Barcode: Legend of Apollo (8 page)

“Ugh.” She drops her clothes. The weights crack the floor and I feel my chair rumble.

“Now, about our arrangement.”

“I won’t tell you anything.”

“What? We had a deal!” I shout.

“I won’t say anything, unless you let me sit in your lap,” she says softly with a frown.

“No. You lost the bet. Spit it out.”

Her eyes angrily zoom in on me. Big or not, she’s prepared to fight again. “Spencer Colt, I’ve thrown myself at you—”

I interject, “Literally.” Kyle and Wesley laugh until she stares at them. Then, they snicker while trying to hold their composure.

“I’ve thrown myself at you for years, and you’ve never shown me any affection. The least you could do…” she turns away and I sense the tears forming in her eyes, “the least you could do is let me sit in your lap.”

Not wanting to hurt someone that I might consider a friend if I were desperate, I decide to take a seat. She wipes her eyes so joyfully that I almost laugh at how much she reminds me of Yukio.

Gi Young ties her arms around my neck and speaks as slowly and closely to my face as I’ll allow.

Feeling the air from her tongue on my lips, I listen as she says, “A helicopter dropped off twins on their way to Colt Arena earlier this week. One came to pay tribute to my father. We’re one of the only arenas that stood by the Payne Gym when they were ran out of California. While they were talking, the brother wearing Tartarus wrote something interesting on his cell tablet.”

She holds me more tightly in order to draw out as much time as possible. When I realize she’s waiting for me, I quickly ask, “What did he write?”

“Kill Spencer. But, here’s the strange part sweetie, I’m one hundred percent sure he 
wanted
 me to see it.”

Once she’s finished, I stand up and Gi Young falls to the floor.

Leo and I head home on the motorcycles. This time, the ride is much easier with the waist support. The only thing on my mind the entire drive is too cliché to state.

Seven

As we exit the freeway and zip pass hundreds of skyscrapers, I notice a smell seeping through my helmet. The unpleasant odor blurs my vision, and I begin to slow down only to notice that Leo seems afflicted as well.

Activating my barcodes, I search the area ahead to sense what already feels like an ominous presence. Even with my new ability I’m unable to reveal anything hidden in the area. It feels as though we’ve entered a ghost town.

With thousands of residents on this one block, I don’t sense a fragment of life. The road becomes slippery, so we decide to pull over to the sidewalk.

Leo and I inspect the wheels.

“This is blood, Spence.”

Walking towards the street, I see the pavement covered in it. The blood flows down the road like a river. I turn to him and say, “You should head home. I want to see what’s going on.”

Leo shakes his head, “Nope. That’s how scary movies start. The nerd is always the first to die…after the black guy. I’m sticking by you.”

Laughing at the joke, we walk up the street. Eventually, we arrive in front of a building oozing with blood. We walk into the skyscraper, which reeks of the freshly murdered. A whispering echoes in my head and I wonder if Leo hears the same thing.

A pool of blood nearly two inches over our boots flows from the rooms, windows, and even the walls. I can hardly see my feet through the red river.

This is a hotel. The colors of the walls are orange, and the counters are made of marble. The computers are still on and a phone rings loudly.

Ignoring the sound, I ask, “Hey Leo. Why can I see in the dark now?”

“The suit injects nanobots into your bloodstream, a very experimental, but safe process.” He pauses long enough to make me doubt him. “I think. Anyway, they strengthen a layer of tissue known as tapetum lucidum, increasing light available to your photoreceptors. And they increase your rapid perception in emergency situations.”

“Nice. This is a rapid perception suit?”

“Yes, but don’t worry. It still outlines the path of projectiles so it’s double the trouble for your opponents,” he snorts.

After roaming the first level, we make it to the bar, where we see a pile of bodies stacked from the floor to the ceiling. Using my barcodes to sense their strength, I feel powerful data oozing from each victim in the room. They are all Apes, male and female. I’m not too concerned until I notice that they are gladiators. Whoever killed them had a purpose.

Of the few faces I see, I don’t recall ever noticing any of them in the Colt Arena.

