On the other hand, Liz was in a little better shape starting off, having just lost every ounce of fat on her body, while still retaining what little muscle she had. But she was also the only one out of the three who didn’t have some kind of advanced healing ability.
Thus, I had turned to the syrup pouches to try to get as many calories in her as possible. She could barely eat at this point, and felt full easily, which meant regular food wasn’t going to cut it. One pouch was a full day’s worth of calories for a grown adult, and I was aiming to feed her at least two a day in addition to trying to get her to eat solid food.
As Liz rested her head against the front of my shoulder, her weight still supported by my arm across her chest, it took me a moment to realize she had fallen asleep after coughing. She had been propped up on a bunch of pillows, her butt too close to the headboard to just lay her down, so I set the pouch aside and reached down to press against her lower back. The silk pajama pants made sliding her butt downward in bed frictionless, and I carefully laid her head back down on a pillow.
I then held her thin hand as she breathed evenly, finding my thoughts lost in everything that had happened.
I hated myself for what I had unintentionally done to them. But it was Trinity who pointed out that my almost killing them was also what had saved them. After finding out about what Ava and I had been through, as well as learning about who Blair was, it took her all of two seconds to realize what I hadn’t considered – that Trinity and Liz both would be under Abel’s control if they hadn’t become sick.
Trinity never met him, having run away on the same day we had left to return to the military, terrified by the fact that she was killing everyone she came close to and couldn’t stop it. And Liz had actually fallen unconscious prior to that – the reason why Trinity had gone to the market in the first place was to try to find out if the town had a local doctor. The twins certainly weren’t helpful in that endeavor, neglecting to mention that they had a friend who could help Liz get medical attention, because it would have contradicted their story that they were all alone now.
Needless to say, I hated stuff like this. I hated the idea that my almost killing them had spared them from a different horrible fate – one that was worse in Trinity’s opinion. Because they really might have died had things turned out differently. Granted, after accomplishing our mission, I knew Ava and I would have tried to make our way back to Indonesia had the portal guy not attempted to kill us, but would we have made it in time?
Liz might have still been alive, but would Trinity have survived another day with my parasitic blood inside of her?
I didn’t know.
And the idea that they both came close to experiencing several horrible fates made me nauseous. I had left them thinking that doing so was keeping them safe. Instead, I abandoned them in their time of greatest need.
As I contemplated my thoughts while gently rubbing my thumb along the back of Liz’s hand, Ava slipped into the room without knocking, pausing at the doorway before coming closer. She was wearing a black skirt now that went down to her knees, along with a white button-up shirt, having left the red dress with Blair to give her something to look forward to wearing once she felt better.
I sat up straighter. “Hey,” I said quietly, giving her my full attention.
She gave me a small smile. “Hey,” she greeted simply, stopping at the foot of the bed.
We both held each other’s gaze in silence for awhile before I cleared my throat. “Is everything okay?” I wondered, uncertain if she was just checking up on us after helping Blair eat, or if she had something to tell me.
She nodded, moving closer to sit down on the bed by Liz’s knees. She ran her hands along her butt and thighs as she sat, to prevent the skirt from getting caught underneath her. “Yes, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Sure,” I agreed right away. I was almost too eager to talk with her about anything, even if it wasn’t a positive subject. It felt like every moment we spent discussing things, we solidified the promise we had made to each other previously – to respect each other, no matter what.
She was hesitant to begin though, shifting her weight, her knees pressed tightly together. Her shoulders were tense, her arms straight, with her hands in tight fists on her thighs. I reached out automatically to rest my hand on the back of hers.
She sucked in a sharp breath, before her shoulders relaxed a little.
“What’s wrong?” I wondered gently.
“I want you to take some of my blood,” she blurted out.
I withdrew my hand in a flash, gawking at her in surprise. “What?” I said in disbelief. “Absolutely not!”
She shook her head, reaching out to grab my hand this time, but I evaded her. “Just let me explain,” she urged, still trying to grab my hand.
I finally held both my hands in the air and slid my chair away. “Then explain,” I replied seriously. “Because I almost just killed two of our friends accidentally.”
“But I’ll be fine if you don’t leave your blood in me,” she whispered.
“Is it worth the risk?” I demanded. “What are you even thinking?”
She took a deep breath, having returned her hands to her knees. “Jake, no one can stop me.”
That got my attention. I scooted my chair back to where it was, focusing intently on what she had to say next, waiting for her to elaborate. It looked like she was struggling to continue.
After a moment, she spoke carefully. “That’s…what was so terrifying…the other day. The idea that no one could stop me. No one could even physically hold me back.”
I nodded slowly as I considered that, having already thought about the implications of her ability – about what it meant for her to be an enemy.
She took another slow breath. “So, if I can give you the ability to do that – the ability to hold me back. The ability to physically stop me from doing something I don’t want to do…” Her voice trailed off.
“But,” I began cautiously, “I know you’re against it, but wouldn’t telling you to stop be easier?”
