Dead Awakenings

by Rebekah R. Ganiere

  Tristan stared from Lisette to his mother and back again. “You’re all better.”

  “I’m normal now, yes, but I wouldn’t say I am better. Mother hasn’t yet been able to make me better than normal,” Lisette said testily.

  “Wait,” Tristan said. “You said Dad came back. Where is he? Where’s Dad?”

  “Daddy’s mind came back, but his body is still asleep, like mine used to be. Now he can only communicate telepathically. That’s how Mother’s been able to continue the work. She’s trying to figure out how to fix him now.”

  Tristan looked at his mother. “I don’t understand.”

  Evaine went to his side, horrified at what he was finding out. He looked down at her for support and she took his hand again.

  Finally Nate spoke. “We cannot allow this to continue. It’s gone too far. Think of all the lives you have destroyed.”

  “We haven’t destroyed anything. Think of what we have created. Look at what you can all do.” Lisette shoved her mother’s hands away. “Don’t you realize the great gifts you have been given? All of you have an ability now that makes you more than any human on earth. You could do anything if you wanted. Make whole governments change, make people do better, be better. You could punish those who do wrong. The world is yours for the taking. Why should we hide in the shadows? Under the ground in these retched tunnels. We could change the world. We could be gods!”

  Nate brought his hand to his forehead. “Save people? Lisette, this testing is destroying people. Look at your brother. Look at what this has done to him. He lost you, your mother, your father, and now the love of his life. Is that what you consider saving people?”

  “Tristan, I didn’t know about Evaine,” his mother pleaded. “I had no idea that she had any attachments at all. I never would have allowed her to be accepted into the trials had I known. All these years I have been trying to protect my family. Your sister, your father, and you. I wanted us to be together again, someday. I’d hoped that if I could fix your father that we would be able to come get you and be together as a family.”

  Tristan shook his head slowly. “You are both insane.”

  “I am not insane,” Lisette screamed. “Don’t you ever say that to me. I am not crazy. I am trying to be more. I want Daddy to be more. And I want to fix this screwed up, brutal world.”

  “But look at all the brutality you have created. Right here.” Nate pointed to the dead bodies scattered around. “These are needless deaths. And they kill humans as well, without conscience, without remorse. You’re using humans as guinea pigs. Sometimes, yes, you do make us more, but more times than not you change regular happy humans into killing, feeding machines. That is brutal.” Nate shook his head. “I am sorry about your father, Tristan, but this must end.”

  “Agreed.” Tristan did not take his eyes off his mother. Evaine could hear a hard edge in his voice. A maturity had crept into him in the last few hours.

  “Tristan, think, honey. Think about us all being together as a family. Lisette is all better now; think of all we could do now that we couldn’t before. We wouldn’t be restrained by her limitations anymore. All we need is to figure out what Dr. Perry did to Evaine and then we can synthesize it and give it to your father and he’ll be fine.” Mrs. Atwater took a step toward him.

  “No.” Tristan’s eyes looked angry. “Something’s wrong with you, Mother. Can you not see what you have been doing? You killed people; you ruined their lives. You ruined my life.” Tristan covered his face with his hands. “I wish I didn’t know any of this. I wish you really were dead.”

  “How can you say that? You don’t mean it. Just let me finish my work and fix Daddy. Then you’ll see. You’ll forgive me. Let me take Evaine and figure out what Dr. Perry did, and then we can be together.” She took a step forward, but Tristan pushed Evaine behind him and Luca was by Tristan’s side in a flash. A low hiss escaped Lisette’s lips at the sight.

  “It’s over, Mother. You both need to go with Nate now. I’m sure he can help you better than I can.”

  “I’m not going anywhere!” Lisette screamed and ran out from behind her mother, a gun in her hand. Tristan’s gaze went to the floor where he had dropped his gun earlier in the struggle.

  Damien got up. On his feet, he knocked Victor over. He ran toward Lisette. The gun fired wildly. The first shot was aimed at Tristan. Evaine pushed it to the ceiling. The next was toward Luca. Again Evaine pushed it off. Luca grabbed Evaine around the waist and tackled her to the floor, his body covering her. Evaine barely even noticed the movement as she listened for the sound of the bullets, pushing them away from people.

