Indestructible
Page 14
“Of course not. I’m aware that what I’m doing might be slightly crazy.”
“Might be? Slightly?” Paula drawled.
“Yeah, whatever. It’s totally crazy, but wouldn’t it be awesome if this worked?”
“It would, but…” Silence filled the line. “You could hurt yourself or someone else.”
“Adrian will make sure that doesn’t happen,” I said with all the certainty in the world. “Even if things go very wrong, at least I will have lived a couple of more days as a free woman. You do realize that if I go to a lab and there’s nothing you or anyone else can do for me, I’ll have to be trapped for eternity.” The eternity being the time until I died.
“Ria, no. It won’t be like that. We’re not some psychos who will force you to stay.”
“I know you won’t, but what about the others? They don’t know me. They’re not my friends. How do you think they’d react if they found out everything about me? I killed three men and took their elements like it was nothing. Even people who want to help me would hesitate after hearing that.”
“Don’t you think it will be a million times worse if you actually kill an innocent person on your trip?”
“If I do that, then you should put me in whatever lab you can find.” I needed this trip to prove to myself that I could still be me and not give in to the disease. If I just went to a lab, all the problems would be solved for me, but who knew if I’d ever manage to leave? So maybe my logic was flawed, but I didn’t want to be trapped in a windowless place if I could help it.
“Take care of yourself.” Paula’s voice sounded defeated. “I’ll see if I can do something.”
“Thanks, but don’t worry about me. You should take care of yourself.” After we said our goodbyes and ended the call, I looked at Adrian. “I’ve been thinking… If I do end up in a lab after all of this, you should go live your life. I couldn’t stand it that you have to be trapped in a lab again just because of me.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened. “Are we in this together or not? Your emotions are messed up because of the disease. You’re not thinking clearly. And if you really think I could continue my life without you, you’re wrong. You are my life. So if you want me to leave you in some hellish place, why don’t you let go of me right now?”
Losing my control in the car could kill us both. Was that what he was implying? Were my thoughts and emotions really affected by the disease so much? I did think Adrian and I could go through everything together, but I didn’t want him to suffer because of me. “I guess we’ll have to make this work somehow, then.”
Adrian stopped the car in the middle of the woods. “I can’t tell if there are any people with elements around here while you’re holding onto me. Do you think you can let go for a moment?”
I pulled my hand back, flexing my fingers. Holding my hand in nearly the same position for hours was tiresome. The pain in my hand was quickly replaced by squeezing in my chest. It wasn’t as horrible as in the city, but it existed. My mouth went dry, my fingers getting cold. “I’m not losing my mind, but I can still feel elements.”
Adrian gave me a bewildered look. “That’s impossible. I don’t even feel them.”
Uh oh. That wasn’t good. Adrian had always been much better at sensing elements at a distance. “Please tell me you’re joking. I can feel… at least five elements.”
“I’m not joking.” A frown line creased his forehead. “But at least you can talk to me and you’re not losing your mind.”
“True.” I swallowed, but the dryness didn’t leave my throat.
“We should go for a walk. We’ve been in this car for way too long.” Adrian stretched his arms, nearly hitting me in the face. A grin appeared on his face to indicate that he had done that on purpose.
I pushed the door open and slowly got to my feet. The fresh air did nothing to clear the mess the elements were making in my head.
“No, not in that direction,” Adrian said.
I blinked and found myself a couple of feet away from the car. “Fuck.”
“Just take it easy.” He locked the car. “I assume you can feel the elements of people living in the nearest village, so you might stop sensing them after we go a little bit farther.”
“But there isn’t a village nearby for miles!” I threw my hands up in frustration.
“Maybe you’re sensing someone else. People travel, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.” I rolled my eyes and strode past him. “But these elements aren’t even moving. One of them is making me warm, so I think it’s ice. I shouldn’t be feeling sub-elements so strongly.”
“Shut up and walk. The more you complain about it, the worse it gets. Try to ignore the elements.”
“Wait.” I eyed the narrow path in the grass that led into the trees. “Are we really going to walk through there? I didn’t bring shoes for trekking.”
Adrian’s eyebrows shot upward. His eyes scanned me from head to toe and back up again. “You’re wearing sneakers. I think you’re pretty much fine.”
“Well, I know that I’m fine, but these are my favorite sneakers. They should be used for walking on concrete or, I don’t know, carpets. I don’t want grass or dirt on them.” I put a hand on my hip.
“I’ll buy you new ones.”
“Where? We’re in the middle of nowhere. The only store that sells them is in the city, or did you forget where I got them? You were there with me when I picked them.”
He blinked, his lips pressed together. “I quit.”
“What?” I looked at him in confusion.
“I thought I could do this, you know, help you distract yourself. But you went straight into a territory I can’t even begin to comprehend.” He tossed me a bottle of water and I caught it. “I’d totally carry you, but that would defeat the purpose of this, so please.” He extended his hand. “After you.”
