04 Last

by Lynnie Purcell

  I stopped moving forward, though my whole body trembled with the desire to finish the job. It took all of my willpower to keep my place.

  “Go,” I commanded her.

  She did not need to be told twice. She ran off down the street without a backwards glance. Her feet took her from our sight before I had time to catch up to the carnage I had caused. For the first time in my life, I felt no guilt at what I had done. The logic in my brain refused to let the emotions have their way. It had been necessary. I had tempered anger with compassion.

  I turned back to the others and saw that they were watching me. They were frozen in various forms of aggression. Daniel and Reaper were the only ones not reaching for their weapons, but their faces also suggested their shock. They were still on top of the building, looking down at me.

  “What?” I asked Daniel, who could not seem to stop staring.

  “Um…” Daniel looked to Reaper for help.

  “How about we get out of here, before that girl brings backup,” Reaper suggested, instead of answering.

  “Sounds good,” I replied.

  Reaper and Daniel exchanged a meaningful look that I had no doubt was about what they had just witnessed and jumped off the building to join us. Their landing was smooth, though it too dented the hard pavement. Reaper pointed at the bodies of the Seekers surrounding me.

  “You should burn them,” Reaper said.

  “Oh…” I said. “Of course.”

  I moved away from the bodies and held out my hand. The fire was not difficult to find. It felt tied in to my anger now – and I had plenty of that to spare. I released the deluge and the bodies, as well as the blood, quickly disappeared from the alley. My task finished, I held out my hand to the group. The Saints who were less familiar with me were hesitant to touch me, fearing what my hands could do, but Reaper nodded encouragingly. It was a nod to remind them that I was on their side. They finally touched my hand, and I felt a whirlwind of their amazement, pride and ultimate fear. Those emotions haunting me, I pulled them in to the world of the in-between, to take them to the city made of vines. To take them home.

  The first city was not our only stop. It was not our only rescue mission.

  After I dropped the first group off at the vine-made platform, Reaper shared another nameless city with me. We quickly fell in to a pattern of rescue, retrieve and return to the city to drop the survivors off. Some of the Saints were in similar situations when we found them – others were simply waiting with worried expressions; they had been hunted by the Seekers but had fought their own battles and had emerged victorious. Whenever there were Seekers to be fought, I reacted without thought. Many of the Seekers kept zombie-Watchers with them. It was always disturbing to face the dead. Each time it brought shivers to my body.

  Daniel and Reaper grew used to my fighting, though the Saints I rescued maintained varying levels of shock and awe. I did not try to explain myself to them, or make them understand, I just did what needed to be done. Reaper and Daniel were my constant allies in the fight. They understood. They did what they could to help.

  City after city passed in a blur of rescuing, fighting and reclaiming the Saints Reaper had lost contact with over the course of a day. With each new city, a clearer picture of what was going on the world formed. News followed us. The news was not good.

  The Seekers were starting to show themselves in public. They were not shy about the violence they caused or letting the zombie-Watchers be seen. Panic based in confusion and fear was starting to spread among the humans. People were being killed in the streets. Seekers were spreading violence to the world. There was news of riots, of regular people taking advantage of the chaos to loot and hurt. There was more news of Seekers hunting down innocent Watchers and murdering them and their families in the streets. The police were helpless against the force of Seekers. They could not stop them; they did not know how to respond. People slow to keep up with the Seekers. The chaos was spreading. Marcus’ bombings were just the beginning. His mission had been fear – and he was succeeding.

  The news of the attacks and riots were frustrating. There was little we could do in the face of these reports. We could not track down every Seeker in every city in the world and expect to make it out alive every time. Dividing our forces only made us vulnerable. The Seekers outnumbered us; that number would only grow if we tried to fight back with split forces. We could only save the Saints and hope that killing Marcus would end the attacks.

  I lost track of the number of people we saved and the cities we visited. They were all the same. They were all filled with bad news and fear. It was day when Reaper finally spoke of King and Preacher again.

