Fluorescence: The Complete Tetralogy

by P. Anastasia

  I looked across from us at the body lying stretched out on the ground in a puddle of blood and my stomach turned. The fluorescent light inside him had gone completely dark and I knew in my gut what that meant.

  “Holy shit!” I slipped down to my knees and covered my face with both hands. The adrenaline screeching through my body wasn’t enough to stop my eyes from welling with tears. I gasped for breath as my heart pounded against my ribcage. “Oh my God.” I wheezed, tears rolling down my face. “Oh my God. I fucking killed someone!” I pulled my arms in close to my chest and took short, whooping breaths through my mouth while rocking back and forth. My wrist ached from the fresh burn.

  “Kareena?” David shuffled closer, cupped my face, and forced me to face him. I halfheartedly tried to push him away. “Kareena! Look at me.”

  I did, and my heart skipped a beat.

  His endless brown eyes begged me to listen.

  “Do you want to live!?” he asked, his breaths still labored.

  “Yes! Yes, I do!” Salty tears kept drizzling onto my lips. I coughed again.

  His fingers spread out and he caressed them toward my hairline. “Then you did the right thing, Kareena,” he said softly.

  “But…” I wheezed again, fighting weakly to get out of his grasp. “I-I killed him!”

  “You’re not a killer” He slid his hands down to my shoulders and grasped me tighter. “I am.”

  “What?” I stopped squirming. “What do you mean, David?”

  He looked down and closed his eyes. “I’ve had blood on my hands since I was seventeen.” He opened them and continued, speaking slowly. “It was my gun you used. Those were my bullets and that makes it my responsibility. You’re not a killer, Kareena. You were fighting for your life and it was going to be either you or him. You did the right thing.”

  “Then why do I feel like shit?” I whimpered, my chin dripping with tears. “Why do I feel like I’m the most horrible, disgusting thing alive?”

  “Because you’re human. Because you are alive. You care about things. You value life.” He glanced quickly back at Taylor’s body and then at me. “Him. That thing he became… it wasn’t human. All he lived for was himself and that’s not living. I know this, Kareena, because I used to be like that, too. I never gave a shit about anyone or anything. Then things changed and I started to realize the world didn’t revolve around me.”

  He was probably talking about his sister, but his words still made me feel better.

  “What do I have to live for?” I replied. “I have nothing. Brian has Alice and you… you don’t seem to need or want anyone. What am I supposed to do if I can’t find purpose? I can’t go back to school. I can’t have a real job or even a damn boyfriend. I’m just trapped in this hell with this stuff inside my body that makes me see terrible things inside others. Disease. Death.”

  He reached down, picked up his gun, and tucked it into the back of his belt. “Come on. Stand up.” He grunted and tried to hide his pain as he stood and helped me to my feet. “This isn’t what you want to hear right now, but the others care about you,” he said, wiping a stream of tears from my cheek with his thumb. “Brian. Alice. Even if they don’t seem like it, they do care. They probably missed you when you left them.” He looked off to the side and swallowed hard. “Like I did.”

  I think it hurt him to tell me that. I could see the discomfort twisting his face. The way his eyebrows wrinkled and his frowning lips fought back a quiver. I didn’t think he liked me all that much. I thought we were only using each other, but maybe there was more to it than that. More than he wanted to admit.

  “We’re better off without Taylor,” David added. “He wasn’t one of us. Brian was actually right about that.”

  Brian…

  “He’s not right about everything, you know.” I tried to cross my arms, but I scuffed my burnt wrist against my shirt and grimaced.

  David brought his arms up around me and coaxed me into a careful embrace. I closed my eyes and rested my face against his chest, noticing the rapid pitter-patter of my heart finally softening.

  For a sliver of time I felt… safe again. His warmth pressed against me—his arms holding me earnestly. Then he shifted slightly and I heard a quick gasp from his mouth.

