The walk back to the home that I knew would be empty, was tense and far too quiet. Most of the car alarms and horns had died out after the first 10 minutes. We saw, maybe, 3 people along the way, but they all ran away when they saw us. No human would trust someone who looked like we did.
I hesitated at my door, just thinking of how thins had been a week before. I had left for school on Monday, with no fear of what had been in my future. Now, all I felt was fear and anger, hidden by a mask of complete control.
Part of me wanted to look across the street, as if Mrs. Cherry would be standing on the sidewalk while Feefee did her business. But I didn't. I knew that neither Mrs. Cherry or Feefee would be there.
"Kim?" Leo asked, bringing me out of my mental replay.
I nodded to him, not trusting my voice, and forced myself up the stairs. The door was locked, but the high grade security latches weren't in place. Only the basic locks were secured. And I easily broke it with my unnatural strength. I'd have to fix the door if we survived this.
The house was eerily silent and the darkness reflected the emptiness in my heart.
"What are we looking for?" Leo asked, looking around curiously.
I walked further into the house, emotions tightening my chest. The small kitchen night-light made the room glow red, with the furniture shading the walls. A box sat on the kitchen's wrap-around table. I walked into the room and pressed the button to turn on the lights.
Leo walked into the kitchen and his shadow self stood still against the wall, half-transparent, like the guards in England.
The box was one of my mom's private collection, from a doctor who did 7 decades before. He had been a key person in the growth of modern medicine. The box was made from dark mahogany, with gold inlay leaves, and brass hinges and locks. The inside was designed to hold 3 shelves of 5 syringes. The custom work was impossible to find anywhere else.
"What's with the box?" Leo asked.
"It's my mom's. She must have discovered something and thought I'd somehow end up back here."
My fingers moved along the cold metal, leaving a path of ice crystals. I removed the open pad lock and pushed the lid open. 4 pages of formulas and chemical compounds were at the top. Underneath the pages were the removable shelves, 2 full and another 2 on the third syringes. Each syringe held a pale purple fluid. I looked back to the papers, looking for answers.
"Mind if I eat something?" Leo asked obliviously.
"Go ahead" I said blankly.
My interest was more in the pages my mom had written up. I looked over each formula, each chemical, bacteria, and medicine. The last page had theoretic notes that my mom had come up with. Complete reversal of the changes appeared impossible, but she had found a suppressant, to fight what she believed to be a parasite. It made since for the changes to be from a parasite, rather than a a virus. Especially with the knowledge I'd gotten from Mother. The pieces were falling into place.
"Fuck!" I quietly hissed.
"What's wrong?" Leo paused with an uneaten sandwich just inches from his mouth.
I looked up from the pages, my annoyance clear on my face.
"My mom found out a combination that can keep mother from controlling me, but the medicine only works one me."
"How did I get cured then?"
"I'm not sure" I thought for a moment "Maybe the medicine influenced my DNA to work as a cure. But the real issues is the compound itself. It's only temporary. Estimated to last a day per injection, at best."
"That must be why there's so many needles." Leo bit into his sandwich.
Leo gave a loud hacking sound and ran to the sink, dropping his sandwich
"Leo?!" I ran to his side.
In the sink was a small piece of bread and meat, soaking in a small pool of blood. I did as my mother had done for me, pulling his hair out of his face, listening for the heaving to stop. Finally he went quiet and wiped at his mouth.
"That tasted like crap. No, like the whole damn sewer." he rasped.
I started the faucet, trying to wash away as much of the blood as possible. I used the garbage disposal to take care of the remains of the the sandwich chunks, and threw the rest of the sandwich in the trash.
"Are you okay?" I asked, not sure what else to say.
He looked at me for a second, almost looking lost "I couldn't eat it. It tasted so bad and my stomach just wouldn't let it in."
A chill filled the room as the lights went out.
"What the hell?!" Leo growled.
"It's fine. The power-lines probably just got cut. I don't see shadow creatures as being a fan of the light. More importantly, we have to figure out what's going on with the food situation." I walked back around the table, carefully.
"What's to figure out? I got sick from a sandwich." I almost thought I heard Leo pout.
