CHAPTER ELEVEN
Bach sat on the mattress contemplating the choices that had brought him to live in such a disgusting place. However, he was happier than he would ever admit that Wisteria had decided to stick with him. Even though she preferred to wait outside the door, at least he knew she was near.
He was now feeling great. His dizzy spells ended a day ago and he was now fully in control of his mind, which allowed him to be in full control of his body. This meant he could heal himself faster. Yes, when he first arrived he was in a bad state, but having rested and eaten, he was regenerating nicely. Nothing works better than food and sleep for the Family. Inspecting the shana on his right arm, he saw the spots hadn’t turned to pure black yet, but they’d regained most of their color.
Wisteria came in. “You look much better.” Placing her sword beside him, she knelt down in front of him. A large, dark bump protruded from her temple.
“Your face is swollen.”
She seemed to ignore his observation. “I got you some more food.” She had brought another tin of that revolting pink tinned meat.
Even though it was revolting, he was eating what she’d been bringing, because she claimed that was all she could get. Felip was a much better steward, but he felt there was no benefit in complaining.
As she placed her hand on his neck, he wanted to grab her hand and remove it from his person. He’d told her hundreds of times that he hated being touched, but he was starting to not mind her doing it. His feelings for her were forbidden and would do her more harm than good in the end.
“You’re less cold than you were.” She tried to smile.
He could see from her eyes that she’d been crying. She’d never seemed happy in this place. Bach knew a lot of that had to do with him and the way he treated her. He should’ve been nicer, but how nice did one need to be to a Terran? Plus, he had never needed anyone and especially one who could be made into a Thayn. He hesitated and reached out to touch her hand. He found that he could not. Even though he knew he could trust her, he still couldn’t bring himself to touch her, a Terran, the way he wanted to. “What happened to you?”
Her hands trembled as she picked up the sword. “We need to leave as soon as you can. We’re not safe here.”
“I am not in danger any longer.” Bach knew full well that he was beyond any risk of danger from the dungeon dwellers, now that he had rejuvenated.
“Yes, you are,” she insisted. “As soon as you think you can travel, we have to go.”
“Wisteria.” He heard the Terran archer call out to her. “Come outside.”
Immediately, she got up and turned to leave him again. He reached over to pull her back. “Wisteria.” He felt her pulse racing in her wrist. “There is nothing those people can do to me now, but I will leave when I am ready.”
“I hope so.” For a moment, it looked like she believed him and her pulse slowed.
“Wisteria,” the archer boy, Garfield wailed. “Hurry!”
“I need to go to him.”
“To him?” Unable to hide his repugnance, he let go of her. “Go.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Squinting angrily at him, she bent to collect her sword. As she bent close to his face, he realized that he wanted to kiss her. What is wrong with me? He watched her leave and became aware that she’d made her choice. It was just as well, he didn’t like the feelings she invoked. He just needed to get back to his cohorts. Bach was alone. Fine. He’d start to prepare himself to leave alone, and the first thing to do was a round of deep meditation.
Sometime later, there was a knock at the door and then the Terran, Garfield, burst in.
Bach studied the boy as he walked in uninvited. Why Wisteria would want to spend any time with him, Bach couldn’t understand. He was a Sen-son and clearly better in every way. Ignoring the Terran boy, he closed his eyes to continue his deep meditation.
“Nun?” the Terran whispered.
“D’cara,” Bach swore, without opening his eyes. “What?”
“What are you doing, standing on your hands?”
“Meditating. It helps me heal faster,” Bach replied as he balanced on his right hand. “What do want from me?”
“Okay…Look, they know you’re sick and they’re going to put you down, man. You need to—”
“Do I look sick to you?” Changing hands, he now balanced himself on his left hand.
“No-no—” Garfield stuttered. “So, we should be planning how we’re going to get out of here. I’ve a few ideas.”
“I do not need your ideas. I am fine now, and I will be gone in an hour.”
The boy he remembered as Garfield did not respond as he stood looking bewildered.
“I am certain this will make you extremely happy.” He couldn’t allow his jealousy over the Terran girl to interfere anymore and the thought definitely pleased Bach, as he needed to find his cohort. Perhaps Enric had gotten them all to one of their rendezvous points.
