Barcode: Legend of Apollo (14 page)

“I’m sorry Spencer. I’m so sorry honey. I’m sorry,” she repeats under the pressure of the falling water.

After commanding the shower to stop, I activate the steam to warm her body. When the doors are closed, the steam can get pretty intense. Though they’re open, this should still be enough to heat her up.

“It’s okay Hayley. Stop crying.”

She covers her face with her hands, and whimpers uncontrollably. After thirty minutes or so, her flood of tears is reduced to a few drops. My restraint evolves into a comforting stroke through her beautiful red hair.

Hayley’s eyes sparkle with concern as she stares into mine for a few minutes. I assume this is a motherly expression. Her eyes sparkle with more concern over my traumatic experience than her own.

Casting her suffering aside, she asks, “You okay?”

I shake my head and mumble, “Was John your husband?”

Though I don’t want to cause her any more pain, wanting to know more about my mother-like assistant gets the best of me. Hayley nods her head and the tears return. Her clothes are still wet, but her body is warm from the sauna.

“He was my husband, yes.” She says this with a distressed expression.

Knowing that the hemophobia must relate to him, I ask, “Did you watch him die?”

As though she were still grieving, Hayley shakes her head. She stutters over her words trying to explain the situation. Emphatically wanting to know, I wait in silence.

“I didn’t. I didn’t. But, I saw him.”

“You saw after?”

She nods her head and adds, “And before.”

Hayley’s body vibrates abnormally, so I increase the steam and add warm water into the tub. She breathes deeply and tranquility commandeers her body.

Finally, she says, “He called while he was being chased. That jerk,” she pauses and I realize how similar Hayley and Michelle are, “He wouldn’t tell me where he was, so I activated a tracer on his phone.”

“Did you let him know?”

“Of course not. He would’ve hung up.” I nearly laugh, but she doesn’t say it playfully. Hayley’s trying to be funny, but I know she’s suffering. “John kept talking about how he felt when we first met, and how he was still upset I made him chase me for seven years, but that he never regretted a moment. That’s when I got his location.”

Hayley splashes water over her face, which seems to release some of the tension from her brow. She slaps her cheeks repeatedly.

“Did you leave right away?”

“Bet your ass, but it was too late. He warned me about some guy chasing him. John claims he used his ax to slash the man’s back, and then he got as far away as possible. He swore that the finest nurse couldn’t heal the injury.” She smiles while fighting the next downpour of tears. “Then, he said he loved me and crushed the phone.” Though she nearly sings the last words in a high pitch, Hayley manages to restrain her tears. She’s focusing her energy on something else. “Spencer Colt,” she says gently.

“Yes?”

Biting her bottom lip and squeezing her brow, she asks, “Why haven’t you ever wanted to call me mom? Am I bad at it?”

Clouds of tears form in my eyes, but I control my emotions as well. We both laugh together as I sniffle. I now understand how difficult it must have been for her to give me a truthful answer about John.

“You’re probably great, but I don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like having parents.”

Hayley places her wet hand into my hair. Then, she massages my neck.

“Poor baby. I’m no better than Dennis. Even I’m too busy for you, huh?”

She waits and I cave in. Wanting her closer, I squeeze her arm. Then, my assistant-mom pulls me in closely. Despite the comfort that I desperately need, her tenderness only makes me wonder how my mom’s hug would have felt if I hadn’t killed her.

Fourteen

The next morning, I receive a text message from Dennis instructing me to visit his office. Colt Academy is very fortunate that our busy chancellor loves our school so much he’d rush to complete work before checking in on his own son’s recovery.

After my morning yoga session, which I always do after weight training, I drag my feet to school.

Dennis’ text messages are the equivalent to a concerned parent’s firm instructions. It means I don’t have a choice, or he’ll pull me from my classes. An announcement will sound over the loudspeaker for the entire campus to hear, like some epic safety warning or biological threat that continues until I step both feet into the front office.

When I make it to campus,  Angie is sitting on the steps with her hands rested on her cheeks. She’s waiting for me.

“That’s right; I was supposed to show you around yesterday.”

