The Vengeance

by Allison Rios

  Robert knew he was right. There would be no changing the future. Not without severe repercussions.

  Both men sat down on the stairs, as distant from one another as they could be. They were different in every aspect of life except for the one that tied them closely together. And in a short time, both knew that the only remnant they’d have of Addie would be her sweet little girl, who one day would possibly become a Grim.

  29 IN SHEEP SKIN

  Abraham had never been much for kindness. The son of a drunk and sickly as a child, he had been a common target for late-night beatings and daytime mockery, by both his father and the children at school.

  His soul had hardened long before he discovered his powers. Born to unmarried parents, his mother abandoned him at birth. Somehow the gene had missed a generation, because he knew had his father possessed it, Abraham would have been dead shortly after birth – if not before. It wasn’t until the eve of his sixteenth birthday, after the entire house had gone to bed without ever having mentioned the occasion, that Abraham sat on the cool, wooden floor and plotted his escape. The familiar footsteps descended the stairs and before he could even stand up, the hands were pummeling him with fierce precision.

  Suddenly, the adrenaline rushed through the boy in a different fashion; he felt strong and his fear was buried deep. He reached up to grab his father’s arm and in moments, the old man fell in a heap to the ground. No heartbeat and no breathing. For the first time in his entire life, Abraham felt free from fear. He had thought about hurting his father many times before, but knew he’d never have the strength or the courage to attempt such a feat. He’d figured he’d be overcome with remorse and yet strangely, as he stood there the victor, he felt nothing but joy at the sight in front of him.

  He took refuge with his paternal grandfather, a man who had shown up at the house the next day under the pretense of mourning, and he felt the presence his grandson possessed. He recognized it clearly, as he had once held it as well. No one thought twice about his father’s death; in fact, he could count those mourning on no fingers.

  The grandfather taught the boy everything there was to know about his destiny and his gift, but as it is with all people, Abraham still held the gift of free will. And his free will was shaped by sixteen years of abuse and hatred that had permanently etched itself onto a twisted and angry soul.

  When the lessons were done, his grandfather disappeared and Abraham vanished into the world.

  As Grims do, he sensed others where he lived and grew angry at the sheer amount of them with clean souls. He wanted an army, a group that would rise up and give him the power over others that he’d never had as a boy. An army like the first Great War between the Grims and the Healers – only this time, the Grims would be victorious.

  But how would he build such an army, he pondered? He began an attempt to recruit Grims holding the potential to turn dark. The number was miniscule. Most had been wiped out eons ago during the war and if there were others, they kept well hidden. Creating and extending his bloodline was another option, since his lifestyle had altered his genes into an incensed form that he could pass on to future generations. Yet that meant attempting to actually fall in love – an idea he was sickened by, having witnessed one of the poorest relationships known to man in his parents – and giving up his own gift with the hopes of passing it down. He’d never lead an army and claim the victory he sought.

  If he never loved a woman, though, his powers would stay. He could create an entire clan of children that way, without ever having to give up his strength.

  It wasn’t hard to do. The working girls were a perfect opportunity. A rough life on the streets created within these weakened women their own set of anger; an anger that could be seen as a predisposition for their children. A double dose, he liked to call it. And with such a problematic life, the women welcomed the protection he offered in exchange for their children. Evil breeds evil, he always laughed to himself.

  As the children grew he trained them, casting off those who harbored no ill-will or showed no potential as Grims. If they made their way in the world or fell victim to it, he didn’t care. He only cared about the menacing children he sheltered. Since his own growth rate was slowed, he continued the pattern and created generation after generation of children, teaching them to do the same. It was a waiting game at first but he knew that in mere decades he would have the army he desired.

  “Grandfather,” one of the boys called in the midst of their training.

  The boy had been lost to Abraham for some time, the result of a broken woman having second thoughts about the deal she’d made with him and his abhorrently evil Grim son. She’d disappeared while pregnant with Abraham’s grandchild and with so many others to worry about, Abraham let it go. It hadn’t taken much later on to locate the boy. They could always sense their own, especially when it came down to blood. He’d found him disheveled and terrified after having witnessed the death of his girlfriend shortly before.

  “Yes Devin?” he replied.

  30 INNOCENCE

  He tossed and turned in his sleep; what little sleep there was. Uncomfortable hospital chairs mixed with beeping machines, which grew louder and louder as each new device was hooked up to monitor yet another failing body part. He awoke with a startle to the sound of Rose’s voice humming her mom a lullaby, and set Addie’s hand carefully down on the bed.

  “Hey darlin’,” he smiled. Rose had her mother’s smile and his heart couldn’t help but melt anytime either of them used it. Rose was lying next to her mom on the bed, Addie’s right hand clutched tightly within both of Rose’s.

  “Hey AJ!”

  “You been here long?”

  “A little while. Gram went to go get something to eat. We didn’t want to wake you up. I was trying to be quiet.”

  “It’s alright. It’s about time for me to wake up anyway. How’s she doing?”

  “Same. But she’ll be better soon, I just know it.”

