Twenty Seven
When the light returns to my eyes and I’m able to see some of the world again, I recall all the times I’ve stayed in the darkness without dreams or company.
Though dreams can give false hope, they also provide some level of comfort. Being alone within my own mind is depressing and one hour feels like an eternity.
Fortunately, my eternity has come to an end.
Angie’s sitting on the king-sized recovery bed under the covers with me. She’s playing cards with the comforter over her head and singing, No Tomorrow by Kid With Wings.
Her tattoos radiate dimly on her chest. Several tears fall onto her cards before she stacks them neatly and places them back in the box. She faces me and smiles. Angie’s not the crying type, but I imagine this year was lonely for her. I want to hug her, but I still can’t move my body. It won’t even budge.
Judging from the sound in my muscles, I’ve caused some irreparable damage.
Angie continues singing and rapping, “No sir, you are not the king that you say you were. Oh you’ll learn, that stronger men have come before.” Her words break near the end as my finger taps to the beat of her song.
Though I was alone every day in darkness, there was one thing to look forward to. My favorite cover artist sang that song regularly. I couldn’t tell the difference in time, but I knew when to expect it.
As she sings more passionately, my heart aligns with the beat. Then, her heart aligns with mine.
Not only does the light return, but color does too. Angie’s voice gives me strength.
I clutch my fists and she bounces up and down, which causes her to lose the rhythm. When she sees my grip weakening, she sits on her knees and sings the lyrics with all her heart.
A smile forms on my face and she gasps. I build a pressure in my chest and Angie does too. She squints as Shiva breaks into small coins that spin at an alarming rate. They’re on beat.
As the coins provide the background music, Angie hums the one part she always forgets but quickly picks the song up again.
Shiva slices my bandages over small areas of my flesh, allowing my blood to breathe. The wounds hurt like paper cuts and they’re all over my body, but when my blood gets air, the pain eases.
Now, I can see the pink room perfectly. Only, it’s a lot larger than it should be.
Angie’s song ends. She crawls over my body. “Say Gigi please.”
I’m enjoying having her this close. Right next to me was already good enough, but knowing that my best friend is here makes things even better.
It’s good to be back.
“You’ve been asleep for a month. You should see how many people want to know more about you after finals.” I sense something dark in her words. Resentment? Envy? Whatever it is, she immediately hides it behind her concern. “Dennis let Carmen and Richard heal you. They said you pushed yourself too hard and if you ever got up, you’d be paralyzed from the neck down. I got a little upset and nearly killed them. Somehow, I got Sekhmet to relax.”
She removes a black feather from under my pillow. It’s torn to shreds and covered in my blood. “I found this in your bandages.” Angie wipes her eyes but doesn’t cry. “How’d you get it?” She laughs. “I want to know why you held on to it, creeper.” She plays with the broken feather for a few seconds before sliding it back under my pillow.
Angie gently pinches my cheeks. “A lot happened in the month you missed. I’m actually friends with Carmen now. She fought me on her own for the first time, and I was kind of proud of her, in a twisted way. I hated that daddy married someone my age. Mom hated it too, but she’s still bedridden. What could she do?”
Her delicate fingers reach for the box of cards. She picks out all of the aces and neatly lines them across my chest.
“Why did Carmen fight me? Because I asked you to call me Gigi every day. And you know, when you call me Gigi, I just have to call you daddy. She thought it was my way of flirting with you until I explained the story.” Angie folds her lips inward and stares at the ceiling. “Now that we’re older, maybe it is. I thought your mask was nice and started talking to you, but daddy was pissed. He locked me in my room. I snuck out anyway. Being the jerk you are, you gave me the same warning of not talking to you. But people didn’t really speak to me either, so I took my chances.
“Eventually, you caved in and stole a projector phone to chat with me. You liked using shortcuts when typing, so you’d just write Gigi. I told you it was my favorite nickname in the world, but it made me feel like a little kid. I was a little kid, but that’s not the point. I started calling you daddy, because my own father didn’t make me feel that way.” Angie hums the first two lines of No Tomorrow. “You were my best friend, but I was kind of in love with your sarcasm...and your body. The attraction made the nickname creepy; I stopped calling you that for a while.”
It’s pretty funny to hear her version of that story. We got into plenty of arguments because of the way she’d call me “daddy”. That wasn’t a term of endearment. It was what she’d say to let me know that I made her feel small.
