“Are you okay?” Lydia asked.
I looked up to reply, but she was asking Enzo. He shrugged her off and started walking again. Damn, she’s got it bad. What the hell does she see in him?
She dropped to the back of the line to walk beside me and help me clean up my chin.
“Thanks,” I said when she offered me a bandage. We paused so she could fix it into place, but had to keep moving, because it looked like Enzo had no intention of stopping again.
“I think I pissed him off again,” I said.
“It’s not you. It’s everything. He won’t talk about it, but I think he might have PTSD.”
“From when he was in the army, or now?”
“Now, definitely. He’s been through a lot.”
“Yeah, you said.”
I’d heard of PTSD. Post traumatic stress disorder. Roxy’s uncle suffered from it. She told me he was a mess when he came back from the war. The Fae had only been here for a few months, it was bound to get a whole lot more traumatic.
We walked for several hours without incident, before Enzo let us stop for a break and to eat some food. We sat in a circle, with our backs to each other, by the side of the road.
As I chewed on a granola bar, my eyes were drawn to a station wagon across the verge. It had come to a stop at an angle, the driver’s window was rolled down. A purple ribbon was caught on the door, fluttering in the breeze. Tired from walking, I found myself mesmerized by it. So much so, that I didn’t hear the buzzing noise at first.
“What’s that?” Rat asked.
Forcing myself to look away, I heard a droning noise growing closer. Enzo rose to his feet, then quickly dropped to a crouch.
“Move now!” he whispered pointing to the trees which were maybe ten feet away.
Is he crazy?
As I got up, I shot a glance down the road and saw the angry swarm heading our way. At first, I thought it was bees, but these things were way too big. We raced for cover in the trees.
“What…?” I didn’t get to finish that sentence as Enzo pulled me behind a tree, clamping a hand over my mouth. The boys lay on the ground, hiding in the undergrowth, while Lydia was a few trees away, her body pressed against it, eyes squeezed shut. Whatever those things were, they were seriously bad.
I twisted my head to look up at Enzo. He was breathing really fast, so fast I thought he might hyperventilate. I pulled his hand away and faced him. Sweat had broken out on his forehead, he was about to lose it.
“Stay calm,” I whispered.
He shook his head, he looked ready to run. When he took a few steps forward, to do just that, I shoved him back against the tree. It looked like he was having an anxiety attack.
Shit, how do I calm him down?
If he made a run for it, those things would see us. Grabbing the sides of his face, I forced him to look at me. “Breathe,” I whispered.
I started taking slow deep breaths, to get him to copy me. After a few seconds, he did. He started to calm down.
“That’s it. You’re in control, it’s going to be okay.”
It was only when we could no longer hear the droning, did we all relax.
“Thanks,” Enzo whispered.
“Guess that makes us even.”
Lydia came rushing over and nearly knocked me over in her haste to get to Enzo. I left them to it and checked on the boys. Rat looked close to tears.
“What were those things?” I asked Alwyn.
“Another form of pixie. Like the one Rat has, only bigger. They’re scavengers, but they aren’t opposed to fresh meat. They can skin a human in a matter of seconds.”
That’s what Enzo had been talking about. Judging by the reaction, they were definitely moving to the top of the bad Fae list.
“Will they be back?” I asked.
Alwyn shrugged. “Who knows? Although they usually trail after some of the bigger Fae. Looking for scraps.”
“You’ve certainly done your research on them,” I said.
“Know thy enemy.”
We checked the road for any sign of them, but the coast seemed clear.
“Let’s find somewhere to bed down for the night,” Enzo said.
I wasn’t going to argue with him. We had been on the road for less than a day and nearly been killed twice. I couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow held.
***
Enzo
B.D. (Before Doomsday)
“There he is, my handsome boy,” Grandma Rosa cooed. I barely had a chance to put my pack down before she had me in a bear hug.
“Let the boy breathe,” Mom chided, pulling me away from Grandma Rosa and hugging me herself. “Thank God you are home.”
“It’s good to see you, Mama,” I said. I had been on deployment for the last six months and it was strange being back home. The house looked exactly the same.
I headed into the living room to find my two younger sisters watching TV. “Hey, brats, good to see you.”
Nadine barely looked up from the TV, but Lucy grinned at me. “Did you bring me anything from your trip?”
“It wasn’t that kind of trip,” I said. She was only four. Nadine was the older at nine.
“Let me make you some food,” Grandma Rosa said, hurrying to the kitchen.
“I’m fine, Grandma,” I called, but she wouldn’t be so easily dissuaded. The woman lived to cook and a meal quickly became a feast when she was involved.
“You look too thin. Did you eat enough over there?” Mom asked.
“Yes, they fed us just fine.” She always referred to it as ‘over there.’ Like she couldn’t bring herself to say the words, that I was in the middle of a warzone.
“At least its all over and done with. And I have good news. I spoke to your cousin, Luis, he says he can get you a job in the construction company he works at. It won’t be much to begin with, but you keep your head down you can soon work your way up.”
“What? Mom, I haven’t left the army. I’m on leave.”
