There goes another night. Another night without Sam by my side. I’m halfway through the month. At least there is light at the end of it. Sam’s sister is in stable condition. She’s able to eat and talk without assistance. Sam thinks she’ll stay around for two more days before coming back home if all is good. It’s a small victory for me. I finally have something to get excited about. I just need to power through the workweek and pray to god nothing stupid comes up.
Shendour and that blonde-haired bitch are silent. Shar’I hasn’t attempted to talk with me, thank god. Eddie is doing his thing as Ignimas continues to look for Rayan and that shadow girl. Nemetoria is in the wind as usual. All in all, it’s just the lonesome inner mechanism of my mind on a Wednesday night.
“I need to go do something,” I say. I look for options around the apartment to give me an idea of what to do. Nothing in the living room jumps out. The TV is off, the room is clean, it’s raining outside, and I’m off for tomorrow. Most of my high school friends are either married or in college out of state, so hitting one of them up is pointless. “What to do?” I mumble to myself.
An emergency broadcast alert goes off on my phone. I can hear my neighbors getting the same notification. It says the President is addressing the nation within half an hour. I turn on the TV to my city’s local news. The analysts are talking about the flower monsters in Bermuda and the others a month ago. They mention me but they have no clue who I am. They do know I’m a woman with pink eyes. Someone interviewing Eddie comes up. The interviewer asks if he knows the identity of the so-called superwoman.
“No,” Eddie says. “They wish to be anonymous.”
“They?” The interviewer says and scoffs. “We know it’s a woman. Is she a part of Ignimas?”
“No.” The interviewer is not buying it. Her tight grin and condescending head tilts say it all.
“Why are you trying to hide her from us?” He doesn’t answer her question. “Is she a threat to the people?”
“They are not,” he says and pauses, staring into her eyes without blinking. “I’ve worked with them many times dealing with the plant-like monsters.”
“Isn’t it a coincidence that she appeared when they began to spring up?” A male reporter says off camera to Eddie’s left. “There were also other sightings of a man and woman on Bremuda attacking members of Ignimas. Who are they?”
“All answers will be thoroughly answered during the President’s speech and the follow-up by Polaris.” Tons of people flood him with answers. He takes a step back, flies in the air, and disappears in a flash of lightning a bolt. The sound of thunder glitches the audio feed. It cuts back to the analyst after losing the signal.
“Well,” the analyst says, looking at his partner. “Let’s put on the live feed of the White House.”
I chuckle at them for not knowing what to say. There is still a lot of waiting time. No one is in the frame. All I see is a long corridor and a wooden podium. The camera stays on that shot for ten minutes before something interesting happens. It goes out of focus. Someone has to whisper to the camera operator to place it in focus.
“This is so boring,” I say. I look through my phone to find something to kill time. Eddie’s mysterious ally is trending on social media. A lot of people are questioning if he’s telling the truth. Some are criticizing Ignimas’s failure to diminish collateral damage. I can’t bear to read any more of their half-witted comments. Their stupidity and ignorance of what’s going on makes me call Eddie. “Ed!”
“Yeah? What’s up?” He says.
“Do you see what these idiots are saying on social media?”
“You should get off that for the time being,” he says like he finds something funny. He’s chuckling. “People are nasty.”
“So am I,” I say, walking towards the porch. “They don’t know the shit that’s going on.”
“Speaking about that… Can we talk in person?”
“Yeah,” I say after checking the skies to see how badly the storm is getting. “Do I need to… fly over there?”
“No,” he chuckles. “I’ll come to you.”
“It’s raining like a hurricane is coming through.”
“I’ll be fine. Just, open your porch.”
“Okay.”
I crack open the porch door enough to keep most of the rain out and watch the skies for a yellow spark. Five seconds later, yellow streaks of lightning flash over my apartment. Eddie floats down from the roof. His spectacular light show is followed by low booming rumbles of thunder. His yellow outfit is wet but not soaked.
“You are super quick,” I say and stand aside. “Were you moving at light speed?”