Though we’re best friends, we also argue and fight constantly. Any little thing can start a punching war between us. I’d probably start one now for old time sake if I could.
Angie removes the cards and massages my neck. Chills run laps around my spine when she kisses my cheek.
Her nose brightens a bit as she sniffles. “I’m not going anywhere until you get up.” She marches her fingers across my torso until they reach my chin. “I’m actually not going anywhere after that. You left me for a year without permission and let me think you were dead. You’re stuck with me now.”
When she thumps my face, I flinch. Covering her mouth, she says, “Sorry.” Then, she bends down and kisses my jawbone. Right next to my ear she whispers, “You let Carmen lick you, right? I want to try.” Her tongue doesn’t get within an inch of my face before an involuntary muscle reacts.
Angie looks between her legs and teases, “I knew you were attracted to me. I’m telling Carmen about this one.” She starts moving away, but stops. Air rushes to my lap. I didn’t notice how warm she made me. The heat returns when she sits down again. “No, I’d rather stay for a minute.” She moves her hips gently, which turns me on even more. “Whoa, Kode, I guess that wasn’t affected by the bandages.”
Data courses through my blood and I feel alive again.
Naturally, my hands jet towards her face the second they can move. With my eyes still closed I say, “Carmen’s going to kill me if she catches us like this; you have to get up.” I push my thumbs over her lids. “I hate tears.”
Once I remove my hands, she widens her eyes comically. Then, she makes one larger than the other. The expression forces laughter from my gut, and her goofy high-pitched voice only adds to my chuckling. “Okay. I won’t cry, but you have to admit that I’m sexy. You said it on the field, but I thought you were someone else. That doesn’t count.”
“One month, huh?”
“You owe me a lot of dates.”
“I’m already taken.”
“Bull! I went through this with Carmen. She says you’re married. I couldn’t care less. You belong to me. Any girl can kiss on you, take you out, and think they have you, but you and I both know you’ll always come back to me.”
With my hand still on her face, I bring the idiot closer, completely hiding us under the covers. “One thing.”
“Shoot.”
“Be honest. You’re upset that I murdered Spencer.”
She presses her nose against mine. “Kode.”
“What?”
“I would’ve killed him if you lost. If I wasn’t injured outside the arena, I would’ve done it in order to stop him.”
I laugh under my breath. “Hug me.”
“Is that your first request after returning from a coma? I heard you still haven’t kissed Carmen. Don’t you want to skip to that stage? Actually, I already have you right where I want you. We can go all the way.”
&nbs
p; “Angie!”
“Yes, papi?” she mocks with a Spanish accent.
At the very moment she finishes, Carmen slams her grocery bags on the ground and dashes across the huge space. My heart stops. Carmen’s eyes flash as she barks,“Slut! What the hell are you doing?”
Angie grins and winks while working her hips and moaning, “Oh Kode. That feels good. Right there. No there. Oh. I missed you so much.”
Carmen releases a frantic scream. She rushes to the bed and snatches the covers off Angie’s back.
Angie playfully sticks out her tongue. “Just kidding. Guess who’s up?” But when she asks, she points between her legs.
During their hilarious fight, I stand on the bed and jump down to witness the pink walls that stretch for the entire ICU ward.
“Hey!” I shout as they scuffle a little more. “Hey!”
“Yes, daddy?” Angie croons just to get under Carmen’s skin.
“Don’t start that again,” Carmen fires back.
With my hand covering my mouth, I stammer, “What the hell happened?”
All the walls are blown away. There were at least twenty rooms in this area. Now, all that remains is debris and the pools.
“You did it so you tell him,” Carmen exhorts while pointing at Angie.
“See, what had happened was...”
Angie looks away and Carmen cannons, “Vince tried to get us to leave. Then, he found out I divorced him, and slapped me. Now, don’t be mad, but the only thing I did Kode was knock him through one wall.”
“So technically you started it,” Angie snaps. “She definitely knocked him through a wall and a half. He was upset and cursed her, saying that he was happy she was gone. Then, he grabbed my arms and said I needed to get home.”
“It was only one, but when Vince grabbed her they got into this big argument.”
“It wasn’t even that big.”
“Huge. She went all, you can’t tell me what to do. He was like, I’m your father and you will obey. But when your name got thrown in the loop and Vince called you a bunch of bad things, Angie went nuts and I swear her barcodes disappeared for a split second.”
“That was self-defense. I wasn’t leaving Kode’s side.”
“Why not? He doesn’t want you here. You’re just in the way of all the work Richard and I did.”