  “This is the last of my people,” Reaper said, as a group of fifteen stepped out from the shadows of a building to meet us.

  Some of them looked scared; they were the Watchers the Saints had saved from the Seekers’ wrath. The Saints who had rescued them looked angry. They had seen the damage of the Seekers firsthand. They were all too aware of the darkness that was spreading around the world.

  “Let’s take them back to camp then go see about King and Preacher,” Reaper commanded.

  “Sounds good to me,” I replied.

  “We should be cautious,” Daniel added. “Marcus will have people watching the terrain.”

  “It might be best to bring Serenity along,” Reaper admitted grudgingly. “She can keep us from being noticed.”

  “If she’s healed,” I said.

  “She should be,” Daniel replied.

  “Fine,” I replied.

  I stuck out my hands, in what was becoming a habitual gesture, and felt the pull of the darkness. When we appeared on the platform, it was surrounded by curious Watchers waiting to hear more of the outside world. Daylight was gently streaming in through the cracks in the vines, but even it was not enough truly to brighten the vine city that had been created under the canopy. The gentle light was enough for my advanced eyes.

  It was enough light to see Alex and Eli walking up the long winding stairs together. It was enough to see Reaper’s consequent reaction when he saw Alex’s hand tucked around Eli’s arm. It was enough to see her happy expression. Reaper’s eyes hardened and I felt a swift, hurt anger surround his senses. He turned away from the sight and focused on the room Serenity had been taken to heal. I stared at Alex, wondering if she had made her choice. Her eyes widened when she saw Reaper’s reaction, and she pulled her hand away from Eli’s arm. She had not expected to be caught being affectionate with him. She finally looked at me. Her blue eyes were full of fear that she had made a mistake. My eyes narrowed as I looked at her, but I could not tell what mistake she had made.

  Reaper knocked on the outside of Serenity’s room harder than was warranted. The whole platform shook with his aggression. Serenity did not take long to step out. Her face unscarred, her body completely healed from the fight, she walked outside with her normal, casual swish of her hips.

  “Yes, darling?” Serenity asked Reaper.

  “I need a favor,” Reaper replied in a grouchy voice.

  “Yes?” Serenity asked.

  “We’re going to get Preacher and King from Israel,” Reaper said. “I was wondering if you could help us with your talent. I am uncertain who will be watching.”

  “Of course,” Serenity replied. “I can get some of the nine’s warriors to come with us, if you need a fighting force.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Reaper said. “We have Clare.”

  Serenity frowned at me but did not argue with Reaper’s words. She accepted his choice easily. She stepped closer to me. Reaper followed her. His eyes turned cold as they switched back to Alex. I had never seen Reaper look more like a human man. There was no leader of Watchers – there was just a man consumed by anger and hurt.

  Deciding an argument was close, I held out my hands to Serenity, Reaper and Daniel. They took them swiftly, and I pulled us back in the world of darkness. As I did, I felt Alex’s stare trail after us as much as th
e fire from the explosion in New York. It was hard not to feel the full weight of her x-ray stare, even over the distance we were traveling. The weight of Reaper on my hand as we moved was heavy – it was as if he was fighting the pull onward. His mind remained on the platform, with Alex.

  Chapter 17

  The mountains of Israel were fully lit with the bright sun that was hanging overhead. It was farther along here than in the rainforest, brightening our task, but making it easier for others to see us as well.

  Serenity pulled her gift around us as we landed. I did not feel any different, but I could sense the change. When I looked down, there was nothing but cracked rock and dry, dusty sand. My body was missing. I allowed a moment to deal with the strangeness of the sight then I took stock of the feel of the others touch against mine. They were all still holding on to my hand.

  Do we need to stay touching to keep up the illusion? I asked Serenity.

  No, she replied. But it is best if we stay close to one another.

