Stormfront: Nibiru Rising: Book 2

by Chad Kunego

  A loud metallic sound, like someone striking an anvil with a hammer, echoed across the landscape, momentarily drawing her attention back toward the ground in an effort to identify the source of the sound.

  Standing nearly vertical, Kaitlyn spotted Rick’s short metal staff. It had struck with such force, only half of it showed above the ground. Glancing back up, a shadowy blob approached, but the Sun’s glare made it hard to pick out any details.

  Activating her flame aura again, she quickly moved, standing over Rick’s motionless body in a defensive stance. Waiting for the blurry speck to get closer, she shielded her eyes against the Sun’s glare, trying to determine whether it was friend or foe.

  A moment later, she sucked in her breath, her hands instinctively flaring up to a brilliant blue flame as the blob resolved itself into their opponent, and more disturbingly, the unconscious form of Zarina.

  Coming to a stop several dozen yards away, he touched down gently, remaining motionless. What she could only describe as an ancient voice reached her ears, carried to her on a slight breeze.

  “Be calm, Miss HellKat. Or would you prefer I refer to you as Kaitlyn?”

  The voice paused a moment before continuing.

  “I mean you and your companions no harm. Quite the contrary, actually. Your teammate Zarina was able to do what I, sadly, could not. She was able to end the threat and allow the mending to begin.”

  Guardedly, Kaitlyn allowed the nimbus of fire to die out around her hands, but kept herself ready in case it was another ruse. Looking at the scoured landscape surrounding her, she came to the unfortunate conclusion that, even if he was still hostile, there was very little she could do about it at this point.

  “Kaitlyn’s fine. Who are you, really?”

  “That, unfortunately would be too long of a story, of which I’m sadly not at liberty to reveal at this time. In the interim, you may call be Iškur.”

  “Iškur? Not Juan?”

  A sad smile crossed his face. With a start, she realized how young their opponent actually was, completely at odds with the voice emanating from him.

  “Juan is the name of the young man who’s body I now inhabit and control for the time being. With time, he shall recover fully, thanks to the efforts of your companion Zarina.”

  Gesturing, Zarina’s unconscious form slowly drifted to the ground, touching down gently.

  “She is really quite remarkable for not being an avatar yet.”

  A soft groan caught her attention.

  “Shit, Rick!”

  Quickly snuffing her aura, her blood went cold as she dropped down beside his still form. Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized his clothing still smoldered from where her flames had touched him. Even worse, his exposed areas appeared to be covered with second and third-degree burns. Injuries that weren’t healing on their own. Spinning around, she tried to keep the growing anxiety out of her voice as she spoke.

  “He needs help! Is there anything you can do?”

  Iškur drifted closer, looking down at Rick. The expression on his face kept flowing back and forth between compassion and what could only describe as fear.

  With as powerful as he is, why would he be afraid?

  After a few seconds, he looked up at her, gesturing vaguely in Rick’s direction.

  “Are you absolutely sure you want me to assist him? I have very little power left, so I can’t afford to squander it if you’re unsure.”

  She stared at him blankly, unable to make sense of the words he’d just spoken. In comprehension, her chest tightened with the implication of the question. Without thought or hesitation, she blurted out her response.

  “Yes! Save him! Please!”

  “So be it…”

  She watched him hold his hands out over Rick’s abused body, ignoring the tears pouring down her face. A breeze swelled around them, lifting Rick’s battered form off the ground. A luminous glow like foxfire began forming around him. She noticed a light buzzing sound was coming from the areas most injured during their battle with Juan. After a few minutes, the burnt skin started flaking away, revealing healthy pink skin hidden beneath.

  “He should recover now without issue, but he might take some time to be fully healed. Unfortunately, healing him has exhausted what little reserves I had left. I must leave you all now to recover as well. I need to recover my strength if I am to begin working with Juan, to help him master his new powers.”

  Iškur slowly lifted into the air before turning away from them.

  “Wait!”

  Kaitlyn scrambled to her feet, rushing after him when he started floating away. Turning back, he lifted an eyebrow while continuing to float backward.

  “You can’t just leave. We have so many unanswered questions to ask.”

  “You’ll eventually find the answers in due time. I will leave you with one final piece of advice. Take care of these two,” he said, gesturing toward her unconscious teammates, “Guide and protect them. The fate of your world depends on it.”

  The expression on Iškur’s face suddenly changed, again reminding her of how young he actually was. Where before he looked like a supremely confident and wise man, he now reminded her of a scared teenager, which more closely approached what he physically appeared to be.

  “I’m sorry ma’am. For what I put everyone through. I hope you don’t stay mad at me…”

  His expression changed again. His next words reminded her of when she talked to herself.

  “It’s okay Juan. It wasn’t your fault. It’s was mine. You’ll have the opportunity to redeem yourself, in due time.”

  Looking back toward Kaitlyn, he started to become transparent.

  “Remember, take care of them. We shall meet again some day. Fare well.”

  Before she could respond further, he vanished in a gust of wind.