“You’re not listening.” Garfield squatted down in front of Bach. “You need to go now—not in an hour. Sammy is coming down here with a couple of blokes to cut your head off.”
“If they come for my head.” He flipped onto his feet and turned to the boy. “I will be waiting or not. Either way, I will be out of here in an hour.”
“I’m going with you. I spoke to Wisteria and she said so.” Now the Terran boy seemed agitated.
“Wisteria?” Bach looked over at him and frowned. “She does not speak for me and it seems she likes it here. I cannot imagine why she would ever want to leave you.” He did feel angry still that she’d chosen this boy over him.
“What is wrong with you? You’re going to leave us here?” he pleaded, not sensing Bach’s sarcasm.
“You mean you do not want to be eaten by your friends?”
“How did you know about that?” Garfield didn’t hide his surprise.
“How else could forty people trapped in a city get enough food? There are no animals in here with you. And no one looks like they are starving.” How could they value their own lives so much, yet descend to eating each other so quickly? This amused Bach.
“I didn’t eat anyone.”
“Terran? Who you did or did not eat is something you are going to have to take up with whatever higher power you serve.” Bach headed toward the door.
“You can’t be serious! You’re going to leave her here? Don’t you care about what happens to her?”
“She is not my concern.” It hurt Bach to say that because he knew it wasn’t true. “She seems happier with you. She can stay here.”
“Bach, they’re going to kill her because of you!” Shouting, the Terran shoved him. “We’re both dead now, because she swore you’d be able to help us. Didn’t you realize she has sat at that door for days while you slept?”
Ignoring the boy, Bach yelled back at him, “Never touch me.” Blocking Garfield’s blows, he knocked him down.
“Asshole!” Garfield yelled up at him.
Bach was getting tired of his rambling. He moved to the door and swung it open.
On the other side were three men armed with knives and one of them was holding a gun.
“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better, Nun,” said one wearing a cold grin on his face.
Bach had seen the speaker when he first arrived. He called himself Sammy.
“Sammy, what’s going on?” Garfield appeared next to Bach while trying to sound cheerful, but Bach could hear the fear in his voice. “Where’s Wisteria? She was out here before.”
“Come with us,” Sammy ordered to the two teenagers as he pointed his gun.
“Be very careful where you point that thing. You could get hurt,” Bach warned.
“Just shut up and sit your ass down.” The man poked the gun into Bach’s ribs.
“Fine” Bach put up his hands. “But you should calm down.”
“Shut the hell up!” The man jabbed at Bach again.
“Do not point that at me.” Bach pushed the man back, but the two other men produced shotguns which they aimed at his head.
“Listen—” the Terran called Sammy warned.
Before he could finish his statement, Bach reached out and immediately disarmed all the men. “You might hurt yourselves.” With very little effort, he smashed one of the guns against the ground.
“No, we need those!” Garfield gasped with surprise at Bach’s lightning speed and super strength. “We need weapons.”
“Why?” Bach asked, about to destroy the other weapons. He paused to inspect the shotgun and the handgun. He’d avoided using Terran artifacts, so he handed them to Garfield.
“What the hell are you?” Garfield remarked in fear as he tried to balance an armful of guns.
“I am leaving,” Bach answered while ignoring his question.
The crowd parted as Bach walked through.
“You know we’re dead, once we get outside, right?” Garfield muttered in fear as he followed. “We’re dead if we stay here, too.”
Bach wondered suddenly why Wisteria wasn’t there. He stopped, turning back and headed over to the archer, Sammy, who had accosted him with the weapons before. “Where is she?”
“Your…your friend?” Grimacing, Sammy shook his head.
Bach grabbed the man’s arm. “Where?”
“I’m not afraid of you,” the man sneered until Bach squeezed his arm and his bones started to crack. “Ah!”
“Where?” he asked again while strengthening his grip around the Terran’s forearm.
“Oh, please,” the man whimpered. “She’s with Mackenzie!”
“I know where,” Garfield piped in. He took Bach to the apartment where they’d met the fanatical leader on the first day.