  In a lull, Evaine pulled on the gun; it flew from the little girl’s grasp and clattered across the room. Lisette howled and rushed Evaine, but in an instant Damien had her in his arms and threw back a carpet on the wall. A door was behind it. He ran through as everyone got up.

  Victor ripped the carpet from the wall and banged on the barred door, yelling every obscenity Evaine could imagine. Evaine surveyed the damage. Aron knelt at the doctor’s side. Blood seeped onto the cement from a wound to her head. Tristan knelt by her, pushing at her hair. The doctor’s vacant eyes stared at Evaine accusingly. In her wild shooting spree, Lisette had shot her mother. Tristan’s mom was dead.

  All eyes stared at the dead woman. Glancing around Evaine saw glowing eyes everywhere she looked. Cami cradled her shoulder where she had hit the floor. She stared at the doctor and licked her lips. Evaine swallowed. This was bad.

  “Victor.” Cami’s gaze never left the dead woman. “Victor, get me out!”

  Victor looked from the doctor to Cami, scooped her into his arms, and strode quickly from the room.

  Everyone else took Cami’s cue and left the scene equally as fast. When everyone was gone, Evaine looked up at Luca. His eyes scanned her face. She smiled.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I can feel you again. You were gone in my head for so long and it was so quiet.”

  Luca pulled her to her feet. Her eyes rested on a large lump by the bookcase. Pushing Luca away she rushed to her dog. She pressed her ear to his warm chest she heard his heart beating.

  “He’s alive.” At the sound of her voice Kale opened his heavy lids. Evaine choked out a sob of relief. “Who’s my good boy? Who’s mama’s big protector?” She stroked his head. Kale’s thwacking tail echoed through the room. He rolled over and sat up, using his entire tongue to clean her face.

  “That is so gross.” Luca scrunched up his face.

  “Jealous.” Evaine laughed.

  “Maybe.”

  Evaine reached up and hugged him. Over his shoulder, she saw that Tristan held his mother’s lifeless body. Evaine licked her lips. He needed her. She got to her feet and walked to him. She put her arm around his shoulders and knelt down next to him. They sat that way for a long time. Tristan stroked her hair. Silent tears dripped down. Evaine wished there was more she could do for him. The sound of footsteps broke the silence. Nate glanced toward Tristan, and then he turned away from the scene.

  “Damien’s gone. The girl too.” Nate kept his voice low. “There are about thirty Feeders left. The rest are dead. We need to get out of here. Raze and Kade are staying behind with Ronan. They’re grabbing all the computers and then setting everything alight.”

  “Evaine, you have to make him get up.” Luca moved to the far side of the room, his body tense.

  She nodded her head slightly.

  “We need to get out of here.” She touched Tristan’s shoulder gently.

  Tristan reached out with his hand and closed his mother’s eyes. A pool of blood had begun to congeal on the floor, soaking Tristan’s pants. The smell surged through Evaine’s senses, calling her to action.

  “Tristan, we need to go now. We can’t stay here. Nate’s going to set this place on fire.” Her statement seemed to jar him.

  “I have to find Dad.”

  Nate joined them. His eyes glowed brightly, restraint etched across h
is face. “He’s been taken by your sister and Damien. Shandy saw them carry him out of the tunnels. She tried to follow, but she lost them. I’m sorry.”

  Tristan’s gaze travelled back to his mother. “I need to take her with me.”

  Nate gave Evaine a sharp shake of his head before walking away.

  Evaine knew if Tristan took his mother’s body, he wouldn’t make it to the surface. Too many hungry Deaders. She tried to think fast. “But how would you explain her, and what would you do with her body?”

  “I just can’t leave her here.”

  “You have to. It’s the only way. Come on, we have to go.” She pulled on his arm. It was like trying to lift a newborn elephant off the ground. She gave him a mental tug, and he got to his feet shakily; his mother’s body slumped onto the floor. Taking Tristan by the arm Evaine led him out of the room. Luca followed closely behind them, holding Kale’s leash.