Walking through the ward, I announce, “I’m going to the dungeon.”
Carmen shoots Angie an evil eye. The gladiator princess responds by sticking out her tongue and following me.
Carmen catches up while interrogating me, “How are you even walking? Why aren’t you paralyzed?” She stops dead in her tracks. Her hair slices through the air as she spins around to point at Angie. “What did you do to him, slut?”
“Shut up! Shiva did it. I just sang.”
I find my clothes washed and waiting near the information desk.
Rushing behind me, Carmen licks my arm. She bursts into tears while covering her mouth. How can she read my thoughts if I’m blocking them?
I have your barcodes now. She woke you up?
I release a gust of air from my nose and reply, I was getting up already, but the song helped.
She sang that seven times a day. I can’t believe that’s what woke you from the coma.
You all helped me. It wasn’t one person. I wouldn’t be healed if it weren’t for you.
I’m dressing, but Carmen’s legs are trembling.
Angie analyzes the situation. With her eyes focused on Carmen’s legs she says, “Is this the telepathy thing you said you two had? I want to know what you’re talking about.”
Carmen’s cheeks flush red. Her adorable expression reminds me of a child.
I continue trying to block her data, but she forces her way through. You already chose her.
For what?
Love. She’s right, no one stands a chance on getting to you. I thought she was just teasing, but you really are hers. Why?
Do you really think I’m someone’s property?
“What are you two talking about?” Angie makes a squeaking sound. “Is it me?” She purposely worsens the situation, “He’s telling you it’s over. That’s why you’re crying? I warned you.”
“Love’s not really my thing,” I reply once my sneakers are strapped on. “I don’t think you both realized, but if you’re after me, you’re in for a lot of heartbreak. My life’s more about beating the hell out of people; let’s end the romantic crap.”
I walk over to Carmen and kiss her on the cheek. “I saved you from Vincent. That’s what you wanted, right?”
“And for you to love me.”
“I do.”
“Forever.”
Angie replies, “Not happening.”
We both snap, “Shut up.”
“What? It’s not. If you want his demonic ass, you’ll have to fight. You don’t have the balls for it.” Carmen’s mouth falls open, but Angie doesn’t ease up one bit. She stalks her prey until Carmen backs into the nurse’s counter, which is mostly rubble. “I’m just being honest. He’s going to turn you down every day for years. He won’t bring you flowers and he’s not going to cry with you. You’re after a brick wall. If you want him, you’ll have to ignore everything he’s telling you.” Angie pushes me away and kicks me down the hall. “Let him go to the dungeon and I’ll teach you how to stop crying over everything.”
Carmen looks back and sobs, “But I need him.”
“You need a spine. I don’t want you to turn Kode into a wimp that holds you when you’re down. Let him go for now. I’ll find him when he gets out anyway.”
With my back to the girls, I profess, “Don’t pretend like we’re more than friends. You kissed Monte. Right?”
Carmen releases a sigh of relief and Angie sucks up all of her anxiety. Her heart beats uncontrollably and her barcodes radiate lightly.
Once I’m out of the ICU, I debate between the stairs and elevator. My legs say automatic ride all the way, but I ignore their request.
The school is packed with tourist on the first floor. The arena makes a lot of money by opening up the hallways for people during the summer.
There are too many people. It’s difficult for me to exit the stairwell’s door. I attempt to squeeze between the crowds, but a small kid tugs on my arm and shouts, “Kay!” Strangely, everyone recognizes me. Large groups form that clamor about the blind Ape that “won” during finals. Cameras click all around me and hands are thrown in my face begging for autographs or simply for me to shake them. Supposedly, I’m rumored to be the next big thing in Gladiator Sports Entertainment.
Someone rushes me with a camera. It’s Janet Moreno. Great, she just so happened to be here today.
Janet continues speaking to the camera, “It seems that the rumors are true. Kay, the winner of Colt Academy finals is actually on the campus grounds. Some say that he was seriously injured during the wolves’ attack, and it seems we’re the first to interview him after the recovery.” The snobbish woman barges through the crowd and stands next to me. “I’m extremely honored to interview you, Kay. There’s so much people want to know about you. What’s your last name? Where are you from? And how does it feel to win the first team tournament in fourteen years?”
