Hell's Gifts - Complete Series Boxset

by Mark Russo

  I snuck into the tunnel underneath the stairs. The small service door led me to the service hallway I had seen a few times; this fake, illusory one was nothing like the original. I left the hallway and stepped outside. The surroundings changed again, and I found myself in the cave where all of this had begun. I called James’ s name a few times, but he did not hear me.

  A new ball of energy glistened in my hand, revealing a circular room with a low ceiling. At its center stood a small shrine. If it was a trick, I didn’t see it. I approached the chest—a wooden piece of antique with a golden frame and a broken padlock—and nothing happened. My thoughts cleared, and all I saw was an oval ruby on the low end of the lid.

  My hands moved on their own; I could not control them. I lifted the top part and opened the chest. It was empty. Nothing happened at first. I stood, turned and returned to the corridor that had appeared as a vertical pit when I had first entered the cave.

  “You really think you pulled this one out, don’t you?” a voice asked from somewhere.

  I looked around but did not see anyone. “Who is this?”

  “You really can’t say, Vagras?”

  I looked in all directions but did not see anyone. I headed toward the exit and called James’s name again.

  “You know I’m not going anywhere, right, Vagras?”

  “I won’t talk to you if you don’t show your face.”

  “Even if I could, I wouldn’t.”

  “I don’t understand any of this. I’m out of here.” I was almost at the entrance of the grotto and saw James sitting in the distance, his shoulders facing the mouth of the cave.

  “Vagras, do you really have troubles getting this?” The voice reminded me someone vaguely familiar.

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m Milan. You stole my body.”

  “Are you talking to me from inside my head?”

  “That is exactly what is happening.”

  “Okay, now shut the hell up. I don’t want my friend out there to think I’m nuts. We’ll solve this once we’re alone.”

  “Okay, I’ll zip it.”

  Pranking James seemed tempting, but he heard me as soon as I exited that psychedelic Hell. “Is this the way you leave behind an old friend like me?” He didn’t get up but twisted his neck to look at me.

  “Listen, I had a hell of a day. As soon as I landed a foot around that corner, I had weird visions. Been there, didn’t want to try it again.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Let’s go back. This place’s a dead end.”

  “What does back mean to you? Will you pretend you’re one of them?”

  “I’ll improvise.”

  *****

  Later that night, I was sitting by the fire with the rest of the flying people who had cooked more of that animal we always eat. I never dared to ask what it was, but it didn’t taste horrible.

  “I just say, why did they have to come here? There are lots of places on this Earth. Why here?” the rotund one whose name I could not remember said.

  “I told you already, Gunther”—there it was—“they are nice people. They helped me,” Andrew said while sipping the horrible beer they brewed themselves.

  Then Neil, who had kept his mouth shut, decided it was time to take the floor and looked at me. “I think we saw one of them in Russia. Remember that, Milan?”

  “I do not think it was. That guy threw a bear in the air. Do we know what powers these guys have?”

  Everyone around the fire spoke at the same time, many conversations overlapping. One guy mimicked a flying bear—or that was what it looked to me.

  “Guys, guys!” Andrew’s voice rose above the others. “We do not need to interact with them. We can ignore them completely. Live and let live, guys, live and let live.”

  They kept on blabbering confusedly. Two of them went to get more beer.

  I had a few as well, and my head was much lighter now. “See? They’ll discover you’re not one of them. It’s just a matter of time,” that dumb voice in my head retorted. I decided to ignore it.

  Neil, who really could not read my non-verbal communication, sat down way too close to me. “So, you really think that guy was different? Do you know more about these powers?”

  I gave him a very explicit look, but he just stared into my eyes. “I know nothing about that, Neil. Why don’t we just have another and call it a night?”

  He looked at the fire and gestured with his hands. “I mean, we can fly. Maybe these other people can too. Should we maybe teach them?”

  I raised my voice so everyone could hear. “Do you think drunk people become better teachers?”

  I had achieved my goal; everyone laughed, and Neil changed topics. Since I’d had more than enough with all that, I said goodbye and headed for my tent.

  I had not walked ten steps when that snotty voice prodded me again. “Told you. They will get it. Your dirty little secret will be exposed soon.” I ignored him, but he kept talking. “If I could only control your body. It’s my body, actually. It’s mine!”

  “I don’t know if you noticed, but no one is listening to you.”

  “There is no need to talk. You can converse with me in your head like I do. What if someone hears you? They’ll ask questions.”

  “I’m talking quietly, and everyone is drunk.”

  I heard a few steps coming from behind a tree. A small guy whose name I had ignored watched me. “Milan? I thought someone was with you. Were you talking?”

  I faked the largest smile I could, opened my arms a little and forced myself to chuckle. “You do not have to worry. It’s the alcohol that talks for me. That’s why I’m headed to bed. Goodnight.” I gave his shoulder a pat.

  The doodle of a smile appeared on his muzzle.