  The dark tunnels smelled of wet, moldy clothes, old garbage, a gym locker room, and blood. Bodies of dead Feeders littered the hallways. The group took a left at a T and came to a large, rusty metal door. Nate’s posture tensed as the group approached. Keeping his eyes straight ahead he stepped through. The hairs on Evaine’s neck prickled and her stomach churned. Victor grimaced. Pulling Cami closer he shielded her eyes. Tristan put his arm around her shoulder and was about to pull her through when Luca grabbed him.

  “Cover her eyes. She hasn’t seen this and there’s no reason she should.”

  Tristan nodded.

  “No, why? What’s in this room?” Evaine looked from one to the other.

  “Nothing,” Luca said before Tristan could speak. “Nothing you need to see.”

  “It’s the arena,” she said numbly.

  “You could say that,” Tristan said. “Luca’s right, you shouldn’t see this.” Pulling her close he wrapped his large arm around her head and pulled her face to his chest.

  She stepped into the room and the smell was the first thing that hit her. The decay, the putrid stench of death. There were various layers, from new and recent death all the way to weeks and months old. She could smell everything; it made her want to vomit. She heaved and covered her nose, pressing herself closer to Tristan’s side. It didn’t help. Tristan held her tighter, walking quickly. She struck something with her foot and tripped. Tristan put his arm out to stop her from falling but in doing so he let go of her. Instinctively she opened her eyes to see. She wished she hadn’t as soon as she did it. She had tripped over an arm. It was laying not that far from a half-eaten teenager. His eyes stared at her wide and cloudy, his mouth in an eternal scream. Most of his torso was gone, his rib cage ripped open. His lower half lay inside the arena.

  Evaine tried to scramble away, but landed in a pile of mangled bodies. Old people, young people, heavy people, and thin people. The Feeders hadn’t discriminated. Some bodies were as fresh as that day. A large wall-to-wall chain-link cage stood to her right. Mangled, tortured, and broken bodies lay in a heap at the side of the room. The cage floor was strewn with small body parts and blood. A dead Feeder lay rotting in a corner. A large strong arm reached out and jerked her upward, pinning her to an equally hard chest, as a cry escaped her lips. Luca soothed her and stroked her hair.

  “I asked you to do one simple thing, Tristan. If you couldn’t do it you should’ve told me. Here, take the dog.” Luca threw the leash to Tristan. Evaine started to protest that it wasn’t Tristan’s fault, but Luca stopped her. “Don’t apologize for him,” he said sternly. “This is one horror you should have been spared.” He pulled her up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way. When they reached the next tunnel he set her down but continued to hold her hand tightly. His body was tense with anxiety.

  “Ease up, would ya? I’m not gonna run away,” she said to him.

  His gaze fell on her heavily, but he didn’t loosen his grip.

  They came to a fork in the tunnels that met up with two other tunnels. Everyone else was waiting from Haven House. Several were injured. Quinten’s dead body lay in Kade’s arms. Both men were covered in blood. Bobby Lee was being supported heavily by John Casey. Half a dozen Feeders huddled together in a corner, two men and four women. Evaine peered down one of the tunnels and saw several more bodies in it.

  MJ had a huge smile on her face. “Hey all! Trey got bit by a Feeder after I knocked it to the ground. Took a chunk out of his leg. But it’s OK, baby, I got that Feeder good for ya.” She winked.

  Tristan handed Evaine Kale’s leash and walked past without a word. He headed down a tunnel alone. Evaine passed the leash to Luca and ran after him.

  “Where are you going?” She pulled him by the arm.

  He stopped and turned wearily to her. His face held a sadness that tugged at her gut. His eyes were rimmed with tears. Blood and dirt caked every inch of him. He took a deep breath. “These are your people, not mine. My mother’s now really dead. My undead little sister is a psychopath that’s run off with my undead, comatose father. I really don’t think I can take anymore.” He reached out and stroked her cheek. “If I can find my dad, maybe I can bring him to Haven House. And maybe if I take the serum then we can—”

  “Tristan, don’t! Don’t even think that! Promise you won’t even think about that. Promise me.” She was willing him to promise her with the force of her mind, but that was not her ability, and in the end he looked away, no longer able to hold her gaze.