I consider walking away, but I like to talk. Why not respond? Graciously, I smile while leaning into the mic. “Well Janet, the tournament was a team match. I didn’t win. My team did. And it’s actually disturbing to know how magnificently ignorant all of you enthusiast are.” I point to her and direct my finger to the crowd. Finally, I aim at the camera lens. “You’re not complimenting or mentioning my opponent. You haven’t acknowledged that I was nearly beaten twice by her in one round. Not to mention, the match ended in a draw.
“If it were Spencer or Arnold on the field with me, you’d beg for a rematch. But because Angie’s a woman, you think there’s no need to recognize her. You’re all worthless pieces of poop—I’m sure I can’t cuss on this program. You’ll praise me now and turn
against me the second I lose. But if you’re dying to acknowledge true strength, find Seth Pena or Angie Colt. They both provided the best matches of the year. If you can’t see that, die.”
Feeling accomplished, I continue my stroll to Casey’s classroom. I make sure to lock the door to prevent any “fans” from following me.
Without hesitation, I enter the dungeon. I miss the unbearable heat. While making my way down the stone steps, I notice bodies lurking in the darkness. At the halfway point, I send Dennis an emergency text.
He responds with, ETA 3 minutes.
My descent takes some time, but I eventually step onto the bottom floor. I reach in my pocket and find more lollipops than I care to count. After unwrapping one, I bellow, “Are you planning on attacking me from the dark or do you want to talk? I’ll tell you now that I’ve destroyed the cells in my body and lost all my strength. As long as I’m in these bandages, I’m no challenge for you.”
Jay Jay reveals himself on the far end of the cave. Damn, he’s ugly. With all the wounds he’s suffered, his body looks like a 3D map.
Not long after his reveal, Talib shows his face. He’s not wearing his cloak, which is odd for liminal beings when they’re out in the open. I guess down here isn’t considered open.
The fearsome growl he emits is enough to scare Jay Jay, but I continue walking until I find a large rock to lean against. The dense clouds creep up my leg on their own and surround my body. They seep into the few cuts that Shiva left, completely sealing them off. Eventually, the fog makes it to my nose and I inhale it with one long breath.
Though it heals me a bit more, it’s still not enough to take me back to being normal. My body is pretty bad.
Jay Jay stomps towards me and grabs me roughly by the neck. He doesn’t look upset, just following orders. I slowly raise my hand up to his head while clenching my lollipop between my teeth.
Shiva slowly converts into a new weapon. Once her form solidifies I pull the trigger and push a massive bullet through his skull. The back of his head blows off and I realize that Shiva’s learning how to stop spilling blood on me. Nice.
The fog nearly swallows Jay Jay whole before he fully hits the ground. Talib’s eyes widen.
“I said I wouldn’t be a challenge. I didn’t say I’d go quietly.”
The lion roars and charges me. I hold up my index finger and shake it with my gun pointed at him. He stops in his tracks. “Don’t you have something you want to talk about?”
“Not when you’re going to die!” At the end of his sentence, Dennis lands directly behind him. I can’t believe Dennis jumped from the top of the stairs. Even I’m not that daring.
With his possessed arm, Dennis grabs the back of Talib’s neck and throws him far away from me. The wounded beast jumps to his feet after skidding across the floor. I’ve seen Takashi fight many times in my life. I don’t think Dennis would be a match for him, but Talib isn’t an animal king. Maybe Dennis stands a chance.
Talib rushes back towards Dennis with his nails lengthened, his speed is too advanced. He ducks below Dennis’ punch and slashes him on the back.
The nails hardly make a scratch. Removing the lollipop, I exclaim, “I knew that’s why you were wearing armor.”
Dennis whips around with a hook, followed by a jab. He connects a low uppercut to Talib’s stomach and uses the same hand to grapple Talib’s neck. He violently squeezes the wind pipe between his hands.
When the lion reaches for Dennis’ arms, he throws the beast to the ground. Dennis stomps him out while speaking in his creepy double voice, “I warned you not to come near my son.”
“He is not your son,” Talib says while catching Dennis’ foot and pushing him away.
The prophet stands up. He’s bleeding from the mouth and his left eye. Dennis regains his composure, but continues breathing wearily. “He is.”
“That boy murdered Spencer!”
“I love both of my children, and I always will.”
Talib roars, “Spencer was not your child either!”
Dennis’ voice returns and trembles as he asks, “What did you say?”
“Spencer,” Talib cries. “He was not your son either. These boys are abominations and Okodemah did what I should have, killed Spencer. Now, it’s time for him to go as well.”
“Why wasn’t he my son? Why?!”
