The Push Chronicles (Book 2): Indefatigable

by J. B. Garner

  Epic appeared in a blink of an eye, one hand shooting out at inhuman speed. Before I could block it, that hand was snug around my throat. My stomach took another wild tumble as all of my momentum instantly dissipated, leaving me hanging as his hand tightened ever so slightly.

  "This is the end of the games." His voice was cold, hard now. There was no Eric there, only Epic. "I do love you. I want to share the utopia I will create with you. At the same time," he squeezed ever so much harder as I grabbed his wrist to try and relieve some of the pressure, "I have a greater duty to create that utopia. I have run the numbers. Your defiance can no longer be tolerated." His gaze narrowed, filled with blinding white light. "Will you stand down or will I snap your neck? Healthy or crippled, you will sit by my side." It was entirely possible that I had knocked Eric out and Epic had taken him over, just as Reaper had dominated poor Gerald Schuller. The end result was scarily the same, but unlike Reaper, there wasn't an anti-psychotic cocktail I could inject into him to make the bad man go away. I only saw one possibly out.

  Before Epic decided to make that snap, I swung my legs up and scissored his arm as I squeezed Eric's wrist with all of my enhanced strength. I was no where near as strong as a Pushed, but I was more than strong enough to break the bones in his wrist. Epic's grip went limp as he roared with pain.

  "There's my answer, Epic," I shouted. "You take us down to the ground or I keep snapping bones." It was no mock threat this time. Maybe there still was a bit of Eric left, because I saw fear flash in the real eyes behind the god-like mask as he recognized that fact. Just to speed the process along, I started to apply pressure on his elbow. I only hoped that I was so closely grappled with him that he couldn't teleport without trying to take me along.

  "Very well, woman." Our speed and course angled downward. "I would be careful of what you wish for, though. Your allies are dangerous, but there is a reason why I have amassed such a large following."

  "Spare me," I spat back. "Seeing you like this should give them a pretty sobering look at their overall chances." Eric scowled at me, trying to process a witty comeback through the pain. In that regard, I was blessed. Between my own abilities and these last three months of agony, pain was nothing, a construct of the mind easily overcome. Still, Eric wasn't entirely wrong. Unless they instantly rolled over, there was no way we could hold out this long. We landed on top of an office building a good distance from the Capitol.

  "This isn't the ground."

  "I know." Epic snapped his fingers and glowing portals shimmered in the air all round us. I could hear hurtling metal in the distance. It was if it was coming out of multiple tunnels all round us. "I truly apologize for this, Irene, I wish there had been another way."

  There was no time to snap that arm. I kicked off of him and madly scrambled away, just as six sedans, no doubt pulled from places all over the planet, hurtled out of the portals and smashed down where Epic was standing. The tremendous impact sent a shockwave across the roof of the building, catching me in mid-scramble and throwing me perilously close to the ledge. The spray of debris and wreckage shot out at every angle. It was a muffler, of all things, that slammed into the back of my head. My perception spun as my head shot forward from the impact. If I wasn't immediately concussed, it was a miracle. I tried to stop myself, but I continued to lurch forward. Only letting myself fall down onto the roof saved me from a tumble over the edge. The crumpled remains of the cars were shoved aside as Epic emerged from the twisted wreckage, unscathed.

  "The mistake I have made in dealing with you, Indomitable, is that I have dealt with you too directly. You can injure me and, while I may be able to hurt you with a punch or a kick, you've grown far more skilled than I have. What I can do is simply throw the world you consider to be real at you." He absently picked up the crumpled rear end of one of the cars in his good arm, like it was a piece of fluff. "Like this." He lobbed the entire rear end like a softball in my general direction. I rolled barely out of the way as the mass of metal tore off a man-sized chunk of the roof. "The whole world is my weapon and you can't dodge it forever." To back up his threat, Epic gestured grandly and every piece of wreckage hovered up, surrounded by white light. I could only curse under my breath and start running.