I grudgingly took a step forward, taking a sip of the water. While I might have been overreacting a bit about my sneakers, I still didn’t want to ruin them. My concerns were totally valid, even if Adrian couldn’t understand that. The world of elements disappeared for a fraction of a second when Adrian bumped into me.
“Why did you stop?” he said. “Did you scratch your precious sneaker?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I stopped walking.” I stepped away from him and the elements swarmed me again. Squeezing my fingers around the bottle, I tried to think about something other than jumping into a pool of elemental water. My sole focus became putting one foot in front of the other and avoiding branches and stones.
A couple of minutes later, we reached a small clearing. A stream of crystal clear water was trickling in the middle of it, and to our right was a cave. The warm rays of sunshine caressed my face as I knelt in front of the stream. I scooped the water into my hands and splashed it onto my face.
“Wow,” Adrian said, crouching next to me.
“It’s breathtaking,” I said, looking around.
“Can you still feel the elements?” He waved his hand through the water.
I opened my mouth to say yes, but then I realized the elements were merely a weak pulsation at the back of my mind. “Yeah, but they’re not really bothering me.”
“Good. Then we could set up a camp here so we can rest. What do you think?” A mischievous smile spread Adrian’s lips.
“Sure, why not?” I wasn’t really a camping type of a girl, but I could survive for a night or two. Maybe. “Oh, God, is there a house somewhere? I can’t be anywhere without a bathroom!”
“You’ll live.” Adrian shook his head. “Would you rather spend a night here or at the lab?”
I chewed on the insides of my mouth. “When you put it like that… Yeah, we can stay.” But we’d be getting the hell out of here as soon as I felt better.
“Then you won’t mind if I do this.” Adrian snickered. I had no idea what he was talking about until he tackled me and we ended up rolling into the water. The stream wasn’t deep enough to drown, but
it was deep enough that half of my body was in the water.
“Damn it, Adrian!” I smacked him in the chest.
“What’s the matter?” He made a crying face. “Are your shoes wet?”
Gathering all of my strength, I managed to push him off me until he fell into the water. I pinned him down, straddling him. His dark hair was wet and plastered to his forehead, his eyes incredibly blue in contrast with the water.
My shirt was completely soaked and clinging to my body, so I shivered when Adrian’s warm fingers found their way to my skin. I pushed my wet hair out of my face and bent my head to brush my lips against his. He tipped his chin up, trying to deepen the kiss, but I pulled back far enough so he couldn’t do what he wanted.
“Don’t move,” I said, lowering myself down his body. He looked at me, his mouth slightly open. I tugged at his shirt and exposed his stomach. His eyes fluttered back as I slowly licked the drops of water off his heated skin. His muscles flexed as I moved lower and lower. Oh, yeah, I had an idea or two about how to push his buttons.
Chapter 26
My eyes flew open, but I couldn’t see anything except the darkness. Startled by the rustling of leaves, I sat up and nearly banged my head on the stone. Feeling around me for something solid, I remembered that Adrian and I had set up our sleeping bags in the cave so we could get some rest and wait for the night to pass. My phone was supposed to be within reach, but I couldn’t find it.
I could hear Adrian’s slow and steady breathing. He was still asleep and, at some point, we had stopped touching. A shiver ran down my spine and I tried to cover myself with the blanket, but my fingers started to shake from the cold. More rustling broke through the silence. Someone was out there. Someone with an element.
I crawled across the ground, scraping my knees on the rough stone, but that didn’t matter. All I wanted was a little bit of warmth and light. I vaguely remembered that Adrian had placed a bunch of cans, wrappers and even small bells at the entrance of the cave so we would wake up in case an animal decided to come by. Slightly frustrated, I went back to my sleeping bag and tried to find my phone again as quietly as possible. If Adrian woke up, he’d try to stop me and I couldn’t allow him to do that.
The fire came closer and I could already picture its warm caress on my face. My hand collided with something, and a smile curled my lips as my fingers closed around an object in the shape of my phone. I fumbled with it until the screen came to life, illuminating the cave with a bright white light.
Careful to shield the light so it didn’t fall on Adrian’s face, I made my way toward the entrance. I held my breath as I set Adrian’s trap and bells aside. How stupid he was to think that something like this could stop me? I was a magic disease carrier, not a mindless animal. Still, I couldn’t be mad at him for trying, and I didn’t understand why. He was only an obstacle that prevented me from getting what I wanted and needed the most; elements.
Alarms went off at the back of my mind. A tiny voice was yelling at me and telling me to go back, to wake up Adrian and tell him what was going on, that what I was doing wasn’t me. But the voice was being silly, wasn’t it? How could I be anyone else other than me?
As soon as I was out of the cave, the fire intensified, but I couldn’t see the person who was in the possession of it. My phone wasn’t bright enough to illuminate the whole clearing and I didn’t want to startle my target, so I put the phone in my pocket. The light coming from the moon was enough for me to find my way toward the element. I could feel the fire’s pull and followed its trail. The fire wanted me to find it. It wanted me to take it and possess it.
