Just a Little Death (Children of the Apocalypse Book 1) (9 page)

Algebra is the Devil's Tool

I didn’t see Ruthie when I woke the next morning. As an angel I’m sure she had other duties to attend to and sleeping in wasn’t a luxury she had. I stood to get out of bed and pain shot through me as I put pressure on the wounded leg. I took a deep breath and limped my way to my closet to pull out clothes for the day. I opted for baggier pants so as not to restrict my calf and a red shirt. I made my way to the showers, showered, dressed, and headed out for class.

I moved slower than normal so coffee before class wasn’t an option. I reached the classroom and Jared sat in his seat with an extra cup of coffee and a huge grin on his face. He set the second cup at the empty seat next to him. He was a lifesaver. I gimped my way over and sat down.

“You are amazing.” I cupped the coffee with my hands and savored the warmth. “Just what I needed.”

He sipped his coffee and his gaze never left my face. “You look like you had a rough night. I was hoping to see you at dinner, but I must have missed you.”

“Yeah, I had an early dinner and a meeting with a tutor last night.” I focused on the lid of the coffee. “I took a spill last night and then ended up at the doctors for a bit to make sure I didn’t break anything or need stitches.” It hadn’t occurred to me that I might have needed actual medical attention, but it was the best lie I could give.

“I’m glad you’re all right. I saw the limp, must have hurt your leg pretty bad.” He leaned back in his chair. “What did the doctor say?”

I froze for a moment and my mind raced to find an answer. I took a drink of my coffee, trying to stall. “Nothing is broken and I should be fine. That I need to be more careful.” I forced a smile. “I’ve always been clumsy.”

“Must have been one hell of a fall.” There was something akin to disbelief in his voice.

Professor L walked in and the class fell silent. She had an evil grin on her face. “Pass your homework forward and prepare for a test.”

Test? My heart skipped a few beats. There wasn’t a test on the syllabus and she hadn’t mentioned anything on Saturday when she disrupted my mother and I. I pressed my lips together. I could do this, but my palms sweated at the idea of an unscheduled test. I tried to breathe past the panic in my throat and focus. I knew the material; I knew the methods that she was demanding. I could do this.

I dug my homework out of a folder and passed it to the front and Jared did the same. We waited for the tests to be passed around. I took a deep breath before looking at it. Algebraic equations covered the pages and the letters mixed with the numbers almost threw me into a panic attack. Test anxiety sucked and I tried to get my brain to obey me and focus on the problems on the paper. An hour later, I had managed to finish all the problems on the test. I walked it to the front of the class and put it on her desk. I glanced over my shoulder at the students still taking their tests. Summoning my scythe wasn’t an option now. Despite the barrier that would form, I didn’t like the idea that there were innocent and defenseless people around.

Professor L smiled at me and put a hand on top of mine when I laid the test down on the desk. “How do you think you did?”

“I feel pretty confident about it.” I removed my hand and smiled. “I’ll see you Wednesday.” I walked out and tried to ignore the stiffness that was forming in my calf. I leaned against the wall and took a moment to stretch the leg. I hissed as the wounds pulled with the stretching, but it needed to be done or I was going to cramp.

“Surprise tests are the worst.” Jared said as he walked out of the classroom. “I hate tests in general, but surprise ones always shoot my anxiety through the roof.”

I chuckled. “Me too, but I think I managed.” I hope I did, because I didn’t want any more of her attention on me. I stood straight and started towards my next class. Jared went a different direction. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Professor L watching me through the window of the classroom door. I shook my head, trying to shake away any paranoid thoughts creeping in.

I walked into the cafeteria after my classes and saw Pete and Kaleb sitting in the corner. They gave me a little wave and I nodded. I went and chose my food and then joined them.

“How’s the leg?” Pete asked and stole a French fry off my plate.

“Hurts like a bitch.” I grumbled. “How’s the side?”

