by J. D. Hale
For a moment or two, I had no clue what I had said, presuming nothing had come out of my mouth but my previous assessment. And then his dark eyebrows rose until I could’ve sworn they were going to touch his hairline. He was still smirking a bit at this point, which alerted me to what had come out of my mouth.
“Oh!” I worried, capping my hand over my mouth, “Sorry! I…uh…didn’t know what I was saying…”
“Look at this – Kairee Dunham at a loss for words. That must be a first,” He smiled, “and all over someone as useless as me.”
I mock slapped him on the chest, simply trying to alleviate the awkward tension now settled between us, “You’re not just another stupid human. I need you – at least for now.” I said, turning serious.
I’ll need you to defeat Zenda.
Zenda.
The name was continuingly racking my brain, making my nerves heat up. It was unfathomable what endless power she has to posses to secure her position at the top of the police, even as a criminal. And she pretty much has to be a criminal. No regular being can have that much real prowess – oh, sure, presidents and Prime Ministers think they have power by commanding a country. But the real supremacy comes with fear. Fear is the strongest emotion and the easiest passageway into a person’s mind. Without unobstructed trepidation from the masses, you cannot rule them. Nobody can gain dominance besides the criminal world.
“Kai? Are you okay?” Salah asked, snapping me out of my reverie.
“Yeah, just…worried.” I said firmly.
“About Zenda?” He implored.
“Are you sure you’re not a mind reader?” I smiled, “Because now I have my doubts.”
He laughs with me for a moment, but then turns serious, “So why are you worried about her? You don’t worry about anything.”
“Did you know that I’ve never had an enemy that’s won against me?” I asked.
“No way! You’ve never been defeated?” He wonders, clearly shocked.
“Not by a real enemy. I’m afraid she’ll beat me. She’s got the entire police force on her side and I know nothing about her. We’d have to sneak into a records facility to even look her up!” I told him, exasperated.
“We can do that,” He reassured me, “I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure nobody ever beats you. Except, of course, myself.”
“Thanks, but if it weren’t for my leg, I’d stand up and destroy you right now. But, we can wait until we’re in Ireland to do that.” I told him with a grin.
“Whatever you say.” He smiled, “But I wasn’t ready the first time we fought. There has to be a rematch – and don’t hold back this time.”
“Alright. I’ll be as tough with you as I am with my real enemies.”
“Good.”
“I hope you’re ready to be hospitalized.”
And suddenly, a burst of light appeared and suddenly the Wasp was in front of us, Rowan sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Hop in!” He mouthed the words through the windows.
“Or limp,” Salah whispered under his breath.
“Help me up?” I asked, after he had gotten to his feet.
He offered me his hand and I took it, feeling more helpless than I had in a long time.
Salah helped me gimp up to the Wasp, and when we got to the iron steps, I decided to just go for it and take a leap of faith – literally. My fantastic balance aided me in my great one-footed bound up the steps. When Salah was barely up the steps, Rowan gunned the engine, jolting us forward on the way to Ireland. Even though my little ship can handle light speed, Rowan knew not to push our luck since we were only going to Ireland.
I watched the scenery blur by once we were in the air, ignoring the pain throbbing through my leg well. The vast Sahara spread out below us, the dunes creating a wave like effect, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by the Mediterranean Sea, glistening green in the light. Eventually though, we reached the coast of the Atlantic, leading us out over the gloomy ocean. Once we were over the vast sea, it became harder to ignore the garish mass that was my wounded thigh.
I risked glancing down at the wound, and was surprised by two things. The first was the fact that my leg was mutilated so badly it hardly looked like it could belong to a human and the second was that the pain wasn’t as bad as it should be. The hole was the size of my fist, at least the visible wound. The skin was pealed back, exposing the muscle underneath. But there was no blood pulsing out of it, as I would have expected. Instead, blood flowed over my muscles, as if there was no wound at all. Blood that had spilled earlier ran down my leg, At the center of the injury was my bone, poking out through my flesh. The grotesque image would be burned in my memory for a long time to come.
