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Zoe
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They say your life flashes before your eyes when you stare death in the face. It’s a total cliché, but I assure you, mine did, even though I have only lived seventeen years. Sadly, I hadn’t lived long enough to do anything. No dates with a boy—I’d never even kissed one. I’d never been to college, never been to a formal ... in fact, I’d never even left the state of Minnesota. I longed to travel the world, to see places I’d only read about. I couldn’t die yet. My life was just starting!
My family’s faces flashed in my mind. I saw my mom, tall and slender, baking molasses cookies. Dad mowing the grass and those pale, brown eyes I’d inherited covered by oversized sunglasses. I saw my little sister in the mirror while I braided her blond hair.
“No one is coming to save you,” the yellow-tipped-haired guy said. His voice was eerily calm. “I’m sure your friend is dead. Now move!” He jabbed the barrel of the gun between my shoulder blades, but my legs wouldn’t move. I stared straight ahead, afraid the slightest movement would prompt him to pull the trigger. I needed to stall so I could formulate a plan. Any plan.
I turned my head toward the gunman. “Who ... who are you? What do you—?”
He raised his free hand and slapped me across my face, leaving a painful sting and a throbbing eye. Falling sideways into the crates, I sliced my left forearm and landed on the floor. The coppery smell of blood permeated the air. He sneered at me and poked his foot into my ribs—hard. I curled into a tight ball, protecting my head.
“I can’t believe you’re the Redeemer everyone’s worried about.” He grabbed my upper arm and yanked me onto my feet.
It had to be a case of mistaken identity, I realized. How could this guy possibly know me? Footsteps approached, and Yellow Hair’s nose-ringed partner strolled up the aisle and into sight, wiping a sword on his sleeve. Through my good eye, I could see a generous bloodstain all over his clothes, and my heart plummeted. Since we were the only ones here, the blood could only mean Kieran was either badly hurt or dead. I dropped my chin to my chest, trying not to scream, but my whole body shook.
“Why must you play with your kills?” Nose Ring asked Yellow Hair. “Just shoot her! I disposed of the guy she came with.” He sauntered toward us. “He won’t be a problem anymore.”
“No!” I cried, and my legs gave out. I dropped to the floor, meaning to brace myself with my good arm, but screamed as pain shot up my wrist when it slammed onto the pile of broken crates.
In the shadows to my left, a dark-clothed figure emerged out of my captor’s sight, his index finger pressed to his lips. The tall, mysterious man winked at me, then slid back into the darkness.
“I know all about you,” Yellow Hair said, walking backward to stand in front of me and pointing the gun at my chest. A lock of greasy hair slid down, covering half his face. “And I know what you are.”
I fought to breathe through the suffocating realization that I’d just lost my best friend, and I was about to die as well. Pain brought my world back into focus. I clutched my arm with the cuts and sat back on my feet, suddenly furious. Why was this happening? What had I ever done to these guys?
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. Hope jumped to life. I squinted into the darkness, but there was nothing.
“Ha, ha, ha!” Yellow Hair laughed.
“No!” I said again, shaking my head as tremors wracked my body. Tears spilled down my cheeks, stinging my swollen eye, splatting water drops on the dirty cement floor. “You couldn’t have k-k—”
“Shut up,” Yellow Hair ordered. He poked the barrel against my shoulder and looked at his partner.
“Kieran can’t be ... dead.”
“Do it already,” Nose Ring said. “Shoot her!”
“No, give me your sword,” Yellow Hair said. “I want to kill her slowly.”
Yellow Hair started to tuck the gun into the back of his jeans as a black blur passed by me and kicked Yellow Hair just as the sword exchanged hands, forcing him to drop the gun. Fighting erupted and I leaped to my feet, thinking now was my chance to find Kieran. But before I could take a step, a wave of nausea hit me and I dropped back to the ground.
The fight escalated in the dim warehouse. My eyes watered as I tried to focus on the action. I felt dizzy and lightheaded, and the scene blurred as if I were trying to see through an old plastic bottle. All I could do was sit helplessly on the cold floor, listening to the screeching of metal on metal. That’s when it dawned on me what the clanking sounds were. I’d already seen Nose Ring cleaning his sword of blood. Apparently, the mysterious Guy in Black had brought one, too. I scooted backward, wanting to stay out of reach.
Fighting for breath, the three men pulled apart, and Yellow Hair sneered at the Guy in Black. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Shay Curator coming to the rescue,” he said.
The Guy in Black stepped to my side and nodded, holding my wide-eyed stare with his own, despite the insanity of what was going on.
