Regenesis (Book 1): Impact (14 page)

Jordan
cleared his throat and gave a cautionary glance toward Rachel before he spoke,
“Did you hear about what happened to Ian? He was struck by lightning during the
worst part of that storm.”

“What?
Is it serious?”

“He’s
in a coma right now, but the doctors say they think he’ll pull out of it in a
little while and he should be fine.”

She
took a breath, “Still, that’s really scary.”

Jordan
carved off a small triangle of pancake and shoved it in his mouth before he
continued, “He’s pretty lucky though.”

Rachel
agreed. “He could be dead.”

Jordan
nodded but then quickly stopped eating and set his fork down. He swallowed what
food he had in his mouth, washed it down with his drink, and then told Rachel
about Nick’s brother. “He was killed that same day, right alongside Principal
Summers.”

“Are
you serious?” She looked at him as he gave her a confirming nod. “What the hell
is going on around here?”

“I’ve
got no idea.” He played with his fork for a moment before he brought up the
funeral for Nick’s brother, “It’s on Monday, so I’m probably going to be
wrapped up in that for a while, just so you know.”

“Yeah,
of course…” Rachel lowered her eyes and frowned. “I wish I hadn’t been so
thoughtless when we were at the park with him. I feel terrible.”

Jordan
told her to put it out of her mind. “I’m sure it’s the absolute last thing on
his mind right now. In fact, I doubt he even remembers it. Just forget about it
and try to remember to be all cheery and nice to him next time we see him,
okay?” He glanced over his shoulder and saw the waitress approach them with
refills. Relieved, he muttered, “Finally, I was nearly out here.”

---*---

11:57
PM

Lynnwood,
Washington

Nick
sat in his living room surrounded by a few of his relatives. He didn’t know any
of them beyond their name, as his family was rather reserved and only seemed to
meet for funerals. They arrived and offered condolences and offered to help
cook meals and handle the arrangements for the funeral. Paul made the decision
to cremate Victor, which turned Nick’s stomach when he heard it. The idea of
burial or cremation for any of his family members never crossed his mind until
his mother died. She was cremated as well, though it was her wish which she
indicated through a will of hers. Victor didn’t leave any will behind and as
such the decision was Paul’s.

Paul
discussed the details of Victor’s planned service with one of Nick’s aunts. A
few of his uncles worked on calling and informing the rest of the family about
the death. Nick merely sat in a chair with his eyes fixed on a stain on the
off-white carpet, shaped like a blurry elephant. Nick assumed it was from one
of Paul’s beers.

Paul
had always been a handful, so much so that Nick often questioned why his mother
ever agreed to marry him after Nick and Victor’s father died. Victor mentioned
it to Nick once. He told him Paul had money, the two were friends from high
school, both alone, and it sort of led off from there. Their mother had only a
high school education and as such couldn’t work as well as raise her two young
sons.

Nick
was hardly a year old when they married. He knew nothing of his true father,
other than that he died in a car accident when Nick’s mother was only a month
pregnant with him. Victor mentioned how their father worked in an auto shop and
how much he loved their mother, but beyond that he didn’t know him either, as
Victor was six when their father died.

Their
stepfather never seemed to go a night without at least one drink, which
worsened once he lost his job and worsened even further after Nick’s mother
died. He remembered how Paul cried at the funeral and how he cried for nearly a
week; it was the only time Nick ever saw the man vulnerable. Through everything
Paul subjected their family to; Nick knew that Paul truly loved his wife.

Nick
shook his head and found himself back in the living room with his family. Every
time he heard someone whisper his brother’s name, another memory would flood
back. Nick wasn’t ready to accept the loss or to mourn. He walked out of the
room and headed back to his room to grab his helmet, keys, and wallet before he
left. Nick mounted his motorcycle and rode off toward the highway without any
destination in mind. All he could tell from where he sat on his motorcycle were
the evergreens, the road, the vehicles beside him, and the gray clouds that met
the skyline ahead of him. The usual roar of the road washed out, the engines of
cars faded, and even the light sprinkling of rain faded from his conscious
thoughts.

He
thought about the last camping trip he took with Victor, when it was just the
two of them for an extended weekend out on the coast past the Olympic
Peninsula. Nick remembered the tranquility, the serene calm away from home,
from the reality of his education and the troubles between his friends and the
issues they shared with Paul. In retrospect it was the closest Nick thought
he’d ever get to paradise.

Victor
spent most of the time reading, which was far from uncommon for him on a
camping trip. He would leisurely make his way through a book or two in one of
their trips, even if Drake, Ian, and Jordan joined them. Nick even knew where
the copy of his favorite book,
The Great Gatsby
,
was in their
house at that very moment. He wasn’t sure if it was his last, but it was the
final book Nick remembered his brother reading.

Nick
on the other hand never managed to bring anything to occupy his time, and as
such he would take long walks along the beach on his own and think. He hiked to
the top of a bluff on that trip and just sat and stared out at the ocean for
what seemed like eternity then, but seconds when he reflected upon it.

The
rain picked up and brought Nick back to the highway. He took an exit which
eventually led him to Jordan’s work. He stopped off there to get out of the
rain and used the weather as an excuse to get something to eat more than to
visit his pal.

Jordan
leaned against the back counter with his arms folded across his chest as he
endured one of his manager’s lectures. Crystal wore the same stern-as-hell look
she’d always put on alongside her store uniform and manager nametag. She held a
gray purse in her hand with a nearby bank’s logo emblazoned on the side. Once
she’d finished with Jordan she left the store without so much as glancing at
Nick. Amy stood in the back of the shop. She prepared something Nick couldn’t
see, but she did glance up and smile once Nick walked in through the front
doors.