“No biggie,” she says softly. “I’m happy you’re okay, and this is a thank you for saving us.” Angie hands me a plastic bag filled with cookies. I hide my excitement because her chocolate chip cookies taste like angels from heaven built mountains of sugar on my tongue.

“Thank you,” I say casually with my eyes shining brightly. “But I have to go meet with Dennis first.” I walk up the stairs while popping two sugar hills in my mouth.

“I’ll follow.”

“Why didn’t you wait inside the school?” I ask with a mouth full of crumbs.

“Because,” she looks embarrassed. “I still get lost. I didn’t want anyone to drag me somewhere or I wouldn’t be able to find you.” In her own adorable way, she blurts out, “The arena is stupid big.”

I laugh while walking directly into Dennis’ office. Having someone with me provides an excuse to leave quickly. Plus, I don’t have to hear a lecture about dungeon safety with Angie here to support me.

“Hey,” I walk into the office and flop down on one of his seats.

Dennis instantly ends his phone call, and looks up to see Angie still standing in the doorway. The warrior princess never loses her manners in public.

Smiling at the sight of his niece, Dennis says, “Angie, get comfortable and take a seat.”

His eyes scrutinize the both of us while he grins from ear-to-ear. Anxious for him to remove the creepy expression, I snap, “What?”

“I just got off the phone with Vincent and he was wondering how Angie was doing.”

“So?”

“That means he didn’t make you take care of her. You’re showing her the campus on your own.” Turning to Angie he says, “Vincent claims you’ve been late to your classes because you keep getting lost?”

With Dennis occupied by talking to Angie, I send a text message to Leo asking him to bring me a new tablet to school. He’s already on campus, but says he has extra gadgets in his backpack.

“Spencer, put the phone away while we’re talking. Show some manners.”

Like always, he’s assuming I’m doing wrong without even asking. Typical.

“What did you want me for?”

“To see if you were okay.”

“You got reports from the nurses, Hayley and Casey, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then, you already know.”

Dennis leans towards me with the same annoying smile he gives his clients. I hate how he always pretends everything’s hunky-dory.

“I’m asking
you
though. They can tell me only the physical, but I want to know how you’re feeling.”

“I got a weapon. It went fine.”

“You got
a weapon
, but not Shiva, so you’re obviously not fine. What happened?”

“Can I go now? I really need to show Angie a few things before class,” I say impatiently. There’s no way he thinks I’m opening up to him when he wasn’t even at the hospital. If he really cared, work wouldn’t get in the way.

Dennis glances at his watch as his smile fades, “Sure. You only have a few minutes and there’s a lot she needs to see. I’ll have the office ring the bell a few minutes late. You can take my cart parked outside the office.”

Angie’s eyes light up. “Thank you Uncle Denny.”

My cousin and I should exchange parents. Like me, she enjoys the company of her uncle more than her father. She’s more open and buddy-buddy with Dennis, but firm and reserved around Vincent.

Dennis hugs Angie before she leaves. I stand at the door to make sure he doesn’t try something so foolish on me. I rarely let Dennis touch me because I hate him. I also resent the way his pinky finger invades my privacy. Even more than my senses, it allows him to channel all of my thoughts and emotions. You’d think that after a few years he’d understand how much I resent him and would work harder to mend our relationship.

Once they part, Angie walks towards me and Dennis returns to his desk. Grabbing a pen, he begins writing something roughly. His demeanor instantly changes. For a second, I sense something hateful in him.

“Let’s go,” she says while gesturing away from the office.

A gust of air enters my lungs. It resembles a toxic emotion I feel when I’m near Kode. Death.

I clinch my fists and I watch as Dennis tightens the grip on his pen. Still, he looks up and smiles as though everything were just fine.

“Something wrong, son?”

“What can you tell me about John?”

My barcodes activate, hidden under my bandages. I sense Dennis shut off a piece of himself. The expensive suit with armor hidden in its pads, and his cheesy smile can’t hide the hatred on his face.

“There are several Johns at this school. Which one are—”

“Stop dicking around. I’m talking about Hayley’s John. What do you know about him?”

