INK: Red (INK Trilogy Book 1)

by Line, Al K.

  Aiden moved Bishop's hand easily from the hold around his neck and shouted, "Run."

  They ran.

  Out into the bright afternoon, Aiden going first, Edsel taking up the rear, looking behind them where Bishop was already out the door and pointing the gun.

  "Behind the car," shouted Edsel, just as a bullet whizzed past his head. Aiden ducked down on the driver side, and Edsel was there a split-second later. "Good to see you buddy," whispered Edsel hurriedly, before opening the rear door and Aiden jumped in. Edsel yanked open the driver's door and tried to keep low while turning the key in the ignition. The old Suzuki spluttered to life just as the windscreen on the passenger side cracked as a bullet made contact.

  This is never going to end. Never. Stupid, they followed us home earlier. Idiot!

  Edsel crunched into first gear and turned the wheel sharply to the right, spinning on the gravel drive before finding purchase. He headed toward the gate, gaining speed as fast as possible.

  "Keep your head down, lie flat on the seat. And hold on."

  Edsel was in third by the time they got to the gate and he spun the wheel hard to the left, not quite making it and catching the hedge. He plowed on through, finally getting back onto the lane, and floored the accelerator as he moved into fourth gear. Edsel glanced in the rear-view mirror and was dismayed to see that there was already a car behind them. It looked like there was more than one of them inside.

  Bishop's got company. Not good.

  "How many are there? And are you alright? What did you do back there?"

  "I'm fine, you look terrible though. Good to see you Edsel; glad you made it," said Aiden, smiling yet looking terrified at the same time. "There was just one man with him. He was out by their car, keeping watch. They parked it around the side of the house and they messed up Bob's lawn. He went ballistic. Then they killed him."

  "I'm sorry about Bob, silly old sod. Did they hurt you?"

  "Not really, no. That man, Bishop? He was just a bit rough. He knew I was Awoken though, but didn't know I could do what I did. He's quite powerful but I had the element of surprise. I did good, right?"

  "Good? You did amazing buddy, amazing. I really thought it was the end for the both of us back there, but... Hang on, here they come."

  A fairly rugged Jeep gained on them fast and rammed into the back — Edsel struggled with the steering wheel as he almost lost control of the car.

  You have got to be kidding me. There will be a spaceship or something next, or men on motorbikes.

  Again. And again. The Jeep kept pulling back a little then speeding up to them and ramming them from behind. The poor Suzuki was going to come apart soon — it looked like it was only the rust that had been holding it together in the first place.

  "So, what's the plan?" said Aiden, finally sitting up, leaning forward.

  "First, hop in the front, and then get low. It's safer than being back there when they ram us."

  Aiden moved into the front quickly and sat down.

  "Seatbelt."

  "Right." Aiden buckled up and kept his head low.

  What a day. What a life. And what the hell are we going to do now? I thought this nightmare was finally over.

  Edsel raced through the lanes, overgrown hedges on either side clipping the car, ripping off the wing mirrors and smacking at the already cracked windscreen. He had no idea where the lanes went so was driving blind, and fast.

  At least they'll be in the same boat. Gotta think Edsel, have a plan.

  They sped on. Luckily the sun was behind them or Edsel knew he would have crashed by now. A signpost indicated a junction up ahead where the narrow lane met a main road and he could really get up some speed. But for how long? Bishop and whoever he had with him would be on them soon enough — they had a lot more power in their vehicle than he did. Edsel met the junction at full speed and hung onto the large steering wheel as he dragged it hard to the right to take the turn.

  He righted them and pressed hard on the accelerator until the pedal was down as far as it would go. The speed crept up, but nowhere near fast enough — already he could see that Bishop was gaining on them.

  Edsel leaned over and opened the glove compartment. "Okay, you're gonna have to use this." Edsel showed Aiden the gun he'd taken from the church. "Ever use one?" Aiden just stared at him like he was stupid. "Okay, sorry." Edsel fiddled with it while trying to focus on the road, then handed it to Aiden, keeping it pointing forward.