  §§§§§§§§§§§§

  Consciousness returned slowly for him. The first thing he became aware of was the smell of the earth his face was currently pressed against. Moving slightly, he realized the pressure against his face didn’t hurt.

  Either the damage I took destroyed all the nerve endings, or I somehow unconsciously healed myself… Or I died. Not sure which one I prefer at this point.

  Groaning in exhaustion, he finally decided he’d somehow healed. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done it, and hopefully, it wouldn’t be the last time, either. It would just have to be a mystery for now.

  Trying to collect his thoughts, he began feeling pressure building up behind his eyes. Without warning, memories of what happened before he passed out slammed into his mind, reminding him that they might still be in danger.

  Struggling to open his eyes, he felt something hard and crusty coating them, gluing them shut. Beginning to panic, he struggled to rise. Slowly, he pushed himself up with one arm, vigorously scrubbing his eyes with the other. Dried blood and ash crumbled away, finally allowing him to see.

  Looking around, he spotted Kaitlyn standing a short distance off, a dust devil rapidly receding into the distance, probably moving too fast for her to see.

  I must have shifted into high speed without realizing it.

  Scanning the area with his senses, he realized there were no threats nearby. He’d instinctively switched his vision as well, allowing him to see auras of everything nearby. IN the distance, the dust devil seemed to glow with a faint white light, while closer by, Kaitlyn exuded a fiery red aura that crackled around her. Another faint glow to the side caught his attention. Shifting his awareness, he turned his head. The source of the faint glow came from a prone form lying on the ground several feet away. Realization slammed into him like a physical blow, causing adrenaline to surge through his exhausted body.

  “Zarina!”

  He didn’t even remember moving. One instant he was on his hands and knees, the next he was next to Zarina, her limp form dangling across his arms. He felt something click in his mind, like another memory unlocking, and suddenly, a huge rush of energy flowed up
from the ground beneath him and through his body. A tiny corner of his mind registered the new inflow of energy and directed a dribble of it into Zarina, jump-starting the healing process.

  More memories suddenly unlocked. With another surge of energy, his senses flared outward, farther than he’d ever attempted before. He could clearly sense people going about their day in the distance. Each individual person stood out like a beacon, even allowing him to make out details that shouldn’t be possible at this range. Locking onto one person in particular, he sensed something was wrong, but couldn’t identify what.

  Somehow, he felt it the instant the person climbing across a damaged roof lost their balance, falling over the edge and plummeting toward the ground. Without understanding how, he reached out, catching them with his power before gently setting them down safely. He even thought he could sense their surprise of being saved by something approaching divine intervention.

  Detecting motion, he felt Kaitlyn starting to turn back toward them. Without effort, he pulsed, instantly appearing in front of Kaitlyn.

  “We need to go. Zarina’s injured.”

  Kaitlyn jumped back in surprise. He felt the shock and relief radiating from her at his sudden appearance.

  “What the..! Don’t do that! You scared the shit out of me!”

  Newfound powers surging through him, make it difficult to concentrate on her words. A tiny portion of his mind noticed his staff laying nearby, embedded in the ground. With a slight mental tug, he yanked it toward him, the staff breaking the sound barrier in the process. It came to a stop inches from his back, spinning in place before sliding into the harness on his back. Time seemed to slow again as he analyzed the situation, almost like switching his aura, but not quite. After a few seconds, he realized he wasn’t processing information faster. He was actually controlling his powers more easily, something he wouldn’t have thought possible. Glancing back toward Kaitlyn, he inclined his head toward her.

  “We need to leave. Now.”

  Kaitlyn glanced around one more time before looking at him again.

  “Fine, let’s go. I think we’re done here.”

  “Yes, we are.”

  He wrapped them in his field and pulsed.

  Chapter 32

  Rick wasn’t sure how he did it, but instinctively, he’d nullified the effects of inertia from the Earth’s rotation. At the same time, he added his own velocity. The combined effect got them back to the base within thirty seconds. In passing, he’d also grabbed the remains of their car and equipment, reaching out over the miles to pull it toward him and carry it along. An enhanced sensory awareness allowed him to either avoid, or more often, gently move objects out of their path without slowing down.

  Arriving at base, he continued moving rapidly, allowing him to navigate through the base before the automated defenses even registered their arrival. Without pausing, he dropped the car wreckage off in the garage before moving deeper. Manipulated the air around them to suppressed the sonic boom, he redirected the energy back outward to cushion anyone he nudged aside while rushing down the halls.

  From the inhabitants of the base’s perspective, one moment they were walking down the hall, the next moment, they found themselves gently pressed against a nearby wall. From their perspective, it felt like they’d been teleported and held in place momentarily before being released.

  A split-second later, he slowed to normal speed, entering the base’s ICU facility. A startled nurse jumped, dropping the clipboard she was holding. Without even thinking about it, he caught the clipboard and floated it back into her hand.

  “We need help! Our teammate’s been injured!”

  Regaining her composure, she quickly directed them to a bed.