  Twisted metal and shards of glass smashed around me as I ran, tumbled, and dodged. The only hope in hell I had now was that Epic, Eric, whoever was in control would be so arrogant that he would toy with me for a while and make a stupid mistake. Jumping off the roof to escape was a no-go; there was nothing even close enough in height to make that survivable. I skidded to a halt as a car hood spiraled like a pizza cutter right in front of me, gouging up the roof. Too close for comfort.

  "What shall I use next, eh, Irene? I could use this building. I could use the people in it. I could rip the Sun asunder if I needed to." The air conditioning equipment and the satellite dishes ripped free of their moorings. "I would do it all for Utopia."

  "Utopia?" I turned on him. Let him shred me to pieces, I would get my final say, by damn. "Do you even know what that means? The future you have talked about for the past three months isn't safe. It isn't secure." I pointed out across the sea of buildings, at the masses of people in them. "You may have all the power in the universe to keep them under your thumb, but what does that make you, Eric? Their tyrant, that's what. Do you really think, Whiteout or not, they will accept that?" Though I only barely registered it, he didn't eviscerate me or smash me between two cement trucks while I ranted at him. "For Christ's sake, look at us! What the hell are we doing, Eric? We're trying to beat each other into a bloody pulp when not too long ago we were in love. Remember our six month anniversary when we went to Dante's? We could be there, now, dipping fondue, laughing and smiling. Is this what you want?" I pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You made this happen and, even worse, you keep pushing it further and harder than it has to be."

  "How do you know that, Irene?" Epic, unbowed, argued. "There have been many places that opened their arms, happily I may add, to me and my Crusaders. So many people live in fear and to allay that fear they want strength." He stabbed a finger back at me. "You have not provided that, so they continue to flock to me. I am no tyrant; I am a savior. As for the rest ... you are the one that is an outlier. You are the one that refuses to accept the inevitability of reality." He gestured widely around him. "This is my world, Irene. I made it with my mind and soul. It may not be the perfection I envisioned, but it is mine. I made a place in it for you but you refuse it." Epic, now more Eric than godling, opened his arms out to me. "Please, I beg you, take it. End this now."

  It was tempting. He wasn't lying after all. To be technical, I was the dinosaur, the base creature that refused to evolve. Would everything have been better if I had never questioned, if I had just done what Eric had asked from the beginning? I stood there, staring at the open arms, thought, and remembered. Memory brought wisdom and wisdom brought action.

  Even though Epic saw me move, he must have assumed I was coming to embrace him, even though my fists were clenched. Whatever the reason, he made no move to defend himself as I ran up to him, through his open arms, and punched him hard in the stomach. There was shock and surprise etched on the god's face as he folded like a house of cards.

  "Maybe you're right, Eric," I growled as I kept attacking, grabbing him by the hair to drive his face into my knee. "Maybe I am the hold-out." Left and right, I snapped off two side kicks aimed at each of his kidneys. "But you're wrong. People come to you because they fear you." He clutched his sides, howling in pain. Epic's outer shell cushioned the blows somewhat, but every one struck the human inside. I spun once, very risky but I had the advantage now, and belted a spinning back-fist right across his jaw. I felt something crack as blood and a tooth flew out of Eric's mouth. "Even if the entire world tells you something wrong is right, you put your foot down and you stand up for what's good and true." Epic spun with the momentum of the impact as it broke another of my knuckles. Small price to pay as he collapsed on his ha
nds and knees. Unlike me, Eric hadn't had to deal with the pain his Whiteout had caused. I stood over him, looking down, feeling a strange mixture of triumph and pity.

  "Your world is wrong, Eric, and I'll never give in to it." Epic looked up, trying to rally himself, but his godly features were already diminished. I could only think his confidence had finally shattered. "Stand down and help me fix it."

  For a moment, a brief moment, I thought we had won. Not only had we won, but I had won. If Eric gave in, I could convince him to work with me and properly fix this. Not some heavy-handed kludge like Mackenzie wanted, but maybe more like a 'tune-up'. No one would have to suffer and no one would forget the bloody lessons we had witnessed. I thought that, until I realized that we weren't alone anymore on that rooftop.

