Marked for Vengeance (27 page)

Her inquiry
for him to state what should have probably been the obvious was not obliged. As
adamant as he was to know the information, he now had no response. Injured or
not, his silence begged for her to look in the mirror. He focused on the air in
front of him as he chewed his bottom lip in thought. “Mine was on- Saturday,”
he said flatly.

She
still didn’t understand what he hinted at.
Is he delirious?

“Did
you- ever think, that your snooping- led them to us?”

His accusatory
tone stabbed her through the gut. He felt as though she was responsible for the
beasts knowing where he lived. His body might have been fading, but his mind
was still as sharp as a tack.

She
wanted to argue and deny that it was a possibility, but she knew he was on to
something. The enemy
had
been following her the last two times she
snooped. That was why she went to check on him that afternoon after she had
found Benjamin. He was one hundred percent right.

She
opened her mouth to force something out, an apology or justification of any
kind, but the words dissolved on her tongue. Neither one could fix what had happened
to him and his son. If she had obeyed orders, the beasts wouldn’t have followed
her there. The rules her Elders had given them were for a reason. They could
have had multiple significances, but regardless, the writing on the wall made
the obvious hard to ignore – his condition, Micah’s absence, and their
uncertain future rested on her incapable back.

She
glanced into the mirror again to see his pale face streaked red with fury as
tears rolled onto the blood soaked seats. Despite the repeated urge, she thought
it best that she not say anything at this point. Any attempt to console him would
most definitely make it worse.

As she
followed a sharp turn, she cut her eyes back to the road so the car wouldn’t
ride off the side of the mountain, and then moved back to his reflection when
his pain drifted away into another slumber. Or was it something else? His
unconsciousness felt deeper and infinite this time. The extra stress from his
anger must have propelled his body into a coma. But his heart still beat, at
least, as he continued to softly gasp for air, his body working overtime.

She
glanced at the clock again.
Eleven twenty two. SHIT!

Even
if he stayed alive, they would need to make it to the gateway or they would be
stuck, with no way to escape or get him help.

With
each tick of the clock, animosity toward it slipped in, as though it was her
fierce competitor in this challenging marathon, ridiculing her efforts to race
against it. Each minute scoffed at her as it advanced on the green, backlit
screen. To silence the mockery, she lifted her left hand off the wheel. In one
swift blow, she nailed the radio with her fist, leaving a hole in the dashboard.

She
placed her hand back on the wheel and glared into the darkness with
satisfaction. This would
not
beat her. She needed to make this right
again for Isaac, who now held her responsible. And she couldn’t deny that she
wasn’t.

When
they reached the top of the mountain, her strings pulled them toward a large,
empty parking lot to the left. An abandoned motorcycle lay on its side near the
edge of the woods, their only companion in the weakly lit area. She blazed
through and followed them all the way to the back until her tires stopped at
the edge of the pavement. Her draw continued to pull her into the forest, so unfortunately,
their expedition by car ended here. The Civic would never make it through the
thick forestry.

With
the shield concentrated on his body, she slung her door open and went around to
the backseat. As she walked, her feet thudded tiredly against the concrete. Holding
her shield for so long must have demanded more from her new body than she
realized.

As
her trembling arms slid him from the car, she knew her will-power would be
instrumental in getting them through and imagined a long white ribbon laid
through the woods somewhere, the gateway their virtual finish line.
I can do
this.

She
slung him over her shoulder and hooked her arm over his legs. Concentrating on
each step, she trudged toward the trees. She still had enough strength to carry
both of their weight, but it was only
just
enough. Not much remained.

She broke
through the tree line of the dark woods, and thankfully, her headlights continued
to illuminate their path. The last thing she wanted was to bump Isaac into the
rough bark of the pine trunks or scrape his injured back against the waxy
rhododendron leaves. But to her dismay, it didn’t last very long. The farther
they walked, the more the flourishing plant life obstructed the beams of light.

As
the last one vanished, her pace slowed to navigate through the last imagery of
what laid before them; a large oak tree to the right, a gathering of wiry pine
trees to the left with low lying bushes surrounding their base, and a smooth
boulder snuggled inside a nest of leaves and pine straw a few paces ahead. She
came to a halt and closed her eyes to listen for any movement, a sway of a tree
or a buzzing of an insect, but the forest’s life was just as silent as the
deserted towns. Her improved hearing would be of no help to her here. The only
thing she
could
hear was her heart as it beat strong and fast, her lungs
whooshing with air as they filled. Quite a severe contrast to Isaac’s shallow,
wheezing gasps, which reminded her to continue on.

She
opened her eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. The trees’ dark shadows revealed
themselves. Was her mind playing tricks? Was it creating the scenery she
visualized before she closed her eyes? She walked forward, and the images
closed in.
No way.

When
she stopped by the large oak, it looked as though it were an arm’s reach away.
She held on to Isaac with her left hand and brushed the coarse bark with her
fingertips as she walked by. It stood in the exact spot she imagined. Had her
eyes adjusted to the darkness? The entire ride there she had kept the light on
in the cabin of the car so she could monitor Isaac’s condition, and when she
looked into the night her headlights led the way. Perhaps her new eyes never
received the chance to do any
real
work. Maybe this was where they
finally had the opportunity to do what intended – to guide her along the path,
bringing them to safety.

She gripped
tightly onto Isaac, and her feet moved faster to steer through the trees. The
strings pulled her in a straight line, so weaving around the forest life seemed
a lot easier now that she could decipher their dark shapes and shadows. Her
creators knew what they were doing when they designed their aptitudes.

A
half a mile across the rough terrain later, a noise in the distance made her skin
crawl. It was something she halfway anticipated but hoped they wouldn’t
encounter again.

