Twenty One
The drive home is silent. Surprisingly, Seth seems sober. I imagine he could make it a few days without drinking, but once we step out of the vehicle, he takes a sip.
As Carmen and I head to the elevator, Seth leans against the car. “Do you want to lose the finals?”
“I hate losing.” My words probably mean nothing to him, but my own level of honesty surprises me.
“Then why’d you choose the weakest classmates you could find?”
“Why do you work so hard at being weak?”
Seth takes another sip of his drink. He twists the cap back on the bottle and grips it sternly. He activates his barcodes. “No one believes you, you know.” He and I stare at each other as his words echo in my mind. “You may not have tats, but data flows through your blood. What are you?”
“An Ape, right?”
“Don’t feed me bullshit!” Spit spews from Seth’s mouth. His drunken demeanor slowly returns. “I need to be able to trust you if we’re going to make it through finals, but I don’t. You lied about being a new transfer student. You lied to me to get into my building. You’re probably lying about being blind. I don’t know who you are besides a liar.”
My heart’s beating fast. Why? This can’t bother me.
A few seconds pass with me listening to nothing but the sound of my own breath. There’s so much I want to say to Seth. I’d like to ask him questions about drinking more than he should and hiding under the excuse of his evolving brain, but I don’t. I’d just prove his point about my manipulation and lies.
“You can’t answer. Can you?” Seth slides down the car and opens the bottle again. “You don’t know who you are because you even lie to yourself.”
“Maybe.”
Carmen holds herself and looks away. I continue to the elevator and wait for it to open.
Seth scratches his head. Then, he covers his eyes with his hand. “Let’s just start practicing tomorrow. My grades are so bad that we’ll have to make it to the semifinals in order for me to pass.”
“Yeah. I’ll email Gonzales and see if she’ll let us use her class.”
Seth doesn’t respond. I send the email to Gonzales and CC the others. She replies within a matter of seconds as though she were expecting the message. Not only are we allowed to use her classroom, but her pets too.
I revert to silence for the remainder of the night, wishing I could run away from my problems through alcohol like Seth. Carmen and I fall asleep on opposite ends of the bed.
In the morning, she wakes up first. She’s curled under a blanket with her eyes glued to me. I reach over to grab my phone off the counter and read a text from Seth telling me that training starts in an hour.
As I crawl out of the bed, Carmen asks, “Why do you block all of your thoughts from me? What’s so different now?”
“I enjoy my privacy,” I reply unenthusiastically while being covered with nothing more than bandages and neonball shorts.
“Does that mean you’ll stop listening in on me?”
“I don’t have to.” I close the bathroom door.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re always with me. You’d have to get a life of your own first.”
Though she’s trying to smile, her tears leave trails across the floor as she searches for something to wear. I bang my head on the wall a few times, listening as she attempts to wipe a few away.
I beg myself to step outside and apologize, but my legs don’t move. Anger seems to trump my better judgment. Either that or I may have a conscious desire to push people away. Check Carmen off the list and I’ll only need to hunt down Hayley. That way, I can be all alone in the world. Miserably happy.
In order to drown out the sound of her sobbing, I turn on the water and allow it to fall into my ears. It doesn’t help much, but if I slightly drown myself, the choking pain distracts me.
After finishing up, I put on my lightly armored black pants and pick up my shorts. Moments later, Carmen comes flying through the bathroom wearing no bottoms and a torn top. Why would she tear her pajamas? And why is she stumbling to her feet?
Carmen flies to the far end of the bathroom, crashing into the towel rack. The bathroom is huge, nearly the same size as my room. The tub takes up a large portion of the left side, but the rest is really meant to act as a spa. She’s near the wooden benches, trying to stand.
A strong gust of wind knocks me back near her. Only, I crash much harder than she did.
“You okay, papi?”
“I can’t see or hear it. What’s after you?”
“I don’t know; I can only sense it.”
I can sense something approaching as well. Why? Looking down at my clothes, I see bits of Carmen’s blood on me. To strengthen the connection, I quickly lick her lips. Her eyes flash with a green light.
“Activate your barcode and feel it out.” Carmen’s lips shine brightly. My face tingles as I’m connected with Carmen’s data.
With her senses doing the work for me, I feel an attack coming. A fist is aiming for her face.
I stand in front of her and take the punch. I hear a quick laugh, but all other sound fades away. I’m blacking out, but refuse to let something happen to her.
Grabbing the hand aimed at my stomach, I twist the arm and launch the attacker into a wall. I convert my left wristband into a dagger that slices into the assassin’s arm.