Curious. Hard to believe how my body is – genes differing from any other’s, so different, in fact, that I could be wounded and my body simply continued functioning around the wound. It was genetic, of course – my mother simply healed, as if by magic, and my father could suffer massive beating without shedding any blood. It made sense that my own body would be able to suffer gashes without pain or bleeding. If could be my strange mind completely overriding my pain receptors instead of giving in. My will is strong and my subconscious was even tougher.
June 15th 3:48 pm
Dublin, Ireland. Ambrosine.
Soon enough, we were in the car park of Ambrosine in Dublin, the leading nucleic facility in the world – the only one that caters to criminals and the like. This place realizes something the rest of the galaxy needs to learn: those of us living under the radar pay for the best and will pay the most for it; anything to keep things confidential and quality.
“Rowan, help me out of here,” I said, attempting to sit up. When I did, the blood that was previously restrained came flooding out.
“We just got this reupholstered,” I mumbled stupidly at the tan leather under me. The pain still wasn’t hitting me, even though I could feel my tibia sticking through my skin and saw my femur slicing my flesh.
“Oh god. Kai! That’s really bad. Does it hurt?” Rowan asked.
“Not really. I swear – it’s really strange but it honestly doesn’t hurt that bad.” I decided not to shrug when I saw the bruises blossoming on my shoulders.
“Sure…” He replied, not giving up. Rowan pushed open the door, let Salah out, and looked me in the eyes.
“Once we’re done here, what are we doing?” He whispered, coming closer so Salah wouldn’t here.
“We’re training our new…accomplice. I’m going to teach him about will power, some-thing he obviously lacks – and something he crucially needs, as our will is our true weapon.” I smiled.
“Hold on.” Rowan grimaced as he lifted me out of my seat and into his arms – like in some lame romantic comedy, if we weren’t siblings, of course. I don’t even know why he grimaced for two reasons: he’s very, very strong, and second I’m only about one hundred and forty pounds – not that much for someone packed with muscle.
Rowan carries me to the inside of the facility – a great white building with matching interior – and sets me down before rushing to a desk.
“Kairee and Rowan Dunham. My sister needs to get in immediately!” Row tells the receptionist, a slender brunette wearing an atrocious pink suit.
“Dun…D-Dunham?” The woman was practically cowering behind her desk.
“Snap out of it!” Rowan yelled, “We need to get in. Now.” He allowed the power to escape from behind his midnight eyes, virtually hypnotizing her.
“Alright…I…” the receptionist was gathering her wits and took a few seconds to recover, “I’ll go get Doctor McKinley.”
At the name of my favorite doctor, I perked up a bit. Doctor Hearthwood McKinley, originally from my home planet, was the best nucleic doctor in the galaxy, and also a personal friend of mine – a mentor, if you will – who helped with my mind training when I was younger. She’s the very reason my amazing mind can perform seemingly impossible deeds, like shutting doors without touching them;
the sole person that caused my IQ to skyrocket off the charts and into unknown territory. I haven’t seen her in a few years and now I’m eager to show her how my powers have progressed.
A few moments later, my godmother, Hearthwood McKinley stepped out of a door at the corner of the room, one I had not previously noticed. That worried me. Lately I’ve noticed my sense of danger dulling. Anyways, she looked the same as she had five year ago. Her straight caramel hair fell down to her shoulders, long bangs falling in front of her gray eyes. Her ever smiling thin lips were coated with light pink gloss, making her look much younger than her thirty six. Her outfit was typical of an ND – knee length labcoat and green surgical gloves – even though they hardly ever had to do anything related to surgery. But, unlike most ND’s, Hearthwood was wearing a pair of spiky red heels that clicked on the floor as she walked to me.
“Kairee!” She smiled at me, but then looked at the fractures in my leg, and grew somber. “I see things are urgent. I’ll get you in right now.” She offered me her hand, and I took it, leaning against her. As she had trained even me, I knew she was strong enough to uphold me for a few moments.