  Tristan shook his head. “I love you. I can’t promise I won’t.”

  “Luca wants me to marry him.” She didn’t mean to say it, but she felt since he was making this break, he deserved to know.

  Tristan nodded. “Of course he does. He loves you, he would be crazy not to. What did you say?”

  Evaine looked down.

  “I see,” he said. “As much as I hate to admit it, he is a good guy. He’s part of your world now, and I need to go back to mine.” He turned to leave again.

  “Tristan I—” She didn’t get to finish what she was going to say. He turned and grabbed her. He kissed her hard and warm. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She didn’t care that everyone, including Luca, was less than twenty-feet away. Her first love was leaving her. Her Tristan, the man who had watched over her and loved her more than anyone in her lifetime.

  Suddenly it was over, and he walked away without a backward glance. She wanted to go after him, to hold him and console him, but instead she ran to Luca. She cried on his chest as he held her.

  “It’s time.” Raze’s voice came from a tunnel over. “We’ll give you three minutes, and then we’ll light it. Wait an additional five minutes for us. If we aren’t by then, we ain’t comin’.”

  Nate nodded. Everyone started quickly toward the exit. Cami held Kale’s leash in her free hand as Victor carried her past. Kale lollopped alongside with his tongue hanging out.

  The Feeders passed Evaine, and she hugged Luca a bit tighter. They eyed her warily but kept moving. Luca and Evaine followed the group up the ladder to the surface.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  They rode back to Haven House in Luca’s black sports car. He drove too fast, but his only concern was getting her to safety. They’d lived through the battle, but he knew that for Evaine, it wasn’t over. Her ordeal was worse than they had anticipated. He kicked himself for letting her do it. He’d been stupid. He should have found another way.

  Luca kissed the back of her hand and gave her a half-hearted smile. She laid her head on the window and stayed silent. She was hiding something, but he refused to pry. She would tell him when she was ready.

  The gates of Haven House swung open. All the dogs ran up to meet the cars as they piled up the drive. Abbey rushed out the door, her face awash with relief. She clung to Nate, kissing him over and over. Victor carried Cami inside. Luca and Evaine looked on from the car as everyone hugged and kissed and hugged some more.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you inside.”

  Evaine grasped the door
handle weakly. Luca rushed around the car to open it for her. The moist air hit his skin, but he didn’t shiver. He closed the door and led her along, much the same as he had the first night she’d arrived at Haven House.

  At the porch he dropped her hand, and Abbey hugged her tightly. Concern and fear showed in Abbey’s eyes as she looked at him over Evaine’s shoulder. Luca wrapped his arm around Evaine’s waist, and he led her into the house. His anxiety began to dissipate once in the elevator. He pulled her close and kissed her hair. She let herself be held by him, standing immovable in his arms.

  The elevator opened and he ushered her to her room. He pushed open the door and she stepped inside but didn’t move farther in.

  “I’m gonna get cleaned up and then I’ll come back, if you want. Or would you rather just go to sleep?”

  Evaine turned and met his gaze but said nothing. His heart ached for her. He walked to her, and a tear spilled down her cheek.

  “You’re safe,” he said. “We’re all safe now.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “We’re not.”

  “No one can hurt you again. I won’t let them.”

  She shook her head again and grabbed him suddenly, letting out a sob. “I killed them.”

  “No, babe, no, you didn’t.” He pulled her close. “None of this is your fault.”

  “Not that.” She sniffled into his shirt. “Simone and Karen. I killed them.”

  Luca swallowed hard. His head swam. He knew the guilt she now carried. He’d tried so hard to keep that pain from her. But he hadn’t been able to.

  “I severed Karen’s spinal cord. And I…I reached inside Simone and I—”

  “Stop.” Luca pulled her face close to his. His heart broke at the sound of her grief. “You stayed alive. You fought for your life.”

  She shook her head. “Deep inside, I wanted to. A part of me wanted to kill them. And Damien and Lisette. All of them. For what they’ve done. To feel their bones as I—”