  His silence would have spoken volumes to anyone but the determined little girl. He kept his mouth shut with his unwillingness to break her heart before it was time. He wasn’t about to lie to her, either.

  “I bet she likes when you hold her hand,” he whispered. He believed it, too.

  “I think so, too. Her finger wiggled a little bit ago.”

  “Did it?” His voice was incredulous, momentarily, until common sense reminded him this was simply a little girl with a big dream.

  “It did. I asked her to move it and she did. I told the doctor.”

  “And what did the doctor say?”

  “He said never give up hope.”

  Rose went back to tracing her mom’s hand with her fingers and AJ wandered over to the window. How would Rose react when Addie finally passed, he wondered? What if he did turn around and heal her now? Would it hurt Rose more in the long run if she had more time to build memories with her mom, before the woman was taken? Or was this the easiest path for the little girl’s heart?

  Only minutes before, the fogginess had begun to clear. Addie had focused everything within her on that one finger. Rose’s hands were warmer than AJ’s and she relished the feel of them. They felt innocent and sweet. She wanted to fight to wake up, fight to get back to this little girl who was putting all her faith in the belief that her mom would wake up.

  “Can you tap your finger mama?” she had heard the voice whisper to her. “Can you do it for me?”

  Addie had struggled and nothing happened.

  “Just a little while longer mama. I know it’s hard, but hang in there a little longer. I promise that everything will be okay. We’re going to take care of you,” she heard the tiny voice saying.

  Addie focused again. She could feel her hands again and was regaining the feeling in her body. Now if she could just focus the energy to move her finger.

  Tap.

  She was flooded with joy; she’d done it. Surely Rose had seen, she thought. The euphoria was short lived as the doctor’s voice entered
the room for their hourly check.

  “And how’s our patient?” he said in Rose’s direction.

  “She moved her finger.”

  “That’s just a reflex, little one. Don’t get your hopes up too high yet, okay?”

  Rose was silent but for some reason, Addie didn’t sense any sadness from the little girl. Sheer determination was the only feeling running through her at the moment.

  She tapped again.

  Two taps of a finger completely wore her out. Days ago she was slinging fence posts and now she could hardly tap a single finger twice.

  She drifted into a form of sleep, hearing AJ and Rose beckon to her, mustering every ounce of energy to tap again. She could hear the doctor in the room. She wanted to show him.

  She tapped.

  And then she slept.

  Her mind woke up to the silence, the sound of beeps having diminished to a dull roar and the mask surrounding her face no longer a hindrance. She could sense him standing over her before she even felt his hands. His touch was familiar and wanted, though she didn’t understand why. She couldn’t remember any of the time they spent together before her accident. If she couldn’t remember, she thought, why couldn’t she let go?

  The warmth of his skin on hers sent shivers – if she could call them that when she couldn’t physically shiver – up her entire body. And with a jolt, her mind was no longer hers.

  Movie clips flashed through her mind; only it wasn’t any movie she’d watched, it was everything, including the deleted scenes Benjamin had temporarily removed. She saw Robert’s truck leaving; her baby girl in her arms; Rose and AJ playing; Gram smiling at all of them; the scar on AJ’s neck; Devin; the field; Rose’s leg; AJ’s kiss; Devin throwing her across the ground; AJ pushing his entire strength into her so she’d survive. And just as quickly as it started, the movie stopped and Addie felt invigorated.

  “AJ,” Rose called from across the room, her voice happy and innocent.

  “Yeah,” he replied, his gaze still focused on the gloomy sky outside the hospital room.

  It had been cloudy for days, a fitting atmosphere for the general situation. He turned to look back at Rose when the little girl didn’t answer.

  He saw Addie’s finger move.

  He nearly slid across the shiny, slick tile floor as he lunged at the bedside. Maybe he was losing his mind, he thought.

  Rose giggled as Addie’s pointer finger tapped the little girl’s hand again.

  “Addie?”

  Her name rolled off his tongue, slow and drawn out, as though the end of the word might make her disappear into unconsciousness again.

  She tapped again.

  “Addie, if you can hear me, tap Rose’s hand twice.”

  Tap. Tap.

  “Rose, stay here! I’m going to go get the doctor!”

  AJ raced out of the room and down the hall to a bustling nursing station, screaming for the doctor. Hospital personnel came running back with him and through the door, shifting Rose off to the side and trying to understand between her and AJ, what was going on.

  “She moved her finger,” AJ nearly yelled. “When we asked her to, she moved it!”

  “It’s just a reflex, son,” the doctor said whilst rolling his eyes.

  “It’s not a reflex. We asked her and she did it.”

  “Then show me,” the doctor replied. AJ could see in the old man’s eyes that he’d been through this before with a less than spectacular ending. In most cases, the doctor would have been right, he thought. But today, Rose’s faith would prove him wrong.

  “Addie, this is Rose and AJ. Can you tap my hand for me?”

  Nothing.

  “Rose, come here,” he whispered, stretching out an arm and guiding a nurse out of the way to allow the pint-sized girl to come through. “Rose, ask your mom to tap her finger for us.”