She winced, and turned her head away. “It would also be nice for you to be able to go to the other world with me, without me having to worry about hurting you. I could have kept Blair a shadow for much longer, and possibly put more effort into bringing her back whole, if I hadn’t had to keep you as a shadow as well.”
“Ouch,” I replied.
She met my gaze. “I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I’m just saying I don’t see any drawbacks. I admit I’m a little concerned as well, after seeing how bad Trinity was, but you can make sure you don’t leave any blood behind, right?”
I looked away, focusing my gaze on Liz’s sleeping form. Her pink lips were just barely parted, her overall expression peaceful. Serene.
I took a deep breath. “I…guess…”
She held out her arm towards me, her wrist upwards.
I sighed before wrapping my fingers around her forearm, carefully pricking her with my blood and stealing about a tablespoon worth.
Ava laughed nervously after feeling the prick. “Wow, this is definitely not how I imagined you being inside me,” she said breathlessly, looking a little dizzy.
I gawked at her in shock, prompting her to register what she had said. Her eyes widened in horror, and she turned her head away, a blush making the tan hue of her skin a little red. “Err…I…I, umm…” It was obvious she didn’t know what to say.
I didn’t either, having withdrawn my hand now.
It was hot again. Way too hot. A heat coming from inside me, rather than something I was sensing from her.
I tried to change the subject. “H-How long do you think it will take?” I asked, feeling stupid the moment I said it, knowing she would have no idea.
“No longer than a few days,” she suggested, still looking away. “At least, assuming mine is easier to mimic than Trinity’s ability.”
“R-Right,” I agreed. “Where is she anyway?” I wo
ndered.
Ava stood up. “I’ll go find her,” she announced. “Knowing her, she’s probably exercising when she should be recovering.”
I laughed uncomfortably at that, knowing she was likely right. While Trinity was happy to see me again, she took the situation we were in very seriously. Thus, instead of taking the opportunity to relax and spend a ton of time together, she had put most of her effort into getting back to one-hundred percent, wanting to be able to protect everyone in the event we were attacked.
Her motivation all came down to one thing – she didn’t want to be a liability.
She wanted to protect, not be someone who needed protecting. However, that didn’t mean we hadn’t spent any time together at all. The previous night when we first arrived at our new temporary home, she had slept in my arms, waking up occasionally throughout the night to kiss me passionately, leaving me feeling like I was baking in an oven before falling back asleep. I had to make myself stop kissing her when she stopped kissing back, because I wanted to do a lot more than kiss. However, I wasn’t about to complain that her repeated displays of affection weren’t enough – certainly not when I had almost been responsible for her death.
As far as I was concerned, I didn’t deserve more. Far from it. The fact that she was willing to kiss me at all was way more than I was expecting.
But she seemed determined to make sure I understood that she had forgiven me and still felt the same towards me.
“Wait,” I said unexpectedly, my gaze shooting down to my stomach.
Ava stopped in her tracks, looking back at me with concern and then embarrassment again as I lifted up my shirt. However, when she saw what was underneath, she grew serious.
Pitch-black.
A shadow.
My torso was rapidly becoming shadowy, spreading up and down simultaneously. Ava shifted right away, as if she was ready to greet me on the other side, even though we weren’t actually traveling into the other world, instead hovering between dimensions.
However, as the shadow reached down to my feet and began creeping up my neck, a chill ran down my now permeable spine when I felt eyes on me. And not Ava’s eyes.
A ghost.
Was it Farah? Was that who had been spying on me all this time? Had I been sensing her ability to find people?
I didn’t know, but in that moment, I had to do something.
The world became enveloped in darkness, my midnight eyes quickly adjusting to the lack of light as a blue hue flooded in from the window. Liz’s body was light gray, her hair snow white, her eye sockets appearing empty. The sight was unnerving, and her slowly rising and falling chest barely reassured me that she was alive.
Ava was at my side now, the details of her body more noticeable than they had been previously. I could see her smile even more clearly than usual now that I had become a shadow of my own accord.
However, her smile dropped when she saw my intense expression as my gaze fell to the corner of the room.
Because something was there. Watching me. Watching us.
I bolted to my feet as it felt like several of my abilities began merging into something else, the change being signaled by a colorless flame appearing in the air where no one was standing. The lifeforce I was sensing with Trinity’s ability made it undeniable though.
Someone was there – right there. And somehow, they were in this shadow world more so than they were in our normal world.
Needing to know what this thing was, intending to make it bend to my will and talk, my pitch-black blood shot out of my body and wrapped around it, my blood rapidly covering its invisible form. Just as I reached the head, a young girl shrieked at the top of her lungs, only to be cut off when my blood finished the job.
Without even thinking, I shifted back into a solid form, pulling on my victim’s body as the world returned to normal and my blood withdrew.
Much to my surprise, a girl not much older than Liz fell down to her knees, her brown eyes wide with horror and panic. She immediately jerked backwards, falling on her butt as she rapidly tried to escape, only to hit her head against the wall.
She shrieked again when I took a step towards her.
