“How fast?” I asked seriously, looking up at her with a hopeful expression.
Ava pointed towards Blair’s neck, where there were light-pink markings just barely visible from my bite mark. “About ten times as fast, but that means a cut that would take a week to heal still takes her a day.” Her voice sounded defeated. “If it’s as bad as you say, it might take her several days to heal completely.”
“Then I’ll hold her in my arms for several days,” I whispered, determination in my tone.
I wasn’t holding her right now, but we also couldn’t afford to stay here for that long, which meant I’d have to carry her once we decided to move. This wasn’t over yet. We needed to figure out where we were in the world, and somehow make our way back to Trinity and Liz. I felt sick when thinking about the fact that the guy who shot us into space might create another portal and reach Trinity and Liz before we could. If he could shoot us into space, then he could certainly do it to them.
My only small consolation was that at least no one could directly control them anymore…
I met Ava’s gaze again, an unexpected sadness settling into my core. “Are you free from my brother’s hold?” I wondered somberly.
Ava looked at me in shock, before her brow furrowed.
It took me a moment to realize she wasn’t going to answer me.
“Shit,” I exclaimed under my breath. Even after death, his hold was still there. His power must really be permanent. I couldn’t help but mourn the loss of my brother – of my friend – but I couldn’t find myself regretful of my decision either.
I really was Cain. And I suspected I would do it again given a second chance.
I was irredeemable.
Ava’s hand shot out then, her thin fingers grasping my shoulder, squeezing my muscle tightly. I returned my gaze to hers, seeing something desperate in her expression. She appeared to struggle with her words for a few seconds, before speaking again. “Jake, you saved me. Just…please, understand that you saved me.”
I took a deep breath, and then nodded, focusing on Blair’s vacant face. I decided to close her eyes, and then carefully scooped her limp body in my arms, resting her head against my shoulder, before getting to my feet.
Ava gave me a confused expression as she got to her feet too.
“Trinity and Liz are still in danger. We have to get to them as soon as possible.”
She nodded confidently. “Can you feel Liz?” she asked seriously.
“Yes,” I reassured her. “She’s…” My voice trailed off.
Liz wasn’t beneath my feet anymore. She was to my left. Far away, but to my left, nonetheless.
“Where are we?” I asked in disbelief.
“I’m pretty sure we’re in Australia,” she replied. “I was more worried about getting us to the ground rather than caring about where we were, but based on the way the landmass looked, I think that’s where we are.”
“You aren’t sure?” I wondered.
She must have thought I was calling her stupid, because she frowned, putting her hands on her hips. Her tone was thick with sarcasm. “Well, I don’t know. Why don’t you try flipping a globe on its side and tell me if you can identify the continents? We came down at an odd angle. It was hard to tell what was what.” She paused, before emphasizing her point. “North wasn’t up for us.”
Despite everything that had just happened, I couldn’t help but smile just a little at her defensiveness. She rolled her eyes, before hiking up her silk dress and tying it into a knot, revealing most of her tan legs, including the knife still strapped on her inner thigh.
I looked around at our surroundings prior to speaking again. The sun was shining brightly above the canopy of trees over our heads, and the forest was filled with the sounds of birds chirping and other wildlife. The daytime was surreal when it had literally been the middle of the night for us not long ago. But the problem was, Ava wasn’t dressed appropriately to go hiking through the brush. “Maybe you should just ride on my back,” I offered. “So your legs don’t get all scratched up.”
Surprisingly, she didn’t roll her eyes again, instead answering with a serious expression. “I’m a pretty tough girl, Jake.”
“And I completely agree,” I reassured her. “But we’ll be faster if you ride on my back. This isn’t the time to prove how tough you can be.”
She pursed her lips as she thought about it. “How are you going to carry Blair then?” she wondered.
“I’ll strap you on with my blood like before. I only lost a little when you shifted me back to normal, so I have enough to go around.”
She sighed heavily, before moving behind me, gently resting her hand on my shoulder. However, rather than having her try to climb onto my back, I instead brought my blood out and snatched her up, moving her knees onto my hips, her butt supported in a blood-sling. She awkwardly had her hand on my chest from the sudden motion, her other hand ending up on Blair’s shoulder, since there wasn’t a lot of places to grab ahold of.
“Comfortable?” I asked once she seemed to settle herself in.
“Yes,” she replied, sounding a little surprised. “Let’s go.”
I nodded and took off slowly into a jog, before speeding up to an inhuman pace. I didn’t try to go too fast though, because I was more concerned about keeping Blair’s body as still as possible. If she were conscious right now, then I was keeping her still enough that she might have believed we weren’t moving at all.
I ran in silence for a little while, zipping through the trees, before I finally spoke up again. “We’ll have to cross the ocean to get to Indonesia,” I commented. “What do you think the best way to get there is?”
“Well, I think it’s only a few hours flying,” she replied.
I sighed. If only. “Yeah, but we don’t have passports. We can’t just board a plane.”
“We could try hijacking one.”
I twisted my head to try to look at her, wondering if she was serious. She continued before I could ask though.
