Oceans of Red Volume One (9 page)

Remy’s eyes darted back and forth.  She felt the presence of something, but couldn’t see anything out of place.  She jumped as a hand grabbed her ankle. 

“
Shhh.  He’s here.  I can feel him.  The one he carries is very strong.  This may be a little more difficult than I thought,”
Shane whispered in her mind as she crawled up beside her.

Remy’s hands moved quickly miming: Can he feel you?

Shane’s head cocked to the side for a moment before she answered, “
I don’t think so.  I think this is a one way kinda deal.”

Giving her sister a quick nod, she moved along the side of the abutment keeping her eyes locked on the pavement below.  Taking her lead, Shane moved in the opposite direction to the other corner and waited.

Below, nestled deep within the shadows, a darker silhouette moved with a speed that only a demon infested human could attain.  Within seconds they heard the squeak of the heavy metal door as it opened. 

Hoping she wouldn’t need to use it, Remy’s hands trembled as she pulled her sword from its sheath.  A loud bang resounded through the building as if a door had been thrown open.  “
He’s coming up the stairs.  Stay back until I give you the go ahead,”
Shane said.

Pulling a syringe from her jacket pocket, she popped the plastic cover off the needle and held it ready in her free hand.   She kept her eyes on the only entrance to the rooftop and waited.  Her ears nearly twitched as she strained to hear any sound that would give away his location.  She leaned forward in anticipation.  Shane might not be able to hold him for more than a few seconds.  She’d have to be fast. 

Muffled footfalls echoed up the stairs before coming to a complete stop. 

Remy’s chest tightened as breath she hadn’t realized she was holding clamored for escape.  She exhaled with great care.  The slightest noise could give them away.

“No!” Shane screamed.  “Behind you!”

A powerful hand grabbed her neck and threw her body across the roof like a rag doll.  Her body slid as she landed before finally slamming against a cooling unit.
  Immediately leaping to her feet, too late she realized both of her hands were now empty.

Several feet away from her, Greg stood maliciously grinning at Shane.  His arms flinched as he tried to escape her telekinetic grasp.  Shane remained unmoving, her eyes locked on her brother.  Remy scanned the rooftop in an effort to find her missing sword and the much needed injection.

A voice that sounded like her brother’s, but was somehow different, asked, “You looking for this?”

Glancing in his direction, she noticed the glint of metal extending from his right hand. 

“You got him?” she asked her sister.

“For now.  Hurry up!”

Remy moved slowly.  Her eyes darted back and forth trying not to miss a single inch of the roof.  Greg let out a hiss and threw his entire body against the invisible shield holding him.

Shane’s voice shook as she called out, “Rem?”

“Hang in there.  You can do this.”  Dropping to her hands and knees, she felt around the cooling unit.  Sliding her hands across the rough surface her fingers finally landed on the syringe as Greg burst through the binding force field. 

He launched his body across the short distance between them.  Landing on top of her, he pinned her to ground.  She clutched the injection in her right hand and tried to turn over. 

He laughed at her attempt and grabbed her head, pulling it towards his chest. 

Remy gasped.  Pain shot through her neck down into her shoulders and back. 

“The pain will end soon, monkey.  The Master will be pleased to have one with your talents,” he said as he yanked her to her feet.

Remy glanced from the corner of her eye towards her sister.  Shane’s body lie crumpled on the roof.

In the split second Greg took to reposition his body, she twisted beneath him.  Both of his hands encircled her neck.  “If she didn’t need one like you, I’d crush your throat.”

Remy smiled.

“You think it’s funny?  The Master doesn’t even need to know I’ve found you two.  It would be easy to make you disappear.”

She locked eyes with him and waited.  

Too late, he felt the pain and looked down.  An empty syringe bobbed where it stuck into his gut.  His massive hands closed tighter around her throat cutting off any hope of breathing.  The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was her brother’s head thrown back as darkness erupted from his mouth.

***

She felt the two bodies hovering over her before she saw them.  Her eyes opened and immediately closed tight.  The brightness of the room blinded her.  “Rem, you okay?” her brother’s voice greeted her.

She groaned and eyes still closed, reached out to shove him away.

“Now don’t be like that.  I’m just trying to take care of you,” he laughed.

Remy took a deep breath and squinting, pushed up.  “Can you turn down the lights a little?  My head is pounding.”

Cool hands came from behind and wrapped around the sides of her head.  Shane’s soft voice answered, “I can do better than that.  Hold still.”

Warmth replaced the coolness and the pain receded.  “There.  That should be better.  Open your eyes.”

She opened one eye first, and after feeling no pain, the other eyelid raised.  The white walls and fluorescent lights of an observation room were still daunting, but no longer elicited the sharp pain in her head.  “We’re back?”

Shane slid around to her side and wrapped her arms around her.  “Yes.  We weren’t sure what kind of damage demon-Greg had done.”

“Ramses.  Quit calling him demon-Gr
eg.  I feel bad enough as it is,” her brother protested.

Remy’s head moved from side to side as she looked at both of them.  A smile crept across her lips.  “So it worked.  We did it?”

The siblings smiled in return.  “Oh man, did we ever,” Greg answered.

A voice boomed through the squawk box on the wall, “Is she awake yet?”

“Yes, Dad,” they answered.

“Well
, what are you waiting for?  Report!”

Greg and Shane stifled a laugh while Remy shook her head.  One eyebrow rose as she looked at her partners in crime.  “Just so you know, I’m not taking the heat for this one.”

Chapter Seven

Gary Martin’s face was so red and puffed up that Remy was afraid he’d have a heart attack.  Every vein in his forehead pulsated like lines on a map.  And he still wasn’t speaking.  He just glared at the three of them.  This was definitely the angriest she’d ever seen her father.

