The Havoc Chronicles (Book II): Unbound (18 page)

With a whoop and a “Yee-haw!” he flew over the side, a glowing comet slashing through the air to land in the pool below with a huge splash. I held my breath waiting to see if he was okay. Within seconds he emerged from the water whooping and hollering like it was an amusement park ride.

In unison, I saw three sets of eyes turn from watching Josiah below, to where Eric and I stood on the side.

“Oh no,” I said, and started to back up.

Before I could go anywhere, I felt Eric’s grip on my arm, holding me in place, a huge grin splitting his face.

As if that were the cue, the other three Berserkers rushed towards me, grabbed my arms and legs and dragged me towards the falls.

I thrashed and yelled, having no desire to go over the edge. It must have reached a critical level because Eric leaned down and whispered in my ear. “I promise you won’t get hurt. Relax and let go.”

“I’m not worried about that,” I said. And I wasn’t. I had been a Berserker long enough to know I was pretty sturdy when ‘zerking. “I just don’t want to get wet.”

That was clearly the wrong thing to say.

Eric laughed and with a single heave, they threw me over the edge.

I flew through the air, speeding downward. A strange sense of duality hit me. I felt like I was speeding towards the water below, and yet simultaneously moving in slow motion. My adrenalin surged and the world became even brighter and the colors more vivid.

It felt wonderful!

I splashed into the first pool and made a split second decision. Without surfacing, I swam behind the rushing water so I wouldn’t be visible from above. Safely hidden, I waited until I heard Eric’s panicked yell. A few seconds later he splashed into the pool just in front of me.

Seizing the opportunity for revenge, I swam up behind Eric and pinned his arms at his sides.

“Madison, you’re all-” he began, but was quickly cut off as I dunked him under the water and then lifted him into the air, throwing him over the edge of the second drop.

Eric flailed awkwardly as he splashed down, sputtering to catch his breath from the lower pool where Josiah laughed and dunked Eric back under the moment he came up for air.

Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who wanted a bit of revenge.

As the other Berserkers landed in the first pool with me, I decided it would be better to jump of my own accord than to have them tackle me again.

This time I executed a smooth dive with a couple of flips and twists in it. I had always liked watching the divers in the Olympics, but I had never dared to try any of their moves. Now the movement came easily and naturally to me.

With hardly any splash, I landed in the lower pool and surfaced near Eric. He glared at me.

“That was devious and deceitful, Madison. You made me think something had gone wrong and then took advantage of me.” His stern look morphed into his patented mischievous smile. “I must be rubbing off on you.”

We jumped off the falls several more times before I started getting too cold. Running up the trail helped keep me warm, and the ‘zerk seemed to moderate my body temperature, but after a while, it was draining to keep the ‘zerk going, and I was ready to be done.

To my pleasant surprise Eric had come prepared. The back of the Range Rover was filled with towels, blankets and coats. There was even a full set of new clothes for me to change into.

I found a secluded spot and changed, coming back to find Eric sitting on the ground with a blanket wrapped around him.

“Care to join me?” he asked.

The other Berserkers were already heading back up to the top for more, so I sat down beside him, well out of cuddle range.

Of course that lasted for about three seconds. He immediately scooted over and tried to wrap the blanket around me as well. It was like one of Amy’s devious plans, but with all the subtlety of a rampaging elephant.

I held up an arm to stop him before it happened. “Eric, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He gave me an exaggerated expression of hurt. “You besmirch my honor, Madison,” he said and retracted the arm holding out the open blanket.

“Besmirch?”

“To charge falsely or with malicious-”

“I know the definition,” I said. “I just don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone actually use it in conversation before.”

“Well, lucky for both of us I’m not just anyone,” Eric said. “Now, you are wet and cold, and I am trying to be a gentleman and offer you some warmth.” He held out the blanket again. “No strings attached.”

Unfortunately, Eric was right. I was kind of cold and I could feel the beginning of my teeth wanting to chatter. With a sigh, I let Eric wrap half of the blanket around me.

“How much longer do you think they are going to be?” I asked. One of the Berserkers – I couldn’t tell who from so far down – did a swan dive into the lower falls.

“I don’t know. I say let them have their fun. It’s not very often that we get to socialize with any of the seven.”

“Rhys seems to think they’re more interested in showing each other up than in catching Havocs,” I said.

“He would.” Eric rolled his eyes. “There’s more to being a Berserker than searching for Havocs. We’ve spent the last several months doing that and it’s time for a break. Sure, the seven like to play, but they’re in a bit of a different situation.”

“How so?”

“Most of the time, the idiots who think it’s a good idea to free the Havocs don’t bother with the seven because it’s next to impossible to kill them all at the same time. Especially since at any given time there is one who is always in hiding. The location is constantly changing and is only known by one other person. That means they are rarely targeted like we are. Plus, the Havocs who do get free generally come after one of us five. Mostly you for now.”

“But don’t you think they should be helping you capture the other Havocs? Isn’t that part of the Berserker’s duty?”