  “Mama, can you tap your finger again?”

  Tap.

  “Addie, can you tap your finger twice on Rose’s hand if you can hear us?”

  Tap. Tap.

  The doctor stood stunned as the nurses began smiling one by one. It wasn’t exactly a full-out miracle, but it was the start of one.

  The staff got to work checking stats and numbers, drawing blood and frantically writing notes. AJ was anxious for the group to dissipate. Then he could open himself up to his visions. It was too risky to do it with so many people around. The beeping and commotion continued around the bedside as Rose and AJ held Addie’s hand together.

  “I told you,” she whispered to him.

  An hour later the commotion had died down.

  “We can’t explain it,” the doctor said as he flipped through page after page of medical jargon. “No virus, no infection, no explanation for why she is in a coma and her organs are failing. And as quickly as that happened, no explanation as to why it all turned around. The respirator is out; if she wakes up, maybe she can help us determine what happened. We found no abnormalities in her blood work. I’m at a total loss.”

  “Sometimes you just have to believe in miracles,” Rose said.

  The doctor smiled and laughed it off. The perfectly logical explanation of a little girl was lost on a man of science.

  When the room was clear, AJ walked over to Addie’s bed.

  “Are you going to use your magic?” Rose asked him. He’d almost forgotten her knowledge of his gift and he simply smiled back at her.

  “I can’t heal her, Rose.”

  “You don’t have to now. She already is.”

  “Let’s just take things one day at a time, okay?”

  “Why doesn’t anyone believe me? I just know it. I can feel it. She’s my mom and I know that she is going to walk out of here with me.”

  AJ didn’t argue with her. He needed to see for himself if anything had changed. Instead, he placed his hand gently on Addie’s arm and let himself see her future. His eyes closed, the visions flashing through his mind. The visions were the same as before, except this time, his vision of the funeral expanded to show Rose and Gram crying and Addie standing with them.

  Had he healed her in his sleep, he wondered? His guard was down and he had been holding her hand and… her future had entirely changed. He realized in that moment that there were no repercussions in those visions; Addie lived and lived well. What had he done?

  He opened his eyes and looked down just as Addie opened hers.

  “I remember it all,” she stammered through pursed lips.

  31 PREPARATIONS

  “I’ve got a little task for you,” Abraham laughed, sitting at the head of an ornately carved table, which closely resembled his cane. Two hundred miles from Lee seemed like a safe distance to set his plan into action.

  “An enjoyable one this time, I hope.”

  “Yes, I think you’ll all find this rather enjoyable.”

  Abraham glanced around the table at the group of mostly gruff looking men and women donned in blacks and grays. He had chosen fifteen of them: his prized warriors, the angriest of his clan, an eccentric group for sure. While they all dressed in similar colors, all appeared glaringly different.

  Some maintained a clean cut appearance as others sported wild beards and sideburns. From leather to cotton, their clothing ran the gamut. Leather and denim topped with studs and metal decorated abnormally fit physical bodies.

  The women proved equally intense. Ponytails mixed with dyed and spiked hair topped off bodies fit to do damage. Tank tops and black rimmed eyes looked up at their leader in admiration.

  The only similarity amongst the degenerates at the table was the fury in their eyes and a shared desire to rule the world. They’d spent years training and testing their limits. They’d fought and some had lost, only building the thirst in the others for domination.

  “There’s a man,” Abraham spoke, “who has wronged one of our own. He’s a Healer – and one of the strongest there are. He’s got power we haven’t seen the likes of and yet he is only one man. He tricked your kin Devin, murdering h
im without cause, before defiling his body and his memory for the sake of gaining a higher power. They discarded him like trash, breaking their own rules and the rules of our ancestors.”

  The mutterings around the table started, brethren making pacts with one another to destroy anyone bringing dishonor to their family. The anger was palpable, fists pounding and rising heartbeats infiltrating the space among them.

  “Quiet down,” Abraham cackled.

  He slowly and calmly began his walk around the table while carefully looking each of his kin in the eye.

  “I’m an old man now, as you can see. I’ve created you and cared for you; trained you and fed you. I have built an empire for you. I have found the necessary enemy and provided you with an opportunity to take the control that was stolen from our people so long ago. I cannot fight this battle; I need you to fight it for me. And when we rule, we rule together.”

  He basked in the glory of shouts from the crowd.

  “We’re in Father!”

  “We will wage this for you, Grandfather!”

  His smile spread even wider across his creased cheeks. The rally cries filled him with strength and built the adrenaline flowing through him.

  “It is up to you, my children and grandchildren, to take down this man and take away the higher power of the Healers. He’s threatened by another Grim – a weak and peaceful Grim. This Grim is of no use to us. He has the potential for, shall we say, persuasion; however, I don’t think he will ever fully give in. He won’t cause us any problems. He wants this Healer out of his life as much as we do. This Healer, McCallister, has his guard up for the Grim, too. They both love the same woman. And we all know there’s not much that can make men hate each other more than the quest for the love of a single woman.”