In the apartment, he found three other men. All armed, with their guns trained on him.
The golden-haired woman sat in the corner of the room, calmly smoking a cigarette. “Oh, hello?” she greeted, as though he were a friendly visitor. “I’m glad to see you’ve recovered.”
“Where is the Terran girl?” Before the Terrans could respond, he sped around the room and instantly grabbed all the weapons, depositing them into Garfield’s arms.
“Terran?” The woman seemed confused as her expression showed surprise at his instant disarming of her guards.
“He broke Sammy’s arm with his bare hands!” an old woman shouted as she rushed into the room. “He’s one of them…a biter!”
Bach smirked. Clearly, he was more rejuvenated than he had thought, since he only intended to sprain the Terran’s arm.
“I don’t know what the hell he is, but this freak is not a biter.” The leader took a drag from her cigarette. “As for your friend—”
Not waiting for the answer, Bach sped through the apartment and he found Wisteria on the floor of a bathroom. Squatting beside her, he listened for her breathing. He could hear the sound of it always when she was near, but somehow her breathing at this time was a source of comfort to him.
“Clearly, we got off on the wrong foot.” The dungeon leader walked up behind him. “This is a tough time for all of us. Why don’t we talk about forming some sort of alliance?”
Bach completely ignored the beastly Terran leader and picked Wisteria up. He’d most of his strength back, so he used his superior speed to immediately leave the Dungeons behind. This was why he didn’t mix with Terrans. They were nothing but animals.
* * * * *
Wisteria woke up as the sun shone into her eyes and she felt the movement of being in a vehicle. Sitting up, she found herself in the back seat of an SUV. Bach was driving and Garfield was in the passenger seat. Looking out of the window at the deserted streets, Wisteria realized that Bach was avoiding motorways as much as possible.
The drive through the barren wasteland that once was Surrey was disturbing. The roads were littered with burnt or abandoned vehicles. Bodies, young and old, lay rotting out in the open. There were no people, just the echoes of a civilization that seemed long gone. “What happened?” The last thing she remembered was being choked by someone until she’d passed out.
“Hello.” Bach didn’t look at her as he drove.
“You feeling all right?” Garfield turned to her.
“My neck hurts,” she whispered. “My head’s killing me.”
“Just try and rest,” Garfield suggested.
“How did you get a car?”
“Do you think I carried you to London on my back?” Bach remarked with his usual sarcasm.
“The motorway would be quicker,” she croaked as she lay in the back, but Bach didn’t respond.
“The motorways are generally impassible now,” Garfield explained. “Either they’re packed with cars and overturned trucks, or they’re booby-trapped.”
“Either way, you keep off the motorway unless you want to run into scavengers,” Bach stated.
“Bloody scavengers, they’d kill you for your shoes,” Garfield added.
“I suppose,” she whispered as their voices seemed to come from far away and she drifted off to sleep.
* * * * *
Parking the car, Bach watched through the rearview mirror as Wisteria awoke from her sleep.
“Where are we?” She searched the surroundings.
They were in an empty park next to a large pond. Water was very soothing to him and after being trapped in that dungeon for days, he needed a lot of soothing.
When the Terran boy got out, she hurried after him. “Where are you going?”
“I really need to go,” the boy informed her.
“Just whistle, so I know you’re fine.” she called as the Terran boy jogged off in the direction of some trees and bushes.
“Yeah, right,” the Terran replied sarcastically.
Returning to the vehicle, she got in beside Bach and leaned her head against the back of the seat. Soon, her eyes closed again. As she rested, he spotted bruises around her neck from when the dungeon dwellers had her.
The archer had told Bach on the trip out of London what she went through while he was regenerating. He couldn’t believe she endured so much because of him. That was something only renewed Terrans, the Thayns, did. If she were his Thayn, then laying down her life would be her honored duty. Maybe he had renewed her by accident, but that was not possible. “I feel I should say something.”
Her eyes opened.
“The archer told me what happened while I was unwell. I would have died if you had not helped me through the streets and given me time to regenerate. Thank you.” Bach didn’t know why he told her this. She was only a Terran, after all.
Nodding a little, she shut her eyes.
