Winter's Storm: Retribution (Winter's Saga #2)

by Karen Luellen

  Alik was there in an instant. “Who’s there?” he barked in a voice I had never heard him use.

  “Cole! It’s Cole,” our friend’s voice was tense and out of breath.

  Alik opened the door just wide enough to let our friend in.

  “Would you guys quit doing that? That’s the second time in one day you’ve bolted from me and left me coughing in your dust! You’re gonna give a guy a complex you…” Cole stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Maze on the ground.

  “What happened?” Cole’s eyes widened looking around at the bags being packed. “What’s going on?”

  “Williams sent someone to break into mom’s room while we were…,” my voice caught in my throat. “…while we were outside, and he shot Maze. Mom’s okay, but terrified. I don’t know what stopped him from finishing what he started, but fortunately, mom doesn’t seem hurt,” I managed to say with only a half-dozen huge tears falling off my pale skin.

  Cole had already hurried to Margo to look her over himself. “I’m so sorry Dr. Winter,” he said while gently holding her hand. “You must have been terrified. Don’t worry, everything’s going to be okay,” he said gently patting her tears dry with fresh tissues. “Dad’s going to be pretty upset when he finds out what happened. Between you and me, he’s pretty nuts about you, you know,” Cole spoke softly.

  My brothers and I were rushing around, preparing for a hasty departure, but Cole was sitting very still beside my mom. He was just holding her hand and carefully fixing her blankets around the I.V. tube still dripping pain medicine into her vein.

  Here I was worried about my own feelings, my coyote, my secret crush, and there was the sweetest boy I’d ever known who had nothing to gain from being around me or my family…and it was he who stopped to hold my mother’s hand. It was Cole’s appreciation of a human’s most basic needs that stopped me in my tracks. Was I really so selfish not to have seen my mother just needed to be held?

  From the door we heard a series of beeps as Dr. Andrews entered the security code and burst through the door. “What happened? What’s going on?”

  Part 3

  Seasons Change

  March 1st

  Five months after the Winter family went into hiding.

  Location:

  Undisclosed

  17 Casting Light

  At 3:14am I woke from the same dream I’ve been having most nights and decided I needed to get up and brush my teeth. Not wanting to turn on the bathroom light, I stumbled to the sink, felt around until the familiar mushy toothpaste tube landed under my left hand, and the cylindrical shape of my automatic brush under my right.

  Deciding I was still too lazy to flip on the light switch to see where the toothpaste was landing when I tried to squeeze it onto the bristles, I opted for tipping my head back and squirting some paste directly into my open mouth.

  Ah yes, the cleansing beauty of toothpaste. I sighed deeply as I brushed my teeth. Feeling the bristles massage my gums helped me organize my thoughts. I know that probably seems weird to most people. But, that’s just it, isn’t it? I’m not like most people. Heck, according to my little brother’s research, I’m not even human.

  We’ll get back to that later. I digress; I was going to tell you about my dreams. So, in this one I’m able to fly. I know, not unusual for a dream. But, I don’t just fly; I can also throw streams of light from my hands as I’m battling a faceless evil. The light doesn’t come from me, in my dreams, but through me. It’s like I am some sort of angel of God, and I’m battling against demons.

  Tonight’s dream was especially vivid. In it, I knew there were children being held captive just below the surface of the earth, and I had to go rescue them. I prayed for strength as I leaped into the air and landed hard, punching the ground with my fist. A huge hole opened, and I dove down into it. There was blackness everywhere. The blackness singed my skin, but I kept flying. I passed droves of wicked creatures writhing in pain, but I wasn’t there for them. I was being directed where to go. I had to find the children.

  The heat could have been suffocating, if it weren’t for the cool light I felt in me, protecting me. The stench from the wickedness surrounding me was horrible. I knew I was only able to survive this because of the light’s pure strength. It was as though I had a suit of armor made of the most beautiful iridescent light. It was both on me and inside me so I was aware of the pain going on outside this protection, but unaffected by it.