  "Do not point it at me, or yourself, ever. It's good to go, just pull the trigger. Now, don't aim for them, aim for the wheels. I'm going to slam on the brakes and you shoot the tires. Okay?"

  "What if I miss?" asked a worried looking Aiden, the pressure of the situation clearly getting to him in a big way.

  Poor kid, bet he wishes he was at home being bored with Martha. Wish I was.

  "Then shoot again, and again, until you hit one. Don't think about it, just point and shoot."

  Edsel moved the car over to the right hand lane then slammed on the brakes and they were thrown forward. The seatbelts restrained them and before the other car could react they were alongside it. Aiden leaned out the window and shot at the driver side wheels.

  Crack.

  He missed.

  Crack crack.

  "Yes!"

  "Got it?"

  "Got it," confirmed Aiden.

  "Good job buddy."

  Edsel drove off as fast as he could, taking the weapon off Aiden then throwing it out the window.

  "Hey! What did you do that for?"

  "Out of bullets. There were only three."

  "What? I could have missed, why didn't you say?" said Aiden, voice rising higher and higher.

  Edsel smiled at him. "Would that have made it any better? If I'd said you had three shots and that was it?"

  "Hmm, doubt it," said Aiden, smiling back. "Now, what was the plan again?"

  "We're going home," said Edsel defiantly.

  "Home?"

  "To Bob's, that's going to be our home, right?"

  "Our home? You mean you and me? Really?"

  It nearly broke Edsel's heart to hear so much hope in a child that had been dragged into such a nightmare because of him. He had to find a way out of this, he simply had to. "That's right buddy, you and me. Home."

  Edsel took the next right turn and made his way back through the lanes in the direction of Bob's house. It took a few wrong turns and a little bit of bickering over which lane to take — they all looked the same — but they made it.

  Now all they had to do was wait for Bishop and whoever was with him to show up.

  Looks like I'm going to kill Bishop after all. Hopefully.

  The second Edsel saw Bishop he knew he would have gone back for him eventually — there may not have been satisfaction, but it had to be done. Bishop had to die for what he'd done to Kathy.

  HOME

  On the way back Edsel explained what he assumed would happen, but said he would tell Aiden later about his own adventure earlier in the day, not wanting to get into it at the moment.

  Edsel guessed that with their car out of action then Bishop and his partner would make their way to Bob's on foot, so they could get the Seat that Edsel and Aiden had arrived in that morning. It felt like a lifetime ago. Could it really only have been that morning when they pulled up at Bob's and the silly old sod had pointed his empty shotgun at them?

  Crazy.

  If they were quick then they could get back to the house, hide their car, and hopefully have an actual plan of action by the time The Eventuals arrived.

  It wasn't much of an idea, but then, he hadn't had a good one since the nightmare had begun and they strapped him down and started tattooing his feet.

  They finally managed to navigate the lanes until they realized they were back on the road leading to Bob's house. A few minutes later Edsel drove a route he felt like he'd already seen a million times. There was the gate again, there was the quaint old house, the flowers and the gravel drive
, the blooming borders and ancient oak trees shading the lawns.

  It had probably only been twenty minutes since he'd last seen the exact same thing but now it took on a sense of foreboding, rather than optimism and a feeling that life might just turn out alright after all.

  I'm just going around and around in circles, dragging death along with me. Soon it will all be over. One way or another.

  After parking the car out of sight, Edsel got out and scanned around — there was no way Bishop would have made it back yet, but it was best to be cautious. He opened the door for Aiden and he jumped out, looking worried. Aiden made no move to enter the house, which was perfectly understandable.

  "I'm sorry about Bob."

  "Me too. They just killed him Edsel, just like that. Like it was nothing."

  "I know. They don't care Aiden, they think they were doing him a favor, doing the planet a favor by getting rid of one more precious person. They're insane, all of them. Come on, we have things to do, and fast."

  Edsel led the way down the garden to Bob's Anderson shelter. He rummaged around inside until he found what he wanted, then got Aiden to help him move it back toward the house.