  My next statement came out all wrong, shuffled, and a bit clunky. It really was time for me to go to bed; today had been way longer than needed.

  14

  Emma

  “She was not only one of the core members of our stuff, she was our friend. She was one of the few Plane K natives I can define as warmhearted. She left us many memories, and we will never forget her.” I could not talk any longer.

  “Let’s all take a minute to remember Laura and all she has done for us over the years.”

  I looked at my feet, trying to hide my face the best I could. All those memories did not take long to return to me. Her unique laugh was so vivid I could almost hear it now. Her nose would get all wrinkly, and sometimes she would bring a hand to her face.

  “Thanks for being here for Laura. Now, let’s get back to work. We have a lot to do.”

  The small crowd dispersed slowly, people leaning on each other while pulling away.

  James had sat far away, but when we were finished, he approached me. “One of the guys found some wild vegetables and mushrooms. It’s not much, but it’s a beginning.”

  I hugged him without saying anything.

  We took the steep path to the hut.

  “It’s colder today. We should gather more wood for our fires. You said you can chop wood, right?” I asked.

  Two students were talking louder than the others in front of us.

  “Yes, I’ll bring someone with me. A little work might help them,” James said.

  The kids before us shoved each other a little.

  James glared at them as my fists clenched tight. I was about to say something, but the smallest of the two violently punched the other’s face.

  James jumped between them, pushing one away from the other.

  The rest of us, hearing the racket, ran in the fight’s direction.

  A girl shouted names at the two crazed guys.

  The one who had received the blow was bleeding like a fountain from his nose, his breathing noisy and gurgling.

  James lost his grasp on the attacker who went for his colleague’s face again, smashing his fist on his jaw with all his strength. A few bones cracked, and some blood colored the dirt road’s dry stones.

  The v
ictim fell to the ground, dead weight.

  I used my mind blast to grab the scrappy idiot and lift him from the ground, immobilizing him. I had to resist the urge to throw him.

  James and two others went to the downed person, but I couldn’t see what they were doing.

  Then something happened that had never happened before. The beast broke the grasp of my mind blast and went for another of his classmates. He jumped on the closest one and threw him down. He punched his next victim, who crossed his arms to cover his face.

  Two persons grabbed the crazed one and yanked him away. After dragging him for five meters, he freed himself, ran toward a tree up the winding road, looked back at us then bashed his head against the tree trunk—one, two, three times …

  Everyone stared at him, petrified.

  He looked at us again, his face almost completely disfigured, then repeated the action.

  We heard another, much louder crack this time.

  The deranged guy collapsed onto the tree bark, and the now motionless body emitted a weird high-pitched sound.

  People eyed each other, stepping backward.

  The corpse exploded, spraying blood, limbs, and guts for meters.

  Everyone screamed and scattered.

  I watched James check the vital signs of the student who had been assaulted first. When he shook his head, I could barely suppress the tears. “Let’s clean this up. I have no idea what just happened, but we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  *****

  A few hours later, I was on the edge of the island opposite to the hut. I needed to be alone. When I heard the noise of James’s board, I knew it wouldn’t have lasted for long.

  “We took care of everything, as you asked. Why this all happened remains a mystery,” he said.

  “Thanks.” My voice was but a soft whisper.

  “We all need to get some rest. Will you come back to the house with me?”

  “I’ll stay here a few more minutes. This view is the most peaceful thing. I need this.”

  “Sure. I’ll be at the hut. We’ll probably collect some more wild fruits and vegetables.”

  “Sounds great. One question. I heard you visited a weird cave. What did you see in there, with Vagras?”

  He dismounted his board and approached me. “All sorts of things. I saw the house I lived in as a kid, a few of my toys. Although I realized immediately it was not real. I turned back and ran outside.”

  “Okay, that has to be a skill from my path. I never tried to use it. Today, I will.”

  “I get it. This day hasn’t been the best, and you need a win. I don’t know if you were asking, but I can be your guinea pig.”

  “There is no need. I’ll try this on myself first. Once I master it, I’ll ask for your help.”

  He tried to smile, but it came off stilted.

  My face reacted somehow, but I could not say if I was smiling back.

  James left, but the noise from his board remained for a while; the distant repetitive grinding noise sounded soothing today.

  There I was, far away from all the recent events, on my own. I had no idea how to create an illusion big enough to enter. At first, I wandered left and right, hoping to find myself inside of it. It did not work; my feet were still on the flying piece of rock. Out of pure improvisation, I closed my eyes and pictured another world.

  I imagined a tropical island beach first, the sun stroking the white sands and waves gently crashing to the shore. I opened my eyes and found myself where I had been before. Not a great success. I closed my eyes again and let my thoughts flow freely.

  The image of my parent’s house emerged among the others, despite my trying to suppress it. I tried picturing different things, but all I could conjure was the place I had left years before to never return. The more I tried to block the thoughts and images, the clearer they became. I could almost touch all our designer furniture, our pictures, and our cutting-edge appliances.