A knee connects between my ribs and I fall back. The sweet girl screams, “Kay,” as I skid across the ground.
Carmen senses a weapon, therefore I feel it too. But my saliva on her lips is drying so it’s faint. She licks her lips to prolong the connection and I feel an orgasmic pleasure across my body. It heals me slightly, but I can’t move my legs. Expelling a shock wave from my feet, I jet back towards them.
I slide in front of her just in time to take the knife to my gut. The dagger has to be two feet long.
“Shiva, blow something up!” It’s all I can think to say. My weapon forms a black spherical steel ball around my hands. Electricity erupts across the surface as the knife is removed from my stomach. He’s trying to attack again, but by that time, Shiva explodes. We all take some of the damage, but my glorious weapon pointed most of its energy in the proper direction.
Flesh rips from our faces as we’re shoved in the opposite direction of the window leading to the street.
Our attacker, on the other hand, goes flying out of the glass. I’m pretty sure.
“Papi. Papi!” Carmen shouts while still trying to gain control of her body.
“Stop screaming and heal me. The wound won’t close. Hurry, I’m losing a lot of blood.”
Carmen stands over my body with her lips blazing red. She analyzes my energy and injuries. Her eyes flash with a green almost as intense as mine. She dashes to the bathroom cabinets and searches through two. Towels, lotions, and shampoo are thrown everywhere.
“Calm down and breathe,” I murmur while fighting to stay alert.
Stopping, she shakes her head and relaxes her breath. Once her heart rate lowers, she removes a glass from a drawer and fills it with water.
Though her lips are still red, they’re much paler.
She spews out three times the amount of water that she had in her mouth. As it strikes my stomach, it turns into a frosty foam, which freezes the wound. The material creeps inside and begins healing whatever damage was caused. The ice cold pain causes my leg to twitch uncontrollably. I grunt and clench my teeth as my internal wounds are sealed.
Whatever she did took a lot of energy because she passes out. I have just enough strength to jump up and catch her. “My turn, sweetheart.” I grab the glass before it hits the ground.
Laying her on the floor, I pour as much water in my mouth as possible and swish it around. It mixes with a small amount of blood from the cut on my cheek. I spit the water on her face and intensively focus on the wound.
Don’t form barcodes. It’ll ruin her beautiful face. Just heal the wound. Heal it. Come on.
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As her skin replenishes, mine does as well. Once it’s completely back to normal, I splash the remaining water on her face. “Now. Wake up! We have practice.”
Carmen whimpers while sitting up slowly. She follows right behind me as I enter my room to grab my jacket.
Little to no sound creeps from her lips as she cries, “Why couldn’t you hear him?”
“Even when I blinked, it was like he wasn’t there. I don’t know why.”
At the top of her lungs, she screams, “Why’d you jump in front of the knife?”
“I’m supposed to protect you.” Her tears won’t stop. I try zipping up my jacket and realize that I’ll need to wash up again. “Go take another shower and wipe off all the blood. I’ll do the same later.”
“Why?” she screams frantically. “Why? I don’t want you hurt. Why Kay?” Carmen’s trembling so much, she can hardly stand. “Please don’t do that again,” she yelps while taking a step forward. She remembers how distant we are right now and takes two steps backwards. “I’ll hire someone else and we can go back to being friends. I don’t want you to get hurt, or to be mad at me.” Her voice raises an octave near the end of her sentence. “We can be friends at school, right?”
“No,” I reply coldly. “Now go get dressed.”
“Why, papi? Why?”
“Because I love you, and I’ll protect you. Go.”
My words cause her to cry more loudly.
During her mental breakdown, Dennis bursts into the living room. He’s fully suited in a very sleek and tight armor. There are no designs. It’s a simple one piece jumpsuit. It’s much more advanced than the one he wore at the hospital. I wonder if it’s one of Seth’s designs that adjusts to the user’s abilities.
Dennis’ muscles sound much more rigid as he dashes towards my room. He’s possibly gained ten pounds.
I hold up my hand to stop him.
Carmen wails without restraint. Dennis’ mouth drops. He peeks through the door and relaxes once he sees that she’s safe. He sneaks back into the living room and Carmen rushes me.
The goddess crashes into my arms, hysterically whimpering. Her legs give in and her weight nearly drags me to the ground with her. I wrap one arm around her thigh and the other around her waist to hold her up straight.
Slowly, I ease her on the bed. She kisses my face for at least one minute. I doubt she notices, but the more she kisses me, the more both our wounds heal.