Treading carefully through the branches and bushes, I tried to come up with a way to capture the fire. I didn’t have any weapons and I didn’t know how much resistance my target would offer. My gaze fell on a nearby rock and I picked it up. Maybe I could hit the target from afar and then snatch the element. There was no need to engage in unnecessary fights. I needed my strength if I wanted to escape from Adrian and get all those elements that waited for me. What a stupid idea it had been to come here! Big cities had much more prey and if one element escaped me, I wouldn’t have trouble finding another.
My foot got caught in something and I fell face first onto the ground. Damn it. Picking up my rock, I dragged myself to my feet, but the fire intensified.
“Is someone there?” a male voice not far from me yelled. I was close, but he had heard me, which meant he’d be on alert when I approached. What was I supposed to do now? Sneaking up on him seemed pointless.
“Hello?” I yelled, slumping against a tree. Hiding the rock behind my back, I pulled my knee up and wrapped my free hand around my ankle. “Please! I need help!”
“Where are you?” he said, his element approaching.
“Over here.” I could tell he was going in the right direction. All I had to do was be patient and not let my desire for the element ruin my chance of obtaining it. If I jumped out at the man too soon, he could escape me.
“Are you alright?” The man came rushing toward me. He was younger than I’d expected him to be, maybe in his late twenties. His hair was short and dark, but I couldn’t see much more because the branches obscured the moonlight even more. None of it mattered, though. His element was young, strong and healthy. That was all I needed.
“I don’t know. I tripped and… my ankle hurts so much.” I was proud of my whiny voice.
“I’ll call an ambulance.” The man reached into the pocket of his pants and got his phone out. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. He was standing close to me, but not close enough. Why didn’t he come to see what had happened before calling the stupid ambulance? I didn’t need an ambulance. They’d send too many people and I couldn’t possibly take all of their elements. It would be such a waste to kill them for nothing.
“Are you sure they can find us here?” I said. “I don’t think I broke anything. Just sprained my ankle. If you have something cold I could put on it…”
The man ended the call and looked at me. “Who are you? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”
He was asking way too many questions. “And who are you? How can I know you’re not planning to attack me? I’m helpless like this.”
“Hey, I didn’t even know you’re here. I’m not trying to hurt you, I promise. I’m totally harmless.” He raised his hands up. Yeah, and he was also an idiot who had no clue what to do with a damsel in distress. His element spiked up and I knew he didn’t trust me. I couldn’t get up like nothing had happened and go after him. That would either send him running or he’d draw a weapon. I couldn’t even see if he had a knife or a gun somewhere on him.
“My boyfriend is nearby,” I said shyly. “We came here to… you know, have some privacy.”
The guy stared at me for a moment. “Oh.”
“So do you have something cold? Is your element water or ice? Because that would be awesome.” I dug my nails into my skin to stop myself from shivering. It was a surprise I hadn’t snapped already and just gone for the element. Even my disease knew this had to be carefully planned if I wanted to get the element.
“No, nothing like that.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot as if he were impatient. Maybe he wanted to get away from me, but I had no idea what he was doing here in the first place. Why would a guy be alone in the middle of the woods at night? Unless he wasn’t alone. I couldn’t feel any other element, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have come here with a carrier. Maybe that was why he didn’t want to tell me anything and was anxious to go back to his girlfriend or boyfriend. Hell, maybe he didn’t know the person with him was a carrier. Maybe I was trying to kill someone else’s prey. That would be fun.
“You should go then,” I said, supporting myself on the tree and pushing myself up. “The pain has subsided a little, so I’m just going to try to get back to my boyfriend.” I made a couple of steps and plummeted to the ground. If that wasn’t enough for the jerk to help me, then I didn’t know what was.
An image of a fireplace appeared in my mind. I went closer to it, reaching out to the fire. I had never seen a more beautiful element. All I had to do was push my hand into that bright orange and yellowish light.
Pain erupted in my head, chasing away the image of fire. Something had hit me on the back of the head and I was slipping into the darkness, away from the warmth and light.
Chapter 27
My head throbbed as I cracked my eyes open. A familiar face was poised above me, his lips pressed together into a straight line.
“How are you feeling?” Adrian asked, his gray-blue eyes unusually cold.
“What happened?” I choked out, just as the images from the last night flashed through my mind. Oh, shit. I’d tried to kill someone. Sitting up faster than I should, I looked at Adrian, black spots dancing in front of my eyes. “Tell me. Did I…?”
“No, you didn’t. The guy is fine. I got there in time.”
“Thank God.” I ran my hand over my face. “I can’t believe it. It was like I was perfectly aware of everything that I was doing, but my actions and thoughts weren’t mine.”
“The disease messes up with your mind if you can’t control it.” He squeezed my shoulder. “I didn’t know you’d react in this way. You usually weren’t in control of yourself enough to leave or plan a murder. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep. I should have watched over you.”