She turned to face me, giving me a dark look, I was more than familiar with. It was the same one she gave me when she found out I was hanging out with Tito’s gang. And when I totalled the car. And of course, when I announced that I was joining the army. I thought she would be proud of me, but instead she lost it. She screamed at me for two hours.
“You are not going back. You got lucky, why would you want to risk it?”
“Mom I have to go back. I explained this before. I’m doing a good thing.”
She scoffed. “Fighting in someone else’s war? Risking your life every day? What is good about that?”
I sighed. I couldn’t keep having the same argument with her every time we spoke.
“I’m going to stay at Ben’s house for a while,” I said, picking my bag up.
Mom crossed her arms. “Fine, run away again.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, Ma. I’ll see you later.”
Walking away from the house, I realized she would never really understand. Growing up in this neighborhood, I didn’t have to fly across the world to risk my life. In fact, I probably had a bigger chance of getting shot around here.
Joining the army was me taking control of my life. I wanted to prove that I wasn’t just some poor kid from a bad neighborhood. I could be more than that, I could do more than join a gang or work on a construction site for the rest of my life.
I just want to make a difference.
Chapter 11
Just off the highway, we found an old building to camp in. It was boarded up, so Enzo and Alwyn went in to scope it out first. When they gave the all clear, we climbed inside and headed down to the basement where it was safest.
After laying out the blankets, we ate a little food and lay down for the night. Except Alwyn. He was on first watch. I was last, which I was glad of. At least I could try and get some sleep.
My ankle and chin still hurt from earlier, but I did my best to ignore the pain. If Lydia did have any painkillers, I wasn’t going to ask for any. Bette
r to keep them for something more serious.
I closed my eyes, trying to sleep, but my mind was racing after what happened today. Mostly about Enzo. I saw another side to him, one who was just as scared as the rest of us. I guess he isn’t so bad. We’re all just trying to survive.
As I lay in the dark, listening to Rat mumbling in his sleep, Alwyn clearing his throat every few minutes as he stood guard and water dripping somewhere in the distance, I realized that having them was better than having no one. If I was out there by myself, I’d be dead by now. Like it or not, I needed them.
I drifted off but jerked awake a few hours later, as pain shot through my back. I gasped, sitting up. The pain faded, but I was left with a dull ache in my shoulder blades. I needed to check the wounds and put on a fresh bandage, as soon as we found somewhere with a decent bathroom.
“You okay?”
I turned to find Enzo watching me from across the room. It must be his turn to keep watch. The others were still asleep.
“I’m fine. Bad dream,” I muttered.
“Yeah, I know what that’s like,” he said. He took a drink from a thermos.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Coffee. Only the instant stuff, but it does the trick.”
“Can I have some?” I asked. Roxy and I used to get vanilla lattes at the coffee place in the mall, every Saturday. It was our routine, followed by hours of shopping and then a movie.
“Sure,” Enzo said, pouring some into a cup.
I extracted myself from my blanket and took a seat beside him. Taking a sip of the coffee, I grinned.
“Good?” Enzo asked.
“It’s no vanilla latte, but it does the trick.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes, but it wasn’t awkward. Enzo looked tired. “Why don’t you get some sleep. It’ll be my watch soon anyway,” I said. I wanted to be helpful, to show that I could be a team player.
“I’m good. I can’t sleep anyway.”
“Nightmares?”
He nodded. “I’ll feel better when we reach the base. Surrounded by armed soldiers, it will be safe. Or as safe as anywhere can be anymore.”
“What do you miss the most? About the world like it was?”
He laughed softly. “Watching football on TV. Hanging out with my buddies. Just being able to walk down the street without worrying about being attacked.”
“I miss my best friend Roxy. Shopping trips and being able to buy a chocolate sundae whenever I want.”
“You don’t miss your family?” he asked.
“I don’t have a family. Not anymore.”
“A friend of mine used to say the family you make is often better than the one you have.”
“I like that.”
Maybe these guys can be my new family.
It was early days, I couldn’t expect to step into their group and be accepted. I needed to prove myself. I tried to think of a single skill I had that would be useful, but I couldn’t think of any. I didn’t know how to start a fire, or fight. I could barely cook. Mom was a health nut, who would make meals up on the weekend then freeze them for the week. All I had to do was put them in the oven.
Damn, how the hell was I supposed to survive college? Live on take out?
Funny how that never crossed my mind before. I was too excited about getting away from Mom to consider how I would manage. Even what I was majoring in wasn’t any use. Business. There were no businesses, unless I opened a Fae cookout.
“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the lanyard around my neck.
“Oh, it’s a flash drive. I don’t know why I took it, it doesn’t look like computers are any use now.”
“They might have something at the base.”
I hoped so. I really wanted to see what was on here.
“Can you teach me to fight?” I asked.
Enzo seemed surprised, but he nodded. “Sure, I can teach you some of the basics.”
“I’m guessing most people wouldn’t survive going toe to toe with a Fae,” I said.
“Depends on what it is. Come over here.”
He led me across the room, away from the others. Setting the hurricane lamp on a nearby pipe, he took up a fighting stance. “Copy me.”