Leo and I continue walking out of the maze of bodies until we reach a simple television room. There, I notice one person quickly flipping through different stations. Leonardo tries to pull me away quietly. But I am not frightened.

I sit down in an adjacent chair and watch as the boy that carried my cousin from the crash navigates through a few more stations, before stopping and turning to me.

Waving, I say, “Hello.” He returns the friendly gesture, but blood flies off his hand with each swing. Leo cautiously sits next to me. “How’s it going?”

His dreadlocks swing a bit as he searches his pockets. He removes a transparent green phone similar to the one Casey got me for my birthday.

“Oh. I forgot to activate mine. That’s a really nice phone.”

The boy turns on the hologram projector and types, “
Thanks
.”

“What’s your name?” I ask politely.

“
Kode. Pronounced Co-Dy.”

“Interesting name.”

“
It’s a bit boring, but thanks. What are you doing here? Your dad is probably pissed that you’re out this late
.” He types quickly. But if a cell phone were my only means of communication, I guess I’d have swift fingers too.

“He doesn’t know.”

“
Nice
.” I watch as Kode analyzes Leo. “
I see you’re showing the geek the town.”

“Don’t give him a hard time. He’s a good guy.”

“
Better than the others that follow you. I’ll give him that much.
”

My lips move before I even realize what I’m saying, “What happened to the helicopter?”

“
It crashed.”

“But why?” Kode doesn’t respond. He simply stares in my direction. “My cousin was on it so I just want to know.”

“
Helios sent one of his students with explosives attached to his body.”

“Explosives?”

“
Strange biotechnology that uses the blood of the bomber as a contaminant. Whoever his blood hits becomes a walking time bomb. The cycle of explosions can go on until it destroys an entire city.”

“Why weren’t we killed?”

“
He wasn’t in the helicopter and his blood evaporated before reaching you. The force of the explosion was still enough to hurt everyone in the air.”

“Why wasn’t he in the helicopter?” Kode doesn’t respond again. Leaning forward, I notice the blood still settling at my heels and remember to ask, “Why’d you kill so many people?”

“
Never said I did.
”

“Sorry for the assumption.”

“
No worries.
”

“Did you?”

“
Yes
.” I notice Leonardo jerk in his seat. Kode sizes him up before typing, “
Don’t soil yourself. I’m not after you.
”

“But you are after me?”

“
It’s more like I’m drawn to you.
” Kode types while looking around. “
It’s time to go. The police are in range.
”

Kode stands up and gestures for us to follow him. I gladly tag along, but Leonardo hesitates. He shakes off the cobwebs and hustles to catch up. All three of us run to the rear exit. I hold the door for Leo long enough to lose Kode.

We’re able to set up our bikes and drive a few blocks before we even hear our first siren. Somehow, Kode was able to sense them from that far away.

When we made it home later that night, both Leo and I made a silent agreement to avoid talking about what we’d seen.

On the ride home, we saw several other buildings with blood oozing from them. Each body I sensed was a gladiator of some sort, but I couldn’t tell where they were from.

There were at least ten thousand dead bodies throughout Griffith Park, and those were only from the surrounding buildings. The gladiators couldn’t belong to Colt Arena because our Apes live above the academy.

They could be Helios’ men. But why would so many be in Griffith Park?

I originally assumed normal humans without barcodes lived in that area. It seems strange that they could be suddenly replaced by thousands of warriors slaughtered by one boy.

Still in my armor, I soak in my shower for hours, unable to rationalize the events.

***

Leo and I walk to school the next day, expecting someone else to mention the river of blood and police. No one we know from Griffith Park had even gone out last night. We search online in hopes of reading some dramatic story, and we even watch the news on our phones. But there is nothing to be found about the murders. Instead, we discover information about record breaking arsons.

Results vary based on the websites we read. Some say over twenty buildings were burned to the ground at different parts of the city. Others say seventeen buildings caught on fire from one block. But not one reporter had confirmed anything with the police.

