by Matt Rogers
It’s over, a voice whispered.
CHAPTER FOURTY-TWO
Blinding white. A soft electronic beeping. The hush of a breeze coming through an open window.
Jake opened his eyes. His lids were stuck together, moulded by sleep. They took their time coming apart. Vision blurry, he studied his surroundings. He was in a hospital bed, positioned in the middle of a spacious, whitewashed room complete with shiny floors and walls that smelt of sterility. Sure enough, there was a small window built into the right wall. Jake looked out and saw the D.C. skyline, lit up in all its glory. It was dark outside.
“Hi,” someone said softly.
Zoe was sitting in the chair by his bed. She looked agitated, but happy that he was awake. Her mouth was stretched into a broad grin. She jumped off her seat and took his face in both hands. He smiled.
“Hey,” he whispered. “How long …?”
“Two days. The doctors told us you’d be coming round soon.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “Well, I mean, as fine as I can be. But don’t worry about me. You’re the one everyone’s worrying about and … hey, guess what?”
“What?” Jake said, not taking the time to consider.
“My dad’s out. They figured he was doing his country a service by transporting the ‘slayer team’ around. They’ve dropped all charges.”
“That’s great, Zoe,” Jake said, and reached up for the pillows. Zoe adjusted them until he was comfortable and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Where’s my dad?”
“Outside,” she said. “I can’t stay for too long. You have a visitor.”
“Can I speak to them later? I want to be with you.”
Zoe laughed. “I’m not sure he’s the type of man you want to hold up.”
Jake shrugged. “Bring him in, I guess.”
With a quick squeeze of his hand, Zoe walked over to the door.
“Zoe,” Jake said. She paused. “I love you.”
A smile played across her lips. “I love you, too, Jake.”
She opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. For the first time, Jake noticed an IV drip running into his forearm. He faintly heard a voice outside say, “he’s ready for you, sir”.
Jake figured the visitor was someone important. He propped himself up a little further in the bed.
In walked the President of the United States.
Jake’s heart leapt in his chest. It was a strange thing, seeing someone so famous in real life. He was shorter than Jake had expected.
“Hey there, buddy,” he said. “I thought I’d come down and let you know how truly grateful we all are.”
“Thank you, sir,” Jake said, unsure of himself.
“Don’t call me sir. I mean it. This is man-to-man talk. What you did saved us all. I’m amazed a sixteen-year-old could do something so heroic.”
“What happened after I passed out?”
“Your team did their best to finish off what slayers were left. There were stragglers that escaped, though. A few deaths, unfortunately. Two soldiers, three civilians. But we picked off the survivors fast enough. They seemed to lose hope after you killed their leader.”
Jake hesitated. “Am I some kind of national hero now?”
The President shook his head. “Your father wanted you out of the public’s eye. For good reason, I imagine. Every pair of eyes in the world is fixed on the news.”
Jake sighed. He was partially relieved he wasn’t going to have to spend the rest of his life being interviewed.
“So how’s the world dealing with the whole slayer thing?” he asked.
The President smiled. “It’s a lot to take on, I can assure you that. I’m still struggling to wrap my head around it myself.”
“I know how you feel. I was new when all this went down. Is everyone okay?”
“Your team is fine. David’s in a coma, but the doctors are assuring us it’s only a temporary thing.”
Jake raised an eyebrow. “David?”
“I’m sorry – I heard you refer to the man as … Crank?”
“Huh,” Jake said, smiling a little. “David – who would have thought?”
“He’ll wake up soon. Losing a leg and pushing on isn’t good for your health. He’s out more from stress than anything else.”
“Is Dad here?”
“Right outside. I won’t hold up any more of your time, son.” The President walked over and clamped a hand down on Jake’s shoulder. “Thanks again, Jake.”
Mark stepped in. The President passed him on the way out, and the two shook hands. They exchanged no words, but the President gave a cryptic nod of reassurance, and then he was gone.
“You’re awake,” his dad said. He sat down on the edge of the bed, right where Zoe had.
“I’m awake.”
There was a pause.
“Dad, is it over?” Jake asked. “Please tell me it’s over.”
“Archfiend’s dead, kid. You did what none of us could. His body’s locked up in a morgue somewhere. They’re going to burn it as soon as they’ve studied it.”
“Studied?” Jake queried. “You don’t think that’s a bad idea?”
Mark shrugged. “Ya know, they’re going to do it, one way or another; find out what the virus is made up off. But they wouldn’t dare to create another slayer. Not after what just happened. The whole world is in panic mode. People from Russia to Afghanistan are checking under their beds for slayers.”
“How did you kill them all? That explosion … I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“That wasn’t us,” Mark said. “We were just as confused as you. All we did was abandon the plane and hope for the best. Iquitos called us yesterday. They forgot to inform us the cargo hold was loaded with hundreds of gallons of combustible fuel.”
