Killshot (Icarus Series Book 1) (29 page)

              “Easy now,” I said, holding my hands up.

              Her head tilted to the side and she studied me with a predatory stare. She growled in the back of her throat, her black eyes boring into mine, and suddenly Gunther’s final moments started to make sense.

             
It’s too late.

              “Micah, stay back,” I said, my heart sinking as the ache in my chest leveled. “That
thing
is not your mom, anymore.”

              “No,” Micah shouted. “Mom, please!”

              Micah continued to yell at his mother, but she neither saw nor heard him. The moment her jet-black eyes were set on me, it was as if nothing else existed. I rounded the corner of the dresser, crouched low, and backed away so she couldn’t flank me. I held my knife out though my hands were shaking as she slowly stalked towards me. Her head jerked and twitched, tilting from side to side as she sized me up. Suddenly, the hum in my chest stopped and my instincts took over.

              “Stop!” I yelled, standing tall. My voice rumbled with strength I was not aware I possessed. The creature ducked its head.

              “Back
off!
” I spat, taking a step forward.

              She cringed as if the sound of my voice caused her physical pain and took a step back. Her head cocked to the side, and she squinted her inky eyes at me, gnashing her teeth together in a futile effort to resist.

              “I said,” I took two more steps and squared my shoulders. “Back…the hell…
off
!

              She hissed at me but dropped herself back down onto all fours and lowered her gaze. Her blood soaked hair draped over her face to the floor, leaving red streaks across the beige carpet as she backed away from me.

              “What the hell?” Falisha shrieked, shattering whatever spell I had over Micah’s mom, and all hell broke loose.

              In a flash, the creature wheeled around, bared her teeth and leaped through the air towards my friends. Micah lunged at the same time, intercepting the attack. His body collided with his mother’s in a tangle of limbs and teeth and they rolled to the floor a few feet away. The monster came out on top and lashed at him with hooked fingers and gnashing teeth.

              I tried to move, but my feet were frozen in place. I launched my knife at her. It flew through the air, head over hilt, and sank deep into the flesh of her back. She didn’t even flinch.

             
Shit, shit, shit!

              I couldn’t move. The pull…it was
pushing
now, holding me back.

              “Mom, no,” Micah hissed through gritted teeth.

              He had hold of her wrists, desperately trying to fend off her superior strength. Her jaws snapped at him, and blood and spittle dribbled down into his pinched up face. Her legs were locked around his hips as she thrashed and fought against his waning grasp. Her face was just inches from his neck and he was struggling to keep her at bay.

              She lunged forward again, teeth bared, a wild look in her eyes. I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye and a loud explosion echoed through the room with a
bang
.

The smell of sulfur and burning flesh assailed my nose as black splatter painted the floral wallpaper. The creature stopped thrashing and slumped down onto Micah, her arms splayed limply at her sides. Her wild hair fanned out over Micah’s face as the last bit of life drained from her thrashing body.

              Suddenly the ache in my chest was gone. There was no pull, no push…just nothing. There was only the ringing in my ears, the desperate sound of Bella’s barking and Micah’s muffled sobs as he tried to wrestle his mother’s body off of him.

              “What….the hell…was
that?
” Jake stood in the doorway, his mom’s handgun held out and still smoking in his hand.

Chapter 29

Picket Fences

               “No, no, no,” Micah was pleading as his mother’s disfigured body flopped to the floor. “Mom, wake up. Wake. Up!”

              He smoothed what was left of her nightgown, then slicked her bloody hair back from her face, as a pool of red-black blood formed around what was left of her skull. His body shook and he rocked back and forth on his knees as he stared down at her limp and bloodied corpse.

              “Please…God, no.” His tears sliced flesh colored trenches through the field of tarry blood on his face.

              “Micah, I’m—” I gently touched his shoulder, but he shirked away and turned on me.

              “Don’t! Don’t you fucking touch me,” he snapped, and then went back to rocking silently over his mother’s body.

There was nothing I could say or do in that moment to console my friend, aside from giving him some space. His pain was raw and warranted. The second I turned away, my eyes landed on the heap that was Zander’s listless form and I rushed to his side. Riley saw me approach and traded places with me, turning her attention to Micah. I called after her. “Go easy, okay, Ry?”

              She nodded and tiptoed slowly to where Micah sat, cradling his mother’s blood-soaked body. He did not acknowledge her presence, but she didn’t seem to mind. She simply stood by his side and said nothing as he cried helplessly over the woman who had given him life.

              “He’s got a pulse and he’s breathing okay,” Falisha said as I lowered myself to the floor. “I think he’s just knocked out.”

              Sure enough, as soon as I touched my hand to his face, his brow furrowed and he began to stir. “Liv…Mic?”