“Who are you?” I demanded, assessing her appearance, knowing I’d never seen her before. Her skin was a much lighter shade than Ava’s, though still somewhat tan. It was hard to determine if it was her natural skin color, or if she had just seen a lot of sun. However, the most striking aspect of her appearance was her brilliant white hair, much like Liz’s had appeared in the shadow world. It just didn’t fit with her overall coloring, even if she was darker because of a suntan.
She didn’t answer me though, her chest heaving rapidly like she was having a panic attack.
I felt my eyes grow warm. “Tell me who you are!” I demanded again.
“H-Harper! Harper Locklear.”
My eyes bugged out of my head, before my neck snapped around to stare at Ava. “You know her?” I asked in disbelief, my star-shaped pupil visible but the power not active.
Her eyes were wide too, staring at the girl in shock. “No,” she replied sincerely.
Was the last name just a coincidence?
I turned my attention towards the girl again, activating my eye. “Do you have any relation to Ava?”
The girl’s gaze snapped towards her, her bottom jaw trembling. “Y-Yes,” she stuttered.
“How?” I demanded. She wasn’t looking at me at the moment, so I wasn’t sure my eye worked, but she answered me anyway.
“D-David Locklear…” she managed, her gaze intently focused on Ava.
“My little brother?” she retorted in bewilderment.
Harper nodded, her white hair bouncing slightly. “Y-Yes. He’s my…great-grandfather.”
I stared at the white-haired girl in disbelief, unable to even fully comprehend what she was saying. When she returned her gaze back to mine, I used my compulsive eye to ensure she wasn’t lying.
“What year is it for you?” I demanded.
“It’s 2093,” she managed, her breathing beginning to pick up again. It was obvious she was terrified.
I still couldn’t believe what I was hearing though, and yet, I knew it was true. This girl was from the future.
And she was panicked, having just been ripped out of her time. The idea almost made me feel dizzy. I had to sit down and collect myself.
I held my hand up towards her as I began backing away to return to the chair next to Liz, speaking as I sat down. “We aren’t going to hurt you,” I tried reassuring her, while still attempting to grasp the gravity of the situation. She was from the future, and somehow I had pulled her into my present unharmed – into her distant past.
Ava took my cue and backed up as well, as a non-hostile gesture, before sitting on the bed directly between me and Liz.
However, the girl wasn’t reassured by my words, her panic beginning to escalate again.
“Please take a deep breath and calm down,” I commanded. I waited for her to obey, being under my unique influence. Then, once she got control of herself, I continued. “You have an ability?” I assumed.
“Yes,” she squeaked.
“Which is?”
“I can see the past. When I’m in a location, I can see what has happened there.”
“So you were standing in this room just a moment ago,” I realized. “Except in the year 2093.”
“I was standing in this location,” she reaffirmed. “There was no room where I was.”
I tried to wrap my mind around that.
“Why were you spying on me?” I asked seriously, although I considered that it might be egotistical to assume she was spying on me specifically. She might have been scanning the past for a lot of people and events. But still, why me at all?
“To try to understand why,” she whispered, her eyes beginning to tear up.
“Why what?”
“Why you killed everyone,” she replied almost inaudibly.
Ava and I exchanged a glance, befor
e she finally spoke up. “What do you mean, Harper?” she asked in a gentle tone.
The girl immediately focused on Ava as her face scrunched up, a sob hitching her chest while she managed to answer. “Mom, dad…” she sobbed again. “Everyone’s dead.”
“Your whole family?” Ava whispered.
Harper shook her head, her eyes slamming shut as a whine escaped her chest. “No. The whole world.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. She had made that statement while answering Ava, and yet I couldn’t imagine that she was lying. The intensity of her crying that was picking up again was just too sincere. I gently repeated my command for her to calm down, and she did, looking a little scared by the realization that she had to listen.
I took a deep breath then as Ava reached out to rest her hand on my forearm. I looked up at her, only to see her expression was somber.
I focused back on the girl.
“How old are you?” I wondered.
“Fourteen,” she sniffled.
“Well, I’m only seventeen, not much older than you,” I attempted, wanting to try to make a connection with her so she might calm down without my assistance.
She nodded. “I-I know,” she admitted.
“Oh.” I paused. “Right.” She probably knew a lot about all of us. I tried to shift subjects. “Can you explain to me why you think I killed the whole world?” I wondered cautiously.
She nodded. “Everyone says it’s your fault,” she whispered. “They say you were patient zero.”
I felt my blood run cold.
Harper continued speaking though. “Everyone hates you. They want to find and kill you.”
“W-What?” I exclaimed in disbelief. “I thought everyone was dead?”
She nodded. “Eighty-three percent of the world. It began two years ago. The only people left have powers.” Her face scrunched up again. “My mom and dad…” she sobbed.
Ava squeezed my arm, giving me a concerned look, before finally standing up to walk over to the girl. She then bent down, and much to my surprise, Harper flew into her arms, beginning to cry even harder. Ava gently ran her fingers through the girl’s snow-white hair while shushing her softly.
Omega Zero Page 29
