Akasha 4 - Earth (22 page)

"It is a huge, drawn-out line of
thunderstorms. This one's going to have hurricane-force
winds."

"Will the camp be safe?"

"Probably not – we'll need to move out
soon."

I need to warn Susan and
Alex.

"How much time do we have?" I
asked.

"Not even a day – we'll probably leave
this afternoon."

I wondered what that meant for the
prisoners; and for Marissa. I closed my eyes and reached out,
searching for Clay. He was standing with someone – an Earth. Her
heartbeat was racing; his was slow and steady.

Sheri was still talking. "You might
have some pain with fresh tattoos on the march. But there ain't no
stopping that storm – too powerful. It really is too late in the
season for derechos, and the developing patterns were all wrong,
but it's coming."

My eyes widened. Bee was still near,
and the freak storms were still following us. We couldn't fool
Mother Nature with even a little separation.

Scalpel-like sensations dragged across
my shoulder. I twitched as fire went down my spine.

"Stay still," Layla, standing behind
me, mumbled.

Above us, clouds moved in and the
entire world seemed to go a few shades darker.

"We might need to move this outside –
for the light," Sheri suggested.

Rain drops drizzled over the
tent.

She sighed. "Guess we'll just have to
make do."

My shoulder was finally going numb to
the pain. I barely noticed when Layla stopped.

"Done with the back and
neck."

"Done here, too." Sheri
said.

They pressed clean gauze against the
new tattoos and secured them with medical tape.

"Want anything on your legs?" Layla
asked.

"No." I mostly wore pants, anyway.
"Something on my face, though."

Layla's eyebrows rose, "Do you have
anything specific in mind?"

"No," I answered. "I just don't want
to look like me."

I caught them exchange a
glance.

Layla smiled. "Kind of hard to do,
unless we perform minor surgery." Stepping to the side, she
surveyed me. "But we can do something subtle with your profile. And
maybe some permanent eyeliner, and a darker lip shade…"

"We can continue what I did on her
shoulder," Sheri suggested.

They both stepped around, discussing
the canvas that was my body. When the needles came back on the two
women worked alternately, tying in the pattern on my shoulder over
Shawn's scar with another design on the side of my neck, going up
to my face. It burned and pinched; cat scratches on a
sunburn.

I stared at Layla's shoes as she
worked. Her hands remained steady, but she tapped her foot like it
was a nervous tick. Her tattoo gun felt like a sharpened pencil,
scraping off my skin, cell by cell. I tried to concentrate on the
beat of her tapping foot.

The side walls of my tent blew in and
out, so far holding strong against the growing wind. Voices outside
went from groggy, still recovering from the festivities the night
before, to concerned. Shouts to break down the tents and secure
loose items sounded around us. Inside, my two artists barely spoke,
intent on their work.

"I'm out of black," Sheri
said.

"Finish outlining in dark purple,"
Layla mumbled. But one by one the colors were beginning to run
out.

After working on my eyelids, eyebrows
and lips, they moved on to the detail work alongside my cheek and
temple, ending on the side of my forehead. I gritted my teeth. My
entire head vibrated as if they were inking directly onto my
skull.

I wasn't sure I could let them finish,
it was too much. "Wait—"

"Someone need a doctor?" I was cut off
by a small form at the opening to my tent.

The needles
stopped.
Thank God.

"Yes, are you Sabrina?" I started to
push myself up off the cot.

"No need to get up, I can work on you
from there."

"Oh…okay," I reluctantly laid my head
back down. I couldn't even rest it on my arms, covered in fresh,
still bleeding tattoos as they were.

She came around the cot, set down a
small stool near my head and took her place. Without asking, she
began running her fingers through my hairline, pressing into my
scalp. She glanced at the tattoo artists. "You may
continue."

Darn.

The needles started back up, but the
newcomer's fingers were distracting enough. "Erika told me you were
having an issue with your powers. Did you hit your
head?"

"Yes." One of the needles pinched
extra hard as I spoke.

"Damn it," Layla mumbled.

Sabrina took no notice. "Any other
symptoms?"

"Headaches, and my ears seem to be
ringing a lot."

The needle pinched again.

"Ugh, no more talking!" Layla said.
She wiped her brow, flexed her hand a few times, then
continued.

I shut my mouth. I needed this to be
over with about two hours ago. The wind was picking up even more
and I needed to get word to Alex and Susan.

"Okay, I'm just going to poke around
and see what I can find out," Sabrina said.

Isn't that what she has
been doing?

I glanced up to see her close her
eyes. I didn't dare try to tap into what she was doing. The last
thing everyone in the tent needed was to be puked on. My head
tingled, and the ringing in my ears started up again.

It stopped all at once when her eyes
flew open.

"What's the matter?" I asked. She was
staring straight ahead, eyes still wide. She didn't answer me. She
just got up and started for the tent flap like she had a sudden
case of small bladder. "Wait!" I yelled after her.

She stopped just outside, turning her
head to address me. "Not much we can do for a concussion. Take some
aspirin when the pain gets bad; in time it will heal."

I stood up from the cot. "I mean, what
about my powers?"

Thunder rolled overhead like an
ominous warning.

Now she turned to face me full on, and
cocked her head. "You said powers, not power."

Chapter
31

No More Tears

Sabrina left in a rush, leaving the
tent flaps unzipped. They fluttered in the strengthening wind. The
low buzzing of tattoo guns ceased all at once. Layla and Sheri
wiped down their instruments and stowed their now empty jars of
ink.