After a few minutes of silence, he asked. “Why did you do it? Those people would have butchered you.”
“You were my only way home.” She turned away as she hid her face from him.
“You never really believed that I would get you out of there.”
“Yeah, true.” Laughing weakly, she said, “I thought you’d probably die, I suppose. I was just being an idiot, but I’ve seen so many horrors; I can’t do that to anyone or let it happen if I can stop it. And you told me you could fly, so I was hoping—?”
“I never said I could fly.” He frowned.
Looking at him, she smirked. “We flew out of the Hunter Tower.”
“I jumped out.”
“But you said you could fly—”
“I cannot fly!”
Then, he saw her smirk. She was taunting him?
“Oh.” She nodded and suddenly she looked serious. “But you can make electricity with your fingers? How come?”
Holding out his hands, he allowed small streaks of light to emerge.
“Whoa.” She backed away from him.
“This will not kill you. It does not even hurt. It is decorative.” As he spoke, the blue light faded back into his fingers until only the tips glowed.
“What is it?”
“A pulse. All of my people are born this way.” As he explained, he caused the blue light to grow until some of the streaks were touching the SUV’s ceiling.
“So, what are you called?”
“Bach. I thought that was obvious.” His usual cryptic attitude had returned.
She grimaced at him briefly. “The name of your country or wherever you’re from. No country I know has people who can do that. Are you like an alien or vampire or something?”
“I am from—France.”
“France? Now that, I wasn’t expecting to hear.” She chuckled. “Exactly what France are we talking about here?”
“Home, that’s the easiest way I can explain it. We live… near the Jade Ocean. It is very far from here.” Talking about his home helped him to feel better. Still, nothing was better than actually being home, and he hadn’t been there in 701 days.
“The Jade Ocean,” Wisteria echoed, obviously confused.
“My people, my Family, are not human and we are not from Terra. We came here fifteen hundred years ago.”
“So you’re one thousand, five hundred years old? You look very good for being one and a half millennia.”
“I’m eighteen, Wisteria.” He laughed and it surprised him that she could make him laugh.
At his laughter, she looked surprised and then she grinned. “What’s the name of your family?”
“It is just the Family. We do not use a name, the way you do.”
“So, you just call yourself family?”
“A name is sacred and we do not see the reason to name everything and everyone.”
“So, you’re all from the same family?”
“Yes, one family, but different pillars. I am from the Third Pillar of the Family.”
“So, if you don’t use names, why do you have one?”
“I have accepted that I am called Bach. Otherwise, conversations would be difficult.”
“So, what’s your real name?”
That was a very personal question. The first and last time he’d ever asked a Famila their real name, it had earned him three slaps. Pausing to think of an answer, he took out his faycard. “You really want to know?” He flipped the card over. He was so tempted to use the card on her. He somehow wanted to keep her near to him and if he renewed her, he could have that.
“I mean, you know my name. It’d be nice to know yours. It’s just fair.” She looked as if she’d just realized something important. “Wait, hold on! That’s why you didn’t tell those people your name in the dungeon?”
He ignored her outburst and lifted the card. “Right now, if I could give you one thing, you would want that? To know my name.”
Her dark eyes were fixed on the object in his hand.
Renewing her felt like the right thing to do, but yet again, he couldn’t bring himself to do it, not like this. He couldn’t sort out why she made him feel all these things and he knew that he wanted to be angry all the time at her, because then he wouldn’t want her.
“The ace of spades. Enric also carries one of these around. His is the nine of spades.” She reached for his faycard. “What does it mean?”
He put the card in his pocket before she could touch it. “It is lucky.”
“So, what is your name? You real name?”
“No, I cannot tell you my name. You can guess if you want, and I will give you a clue.”
“A clue? To guess a name from another language?” she retorted while looking amused. “Okay.”
“It will take me three hours to say it, and it would get you into a lot of trouble,” he teased. He found that he liked the banter with her.
“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”
“You do not want to know.” The corner of his lips curled up.
Suddenly, Wisteria looked uncomfortable and she tugged the top of her dress up and muttered something.
Bach could tell that she was becoming self-conscious because of him. Well, that was good, she’d often invoked feelings that he was not comfortable with.