  "Step away from him, Indomitable, and surrender!"

  At a quick count, there were a dozen or more Crusaders arrayed around me, looking all too eager to rip me to pieces.

  I sucked in a tight breath as I considered my options. Had Epic gated in all of these Crusaders when I wasn't looking? Unlikely, especially as his waning confidence stunted his power. They must have been the extras from the very start of our clash, which meant only one thing: we had lost. I had to know a few things before I decided how to answer the Crusaders' demand. Eric was still bowed and broken at my feet when I glanced at one of the nearby Crusaders. Twister, I think his name was, probably because he was sitting suspended by a spinning cyclone, he looked like he was the spokesman of this particular bunch.

  "Where are my friends?" I demanded. "If you've killed any of them ..." I raised my boot above Eric's head.

  "No, of course not," he replied. Midwesterner by the accent. "We're not the bad guys!"

  "That's rich." I lowered my foot. "You're the ones that attacked us." There was an uncomfortable murmur among the Crusaders. Epic seemed to be slowly recovering, but I knew for a fact that Eric had never gotten the crap kicked out of him before. It would be a few more moments before he got to his feet.

  "I'm sorry about that, ma'am, but it was necessary." Twister didn't sound entirely convinced himself, but he stuck to his guns. At least he was loyal. "The Five, Argent Archer, and the crystal girl are in custody but safe. Now, are you going to make us fight you or are you going to give up?" Strange, or fortunate, that they didn't mention Rachel or Duane. Maybe they were free.

  I contemplated what to do. I could finish it now, deprive the Crusaders of their leader and maybe provide hope for anyone else against them. Of course, that would turn me into a murderer. That wasn't the woman I was or the woman I wanted to be. Those thoughts were interrupted by a crackle in my earbud.

  "Irene, give up," Rachel whispered harshly. I could only guess she, hopefully they, went to ground. "I've got a plan. You must trust me or we have no chance."

  Part of me wanted to ignore the buzzing in my ear, just like a part of me wanted to curb-stomp Eric's head into a bloody pulp. My trust in Rachel Choi was far stronger than those violent whispers. As much as I hated the idea, I raised my hands over my head.

  "Fine," I conceded. "I surrender." As Twister and another Crusader came up to me with some rather massive manacles, I smiled. "Just remember what you all saw here. Remember who was kneeling before who." With absolute confidence, I held out my hands as those heavy chains were clapped on. "I'm going with you to ensure my friends' safety, not because I couldn't beat every single one of you if I had to."

  Given the careful eye and wide berth most of the others gave me as they moved to collect their beaten god, I think they believed me. Not that it mattered now. The chains were all too real and I didn't see very many options for freedom in the near future.

  All I could think, as two of the fliers in the Crusaders' cadre scooped me up under my arms, was just how bitter the taste of victory was right now.

  About the Author

  J. B. Garner was born in Baltimore, MD on December 1, 1976, the youngest of three children. While still young, the family moved to Peachtree City, GA. His parents always encouraged his creative side and J. B. began writing and drawing from an early age. Though considered talented by his teachers, he never fully applied himself and bounced through high school and into college at the Georgia Institute of Technology. During his freshman year, his father died suddenly.

  Grief and lack of purpose caused J. B. to drop out of school. If not for a few close friends, he might have dropped out of life as well. Taken in by his friends and given a second chance, J. B. matured, applied himself, and finally, after over a decade of hard work, is now back to doing what he loves the most: writing.

  His writing passions include science fiction, fantasy, pro wrestling and superhero literature. His third book, Indefatigable, is what you are reading right now.

  Feel free to get in touch with him via e-mail (jbgarner58@gmail.com) or at his deviantArt page (http://megatarget.deviantart.com/).

  Discover other titles by J. B. Garner

  The Push Chronicles

  Indomitable

  Indefatigable

  Incorruptible (early 2015)

  Three Seconds to Legend

  The Opening Bell

  The Tale of the Tape

  The Twelfth Labor (early 2015)