“Same.” He turned to Kaleb. “Kaleb was just telling me how a big flu is starting to wipe out half of the bird population. The prices of eggs, chicken, and turkey products are expected to skyrocket.”

I rolled my eyes. “This happens once a year, swine flu hits and pork goes up. It’s just a way to adjust the economy a little.”

“It’s every country, not just ours. The wheat farms are also experiencing a bug infestation that is expected to drop production to a fourth” Kaleb pointed out and turned his tablet so I could see the numbers. “They are saying that if either gets worse, the products will be rationed and the price will triple at least.”

Famine would hit and people wouldn’t be able to afford the prices of the product. “So that means that Famine officially has stopped doing his job?” I grumbled and leaned back.

They both gave a grim nod. “Looks that way.” Pete took a drink of his soda. “Did you check out your algebra teacher today?”

“Couldn’t, there was still a classroom of students there. I didn’t want to risk another innocent life and screw up.” I put my head in my hands. “I need something for the pain in my leg or I’m going to throw up.”

“Ruthie went to pick us up some extra strength pain killers. The only way you’re going to get more is if you go to the doctor’s and they will want a detailed explanation.”

I groaned. “If we’re so great and are supposed to be fighting demons on a regular basis, shouldn’t we get some type of extra quick healing ability?”

“It’ll heal quicker, but in the meantime, the pain is still very real. It’ll be gone by the end of the week.” He promised and looked to Kaleb.

Kaleb glanced up from his tablet. “They’ve updated the death numbers for the plague. They aren’t looking good. And there’s been no progress with Texas threatening war. We may very well experience a civil war within the next couple of weeks.”

I didn’t want to believe this was happening, and yet the evidence was right in front of us. “Hopefully we make progress this weekend then.”

“Hopefully.” Pete drummed on the table. “And until then, we know we have to deal with the Sins. Gluttony said her mission was completed when she killed my grandfather. Which means that the other past horsemen are possible targets.”

“How many are there left?”

Kaleb tapped something on his screen. “In the generation before our fathers’ there’s only two now, but there are a few generations further back than that. There are probably about ten left. You need to let your father know tonight so he can warn the others.”

I had forgotten about going to see him tonight. Training with my leg was going to hurt, but it wasn’t like he was going to let me use that as an excuse. I needed to know how to fight while in pain, to focus on what mattered and work through it. “I can do that.”

“Tonight I’ll have more information on the other locations we’ll visit. There’s a lot of research that goes into which ones have actual significance and which ones were just named after the Devil for human curiosity.”

I raised a brow. “What exactly is the significance?”

“It’s where the veil between Hell and the human world is thin.” Pete explained. “We’re not just picking places that sound like the Devil is at work, but places where the demons can visit easier, where humans can be tempted easily, and death is almost a promise.” He looked at me. “Did you think we were just going to visit random spots?”

I wanted to punch him. “You guys aren’t exactly great at explaining things, so yes. I figured we’d just hit up all the ‘Devil’s whatevers’ out there and hope that we got lucky.”

Kaleb held up his hand to silence me. “We often forget that you aren’t schooled in the apocalypse and the different realms. Next time, ask.” The moment he was done speaking he went back to scrolling on the tablet.

I didn’t think I’d done anything out of line and the pain made me irritable. I finished my lunch and stood. “I’ll see you later.” I took my tray to the belt and then walked out of the cafeteria. I didn’t want to go straight to Death’s realm and work on fighting. I didn’t want to return to my dorm and face Ruthie there. What I wanted to do was something unrelated to the apocalypse. The car was still out of commission and walking to the movie theater was out of the question. I limped my way towards the library, it was the next best choice and maybe I’d find a good book to read.

By the time I got to the library my leg burned and the pain seared its way up to my hip. I should have chosen to go to the dorms in hope Ruthie had found some painkillers for me. I didn’t believe Pete when he told me that the wounds would be gone by the end of the week. I sat down at one of the tables and took a moment to breathe through the discomfort. Soreness worked through my muscles from limping, my knee creaked in protest as I shifted my weight once more trying to baby the hurt leg, and my spine popped as I stretched. I never put much thought into how much of a toll limping took on the body.