They
were
in the forest with them.

The
beasts’ faint screeches howled with recognition from what she estimated were
close to two miles away.

Alyx
knew that this meant two things. One, that she was close to the gateway. Two, that
the beasts wouldn’t let them pass without a fight, an even bigger one than back
in the city. They had more than likely followed another Protector there and
waited patiently for the rest of their arrivals to prevent them from going through.

Their
continuous cries grew louder, indicating that they were quickly on their way,
and as she made her way in their direction, she assessed the strength of the
shield around Isaac -- it wrapped around him securely in a thick blanket of
armor. He would be fine.  She would wait until the very last second to extend
it around her own body, however, to reserve what traces of energy she had left.

Her jaw
tensed with anticipation. Their screeches howled from only yards ahead. They traveled
fast. Too fast.

The
beasts’ clear, irregular shapes finally revealed themselves as they tumbled
toward them through the air like a tornado, disturbing the leaves and pine
straw and pebbles on the ground.  A growl rolled from her chest, and she flung
the shield around her body, her legs shaking as she walked.
One foot in
front of the other. Follow the strings,
her thoughts chanted.

Within
half a breath, their razors scraped against her shield, violent and unmerciful,
and as she forced her way through the windstorm, a gritty scream escaped her
lips, fighting to keep her shield steady and her feet moving forward. Her tired
legs felt close to failing them now as though she pulled against weighted
cannon balls, shackled to her ankles with a chain.

Her
right foot extended to take another step, and when she placed it on the ground
her knee gave in. To keep from crumpling to the ground, she allowed the shield to
snap away from her, and her screams amplified as the beasts ripped at her
flesh, lacerations tearing into her arms, legs, and face.

She staggered
forward with the blender of spiked whips that fixated around them, and ragged
pieces of her t-shirt and blue jeans flew through the air. When she couldn’t
stand another excruciating moment, she forced the shield around her again,
determining that she would have to suffer both torturous scenarios to make it
through. She would need to psyche herself to the finish. The last leg of this
marathon would be brutal and cruel. She pictured Isaac on the other end of her
strings at the finish line, pulling them to move her forward.  
I trust you,
his voice whispered in her mind -- the very thing he assured her back at his
flat.

He
trusts me
, her thoughts echoed, and her legs lunged forward, now in command
of the weights that were shackled to them. The strings Isaac pulled drew tight,
on the brink of snapping, and she pictured his beautiful face waiting for her
when she got there. “I’m coming!” she cried and released another scream to
prevent the pain of her exhausted legs from prevailing.

The
beasts must have sensed that her drive had been fortified because their malice
strengthened to compensate. Their lashings felt as though thousands of stinging
wasps smacked against the shield to find a way though. After two more grueling
steps, her shield wobbled, almost giving completely. Despite her new found
drive, her body could only handle so much. It was time to sacrifice her already
shredded skin to their lashes.

She pressed
her eyelids shut to draw in the shield, bracing herself for the certain agony,
and a cool, gentle breath washed over them. Faint whispers echoed through the
trees. “Prayers,” she gasped and sunk to her knees, dropping the shield from
around them for the first time since the stairwell.

They
were protected here.

She extended
her arm that hooked around his legs, and placed him gently on the ground. She
needed a moment to rest. Drawing in deep, refreshing breaths, she slumped
forward, resting her palms against the cool earth.

To
get her attention, the strings tightened, and she looked up. Close to ten paces
away was an opening in the side of the mountain like the mouth of a small
whale, waiting to engulf them. Knotted tree roots and curling leaves decorated the
rim of its lips. As she studied it, the center of her chest practically burst
through her rib cage.
That’s it,
she determined.
Almost there.

She sucked
in another breath and drug her right foot beneath her body, leaning forward to
cradle Isaac in her arms. While pressing him against her chest, she pushed from
the earth to boost them upwards. Her weary legs faltered, and she fell to the
ground.

Isaac
groaned in his sleep as he thudded atop the bed of straw and twigs.
Shit!
She had successfully protected him from the beasts, but her weakened body was what
she needed to conquer now.

She
looked at the gateway and envisioned Isaac at it again. Except this time,
everyone she had known and loved in this life hovered beside him, holding the
long white ribbon. She saw Cindra and their friends Jessica and Erica,
Benjamin, Frederick, Stacy, Mona, Agnosio, and Moe. Isaac’s son stood beside
him holding his hand, and she imagined what loved ones they might have had surrounding
them, watching her earnestly. “We trust you,” everyone said in synchronization.
Whatever these beasts had done to them, they all deserved vengeance.

Her
stomach stirred excitedly at the imagery, and her energy recharged. She had one
more burst of it left and needed to put it to good use.

She
scooped her hands under Isaac and pushed off of the earth as she held him, her
legs still shaking, but sure. As she staggered forward, their loved ones
watched with contented grins. A few short steps away and they would finally be
through to certain safety. He would get the help he needed, and she would plead
for someone to find his son.
It’s going to be alright.

When
they made it to the white ribbon, she sat him down in front of the gateway as
though he were a cracked, porcelain figurine. The gateway was only big enough
for them to go one at a time, and before she pushed him through she wanted one
last moment with him.

When
his head rested against the leaves, she knelt beside him, brushing the hair
from his forehead that curled from the sweat, imagining his eyes gazing back at
her. She wasn’t certain if she would ever have the privilege of losing herself
inside of them again, whether the sting of death seperated them or whatever
fate lie ahead. This might be the last time for her to study him,
feel
him. Her eyes flickered over his beautiful face – that even the clutches of
death couldn’t mar, not completely – and she instinctually leaned in, her heart
undeniably his, the place that he had left his piercing marks on permanently.