Every so often he’d exhale loudly and look out the window as if trying to calm down, but as soon as his eyes returned to his children, he’d shake his head and grunt.  It went on like that for several minutes before Greg fi
nally spoke up.  “Listen Dad--”

“No,” their father said
, holding up his hand.

“Look, you need to know--”

Once again the hand came up as their father’s head moved from side to side.

Greg sighed and leaned back in his chair. 

Although she’d managed to remain calm, Remy’s foot had a mind of its own and bounced uncontrollably against the floor.  She glanced at her watch.  Five minutes.  Who did he think he was anyhow?  Five freaking minutes?  Finally having enough, she stood.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Gary bellowed.

“Oh, you finally found your words?  Good for you,” she answered.

Their father slowly rose from his seat behind the desk.  It seemed impossible, but his face was even redder that before.  He sputtered, but the noises coming from his mouth were incomprehensible. 

Remy knew this was the last battle she’d have with her father.  The last real one.  If she didn’t take control and win this, she’d continue to be under his thumb for what was left of her life.  Placing her hands on the desk she leaned forward, her voice cold and steely as she spoke, “For Pete’s sake!  Sit down and get control of yourself.  You’re so far gone on your power trip,
Admiral,
you forget who it is around here that does the actual work!”

A boom resounded through the room as his f
ist came down hard on the desk.  “How dare you talk to me like that?” he bellowed.  “If you three were in the military, I’d have you court marshaled!”

“T
hat’s your problem, Dad.”  She spat his name as if it were vile.  “We’re not in the military.  I’m not sure we’re even part of your family!  We’ve sat here and watched you make one jackass decision after another, obeyed you blindly, and put
our
lives in danger so you could play war.”

She felt a cool hand on her arm as her sister’s soft voice pleaded, “Remy, stop.  This isn’t his fault.  It’s not like he brought them here.” 

Remy shook her sister’s hand from her arm.  “I’ve never said it was his fault they’re here, but it is his fault that he’s trying to fight a human war with inhuman things.”  Then turning her gaze to her father, she continued, “You don’t get it, Dad.  You’re trying to use strategies you got out of some military training manual.  These things don’t think or act like us.  They know us inside and out.  They’ve been watching us since the beginning of time.  The only way to beat them is to think outside the box.  Be unpredictable.  We have to level the playing field.”

His anger dissolved as she spoke.  The redness engulfing his face subsided
, leaving a pink tint behind.  Grabbing the arms of the chair, he lowered his body into it.  Deep lines she hadn’t noticed before cut in around his eyes and mouth. 
He looks old,
she thought. 

Gary Martin cleared his throat.  “Do you think I don’t know this?  I know we can’t win this battle.  I know it deep within me.  But I can’t let the rest of you live without hope, can I?  What kind of leader would I be?  What kind of father?  For as long as we can, we have to give the remnants of humanity some sort of hope.”

Shane moved quickly around the desk and hugged her father.  “That’s where you’re wrong, Dad.  We don’t have to create hope, it’s already there.  We can win this, but only if we fight their way.  Our way isn’t working.  The only real hope is to take back what was stolen, and the only way to do that is to obtain the shroud.” 

Their father’s gaze lowered to the desktop.  “It’s too dangerous.  I can’t lose you all,” he nearly whispered.

“Dad, look at me,” Remy said.

The old man raised his eyes.

“We’ve been on countless, dangerous missions.  This one is no different from the rest.  And this time we’ll have added strength and power.  We can find infected military personnel, give them the inoculation, and build our own super army.”  

Doubt clouded his face as he answered, “Remy, if we do what you three have done, then how are we protecting the human race?  Are you still human?  Do you even know?”

She sighed and plopped down in her seat. 

“She doesn’t have any powers.  They tried, but they couldn’t infect her.  It’s just me and Greg.  And yes, Dad, I’m still human.  I feel the same only stronger.  It’s no different than the Dren.  Same c
oncept with better side effects,” Shane said.

Gary’s eyes locked on his oldest child.  “What about you, Greg?  You haven’t said a word.”

He shrugged.  “Everything they said is true.  There’s nothing more to say.  We can’t beat them if we don’t do this.  You know it, we know it, and I’d bet money that even those,” he said pointing over his shoulder, “that you’re trying to fabricate hope for, would know it.”

Silence settled in the room as the Admiral moved to the coffee maker.
  As he went through the motions of making coffee, his mind stayed focused on what his children had told him.  Deep down, he knew they were right.  Although they could have been killed on any of the missions they’d gone on before, in his heart he felt this one, would certainly kill one if not all of them.  As much as he’d like to think otherwise, he was a selfish bastard.  If it had been anyone other than these three.  These last three things he had left of her.

He shook his head muttering under his breath.  Then glancing over his shoulder, he looked at his children.  They waited
patiently, without knowing the turmoil in his heart and mind.  Had he voiced his thoughts, they probably wouldn’t have believed him capable of such depth of feeling.  He knew that.  The coffee maker sputtered.  He poured a cup, and as he was about to return to his desk, turned back and added six lumps of sugar and a large splash of cream. 
Who gives a shit what the doctors say?  Nobody lives forever.

***

Early morning fog
clung low to the ground, making him nearly invisible to the mortal eye.  Several times already, the urge to walk up and knock on the entry door had pushed him forward.  Each time he thought better of it and slid back against the building.  Normally patient, something ate away at his resolve.  That something bothered him.  It wasn’t a premonition.  It wasn’t his psychic vision.  Whatever it was, it was something completely new and different from anything he’d felt before.