Eight

My classmates and I are waiting for Professor Gardezi to return and introduce the freshman and transfer students standing in front of our newly remodeled classroom. The floors and walls were updated with some extremely sturdy Colt Stone. The white rock feels as smooth as tile and has some hidden abilities. Leo claims he designed the room so the walls can expand and retract. The professors can shift the classes to create mazes or obstacles for training.

All the injured students from the crash have finally recovered and made their way onto the chopping block. Because god level students are so rare, we’re combined into classes regardless of age and experience. These poor saps were abandoned by Professor Gardezi with everyone gawking or whispering about them.

Professor Gardezi’s the only god I’ve ever ranked in Arnold’s unofficial weight class, monster weight. He once accepted a challenge from Arnold, but Dennis canceled the match. Though the odds were set against him, I think Gardezi had a chance. Last year, some students passed around hidden videos of Gardezi’s rooftop fights when he was our age. He killed two Mohammed Arena students on accident by simply smashing them together. Both were probably fifty-pounds less than the three hundred pound Middle Eastern man.

As the students wait, Kyle and I make fun of the odd balls. Kode faces me for a second, which draws my attention away from the misfits.

I lean over to Yukio and say, “That’s the one Gi Young said was after me.”

Dumbfounded, he asks, “Which one?”

“The only one wearing a mask.”

“I don’t see a mask.”

The freshmen and transfers have formed their own groups and are talking amongst themselves. Kode and his brother have huddled behind three freshmen. From this distance, it’s difficult to distinguish the two. Both brothers are tall, but Kode seems frailer. His brother, on the other hand, is well built and handsome. His Afro has a dark orange highlight. A few of Kode’s dreadlocks are nearly burgundy.

Kode’s brother looks thuggish, but holds himself like a king. Gods often have one or two symbolic tattoos on their body, but he has multiple designs that interlace. They are very artistic. I assume there are no barcodes on his chest. That’s considered an illegal abuse of power, even for a god.

“The one with the dreadlocks.” Yukio shakes his head. “Hey!” I shout. Each student looks our way and eventually Kode shows his masked face.

“Oh. Got it.”

“I’ve seen stronger,” I mumble.

“You’ve fought them on rooftops too,” Yukio says while smiling and pointing to himself.

I recall what Professor Thomas wrote in Yukio’s report card last year.
Though Yukio sounds like a little kid, he bites like a dragon.
Unfortunately for Professor Thomas, he was forced to write that from a hospital bed after a light sparring lesson with the little one.

I nod my head in agreement and take another chance to observe Kode, the only student who hasn’t looked away after my outburst. With my eyes still focused on his mask, I tell Yukio, “His parents didn’t even invest in real armor.” The armor on Kode’s brother is the same quality of my old Moreno gear, but Kode’s wearing what most of us consider under-armor.

Yukio says something but I tune him out. I’m processing a faint voice echoing in my head, “
Armor is made for those afraid to die
.”

Nudging Hannah, I ask, “Do you ever remember Arnold saying something like, armor is made for people afraid to die?”

Hannah giggles and replies, “It sounds too poetic for him. I’m just kidding. I might have heard that before. It would make sense, since he doesn’t wear armor. He’s always hoping someone will kill him.”

“He actually requested I fight him last year. It was the first and only time I ran away. Arnold squeezed the hell out of me the next time we met up.”

The classroom door swings open as Hannah laughs at my unfortunate past. It may sound funny, but most consider a squeeze from Arnold a near death experience. As the professor reenters the room, I wonder if he could really stand against the power of Hercules.

Professor Gardezi gestures for my cousin to enter. The stunningly beautiful girl, nearly the same height as the Payne twins, gracefully walks into the classroom as though she’d purposely shown up late. I know better—Angie’s sense of direction is an abomination. I doubt that’s changed over the past seven years.

Now that she’s an adult, her barcodes better suit her. Each of her breasts have an arrow that points towards her face.

Strangely, I’ve never seen Angie’s tattoo glow. I’m sure she’s used them in battle, but they always remain black. Rumors have it that the slash over Blake Payne’s eye remains black when activated as well.