  “Kareena!?” He pulled back, his hand came up toward my neck and he delicately inspected my throat. “What happened to you?” His fingertips barely touched my skin. “What did he do to you?”

  I moved away and covered my neck with both hands. “It’s nothing. It’s over with.”

  “Your neck, it’s… Oh, shit, did he try to… choke you?”

  I broke eye contact with him and didn’t reply.

  “Jesus, Kareena, I’m sorry.” He carefully pried my fingers away from my throat and then cupped my face in his hands so I would look up at him. “I’m sorry that happened to you. Taylor was… evil. A misogynistic jackass. He preyed on you because he thought it would be easy, but you were stronger than he thought you’d be. You shouldn’t have had to go through what you did. I wish I could have helped you before any of this. Before—”

  “You did,” I looked into his eyes and smiled. “You did help me, David. Thank you.”

  He stroked his fingers through my hair, took a deep breath, and then backed off, dropping his hands down to his sides.

  “So how did you find me?” I asked.

  “That doorway thing showed up out of nowhere and I heard you calling for me from it—whatever it was.”

  The portal. That wasn’t me he’d heard, but I didn’t have the courage to tell him that. It must have been the Prism impersonating me like it had with the others once before. It worked, though. For once, I was grateful for the deception.

  “You could see it, then? The door of light the Prism sent?”

  “I saw what looked like smoke. It was a faded halo of smoke. That’s all I could see, but I heard your voice and knew it was coming from within it. You sounded like you were in trouble, so I went through.”

  “I can see the entire portal, myself,” I added. “It’s a swirl of white light just spinning and sparkling like—”

  “Like a Stargate?” He cocked his head.

  “A-a what?”

  “A wormhole that kind of looks like glowing water swirling around a drain. It was alien technology from a book and a movie and—”

  “I don’t get nerd references.”

  “So now I’m a nerd?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Geek. Nerd. I don’t know.” I shrugged. “And, well, no. I didn’t mean that. I just… never mind.” I would have chuckled, but the fleeting opportunity passed quickly and reality sunk back in.

  We both sighed and looked back at the swirling portal and then briefly at Taylor’s body.

  “What are we going to do about him?” The sickness was waning, but I still felt like I might throw up if I dwelled on the sight of the blood for too long.

  “There’s nothing we can do,” David replied.

  “You’re right. Do we just… leave him?”

  “It’s probably our only option. I know it’s bad, but—”

  “He would have left us,” I said flatly.

  David nodded. “Alright then. You’d better get back to the others,” he said, pressing his hand against the small of my back to nudge me gently ahead of him.

  “Me? What about you? You’re not coming?”

  “There’s no place for me.” He shrugged. “Brian and Alice have each other and you—”

  “I’m just here,” I interrupted, frowning. “Seriously, David, I don’t really belong, either, but we each have a purpose. We’re all here for a reason—whatever the hell that may be. And as much as I hate to admit it, we’re stronger when we’re together. All of us. And… I’d…” My throat tightened and I strained to clear my throat. “I’d kind of like you to come back with me. Please?”

  He looked into my eyes and studied me for a moment. It made me uncomfortable, waitin
g for him to decide what to do and how to respond, but I meant what I said. I wanted him to come back with me.

  “Okay,” he finally answered.

  “Thank you,” I replied, relieved. “Thank you, David.”

  We approached the glowing white light and he glanced at me just before passing through. I stepped in after him and a cool rush of air filled my nostrils.

  Chapter 25

  Within seconds, we were back in the parking garage. The portal that had brought David to where I was had taken us both back to the others.

  “Are they here?” David asked, looking around. “Oh, wait.” He squinted. “I see traces of their fluorescence. There.” He pointed.

  “Yes. They’re in that maintenance room on the other side,” I confirmed. “I was with them before Taylor grabbed me.” We started walking toward the room when David slowed down and stopped.

  “What is it?” I asked, turning toward him.