“Less than that,” he says as he comes inside. “My brain can’t handle that speed.”
“That’s amazing!” My mind floods with questions. I catch myself before asking a stupid question. He’s here for a reason. I don’t want to side-track him with boatloads of questions. “You wanted to talk right?”
“This country is going to get riled up once they realize the alien threat.”
“Oh… shit.”
“As a keeper of your identity,” he says, putting his hands on my shoulder. “I advise you to keep it low for a while.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I say then laugh to help me not stress out. “What’s going to happen now?”
Eddie says that Ignimas plans to apprehend Rayan with the help of Shar’I. Shar’I believes that Tinra is handing Rayan portions of cada to draw her out. She also thinks that Tinra is funneling it through drug dealers like Zayden Volk.
“I don’t get it,” I say. “Tinra is doing all of this for what? To get after Shar’I?”
“I know it sounds stupid but it’s all we got for now.”
The President and Christabell echo Eddie’s statements on the issue. The country is on a national threat emergency. Citizens are advised to phone their local government for any sightings of supernatural beings or sightings of Rayan.
“Now I got more reasons not to show my face,” I say.
“Do you plan on hiding forever?” He says.
“My girlfriend asked me the same question.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Yes,” I say, hiding my smile with the back of my fingers. “Do you think I can hide from this?” He stares at the TV with his head slouched in his hand. His index finger carefully claws the side of his face. He hums for a second then goes quiet.
“I don’t think you can,” he says, looking at me with the side of his eye.
“Damnit!” I accidentally face-palm myself too hard and end up slapping my eye. “Ouch! What am I going to do now?”
“I could think of a few things. But…”
“But?” He turns his head towards me before his eyes. I can hear the air flowing into his nose. “Don’t tell me.”
“What?” He says after the air quickly blows out of his nose.
“You want me to continue helping her.”
“I do,” he says almost hesitating.
“Did you forget I got my ass handed to me?”
“I can train you.” I laugh and scoff at the idea of being trained. What can he provide?
“You got your ass kicked too,” I say, poking my finger into his thick bicep. “Aren’t you supposed to be strong?” While he answers my question, I squeeze the different parts of his muscular arm to get a sense of how ripped he is.
“I am strong. I can lift well over ten thousand pounds.”
“I guess you need to lift more.”
“Nikki,” he says, rolling his eyes. “We need you.”
“No, you don’t. You have two powerhouses at your disposal,” I say briefly showing him two fingers. “Why aren’t you asking for their help?”
“Shendour is too much for them to handle.”
“You’re kidding?” He shakes his head, no.
“And it seems like Flora is near his level of strength.”
“Eddie,” I say with a stutter after feeling a near-overwhelming sense of panic. I kind of feel sick to my stomach. It isn’t enough to make me want to puke. “We are fucked.”
“No, we’re not. If I can make you learn how to fight and strengthen you, I believe you’ll be strong enough to help.”
“You are insane,” I say then laugh to keep myself from having a panic attack. “Did you forget that I was done with this shit?”
“I haven’t forgotten,” he says and turns his whole body to face me. “Could you at least learn to protect yourself?” The worry in his voice grabs my attention. “I get it. You don’t want to deal with…” He suddenly stops talking and looks at the TV. “With that,” he says, pointing at a recorded video of plant monsters terrorizing a city in Bermuda. “I don’t think you can avoid it.”
“Hmph,” I say, crossing my arms.
“But you can be prepared for it,” he says then grabs my shoulder. “Let me teach you how you can defend yourself. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” I uncross my arms and glance at the TV before thinking if I want to go along with his wish. “If not for yourself then do it for the protection of the ones you love.” Sam jumps into my mind first before I think about my parents. I don’t know why she’s the first person to come to mind. Maybe it has to do with the fact she’s strongly into that superhero crap and believes I can be like them. I’m going to need her wisdom before I make my inevitable decision with Eddie. Also, I need to visit my parents before shit hits the fan. If the worst is to come, I don’t want our lack of contact to be the last thing we’ll remember.