Eric shook his head slowly. “I knew it was dangerous leaving you here with Rhys. Clearly his stick-in-the-muddery has worn off on you.” He pulled back a bit and turned so he was facing me. “Can’t you see? There is no duty. You can’t have duty if you don’t make a commitment, and believe me, I didn’t sign up for this.” He took a deep breath. “Let’s talk about something else. What’s been going on at school? Is Ginger still giving you a hard time? I have some new ideas on how to get back at her if she is.”

For the next few minutes I gave him the update on what had happened, careful to avoid any mention that I was dating Rhys. I told him about the attack in the alley, about casting the haze on Josh and his renewed affections, and about the Azark I killed on the catwalk in the auditorium.

Rather than looking shocked at the news of Berserker assassins summoned by Binders, he looked more amused than anything.

 “Well that’s just not fair,” Eric said. “I go out looking for a bit of adventure hunting Osadyn and instead all the excitement ends up being here, with you.” There was something different about the way Eric said this. It started off with his usual mocking tone, but by the end, he was gazing into my eyes like we were long lost lovers reunited at last.

“Yeah, it’s non-stop excitement with me around,” I said, trying to add a bit of humor to an increasingly awkward conversation.

“You don’t understand how special you are,” Eric said, reaching out and holding my hand tightly in his.

Clearly my efforts to lighten the situation had backfired. Instead of taking the hint that I didn’t want to have a serious conversation about us, Eric had interpreted my comment as misplaced insecurity in need of reassurance. He seemed poised on the verge of professing undying love to me.

Not the conversation I wanted to have right now. Or ever, really.

“While I was gone, I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he said. “About us. About the picnic up in the gorge.”

“You mean the time when I almost killed you when I shot up with my EpiPen?”

The only reaction this elicited was a brief smile. Clearly, Eric had been planning this conversation for a while and subtle hints were not sufficient to derail it now.

“About how you and I connected that day. How I was able to confide in you and tell you things I had never told another living soul. That was something special.”

Crap! What was I supposed to do? I could see where this was going. Should I cut him off before he said something we both regretted or let him talk and then gently tell him I wasn’t interested?

“We have a connection,” he continued. “There is no denying that.”

“Look, Eric, I–”

“Shhh.” He pressed a finger to my lips.

Did he just shush me?

I’m sure it was intended to be romantic or something, but it felt condescending. Was what I had to say unimportant?

He leaned in for a kiss, and in that instant I knew I couldn’t let this go on any longer. I held up a hand and gently stopped him from getting close enough to kiss me.

Eric’s eyes fluttered open, surprise and confusion clouding his features. “What’s wrong?”

I pulled the blanket off of me. “It’s this, Eric,” I said, indicating the two of us. “I think you’re a great guy, but I don’t think you and I are right for each other.”

A brief look of pain flashed across Eric’s face, only to be replaced a second later with a mocking grin. It happened quickly, but not quickly enough that I could convince myself he wasn’t hurting.

“Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying,” he said. He stood up and gave an exaggerated stretch. “I’m going to take a few more jumps.”

He ‘zerked and ran off into the night, his glow disappearing behind the trees as he raced up the switchbacks.

I watched him disappear up the trail, my thoughts in an uproar. What had just happened? I
so
hadn’t been ready for Eric to make a move on me.

Eric arrived at the top of the falls and began dunking Josiah. Aata and Davu teamed up and threw Arthur over the edge. As I watched Eric playing with the Berserkers, I had a feeling that what had just happened was going to have lasting consequences – ones that would make me regret ever coming out here tonight.

The ride home was full of laughter and put downs as the Berserkers bantered back and forth, more like middle school boys than exceptionally old men. Did living for hundreds of years cause you to regress back to pre-pubescent behaviors?

Eric laughed and joked with the others, but he didn’t say a single word to me on the way home. He didn’t glare or give me hurt looks. He just acted as if I weren’t even there. Clearly I had hurt him tonight, but what else could I have done? I loved Rhys, so kissing someone else wasn’t even an option – that’s not the kind of girl I was.

By the time Eric pulled up at my house, it was almost six in the morning. The other Berserkers all gave me enthusiastic hugs and goodbyes. Eric just stared out the window until I climbed out of the car, and he drove away before I even made it up the driveway.

I ‘zerked and climbed up the outside of the house to sneak in through my bedroom window – I really didn’t want my dad to know that I had been gone all night while he slept. I quickly changed and crawled back into bed. By this time my eyes were burning from staying up so long, and I lay my head down on the pillow and let blissful sleep overcome me.

***

Monday morning at school, I was surprised by a squealing Amy running towards me as I entered the building with Rhys. In her enthusiasm, she practically tackled me in the hallway.

“Guess what, guess what, guess what?” she said, bouncing up and down with excitement.

“Aliens came and brought us the cure for all known diseases?”

My answer didn’t even make Amy blink. “No, even better! Josh and I are going to Prom!” She squealed again, even higher pitched.

Prom? Was it that time already? I guess with all the Berserker and Binder things, plus the play, and monsters trying to kill me, I had lost track of the school social calendar.

Why hadn’t Rhys asked me yet?

Before I could say anything, Rhys put a hand on my shoulder. “It looks like you and Amy need some girl time,” he said. “I’ll be at my locker.” He reached down, gave my hand a squeeze, and then disappeared into the crowd.