              “Shh. Take it easy Zan,” I tried to sooth him.

              Zander’s eyes went wide as he scrambled onto his elbows and shuffled back until he slammed into the same wall that had rendered him unconscious. “What—how did you? Micah!”

              “It’s okay,” I dashed to his side again and smoothed his hair from his face. Bella was barking furiously now, her claws scraping from inside the closet door. I had to raise my voice to be heard over her panicked frenzy. “He’s fine. Everyone is fine, you just took a nasty— fall.”

              “I got this.” Falisha rose to her feet, giving Micah and his mother a wide berth on her way to release Bella from the closet. “I’ll let her out, before she busts the door down.”

              “What happened?” Zander grunted, rubbing the back of his head. His blackened hand was pressed firmly to his ribs, a few of which were probably broken based on the way he had hit the wall.

              “Yes, Liv,” Jake took a knee next to me, the smoking gun still in his hand. His voice was, little more than a squeak. “What the hell
did
happen, and what on Earth was that thing?”

              “That,” I said, pointing at the creature’s dead body, “used to be Micah’s mom.”

“What?” Jake shrieked, all color draining from his face.

“She was infected,” I said, lowering myself into a seated position. “Gunther called them
leeches
—he begged me not to let him become a monster, but I didn’t know what he meant until now. You guys, he looked just like her; the blackened and burned skin, those nasty blisters…and you saw her eyes, right? Gunther’s went that same empty shade of black just before—
.
”

              “Before what, Liv?” Jake narrowed his eyes at me.

              “Before I killed him,” I said, my eyes dropping to the floor.

              “Wait, what?” Jake said. “You told us he died. You never mentioned
killing
him.”

              “He was infected, Jake,” I whispered, bracing myself as Bella came bounding towards me, “just like Micah’s mom. He was dying.”

              “Oh my God,” Jake’s hand shot to his mouth.

              “He begged me to end his suffering; said that he was too far gone. He didn’t want to become a monster.
That
,” I said, pointing to the blackened body at Micah’s feet, “is what he meant.”

              “So, with Gunther the pull stopped—” Zander was rubbing his chest.

              “It stopped when he died, didn’t it,” Jake asked.

“Yes, and I think we felt it again, as we got closer to Micah’s house because we were getting closer to her.” I rose to my feet, dusting myself off as I turned to face the blackened corpse on the other side of the room. Riley’s eyes met mine, and she made her way over to us with a confused and terrified look on her face.

              “What the hell is going on?” Riley asked, looking back over her shoulder at Micah as she approached. She leaned in and whispered. “Is that
thing
really his mom?”

              “I think so,” I said, my eyes stinging as a lump formed in my throat.

              “That was his mom?” Jake muttered to himself.

“She was ready for us, Liv,” Zander said, clutching his ribs as he stood. “It’s like she
knew
we were coming.”

              “Maybe it works both ways,” Falisha said. “I mean, you said it’s like you can feel them, right? So who’s to say they don’t feel you too?”

              “Oh, God,” Jake said, staring down at the gun in his shaky hand. “That was his
mom
.”

              “Liv, she had us cornered, growling and snapping.” Deep creases sliced across Zander’s forehead. “Micah was trying to talk to it, to
her
, but it was like she didn’t recognize him. She just lashed out at him like a wild animal. Then Bella jumped in and tried to fight her off, but Micah grabbed her collar, dragged her back, and shoved her into the closet. The next thing I know, I see your face as I am flying across the room and everything goes dark.”

              “I tried to get to you, but when she went after Micah, I panicked,” I said. “As soon as I had her attention, it was like she was glued to me. At first, I thought she was going to attack, but then, I don’t know— I just had this feeling and I went with it. I screamed at her, and she just backed down, like bowed almost. It was so weird.”

              “Holy shit,” Jake said, his eyes wide.

              “Yeah,” Zander agreed. “But how did you take her down, Liv?”

              “I didn’t,” I said, pointing to Jake. “He did.”

              “But…but, I had to,” Jake protested, setting the gun down and backing away as if it had burned his hand. “It, I mean she, was going to kill Micah, and Liv was just—God, what have I done? I killed his mom, you guys!”

              “You did the right thing, Jake. She wouldn’t have stopped with her son. She would have killed all of us.” I cut him off and grabbed his hand. “And you’re right, I don’t know what happened. I was just stuck, like there was a force field around her and I couldn’t get through it. I wanted to go to them, to do something, but I just stood there, frozen. Guys, I threw my knife straight into her back and she barely felt it.”

              “A hive,” Jake said, his eyes going wide. “A goddamn hive!”

              “What?” Riley and I shrieked together.

              “This parasite, virus, whatever…I think it creates a hive network within the infected,” he said.

              “A hive,” Falisha said, “as in like
bees?”