  This will either work or it won't. Either way this ends today.

  Edsel and Aiden worked hard for all of five minutes, then they had done as much as Edsel thought was safe to do before risking being seen if Bishop made good time back — assuming that he did come back. Edsel knew he would. It was the logical thing to do, and they wouldn't think him and Aiden would return.

  Just like they didn't think I'd go back to their corruption of a church. Seems they underestimated me again. If they do come back.

  Edsel frowned at his own confidence, knowing it was unfounded and he was alive because he'd been lucky, and stupid. He prayed his luck would hold out a little longer.

  He took Aiden past the gardens and the animal enclosures, then out into the orchard. At the far end was a small tool shed where Bob had shown them he stored various pruning and crop gathering equipment. He explained to Aiden that he couldn't face anything bad happening to him and that he wanted him to hide in the shed. If he didn't come back for him by the time it got dark, then he was to make sure Bishop had left then try to find somewhere else to live, just in case The Eventuals came back to take what provisions and equipment they could salvage.

  Aiden argued vehemently, reminding Edsel of how he had helped him survive and escape a number of times throughout the day, but Edsel was adamant. There had already been enough bloodshed and he could not, would not, be responsible for losing someone else he cared for.

  That swung it, Edsel knew. Understanding that he cared for him, Aiden promised to hide and do what Edsel asked, even though he clearly wanted to help if he possibly could. Edsel left the boy in the shed, the smell of apples permeating the wood and everything inside. It smelled like the country; it smelled like home — back when his mum would bake an apple pie on Sundays and they would sit around the table, eating a roast dinner, arguing over who got to have the last of the Yorkshire puddings and whose turn it was to do the washing up.

  Edsel closed the door behind Aiden and made his way across the short grass of the orchard. He went to fight what he prayed was to be his last ever battle. His legs felt like dead-weights, his skin felt like molten wax — as if it was dripping off him as the flames licked higher, and he couldn't stop the thud, thud, thudding of a mantra running in a loop around his head.

  Kathy, Kathy, Kathy.

  Over and over it played, the happy life of just a few short days ago taken and replaced with red. Red Ink, red blood, cuts and pain and the lack of satisfaction after his partial revenge.

  Well, it looked like he had the opportunity to complete his revenge now, maybe that would give him the peace he craved?

  He didn't believe it would for a second, but at least his attempt at vengeance would be complete one way or the other. Whether or not it made him feel better or not, Kathy's death would have been avenged and he would be free to try to build a life, if for no other reason than so Aiden never had to live through what he had.

  Edsel went to wait for his tormentor.

