Cole liked to think that Jin hadn’t been a stranger, an opportunist. Maybe Jin had changed after facing death by tsunami, accepting their fate, only to have their entire world turned upside down.
Two fingers snapped in front of Cole's eyes. "Hey, man, you with us?" asked Jarret. The skinny, pale, freckled college student offered him a weak smile, but it was filled with sadness and his glance at Nadia on Cole’s shoulder showed lingering concern.
Cole nodded and put on a brave face. "I'm good, just a little hungry.” He turned and said, “Actually, let’s slow down for a second. Holly, you wanna see what's in the supply bag and start passing it around?" With a grunt of relief, he gently, but quickly lowered Nadia to the ground, trying to make sure she would rest comfortably against a solid-looking bush.
Holly unzipped the duffel. "Bottles of water and a bunch of protein bars."
Sheriff snorted. "At least they aren't MREs. Pass them over, kid. I've got a hankering like never before. The fight with the tour guide took a ton out of me."
“Is it really okay for us to stop like this?” asked Jarret. “Ricardo is a psycho. He’s probably mad as hell at me, too.”
Sheriff shook his head, his attention mostly on his weary wife as she slowly sat down to lean against a tree. He said, “Not for the moment. They have their own problems, and their own wounded like we do. We’ve been following this game trail, and they probably found a different one. If they were coming, they’d probably need to come straight through the jungle and we’d hear them. This is a risk we have to take. We’re all about to drop.”
Cole gave the older man a once over, noting that Sheriff looked more than exhausted. There were lines on his face that hadn’t been there before, and it seemed his hairline had receded. "I don't know what happened back there, but you look older."
"Still could make you eat your teeth," Sheriff snapped back with a grin. After rifling his fingers through his hair, he frowned. "But I think you're right. I was seeing double for a second and I felt like I could predict everything going on around me. I had to shut it down, it was getting overwhelming. In the moment, I could feel my power burning through me. Just didn't know it was my literal years."
Sheriff munched down three protein bars and guzzled two water bottles. He checked the contents of the duffel, passing everyone else some food and water. "Funny, but my stomach still feels empty. It's like my body swallowed every inch of the food and water I just swallowed."
After getting done healing a wound on Jarret’s arm, Holly hummed thoughtfully. "It must be our bodies evolving with the power seeds. If we don't have the actual energy in terms of food in our stomachs, it draws on our body's energy reserves. Our bodies are being forced to metabolize at a rapid rate." She shrugged. “That’s my best guess, anyway.”
Cole raised an eyebrow. "English, please?"
Normally, she'd punch him in the arm playfully, but she seemed too lost in thought. She replied, "Our powers first draw on our food supplies, then fat reserves. After that, it sucks up the energy from our bodies somehow. Basically, if we don't keep eating when using our powers, we'll grow older."
"Holy shit," whispered Jarret.
With a grimace, Cole muttered, "Good thing I don't know what my powers are."
Holly gave him a concerned look, pinching his shirt. He looked down and saw it was torn oddly. She asked, "When were you cut?"
Cole touched his skin underneath the torn shirt but couldn’t find a wound. "Must have been a tree branch or Ricardo might have missed."
"I’m pretty sure that that guy’s fog robs your senses while he keeps his. He’s also crazy as a barn weasel. You got lucky."
He might be right, Cole thought. He’d never felt so useless in his life. Sure, he'd downed a super-powered Mohammad and disabled the junkie, but what more could he have done with a power?
Was that why Kiddy left their group, because Cole didn't show any kind of strength? A question came to mind. He adjusted Nadia on his shoulder and asked Jarret, "Why the hell was Ricardo trying to kill us? And how did he convince everyone else to help him? Did you guys meet Dolos too?"
Jarret abruptly sat down like his knees had given out. He rested the back of his head against a tree, and closed his eyes. A tear tracked down his cheek as he told the group what he’d experienced since coming to this place. He told them about their group's encounter with Dolos and everything that happened since. From his story, it seemed they had met Dolos before Cole’s group.