“Shouldn’t you be at your father’s?” Ruthie’s voice whispered in my ear and I jumped just a bit. I leaned my head back to see her standing behind me.

I closed my eyes and shrugged. “Probably. I don’t feel much like getting my ass kicked today though. I had enough of that last night.”

The chair next to me squeaked across the floor and the weight of Ruthie’s hand fell on my knee. “You had a tough night. You got your first real battle wound and you and Pete made a mistake.”

Why did everyone feel the need to point that out? My heart sank with the reminder of guilt. I didn’t look at her, I kept my head leaned back and my eyes closed.

“But at the risk of sounding cliché, that was one battle and the war’s not over yet.” She patted my leg and removed her hand. “You need the practice and the help that your father can provide you. You don’t have time to mope around the library licking your wounds.”

I looked at her. “This is a crappy pep talk.”

“I don’t need to give you a pep talk. I’ll give you a reality check. There are thirty thousand people at the end of this week that will be infected with the plague. All of those will become casualties if we don’t get our asses in gear and find the horsemen. Thirty thousand deaths at least, Sammy.”

When she put it like that, the death of one horseman sounded very small. I scanned the library and watched the students. Some wore medical masks and others were wearing gloves as if it would protect them. All of them would die if I didn’t pull myself out of my state of guilt. Their blood would be on my hands. “I’ll go.”

“Good, I’m coming with you tonight to talk to Death about the other retired horsemen. I’m hoping he can help us with them and warn them before the Sins find them.”

I stood slowly and held my hand out. “Shall we go then?” Training wouldn’t solve my grief or my shattered confidence, but Ruthie was right.

She took my hand and I closed my eyes, focusing on taking us to Death’s realm. We appeared in the clearing that Death always met us at, but found it empty. I turned around in circles and looked at the vacant, dying field. My heart thundered against my chest and I shambled through the dying stalks trying to get eyes on him.

I paid no attention to Ruthie as my mind spun with worst-case scenarios. Images of him being struck down by Gluttony’s whip made bile rise in my throat. Death appeared on a hill in the distance and relief flooded through me. I took a few deep breaths and slowed down. Sharp stabs of pain shot through me with every new step I took. Ruthie came up to my side and put a hand on my shoulder.

“You okay?”

“I’m lamenting the fact that I don’t have instant healing abilities and recovering from the small heart attack he just gave me.” I motioned to Death.

He turned to face us and relief crossed his face. “Sammy.”

“Hi.” I tried to smile, but it was forced and lasted only a second. “Can we stick to easier lessons today? I kind of got hurt fighting a Sin.”

His gaze turned to Ruthie. “You let her face a Sin?” He snarled. “She isn’t able to fight at that level yet. What were you thinking?”

“Pete was with her, they went to see Daniel when Gluttony showed up.” She held her hands up. “I thought wherever they went they’d be able to handle it together.”

I shrugged. “Lesson learned.”

He motioned for us to head back to the clearing. “Daniel’s soul is no longer on earth and I wasn’t called to claim it.”

“It was consumed by a shadow demon.” I limped next to him. “Pete and I were both so focused on Gluttony that neither of us protected Daniel. I’m truly sorry for the screw-up.”

He put a hand on my shoulder. “Everyone makes mistakes. Next time you and Pete won’t face a Sin alone. I assume that’s why Ruthie is here? To tell me about it?”

“I’m here to see if you can warn the other retired horsemen. Gluttony mentioned that her mission had been to kill Daniel.” She didn’t look back at us, but trudged through the dead plants.

We reached the clearing and I expected to stop, but Death nudged me forward. “I can. We should be grateful that Gluttony was on a mission or she might have also killed Pete and Sammy.”