However,
Jordan stood between them. He grinned when he saw his friend walk in, completely
unaware of Amy’s sudden flutter of heart. Nick didn’t see it either, so it
wasn’t Jordan’s fault he was in the way.

“How
are you doing?” asked Jordan.

Nick
shrugged. “About as g-good as I-I can be.”

Jordan
nodded. “I’m sorry, y’know…about everything.”

Nick
thanked him and changed the subject by asking, “C-Could I get a sandwich?”

“Sure,
what do you want?”

“I
don’t know.”

Jordan
nodded and told him he would take care of things for him. He started to prepare
the sandwich when he asked Nick if he’d heard about Ian. Nick nodded and asked
how he was doing. Jordan took a deep breath and told him that he would survive.
“He’s comatose but they think he’ll pull out soon enough. Drake spoke with the
doctor and he believes that everything will be fine.” Jordan snickered and told
him how the lightning strike singed Ian’s hair, “Let’s just say he’s going to
need a pretty good haircut once he wakes up.”

Nick
didn’t laugh. Jordan added the meats, cheese, and a few vegetables before he
toasted the sandwich and continued, “I was out for breakfast with Rachel this
morning and she wanted me to tell you she’s sorry about everything. She really
didn’t mean to hurt you, and she wanted me to tell you she’s sorry about…”
Jordan stopped himself and dropped the topic.

The
toaster oven signaled its completion and Jordan quickly retrieved the sub. He
added a few more vegetables and sauces and finally wrapped it up, handed it to
Nick, and told him he’d take care of paying for it. “Just take care of yourself
this weekend, okay?”

Nick
agreed, thanked him, and walked back to one of the booths near the back of the
shop just as Crystal returned from the bank. A small wave of customers followed
after her and Nick watched them as they lined up to order. A married couple was
first, followed by an elderly gentleman, then two teenage girls, and lastly a
twenty-something construction worker on his lunch break. Jordan worked the
front end of the line, Amy manned the final portions of the operation, and
Crystal manned the register.

He
returned to his sandwich.

One
bite of the sandwich reminded Nick of how great a cook Jordan was. It brought
him back to the first time he tried anything Jordan made. It was a camping
trip, as most of Nick’s fond memories with his friends were. The group, the
five of them including Victor, planned on hiking up some mountain in Oregon
that escaped Nick’s memory, but each of them agreed to cook one of the evening
meals, and Jordan was last. He made some sort of stew that everyone agreed was
heavenly (Nick later learned that the hunger they all felt had nothing to do
with the mutual agreement). From that moment onward Jordan’s sole duty on their
trips was to cook and everyone else agreed to carry his things for him so long
as he agreed. Jordan never declined.

Another
customer entered the restaurant and caught Nick’s eye. The man wore what Nick
believed must have been an expensive outfit. It consisted of a black shirt he
guessed was made of silk or something of the like worn with the sleeves rolled
up, well ironed slacks, matching belt and shoes, and a black tie with a crimson
music note on it. He had a bag slung over his shoulder, wore dark sunglasses,
and danced to the music he listened to without so much as a care as to what
everyone else thought. Nick couldn’t help but look. He didn’t understand how
someone could be so completely carefree, but he tried to mind his own business
when the dancing man ordered his pastrami sandwich.

Most
of the customers stayed in to dine, but the strange fellow who continued to
dance throughout the ordering process mentioned he had places to be. He paid by
credit card and handed it to Crystal as he set the pastrami sandwich in his
bag, and thanked the three of them.

Crystal
printed out the receipt and glanced at the name on the card to thank him
properly, “Thank you for your business Mister Jacobs, please do come again.”

Nick
and Jordan both glanced at Crystal when she said his name. The man thanked her
again, but followed by telling her to keep the card. “I won’t be needin’ it
anymore.”

Crystal
cocked an eyebrow, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Am
I right in assumin’ yer Miss Crystal Valentine?” he asked.

“Yes,
why?”

He
grinned, “Then I guess I’ve found ya.”

In
a single fluid motion, he seized Crystal by the back of her neck, reached into
his bag with his free hand to retrieve a jagged blade, and slit her throat
clean through to her spinal cord. Panic ensued in the form of screams and
shouts on everyone’s part. The killer let the weapon and the woman fall onto
the countertop, though Crystal immediately fell to the floor.

The
murderer turned on heel and thanked the rest of the store for their cooperation
before he started for the door. However the construction worker made a vain
attempt to stop the killer. The murderer retrieved and threw three shurikens
into the man’s throat in what Nick only saw as a blur.

The
assassin cursed, “I nearly had a clean getaway, but this prick had ta be all
heroic…” he glanced about at the rest of them and asked, “Does anyone else
wanna be a damn hero?” After a relatively insignificant interval of time he
answered for them, “‘No! No! Please don’t kill us! We promise we’ll be good
lil’ boys and girls. Honest!’” he stopped for a brief moment and after a
breath, thanked them and left.

Nick
saw the husband of the couple slowly stand from his seat and approached the
construction worker who bled out on the green and beige tiled floor. The
elderly man shortly joined him in determining whether the young man was alive
or not. Jordan and Amy were behind the counter and Nick thought he could hear
both of them crying. Nick felt his own heart race, the cold sweat on his body,
the pit in his gut, and the deep seeded urge to flee. He closed his eyes, took
a few breaths, and convinced himself that he had to help. He had to move and
needed to make sure his friends were okay. Nick took a final reassuring breath
and walked over to the swivel door that barred him from the remaining
employees.

He
pulled it back and could already feel Crystal’s blood on his fingers. Crystal
lay behind the door in a pool of her own blood, blood which continued to slowly
seep from her throat. Nick forced himself to look away from the sight. He
stepped over her to get to Jordan first, who sat against a wall with tears all
across his face, paler than death, and his eyes locked on the corpse of his
manager.