Between the Heaves of Storm Read online

  “Finish it!” yelled a voice.

  I looked around. It was Kieran, standing up on his dais again, Eve by his side. They were both riveted by the match. Finish it? What did he mean?

  The crowd took up the roar. “Finish it!” they screamed. They began to stomp their feet and clap their hands, chanting at the fighters in the square.

  I glanced back at Kieran and Eve. They were controlling these people, weren’t they? But why? And when they said to finish it, did they mean—

  The man pinning the other man twisted his opponent’s neck hard and quick. There was a snapping noise. The other man was dead.

  The roar of approval from the crowd was thunderous.

  I felt sick. What had I thought only a moment ago? That when I got bored, when I had the power that Kieran and Eve had, I killed? Had they gotten that bored?

  Kieran motioned for silence, and the crowd quieted immediately. Of course. When you were Kieran and Eve, you could control every being on the planet. Except me, because I was chewing the leaves. Did they know that? Could they tell that my mind was my own, and their power didn’t work on it? Did that make them angry?

  Kieran pointed at Abigail. “Face the champion!” he told her.

  The crowd cheered.

  Abigail stepped forward out of the others who’d been picked for the games. Her eyes were bright with excitement. She was grinning. She had no idea she was going to her death. Kieran and Eve were killing her, and they didn’t even have the decency to let her feel frightened of it. She stepped up to meet the man who’d just killed his fellow worker in the fields.

  This wasn’t a fair match. The man outweighed Abigail. He was stronger than her. She didn’t stand a chance against him.

  They circled each other for a minute.

  The crowd was wild with whoops and yells.

  The man advanced on Abigail, knocking her to the ground with no effort whatsoever.

  Cheers.

  Abigail hudded against the pavement of the square. She was bleeding. She was still smiling.

  This was sickening. I looked at Kieran and Eve, who were both grinning like the Cheshire Cat, clearly enjoying every second of this. I looked back at Abigail. She was getting to her feet, ready for more.

  I could stop this. I could stop that man from hurting Abigail. Watching his fighting style, I realized it would take me mere minutes to disable him.

  But I didn’t move, because I knew that the minute I made my move, it would be easy to go too far with the man. I could kill him easily. And if I were fighting him, I’d want to kill him. I always wanted to. And I’d sworn never to hurt another human being for the rest of my life. I couldn’t. I couldn’t help Abigail.

  The man picked Abigail up like she was a bag of feathers. He tossed her on the ground and was on her, his hands around her throat.

  The crowd was in a frenzy, screaming for Abigail’s blood. “Finish it! Finish it!” they chanted.

  I saw the man’s hands tighten.

  And I dove out of the crowd into the man, knocking him off Abigail’s body. He was surprised, but he recovered quickly. We tumbled over and over each other in the square, trading blows. It only took me a second, though, as I’d predicted. I’d pinned him to the ground. My hands were around his neck.

  How quickly the crowd changed sides. They were chanting again. “Finish it! Finish it!”

  My hands tightened around his neck. I saw his face get red. His eyes bulged.

  A face swam in front of my eyes. A sorority girl, tears staining her face, lying in her bed. I had a gun to her throat. “No,” she whispered. “Please no.”

  I let go of the man. I staggered away from him, screaming in horror.

  Kieran and Eve had run down off their dais. They were standing in the square. Kieran had Abigail by the arm. “Hi, Jason,” he said.

  “We’ve been looking for you,” said Eve.

  “Why?” I gasped. I was out of breath. “Why are you doing this?”

  Kieran only laughed. “Why not? What do they matter anyway? You know how it feels, don’t you? You felt like this once. They’re insignificant insects. What’s the death of a few?”

  “Don’t let it do that to you,” I said. “Don’t let the power make you think that way. You two were supposed to be good. You made everything paradise.”

  They laughed together.

  “Jason,” said Eve, “we want to have a baby, but we can’t.”

  What did that have to do with anything?

  “You care about this girl, don’t you?” asked Kieran, shaking Abigail by the elbow. He turned to her. “What’s your name?”

  “Abigail,” she said brightly. She was so excited to be close to him. There was blood trickling down her face, but she didn’t even brush it away.

  Kieran laughed. “Abigail,” he said. “Abigail, Azazel. Well, you’re predictable, aren’t you, Jason?” He grinned at me. “Did she dump you like yesterday’s garbage? Is that why you’re here with this pathetic substitute?”

  I glared at him. “Abigail is just my friend.”

  “But you saved her,” said Kieran. “Will you save her again? You know how this works, don’t you, Jason? How I can simply reach inside this little brain of Abigail’s and switch her off like the lights?”

  That was the power he had now. I swallowed. “Why would you want to do that? Just for fun? Wouldn’t it be as fun to let her go?”

  “I won’t do it,” said Kieran. “Not if you help us.”

  “We just want you to tell us where Little Chance is,” said Eve. “When we saw him last, he was starting to call Kieran, ‘Daddy.’ We’ll give him a good home. We can offer him the whole world.”

  My son. They wanted my son. They couldn’t have children, and so they wanted to take my son. I’d never let them have him. My throat felt dry. “I don’t know where he is.”

  “Oh don’t be ridiculous,” said Kieran. “Of course you do. What kind of father doesn’t know where his son is?”

  The kind of father who wants to keep his dark, evil past away from his innocent child. “I left him years ago.”

  “You can do better than that,” said Eve. “Abigail’s counting on you.”

  Kieran smiled at her. Abigail doubled over, coughing. A spray of red blood came out of her mouth. “Tell us,” said Kieran.

  I didn’t know. I really didn’t know. “Let her go. I don’t know where he is.” But I wouldn’t tell them even if I did know.

  Eve stuck out her lower lip. “He’s stubborn, Kieran.”

  “And it really is too bad,” said Kieran. He let go of Abigail. She fell to the ground, lifeless. “Oops.”

  They both laughed.

  I gaped at them. They’d both gone completely and utterly insane. I took a step backwards. “I’ll never let you find him.”

  “Please,” said Kieran. “As if you aren’t going to run off to check on him right now. Go right ahead, Jason. We’ll be right behind you.”

  I didn’t move for a second.

  “Run along,” said Eve.

  Then I turned and sprinted away. I ran and ran. I didn’t look back.

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