Barcode: Legend of Apollo (42 page)

Eve stares at me strangely before speaking. She noticed the sound as well. “Me? Everyone hates your family. Look at how many soldiers came to stand against your system and way of life. Even Kode and Monte volunteered for this.”

My voice returns as I yell, “He’s not with you!” Though I can sense her evil aura and I know she’s lying, it’s difficult to avoid listening. Kode hates her, and she wants him dead, but hearing and feeling are different. Why do I want to believe her?

“I’m not, dear. Look closely with your barcodes. Blake told me all about your ability to read thoughts. See with your heart so you’ll know the truth.” Despite her challenge, all I see are her lies.

Strangely, the more I gaze into her barcode, the more truthful they seem. Everything’s blurry.

It hits me. That’s why they call her Medusa. Standing here and challenging my thoughts makes me immobile, like stone.

I close my eyes and attack. I’ll have to use my senses to find her because I can’t trust my eyes or ears around her.

Eve manages to avoid my strikes, despite her size. Though my thoughts and emotions rage, I’m only trying to make my attacks seem uncontrolled like Hannah did to surprise Michelle. Yet, the strategy isn’t working perfectly. I see no weak points on Eve. Her sword changes directions so gracefully, it’s like they are magnets defending against my whips.

I’m tired and need distance. Instead of attacking wildly, I swing Andvari one hand at a time in order to make her defend while backing away. Once she’s far enough, I kneel on one knee.

I’m not sure, but I believe her barcode drains the data of her opponent. With my codes weakening, I feel Michelle fighting for her life. Her only desire is to see me one more time.

Don’t think that. Not just one more time Michelle. Live. Okay?

“You can’t die,” I shout as I stand and twirl Andvari overhead until Eve backs into a corner.

“Your anger is blinding you. You should calm down and think things through Apollo.”

“Check again, you soulless bitch.” I direct my eyes at an empty space near her feet. As she glances down to see what I’m looking at, I throw the whip in my left hand at her head, and Eve loses her footing. She tries to catch her balance but backs into a pool of blood. As she stumbles, I cut off her right arm.

Eve wails openly. Instead of concentrating on the pain, she rams into a wall to avoid my killing strike. If I had both whips, I could easily finish her off, but I draw my whip again as she runs to the top of the stadium.

Andvari chases her each step of the way. I slice her back right before she jumps out of the arena. Though I’m sure I did enough to damage her spine, she’s not dead.

There’s no time to kick myself. I could pursue her, but I need to get to Michelle.

Forty Two

When I make it out of the arena, I see Angie bleeding out while leaning against a wall. A piece of Kode’s green jacket is tied around her right thigh. I’m not curious enough to know what happens so I don’t stop. Swinging my arms wildly and leaping over tons of dead soldiers, I continue rushing down the street until I make it to our skyscraper’s utility elevator. I smash the green button and zoom to the top, wondering why Hannah and Kode would leave Angie.

A few seconds later, I slam into its apex and see Michelle bloodied and bruised. The flesh on her arms are burnt off. My eyes zoom in to search for more injuries. Thank The Writer. She’s losing blood slowly. She’s missing a few fingers, but Leo can replace them with some mechanical ones.

Michelle’s smiling and trying to reach for my hand, but she’s lost command of her own. I watch the determination in her eyes as she fights to regain her motor control. I try lifting her, but she shakes her head frantically and mutters, “No.”

She hardly has the energy to speak. Her beautiful voice is broken. The gentle warrior sounds more like a trampled lion. I hold her face tightly, “I love you. I love you. I’m so sorry.” I kiss her head and she nods in agreement. She accepts my apology, but still won’t allow me to move her.

The only word she can speak breaks my heart, “Kode.” I nearly swallow my own tongue. Before my world darkens any further, Michelle rolls on her side and does her best to look at the neighboring structure where Hannah and Kode are fighting violently.

Without another thought, I take off and jump across to save Hannah. I could swear I hear Michelle say, “
Save him
.”

Hannah backs Kode into the furthest corner of the building, and I’m pumping rapidly to get there. I scream for Hannah to stop, but she continues charging him. Kode ducks underneath her center of gravity. I watch every agonizing moment as she’s thrown from the roof.