  Fine, I replied. Which way? I asked Reaper.

  Straight ahead, he replied. They should be somewhere near that mountain.

  Okay.

  I let go of their hands, all except Daniel, who kept his hand in mine. I could tell he felt more comfortable knowing for sure that I was nearby. I felt the same comfort.

  We walked across the landscape, our eyes peeled for any sign of Preacher or King. As I walked, I felt a strange feeling in my gut. It was the feeling of familiarity. I knew the mountain range and the feeling of the sun against my skin. The landscape was not as foreign as I had always imagined. It was almost…home.

  My eyes searched the horizon for some sign of my friends. I knew that Preacher could have any number of illusions up to keep us from finding them, ones that could lead us in to any number of dangerous situations. I hoped he would see us before the illusions caught up with us.

  We walked to the mountain. A harsh wind followed us as we walked. It filled the air with sound, making it impossible to hear very far in the distance, even with our super hearing abilities. Daniel kept an eye on the future as we walked – he tried to see everything that would happen. The weight of his mind searching time was not as strong as it had been when I was human. Part of my brain watched with him. The other part kept an eye on the present, expecting the details surrounding us to tell me where King and Preacher were hiding…if they were hiding at all.

  Finding them was not as complicated as I imagined, but it was still a surprise.

  We were at the base of the mountain when I saw a lonely tree with large branches reaching up to the perfect, blue sky. The tree shimmered in the air. I saw a sparkle of fuzziness around the tree. Something urged me to look away. The shimmer of the tree was nothing more than a trick of the eye, the sun playing with my mind. My curiosity was wasted on the tree. I ignored the impulse to look away. I was too curious. I pulled Daniel over to the tree, to investigate further. The impulse to look away increased. Daniel’s feet started to drag with the weight of the impulse. I knew there was something wrong. My gut told me the problem was with the tree. I urged Daniel along with a steady pull on his hand.

  As soon as we got close to the tree, the illusion shattered. The tree was not as empty as it had appeared at first sight.

  King and Preacher were hanging upside down on the tree. Their entire bodies were wrapped in silver chains. They hung from the topmost branch. They were doing their best to try to escape. The chains swung in time to their struggles.

  “Maybe if we swing hard enough, the branch will brake,” King said.

  “We’ve gone through this…” Preacher said in his patient voice. “We will still be bound by the chains.”

  “I know. I’m just trying to think of options,” King replied.

  “You thought of that one yesterday,” Preacher said.

  It was the first time I had ever heard Preacher sound cross.

  “Or maybe you could wait for very good friends to help you down,” I said.

  Preacher and King looked at each other than at the landscape. Their eyes told them that their ears were hearing something impossible. I was nothing more than another illusion. Neither man spoke; they were trusting to Preacher’s illusion to keep them safe. My voice could be a trick designed to figure out their location. There was a brief pause in which I felt Serenity and Reaper move close and then we all reappeared. I was flesh and bone again, instead of a wisp in the wind. Serenity had taken away her talent. Preacher and King looked at us with relief dawning on their faces.

  “This is very curious indeed,” Daniel added.

  “How about you have a little less curiosity and a little more help us get the hell down?” King asked.

  Daniel moved to the tree where the chain had been tied off. He unwound the chain from the trunk and lowered King and Preacher to the ground. Once they were down, Reaper and I undid the chains from their bodies. Preacher sighed in relief as I helped him with the last of the chain, while King looked between our curious faces with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

  “What happened?” Reaper asked.

  “That’s a story better told somewhere else,” Preacher said. “The devil has eyes on even the brightest of places.”

  “Right,” Reaper agreed.

  I held out my hands to the others. The grabbed them, and I felt the immediate pull of the darkness. When we landed in the forest, Preacher and King looked around the platform curiously. They had been expecting a ship, not a forest.

  “It looks as if we both have stories to share,” Preacher said.

  “Yours first,” Reaper commanded.