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “Yes.” I smiled reassuringly and took his hand. The black lines of burnt skin on his knuckles made my heart sink. Hopefully it wasn’t too late for Brian to heal him. “I’m sure. You’ll be fine. Brian’s… changed. Trust me, please?”

  “Okay.” He squeezed my hand and a nervous grin flashed on his lips. “I’ll try.”

  “Thanks.”

  We walked across the parking garage and just before we got too close to the maintenance room, I let go of David’s hand. He shot me an understanding smile and I walked up ahead of him to see if the others were inside still.

  “Brian? Alice?” I called to them. A few seconds later, the knob on the door jiggled and the door swung open.

  “You’re back!?” Brian came out first and jogged toward me. “Are you… wait…” He froze. “Is that…?”

  “It’s me,” David said, moving out from behind the shadows.

  “Oh. I never thought I’d be happy to see you, but I am.” Brian’s brow wrinkled. “What happened to you?” He walked up to David and stared in shock at the burn marks all over his body. “Shit. What caused all of this?”

  “Your brother,” I said. “Can you heal David?” I looked into Brian’s eyes. “Please?”

  “Yeah. Of course.” Brian quickly lifted up his hand. Vivid blue was lighting up his veins and wafting up through his skin already. “Can I?” he asked, holding out his glowing azure hand toward David.

  “Sure,” David consented and looked off to the side.

  Brian wrapped his fingers around David’s wrist and concentrated. Blue veins of light crept through his hand and onto David’s skin, making its way across his arm, healing the burns one by one. A streak of blue flitted across his cheek, fading the line of seared skin. David looked down at his hands and then craned his neck to look at his shoulder and down his arm.

  “Thanks,” he said with a small, grateful smile at Brian. “Her, too,” he added, motioning toward me.

  I tucked the arm with the band of burnt skin on it behind my back and pushed my other shoulder forward, turning so he could see the thick dash marking my bicep. Brian looked me in the eye and I nodded in consent. A quick brush of his hand across my arm sent a warm trickle of blue fluorescence darting over the mark, instantly healing the burn. I smiled and Brian tipped his head in understanding.

  “So,” he said, stepping back. “What are we going to do about Taylor? What if he comes looking for us?’

  “He’s not a threat to us anymore,” David replied, tilting his head down and looking Brian straight in the eye.

  Brian’s eyebrows came together and his lips separated in a breath of surprise. “Wh-what… happened to him?” he stammered.

  “Does it matter?” David replied, still looking Brian fiercely in the eye.

  “N-no.” He shrugged. “I-I guess not. I just—”

  “Then don’t worry about it,” David interjected. “I’ve taken care of it and all you need to know is that he won’t be getting in our way again.”

  Brian fell silent. It seemed like the true meaning behind David’s words had sunk in. He swallowed hard. Alice came up behind him and wrapped her hands around his arm.

  “We need rest,” she whispered. “Let’s go back to the room and let them talk.”

  Brian acknowledged her request with a nod. He glanced at me and then David.

  “You guys be careful, okay? Come join us whenever you’re ready.” He looked at David and swallowed hard, thinning his lips for a moment as he mustered up the nerve to say what he said next. “I mean you too, David. You’re… one of us now.”

  I watched David’s unchanging expression, expecting him to smile, but he didn’t.

  “Thank you,” he replied.

  Brian and Alice turned and headed back toward the maintenance room.

  Once they closed the door, I turned to David and took a step closer to him, looking up into his eyes.

  “Thank you for taking the heat back there for what happened to Taylor. Thanks for not telling them the truth.”

  “You don’t need to thank me,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Really. Now you tell me why you didn’t let Brian heal your other burn.” He gestured to the thick ridge of jagged black skin decorating my right wrist.

  “We all have our scars, right?” I answered, repeating the very same words he had said to me not too long ago. “Now I have my own. And it has a story, too. One I’ll never forget.”

  His brow wrinkled at first and then he nodded in understanding.

