Paroxysm Effect

by Reynolds, Ashleigh

  “Jesus, fine. It seems that all the chips that you are implanted with, the ones that help control your negative emotions. Well something has gone wrong. They aren’t entirely sure if there is a glitch in the system or if they are sending out the wrong signals,” he sighed. “People just aren’t handling it well. I think years of always being happy, never getting angry at each other or being able to release negative emotions has bottled up and now it is boiling over.”

  “Why hasn’t it happened to everyone at once?”

  “That’s a really good question and what we were sent there to try to figure out.”

  “Am I going to go crazy too?” she whispered.

  “I think little bird… that you are too sweet and civilized for that.”

  “And if I do? Then what?”

  “Then we deal with that bridge when we reach it,” he said.

  Gemi couldn’t stop the tears from welling in her eyes. The thought of harming someone, anyone was terrifying to her. Worse than anything she knew that no matter how much anyone promised there was no guarantee she wouldn’t snap and go there taking as many as she could with her.

  “Oh no tears here,” he said wiping them from her face. “No one is going to hurt you.”

  “I am worried about hurting you,” she sobbed.

  “Don’t,” he laughed, “those scrawny arms aren’t capable of doing any real damage. Also don’t forget we have all seen you try to do anything physical. You’ll take yourself out before you could even get to one of us.”

  She smiled through her tears and laid her head back on his shoulder.

  They sat staring at the rushing water no longer talking as time slipped away unnoticed. If she could stay there like they were forever she would have.

  A sudden muffled commotion back towards camp pulled them back to the now.

  “What was that?” she breathed, jumping to her feet.

  “I don’t know. We better get back though. They are probably wondering where we went.”

  A blood-curdling scream made her face go white.

  “Shit!” Sann grabbed her hand and dragged her along as he sprinted up the hill and back towards camp.

  Trees rushed by her face their roots seeming to reach out like they were purposefully trying to trip her. The sounds of screaming grew louder as the distance between them and the camp got shorter. Finally they broke through the trees and into the clearing struggling to catch their breath. Then the smoke hit her.

  Members of their group were running everywhere shouting at each other. Fire had erupted towards the back of the camp. It blazed bright, turning night into day as it snaked its way through camp, engulfing everything in its wake.

  Smoked filled the air, burning Gemi’s eyes and throat. It made it heavy, forcing her lungs to work overtime to bring in usable oxygen.

  “What is going on Allon?” Sann yelled as male member ran by.

  “I don’t know. We were all eating when we smelt smoke I have no idea what happened.” He ran off before Sann could ask him any more questions.

  “Come on.” He grabbed her hand; throwing the cook of his elbow over his mouth and pulled her towards the doctor’s tent. Sann let go as they reached the entrance. “Stay here.” He turned before she could protest, running towards the flames. His dark outline a complete contrast to the golden light.

  Gemi’s whole body shook. She retreated into the tent, the yelling outside doing nothing to calm her fear. The air was clearer giving her a chance to catch her breath. Although she still felt on the verge of hyperventilating. Please let them be safe she repeated in her head over and over.

  Gemi had reached the back room that she had sat in not 24 hours ago managing not to run into anything this time when her foot slipped in something wet. She glanced down her heart jumping into her throat as she saw a dark puddle pooling at her feet. It was large. There was no question what it was.

  With a shaky hand she threw the curtain divider back. Bile rose in her throat as the doctor’s lifeless body came into view covered in blood. She stumbled towards him, falling at his side. His body was riddled with wounds. Ones she could only assume were caused by a knife. With her own trembling hands she shook him feeling his chest and neck searching for a sign of life. After a few seconds he coughed, choking on blood that tricked out of his mouth. He opened his eyes staring, not focusing on anything in particular.

  “Hey, it will be ok.” she said whipping the blood on his mouth with her hand.

  His mouth moved, quivering, forming soundless words. Gemi leaned her ear to his mouth struggling to hear.

  “Run,” he rasped.

  She leaned away, her quick breathing making her head spin. She stood, running through the divider and collided with something hard and unmovable forcing her feet out from underneath her. She fell backwards, her head cracking on the ground filling the room with a sickening sound.

  As she lay sprawled on the floor squinting trying to force her eyes to make sense of the world around her. A dark figure stepped into view covered in blood, his face making strange shapes in her disoriented vision.

  Gemi slid backwards, using her elbows for support. Everything was coming back into focus in bits and pieces. Her hands fumbled around in the dark for something, anything to protect her. He stocked her, following every movement he made, but not yet reaching for her.

  Her hands brushed against the legs of the metal tray stand she ran into the last time she was in the tent. With a quick pull the contents spilled to the ground. Gemi grabbed the tray and chucked it at him to buy time. It hit him and fell with a loud clatter to the ground. Her fingers found something sharp, cutting into the flesh of her thumb as she grabbed it. She was backed against the wall of the tent, nowhere else to go.