  I rounded a corner and knew I had to punch through the wall in front of me to find the children. With a deep breath and intense focus, I punched the cement-like barricade and it shattered open. There were the children, cowering in the far corner. I rushed to them, gathered them and flew back through the wicked rooms of this hell.

  When the shadows would try to attack me for taking these innocent, delicious souls away, I simply held out my hand, palm up, and a pillar of light would shoot from my wrist blasting all the darkness away from me and my precious cargo.

  I flew the children back up through the hole I had punched in the earth’s surface and set their feet gently on the ground. A crowd had gathered. I handed the children to these good people telling them to take care of the children—I had to go back for more. I dove back down into the wretched, stench-filled, black hole and kept battling as I searched for more children I knew were still there.

  Again and again, I repeated my mission. Each time I would find two or three of the innocent ones, gather them up, cast light to clear our paths and fly them back up to the surface.

  Every time I had this dream, it was similar in that I was casting light against evil and rescuing children. Sometimes the location was different, but they had a common theme: Heat, fire, burning flesh, stench, screaming, pain and innocent souls.

  The souls of the innocent were delicious to the demons. A delicacy. They craved them. The evil became stronger the more innocent souls they consumed.

  Well, now you see why I felt the need to get up in the middle of the night and brush my teeth. Some nights, I’m dripping with sweat and have to take a shower, and change my sweat-soaked bedding. Some mornings, I wake and my jaw is hurting so badly I can’t even open my mouth to shove that proverbial toothbrush into it. Apparently, I clench my teeth during these dreams. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but when I’ve been fighting in my sleep all night, even I feel the effects come morning.

  I’m still trying to figure what it all means, but I can tell you one thing: Something huge is on the horizon, and I think I’m being prepared for it through my dreams.

  18 The Life of the Hunted

  If my family and I weren’t being hunted by a madman, our new life would be pretty great. We were staying with an old professor mom and Theo worked with some twenty-five years ago. This was the man who secured those fake IDs for mom when she first took me and my brothers away from Dr. Williams and the Facility as babies. This man had been a true friend to my mother all these years by keeping her secret while she tried to raise me and my brothers in seclusion on our Texas ranch.

  It was he who Dr. Andrews called from a newly purchased cell phone even as we drove away from the Kansas hospital that day five months ago. His name is Dr. James St. Paul, but he insists everyone call him “Paulie.”

  Paulie lives in Hawaii and he can usually be found in one of two places: his personal laboratory at one end of his house or out on the waves, surfing. Paulie is a bit excentric. He’s always wearing his swim trunks, even under his lab coat, making him look like he’s wearing a white dress with extremely hairy, tanned legs sticking out from beneath. He says you have to be ready in an instant to hop on your board if the waves are good.

  The man is probably sixty-five, and besides surfing and winning awards for biogenetic engineering, he also plays a right-handed guitar upside down to accommodate his left-handedness and can catch a gecko without breaking its tail. Sounds like one very cool guy, right? He is. He’s like the grandfather we never had. Not having a family of his own, Paulie seemed to lov
e the role.

  Alik, Evan and Cole worship the ground he walks on. Paulie has taken them under his wing and taught them how to live like locals. They’ve done everything from cliff diving and parasailing to whittling and hiking.

  That’s right, Cole and Theo came with us. Theo gave up his entire tenure and practice in Kansas to be with our mom. Cole, of course, came with his dad. What sixteen-year-old wouldn’t want to graduate from high school early and go live in Hawaii rent free?

  It has been a season of rest and recuperation for mom, but for me and my brothers, it’s been a time of reflection and redirection. Once the novelty of Hawaii wore off, my brothers and I decided it was time to devise a plan of attack. We created goals together and divided the tasks. That was about four months ago.

  Evan was to work with Dr. Andrews and Paulie on the study of our blood to try to determine what was going on with our metahuman abilities. If Williams wanted our blood so badly, we needed to figure out why.

