Xen Episode One (5 page)

“The details are irrelevant.”

“I'm pretty sure they're not, Jenny. Look, I
know you must be confused and scared, but you've got to trust that
the police can help you.”

I turned and looked directly at him, the
light from several street lights streaking across my face. “You
cannot help me. No one can.”

“Hey, don't talk like that. Whatever trouble
you're in, the police can help. You've just got to be honest.” He
kept flicking his gaze towards me when it was safe, his brow
creased with concern.

“You are a proficient officer, Rodriguez,
however, believe me when I say you cannot assist in this.”

Rodriguez took a sharp breath through his
teeth and thumbed the bridge of his nose before returning both
hands to the wheels. “Just start from the beginning. Wait,” his
eyes narrowed, “does this have something to do with that guy who
visited you this morning?”

I didn't respond.

Rodriguez turned around to look at me in
full as he slowed down for a red light. “Jenny, who was that guy?
Did he threaten you?”

“It is irrelevant.”

Officer Rodriguez stifled a
frustrated groan. He was clearly a patient man – a necessary
requirement in those tasked to protect others. “Jenny, you have an
obligation to tell me. I'm not asking as a friend. You need to
appreciate that whatever business you're wrapped up in could affect
others. No – scratch that – it will affect others. I have two
bruised ribs because of this. That guy was... Christ, I don't know,
ex-military or something. You need to stop and think how this mess
will
spread.
Trust me, I've been working this job long enough to know that
problems like this can't be contained. You might think only you'll
get hurt, but you're wrong. There will be collateral. There always
is. Do you want that?”

I did not face him. Instead I stared out of
the windscreen at the traffic zipping by, at the people milling
along the pavement, at the stars barely discernible through the
thick cloud above.

“Jenny, I'm not asking you to
share this
;
I'm ordering you to.”

I flinched at that word and finally turned
to face him.

That word had a powerful effect on me and
always would. Orders – and following them – were at the heart of
all Peacekeeprs.

Still, this man did not have the right to
order me.

And yet, he had a point. Adam was not a
careful man. Not anymore. Something had made him sloppy, maybe even
desperate.

Officer Rodriguez was right – there would be
collateral.

“Tell me,” he said simply.

I opened my mouth. And that's when I heard
it.

The screech of tires from the lane to our
left. 100 meters away, 50 now – someone speeding towards us.

“Jenny—”

I had underestimated Adam once more.

I jerked towards Rodriguez, grabbing the
wheel and twisting it hard to the right.

“Hey!” he roared.

I held the wheel, and though he grabbed it
and tried to elbow me off, he couldn't.

A black SUV came screeching towards us,
missing us by a centimeter as it plowed into the other lane.

“Jesus!” Rodriguez roared, head jerking to
the side to follow the SUV.

I let go of the wheel, twisting my head
around as I followed the car.

“What the hell was that?” Rodriguez slowed
the car down, pulling towards the curb.

“No. Keep driving,” I commanded, voice
resonating through the car.

“That car could have killed us.
And if it keeps driving like that, it's going to kill
others.”
He
turned his head to the side as he slowed down, staring at the
SUV.

The traffic around us was light, just a
hatchback, two motorbikes, and a delivery van. The hatchback was
busy honking at the SUV, a middle aged man hanging out of the
window and swearing until he went pink in the face.

The SUV came to a screeching stop, then it
turned, occupying three lanes of oncoming traffic as it swung
around to face us.

Rodriguez had already pulled his phone from
his pocket. He stopped and stared at the car.

The SUV slammed on the accelerator and shot
towards us.

I paid no attention. I fixed my gaze on the
motorbikes.

Rodriguez swore, dropped his phone, and hit
the accelerator before he could lock his hands on the wheel. Our
car skidded, but he quickly regained control.

Just in time. The SUV shot towards us, every
other car on the road screeching to a halt as it barely missed
them.

“Hold on,”
Rodriguez bellowed.

“Keep accelerating,” I replied in a neutral
tone.

I watched the motorbikes. With their
superior maneuverability, they darted up onto the pavement and
flanked us on one side as the SUV shot towards us on the other.

This was no ordinary car chase. The vehicles
were too quick, the drivers too competent.

“What the hell is happening?!” Rodriguez
cried out, arms locked as his hands grabbed the steering wheel so
tightly his knuckles could have broken the skin.

“Keep driving,” I advised.

“Someone's going to get killed,” he
screamed.

Perhaps. But it would not be us.

I waited. Waited until both motorbikes
slammed towards us, darting in and out over the pavement and onto
the road, the riders dressed in black, the street lights glinting
off their helmets.

I waited until the SUV screeched towards us.
I waited until it pulled alongside us.

