by Kim Cormack
“Hey, Kayn,” was all he said before covering his eyes with his hands. His eyes were covered with widely spread fingers as he peeked through at Kayn’s almost naked body. Kevin’s wore a giant mischievous grin.
“Kevin,” She hissed with a shrill pitch, “Get out of here! I’m changing.”
“I know, I can see that,” he took his hands away from his eyes in a sudden cocky move. “You look incredible.”
She noticed that his eyes had been drawn away from her arms that covered her breasts, to the scars on her chest.
He pretended that he didn’t notice and whispered, “You’re perfect, Kayn.”
“I’m not,” She replied, with her arms covering her chest.
He took a step cautiously toward her and reached out his hand, caressing the scar above her heart; it was a symbol of some kind. He whispered, “I didn’t know about this. What does it mean? Did you look it up online?”
Kayn bowed her head, knowing that her scars must look horrific, especially the creepy one carved above her heart. “No,” she said. “I haven’t.” And it was the truth. With everything, she had explored online she had never looked up the meaning of that symbol. Perhaps she really did not want to know.
“I’m sorry. You probably don’t want to know, I’ll wait outside.” He turned around as he left and said, “You’re just as beautiful now as you ever were to me. Just so you know, Kayn.”
“Funny,” she whispered under her breath as he gently shut the door behind him, “I feel the same way about you, Kevin.” She saw the pressure on the door and could envision him leaning up against it. They were going to be fine. They walked out the patio doors off of the kitchen. Kayn took off running towards the opening to the trails that loomed ominously in the distance. They beckoned to her, silently challenging her to enter.
“Are you sure you want to run through there, Kayn?” Kevin called from behind her, breathing heavily already.
Kayn stopped for a second, jogging in place. She smiled and said, “I’m fine now. I think I need to, and this is the fastest way to the track isn’t it?” Her mind darted around foggy memories. Kayn burst into the trails, feeling an odd sense of rebirth. She seemed to hear every little noise now and made a mental log of every change in her surroundings. The trees that were blowing in the wind applauded her reentry with the brisk rustling of their branches. Her heart began to stage a revolt. It pounded through her thin tank top. I need to keep running through these trails every day, until the fear from that night disappears. I need to feel powerful again.
They ran in unison, the rustling of leaves underfoot soothing. Kayn ran in front, with Kevin just a pace behind her. As the trail thinned, they had to burst through the overgrowth. A branch sliced at her arm. The memory tried to reopen a pathway to that night again. Kayn fought the instinctive urge to run with everything she had now. She could feel the blood beginning to trickle down her arm. Its warm sticky trail of red opening yet another window in her memory. She would fight each returning memory, each second of fear as it welled up underneath her heart, and push it back down.
Kayn longed to feel the joy that she had always experienced while running. She wanted that overwhelming sense of all encompassing pleasure. She glanced at Kevin. He was keeping pace with her. How was he keeping up with her? She could hear so many new sounds, so clearly. She knew what created each hum and crackle behind her. These heightened senses were truly amazing. She had a hunch that this ability was only the tip of the iceberg. She glanced at Kevin again, and he was still right there with her. She appreciated each moment with him. Her heart ached at the possibility of having to leave him behind.
They jogged through the moss, and branch covered path. Something clicked in her brain. She winced at the sound of the repetitive steps behind her; the steady crunching of twigs stimulated a subconscious need to run faster. She would leave Kevin unaware of her reasoning behind the trail run. She was trying to work through that night by forcing herself to embrace her fears. She felt safer with him beside her. She always felt safer with Kevin close by. She turned to look at him again and noticed the confused look on his face. She knew she was running with strange endurance for someone less than six months out of a coma. They passed the shrines for her family. Kayn silently thought I love you; I miss you, Mom, Dad, and Chloe.