  Alik studied plans of attack both defensive and offensive. He studied information about Dr. Williams’ himself, including all his holdings, associates and projects. He worked on digging up anything he could about the doctor’s past. Who was this guy? Where did he come from? Who was his family? What made him tick?

  My task was a very internal one. I worked on trying to control my ability to channel into someone’s emotions. I was getting better at it, but there was no way I could seek someone I only knew one-dimensionally from thousands of miles away and tune into to their feelings. That just wasn’t happening. Yet.

  We were all beginning to feel very anxious that something big was going to happen soon. Williams would not just sit back forever while we tinkered with our meta abilities on the white sandy beaches of Hawaii. He had plans for us and revenge in his wicked heart.

  19 The Family Meeting

  “We need to have a family meeting. Dr. Andrews, Paulie and I need to discuss our laboratory findings,” Evan’s eyes reflected the gravity of his request. He had come into the living room and knelt beside our much recovered mother. She and Alik were reading thick books as they sat side by side on the sofa, just as they had done for as long as Evan could remember. Margo was such a devoted mother. It was obvious to everyone she was happiest when surrounded by her children.

  Margo put down her book and looked deeply into her youngest son’s eyes. Seeing the profound seriousness and concern there, she whispered, “All right, Evan. Gather everyone here, and we’ll talk.”

  Alik’s previously relaxed posture immediately responded to the tone of the room and he sat ridged, as if poised to leap into protective battle. Evan caught his eye before he stood to leave. Their exchange was solemn.

  Fifteen minutes later, the entire household was present and accounted for. The usually cozy living room filled with local Hawaiian décor including small palms and wicker furniture felt decidedly tense.

  Theo, Paulie and Evan stood fidgeting by the bay window and mom, Alik and I sat uncomfortably on the sofa. Maze whined softly beside me sensing there was something wrong. Without thinking, I reached to scratch my friend behind his alert ears. Cole paced nervously behind the couch.

  Evan cleared his throat to begin. “We’ve checked and triple checked. We even tried changing the variables and looked for environmental factors that would contribute to or alter the results. Nothing. It’s fact. The mutations created in our bodies with the serum given to us as children did give us ultra abilities—more than any of the other metas Williams created—but at a price,” Evan’s voice cracked just enough to give his emotions away. Evan, the smartest of all of them, the baby, who was all logic and no emotion—Evan was trying not to cry.

  “What Evan’s trying to say is that the data has indicated your life spans have been severely shortened because of the ‘metahuman’ demands placed on your bodies,” Paulie said with empathy in his voice.

  Mom looked like she had just been punched in the stomach. She was sitting on the couch, surrounded by her children. Alik and I sat on either side of her protectively. “What do you mean ‘severely shortened!’” Mom’s usual calm was gone. Instead, her voice sounded frantic.

  “Margo, imagine it’s very similar to the cliché ‘burning the candle at both ends.’ The children’s bodies were human. Dr. Williams’ super cocktail forced their human bodies to go into hyper mode. Their performance levels doubled and tripled in some areas. Our data points to a sort of countdown. The children are at or near their peak level of performance right now,” Theo leaned in and held Margo’s hand as he spoke.

  “How much time do we have?” I asked, my voice sounding very far away to my own ears.

  “We’re just able to give an approximation, of course,” Evan took a deep breath, steadying himself. “And keep in mind, timelines will vary somewhat between each of us.” He breathed again.

  “Evan, spit it out! How long?” I couldn’t stop the room from spinning, I was so scared.

  “Inside eighteen months. Maybe even two years, if we’re lucky,” Evan looked from Alik to me with exhausted eyes.

  “Who’s going to go first?” my voice had no affect as I spoke to the room.

  Evan looked up at me almost pleadingly. He didn’t have to say a word. Everyone understood then—it was me. As the oldest, of course it would be me whose countdown was further along.