Dennis writes with the same hand that hosts the barcodes on his fingernails. From a distance, most would assume his nails are painted black, but anyone aware of his legend, the black hand, won’t find time to make a joke of it. The power in those nails are so mystical, he crushes the steel pen as though it were a twig. Ink bleeds onto his Brazilian imported paper and he casually places it on his desk like nothing happened.

“He was a criminal that was caught running away. I try not to speak of him or—”

“Like with mom,” I say just to feel his heart stop. It does, and I savor every second he can’t breathe. Making Dennis angry is an impossible feat for most. It’s my natural born gift.

Dennis clears his throat. “I was on the committee that sentenced him, before he escaped from prison. Either way, I did disagree with their charges and I try not to speak of John in order to avoid upsetting Hayley,” he exhibits a matter of fact attitude.

“I guess that’s how you handle things. Ignore them,” I jeer while walking from the room.

The Senator of Southern California must know about the last notorious god level criminal. Dennis avoids John’s name more than Bethany’s, my mother, which means he has more information on John’s death than anyone else.

When Angie and I make it outside to the cart, we hop in and speed off. My cousin doesn’t hide her concern.

“Maybe you could go a little easier on Dennis. I know I haven’t been around you two much, but it seems your relationship’s getting worse.”

“It is.”

The wind blows in our faces as I zip towards the first cafeteria where Leo normally hangs out in the morning. By the time I make it there, he’s already standing outside.

“Get in.”

“Nice ride,” he says while squeezing in the back.

“It goes from zero to thirty in like fifteen seconds. You should see me on the freeway.” After turning around, I head back towards the entrance to start the tour properly.

“I think you’ve crashed on freeways more than enough.”

Leo removes a tablet from his bag. It’s a decent size, not too much bigger than my phone. Before he hands it to her, I say, “Turn on the navigation app for the school.” My cousin looks confused and excited at the same time. “Angie, do you even have a cell phone?”

“No. My dad keeps forgetting. Kode and Monte don’t have one either. I think. There’s no telling what they’ve gotten their hands on by now.”

“Forget them.” Angie frowns a bit.

Leo finishes activating the navigation and hands the tablet to her.

I ask, “Hey Leo, can that one be a phone to?”

“Yeah. They’ll activate it in the office. Transfer students get free calling plans.”

Angie’s eyes shine as bright as the dagger attached to her armor. She grabs Leo’s face. Squeezing his cheeks between her hands, she passionately says, “Thank you so much.” Angie’s thrilled to the point she’s swaying Leo’s head side-to-side.

Leo’s mesmerized by her beauty. He can only mutter, “Uh-huh.”

At least his eyes are directed in the right place. That’s more than I’d be able to say if I were in his position. I’d encourage him to ask her out, but I doubt the geek has it in him.

Angie kisses Leo on the forehead, which is probably more action than he’s ever received. Reclining in his seat, he silently enjoys the remainder of the ride. I let him relish in the moment while showing Angie shortcuts and how to work the navigation.

We drive through several areas before she requests a trip to the far end of campus where she gets lost the most.

Hannah hangs out around that area. “Uh. We should return the cart before the bell rings or we’ll all be late.”

Leo could care less about class at the moment, but Angie agrees. Once we return the vehicle, the bell rings and Angie skips off to class with her new navigation.

“Hey cousin,” I shout while watching her nearly kick herself with joy. “If you need any help, just tell me the time and I’ll come get you.”

With a beaming smile, she shouts, “Okay.”

Leo and I walk into the office to activate the phone for the forgetful girl. We pass Monte on our way to class.

Mr. Popularity’s surrounded by his groupies. He’s gaining more notoriety with each passing day. Kode has an entourage as well.

It seems that the bodies Kode had in the dungeon were the students Casey mentioned. Supposedly, they attacked him when he found Shiva and he knocked them unconscious before stacking them up nice and neatly for me to trip over. The two girls, Trinity and Stephanie, had been lost for five years.

After two weeks of therapy, they rejoined the god level classes and show quite the attachment to their savior. He does the rest of the school a huge favor by keeping them away, partially because they’re unattractive. I’d go as far to say they’re difficult to look at with both eyes. Close one, squint the other, and it’s not too bad.