"As soon as Dolos vanished, it was like Ricardo had taken off a mask," Jarret explained, visibly shaking at the memory. "He changed real quick. Ray said he wasn't going to follow his orders, you know, kill you guys. Ricardo did his black fog thing, and the next thing I knew..."
Jarret choked up, swallowed whatever tears were about to come out, and his breath stuttered. After a moment, he finished, "Ray's dead. Kenan's been silent this whole time. And Warren...Oh god, Warren."
At the memory of his best friend’s recent death, Jarret lost it, breaking down in sobs and collapsing to the ground. An uncomfortable moment passed while everyone looked somewhere else, and Cole felt his own tears trying to force their way out. He resisted, but barely. Crying wouldn’t help anyone right now.
"I won't say it's okay, boy, cuz it's not," Sheriff offered. "I'm sorry you had to lose your friends like that."
Holly added, "What if the power seeds made him like this? Ricardo, I mean. The preacher blew himself up, remember? Our bodies are clearly evolving to accommodate our new abilities. Who is to say that it isn't affecting the chemicals in our brains?"
Sheriff growled at that. "That's bullshit. None of us have changed, right? Killing is killing. Some men only need the thinnest excuse to break the ice beneath your feet. Some people just like to watch you drown."
"You've killed before, though, right?” Cole reminded him.
Sheriff grew silent at that. His wife tiredly tussled his hair. After a minute of silence, Sheriff said, "Anyone with a brain or a heart should be able to see the difference between duty and selfishness. Duty is selfless. I think one of the easiest ways to tell if killing is justified is if it’s for the greater good, or self-defense, or done out of necessity. Selfishness or joy, that ain’t right. I never enjoyed any of it.”
"Even when you were a spy?" Holly asked.
"You were a spy?" Jarret blurted, seeming to forget his sorrow for a second.
Annie, who seemed to be a little more lucid now, spoke up. "Spies and agents are different. Sheriff here was an agent. He wasn't an assassin or anything like that."
"Wasn't there another way to do your job besides killing? There's always another way?" Cole almost spat the words, disgusted by the horrors of war.
Sheriff's face grew stern. "Okay, that’s enough. Haven’t you ever talked to a vet or a cop before, boy? Asking about killing is like asking someone to relive the worst day of their lives times ten. Why don’t you tell us all right now about when you first lost your virginity? When did you first masturbate? Did you ever piss your pants? How did it feel? Ever get molested?”
“That--I--what?” Cole sputtered.
Annie laid a gentle hand on Sheriff’s arm. “The boy didn’t know any better and I wasn’t helping. Calm down, sweetie.”
Sheriff met Cole’s eye and gruffly said, “Asking someone about lives they’ve taken on the job is bad enough. Pushing after that is as rude as a badger in a beehive. Most being asked would as soon walk away, but since we are here, in a jungle, maybe not even on Earth, I can’t do that.”
“I--see,” said Cole lamely. “I’m...I’m sorry, sir.” Cole dropped his eyes and firmed his jaw. What was wrong with him? He should have known better; he wasn’t completely socially awkward. The only thing that came to mind was Kiddy again. His friend’s betrayal hurt bad enough, but he kept shying away from the fact that now, there might come a time when Jin would try to take his life.
Cole felt a gentle hand on his arm and looked up into Annie’s kind eyes. Behind her, Sheriff s
tiffly shrugged and said, “Don’t worry about it, kid. I know you didn’t mean nuthin’. We are all on the same team, after all.”
After swallowing, Cole nodded and dropped his head again. Those simple words had felt like they’d hit him right in the heart. On the same team. Kiddy had left his team, but at least Cole still had one, and maybe they could all trust each other to survive this mess.
While Cole studied the ground, Holly spoke. "Killing. Adapt or die. It's the law of biology since life has existed," she said absently, like she was talking to herself, lost in thought.
Cole's head whipped around to stare at his girlfriend. Nothing about her had changed physically, but her words chilled him. What happened to the sweet girl he'd grown up with, who’d always supported his optimistic outlook and belief that people could find a way to work together?