“Give me a few days to think about it,” I say.
“Take all the time you need,” he says. He walks out onto the balcony and the pouring rain. “If you need anything, I’m always available.”
“Thanks.” I see him out even though he’s halfway out the door. Some of the rain wets my clothing but I don’t give a damn. I check around the parking lot to if anyone is looking at us. No one is there “You can go.”
“See you around.” He flies over the roof and into a low-hanging cloud before turning into lightning. The lighting streaks across the sky, heading towards the city.Sam’s plane has touched down while I’m dead asleep. Her text message wakes me up in a joyful panic. I brush my teeth, throw on a pair of shorts, and rush to the car. My feet are bare, I’m not wearing a bra, and my hair is a mess, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to waste any more time looking good. I’m sure she won’t mind seeing a bit of ugliness. Hell, I think she’ll welcome it.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
I rush over to the airport and head straight for the arrival building. The traffic leading up to it is horrible. It takes me fifteen minutes to get there.
“Where is she?” I say. Near the end of the line, I spot her waving me down. “Sam!” I nearly forget to place the car in park before running out. The car rolls forward a foot once I realize.
“Nikki,” Sam says, giggling. “Did you forget how to drive?”
“Come here, you chubby marshmallow!” I give her one great big hug.
“Whoa! You’re lifting me off the ground.” We look at each other and look at the people waiting to be picked up. Three of them are looking at us. One is scratching his head. “Nikki,” she whispers. “Put me down.”
“Shit,” I say through my teeth. “Let’s get out of here.” I toss her bags into the trunk and take off the moment she gets into her seat.
“Oh? No glasses today?”
“Huh?”
“Glasses,” she slowly says while outlining an imaginary pair of sunglasses around her eyes. “Did you wake up in a rush or something?”
“Crap! I hope no one noticed. Are we being followed?”
“Relax,” she says, looking at her side mirror. “Anyways.” She grabs my thigh without warning. I almost jump out of my seat. “Are you okay?”
“So much has happened I haven’t told you.”
On the road back to the apartment, I explain everything from my time in Bermuda to all the current events leading up to now. I continue talking about it even after arriving at the apartment and putting Sam’s bags in our bedroom. The more I recall, the more I go on an emotional tangent. She doesn’t stop me even though I’m well aware that I’m beginning to go a bit off-topic.
“Sorry for rambling on,” I say.
“It’s okay,” she says with her hand rubbing my back. “I think you should let Eddie train you.”
“You’ve got to be joking,” I mumble under my breath through the right side of my mouth. “I’ll call this weekend.”
“Why not tell him now?”
“I spent a horrific month without you.” I bend over to tuck my face into her chest. Her soft busty tits numb most of my worries. I hold her for dear life but gentle enough that she can be able to walk away. “All I want to do right now is be with you.” As we discuss what we want to do, an unwanted face shows up at the patio. She phases through the door after turning some device on around her forearm. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Unfortunately,” Shar’I says as a grey and black fitting suit materializes from her neck down to her feet. The arms, stomach, and breasts are overlapped with silver-looking plates. “I’m not. Go get dressed. Eddie will be here soon.” Someone knocks on my door soon after. Sam checks through the peephole. “It’s him”
“Eddie?” I look through the peephole. He’s wearing aviators and his cap is on backward. In his right hand is a brown old-looking briefcase. It’s large and the leather is worn.
“Let him in,” Shar’I says. Her voice sounds like she’s a foot behind me. I turn around to find her hovering between Sam and me. Shar’I stands on the ground and moves out of view from the hallway when Sam opens the door. “Were you followed?”
“I hope not,” Eddie says.
“You hope not?!” I say. “What the hell are you two doing here?”
“I’m sorry for us barding in unannounced. But, we have a serious problem.” He opens his case on the kitchen counter. Inside is his yellow suit and two envelopes.
“What’s going on now?”