“Hello again, Hearth. Sorry we have to meet on these terms.” I told her as we walked – well, she walked, I hobbled – off towards one of the rooms I had so often studied.
“What were you doing this time?” She grinned.
“The usual: being chased by the intergalactic police. I tried to jump onto a building and fell through a skylight.” I informed her.
“Just another day in the life of Kairee Dunham, I suppose.” She led me down a hallway, and into a large white room. I knew the process, as I had been in this room before. The room itself was not much, an octagonal space with some counter space towards the back. Around the center there was a hospital bed, surrounded by jars and vials of various liquids and gels.
“You know that drill,” Hearthwood said, nodding towards the bed. She helped me over to it, and I calmly sat down, attempting to keep blood from rushing out of the gash.
“Alright, Kai, relax.”
While she was working, I thought about my mother and Hearth. She and my mother had been best friends all through their youth, growing up on Saize together. When each of her children was born, my mother chose one of her friends, in order of favoritism, for her children. My aunts are my siblings’ godparents, but Rowan and my godmother was mother’s best friend. It was odd, but wonderful as I had grown up with Hearthwood’s kids, and she was practically another mother of mine. More of a mother, really, than mine had ever been.
Hearthwood stuck a needle into my arm, and I quietly drifted off into a drug-induced sleep, horrifying dreams quickly coming to mind.
June 15th 3:55 pm
Ambrosine Lobby.
Rowan was tense in the lobby, waiting for his sister to be fine.
Thoughts raced around his head at a million miles per hour – thoughts of his sister, his family, his entire life. It was like Kairee and he were connected through a telepathic link. When she was hurt, Rowan became exceedingly on edge, and vise versa.
“So…what’s Kairee really like? I mean, she probably hates me, but what is she like with you?” Salah asked.
“Why do you care? She’ll never care about you like she cares about me.” Rowan replied angrily. Salah knew not to take it personally – Rowan had to be tenser than usual with his Kairee all banged up.
“Because…I like her. And I-”
“Listen, Salah,” Rowan snapped suddenly, “Back off my sister.”
“What?” Salah laughed, “Is this one of those ‘you break her heart and I’ll break your face’ kind of things?”
“No.” Rowan grimaced, “It’s one of those ‘If you lay a hand on her, I’ll kick your ass to the next millennium’ things. Got it?”
“I think I could take you.” Salah told him.
“In your dreams. If you couldn’t take Kairee, you can’t take me.”
“I bet you I could. What are the stakes?” Salah inquired.
“How about this: I win, which I will, and you have to stay away from Kairee and listen to me, and if I lose, which I won’t, you have my…blessing. You can try to date Kairee, if she doesn’t kill you herself. That all right for you?”
“So we’re basically fighting for your sister’s honor?” Salah smirked.
“No, we’re fighting so you know where your place is. My sister may be the head of this mission, but I’m her right hand man, and you’re just our dummy.”
“When I win, I hope you know where my place really is.”
“You’re on.”
ﻬﻬﻬ
“Your will, I see, has progressed significantly since we stopped your training a few years ago.” Hearthwood said after my operation was done, which I did not remember.
“Not as much as I would have liked, but at least now I can move things with my will, break bones and such, and hopefully it’ll give me an advantage in future fights.” I told her with a light shrug.
“You’re being modest. My sources tell me you can break bones with your mind now.” Hearthwood protested. Her gray eyes were wide with interest, wondering, like everybody else, how strong my powers really were.
“Sure I can break anything from bones to steel, but I wish I could do more.” I confessed to her, not worried about her judging me for me controversial morals.
“What more is there?” She seemed honestly confused.
“This may sound crazy to you, since you’re on the right side of the law, but I want to be able to stop a heart with my mind.” I told her.
“What?!” Her eyes were literally bursting from her head, “Why would you want to?”
“Because I’m a cold-blooded killer.” I smiled almost sarcastically.