  He straddled her pinning her to the ground with his full weight and grab her face roughly in his hand. Gemi reacted; bringing what she assumed was a scalpel down hard into the man’s thigh. He howled in pain and fell back. Gemi rolled away and pulled herself to a standing position. She made a break for the exit, but her feet were ripped out from her causing her to fall chest first into the ground. Ignoring the way her ribs ached, she spun and brought her foot hard into his face. He fell back again, but only for a second. His hand wrapped around her ankle and drug her to him.

  Once again he straddled her. This time he pinned her arms underneath him, forcing his knees into the crook of her elbow.

  “Help!” she screamed.

  Her plea was met with a crushing blow to the face in the same already bruised eye. She cried out in pain, her screams cut short as he wrapped his large hands around her neck, cutting off her air.

  “Shut up or I will make this worse!” he said letting go of her throat and leaving her gasping for breath.

  Reaching behind him, he pulled out a knife waving it in her field of vision before sliding the flat side of it down her face and chest. When it had reached the base of her ribs he pressed down cutting deep into her stomach. She opened her mouth to scream again, but the sudden pressure of the man’s lips muffled the sounds. His tongue snaked in her mouth circling around her tongue, the smell of his hot rancid breath making her gag.

  Pain seared through her side as he dug in the knife into her flesh twice in rapid succession. He moaned into her mouth seeming to enjoy her pain. Tears ran down her face as she struggled beneath him, frantically trying to breathe through his weight and the agony of his knife.

  He pulled his mouth away and skimmed his tongue across her cheek purring as he went.

  “I love when there are tears,” he said, digging the blade into her once more.

  “Please,” she cried, “please stop.”

  He leaned away dropping the knife now covered in her blood to the ground. He smiled down at her as he grabbed her neck in his hands once more. Gemi knew from the look in his eyes that this time he wouldn’t be letting her go. She went wild trying with all of her might to free herself from him. With her throat still firmly gripped in his hands he slammed her head into the ground.
The edges of her vision started to go black, creeping inward as the last seconds of her life ticked away.

  She had lasted two days in this new world. That had to be some kind of accomplishment.

  He let go all of a sudden, his eyes wide as blood sprayed over her from a wound in his neck. She would have screamed if she could. He was forced off of her, pushed sideways as Jaxton came into view. Gemi once again sucked air into her burning lungs, but it did not stop the blackness from sidling ever further on her.

  “Gemi… Please... ok.” Jaxton’s muffled voice and pained face filled her head as she finally relented to the darkness.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Gemi woke to the feeling of being rocked back and forth. The first thing she noticed was that her mouth was dry as a bone. Her limbs ached. Everything ached. Wherever she was, it definitely wasn’t a tent. She must have been out for some time and out cold to be moved from the camp and not woke. Her head was propped on something soft and she had been covered to her neck in a blanket, tucked in tight on the edges of her body making it difficult to move.

  She rolled her head to the side to see Doctor Askel lying next to her, the majority of his body wrapped in bandages that had spots of blood seeping through some of them. His face was slack, eyes barely closed, but the steady rise and fall of his chest showed that he was at least breathing. She released a sigh of relief.

  Glancing around Gemi realized that she was inside one of the vans and felt as if they were driving somewhere. Whatever happened during the attack, it seemed that at least some of them were able to get out. Her stomach tightened at the thought of who may have been lost or left behind.

  Gemi scanned the inside of the van searching for anything to ease her immense thirst. That’s when she spotted Jaxton curled up in the corner sleeping. His clothes were disheveled, covered in blood and soot and it was the first time she had seen his hair out of place. It was also the most peaceful she had ever seen his face, all the worry and sadness was gone. He looked so much younger.

  Gemi rolled to her side in an effort to sit up but the deep ache that radiated through her whole body with each movement was making it difficult.

  She finally got into a sitting position after a few tries, the blanket falling away as she did to reveal her bra and the bandages wrapped around her entire mid-section. She looked over her body, taking inventory of the damage. Besides the large wounds on her side, she had smaller cuts and bruises all over her arms and chest. They already looked half healed. Gemi reached up to touch her face wincing as soon as her hands made contact. She was grateful then that there were no mirrors. If she looked half as bad as she felt then visual evidence was not wanted.

  Gemi scooted over to the doctor and ran her hand over his forehead and through his hair. He had gotten it worse than her and had still managed to survive. She bent down giving him a quick peck on the cheek and covered him back up before reaching over and grabbing the chair beside him, using it as leverage to stand.

  Walking slowly, her stiff muscles not wanting to cooperate, she made her way to the gear bags in the corner. There had to be something to drink. She rifled through them tying her best to be quiet, finding a bottle of water at the very bottom. She downed it in a few gulps. Instant relief flooded her mouth and throat.

  Her hands grabbed at the inside wall of the van, using it for support as she made her way to where Jaxton slept. Halfway through her slow journey, the van hit a bump in the road forcing her off balance. She cried out in pain falling to her hands and knees.

  He was up and to her in seconds, pulling her into his arms. “What are you doing?” he asked with an edge to his voice.

  “I was thirsty,” she breathed through the pain.

  He sighed, lifting her into his arms. “You should have woken me, you need to be resting.” He set her down on the seat, concern etched all over his face. His peace was gone.

  “How long was I asleep?” she asked.