  “Good news: Marcus is definitely in Israel,” King said.

  “Bad news?” Daniel asked.

  “You are such a pessimist,” I said.

  “Realist,” Daniel corrected.

  “Semantics. Maybe they only have good news,” I said.

  “They were tied to a tree,” Daniel pointed out.

  “Do you mind if I tell the story?” King asked.

  “Go ahead,” I said.

  “The bad news,” King said with a grin at me, “is that he has more people than we thought. He’s got thousands of Watchers and Nightstalkers around his fortress.”

  “The Seekers he has out terrorizing people must be a small force, then,” Daniel said. “No wonder so many of them were easy to kill. They were probably all young ones Marcus thinks of as expendable. His real fighting force is still in Israel.”

  “Is that why you let me do most of the fighting?” I asked.

  “It was good practice,” Daniel teased.

  “So, he has more people than we think,” Reaper mused. “How close were you able to get?”

  “Close enough to see that he’s been digging in to the ground. We also saw him make a speech from his tower,” King said.

  “Marcus made a speech?” Daniel asked. “Did you hear what he said?”

  “Something about a new order – a new world where his people would be kings, where they suffered no rules, no fear of death or pain…it was crazy talk,” King said.

  “Sounds about right,” I said.

  “His people were real worked up, though,” King said. “The guy definitely has a way with words.”

  “And how did we come to find you hanging by a tree?” Reaper asked.

  King looked embarrassed. Preacher did not hold the same embarrassment. He accepted it is a situation they could not have helped.

  “A patrol snuck up on us,” Preacher replied.

  “How come they didn’t just kill you?” Daniel asked.

  “They wanted to, uh, ‘discuss’ what we were doing hanging around the fortress…” King replied. “Who had sent us, etc…While they were tying us up I managed to put a seed in to one of their brains. It took a while, but he finally went in search of the third person he thought he saw hanging around with us. When he and his group were gone, Preacher put up the illusion that we had escaped the chains. They gave chase. Luckily, they didn’t see through the illus
ion.”

  “Except that you couldn’t get down?” I asked.

  “Right,” King said.

  “Were you able to find out anything specific at all?” Reaper asked. “Anything to suggest what his goal is with the bombings and the attacks, or why he was digging in to the earth?”

  “Well, the digging part sort of felt like he was looking for something. The bombings and attacks, I have no idea,” King replied. “I hadn’t even heard of it.”

  “He is preparing, however,” Preacher replied. “I got the feeling he was waiting for something…he was close to what he was after. Time is not on our side.”

  “Alright…thank you,” Reaper said.

  There was a feeling of movement behind us. I turned and saw that River had climbed the stairs to join us. Behind her were Moira, Margaret, Jackson, and Alex – they had come to see what was going on. The whispers of the other Watchers around us had reached them. Word had gotten out of Preacher and King’s return. When River saw King alive and safe, a flurry of emotions went through her eyes. She could not hide the emotions. She stepped across the space separating her from him, grabbed King by the front of the shirt, and kissed him fiercely. King was shocked at the kiss, but he did not resist the touch or the kiss. I felt my eyes widen. The others were similarly shocked. When the shock wore off, we started laughing and Jackson whistled in appreciation.

  River broke away from King and touched him on the chest.

  “I’m glad you are safe,” River told him.

  His mouth moved as he searched for a proper response.

  “Obviously,” he finally said.

  “Well…” I said around the awkwardness of the moment.

  “Yep,” Daniel agreed.

  “Would you two like a moment?” Reaper teased them.

  “I think they just had one,” I said.

  River turned to Reaper. She seemed unbothered by the fact that she had just so effectively shown King her emotions. She was focused beyond her personal life; she had a mission. Her body language suggested she was eager to continue the kiss. She couldn’t ignore that as much as she could our comments. I knew she and King would talk – they would figure out where they stood. I was just happy River had finally stopped dwelling on King and had decided to act.