“Oh but Kairee, I remember when you were little – before you were a criminal – and you were the sweetest girl.” She reminisced with happiness.
“Yeah? Well that was before everything. Before I dropped out of school, began training, before my parents were separated. I was happy because life was simple. Now, I have changed along with life, and I’m really living.” I told Hearth.
“So running around killing and stealing is the good life?” She asked seriously.
“Yes, it is. I love my life, and this is what I want.” I said earnestly.
“Well, if you want to stop a heart, keep training. Lift larger and larger things, break stronger things,” She grinned tightly, “I know you can do whatever you want. And Kairee, I don’t want to see you under these circumstances again, so take these.” She said, reaching behind her and pulling over a large vat of blue gel, a tube of clear cream and a spray bottle of green liquid, “It’s some of the ingredients I use to heal people. The blue one compresses down, but the other two are small enough to carry around. The blue is the actual healing one – spread it on your wound and it’ll heal. The spray bottle is for smoothing your scars over, unless you keep your cool scars. The cream fixes bone fractures and breaks. I can’t do anything about bruises though; you’ll just have to let those heal. And, if the wound is too big, it will only heal underlying tears – muscles and bone, but it will leave a flesh wound. Any time you need more, just give me a call and I’ll send some to whatever planet you happen to be on. ”
I slipped the bottle into my purse after Hearthwood showed me how to compress the healing vat down to the size of the other two. I felt a rare sense of gratitude after receiving this gift I would actually use frequently, especially with the training I planned to do over the next few weeks on Salah.
Hearth gave me a wide grin and hugged me. In a rare moment, I hugged her back.
June 15th 4:45 pm
The Auburn Estate, Dublin, Ireland
My mansion in Dublin is the best on Earth, second to none. Though this planet has some extreme limitations (i.e. its lack of various stones and metals), I’ve managed to build a formidable mansion, more modern than my usual taste. I was inspired when Rowan and I visited the Prime Minister’s house on Saize. My e
state, of course, is much larger than the Prime Minister’s.
The property itself is several hundred acres; I had invested in so much land to avoid paparazzi, and there’s a huge crystalline lake, emerald forests, and a large, flowered field where we kept horses. There’s a team of hundreds of men and women working here around the clock to simply keep the place intact in my absence. Unlike the country-feeling land, the house – and I use the term loosely, as the place is larger than any other – is partly white plexiglass and the majority is half-silvered glass that allows us to look out, but no one can gaze in. My favorite feature of the place is the tall glass tower on the edge of the building, six stories high, where my room is located. Directly opposite, on the third floor, there’s a large wide deck where an Olympic-sized swimming pool sat, crystal-clear and glistening in the afternoon sun. The sparring area is on the top floor, covered by a blue glass and tile dome. I spend most of my time there, fighting with a few of the staff that have training as body guards and assassins.
“What do you think, Salah?” I asked when we pulled up a little ways from the mansion.
“Oh my god. Where don’t you have mansions?” He smiled at me, and I saw Rowan, out of the corner of my vision, roll his eyes.
“Rowan, don’t be a sourpuss, he’s just admiring how we have more money than he does.” I slyly glanced at Salah, trying to gauge his reaction.
“How do you know anything about my family’s financial situation?” Salah was utterly surprised by my extensive knowledge.
“You continue to underestimate me. I keep records on just about every criminal in this universe.” I explained.
“That reminds me: are you going to take me off of Earth? I’ve never been off my home planet.” Salah told me.
“You’ve never been off of Earth?” I asked, stunned, “Then how did you know about the Xeron?”
“My father was planning something to do with it, before he…” Salah trailed off, not wanting to say it.
“Before I killed him? You can say it. I have no problem working with my last accomplice’s son. I’ve been meaning to work with someone my age for a while, and you just happened to approach me first.” I shrugged and got out of the Bentley that had been waiting for us in Ireland, driven by one of the numerous servants I kept here. “Come on boys! We don’t have all day. I haven’t trained in days and I need to hurt someone!” I commanded, and Rowan was out of the car first.