              “Essentially, yeah,” Jake nodded. “Each hive member has its own mind, its own consciousness— autonomy. But at the same time, they are all just cogs in a machine, dependent on a central force. Hive members can sense each other. Their instincts drive them seek one another out. These same urges are what guide them to protect and serve the hive and its members.”

              “Okay,” Zander sounded as confused as I was. “So, what does that mean?”

              “A hive mentality is communication on a level beyond language,” Jake said. “This pull, as you call it, you say feel it when one of the infected—um, when a
leech
is close, right?”

              “Well, yes and no,” Zander said as I nodded. “I feel it with the others, yes, but it’s different with Liv. It’s more like, well, it’s like I feel what she is feeling.”

              “Whoa,” Falisha said, her brows rising. “For real?”

              “I mean, it’s not all the time or anything,” Zander said, his response timed perfectly with my instant anxiety. “It’s just when it’s a really strong emotion. Like the fire at the Tates, I could practically feel the heat and taste the smoke. I have never been so scared in my life. One minute I was about to pass out, and a second later my body started vibrating with this weird energy. It was like my nerves were on fire. The next thing I know, I’m covered in broken glass and looking down at her face as she is laying on the ground.”

              “That was crazy,” Falisha said, shaking her head.

              “I barely remember running to her,” Zander said, his gaze drawing me in, “but I’ll never forget the moment she opened her eyes.”

              “Probably because she puked on you,” Falisha snorted, earning Riley’s elbow.

              “Liv, do you realize what this means?” Jake said, but as usual blank stare confirmed that I didn’t. “Your instincts and heightened senses, Zander’s drive to protect you and your connection to each other, not to mention to the others that were infected?”

              “Get to the point, Jake.” My head beginning to pound again, and I felt sick to my stomach.

              “I think Micah’s mom submitted to you, Liv. That’s why you couldn’t hurt her,” Jake said. “When Gunther asked you to end his life, you felt like you didn’t have a choice—you felt compelled to end his suffering, right?”

              I nodded, not trusting myself to speak thanks to the bile rising at the back of my throat.

              “He trusted you, a perfect stranger…a damn
teenage
r, to take care of him?” Jake threw his hands in the air. “Liv, a man you had never met trusted you to end his suffering.”

              “What the hell are you getting at?” My heart was beating in my throat.

              “Liv, you’re an
alpha
,” Jake said, meeting my stare. “A queen.”

              Before I could process what he had said or raise protest, Jake’s body slammed into the floor at my feet. Micah was sprawled on top of him punching wildly and without direction. His blows connected haphazardly with Jake’s face and shoulders. Jake thrust his arms up attempting to shield himself, but Micah outweighed him by a good thirty pounds.

              “You killed her, you son of a bitch,” Micah howled, punching and kicking the open air as Zander pulled him off of Jake. “You
killed
my mom!”

              “Micah,” Zander yelled as he wrestled his cousin off of Jake. “Micah, calm the hell down, please?”

              “It’s going to be okay, Micah,” Riley sobbed, pushing against his chest as Falisha helped Jake up from the floor. “Please just stop!”

              “No, it’s
not
going to be okay,” he screamed, elbowing Zander hard in his already tender ribs. “That little
fag
killed my mom!”

              “
Micah!
” Riley gasped, stepping back in horror as the terrible word left his mouth.

              And I snapped.

The second Micah broke free of Zander’s grasp, my fist connected with his face cutting him short as he dove after Jake again. His head snapped back and he sank to the carpet at Jake’s feet. Micah curled into a ball and began sobbing. Riley tried her best to comfort him, but I could tell he had broken something in her and her heart was no longer in it.

              “Are you okay?” I said, gently touching Jake’s arm with my now throbbing hand.

              His already black eye and his nose were starting to swell, his lip was bleeding, and his tears ran unchecked down his face. Jake slowly backed away as he stared down at Micah’s sobbing form.

              “Don’t. I’m fine,” Jake said, flatly, jerking away from my touch. “We should go.”                 

***

              “Oww! Jesus Liv.” Jake swatted at my hand.

              “Come on, Jake, just let me see it,” I swatted back, trying to get a good look at his bloody nose and swollen eye.

              “Trust me, Jake,” Zander said. “It’s easier if you don’t fight it.”

              “Glad you think so, tough guy,” I said, shooting a look over my shoulder, “because you’re next.”

              As much as we didn’t want to leave Micah alone with his mother, none of us were able to stomach the gruesome scene in the bedroom any longer. We had all gathered in the hallway. Zander’s hand rested softly on my lower back. His warmth steadied me but did little to chase away the reality of our situation. Micah’s mother had lost her life tonight and her memory deserved more time than we had to give. The sun would be up in a couple of hours and we needed to get moving.