I did as he asked, raising my fists.
“When it comes to taking someone down, all you need to worry about is inflicting the most damage. Go for the soft parts of the body, eyes, throat, groin. Some of the Fae are humanoid shaped, so it applies.”
“What about giant lizards?” I joked.
“Probably best just to run.”
He showed me how to use my thumbs to jam them into an attacker’s eyes, followed by a knee to the groin.
We spent an hour practising, he also taught me how to get out of head locks and arm locks. It surprised me how patient he was with me and I was glad to be learning something useful.
As I tried to twist out of a grab, one of the stumps bumped off Enzo’s elbow. I hissed in pain.
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” he asked.
“No, I hurt my back, it’s still sore, but I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, it’s nothing.”
When we were done, it was almost dawn. I lay back down, to try and get a little more sleep. As I rolled onto my side, I noticed Lydia. She was awake and staring at me. She did not look happy. I felt a stab of guilt, but then I wondered why. I didn’t do anything wrong. If Lydia wanted to be jealous, let her. There was nothing going on between me and Enzo.
Chapter 12
On the road, later that morning, Lydia dropped back to walk beside me. She hadn’t said a word to me yet, but that looked like it was about to change.
“You and Enzo looked…cozy, last night,” she said, staring straight ahead.
“Cozy? He was teaching me to fight. I want to be useful to the group.”
“As long as that’s all it was,” she replied.
“What else would it be?” I asked, sharply.
She scowled at me, before making her way back to the front of the line. I guess I kind of understood her desperate behavior. Enzo was her savior, she was in awe of him, but she didn’t have to be a bitch about it.
I wasn’t going to deny that Enzo was good looking and I was definitely warming up to him, but a relationship? How could I ever be with anyone? It wouldn’t take long for them to figure out what I was. No, a relationship was a no go, not that I thought I would stand a chance against Lydia anyway.
I was so busy staring at Lydia and Enzo that I didn’t see Rat had stopped and I almost collided with him. He was staring into his box, a worried look on his face.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“I think something’s wrong with him. He looks sick,” Rat said, holding up the box for me to see. The pixie lay on its back, head lolling.
“Oh, he does look sick,” I said, wondering if it was because he had lost his wings.
“When was the last time you actually fed him?” Alwyn asked.
Rat’s cheeks turned red. “Oops. I kinda forgot.”
“Rat,” I chided.
“Well, I don’t know what he eats.”
“Human flesh,” Alwyn muttered.
I glared at him. Rat pulled a half-eaten candy bar from his pocket. “This is all I have.”
“I don’t think that will work,” I said.
Rat broke off a small piece and held it over the pixie’s head. It’s eyes nearly doubled in size as it snatched the piece of candy from his hand and devoured it. When it was done, it started jumping up and down, looking for more.
Rat laughed. “I guess he has a sweet tooth.”
I grinned, then I realized that I had one too. Was it a Fae thing? Loads of people have a sweet tooth.
It was one more thing to add to the long list of questions I had about myself. Questions I would never get answers to.
We found a small grocery store a while later. It had been raided, but there was still some food left. We separated,
taking a different aisle each. Mine proved unfruitful though, it contained cleaning products on one side, and stationery items on the other. I grabbed a few bottles of antibacterial soap, it would be useful, but not much else.
I paused over the section which held notebooks and pens. A quick look around told me that the others were busy loading up their backpacks. They weren’t paying any attention to me.
I lifted a notebook and a pen, sat on the floor and started writing. It was a letter to my mother. I knew she would never see it, but it didn’t matter, I needed to get it out, to try and make sense of things.
Mom, I began. Then I scribbled it out. She wasn’t that.
To the woman who raised me. I think the biggest question I have for you is why? Why did you agree to do it? What did you get out of it? Did you even care about me beyond being your test subject? You had to know that I would learn the truth one day. You could have been honest with me, you could have told me the truth. Instead, you abandoned me to a psychopath. I’m a freak, alone in this world, because of you.
Tears fell on the page, smearing some of the words. I took a shuddering breath, feeling overwhelmed.
“Hey? Are you okay?” Alwyn asked.
I quickly closed the notebook and wiped my eyes. “Yeah, sorry.”
“What are you doing?” he asked, nodding at the notebook.
“Um, I thought it would make me feel better to write stuff down, things I want to say to people, since I can’t really say it.”
I expected him to call me crazy, but instead he nodded and took a seat beside me. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. My parents were both shrinks, they used to make me keep a journal when I was a kid, so I could ‘express myself’,” he said, making air quotes.
“Did it help?”
“Not at first. But some days it felt good to get it all out.”
“It’s kind of like writing a letter to Santa though, it will never get to its destination.”
“You can’t know that. We don’t know what’s out there, and as far as I’m concerned until I see a body, everyone I know is still alive.”
“Wish I was so optimistic.”
“It’s not optimism, it’s realism. I survived. Look at me. I can’t see more than three feet without my glasses, I can’t fight. I made it, so other people have to.”
Bloodlines Page 6