“The four of you? You are from the same family?” she asked. “Enric, Piper—”
“Piper is not one of us,” he cut in sharply. “She is Terran like you.”
Wisteria flinched at Bach’s last statement. “Don’t call me Terran, please?”
“But that is what you are.”
“I don’t know what a Terran does, but it sounds a lot like a mud person or something and I’m not that. And I don’t want you calling me that.”
“We have called your people Terran for centuries.”
“I don’t care,” she stated firmly. “You don’t like being called different and I don’t want to be called Terran.”
“Sorry.”
Wisteria nodded. After a short pause she asked, “And that’s why the flesh eaters don’t bother you the way they do people? Because you’re not human?”
“Normally, I can sense and influence the biters to stay away from me. The poison in me made it hard to keep them all way,” he explained.
“So, you know where all the biters are around here? At any given time you can sense them?”
“Unless I am distracted by other things. There are always infected around and I am used to their constant buzz.”
“Are we safe here?”
He nodded.
Wisteria looked troubled and she frowned.
“What?” This should have been good news to her.
“This will sound strange to you, but I’m not crazy. We’ve met before haven’t we?” She sounded puzzled.
Bach froze. Yes. And he knew right then, that he wanted to kiss her.
“I think you burnt my arm with your pulse when we were little.” She showed him a scar on her shoulder.
“You remember me, too?”
“Too? You did know me then?” she asked while looking bewildered.
Without giving an answer, he examined the dark mark on her skin. “I’m surprised there is a scar. Something must have gone wrong.”
The scar looked as if a child had held on to her arm and tried to renew her by force. The Family’s children don’t have that kind of strength. He knew if he’d even tried something so dangerous it would probably end up killing both him and the Thayn.
“Bach, do you know me?”
“No, I do not Wisteria. You simply remind of someone.” Admitting that her image echoed in his mind was uncomfortable for him. “Very, much so.” Maybe that was true, he thought. It would explain his strange feelings for her.
“Who?” Searching his eyes for the truth, she grabbed his shoulder. “You’re lying to me. Ow! You shocked me.” She smacked his blue tipped fingers away from her torso.
“What?” He raised his hands. “My hand slipped. Sorry.” He rolled his eyes while teasing her again.
“Very funny!”
To his happiness, she laughed. He loved the sound of it and was glad that he had brought it from her.
“You said it wouldn’t hurt.”
“That was a different light. This one stings a bit.” He reached to touch her. “The healing light does not hurt. This light does. Can I demonstrate the difference?”
“Hey, get your hands away from me!” She laughed while forcing him back. “I saved your life. You owe me.”
“You seemed like you wanted to know. You had so many questions. I’m just trying to help,” he joked.
“Yeah, but you could just tell me. Stop, we can’t hear Garfield, anymore.” She cried in laughter as he tried to touch her face and she attempted to open her door with her foot.
“So, you are done with your questions?” he taunted, holding the door closed.
“Bach, wait!” She stopped moving; her voice had turned serious.
Looking around, he saw that he’d practically climbed on top of her to stop her from leaving. He was shocked by this. He’d never willing or intentionally touched a free Terran before.
“You’re heavy.” Nervously, she fidgeted, while straightening out her hair and clothing. “Maybe we should…” She bit her bottom lip hard.
Not thinking, he gently tugged her lip free of her teeth. He’d taken note of the endearing habit and he adored it as well. Once it was free, he rested his thumb on her bottom lip. Her plump lips reminded him of a juicy burnfruit that needed to be eaten. Terran, dirt people, echoed angrily in his mind, causing him to recoil. How could he descend as low as kissing a Terran? That was truly disgusting.
“We…” Wisteria looked troubled.
Fixing his hands firmly on the steering wheel, he faced the road ahead. This was going too far, he must resist. He must keep his distance for both their sakes.
* * * * *
What the hell is the matter with you, Wisteria? Is this really your priority right now? Scolding herself, she was grateful the awkward moment had passed. Getting carried away like that was idiotic. Sure, the guy seemed to have gotten a sense of humor and was incredibly hot, but she didn’t really know him. He’d always been rude and moody at best, and here she was, hoping he’d kiss her and feeling rejected when he didn’t. Wisteria, get a grip. And why would he even want to? She wasn’t the kind of girl that boys went for.