She saw a vision of Chloe through the trees. She was standing in the distance watching her. Had she been alone she might have stopped and walked over to her sister, and tried to talk to her, but with Kevin right behind her she would pretend she hadn’t seen her. They broke through into the man’s yard that was directly behind her property. He sat on his back porch having a cigarette. They jogged up the side alley. He smiled and waved, so they smiled and waved back at him. Kayn was waiting for Kevin’s commentaries about being half dead.
He hadn't asked her to slow down. He was fine, and he jogged beside her as an equal. He had matured physically so much that it seemed impossible for it to have happened this fast. Kayn could imagine that he was thinking the same of her. Instead of slowing as they hit the track they both sped up into a competition. They raced around the track equally, yet Kayn knew instinctively that she could go even faster and show him up, but she didn’t dare. The two passed the track team as though they were standing still.
The track coach shouted, “Brighton, you still got it, babe,” as she passed. Then did a double take and cheered, “Smith, way to go, son, wow.”
They completed one more lap and collapsed on the grass together laughing. She turned around and mimicked the coach, “Way to go, Smith, wow.”
Kevin began wrestling and tickling her until she began to whimper, “Stop it. I’m going to pee … stop it.”
He stopped immediately, saying, “You know, I’m into many things, but the peeing thing, it’s just not sexy.”
Kayn gave him a shot in the stomach, but Kevin, who obviously knew how many times she had been stabbed in the abdomen, stopped himself from returning one to her.
She read his mind and said, “You won’t hurt me, Kevin.”
They had almost had a normal moment just as they used to. He was still positioned on top of her as they glanced around, noticing that the track team was gone. They were alone, and Kevin ran his thumb over Kayn’s bottom lip, which she quickly bit, and then parted her lips.
“I would die before I let anyone hurt you again,” he whispered.
As their lips met, her heart swelled. She allowed her heart to believe that she was just a girl, and he was just a boy. Her tongue darted between his parted lips and she allowed his hands to roam with complete and total freedom. Until she felt a loss of control that told her things were about to get out of hand. They were in a very public place.
She whispered, “What are we doing?”
He nibbled on her neck and her ear and said, “Whatever we want.”
Those were not the words she had wanted to hear. She looked into his eyes and knew he loved her. He didn’t need to say the words aloud. They had always been said. Through his actions and with the way he had always been there for her. They had always loved each other.
Her mind whispered, Run Kayn. She pulled away from him, and looked over his shoulder. She said, “What is that?” Something was falling from the sky.
Move, Kayn, she heard her sister’s voice order. She grabbed Kevin’s arm.
He said, “What are you talking about?”
Kayn rolled Kevin away and then pulled him to a standing position in one fluid movement and launched him to his feet. “Run,” she yelled.
He held her hand and he ran blindly in the direction she was towing him. Kayn really ran this time. She towed an extremely confused Kevin. They shot fifty feet in a few seconds. Kevin didn’t notice. His attention was elsewhere. They watched what appeared to be a ball of fire hit the field. It landed with such force that they were both knocked off of their feet. It left them sprawled out in the grass, choking and sputtering in the dust filled air. As the dust cleared, they stood up. There was an eno
rmous crater right where they had been lying in the grass and kissing only moments earlier.
“Holy shit,” Kevin stammered as he focused on how close they had come to being squished by who knew what.
“You can say that again,” Kayn huffed as she regained her bearings.
“Holy shit,” the gym teacher shouted from behind them. “You kids okay?”
Kayn thought, not really, I am pretty sure that some kind of mythical being just tried to kill me. So no, I am actually not doing really great at the moment. She became sick to her stomach. What if they thought Kevin knew something? Would he have to be Corrected? She knew they had to keep moving. She walked briskly away from the scene and towed Kevin along.
Kevin forcefully tried to plant his feet. He said, “Hold on! Don’t you want to see what almost flattened us, Kayn?”
This was a strange large thing falling from the sky. Her mind reeled. She had pulled him too quickly out of the way. Would they correct him now? What had she done?