"But the matter is, why?" You're clearly hungry, but that should have made you sick. Or tasted like anything other than a sandwich...unless..."
"Unless what?" He finally seemed interested.
"Well, she wanted us to feast, right?"
I saw the vague outline of Leo nodding.
"So, by 'feast', she meant she wanted us to eat other people. What if something inside of us was changed so that we could only eat...well...people" I suggested numbly.
I was running out of things that could surprise me.
"So we have no choice but to eat people?" He asked, almost as numbly as me.
"I think that may be her intention. But I'm sure we can figure something out. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like turning into a cannibal."
"Are we even human anymore?" Leo's voice came as a whisper.
He sounded miserable, like he was finally seeing everything he'd lost since this started. I couldn't even think of words to say, because I felt as much doubt as he had to be feeling.
I clenched my fists "We are human! No matter how much we change, as long as we hold onto our minds and hearts, we will be human."
Anger fueled my voice, hiding the insecurity I felt. I had to stay strong for him, because he wasn't able to.
I thought I heard him sniffle, but I couldn't be certain.
"S-so what do we do? We're gonna cure the others, right?"
I thought "Well, if I'm the cure for the others, like I suspect I am, then I'll have to figure out how to do it and fast."
"How did you cure me?" Leo asked.
I didn't really want to answer with my theory, since he might have thought I didn't even try, or that I hadn't even cared. But I had no choice.
"I believe it was during the kiss. S-something about my DNA must have affected you."
"So you have to kiss everyone else?" I thought I heard anger in his voice.
I hesitated, chewing on my lower lip "I don't know. Maybe."
Silence fell over the room, the darkness feeling cold and dangerous.
"I-I really don't know. I think I just have to get something from me, into them. Saliva or blood. I don't know how else to do it. These injections will only work on me, not the others."
"Why not use your blood then?" He almost demanded.
I hadn't taken Leo to be the violently possessive type, but he was clearly getting aggressive at the very idea of my kissing the others. He would have to deal with it, if I didn't have any other options.
"My blood freezes as soon as it makes contact with the air." I stated smoothly, hoping he would understand.
"That could work, you know. Just let it form a needle or spear or something. Something sharp enough to break skin, or whatever they have now." He suggested calmly.
I was happy that he'd thought of that, because I hadn't even fully considered the options, and that one made sense.
"That might work" I brightened.
I started walking through the kitchen and into the stairway to the third floor. I felt around for the railing and moved quickly, hearing Leo walking behind me. The third floor was as dark as the rest of the house, but I knew where the generator for the floor was. With a flip of the switch, the floor was fully lit with white lite. Leo paused in the doorway, his shadow standing alert behind him.
"What is this place?" He looked around, almost in fear.
"It's the chemical room. Where my mom and dad make medicines and the occasional bomb. The next room" I gestured to the open door across the room "is where we train weapons and said bombs. We can test almost any kind of destructive devices there."
"Your parents let you blow stuff up?" He looked in amazement.
"I know a few things, but I prefer blades."
I pulled out a few drawers, searching for my moms knife collection. I pulled out the knife that I knew would be strong enough to withstand my cold. It was a long curved knife that could probably cut through a small tree with one swing. It would break skin easily and was thick enough to handle the cold without breaking. As long as I limited the time it was in contact.
I clipped the knife sheath to a loop in the back of my jeans and placed the knife within.
"How many weapons do you know how to use?" Leo asked, now looking around from the center of the room, glancing in the drawers I'd pulled out.
"Um, well, a few different kinds of swords, daggers, bow, staff, and a few guns. My parents wanted me to be able to defend myself, because they were preparing for today. Though I doubt they expected things to turn out like this."
It hurt to think of my parents, knowing that they were both more than likely dead. My mom was the only one that I could question her survival. My dad had been pulled into the crater and my mom disappeared in the chaos. I bit back the tears that burned my eyes.
"Non of that is all that important right now. I don't want to kill anybody that I can save. Mother is the only one I want dead." I added coldly.
"Woo, talk about icy" he laughed.
His comment stung me, as if the cold truly was changing my personality.
I was about to say something, when Mother spoke in our minds 'My children, we must gather. Find your rebellious siblings.'