  “What happened?”

  “She’s a psionisist. She was in a mental battle with a powerful mutant.”

  Rick noticed a concerned look cross her face.

  “What!”

  “That’s Dr. Linquist’s area of expertise, but he’s not on duty right now.”

  He felt his body tightening up, the only outward sign of his barely contained anger. His lips pressed together, forming a thin line.

  “Is. He. On. Base?”

  The nurse involuntarily took a step backward, her eyes becoming big O’s once she realized who he was.

  “Uh… y-y-yes. His quarters a-a-re here on base.”

  “Show me!”

  “I’m not sure I’m allowed—”

  Rick swung his hand against the wall, punching a hole through it. Kaitlyn’s hand on his shoulder helped him get his temper under control again.

  At his outburst, the nurse scurried over to a terminal, punching up a diagram of the base before pointing to a spot on the display.

  “Rick, you need to calm—”

  He spun around, his chest tightening as he glared at her.

  “I’m not going to fucking calm down. It’s my fault she’s in this condition! So back off!”

  Spinning back around, he studied the map. Reaching out with his senses, he felt the doctor moving around in his quarters. Focusing, he grabbed him, covering him in a protective cocoon before pulsing him. Less than a second later, he appeared in the room before them.

  “What just happen—”

  “Help her! Now!”

  Doctor Linquist struggled to get his bearings. Spinning toward Rick’s voice, a look of outrage was slowly spreading across his face. One look at Rick, however, caused the doctor’s mouth to slam shut, the fear evident on his face.

  Without speaking, he looked where Rick was pointing. Seeing an unconscious patient on the bed, his training took over. Rushed over to her, he started performing different diagnostics on her, calling out to the staff to run different tests.

  Satisfied she was being taken care of properly, he turned back toward Kaitlyn. She had been standing silently by his side since his outburst, staring at him. Not giving her a chance to say anything, he took one step toward her while gesturing toward Zarina.

  “I can’t do this. I just can’t. I can’t be responsible for other people getting hurt because of me. I just,” he said, pausing to take a deep breath, “I just can’t.”

  Before she could respond, he pulsed away, mentally yanking all of his belongings from his room and packing them in his other remaining bag before pulling them after him. Rocketing off base, he headed toward the city, unsure what his next steps were going to be.

  §§§§§§§§§§§§

  Everything that had happened after Rick said they needed to leave was a blur. He’d moved them so fast, they’d arrived at the base before she could even think to argue with him. While his outburst seemed completely out of character for him, she could excuse it under the circumstances. What scared her though was his newfound ability to use his powers at much greater distances than before the battle. The speed thing seemed like a minor point compared to being able to yank people across the base at super-sonic speeds. How could he even determine he’d grabbed the right person?

  Even though she hated the idea, the best course of action was to let Rick cool off before tracking him down. With how angry and volatile he was right now, she wasn’t confident any conversation between them would end well. Turning her attention back to the matter at hand, she waited quietly while the doctor examined Zarina. Several minutes and multiple tests later, the doctor scribbled some stuff on Zarina’s chart before handing it to the nurse who’d witnessed their arrival. Couldn’t really blame them for nearly sprinting out of the room to carry out the doctor’s orders, not after seeing Rick’s outburst.

  “How is she?”

  The doctor cocked his head sideways before responding.

  “Her? She’s going to be fine,” he said, gesturing over his shoulder, “It’s just a case of severe mental fatigue. The better question is, what the hell just happened? One minute, I’m getting ready to pull something out of the refrigerator to eat, then next moment I’m here. Care to explain that?”

  “Actually, I’m not sure I can. My
teammate just exhibited something I didn’t know he was capable of doing. Let’s just say the past week has been pretty stressful and leave it at that.”

  “Fine by me, but I do want to advise you that I’ll be filing a formal complaint about this. I’m the head of the neurosurgery and psionics department. I will not be manhandled in such a manner again. Period. If there’s an emergency, page me like a normal person would.”

  “Understood. It won’t happen again.”

  “Good. So unless there’s something else, I’m going back to my room and getting something to eat.”

  §§§§§§§§§§§§

  Rick drifted across the landscape aimlessly, staying close to the ground so nobody could track him. He discovered a new ability unlocked in his mind, one that he was currently experimenting with. With enough concentration, he could cause the air surrounding him to refract the light away, effectively rendering himself invisible. While it required too much focus to use in a fight, with practice, it would be a pretty handy skill to use on stealth missions.

  Missions.

  Something he never wanted to take part in again. Not after this latest debacle.

  With no destination in mind, his only desire was to just put distance between himself and his failures. At least this latest mission had confirmed something he’d already known deep down. It was a mistake trying to be part of a team again. He knew that now. If he’d just faced Juan by himself the first time they’d crossed paths, had just eliminated him instead of trying to save him, nobody would have been hurt.

  Or at least a significantly smaller number of people. There still wasn’t an accurate death and injury count yet. And Zarina would still be normal instead of whatever kind of freak he’d turned her into.