“Bullcrap.”
“You heard of Longsilver International?”
Jake nodded. “Big ass fuel company.”
“That was their private jet,” Mark explained. “They were experimenting with a prototype solution. Came to Iquitos to give a demonstration for the Peruvian military. For transport, and what not. Highly efficent, apparently. Evidently, highly flammable, too. They weren’t too happy we stole their plane and blew up their supply.”
Another pause. Jake knew what he wanted to ask. He was just afraid of the answer.
“Dad…” he started, but trailed off. Then he found the courage again. “How am I alive?”
“What do you mean?”
“You must have seen what happened. Archfiend threw me off a building. I shouldn’t be here, Dad. But I woke up. I kept fighting, and I did it with this strength, this power, that I’ve never felt before. I was superhuman. Archfiend ran, and I kept up with him. What’s going on?”
Mark stared at him for a long time. A clock out in the corridor softly ticked away, omitting a dull click each second. He counted fifty before his dad responded.
“Look, Jake,” Mark said. “Archfiend didn’t slash your mother’s throat.”
“What?”
“He bit her.”
There was silence. Total, utter silence. Jake didn’t move a muscle. He was thinking. Putting a new puzzle together.
“I’ve … I’ve got the virus in me?” he said in a quiet, shaky voice.
“A fraction of it, kid,” his dad said through tears. “I honestly don’t know how bad it is. You’re an anomaly. Liz was turning when she gave birth to you. I couldn’t take her to the hospital. Not in the condition she was in. She would have killed one of the nurses. It was a home delivery. She was already half-slayer when you were born. I was forced to do … what no man should ever have to do.”
“Oh my god,” Jake said. “You killed her?”
Mark nodded and squeezed his eyes shut. Twin droplets rolled down his cheeks. “I held it off for as long as I could, Jake. I could see the life draining from her eyes. She was pale. H-her teeth were rotting. When she tried to bite me, I knew there was no other alternat
ive.”
“Jesus…”
“I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy. That was when I turned to the gang. They took me in. I told them what happened. And we studied you. You had traces in your bloodstream.”
Jake gasped out loud. “But I didn’t turn?”
Mark shook his head. “No. There wasn’t enough of it to take control. But it’s always been there, and there’s no way to get it out. Blood transfusions do nothing. I tried everything.”
Now Jake was crying. And he was scared. “So – so what happened? Dad, am I going to turn? Please, say no. Please.”
“I don’t know, Jake. But I think when you hit the ground, it activated something. I think it unleashed the virus.”
“No, please, no…”
“Like I said, I don’t know. You can’t stay here, though, that’s for sure.”
An unsettling tingle began to creep up Jake’s spine. A bitter depression was weighing him down. “What are you saying?”
“You run,” Mark said with the forced tone of a speech he had rehearsed a thousand times in his head. “The President’s given the go-ahead. No-one else knows about this. He’s letting you escape, even though you’re technically in custody.”
His dad moved over to the window and shoved the frame up another foot, providing enough space for a man to crawl out.
“Are you serious?” Jake gasped. “I can’t. I actually can’t.”
“There’s no other option. As soon as the doctors find the virus in your system, you’ll be in the hands of the military.”
“What do I do?”
“Get as far away from here as you can,” Mark said, gripping his shoulders. “We’ll meet you out of town. Until then, go into hiding. Pray you don’t turn before we find you.”
Jake rose from the bed, bleary-eyed and doped up on medicine, in no way fit to escape from a hospital.
“What-” he started, but his dad silenced him with a single gesture and slipped a phone into his palm.
“Take this. I don’t have much time left. Now go. I’ll be in touch.”
Jake slammed a fist into the wall, gouging a chunk out of the plaster. Skin sheared off his knuckles and his hand seared with pain, but it came nowhere close to venting his frustration. A reassuring hand clamped down on his shoulder.
“You’re going to be alright, son,” Mark said. “You’ve come this far.”
Jake wrapped his arms around his dad’s muscular back and pressed tight. He was scared; there was no doubt about it. He had barely recuperated. They parted, and his dad took four strides over to the door, pushed it open, and then he was gone.
Jake turned and stared at the open window. It beckoned him back to the world he had tried so desperately to escape from. No rest. No rehabilitation. He thought it was over.
He was wrong.
And so he clambered over the windowsill, feeling the rush of wind against his bare arms and face. It took less than a minute to traverse down to the tarmac, and then, amongst the squealing of ambulances and the faint stench of cigarette smoke hanging heavy around the lobby entrance, he took off into the night.
THE END
SLAYERS II
COMING SOON
Hope you enjoyed the first instalment! Feel free to leave a review. Stay tuned to my Author Page for all updates on future books in the ‘Slayers’ series!
- Matt Rogers