  “Look, David.” I unconsciously reached for his hand and grasped it tightly in mine. “I know I treated you like shit back there at the hotel, and for that, I’m sorry. Forgive me, please. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove myself to you and—”

  “You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone, Kareena. Not Brian. Not Taylor. Not even me. But now that Taylor’s gone, we have to keep moving. We have to keep doing what we know is right. Whatever the Prism needs us to do.”

  I suddenly remembered what the Prism had given me and released David’s hand so I could reach into my pocket and rummage around for the small energy pearl. I bumped David’s Libertad at the same time and scooped them both up into my grasp.

  “Give me your hand, please,” I said, separating the pearl and coin into different palms and only revealing the tiny glowing orb to him.

  “What is it?” he asked, lifting his wrist.

  “It will protect you from the Saviors.” I dropped the ball onto his skin and it shattered into prismatic dust. Within seconds, it curled around his wrist and took the shape of a sparkling bangle full of chaotic light and color.

  “I can’t really see it anymore,” he said, “but I can see a faint aura of light there around my wrist.”

  “That’s all you need to see,” I said. “It’s the same energy they used in the portals. It somehow keeps the Saviors from abducting us. And I know what you’re thinking—that we’re just becoming slaves to another race of aliens instead, but—”

  “I trust you,” he said.

  “Y-you do?”

  He nodded.

  I didn’t think he trusted me that much. Especially not after how I betrayed him so quickly and… abandoned him.

  I squeezed my fingers and felt the cool touch of his silver coin.

  “Oh. That reminds me.” I unfolded my fingers and lifted the coin up for him to see. “You should have this back.”

  “No. Keep it.” David replied, crossing his arms.

  “But, I did something horrible and I don’t think it’s right to let something so important to you be blackened with… murder.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time it’s seen blood,” he said, uncrossing his arms. “And, besides, you’re safe, right? So… maybe it did you some good.”

  “Maybe.” I shrugged. “So are you and Brian going to be okay? I mean, get along? I know he’s been grinding your nerves a lot lately, and I just want us to try to be friends. Until all of this is over with.”
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  “Kareena?”

  “Yes?”

  “You said it yourself, you have nothing here. You’re alone and you feel like you don’t belong. Well, so do I. And I’m not going to stand here and ask you to give up who you are or commit to something you’re not comfortable with, but I am going to tell you what I think the truth is.”

  He locked eyes with me as he continued. “I believe that you think you’ve got your entire life in the palm of your hand—that you’ve got everything under control and the entire world bows down to every one of your whims.”

  “What? That’s ridiculous.” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “I—”

  “But really,” he interrupted, “you’re afraid of being abandoned because the world doesn’t revolve around you and you can’t do everything on your own. You’re afraid to admit it. Not only your fear of being alone, but of being hurt. That’s why you can’t make up your mind about what you want. Brian. Me. Taylor. Someone else tomorrow, no doubt. But the truth of the matter is, you’re lost and confused and you don’t know how to live your life without other people in it who want nothing more than to worship you and carry you wherever you want to go.”

  “That’s not true…” The words barely came out of my mouth.

  “It is.” He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned closer to me. “It’s the truth and you know it. I said I’d come back with you and the others, but I’m not going to be part of a lie. I know I said things didn’t have to get messy between us when all of this began, and I stand by my words. But what we started back there—what you keep pretending we didn’t—that was the start of something else. Something bigger.

  You can keep denying it, or you can tell me what you really think. I’m more than willing to stay here and fight this fight until the end, regardless of how you feel about me or whether we ever even look at each other again. But I won’t risk my life in ignorance. I need to know the truth. We need to set things straight.”

  His fingers slid down my arms and he awaited a response.

  “The truth?” I started and then swallowed hard. “The truth is I don’t need a man to make me feel valuable or to give me a reason to live. I don’t, and no woman should. I’ve always tried to be independent and although, yeah, I like having guys around, I don’t need one to survive. I don’t need anyone. But, at the same time, I was so blinded by my infatuation with Brian, I couldn’t see what it was doing to me.”