“Take a look at these.” He sprawls photographs on the counter from one of the envelopes. They’re candid pictures of Tinara and Rayan near an old building at night. “Polaris managed to track down Rayan using seeker malware.”
“Seeker malware?”
“She… hacked many cameras in the city to identify his whereabouts.” He hands me a transcript from the second envelope. Tinara knows Shar’I frequently visits our city. She’s asking Rayan to use her so-called people to bring Shar’I out again
“Who are his people?” Sam says.
“My guess is Zaden Volk and a Shadow Ghost,” Eddie says.
“Who are those people again, babe?” Sam whispers close to me. I remind Sam where I met the two. “Oh, my goodness. So, are y’all sharing this to keep us informed?” Eddie and Shar’I almost look at me in syn. “Or, are y’all wanting her to do something?” The second Eddie opens his mouth, Sam says, “You know she’s done with all of this.”
“She can’t afford to turn an eye,” Shar’I says, cutting Eddie off from speaking. “Today, we go on the offensive.”
“Today,” I say and jam my fist into Shar’I’s chest. My jap is enough to almost knock her off balance. She somewhat rocks back before regaining her posture. “You two go,” I say, using my eyes to point at her and Eddie. “I don’t want to get tangled in your shit anymore!”
“You’re coming and you’re going to help me.”
“I’m not going to do that.” She stands in my personal space with her nose a finger length from me. I look her dead in the eyes unfazed by her intimidation. “You don’t scare me,” I say calmly. “Get out of my apartment.”
“You’re coming with me.”
I can’t help but laugh at how much she’s beginning to piss me off. Why do I need to come to the aid of some royal alien monarch? All she has to do is leave and step down from her stupid throne but no! She constantly wants me, me, me, me! There is a fucking ageless Roman out there she can use yet I’m the one she calls to!
“Piss off, Empress,” I say. Shar’I’s nostrils open when she suddenly takes in air. “I’m not going to fight for your issues. Let Shendour have your throne.”
“You will do as I say!” Shar’I says nearly screaming at me. I shove her away from me. She nearly flies across the room.
“You ungrateful,” Shar’I says and withdraws from saying another word.
“What were you going to say, mother fucker?”
“Nikki, stop,” Sam whispers.
“I gave you power and you reject offering aid when I ask for it,” Shar’I says.
“Whoa, whoa!” Eddie says. He stands between Shar’I and me with his hands out to us. “Let’s settle down!” She suddenly flies at me with her forearm across my chest. The back of my head slams into the refrigerator. Sam screams and trips, falling backward into the wall.
“If you don’t help me you can say goodbye to life as you know it!”
“Shar’I what are you doing?!” Eddie says. He flashes behind her with his arms locked around her neck. “Get off of her!” He pulls back on her neck. Her head moves a few inches. While he’s straining to pull her off of me, she’s barely making a face.
“If I die, Shendour will set his eyes on this planet!” Her forearm presses hard into my chest. Some of the ribs connecting to my sternum pop. “If you don’t help me,” she says after glancing at Sam. “You’ll regret it.” She tosses me to the side. I hobble on one foot to prevent from falling over. “Eddie, get off me.”
“Okay,” he says, slowly taking his arms off of Shar’I’s neck. The top part of her neck and the lower area of her jawline are red. “Are you okay, Nikki?”
“She’s fine. It’s time to go after Rayan.” No words can express how livid I am now. “Get dressed, now.” She points at the bedroom wall.
“You expect me to comply after all of that?” I say.
“Um,” she says, looking at Sam. The second she opens her mouth, I blindside her with a fist to the side of her face. She nearly evades it. Three of my knuckles make contact. The force behind the punch sends her through the bedroom wall. Her body makes a hole on the furthest side of the wall where our neighbors are. She immediately stands up like nothing happened.
“If you look at her again or lay her hands on her,” I say walking towards Shar’I. “I will fucking—”
“That’s enough!” Eddie says, standing between Shar’I and me. He can barely hold us back with his hand. He has to resort to using his forearm. “Back away from each other!”