Her voice hurt my head and my whole body shivered . Her words ringing with power. Leo fell to his knees with his hands over his ears, as if either of us could truly drown her out.
I forced myself into an alert state, knowing that something was about to happen. Leo stood shakily behind me. Even his shadow moved behind me. I wanted to growl at him to act like a man, and to stand up for himself. But I held that back. He hadn't been trained to fight, or to be the strong one in bad situations. However, if he thought I was going to let him hide behind me for this entire war, he was wrong.
The lights began to flicker, electric sparks escaping the metal and the thick glass. I ran forward and pushed the door closed. The locks latched into place, strong enough to keep out an army. Back with Leo, I watched the door, avoiding the sparks raining down before stopping with the lights going out. The bulbs exploded and the room fell into darkness. My fingers moved over the hilt of the knife, preparing for a fight I had no doubt was coming.
A pounding resounded from the door, and the sound of crunching metal filled the room. Cracks of light spread along the edges of the doorway, making the damage visible. The door was dented and more dents were appearing with each pounding sound. I grabbed Leo and dragged him into the second room, sealing the door behind us.. I still didn't relax.
A crashing sound burst from the speaker and I knew that whoever it was had made it into the chem room. My mom would kill me if she was still alive, for the damage done to her lab. A moment of silence haunted me, before the pounding began again, on the door to the test room. I lost track of the hits, fearing the kind of damage that the other side of the door was taking. Then the light appeared through the cracks again. The door was breaking, and there was nowhere else we could hide.
"Leo, I hope you're ready for this" I whispered.
"I most definitely am not" he whispered back.
I sighed and watched the door fly off its hinges. We jumped to avoid the large metal frame, and I stared in disbelief. A figure of pure light entered the room. Humanoid in shape, male, and glowing brighter than even the sun. I had to look away, the light burning my eyes. Leo's shadow stood in front of us and ran into the figure, the light rejecting it with a thud.
"Leo, you need to do something" I hissed, my eyes covered by my hands.
"What can I do?" Leo grumbled.
"Use your shadow. Make it grow. The brighter the light, the larger the shadow. Use that logic and increase your shadow until it drowns out the light." I instructed, doubting that he would fully understand what I was trying to tell him.
I felt the cold of darkness spreading from behind me, his shadow disappearing into it. The darkness wrapped around the light, and I could look around again. Leo stood next to me, the dimmed light showing the vague outline of his form. His smiled looked dark, wide op and eyes blank. He looked almost evil.
I heard the cry coming from the figure as darkness began to encase it.
"Leo?!" I called out, feeling the darkness growing and fear taking hold.
He didn't respond, the chill making me tremble.
"Leo!" I yelled "Leo, snap out of it!"
I got in front of him and I slapped him. Maybe not the best answer, but it was all I could think of at the moment. He blinked several times, his eyes returning to black pupils.
"Kim?" He looked dumbfounded.
I turned from him to the half lit figure. I walked toward him, he didn't move. I removed the knife from the sheath, and I sliced it into my palm. The wound opened and liquid ice poured out, solidifying in the air. I peeled the crystal from my palm, breaking the end into a sharp point, and praying that it worked. The light figure looked up at me, and I swore I saw tears, glowing up as they hit the ground.
"I'm sorry" I whispered, then stuck the point of the ice into his arm.
At first, nothing happened and I hesitated in fear. If it didn't work, he would resume the attack, and kissing him seemed impossible if I couldn't even look at him. Then there was a change. On his knees, he gripped his stomach, and let out a gnarled cry of pain. I half reached for him, as if I could make him feel better, then paused.
He doubled over, one fist pounding on the ground, as he heaved, a small pool of blood forming underneath him. I couldn't allow myself to think of how many people had to die for that blood. The light faded and slowly flowed down his body, revealing a mess of black hair, with pale blond roots, and bright blue eyes. He wasn't wearing the usual hospital garb. His pale tone shown brightly against his black skinny jeans, black t-shirt with a right black button-down shirt open in the front, and a black veil brides wrist band on his right hand and a black on his thumb.
He was heaving for almost a minute, then looked up at us, pain in his eyes.