  This had better work.

  ~~~

  Reality became dream-like. As he stood, then squatted without realizing, on the gravel at the front of the house, Edsel lost himself in a summer haze that lifted his thoughts to dance in the sky with the fluffy clouds. His thighs burned from his position, The Ink, and the trials he had endured since he had been captured.

  His forearms burned in the sun, and the smell of the blood of others tickled the cilia of his nostrils as he drifted further and further away from the present.

  He felt something wash over him, almost like The Lethargy in reverse. This wasn't simply energizing his body and mind though — it was something different entirely. Edsel watched from far above himself as the wreck of a man below began to shimmer orange, fractal wisps of energy crackling around him like the sun was shining through his pores. Waves washed over the man he felt only remotely connected to, gentle lapping then a fierce pounding, like the tide coming in and out with all the force of the oceans of the world behind it.

  He became the ocean, vast and deep, dark and heavy; light and gentle at the shore.

  Life stirred inside. Edsel fell from the clear sky and became a man again, but somehow not the man he had been. He could feel the beginnings of a new him shifting inside, hinting at things, at mysteries and at knowledge, at futures infinite in possibility, each decision, each act, branching off into countless futures never ending in scope.

  Focus became sharp, vision cleared, and Edsel stared out at the world like a newborn — everything was fresh, clear, deeper and more complex than he had ever imagined. Telling tales of the way the world really was, of what was possible — the nature of things; of nothing. He caught glimpses of The Noise, and The Void, the only enduring non-thing there ever was. Where everything came from and everything returned to in the blink of a cosmic eye.

  Edsel had begun to Awaken.

  It wasn't a sudden opening up of the vast potential one man had inside him, to play in The Noise and for all things to be known to him, to be able to alter his body chemistry and never age a day. No, it was just a tickle under the chin, a slight hint of what could happen if he ever did truly Awaken, like those at The Commorancy, like a man named Marcus Wolfe he had once sought out but given up on when he found happiness with Kathy.

  Edsel stood slowly, his limbs screaming but somehow different. There was a tiny hint of control, a lessening of the pain if he focused and tried to soothe his ravaged body.

  The Ink?

  It would always remain, a reminder, a brand telling of the bad in men — him and others, and the man that was taught a valuable lesson by the cruelties of human beings.

  Someday he might even understand what that lesson was.

  Edsel wandered as if in a daze as he heard two men approaching. He went around to the back of the house, then returned a few seconds later to where he had been standing.

  He stood in the sunshine and watched as two men walked up the driveway.

  I am ice. I am patience. I am calm and I will watch them burn in hell for their crimes.

  NEWS

  "You know I could just shoot you right now, don't you?" said Bishop, looking tired and harassed, Edsel was pleased to note.

  "Go ahead then, what's stopping you?"

  Edsel registered the look of confusion on Bishop's face; the man next to him just stood there impassively, a red statue.

  He didn't think I knew, but now he's not so sure.

  "Where's the boy?"

  I knew it! They want Aiden; the game has changed now. They know he's Awoken and they want him.

  "Gone. Away. I sent him back to the city. You'll never find him." Edsel hoped that the sweat trickling down his forehead wasn't giving the game away.

  "I don't believe you, you haven't had time. Where is he?" Bishop demanded.

  "The kid's smart, as I'm sure you
know. He can drive pretty good for a youngster." Edsel stared at Bishop, understanding what had changed the situation so drastically. He figured something was different as they were being chased in the car. Why didn't they just shoot at them? Why just try to ram them off the road? He knew they didn't want him, knew that Bishop just wanted him dead for his blasphemy of escaping and denying The Ink. So it had to be the boy. He was very young to be Awoken, that could be a real help to the church, and he was still immature and impressionable enough that he assumed they thought they could brainwash him into being one of them.

  "Bet he'd be invaluable, right? A young boy, able to sense the presence of others, enter their minds. Wipe them out with just a thought, like the flip of a switch?"

  Damn, too much information. Keep it together Edsel, just a little longer. You are ice.

  Bishop looked shocked. "He can do that? He's more powerful than we thought. I never even considered that he'd be able to make an Awoken stop moving like he did. Wonderful."

  Edsel noticed that Bishop had said too much as well. "We?"

  "I have my orders," was all Bishop offered. "Now, where is he?"

  "I told you, he's gone."

  "And I don't believe you."

  "Whatever."

  Bishop and his silent sentry took a step forward, each probably knowing what the other was about to do, or talking silently through The Noise.

  Did he sound casual? Relaxed? Like a tough guy? He hoped so, but doubted it. Edsel reached into his pocket, while Bishop trained the gun on him. He fumbled for the lighter there and said, "You mind if I smoke? It will be my last, right?"

  "Right. Go ahead, be my guest."

  Edsel squatted down, fumbling in his pocket for a non-existent pack of rare cigarettes. He dropped the lighter. "Oops."

  "Hey, hang on, what are you up t—"

  Edsel brushed aside the gravel, turned the valve and flicked the lighter.

  Light first time, light first time. This better work.

  He repeated it like a prayer as time slowed and his thumb scratched along the roller of the disposable lighter. It sparked into life and Edsel heard a satisfying whoosh before he even had the chance to look up at his handiwork. Edsel moved away from the tiny spout of flame coming toward him, nothing like the one that was right now shooting out at the two men.