“The only problem is that it would probably end up creating a big scene. Better if we try to get there discretely.”
“Yeah, but…” My voice trailed off.
If we could get to Trinity and Liz in only a few hours, then we might be able to get there in time to save them. I didn’t know how frequently that guy could use his warping ability, but I knew there was a limit. If only I had an idea of how many hours had passed between my brother appearing out of nowhere and that metahuman calling him up to ask if he needed a portal back.
I felt somber again, when I considered my responsibility for my brother’s death.
“But what?” Ava asked, pulling me out of my depressing thoughts.
“I guess our only other option is a boat, and there’s no telling how long that might take. If we can get on a plane, then maybe we can reach them in time.”
“Jake, I realize the urgency, but it’s not like we landed next to an airport. We can’t just hop on a plane right now. And we have to think long-term too.”
My voice came out in a whisper, feeling the weight of her words. “Yeah, but I also don’t want to think about something bad happening to them long-term. Sarah can still mess with them, and that portal guy can still kill them – he can kill anyone he wants with an ability like that. Just the thought of them being shot out into space…” My voice trailed off.
Ava sighed heavily, rubbing her hand up and down my chest briefly. “I know,” she whispered simply.
We were both then silent as I bolted through the trees, still being conscious of Blair’s limp form in my arms. After a few minutes, Ava unexpectedly gasped, but she struggled to speak after doing so.
Finally, she said something outrageous. “Jake, why don’t we…” she paused, before trying again. “You should just walk into the airport…and ask them for three tickets.”
My brow furrowed. Was she being serious right now?
But then it hit me.
And then, after another second of thou
ght, it really hit me.
Holy shit!
What if…what if I could really do that… What if I walked into the airport and demanded three tickets? Would they do it? Could I make them give me three tickets to the soonest flight to Indonesia?
The implications of that made me feel sick.
Because if I could…it meant I had stolen my brother’s power. In killing him, I had become him.
“Shit,” I exclaimed underneath my breath.
“I really liked it when you didn’t cuss,” Ava said gently.
I just shook my head in disbelief. “Ava, if I can really do that…”
I felt her head press against the back of mine. “Then please, never do it to me,” she whispered. “If I mean anything to you at all, then please never do it.”
I felt sick again. “I won’t,” I promised.
“Even if I’m trying to kill myself,” she added. “No matter what, let me make my own decisions.”
I came to a full halt at that, stopping in the middle of the forest. “Ava…” I choked out.
“I’m not going to try to kill myself,” she continued in a rush. “I’m just saying. Let me make my own decisions. Even if you completely disagree with them. That’s the way it should be.”
I tightened my embrace on Blair, feeling my eyes sting at the thought.
Ava pressed her forehead against the back of mine again. “It’s respect, Jake. Please, no matter what, that’s the only thing I need from you, no matter what. Please respect me.” She was silent for a moment. “Please,” she added.
My body began trembling, my voice sounding hoarse. “I…I will respect you,” I whispered. “B-But I need you to respect me too.”
I felt her pull away slightly, angling herself to try to see my face. “What do you mean?” she wondered quietly.
I finally turned my head, unexpectedly finding her lips close to mine. I didn’t shy away though as I stared into her deep brown eyes. “Respect me,” I continued, “by never doing that to me. Decisions like that don’t just affect you.”
Her eyes tightened and she was silent for a moment as she held my gaze. I was sure she understood the implications of what I was saying – I was acknowledging her declaration with a discrete one of my own. I couldn’t bring myself to say the words directly, but I also couldn’t deny how I felt towards her. Nor could I deny how she made me feel.
After a few long seconds, she gave a small nod. “I’ll respect you too,” she replied, her breath caressing my face.
I didn’t know how to handle this moment, because even despite my strong feelings, I was also still set on Trinity. I felt like the most natural thing in the world was to kiss Ava right now, but I couldn’t play with her feelings like that, not when I might have to make a choice in the near future. It was so strange to even be having thoughts like this about a twenty-year old when I was only seventeen, but the warmth coming from her body left no doubt about what this moment meant between us.
We both continued to stare at each other for a couple of minutes, before I slowly turned my face away. She immediately rested her forehead against the back of my head again just before I resumed moving. We were both quiet for the rest of our jog through the forest.
Chapter 20: Parasite
It worked.
It worked so well that it was scary.
After at least an hour of running, we ended up coming out of the trees on a highway. An old beat-up pickup truck stopped after the driver saw Blair in my arms. The man urgently asked us in a thick accent if we needed to go to a hospital, before doing a double take at Blair’s lion-like appearance.
Having experimented with Blair’s demonic eye previously, I unexpectedly discovered that activating my brother’s ability was easy. And I also realized that my new four-pointed star for a pupil was what his eyes must have looked like, because it was my right eye that did all the work when I told the man to calm down.
