“What the hell are you screaming for? We should have glued your damn mouth shut again.” He said with annoyance coloring his tone. He was carrying clothes.
“Again? If it actually worked then maybe you wouldn’t have to repeatedly glue someone’s mouth shut.” He scowled. I was walking a thin line but I loved to pick at his scab. “Where is Gabe?” I asked, when he ignored my comment. He shrank back a little before stepping forward to face me. As he did so, a cackle escaped him. He looked fiercely down to Lena and her head turned on his command.
“Lena, would you like to do the honors?” When she didn’t reply, he frowned. “I forgot.” He cackled loudly. “You can’t do anything on your own.” He smiled to her as she turned her face back to the front.
“Well, Gabe wouldn’t shut up so we shut him up.” he said and I felt my eyes widen.
“Is he okay?” I asked weakly. I was overcome by my fatigue in that moment. My arms were completely asleep from being held up for so long and although Lena had loosened my suit of metal I was surrounded in, I was still uncomfortable.
“Jared. Why don’t you just find out yourself?” He made a sarcastic look and put a finger to his mouth as if he were thinking. “Oh that’s right. You can’t find out.”
I could feel bitter blood enter my mouth, and it tasted like the metals from before. “Let me out of here. You have me trapped because you know I could kill you all. And that makes you all a coward. You are all going to die once I get out of here. It’s a fact.”
“Oh yeah? Then why didn’t you grace us with your scary methods to kill us before we trapped you? Is it because you are incapable of any physical action that would mortally damage any of us?” He lunged forward towards me. I didn’t even jump. He was acting stronger because I was trapped. “You can’t win Jared. Do us all a favor and stop trying. Now.” he said darkly.
“I wanted to see if she was okay. If she was alive before I killed you.” I spat back at him, it wasn’t a lie, but I didn’t kill them because I didn’t know enough. If they were dead, how would I even stop the disease or their control over others? “I won’t give up and you will be dead.” I tried my best to look as callous as I could but I didn’t have the capability to be as evil as he was.
Aiden looked to Lena while placing a hand on the side of her face. He began caressing her face as he did before and she stared unchanging forward. For some reason I could have sworn that she tensed up at his touch. Then he did something unthinkable. I began thrashing in my suit. He began to lift her shirt off, my shirt. Exposing her bra. He quickly slipped on her new tank top and helped her in a cardigan. My heart was pounding my chest. “Get your fucking hands off her.” I said through gritted teeth.
He smiled deeply into her eyes. Her unseeing eyes. I grinded my teeth. I wished Lena had burnt my suit more to get me the hell out of there.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about her dying. She is a necessity.” He ignored me. I still struggled to move my body. Any part of my body out of the suit. He looked at her with admiring eyes and I felt my heart pounding. I hoped she didn’t admire him back when she had forgotten about me. “You, on the other hand, are a pain in the ass.” He paused and met my eyes. I willed myself to keep staring at them. The truth was, they were nothing like my eyes. His were black. They looked evil. I had to admit it. I didn’t remember them ever looking so blacked out. I thought we had the same eyes. I looked at the shape of his face, exactly like mine.
I couldn’t believe we were so similar and I hated to say that he was my brother through and through. “I don’t think anyone would miss you. Maybe I could kill you now instead of dad doing it.” He didn’t drop his hand from her face and I wanted to slap it away but I was still trapped here. I knew I would die and I knew most of all that I had failed. I didn’t find any answers and let Lena suffer in consequence to this.
After what seemed like an eternity, he let his hand drop. I sensed my heart rate slowing along with my breath, and felt my shoulders slump. He walked in long strides away from me. When he reached the desk, he quickly turned to me. When he locked eyes with me once more, he was holding a knife.
Fear spread through me. Before I could even think of what to do, he was running towards me. I don’t mean just running, I mean a wild man with his arms outstretched in the air was running towards me. The knife was raised above his hand and was held as if he were about to go to battle in a war.