I grabbed the steering wheel and pitched the
car into a spin.

The motorbikes shot past us, one slamming
into the SUV, the driver flipping right over the car.

“Jesus, Jenny, don't do that!” Rodriguez
tried to shove me off.

I let him.

He struggled to regain control of the
car.

I grabbed the handbrake. I timed it
perfectly, my body in tune with the car.

We screeched, turning in a circle, thick
black tire marks tracking across the road.

Rodriguez screamed.

I remained perfectly silent.

“Hit the accelerator,” I advised him as soon
as the car came to a stop.

The SUV screeched to a stop, but not as
quickly.

Now was our opportunity to escape.

Save, of course, for the remaining
motorbike.

The driver knew how to ride, and rammed the
bike around, jumping onto the pavement, both wheels spinning.

“What the hell is going
on?”
Rodriguez stammered as he stared at it.

“Foot, accelerator, now,” I said
sharply.

He was not quick enough. The bike reached
us. Then the driver jumped. He abandoned his bike, and threw
himself onto the roof of our car. Despite his momentum, he
controlled his fall and rolled down the hood.

He had a small device in his hands. I did
not know what it did, and I wasn't going to wait around to find
out.

“He's on the hood,
Christ,
he's
on the hood,”
Rodriguez screamed in surprise.

Yes, but not for long. I had a split second
before the man could use whatever device he held.

Officer Rodriguez was correct, and I could
not allow collateral.

So I called upon it. My energetic limb.

My race were not purely physical. A part of
our bodies was made up of a specialized energy, one we could call
on in times of need. The energy, with but a thought, could be used
to form objects. Weapons, shields, and anything in between.

These days when I wasn't using it, my
energetic limb sat as a belt around my middle under my shirt and
cardigan, but always within reach.

Before the man on the hood could use his
device, I acted, sending a surge of invisible energy blasting out
from my EL.

The man, just like the soldier
who'd invaded my home, was riddled with enhancement devices. I
could smell them, taste them, hear them as they facilitated blood
flow and
filled his body with nano robots.

They were rudimentary, though, and
unshielded. With one blast from my EL, I shut them off
entirely.

Just as Miguel slammed on the brakes, the
soldier rolled off the hood, body giving a powerful jerk as I shut
down all the devices strewn within his muscle and tissue.

The car came to a stop. Miguel's hands were
locked around the wheel so tightly I could hear his joints creaking
under the strain.

His face was slack with shock, eyes wide,
heart pounding at 200 beats a minute.

Still, he was professional enough that he
quickly pushed back his shock and turned around in his seat to
eyeball the SUV. It did not come thundering towards us. Clearly the
driver realized he would not win. Instead it turned around in a
screech of tires, leaving great swathes of black rubber marks along
the road. Then it sped away, several cabs swerving out of its path
as they honked their horns, the drivers swearing.

Miguel, shaking from head to foot, got out
of the car, immediately pulling the gun from his holster. Though
his fingers were slicked with sweat, and his body still convulsed
with fear, he held the gun steadily and professionally. Then he
turned his attention to the comatose soldier who had fallen off our
hood. He walked around to the man and poked him with his shoe. When
the soldier didn't shift, Miguel swore softly under his breath and
got down on one knee to check the man's vitals. When he was
satisfied, he stood and stared at me. “What the hell is going on
here? Don't dodge the subject this time,” he warned, real tension
filtering through his tone, “tell me. Tell me now.” He locked his
terrified but still determined gaze on me and waited.

I swung my gaze from the tire marks that
littered the road down to the soldier by our feet, then finally
across to Rodriguez. “I am not entirely sure,” I admitted.

“Not good enough,” he spat back, “whoever
the hell these guys are, they could have killed us and every other
car on the road tonight. Tell me what's going on, and you tell me
now,” his tone dropped low.

“First, I believe it is wise to call for
backup. And second,” I let my gaze drop down to the soldier once
more, “secure this man before he can escape.”

Rodriguez held my gaze. Then he walked back
to his car, grabbing his phone quickly, always keeping his gaze
locked on the comatose soldier.

He called the station.

Then he returned his attention to me. No
matter how angry he was, and no matter how forcefully he pried for
the truth, I would not give it up.

For, in all honesty, I did not know it
myself. One warning, I could understand, but why would Adam send
another? In the middle of a busy street, too? There was nothing
more important than keeping the true nature of our origin secret.
So why was he risking it now?

As I thought that, I tilted my head back and
stared at the stars above. No ordinary human would have been able
to see them considering the thick clouds and light pollution, but I
could.

After all, I was no ordinary human.

Thank you for reading Episode One.

Episode Two is currently
available.

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