“You got some balls to punch me,” Shar’I says. “You don’t want to make an enemy of me.”
“I can say the same thing,” I say. She snarls like a dog before taking a step back with her hands up. “Shendour and Tinra are beginning to sound right about you.” Eddie stands near me while I pick up Sam. “Are you okay?” I say, holding Sam’s shaking hands.
“I’m fine,” Sam says and pulls herself up.
“I’m sorry for making a mess.” She chuckles and clutches me close with her head pressing into my shoulder. “I’ll get this fixed right away.”
“No.”
“Huh?”
“I think you should go with her.”
“Why?”
“I want this to be over,” she says gently in my ear. “She’s desperate. Do what she wants so we can live in peace.” Shar’I lets a soft chuckle.
“Thank you, Sam!” Shar’I says.
“You… heard what I said?”
“We can hear quiet sounds and things from a distance,” I say. “Did you mean what you said?”
“What choice do you have?” Sam says.
Sam sits on our dusty bed dusting the debris off it while I get dressed. Eddie is speaking with the landlord to divert responsibility from Sam to him. He’s telling them while in his outfit it’s an Ignimas incident and he’ll pay for the repairs in full. Sam will oversee the repairs. I hug her, and another kiss before flying with him.
“Keep flying straight. I’ll be right back.” Eddie says. In a flash of lightning, he’s gone and in a flash of lightning, he’s back but on the other side of me.
“Where did you go?” I say.
“I had to put away the case.”
“Ah,” I say, glancing at his hands before looking ahead. Shar’I lines herself to fly between us. I roll under her to be on Eddie’s side and away from her. “So, where are we going?” I say to Eddie. “Are we getting Rayan?”
“Polaris,” he says with his finger in his ear. “Is Zayden and the random guy still there?”
“Yes and he has some green vile in his hand,” Polaris says.
“Is it glowing?” Shar’I says.
“Weirdly, it is. What is it?”
“It’s Cada! We need to destroy that sample now!”
“Hold your position. We’re coming.”
Eddie leads us to an abandoned warehouse where we catch Zayden about to hand a vile of glowing Cada to some random guy.
“Freeze!” Eddie screams. His voice echoes in the building. The guy takes off out the back door. “Nikki, go after him and take him to Polaris!” I fly after him. Instead of going out the door, I crash through the dirty broken windows to get beside him. He falls to the ground and surrenders with his hands behind his back.
“I’m not a cop,” I say. Since I don’t have cuffs or anything around to tie his hands, I place my hands under his sweaty pits to carry. Luckily, I don’t have to carry him in that manner. Polaris sprints across the street over to us.
“I’ll it from here,” Polaris says. She cuffs the man with zip ties. “Can you help me pick him up?”
“Sure.” I grab him by the arm and stand him on his feet like he weighs nothing.
“Damn girl,” he says. “Why are you so strong?” I ignore the man’s question because I hear Shar’I and Eddie screaming at Zayden.
“Don’t do it, man!” Eddie says. “Do you know what that does to you?”
“I have some of an idea,” Zayden says, laughing. “Flora says no one can hurt me when I consume its power.”
“What?” Eddie yells. “What are you talking about? Just, drop it and get on your knees.”
“Listen to him,” Shar’I says. “Trust me, you don’t want to consume all of that.” Zayden brings the green substance near his face to look at it. Shar’I tenses up more than Eddie does. She clinches her fists and leans forward a bit. I float inside without Zayden noticing me.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Eddie says. “Whatever Flora said to you, it is a lie.”
“Prison was hell! The life they give you get out is just as bad.” The convict’s life isn’t treating him well. He goes on crying about how he is seen as an outcast by his so-called buddies. “Flora saw use out of me. She gave me a purpose.”
“Did she tell you to find the rock back in the alley?” Shar’I says. Zayden slightly turns his head to the right. “I knew it,” she says, pointing her finger at him. “She’s the mastermind behind all of this and you’re dumb enough to fall for it!”