“How did you see whatever that was before it hit us?” Kevin asked.
She stopped and looked at Kevin. She loved him. She loved him so much that it hurt. He had almost been killed. She could feel in her soul, it had been meant for her. Something in the back of her mind kept urging her to get them both inside. What if there was another one coming?
Kayn started walking away pulling Kevin by the hand, “We have to get inside.” A shiver ran up her spine. It was a warning. She was beginning to understand. She looked behind her just in time to see a second flaming mass flatten the gym teacher. It had been meant for her. She had killed the gym teacher that she adored. Waves of guilt moved through her and she stood there watching the train wreck her presence had created. She watched Kevin stand before her with his mouth wide open as the crowd of kids gathered. She had to get him inside and then she would get away from him. It would kill her but he would be safe.
“We need to be inside,” Kayn stated. She was far too calm and unshaken for someone who had just watched the gym teacher that worshipped her disintegrate into nothing. She towed her best friend towards the gymnasium. She felt numb, emotionless; her need to keep Kevin safe guided her. Kayn felt pretty secure that they weren’t going to kill thirty people just to kill her, but she could be wrong.
The sobs echoed in her mind, as she forced her way through the horrified crowd of teenagers. And here it was, she thought. This was the moment where she would have to give up the love of her life in order to save his. She had caused the death of yet another human being; she knew this was the truth. She had to do it. She had to keep him away from her. This new life was not her own. She had given up that right freely. She had given it up to come back to her brother and to Kevin, but there was always fine print in a contract … wasn’t there?
Kayn looked at Kevin, her eyes moist with tears and said, “You should stay away from me, Kevin.”
“What do you mean?” Kevin stared at her blankly.
“It’s the only way that I know you’ll be safe. I can’t keep myself alive if I’m worried about you and your family’s safety all of the time,” Kayn replied.
“What in the hell are you talking about, Kayn? My family is safe,” Kevin answered.
Confused he tried to touch her arm. She pulled away like his touch burned her. “Do you think that was someone trying to kill you again? Is that what’s going on here? That’s crazy Kayn. That was a meteor, or a satellite dropping from the sky. It might have been a part of a plane.” Kevin said. He tried to touch her again.
“No, Kevin, it wasn’t,” Kayn said and she took a step away from him.
“What are you even talking about, Kayn? You’re not making any sense.” Kevin shook his head as she continued to back away from him. “What could that possibly have to do with you?”
“I can’t explain; I wish I could … I’m sorry,” Kayn said, her heart aching as she turned to run away. Kayn forcefully shoved her way through the stunned crowd.
Kevin called after her, “Seriously … you're breaking up with me? We can’t break up. We never got together.”
Kayn kept walking through the crowd, her heart disintegrated into a million pieces as she walked away from his voice as it carried through the crowd.
“I love you. I'm coming over later. We are going to talk about this,” Kevin called over the voices as she walked away from him.
“You shouldn’t,” Kayn whispered back under her breath as she walked away.
A blonde guy Kevin didn't even know poked his arm and said, “If you come over after they break up with you, that’s how you get a restraining order put on your ass.”
Kevin said, “She’s my best friend. It's not like that.”
The stranger patted his arm and said, “That’s what they all say.”
The night had fallen as Kayn made her way home. She ran as if she could get away from what had just happened, but she couldn’t escape it. She couldn’t escape it anymore than she could escape the future that she had signed up for. A future without Kevin, She allowed her mind to wrap itself around the fine print of the second chance she’d been given. She couldn't be more than friends with Kevin. She would have to leave him.
A clan was going to come for her, and she would have to leave. She wasn't sure what kind of help she was going to be able to offer them. She could move salt and pepper shakers around the table. What was that going to accomplish? She felt nauseous as she ran home. She’d convinced herself that she would have plenty of time to say goodbye. She ran faster so that her heart would stop breaking. No matter how fast she ran, Kayn knew that she could never outrun fate. It was impossible.