  “I’m not giving up, Meggie,” Evan walked over and knelt beside me. “I, er…we,” he said waving his hands toward Paulie and Dr. Andrews, “we just knew it was definitive enough to talk with the family; to let everyone know what we have so far. Maybe there’s something I just haven’t thought of yet; a way to slow the process or replenish ourselves...”

  “Stop, Ev. It’s okay. I know this isn’t your fault. It’s none of our fault. This is just the way it is,” even as I spoke, tears were beginning to stream down my face. “We have to think long-term, even if we’re not here to live it. We have to think of what kind of world we’re going to leave behind. We have to prioritize. If we only have—” I stopped to swallow a knot of emotion, “a year left, we need to get to work. We need to leave this world better than we entered it.” My voice was painfully steady. Maybe by pretending bravery, I gathered just a hint of the real thing. I sat up straight, brushed the nonexistent lint off my shorts and stood.

  “We have a lot of work to do, boys. Let’s get started.” I began walking out of the living room and into the office where we had been collecting data on Williams.

  “Meg, it’s okay to take a few minutes to let our heads wrap around this, you know,” said Alik who was looking very pale. This had all been news to him, too.

  “What good does that do? We’re dying. Everyone dies! We just happen to know it’s going to be sooner than later for us.” My voice slipped, now edging toward shrill.

  “Meg, calm down,” Cole tried to soothe. He looked on the verge of tears.

  “I am ‘calm’ Cole Andrews. I’m probably the most calm I’ve been in a long time. Nothing like finding out you’re gonna die to add a kick-butt dose of clarity to a person’s life!”

  “What can we do to help you?” Dr. Andrews offered.

  “This isn’t just about me, you know. Please don’t think I’m so self-centered as to think this news flash only affects me. I already know there is nothing anyone can do to help me, but, by God, I can do something to help you! I can catch this asshole Williams and stop him from hurting any more kids. I can make this a better world for you to grow old in.” I waved my hands across the room at the regular humans who loved me; the humans who were staring at me with worry and fear in their eyes.

  “I’ve got to get out of here for a while.” My words came out quivering, laced with emotion.

  20 My Resolution

  My heart was screaming in my throat, but I swallowed hard and forced it away. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Instead of heading to the study as I had planned, I made a direct path to my room and threw on a pair of running shoes. I couldn’t let myself listen to the emotions explod
ing inside me. And I couldn’t let myself feel the pain I just created in the other part of Paulie’s house. I just had to run. I had to get away.

  Maze followed me to my room. He knew I was upset and was ready to be my trusty sidekick in whatever I was about to do. Ever since he was shot with a tranquilizer gun while protecting mom back in the Kansas hospital, he had been more protective of me than ever. He hardly let me out of his sight, but I really wanted to be alone.

  I grabbed the door to my bedroom on my way out and abruptly turned back to order Maze to stay. He whined pitifully, but sat on his haunches and obeyed. I shut the door to my bedroom, trapping my best friend inside. I wasn’t any sort of good company, I told myself. He will enjoy a good nap while I go work out my issues running.

  The screen door closed with a solid whack behind me as I tried to bolt from the trauma in my heart. This was just too much. I just found out I was dying. Everyone I love was in that room and they all know. I had no time to swallow what was being shoved at me so I did what I always do, I start yelling at the world in an emotional tirade. My efforts to seem completely in control are always sabotaged by my inability to breathe.

  But in the end, this isn’t about me or how I feel. I’m just a means to an end now. At least I get to decide how I’m going to end it. I refuse to just let myself die. This is not going to go well for Williams. Not at all. Now I know I have nothing left to lose.

  My feet hit the pavement with a rhythmic determination.

  My little brothers have more time than me. Maybe they can find a cure before it’s too late for them. As for me, I have already made my decision.

  Let me break it down: My objective is to terminate Williams and destroy his work. How can I make that happen? How can I use what resources I have to put this man out of commission? What does he value? Power? Money?