All I could think was that I would not die a coward. I would not scream. I would feel the pain and I would not scream. I would not give him the satisfaction of knowing I was afraid of my death. As he approached me, I didn’t cringe away, and I felt that this would decrease his satisfaction.
He was level with my left eye. His face smirked up as the knife abruptly stopped inches away from my face. I was blinking frantically at the knife before my face. The knife was just about to pierce my eye but that was when laughter erupted from him as he backed away. He was a lunatic in the most rare form. Had he always been that way, or had my father driven him mad?
“I always wanted to see who would kill you and how. I have thought of killing you for a long time.” Aiden said as he twisted the knife between his hands. He let the point press into his forefinger, and I watched him make a tiny pierce on his hand. Blood was about to spill but that was when he neared the knife again towards my right eye this time before letting it falter.
“Why do you hate me Aiden?” I said to him. The knife was down to his side and I felt myself take a deep breath of relief.
For a moment, I thought I sensed some type of apprehension. I watched as he turned into thirty different people before finally resorting back to anger. He shoved the knife to my throat.
“You lied to me. You always were the favorite. You had everyone’s love. You were mom’s favorite. I wouldn’t die without being someone’s important person. I have a purpose now. I will die being important, where as you will die for love and a pitiful love at that.” He forced his glare over to Lena. “ And what a worthless love it is. She is worthless and I am going to be extraordinary. People will shout my name. The glory is all mine, Jared. Not yours and your tramp. No one will remember you or her. Most of all, they won’t remember your love.”
“Aiden, rethink this. Walk away now. People will shout your name because they have to and not because they want to.” He moved the knife closer to me and I felt the coldness of the blade, but I continued to speak. “I found love and something worth having and dying for. You are controlling people and ruining people’s lives. I have saved a life and made mine worth living.” His face fell as well as the knife, but he retreated back to normal and quickly he raised the knife again.
“I don’t care what you say Jared. I will make one of them love me if I get lonely.” He told me quietly. I felt sorry for him in that moment. He was still a monster though.
“Aiden, that isn’t real love, like what Lena and I have.” He shook his head furiously in disagreement but I continued anyways. “Yes, still have. I know she feels it inside her still.”
“Ah, then maybe I will make Lena love me. Since she had such a great love, she could probably portray that love to me. She won’t remember you anyways when you’re dead. She won’t remember you at all after this new enhancement, then she can be mine.” He laughed and turned the knife up to my throat. I felt the tip digging into my throat. “Say goodbye Jared. They say you can see all your loved ones when you die. Tell mom hi for me.” He snorted and I felt my breath take as he pushed harder into my throat. “Or don’t.”
This was it. This was my last second of breath. That was when he moved up my face towards my eyes again. He was going to stab my eye out. I looked straightforward. I would not die a coward. I would die brave like Lena would. I sent her here and now she was being punished because of me. This was my entire fault. I let everyone down. Dr. Alona would look down ashamed at me if he could.
It was in a blink of an eye. There was a knife in front of me, forcing its way up my face and me completely de
fenseless. Before I knew it, there was a hand holding Aiden’s hand where the knife was. I heard the crack before I could register that Aiden’s wrist was just broken. The white of his bone was poking through his skin. I had the urge to vomit in that moment.
That was when I saw her; Lena stepped in front of me. Her beauty was still enticing to me and she was so smooth in her attacks; so brave and cunning, new qualities that suited her well. Her eyes were glowing and Aiden dropped the knife from his damaged hand, holding it with wide eyes. He screamed as he fell to the floor. He acts so dramatic. Lena turned on him. Aiden was thrashing around on the floor. Lena was using her powers on him, burning him as she did to me earlier. There was something intense in this power. As soon as she stared at you, your insides were practically on fire.