  “A couple of days.”

  “Days?” The alarm was obvious in her voice.

  “Yes, the medicine we gave you to help heal your wounds also sedates you. I wasn’t even expecting you to wake this early, not until we got to our next destination.”

  “Have we been driving the whole time?”

  He nodded. “You should lay back down your body needs to heal.”

  “I’m fine,” she replied trying to ease his worry.

  “You don’t look fine,” he retorted.

  “Can I have some water?” she asked changing the subject.

  He raised an eyebrow at her, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. After a few seconds he obliged, standing and grabbing another bottle from the gear bags.

  “Sip, don’t gulp your stomach has been empty for days.” he said handing her the bottle.

  “What happened?” she asked between drinks.

  “A couple of the affected ambushed the camp, set fire to a few of the tents to distract us. We thought we had gotten them all but…” he trailed off his gaze going to her throat where large purple bruises covered the entirety of it. “I should have been there.”

  “This is not your fault. I shouldn’t have wandered off with Sann.”

  His jaw clenched. “No, you shouldn’t have.”

  “How is the doctor?” she asked changing the subject again.

  “We don’t know. We used all we could, but none of us know how to treat that level of injuries.”

  They both fell silent. Gemi stared at the doctor, he stared at her.

  “Please stop. I’m ok,” she said turning back to him. “See it’s already halfway healed.” She stretched an arm out in front of her ignoring the discomfort it caused.

  “When I saw you like that…” he cut short his eyes going dark as they stared past her.

  “You saved me for what, the third time now?” she said reaching her hand to touch his face. “If you hadn’t shown up when you did I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you.”

  He met her gaze his eyes burning right through her; alight with something she had never seen in him before. She was unable to look away, set in some kind of trance. Her heart raced threatening to burst out of her chest. She dropped her hand from his face trying to hide the clamminess that had taken over.

  He leaned in closer keeping his eyes locked on hers as he slid both of his hands up her arms, leaving a trail of goose bumps in their wake. They didn’t stop once they reached her shoulders; instead he slid them up her neck and into her hair tangling his fingers around the strands. Firm, but gentle he pulled her face towards his while leaning in to close the gap.

  He invaded all of her senses his proximity making her breath in small panting breaths. He smelt like the woods and sweat and fire, somehow managing to make that combination enticing.

  His mouth reached hers, brushing slightly against it. “Kiss me,” he demanded. She breathed a sigh of relief, more than happy to oblige.

  Abruptly the van lurched to a stop. Jaxton released her immediately leaving her hanging in the air, her heart still doing back flips. He stood and walked towards the exit. “I have to check on this,” he called over his shoulder before sliding out the door.

  Gemi sat stunned trying to wrap her mind around the last few minutes. What the hell was that? She shook her head trying to clear her brain, but an odd burning sensation she had never felt before swelled in her stomach making her hot all over. How dare he do that to her.

  She stood and walked to the gear bag searching for a shirt. She found what she was looking for, awkwardly pulling it on. It was two sizes too big and had the faint smell of Jaxton still on it. Her face grew hotter. She was about to do something he wouldn’t like, but oddly the thought of upsetting him made her feel better.

  She hobbled to the door and pushed it open. Sitting on the edge she slid her feet to the ground. Jaxton’s voice floated to where she stood.

  “We have to keep going,” he said.

  “Everyone is exhausted. We have been on the road for days, we need to stop and regro
up,” a familiar voice said back.

  “Out of the question. Neither one of them are stable, they need a real doctor.”

  Mustering all of her courage, she threw her shoulders back and stepped out into his line of sight. He was standing with Sann, they both looked up at her. Jaxton’s face went red his mouth turning down at the corners, Sann smiled.

  “She seems to be pretty stable to me,” Sann said walking towards her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. “We were all worried about you. Try not to do that again.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said trying her best to hide the wince his hug had caused.

  “What are you doing up?” Jaxton called from behind them.

  “Well,” she said wiggling free from Sann’s grip. “It was a bit stuffy in there. I figured I would get fresh air while I could.”

  “You should be resting.”

  “That wasn’t your opinion a minute ago was it?” She cocked her head at him feigning innocence. Jaxton glared back at her.

  “What’s up with the two of you?” Sann said glancing back and forth between them.

  “Absolutely nothing,” Gemi said, stressing each word.

  Jaxton’s stare darkened. “Can I talk to you for a second…alone?”

  “Ok then,” Sann said stepping away his hands high in the air. “I don’t even want to know what this whole thing is. I am going to go set up camp.”

  Gemi made like she was walking towards Jaxton, but threw her head in the air and walked right past him. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back towards him.

  “Let go!” she said ripping her arm free.

  “What is wrong with you?” he said taking a step back.

  “Nothing I’m fine.”

  “You are the worst liar I have ever met.”

  “And you are a really good one.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, the heat rising in her again. She had never felt like this before.

  Jaxton looked over her shoulder to the group staring at them. “I’m not doing this here.”

  “Fine,” she said and made her way to one of the vans and walked around to the other side where there would be no one to watch them. A few beats later Jaxton rounded the corner to join her.