I release my whips and convert them into two chains. With one, I reach for Hannah while leaping after her. I wrap the other around Kode while Hannah screams, “No!”

My chain wraps around their bodies and I feel Kode nearly fall off the edge while Hannah and I swing towards the building. Kode catches his balance and begins pulling against the weight as Hannah smashes through a window. This high-rise is all glass, so I do the same.

Seeing Hannah dangling at the end of my chain eases some of my nerves. Safe. A few shards of glass are in my arm, but I manage to hold on.

Kode pulls us up, and I fixate my eyes on him, until he utters, “Damn.”

Hearing his word nearly scares me enough to drop her. Something’s wrong.

When I’m back on the roof, I drag Hannah up with his help. When I place her on the ground, I realize I’m screaming again. The sound from her voice brings tears to my eyes.

Her chest expands and contracts rapidly. I place my hand on her to calm her down, but she can’t. The blood pouring from the glass stuck in her neck is too painful. She’s lost so much blood already.

“Hold on,” I cry. But before I can lift her in my arms, I see death. The sight of her causes tears to stream rapidly down my face. Hannah’s eyes lose their vibrant blue hue.

The most beautiful girl in the world, the Olympian, and my friend expands her chest for the last time before it deflates. I feel the life leave her under my own palm. The blood’s still oozing out, but I can’t seal it with nanobots this time.

Kode takes off running towards the other building shouting something like
bring her,
but I wrap my chain around his leg and pull him back. When he’s right underneath me, I pound my fist against his mask until it disappears. Then, I see what Kode really looks like.

His gentle complexion is smooth and even. He looks older than I expected. Mature. His cheekbones are strong and his face is broad. I never imagined what he’d look like, but if I had, I wouldn’t have been close. If Hannah and I were look-a-likes, so are Kode and Angie.

I hold his head, realizing what I’ve done. Was he only defending himself from Hannah or was he trying to deceive me like his mother?

My data takes its final trip to Hades and stares at Tartarus in the distance.

A deep voice like the one I screamed with earlier says,
Do you want power to stop Helios?

At what cost?

Giving up your connection on Earth and following me. Sleep one night in the hospital, recover. We’ll find him tomorrow and end this world.

Tartarus? That’s you isn’t it?

Yes.

If I accept you, I’ll be as emotionless as Kode. Right?

Yes. But you’ll have—

“Do it,” are the last words I assume I’ll ever speak to the world. There’s nothing left for me here. All I want to do is seek revenge on the man that did this and die alone.

Tartarus slowly forms on my face. The cold sensation that always surrounded me takes over and consumes me.

I feel nothing and everything at the same time. There is no light in my data, but I still sense the universe around me. I have more power and strength than ever before. My senses are enhanced. It’s almost as though I can see what I touch.

I walk over towards my skyscraper. I can sense my room and the laboratories. I even feel the people scrambling inside. This is incredible.

With my new strength, I set a plan in my mind: 
Get Michelle to the hospital. Then find Eli. He’ll be no match for me now.

A barcode tattoo forms over the mask’s forehead, and my power’s complete. I leap onto the seventy-third floor of my building. Then I climb the stairs to make it back to Michelle. Glass continues shattering behind me.

I turn around for a second. Something’s stalking me. Either I’m losing it, or adjusting to this power will take a while. I shake my head and continue the climb.

I finally reach the top and open the door. Someone’s standing over Michelle’s body, talking softly to her.

“Relax,” he says in an alluring voice that vibrates through my chest. The sound fills the air around me, and I lose my breath for a second. Jealousy attacks my better judgment as I see her eyes gazed upon him. A drop of his black blood drops on her skin. Kode?

“How’d you get here?” I shout, but he doesn’t respond. He tries to lift her, but I use my chain to knock him away. “Answer me.”

He looks up at me, but his eyes are closed. He’s probably not used to having them open.

“I hear so much pain, for miles. This is worse than having Tartarus. Angie’s being treated in the hospital. Dennis is on his way to kill my father. Casey’s checking over all Eli’s fallen men and stabbing them with what looks like a large arrow to make sure they’re dead. Kids are being beaten by their parents. Women are persuaded to sell themselves. All that, and Eli’s on a business call with a company he’s trying to buy out,” he snickers. “I hate this world.”