“Don’t ever touch him again.” She spoke with a magical voice. Each syllable came out as if she were a snake. She held his hair in her hands and jerked up, all while ripping some of his hair from his precious head. “Understand?” She asked. Before he had a millisecond to answer, she slapped his head down to the ground with a loud thud. Blood spilled from his nose. “That’s for hitting him when he couldn’t fight back, you piece of shit.”
He writhed on the ground, and she let out a laugh. Almost as cruel as his was once before. Her anger wasn’t over because as soon as she stood, she lifted her foot in a smooth action while kicking the side of him. It was so hard that he fell over to the side, smacking his head once more to the ground. She was too strong for her own good, but at this point it worked to her advantage.
“And this is for touching me.” She kicked him right in between the legs. That was when tears fell down his face. I could tell he was blacking out, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
She turned her face to me when she heard me and I saw her in there. She was no longer Lena, the brainwashed girl but instead she was my Lena. Her eyes seemed to dim a little but I felt my mouth actually drop. Her eyes glowed, but instead of being emerald, they glowed her hazel eyes. The same hazel eyes I fell in love with.
Chapter Twenty: Consider This A Sign
SHE WAS WORKING faster than I thought a human could ever work, but she wasn’t human, not anymore. “We have to escape right now.” She told me frantically as she pulled on each chain but I was in a daze. She groaned in frustration as she gazed hard at the metal suit I was in and I felt a prick of heat but I was still lost. I wasn’t moving and I saw her pull hard on the chains around my wrists. I felt them release my wrists and looked down to see small bloody holes in my wrists.
Before I knew it, I was dropped from the suit and she ripped the cardigan from her body. She tore it in half and wrapped my wrists to keep the blood in. Although, I was sure I was no longer bleeding. I was going to tell her this but before I knew it she ran into my arms. I felt her tug my hair and I looked down to her. She stared in my eyes and I felt the disbelief spreading through me. I pulled her lips to mine.
“I love you. You’re back.” I said against her lips. My voice was a whisper but she looked at me with indulgent eyes.
“I love you, too.” She held my gaze but she quickly went back to grimacing again. She was scared, but she tried hard not to show it. “Come on.” She jolted Aiden once more for good measure and he groaned again. It looked like he was slowly losing consciousness.
We ran quickly towards the desk at the back of the room. There was a window behind it, Lena had continued to stare out of it the whole time, and I wasn’t surprised to only see the ocean from it. She put her hand up towards the window and to my surprise the window burst open. She looked down at her hand in amazement as her necklace started to move a little. She stepped up with ease onto the ledge and reached for my hand as I glided up beside her.
I looked ahead and could not see any sign of land. She started shaking and I gripped her hand, “What’s the matter?” I asked cautiously but before she answered I saw a red glow that seemed to light up her features. There was red all around her face as the ocean sprayed up. “Water.” she stopped her shaking as the water splashed up. We were up many stories, but the water seemed to spray up high, even though we were on an island.
“It hurts. I can’t go across it. I normally can but.” She stopped short. She moved her hand above the water and it glowed a red. She gasped and moved her hand back in, clutching it to her chest before showing me the red welts rising on her hand. “We’re stuck here.” She said calmly before closing her eyes tightly while shaking her head. “No, I am stuck here.” She reopened them and looked at me longingly. “Leave while you can. Please. Leave me right now.” She reached her hand towards me and I felt them touch my chest. “Save yourself. Get me out of here when you’re more prepared. I can wait. I will wait.”
I looked behind me. They would know we escaped soon. “No.” I said calmly but I felt scared. “I am not leaving you here to die. They will kill you. You don’t have the answers they need. That’s what they think at least.”
She shook her head and I reached her face to comfort her. Her skin was alarmingly cold but I felt warmth in my body from just touching her. The water was cold and she was as well, in that moment I wanted to feel for her pulse. I wanted to know if she still had a heartbeat. I knew for a fact that she still had love for me so I knew somewhere inside her was a beating heart; even if it only beat slowly, even if it weren’t a necessity for her to live. I knew it was there. I knew she couldn’t cry anymore but even still, her lip began to quiver. “Jared, please. I am not going to let you die. You have to escape. You have to leave right now.”
