Twenty
Carmen’s fierce scream stops the gruesome and bloody fight that’s carried on for five minutes. I’m the first to fall on the ground and the creature follows.
We both lie stretched out with our arms spread widely, begging air to enter our lungs.
Struggling to catch my breath, I ask, “Man, why are we fighting?”
The ape tries to lift his head, but it crashes into the ground. His laugh contains a villainous sound that I enjoy. Between breaths he replies, “I thought you knew.”
I command my body to sit up and he does the same. His voice reminds me of Spencer’s, but with more bass. I may remind him of someone myself. Strange. But it’s something I just feel.
“You know Nevaeh?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t invest much thought into the answer. His attention is directed to my trembling company. With a simple hand gesture, he says, “I’m sorry to frighten you, love. You can take a seat next to Okodemah. I promise not to fight again as long as he doesn’t.”
Carmen stays frozen in place until I motion for her to join me. She removes a bottle of water from her pouch and holds some of the fluid in her mouth. Her lips shine brightly. They turn our section of the room a vibrant red.
Out of nowhere, she spits in my face.
“Oh come on!” The mist tingles on my skin as she takes another swig. The cuts close instantly and the swelling decreases immediately after.
The wet area of my face continues healing as she approaches my opponent. Holding his hand up, he articulates, “Spare me.”
She shrugs her shoulders. I hear the water boil in her mouth as her barcode flickers. Carmen returns to me and blows an intense steam on my face. Naturally, I breathe in the fog. It’s more powerful than the water in the cave because my body relaxes and the soreness under my bandages vanishes.
As the pain in my body erases, the mental torture returns. The physical damage was enough to distract me from wondering how Carmen’s using me and what plans Vincent has for her. She completely ruined the entire purpose of the brawl. I wonder if that’s the real reason the beast turned down the water.
As though he were answering my thought, the ape nods his head gently, right out of Carmen’s sight.
I fold my arms. “What are you and where’d you come from?”
“Who am I would be the proper question. You think I’m a savage animal, don’t you?”
“If it looks like a duck.”
“Says the midget screaming at me to hit him harder. Don’t blame me because you’re unable to deal with your real issues verbally.”
“You’re avoiding the question. Let’s start general. Your name.”
“Hame.”
“Strange and interesting. Why are there so many of your kind here?”
“Spirits?”
“Is that what you call yourselves nowadays?”
“Yes. And let me guess, your inquiring mind wants to know all about them.”
“It would be nice.”
“Spirits are large families condensed into a body.”
“Oh damn. This sounds like the bull Angie tries to feed me. Nevermind. If you’re not taking this seriously, we could talk about the galactic weather in your eyes. What’s it really like on Pluto?”
“I’m serious. Think of us as all of your data compressed into one body. There aren’t as many of us as humans because each of us represents one family. You’ve met Nevaeh, right? Sensitive little girl. Cries about everything.”
“Seriously, what’s up with that?”
“She’s the Moreno-Colt family.” His eyes sparkle as he scrutinizes Carmen. “You can see the similarity of the last generation.”
“Okay. Now I’m interested. Who else?”
“Leah’s the representation of the Colt family, but she’s been commanded to keep away from you until brother returns. She can be aggressive and bold, but stays reserved for the most part. At home, she opens up and has tons of personality.”
“What are you?”
“I have no family.”
“Why not?”
“I’m you.” The words fall on my ears like a ton of bricks. “Shiva even has a family. Don’t force her to tell you, yet. When she’s ready, you’ll meet her sister.”
“Sister. Brother. Father. What’s all of that? Wait! Why aren’t I a part of the Payne family?”
“Which one? I know we can listen to multiple things, but I only have one mouth.”
“Payne.”
“You’re definitely a pain,” he jeers while stretching his shoulders, “but it seems you’re a separate entity. Let’s say, you’re a different beast all together.”
“I’m the beast?”
“From my perspective.”
We both chuckle. A few seconds of silence pass between us. During that time, I scan the entire building to find something else that’s near his size.
“Where’s your partner? I heard there were two as big as you.”
“He was connected to only one person, like I am. My best friend died just last year.”
“Giving me any details on that?” Hame shakes his head painfully. That’s definitely a touchy subject that he doesn’t want to discuss. Leaning back on my left hand, I try changing subjects, “Why’d you attack Seth?”
“The doctors needed time to sneak into a laboratory to free some of our family. I wanted him to have something to concentrate on so he wouldn’t have time to go back and check that footage. He spent so much energy focusing on how I slipped through security, that he forgot about the others.”
“I guess you pay off the doctors with nice fur.” I point to his armored flesh.
“We are the doctors.”
Carmen quickly leans forward. “What?”
Hame transforms into Carmen and echoes, “What?” He immediately returns to normal.
I bursts into laughter when I realize that the very people saving Seth’s life are the ones he’s in fear of. “All of you can shape-shift?”
“No. Only the most advanced. But the longer we’re in human form, the more we become like them. This is my first time. I only did it because Carmen’s heart is gentle. If I were to have mimicked you, I’d become as corrupt as some of the animal kings.”
“I guess that makes you Buddha.”
“We are much more peaceful than humans and the gods.”
“Peaceful? You and I nearly killed each other.”
“In sport. I had no intention of harming you. I sensed your desire to erase your sorrow and I helped. You’ve taken far worst beatings than that.”
Carmen pulls on my arm and asks, “What sorrow?”
Hame helps me out by distracting her, “We’re eager to join your world. I’ve waited nineteen years to see this day.”
“Seth said he created you seven years ago.”
“The science Seth stumbled upon gave us physical bodies to enter this realm. Since then, the doctors have worked on getting more of us. Though I’ve only been here since you’ve come to Los Angeles, your spirit lingered in your data the second you were born.”
“You’ve been waiting on the day to meet me face-to-face? I’m sorry your standards are set so low. You should work on bigger goals in life.” Hame reveals a beaming smile when I increase the intensity of my barcodes. “Judging from the conversation that the others are having on the above floor, I’m your savior. You really think I’d free you out of this prison?”
In a deeper voice, Hame declares, “He can hear all of you. Mind your manners around our brother.” His eyes glimmer as a shooting star passes from one eye to another. “We’re not looking for you to save us. If we wanted to battle the humans for their space, we would have taken over years ago. There are enough of us now.”
“So...” Carmen prods, dragging the vowel.
“We want you to be who you are naturally. Since the day you were born you hated this world, and it’s only a matter of time before they anger you enough to do something about their corruption.”
I stare at my “brother”
in disbelief.
“What if I turn against all of you?”
“That is the balance. You’ll face me and we’ll die together.”
“Good. I like you guys better anyway.” Turning to Carmen, I say, “He’s getting out of surgery. Let’s go.”
As we step on the elevator, Hame approaches us looking desperate. He doesn’t say a word, but his stomach grumbles and I know what that means.
“How’d you get stuck on this floor anyway?”
“The stupid elevator worked for me last week and let me off here. I wanted to make this a playroom for us, but the bottom floor is the most reinforced so I couldn’t build a way to the top. The others have tried damn hard to get me out. Nothing worked.”
I drop him off one floor above. “I’m guessing I’ll see you before I die?”
“You’ll also see me when you die. If a family is completely removed from the world, the spirit leaves with them. Until you make babies, my existence is dependent on you.”
My eyes naturally gravitate to Carmen before I mumble, “You don’t have much hope then. Don’t expect kids from me. Ever.”