Then, something strangely erotic happens. I can feel her body against my own. I know that I’m only wearing bandages and her clothes were ripped off, but it’s as though nothing were between us. Her data slowly seeps into my own. This must me the data programming I heard about.
If she continues, Carmen will align herself with my codes. I’ll carry a piece of her with me forever.
Without her knowing, I completely delete her data by focusing on something else. Angie.
“Does any part of your body hurt, papi?” she asks with her beautiful and full lips only inches away from my face.
“No. I was pretty good after the cold water, but I’m much better now.”
“Okay.” Carmen stands up and runs into the bathroom.
Once she’s finally in the shower, Dennis calls the security in the building and lets them know that the other guests and employees are allowed to leave their rooms. Then, he embraces me.
I hold my arms against my side and take notice of the sunset. Thoughts of Angie still linger in my mind.
Like always, Dennis activates the barcode on his pinky finger. He grunts and grits his teeth. Dark veins become visible on his face and his heart completely stops for seven seconds. When it finally kick starts, it races manically and he falls to his knees.
I shove my hands in my pockets. “What’s wrong with you?”
He practically chokes up his answer. “I don’t know. I tried to read your data to understand what happened, but I was surrounded by darkness. There were screaming people and so much pain. It was like I traveled back in time to some kind of hell.”
“What makes you say that?”
“It’s just something I feel. Kay, are you blocking your thoughts that powerfully?”
I peer into his eyes so cruelly that his blood pumps feverishly. My eyes do scare him.
“It’s not on purpose. I just have a lot going on.”
“Do you know who broke in?” He asks as he stands up.
“Only a suspicion.”
“Are you wounded? Should I get you help?”
“No. But the next time I’m in a lot of pain and Carmen says she can heal me, let her.” I refocus my attention outside as the smog blocks out the sun.
“I would have, but I worry about her health. Her mother has similar powers. If they push themselves too far, they can die.”
“I wouldn’t let that happen.”
“You’re upset with me?”
“No. I’m just in a rush to get to practice.”
“I’ve seen your team’s fighting skills. You’ll need more than practice.”
His words agitate me. I guess that’s what Seth was trying to tell me last night. They’re not that weak. Richard’s power is pretty incredible. Seth works out in the hills every morning. No one’s actually seen Jamie fight. And Carmen just needs to be pushed. “They’re better than you think.”
“You say that with confidence, but can you make them believe it?”
“I’ll try beating it into them.”
“Have you heard of Mark James?”
“No.”
“He was the reason team matches haven’t returned to Colt Arena. He found a loophole that upset a lot of people. On Friday, he rested completely, forfeiting all of his fights. So on Saturday, he was given the underdog card and moved through the rankings. He actually won the tournament.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Sounds like something you’d do.”
It sounds like he cheated. I’d rather be beaten to death than to skip out on a match.
Carmen exits my room and joins us near the dining area. “I have practice, Dad. You can send scouts to watch over us in case he comes again, but I’m sure Shiva destroyed his suit and I left a pretty nasty cut on his arm.”
“I’ll send someone who can sense their surroundings, since you have the eyes and ears.”
Carmen gleefully follows behind me as I leave the building.
When we make it to the arena, I meet with our new team in Gonzales’ room. She gave me permission to train and torment the others in her labyrinths. A drunken Seth, a hungry Richard, and the silent Brit wait patiently at a few desks as I shift the classroom around to create a two layer maze.
While I’m still getting things done at the podium, Richard walks over to me and utters, “Looks like you’re having a shitty day.”
I chuckle at his ability to recognize a bad situation. “I am.”
“Are you going to keep pouting about it, or are you going to do something?”
“Is that a challenge?”
“I could smack you around a few times until you feel better.”
I blow him off. He laughs and places his thick palm on my head. “That’s better.” Richard moves his arm much faster than I knew he could and pulls me over the desk. The spartan wraps me in a choke hold that I’d struggle breaking even if I weren’t wrapped in bandages. We fight like brothers for a moment. He whips me over his hip and slams me on the ground.
No longer in his grip, I use my advanced speed to appear behind him.
That didn’t work.
As though he knew exactly where I’d stop, Richard ties his arms around me and crushes me with an endearingly painful hug.
“Whenever someone’s that fast, they always get cocky and show up behind you.” He squeezes me tightly until I tap on his waist. We both laugh at my loss. “Now teach me how to get faster, Carmen.” His eyes are still focused on me.
Richard nods his head and I return the gesture to acknowledge that I’m feeling
better. A lot better.
My ribs ache. Ow.