Talib converts into an exact replica of Dennis, with his possessed arm and all. Matching Dennis’ tone, Talib says, “Spencer was my sin. I secretly loved Beth. One day, while you were away on business, I gave into my weakness. When Takashi realized that we can have children with humans, he made a deal with Eve to experiment. He created the demon with you now.”
Dennis releases a high pitched scream. Talib grabs his heart tightly and shakes his head, “No. Not so soon!”
The beast is losing himself, and Dennis is too. My father charges Talib. Though I try grabbing his arm, he’s too quick. Dennis leaps towards Talib but is swatted away by a beast with Takashi’s face and Talib’s body. The remainder of the transformation completes as the lion’s fur vanishes.
Takashi raises his hands and a cloak perfectly falls on his body. Nevaeh and another monkey run down the stairs. The new girl is three times Nevaeh’s size and wears a small red cloak. Her face is half cat.
The cat-monkey laces the cloak for Takashi and Nevaeh covers his head with the hood. They both silently stand far behind him.
With tears pouring on the ground, Dennis pleads, “Run Kay. Run now.”
“Do not call my brother Kay. Okodemah,” he says while turning to me, “I have never been bothered by you shortening your name, but Kay removes all power from it.”
The tiger presses his foot firmly against Dennis’ face. I hear a cracking sound that must mean he’s seriously damaging Dennis’ possessed form. When my dad releases a mournful wail, I assume that he’s being killed.
“Stop!” My voice echoes inside of the large area.
Takashi immediately removes his foot and glides towards me. The large beast towers over my small frame. Nevaeh and her monkey friend trail behind him.
I lean my back against the rock. Takashi is a master of MMIBS. He taught me everything I know about it. Once he strikes the rock behind me, it turns into a stone couch. I fall back on to it and he sits with me.
“You seem tired, brother. Rest.”
“I have questions.”
“It’s obvious that your eyes have provided you with most of the information that you need, but I’ll tell you my purpose. First, your questions.”
“If Talib is my enemy, shouldn’t I just kill you to stop him? Can’t you do it for me?” I ask with a smirk.
“We are not linked together. Talib is a Moreno experiment that went wrong. That evil family slipped his DNA into me, instead of drawing mine out. If you kill me, he will escape, unharmed.”
“Why’d you do all this? Why Eve? Why are you calling me brother when you’re my father?”
Takashi covers his ears as though he hears an annoying sound in his head. After shaking it off he replies, “You are not my son, please never refer to yourself as such. Liminal beings are direct descendents of The Writer. You are His son.”
“You already know how I feel—”
“I do. And I apologize for mentioning something you have no faith in, but I only told you because you asked. Now, it’s time for you to hear why I’m here. My blood and semen are divine ink. I am written word brought to life. I produced you alongside of Monte to hide you from the others. Talib did so in human form, making Spencer weaker. I am an animal king and I mated in this form, creating you. I chose Eve, of all detestable people in the world, because of her connection with the one boy that started this war. You know I enjoy irony.”
I nod and take in his words while closing my eyes. I still don’t believe The Writer garbage, but the other information is interesting.
“That’s a horrible family you left me with.”
Talib shakes his head, but not in disgust.
He knew what he was doing all along. “I was confident you wouldn’t stay with them. Your father knew about my betrayal because of his ability. He confronted me and we fought a fearsome battle. Wounded and bleeding to death, he admitted that he’d like to see a change in this world also. Blake convinced your mother that Monte was my child. I reworded my prophesy to assist him by saying, the boy with the largest tattoo will be The Writer’s child.”
“You lied.”
“No. I did not lie at all. Your strength is only limited by your vision. The more you see, the larger your barcode becomes. Blake understood this truth, which is why he named you Okodemah—son of The Writer.”
“What if Talib’s prophesy is true?” I look down at Dennis. He’s listening to everything and fighting desperately to lift his head from the ground. The possession has vanished and the bones in his face are fractured. “What if I don’t want to help with the war and somehow I gain the ability to end the world?”
Surprisingly, Takashi chuckles under his breath. I’ve never heard him laugh in my life. “In all honesty, that is what I hope for.”
Takashi folds his arms in his jacket and walks up the stairs without another word.
As I help Dennis, he stutters, “You’re not paralyzed.” He cries openly, but he shelters his undeniable pain within a genuine smile. “How?”
It takes some time, but I walk my dad to the hospital and get him the medical attention he needs.