Without taking his gaze off me, he said to Yellow Hair, “Hello, Blane,” then he turned to Nose Ring. “And Devin. What brings you out on a fine day like today?”
“Oh, you know,” Devin said, still breathing heavily. “Had some orders come down and today seems to be my lucky day.” He pointed at me, but spoke to Shay. “After searching for her for so many years, I find out she’s been right under my nose this whole time. Sam’s going to be so pleased with me.”
Devin glanced my way, then his eyes widened. A big grin stretched across his ugly face, as if he were seeing something new.
Why was he looking at me like that? I shrank away from his stare, trying to make my body as small as possible.
“Hey!” Devin said. “I knew it! I can see the—”
“You’ll always be a disappointment,” Shay told him. With that, he caught Blane by surprise, hook-kicking him hard in the stomach. Blane was launched into the air, and landed against the wall with a thud. A whole wall of metal shelving collapsed on him in a deafening crash, and one of the long support beams which had held them up slid rapidly down and pierced his chest. He grunted on impact, then lay still.
I stared in horror at the dead body, then buried my head in my hands.
“You’re going to pay for that!” Devin yelled.
Shay grinned. “Come on, then. Let’s see what you got,” he taunted as they circled each other.
I watched, mesmerized, as their bodies moved swiftly in front of me, moving so fast it was hard to follow the action. In fact, everything blurred in a kind of purple haze. It was impossible to believe any human could move that quick, but both kept up, blow for blow, kick for kick, and punch for punch. The fight seemed fated to end in a draw.
Heavy footsteps pounded from the aisle, and I looked up, uneasy. The shape of another man approached, and my jaw dropped with relief.
“Kieran!” I’d seen the bloody sword, heard Devin say he’d “disposed of” him, and then noticed a huge diagonal rip flapping on the front of Kieran’s shirt. It cut right to the skin from the collar to the bottom—but I saw no blood on him, except on the shirt.
I had a desperate urge to throw my arms around him, but I was afraid to move with the swords swinging so close.
Kieran hurled himself at Devin, throwing him off balance, and causing Devin to scramble for the rusty sword. They both landed on the floor, and Kieran managed to get in a few good blows to Devin’s face. Once they staggered onto their feet, Shay joined in.
Two against one baddie. I liked these odds much better. I stayed on the ground, gritting my teeth, and scooted out of the way a few more inches, all the while clutching my throbbing arm.
“You always fall for the left feint, Devin!” Kieran shouted. He and Shay moved together like old sparring partners, each blow made with precision. Suddenly Shay sliced his own long silver sword through Devin’s neck, and I gasped in horror. Bile shot up my throat as Devin fell onto the floor as his head rolled off his body.
In the corner, Blane’s body twitched. He steadied himself using a wooden barrel as he knelt and then stood, removing the metal spike inch by inch from his chest.
I couldn’t look away. This can’t be happening.
Kieran and Shay nodded to each other and walked over to stand in front of Blane. What looked like black blood oozed down the front of his shirt and darkened his teeth as he whispered his dying words: “We’re coming, and you won’t be able to protect her any longer.”
Shay raised his silver sword and sliced off his head. Then Blane’s body simply vanished. I blinked at the spot where he’d been. I shook my head and waved my good arm at my two defenders.
“Oh my God!” I shrieked. “Did that just ...? Did you see that guy ...? Where did he—” My hand extended to my stomach, and I stared at Kieran, feeling my mouth filling with saliva. “Who are you? Because you cannot be the Kieran I know!” I swallowed back the bitter taste that threatened to come out. “Kieran never had a sword, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t know what to do with one if he did ...”
Kieran and Shay stood quietly, staring at me, their mouths slightly open. I stared back, gasping for air, trying to keep from throwing up.
“What?” I demanded. “Why are you looking at me like that? Kieran. Say something, please. You’re scaring me!”
Kieran glanced at Shay then looked back at me, still saying nothing.
Shay gestured toward me, then narrowed his eyes at Kieran. “Did you do this?”
“No. You know I can only create them around myself,” Kieran replied. “It must be a self-preservation thing or something. I’ve never seen anything like it around an Ordinary before. You sure you didn’t do this?”
Shay shook his head. “Wasn’t me,” he muttered, his eyes on me again.
“What self-preservation thing?” I asked, exasperated. “What’s going on?” I rubbed my eyes, needing to clear them, but was reminded by the shooting pain from my swollen eye. For some reason, everything was still a blur in front of me, even though no one was moving anymore. “And why is everything purple?”
“I wonder if she did it.” Kieran still stared at me, but he looked skeptical. He folded his arms, frowning. “You’re floating.”