"Are we done?" I asked.

Layla looked up at me, putting away
the last jar. "It's all gone."

"Oh, right," I said, furrowing my
eyebrows. "Can you get more?"

Layla rubbed the back of her neck.
"Not unless we come across a very talented Earth to sniff out Iron
Oxide, Cadmium, and the dozens of other metal salts used to make
ink."

Both of their eyebrows went up. I did
just declare myself to be an Earth.

"Sorry – power problems,
remember?"

Sheri mumbled under their breath.
"Figures - Earths can't do all that much, anyway."

I don't think I was meant to hear it,
but I answered anyway. "We can do enough."

"Like?" she asked. It wasn't a
challenge, more like a distracting conversation for her as she
placed her tattoo gun back in its case, perhaps for the last
time.

Layla stepped forward, bandaging up
the side of my face. "Keep these on the next couple of days. We'll
find you and check back in – see how they are doing."

I nodded, then addressed Sheri's
question. "I can tell you where Marissa is, right now. And I can
send help for her and her sister."

Sheri turned around, putting her hand
on her hip. "Okay, I'll bite. Where is she and how can you send
help?"

Layla answered before I could. "She is
probably with your friend Clay, where you sent her."

"No," I shook my head, standing up.
"No – she's with the prisoners. They're all running. And…" I closed
my eyes, concentrating. "They aren't being followed. Clay probably
has the guards distracted."

Sheri and Layla stopped what they were
doing, staring at me.

"How can you know that?" Sheri asked,
her hand dropping from her hip.

"It's an Earth thing," I
said.

"Maybe we should go see," Layla
glanced at Sheri.

Sheri nodded, slowly. "Just in case
she needs help."

"Okay," Layla said. She zipped up her
bag and pointed at me. "You – you take care of yourself, and those
tattoos."

Sheri followed Layla outside, and I
followed Sheri.

"If you find them, they need to go
northeast. Tell them Alex can help!" I yelled after
them.

Layla waved her hand over her
shoulder, acknowledging me as her pace quickened.

"Thank you!" I yelled louder, but they
were already over a hill.

I grabbed my backpack and raced for
the perimeter of Erika's camp. It was difficult to establish, now
that most of the tents were rolled up. I had been keeping tabs on
the only non-magical person the past few days; Alex. They were
still nearby, and so far each of the patrols had missed them. I
paused, making room for three large guys pulling a truck bed with
no cab. Crops and vines stuck out the top and hung over the
side.

Behind them were barrels,
each pushed on a dolly. As one came near, the top blew off. The
convoy stopped as everyone raced to catch the apparently
irreplaceable lid. I stepped toward the barrel, peering inside. A
pile of gold and brown curly hair sat on top of rotting
vegetation.
Erika doesn't waste
time.

The lid was replaced, plunging what
was left of Kaitlyn into darkness and stench. I swallowed hard, and
continued my sprint, reaching out for Alex as I went. I found him,
much closer than he had been before. And Susan and Bee weren't with
him.

Oh God
, I told myself.
Something went
wrong.
A strong headwind picked up,
working against me; like running through mud. Despite the wind and
rain, my skin felt like it was on fire. The elements scraped across
fresh wounds as my physical exertion stretched them
tight.

I crashed through a set of bushes, and
ran right into Alex. We both bounced back and hit the ground, hard.
I pushed myself up, straight into the barrel of a pistol. Alex
turned off the safety with a steady hand.

I glanced up at him. "You haven't had
bullets in that thing since D.C."

"Oh my God – Kaitlyn?"

His other hand replaced the pistol. I
took it and he yanked me to my feet, embracing me in a bear hug.
"What did they do to you?" His hands ran through my hair and over
the gauze covering my tattoos.

I winced, pushing his hands away.
"Nothing, I did this to me. I had to change my
appearance."

Lightning struck dangerously close.
Screams came from the camp.

Alex licked his lips, glancing toward
the screams. "I was coming to get you. Susan says a huge storm is
coming."

"I know – which is why you have to
leave me behind." I stepped back.

"What? No – come on. Bee and Susan are
waiting for us."

He tried pulling on my arm, but I
pulled back. He raised his eyebrows.

"A group of prisoners escaped. People
from Robert's camp, and some we picked up in Evansville. Also –
someone named Marissa, and her sister. Can you make sure they are
taken care of?"

"Why don't
you
make sure? Come on."
He turned, but I didn't follow.

"She's going to be okay, you know," I
raised my voice at his retreating silhouette.

He stopped in his tracks, hunching his
shoulders like I just knifed him in the back.

"Bee is…" I paused, swallowing the
lump in my throat. "She's going to be fine. As long as she is with
you and Susan."

He turned, his face contorted in pain.
"Don't do this…" I could barely hear him.

"Go north – or maybe east. Get to the
hybrid power station on the Great Lakes so I'll know where to find
you. I'll go west with One Less; until I've done what needs to be
done. Then we can reconnect."

He stepped forward. "We can figure
this out, these storms. It'll be dangerous to separate." He put his
hand on my shoulder.

I winced again, ducking out of his
grasp. He was left holding his hand out in midair. "What is
happening to you Kaitlyn?!" He yelled above the wind.

I placed the braid of my former locks
in his hand. "I'm not Kaitlyn anymore. I can't be if we're going to
survive this." I closed his fist around the hair. "Take care of
her, Alex."

I turned away, forcing one foot in
front of the other as fast as they would go. There were no tears,
no more aches in my chest, and no more heavy stomach. My world had
gone numb.