She stopped running once she reached the bottom of the long winding unfinished gravel driveway that led to her front door. She bent over and took a second to compose herself. She had to catch her breath. She felt a tickle on her forehead as sweat began to trickle down from her hairline towards her eyes. She wiped it away with the back of her hand. She stood up straight and began to trudge up the path. She only walked about five feet and then she froze. She should leave right now. If there was a chance she could hurt what was left of her family. She should turn and walk away from this house.
It felt like tempting fate, to stand outside alone and motionless. Anything, could snatch her up, or toss a fiery mass at her. Would that be better than a life without them? A gust of wind blew through the trees. She could almost hear the sand in the hour glass of her life trickling through the branches.
The lady in the light had told her a clan would be coming for her. Help was coming. She wasn’t going to be left alone in this. She continued to make her way slowly towards the front door. She was relieved to see it closed. If a clan was coming to protect her, they had better hurry up.
Chapter 14
The Arrival of the Ankh
In a rustic looking, rented cabin on Sproat Lake about fifteen minutes from Kayn Brighton’s house, a group of partially immortal beings met to discuss all things related to Kayn Brighton.
The leader of the Ankh was the handsome, dark featured man who stood with calm serenity in the middle of the rustic living room—a peaceful looking man with kind eyes was not at all the one that a bystander would pick out of the group as the one who would be in charge. He cleared his throat and the room came to an immediate hush.
He spoke, “I’m sorry to report that Hayley from Seattle did not survive her Correction. We lost Melody to Trinity at the beginning of the year. Sharon from Minnesota did not survive her Correction. Brantley from Arizona did not survive his Correction. We have only had one survivor out of the last group. Kayn from British Columbia as you all know has survived. That is why we have gathered here today. She had an excessively long recovery. We only have a few weeks advantage on the other clans, a month at the most. We can’t lose this one.”
He had a surprisingly deep and powerful voice. If a person were to shut his eyes, you would imagine Markus to be at least seven feet tall.
Lexy, a stunning redheaded girl with a su
ltry southern accent, spoke first, “The Third Tiers’ Correction team will leave her alone once we have claimed responsibility for her. Once we have marked her, and begin her training. She will be tracked by the Legion. This one isn’t ready to fight. The kid can’t fight her way out of a paper bag. “
“I think she may surprise us, after all she is Freja’s kid, “Markus said.
“She is only half of half of our Freja’s kid. She isn’t even the whole kid. She has obvious issues with authority. Just like her mother. I have the coffee stains to prove it,” Lily added. Lily’s cell phone vibrated for the tenth time. She picked it up and smiled at the text.
Frost walked in the front door with impeccable timing and said, “How in the hell do you have service?” He grinned and slid his seat up beside Lily.
Lexy said, “Number one, how are you not wearing a shirt? Number two, I swear with everything inside of me, if that phone buzzes one more time during this conversation. I will be forced to shove it somewhere that offers you the same uncomfortable feeling that I get from hearing it buzz all of the damn time.” Lexy always had hilarious comic timing.
Grey made an unsuccessful attempt to stifle his laughter and accidentally spit his gum out onto the table in front of her. Lexy scrunched up her face at him. She picked up his chewed up piece of gum and stuck it on his arm.
Grey said, “Cute Lex,” and he popped it back into his mouth.
A pretty blonde girl named Arrianna sat across the table from them. She took a sip of her wine and stated, “That was sick Grey. Nobody wants to kiss someone that eats table gum.”
Grey teased, “Is that an offer? I thought we weren’t doing that anymore?”
Lily’s phone vibrated again and Lexy stood up.
“All right, quit getting your panties in a twist,” Lily sighed, rolling her eyes she turned it off and placed it back on the table. She slid it across the table, far enough out of her reach to snuff out Lexy’s short fuse.