  I opened my eyes, and I was alone in my room. The lights were off, and a storm was roaring outside. A sudden lightning would brighten everything. My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness; the more I looked around, the more I saw everything was exactly as I had left it. The single-sized bed I had slept in for twenty years was made. A single photo I had taken years ago—a mountain flower I had loved as a kid—filled the narrow space. I didn’t remember when I had taken it or the name of the blossom.

  Another bolt brightened everything. The rain tapped on the windowpanes with increased strength.

  My desk was in the same condition I remembered it as well. My haptic gloves and visors sat in the top drawer underneath my older ones I had never disposed. I went to my bed and opened the door to the adjacent room where I kept my rig. It had been so many years since I had dived into an augmented-reality session, I could not even remember what it felt like. I doubted it would work, so I returned to my bedroom.

  “Hi, Emma,” a voice said as soon as I stepped through the door. Despite the absence of light, I would recognize that voice among a hundred thousand.

  “Hi, Mom.” My voice was the one that sounded all wrong.

  She did not move from where she stood, like the real her would do. “It’s been a long time. How have you been?”

  “I’m okay. I know this is not the real you, so we can just skip this conversation. Just go.”

  “I would, but you’re the one controlling all this. I can’t just go.” That sounded very much like something the actual her would say.

  “Okay, so I kindly ask you to disappear. I have nothing to say to you.”

  The mirage of my mother remained intact. “Are you sure you have nothing to say to me?”

  “Can you please turn on the lights?”

  “Yes, that we can do.”

  When she did, I saw she was wearing her standard pantsuit. I had no recollection of her wearing anything else. “Was Dad too busy even for this? I mean, this is just a figment of my imagination.”

  Her deadpan face didn’t flinch. “Apparently, that is how you remember him.”

  “He was just not there. That is all I remember.”

  For a moment, all I could hear was the incessant rain pestering all the surfaces of the imaginary house.

  “We were doing all this for you,” she said.

  “Great. Look where it got us.”

  She lowered her head.

  I turned and looked outside. The sky was too black to see the mountains in the distance.

  “Do you ever wonder what happened to us, after the world ended?” she asked.

  “Whatever you say, I won’t believe it.”

  “I don’t have that answer. Do you think about that? Do you think about what happened to your parents?”

  “Ara was a parent to me much more than you guys combined. To answer your question, no. I don’t think about you guys a lot.”

  “Why are you holding onto that anger and resentment? Do you think we wanted to leave you alone here with a robot?”

  I would have cried, I would have thrown stuff at her, but that was the past. “I think you never wanted me for who I was. That was what I desperately needed for years—for you to want me. Not anymore. I don’t care.”

  “I hope one day you’ll forgive us.”

  The impulse to throw stuff at her increased, but I controlled the urge again. When I turned to look at her, she was gone. It was time for me to go home. I had a lot of things to do.

  15

  Vaim

  I placed the last couple screws on the later panel of the generator, turned it on its side and tightened the bolts on the base. I connected a red cable to the main control panel. When I flipped the lateral switch, the led display activated. I wiped it with a piece of cloth.

  “So, this is it?” James asked behind me, pacing and checking my job from all perspectives.

  “Yes. I followed the instructions in your book step by step. We just need a few cables and a few other electrical components.”

  He came by my side and grunted. �
��You’re saying we have to go back to the school? We’ve been there so many times already.”

  “Not necessarily. Do you know any other place where we can get those things? A nice hardware store nearby?”

  James eyed the student who had been sitting on his hands all day. “Okay, Paul, meet the new king of comedy. He got none of my jokes in these years, but his are so good.”

  I looked down to him. “I would laugh if your jokes were any good.”

  They chuckled.

  “I’ll ask some guys to come with us. We’ll search the school ruins for food supplies. You guys okay with that?” Paul asked.

  We nodded, as that seemed like a reasonable plan.

  Paul ran into the house, showing way more excitement than me or James. “Can we use this to power your batteries as well?”

  “Yes. I’ll show you how to do it.”

  James’s eyebrows raised as his face turned away.

  A few meters away from us and our working tools, Emma was teaching the few students she had left the basics of the invisibility skill.

  I could tell, since they were clenching their fists at the center of their chests, none of them could use that ability yet.

  She waved at me when our eyes met, and I did it back.

  Paul returned with a very tall and muscular guy; we could use someone like that to search through the piles of debris our school had turned into.

  “Arno is one of Akko’s students. He’s more than happy to help,” James said zealously.

  Without further ado, James opened a portal, and we traveled to the other side.

  *****

  The school ruins appeared all around us. Large concrete blocks lay scattered over an area of several square meters. Now that it had been torn down, the school perimeter seemed even wider. The sky above us appeared cloudy, and a light breeze stroked my skin. The last pillar standing from the last time we had visited—the one that used to support the ceiling in our canteen—had collapsed too.