I wasn’t going anywhere and she knew it. She began shaking her head when I didn’t respond. She bit down on her lip about to speak but I held up my hand. “Wait.” I said curiously. “How did you get across the water when you were under control?” I asked.
“I have no idea. I mean every time I passed through, I wasn’t always told what to do. But my eyes would go black. I was sort of blinded.” She shook her head as if deep in thought.
“Lena. You have to be controlled to be able to move. You’re trapped here if you aren’t controlled.” I said to her with angst in my voice.
Her face turned up in frustration. “I can’t leave then. If Dr. Ravana won’t activate it then I am stuck here.” She looked miserably at me. “I won’t be able to. You said it yourself; I have to be controlled to leave this place. Please leave. Live your life.” She shrugged her shoulders and looked away from me quickly.
I frowned and lifted my hands to her face. I cupped her chin in them and forced her to look at me. “There is not a life without you. You stay; I stay. My life is here beside you. Figuring out how to help you.” She frowned deeply as her brow furrowed. “Plus there really isn’t much a life to live, with all the robots and mind control. Not to mention rotting skin disease.” She rolled her eyes and I held in a laugh. That’s just like her.
“I don’t know how long I have control over myself.” She said calmly. “What if I just turn on you? It is dangerous for me to leave at all.” She looked over her shoulders in a nervous way. “Why haven’t they checked on us in a while?”
I shrugged my shoulders about to respond. I felt a gust of wind pushing us both forward to the edge of the ledge. Lena glowed bright red, and I reached for the sides of the building as I cowered down to cover my eyes from her brightness. She seemed to be tumbling forward, about to fall to the water. I watched as her skin began to blister from the mist of the ocean.
She screamed in pain, and I looked on in shock. Finally, I came to my senses and I reached for her to pull her back to safety but as soon as her hand touched mine, I felt the heat burning through me. My hands seemed to blister just as hers were doing. I was being burned in the process of trying to save her. I grunted loudly but kept a firm grip. I felt my hand scalding and was alarmed to see skin beginning to flake off. “Grab my other hand!” I screamed to her.
“No. I am burning you.” She yelled to me as she attempted to let go of my other hand. I only gripped her tighter. “Let me go!”
She screamed over the loud waves beating against the building now. The water was coming up on the island and I stared in disbelief. It seemed as if a storm was brewing.
“I don’t care. Reach for me.” I shouted through gritted teeth. She shook her head furiously until I grabbed a hold of her and jerked her. I screamed as pain burned through my hands. It felt like I was on fire but I wouldn’t let her fall to her death either. I yelped in pain as she touched my arm as she finally regained her balance.
“I can’t feel my arm anymore.” She said lightly before facing me. “How are your hands though?” she reached for them but stopped herself quickly. “I am so sorry. I will heal fast, but you won’t.” She shook vigorously. I looked to her hands to see that there were dull scabs on them.
“What was that wind? Jared, what is our plan? I have no clue what to do? Will we have to fight them? I can take them now.” It finally clicked with me that she wasn’t someone who needed protecting anymore. “We’re wasting time.” She shouted to me when I did not answer.
“Okay first off, we are going to have to escape on something that won’t let the water touch your body but it will be painful for you. What do you say? We can find something.” She smiled weakly to me but then panic filled her features. She backed away from me.
“What?” I asked but she put a hand up to silence me.
A whooshing sound took over as I was silenced again. “Hush.” I remained quiet and listened to a sound that only sounded like wind to me. “Where did it come from?” she asked puzzled and I laughed.
“There is a storm coming. Don’t be paranoid.” I said and she held up a hand to cease my laughter.
“Quick, where do we need to get to? We can climb the ledge to it.” She faced me head on and pierced me with her hazel eyes. “Where do we need to be Jared?” She asked impatiently.
Antidote Trilogy: The Complete Box Set Page 31
