them cracked with lightning, releasing a downpour of rain.

  They provided Valerie a chair next to the grave intended for her husband. She sat in silence in a black dress that Hyka had procured from one of the resort’s stores. She had also brought Valerie a pair of sunglasses, though the clouds overhead were still thick bringing daylight to an early end. The wind blew a cold breeze through her cotton dress. She shivered and folded her arms. Words from the other services that began before Scott’s carried on the wind, but she was too exhausted to do more than stare into the hole.