I then asked him to take us to the nearest airport, and he did without question after exchanging clothes with me, since mine were basically rags. We climbed into the back of his pickup truck, where I discovered he had a bunch of camping supplies. One of the duffle bags was especially large, so I requested he give it to me as well. All it took was for him to look at me in his rearview mirror, and for the words to be spoken, and he freely offered it.
The reason I wanted it?
To hide Blair.
Because even if this new ability could work on individuals, there would be no way for me to make eye contact with an airport full of people and ask them to ignore the limp beast-girl I was carrying around in my arms. Thus, I carefully curled her up inside, the bag being large enough that I could probably fit in it, before zipping it up. I still had my blood inside of her body though, several threads coming out of the corner.
Ava wouldn’t look at me right away after that, until I finally gently told her to do so. She did cautiously, prompting me to reach out to grab her hand. It was obvious that the idea of what I could do was traumatizing to her.
“I promise,” I whispered.
She gave my hand a squeeze, and nodded. “It’s just scary,” she admitted after a moment.
“I know,” I agreed, squeezing her back. I never would have imagined that having this kind of ability would be so terrifying, but it really was. What if I used it accidentally? I felt like it took some effort to use it now – that it had to be intentional – but what if that wasn’t always the case? What if I made a joke, without realizing this ability was activated? The implications of making a mistake like that really terrified me.
The idea that I might break my promise to Ava unintentionally also scared me. Because I wasn’t sure she could forgive me for using this ability on her. She might do what I say, if I decided to use it, but this ability didn’t control her heart. She would be aware of what I was doing to her, just like she had been aware of her situation with my brother.
And she’d end up hating me. Loathing me with every fiber of her being, if I betrayed her like that.
When we got to the airport, it was almost too easy to get what we wanted. I would have thought that someone would notice my weird eye when I was using it, but no one did. I asked for two tickets, since I had carry-on luggage, and when I got to the security checkpoint, I had them escort us through as VIP passengers, not even bothering to check our single, large, suspiciously lumpy, bag.
Every person I interacted with, from the curious pilot to the nosy flight attendant, I told them what I wanted of them, and they complied. By the time we were sitting on the plane, high in the air, Ava was holding onto my hand like a vice grip, seemingly disturbed by just how easy it had been, while I had Blair carefully situated across our laps, still in the duffle bag. The bag was unzipped enough to ensure she had plenty of air, but that meant I had to tell a couple of passengers to keep what they saw to themselves.
And they did.
The plane ride was four hours, and we spent most of that with our fingers intertwined in silence.
Ava holding my hand felt like she was silently saying that she trusted me, yet at the same time, she couldn’t hide just how bothered she was by what I could do now.
A small part of me hoped this wasn’t permanent, and yet another part of me didn’t want to lose the other things I could do. But those thoughts were only fleeting, because my real focus was on Trinity and Liz. I felt confident Liz was still in Indonesia, because we drew closer and closer as the minutes ticked by. However, I had no idea if Trinity would be with her, and that also scared me.
Sarah was pissed about what I had done, and even though she believed I was dead now, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t take out her rage on Trinity and Liz too. I never would have imagined that the fifteen-year-old girl could be a threat to anyone. She had been so convincing when we first met her – she had even gone out of her way to prove to us that her ‘only’ ability was making people cry.
She had been so clever, acting all timid and fearful.
None of us doubt
ed her when she claimed her ability was useless. And really, her ability by itself wasn’t that dangerous. She made people love each other. Yet, what should seem harmless was actually a significant threat, because it could make people love those who were an enemy, and possibly even cause them to turn on those who were an ally.
I knew, because I hadn’t forgotten that my brother had once been my enemy. I couldn’t bring myself to view him that way anymore, but I understood I had hated him at one point in time. Which meant, if I hadn’t been so selfish, then I might have killed Blair for hurting my brother. But in the end, I killed him myself for my own narcissistic reasons.
It made me depressed. I hated myself.
But I’d do it again. For the same selfish reasons. Because the idea of what he may have already done to Trinity made me feel worse than my guilt for killing him.
We landed in the city of Medan, which happened to be the largest city close to where we had left our comrades behind. However, I was shocked to discover that Liz wasn’t far off in the distance. She was in this city. Was she really hospitalized like Sarah had said?
I became apprehensive as we got off the plane and exited the airport. I asked a taxi were the nearest hospital was, and when explaining, he pointed in the direction I sensed Liz. I demanded he take us there, and he did. It was a torturous ride, because traffic was horrible, being in the middle of the afternoon here, and my anxiety only climbed as we drew closer to the hospital – closer to Liz.
How could she be sick? I recalled her saying she had never been sick in her life, so what could possibly be wrong with her? I didn’t know, but I was begrudgingly thankful that my dear little sister and deceased brother had made sure she got treatment. Granted, with her shield protecting her, what could they possibly do?
By the time we arrived at the hospital, which surprisingly looked as fancy as any hospital back home, I felt confident that Blair had healed up enough to not bleed to death if I removed my blood. Thus, I met with a secretary, followed by a nurse, and then a couple of doctors, giving them all instructions on taking care of her as well as the importance of not letting just anyone see her, due to her unique appearance.
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