“Where’s Garfield?” Breaking the uncomfortable silence, she noted they hadn’t seen him in a while. “I’ll go and look for him.”
“Stay in the car.” Giving her an unsettling look, he left.
For good measure, she locked herself in and took hold of her sword. Then, she waited and waited, but after more than ten minutes, no one showed up. Sweat started forming along her palms, and her hands started trembling. It wasn’t unusual for her to lose someone within seconds. Then, there were times when you’d have to make the decision to leave without them.
The car was in good condition and he’d left the keys in the ignition, so—then she saw Bach return, but he came alone. Alighting from the vehicle, she went up to him. “Where is he?”
“Gone.” He took her arm and ushered her to the SUV. “He ran into one of the infected. I am sorry.”
“What? Why didn’t we hear anything?”
“We have to go,” he said calmly.
“No, no.” Refusing to move, she studied his emotionless face.
After staring at her blankly for a second, Bach turned and walked away, apparently undisturbed by this horrible revelation. “Hurry.”
“You don’t even care. How could you let anything happen to him?” she demanded as she grabbed his arm angrily. “If you could sense the biters, why didn’t you warn him? You should’ve done something!”
“Can you let go of me?”
“Did you—cure him?”
“Cure?” This question appeared to surprise him as his green eyes darkened. “You mean did I shoot your friend? No. I tied him up on a tree.” Getting behind the wheel, he started the engine. “He will be fine for about five to ten years.”
“I shouldn’t have let him go alone. He helped us. We’d both be dead if Garfield hadn’t been there.”
“We are leaving. The infected do not travel alone.”
“I want to see him!” she demanded. Garfield had been a friend to her and she couldn’t just leave him here.
“No, because then I will have to worry about protecting you and while we are sightseeing, someone might steal this car. Then you might expect me to carry you back to your island. We need to go now.”
The words cut right through her heart because they were cold and unfeeling, but right. But she was going to see Garfield anyway. Spinning around to face the direction the boy had gone, she was startled to see Bach standing inches in front of her. “Why did you let this happen? You said you could sense the biters. Why didn’t you stop them?” She was crying.
“This is not my fault.” He grabbed her shoulders. “It just happened, but I do not get why you are determined to go back there and die with him.”
Wisteria stopped crying and suddenly she was clenching onto her sword.
“Ugh,” a biter growled. It was Garfield. The flesher shuffled forward. He looked more or less normal, but his eyes were dead looking.
“You said you tied him up!” she shrieked. Bach had lied to her. Running back to the SUV, she picked up the nearest gun and aimed at Garfield’s head. Curing someone she cared about was hard and she’d never done it before. She hesitated, as the biter that was now her friend ambled toward her.
“Wisteria, wait.” Bach lifted her hand up as she squeezed the trigger and the gun clicked in the air.
Before she could respond, she heard laughter.
“You never use a gun!” Garfield exclaimed jovially, seeming to be in full control of his mind. “You’ll attract the biters from miles around.”
“You were just joking? Are you mad?” Scowling at both boys, she couldn’t believe this.
“I wanted to see if you cared,” Garfield teased. “Come on, it’s a little funny.”
“He wanted to see if you would try to put him down. I told him you would,” Bach added.
They might’ve found the joke funny, but Wisteria was more upset now than ever. The thought of losing someone—anyone—still hurt, even though she barely knew him. Attempting to get a hold of her emotions, she closed her eyes.
“You don’t ever pretend. What if Bach hadn’t been fast enough to stop me from shooting you in the head?” she stated sternly.
“It wasn’t loaded.” Taking the weapon, Garfield pulled the trigger and the gun clicked. “It’s a toy. Good for scaring off opportunists.”
“You’re an idiot.” She hugged Garfield with relief, but she still couldn’t believe that Bach would actually pull a joke on her, it was so unlike him. She needed to be careful around him even more now. He was unpredictable and that was something she didn’t need when she considered the erratic life she was already living.