Kode approaches Michelle again. “Don’t touch her. You’ve already killed Hannah. You can’t fucking come near her.”

“I killed her Mr. Potty Mouth?
You
killed her,” he says calmly. The nerves in my neck contract. A dynamic pain shoots through my shoulder. “She would’ve survived that fall because that’s how strong her bones were. She simply needed to fire a large gun before hitting the ground and her bones could heal themselves. You killed her by throwing her through a window. I was only trying to get her away because she thought I hurt Michelle.”

“You,” slithers from my mouth before my thoughts finish. My heart breaks at the thought of killing someone I loved. That’s how I’ve ended up in Tartarus. Between setting up Arnold and swinging Hannah through a window, I’ve constructed my own tragedy.

Unable to bear the thoughts, I lash out against Kode. This time, he can’t dodge my chain. He tumbles on the ground.

“Fine,” he blares. “I could at least save her, but you’re too blinded by your own anger. That’s why Tartarus was attracted to you. You’re a leech that sucks the life from those around you, which makes you two perfect for each other.”

Kode walks away from me and looks as though he’ll jump to another high-rise, but I shout, “You don’t get to leave! You’re always preaching about me getting better, but what about you? You’re still a puppet trying to get another suck from your mother’s breast.” His hair whips as he looks over his shoulder, “I’m stronger with Tartarus and it pisses you off because you weren’t. You’re really angry at that demon known as your mother because she killed your girlfriend and everyone at that stupid arena years ago. How about you grow up and get over it? Stop begging to be noticed by Eve. She hates you. Isn’t that clear?”

For the first time, I notice a demon in Kode that I haven’t before. “Don’t talk like you know what happened in my life.” That’s when I see his true power, but I’m not scared this time. The force was hardly good enough to graze my shoulders. The ground crumbles beneath him slowly, but I won’t.

“I can read it in your aura. You killed the girl you loved because you were too afraid to stand up to your psychotic mother. Now, I’m going to kill you, and put you out of that misery.”

I rush Kode and grab him by the neck. He doesn’t struggle or fight back as I hang him from the edge of the building. I nearly drop him when he opens his eyes. They’re a bright and vibrant green. Both sparkle like Michelle’s hazel eyes in the dark. The only difference, there are infinite barcodes surging through his.

He doesn’t say a single word, but I’ve already hurt him enough to understand. He’s entered a world similar to Hades, where he can only see me. His eyes are fixated on the future, where I’m dead.

The punch he delivers to my gut causes me to release him and step back painfully. Kode falls as I hold onto my stomach. Everything within my data hopes to sense him smash into the ground in a few seconds. I shuffle back to Michelle. She still seems entranced by Kode’s visit. I don’t notice the pain on her face any more.

After a few seconds, I realize that his body never hit the ground. I spin around to check on him, but a hand reaches through the cement and pulls me down into Dennis’ penthouse. We end up in the largest meeting room. My head smacks onto the fifteen-foot table.

I watch as his gloves screech with an electric energy. Shiva now sees me as an enemy. Tartarus whispers in my ear,
She always hated me, and you. She repelled the power I had for Kode since the day he joined with her. That abomination doesn’t respect true strength and you need to kill her. This is your true fate, to fight with her.

Kode coldly replies, “Actually, she did me a favor. She stopped that leech from being able to suck my power. That’s why it was so difficult to use my own strength against the soldiers, the two were constantly fighting in my data. Now, stand up.”

After getting to my feet, I transmute my whips and condense them. Then, I wrap both around my arms like a long wristband.

Once I’m done, Kode slowly walks back down the table as though he were fighting his own urge to kill me.

“I don’t feel the same,” I say while reading his thoughts.

With a smooth run, he enters my space, and we exchange a few blows. When I scrape his shoulder with Andvari around my arm, black blood flies onto the wall.

Not only is the color creepy, but the texture as well. The blood’s as thick as honey.

He knees me in the stomach and hits me with a combination of three elbows until I roll off the table. I back out of the room to get into a more open space.