His thoughts must have been on his face because she took his free hand in hers and said, "Cole, I love you because you're the most stubborn guy I know. But this, this is different." She shook her head.
Cole pushed her hand away, and adjusted the unconscious Nadia to recline in a more comfortable position. Holly wisely left him to his thoughts, and the group continued to consume more protein bars.
The orange glow of the burning dome wall shone through the jungle canopy. It was still busy closing in on them. Cole’s mood fell even as his energy levels rose, and he ate while wondering if he would have to betray his beliefs at some point too. Maybe at some point he would also adapt to this new situation so deeply that he’d finally be able to understand Jin’s betrayal. Finally, Cole turned and muttered, "All I want to do is find another way, different from all of us killing each other. Is that so much to ask?"
Holly looked away, so he couldn't see her expression. Jarret gave him a somber smile, agreeing with him silently but without much enthusiasm. Sheriff grunted, reaching into the duffel bag for another protein bar. "You're a good guy, Cole. But I'm not young anymore, which means I can't afford to be naive."
Cole's anger flared and he narrowed his eyes.
"I'm not patronizing you," Sheriff said firmly, but not unkindly. "The more you grow up, the more you accept things for what they are rather than try to change them. It's the job of the young to believe in a future that doesn't exist yet. That's why I'm sticking with you instead of just taking my wife on our own straight for the portal. It might be faster if we went alone, but I want to believe like you do. Besides, we should all be dead already, right?"
Nadia stirred, waking up. She mumbled something in another language, probably French, before switching to English. "Anyone else have a giant headache?"
Jarret had already brought her a water bottle. She drank the whole thing and ate two protein bars before even realizing who’d given her the food. Her eyes widened, tears brimming in her eyes. She reached out to touch him. "Freidhof? I thought you were dead."
Jarret smiled, his mouth working for a couple seconds. Finally, after an explosive sigh, he said, "Fuck it. I mean, I was already going to die." The words seemed for himself more than anyone else, but then he met Nadia’s eyes. "Nadia. I have feelings for you."
"Feelings? You have feelings?" Nadia complained, rolling her eyes. "I get sent to Nightmare Island and my crush tells me he has feelings? That's all you got, bucko?"
“Crush?” Jarret’s jaw dropped and intelligence seemed to leave his eyes for a moment. He quickly recovered, though. After a deep breath he nearly shouted. "I like you! I like you a lot, okay? Goddamn, woman!"
"You better," Nadia grunted, hoisting herself off the ground to pull Jarret down to sit too, then lean against him. As they sat that way, touching shoulders, Jarret caught her up on everything quickly. When Ray’s and Warren's deaths came up, he choked up again.
Cole smiled at the exchange, feeling bittersweet, and he instinctively reached out for Holly's hand. At first, he couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but then noticed she wasn't gripping back. Only an hour before, he’d been content to die with her in his arms. Now? They were only inches apart, sitting side by side, but he'd never felt so distant from her.
Sheriff coughed and caught Holly’s attention. "Hey, can you walk with Annie for a bit? I gotta have a guy talk with your man for a sec."
She nodded, her gaze distant. Holly still gently took Annie’s hand and led her to a tree, telling the older woman about the vine growing on its bark. Sheriff and Cole walked off to one side for some privacy. The older man seemed to be thinking, moving his machete in circles. “I need you to do me a favor."
"I'll take care of Annie if you fall," Cole said.
Sheriff shook his head. "People don't fall, or pass, or move on, Cole. They die. And no, I don't want you taking care of Annie."
"You don't?" Cole asked, confused.
Sheriff lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. "Besides the fact we were already supposed to die, my wife and I are old. She has dementia, and it’s been getting bad. I want to believe that there is another way, but if there isn't--"
"There's always another way," Cole snapped.
Sheriff sighed patiently. "If I die and only one of you can get through and I'm not there anymore...I need you to kill Annie, like this."
The older man made a vertical slicing motion up both forearms from the wrist to the crook of the elbow. Cole wanted to throw up. "You can't be serious," he growled.