“Drop the Cada,” Eddie says slowly.
Eddie and Shar’I cautiously close in on Zayden. Shar’I begins to bank right around to flank. Zayden watches her the most than Eddie. I stay inside his blindside. If I’m quick enough, I might be able to snatch the Cada out of his hand. I need him to bring his hand away from his chest to make an easy grab.
“Come on,” Eddie says. “Just drop it.”
“Nah,” Zayden says like he’s sighing.
Something pops like someone stepping on a light bulb. Green ooze drips on the ground. A green glow lights up his hand before it makes his entire body radiate.
“Nikki, get back!” Shar’I says.
Shar’I shoots fire out of her hands. The flames consume Zayden in a raging fire. I have to grab Polaris and the cuffed guy by their shirts to take them to the sky to avoid being burned. The heat is enough to singe the fabric of our clothes.
“Oh, my god?” Polaris says. “Did she just kill him?”
I head inside after dropping them across the street. The fire around Zayden’s body burns slowly yet quickly burns out. There’s nothing but exposed green flesh on him. His bones and joints pop as his muscles grow into a deformed muscular shape.
“Is that what I think it is?” I say.
“A Cada spawn,” Shar’I says. “We have to kill him now. He’s consumed too much of it.”
“Damnit, Zayden!” Eddie says. “Why did you do this to yourself?”
Zayden grunts, growls, and then staggers closer to them. Shar’I punches him in the face. The impact of her fist rattles the building before his body slamming into the wall shakes it more. He flies at her, shooting green fire liquid out of his mouth. We dive out of the way in the same direction.
“Use your ice abilities,” Shar’I says. “Fire won’t work on this type.” Her hands begin to fog before the ice builds on her skin. “Eddie, distract him!” Eddie brings upon a lightning storm within the building. Lightning arcs off of everything. It’s like a high-entity rave concert minus the music. “That won’t stop him. Show me you can form ice.”
“I can,” I say and freeze up my hands.
“Good. Can you shoot ice projectiles?”
“Excuse me? No!”
“Okay, okay. Just… punch him.”
“How hard?”
“Enough to knock his head off.” She bolts on foot and lands several punches on Zayden before one backhand takes her out of commission. Her body bounces against the ground, rolls out a window, and into the street where Polaris is.
“Just punch him,” I say to hype myself up. While Eddie continues his attack, I get about ten good licks. Shar’I comes back with one solid gut kick, ramming both of her feet into Zayden’s lower stomach. It’s not enough to keep him down. “I got this!” I say. I attempt to do the same maneuver. He grabs both my ankles when I’m several inches away and tries to forcefully spread my legs apart. I resist it by squeezing my legs together. “Let me go, fucker!” The more I struggle, the more resistance I build. I get my legs together and manage to slip out of his grip by jolting my knees up to my chest. Shar’I and I take turns punching him.
“There you go!” Shar’I says. “Keep it up!” We hit Zayden back and forth, hammering him without remorse. Each frozen portion we punch shatters after a few hits. Bit by bit we break him down. All he can do is scream and block our barrages.
“Guys, that’s enough,” Eddie says. I nearly puch Zayden after hearing Eddie’s command.
“What are you doing?” Shar’I says. “We have to kill him!” She doesn’t stop. Her swings get quicker. The ice on her hands starts to crawl up her arms. Eventually, it goes up the side of her neck.
“That’s enough!”
“I said we have to kill him!” She turns around and yells at us. “Do you want that thing terrorizing your city?” Her eyes are glowing pink. She’s snarling like a dog and it’s kind of scaring me. “Well, do you?”
“No!”
“Go stand somewhere else and let me do my work.”
I walk away while she tries to kill Zayden. The thuds of her fist hitting flesh and the shattering sounds of ice breaking on the floor are too much for me to hear. I head straight home to get away from everyone. This shitstorm is getting out of hand and I don’t think it will end peacefully.
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