"I'm dead serious, kid.” He ran a hand up his jaw. “No, you aren't a kid." Sheriff sighed. "Please. I don't want her final moments to be pain with loneliness, probably burning outside the dome. Jesus Christ, I don't want that goddamn killer Ricardo to get his slimy hands on her, either. This isn't an order. I'm asking you. You do this for me, please. I’ve come this far with you, and I will go the distance, but I need to know she won’t be left alone.
“I know my Annie, and she’s strong. She would agree with this right now with all her heart if she could stay lucid long enough to talk about it."
Sheriff offered the machete to Cole, who looked at it dumbly. How had it come to this? He was a college student. Sure, even in the face of monsters and people trying to kill him, he’d known he wanted to live, hadn’t given up. But in those moments, a part of him had still made peace with his death. He’d been wondering who Kiddy was now, but what about himself?
A man at least twice his age was asking Cole to potentially mercy kill his wife. Cole opened his mouth to say no when a single tear streaked down Sheriff's face. The man looked away, ashamed, and whispered, "Please, Cole, Efrem. I know what I'm asking. Please."
The machete hung limply in the man's hands. It could be a tool, but in that moment, it was a weapon.
Cole took it.
Chapter 8
Cole checked his digital watch, machete in hand. They were making good time and would reach the new supply drop ten minutes ahead of ring close, even if they slowed their pace. The adrenaline pumping through them and all the protein bars and water had helped with their speed. Imminent death was a great motivator.
The boost of energy from the food and water was weird, though. He was sure digestion didn't work like that, and was surprised Holly didn't have anything to say about it.
"You look focused," Sheriff noted next to him.
"I want everyone to live," Cole said. "I don't even know if there really is another way off this damn island for all of us, but if everyone is going to believe the way I do, I need to believe it first. Wanting it isn't enough."
Sheriff raised an appraising eyebrow. "And here I thought you were just a whiny little runt."
Cole smirked. "If you didn't have that foresight power of yours, I'd take you into the octagon. Then we'd see who the whiner really is."
Sheriff rolled his eyes. “That’s just a bunch of showboating there. But seriously, I'm grateful you're helping lead this plucky little group," he admitted. "I've got plenty to worry about myself."
His eyes lingered back to his wife, who did not seem to be very lucid at the moment. Luckily, she was docilely following anyone who held
her hand.
Cole said, "Ricardo is a monster, but Kiddy going with him makes things ten times worse."
"Cuz your Asian buddy can move things with his mind?"
"When it comes to our powers, I think we can only affect things that are either really close to us or if we are touching it. Holly healed you after touching your bruise. Kiddy can probably only use his telekinesis if he is touching something. He'd probably refer to it as tactile-telekinesis. I'm sorry, telekinesis is--"
"I know what the word means," Sheriff grunted. "I'm old, but I grew up with pulp mags and stuff. And Carrie."
Cole fell silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts. The path ahead seemed to clear even without the use of his machete. He said, "You know him as Kiddy, but I grew up with Jin. He sees all of this as a game. This is why he's dangerous. With this new ‘tude he has, he’ll do anything to win. He’ll be smart and practical about it, too. I’ve never met anyone more competitive than him."
"I get it," Sheriff confirmed. "So, what do you propose?"
"Well, if he hasn't already, Kiddy will tell the enemy all about our group and our powers. He'll offer tactics, but he won't try to lead," Cole said.
"How are you so sure of that?"
"If he saw this situation for what it really is, people fighting for their lives, I wouldn't be so confident," Cole confessed. "But like I said, Kiddy sees this as a game. In every game I've played with him, he starts as support and bides his time. He uses his resources scarcely and prioritizes defense until the last round. Then, he goes for an all-out attack. That means he will be reluctant to use his powers right away. He's one of the top gamer-streamers in the world for a reason."
"Hell, kid," Sheriff said. "I don't wanna use these powers if I have to either. But Ricardo isn't giving me a choice. We had to deal with those gorilla things before, too."
Cole Blooded Page 6
