Barcode: Legend of Apollo (45 page)

He is nearly as tired as I am. He not only fought off hundreds of soldiers, but he also managed to hold onto his life against my father. Luckily for Dennis, he already knew that Eve set up all of today’s events. My father held him off until he was so tired that he could hardly stand. Then, Blake gave Dennis as much information as possible.

He didn’t initially know that his wife was partners with Helios, but over the past few weeks of seeing Helios’ armor on campus and watching politicians leave the area, he began suspecting her. The black slash over his right eye allows him to read barcodes and understand their powers better than the user.

I assume he tapped into Spencer’s barcode and peered into Eve’s thoughts. He probably did the same with me.

I had already known about Eve and Helios, but stopping them proved to be more difficult that I imagined. It cost Dennis the life of his son.

The Mexican standoff occurs for longer than I’d like. I have no real reason to fight him, but he won’t attack either. I charge him, but he easily catches my fist with his right hand. It’s not that he’s stronger. I’m not trying.

Dennis knows I don’t want to fight so I punch him with everything I have in the chest to change that. He recovers quickly and waits for my next strike. The fight continues this way for what feels like an eternity.

Consumed with frustration and anger, I cry, “Why won’t you kill me?”

“Why should I?”

He’s cool. Dennis isn’t raising his voice like my father would, or beating me an inch from my life like Eve. There’s no reason for us to fight and he’s trying to make that clear, but I don’t want to listen.

I rush him again, and he shouts, “I love you.” That hit me harder than his fists. Scary word.

“You don’t know me!”

“I do know you. I’ve spoken to your father, and I can sense your eyes even though you have them closed. I can read people like Braille,” he says while showing me his fingernails. “When I caught your hand I knew your entire past and even the present. Only you know the future.”

“You don’t know me!” I shout wildly.

“Let’s see,” he says while rubbing his hands together. “Your blood, sweat, and tears can become barcodes at your will. After finding that tomb, you’d been waiting anxiously to cry into someone’s eyes. Once that mask came off, it was all you could think about.” Dennis massages his hands and processes the data he received slowly. I can hear the blood stirring in his fingers. “You hate Eve, not because of how she treats you, but because you have to do what she says. The poison she gave you weakens you when the magnets in her armor are close. You’re quite sure she hides smaller ones in Monte’s armor, just in case you ever turn against him.”

I scream, “Stop,” and rush in to attack again, but he thumps me with his index finger and I feel as though a bomb explodes in my mind.

“You fell in love with Michelle because her heartbeat reminds you of Carmen. So did Spencer’s.” He smiles so authentically that it causes my eyes to burn with a tingling sensation. “But you don’t realize the one person that’s loved you ever since you saved her life, and even before that. I personally think you’re in love with her, but you view her as a pest.” Dennis takes a few steps closer, “You came to protect Spencer, but your motives were clouded by your past. You considered killing him for his weakness several times, but couldn’t. Only he could hear you.”

Anger feels my blood. How can his barcode pierce through my mind like this?

“You seem older than you are because every time you sleep, you had to live in Tartarus where you were tortured and beaten. But to me, you’re still a child.”

Ignoring his words, I shout, “They’re nightmares. Tartarus is only a mask.”

“Tartarus is in Hades. You don’t have to admit that, but you need to know it is real.” Dennis thumps me again and I fall to my knees. He hits the ground at the same time, but before I can resist, Dennis wraps his arms around my body.

I’m a bit taller than him, but he seems much larger in my mind, “If you want to kill me do it. If not, we’ll live together. You’ll be my son, and I’ll be your dad.”

“No,” I say fighting his words, and his arms. He’ll kill me the second I lower my guard. No one could love the person that killed their only child. “You can’t keep me. You don’t know what I’ve done, and you don’t know who I am.”

“I know everything about you, but you know nothing about me. I’ve done more evil in a day than you could in your life. I had this coming to me.” I listen to the honesty in Dennis’ heart. He’s staring at his real son while holding tightly to me. “I love you, son.”

I’ve never heard those words before, and Dennis knows that.

“You’re trying to hurt me. Just kill me.”

“No,” he replies softly. “I truly love you for who you are. Now, let go of the fight and give in son.”

Before he can finish, I’m already weeping into his shirt. I hold his back tightly as I scream. I want to say I love him back, but it hurts too much. I want to say it so badly. I need to.

“I love you,” I stutter. The million times I say it after that can be heard clearly.

Forty Five

Time is limited by the bullet I deserve to swallow.

That’s what I think every morning I wake up, grabbing a mortal level gun with the barrel the size of an eagle’s neck, placing it in my mouth, and debating whether I should pull the trigger. The only thing that ever stops me from completing the bold task is my unparalleled desire to kill Eve and Helios. Everything else comes second to the pain they’ve caused me and millions around them.

Yeah. I go through that every morning, except this one.

My body won’t move. Generally Eve’s poison makes me feel sick and nauseous. I know this isn’t her doing.

No. When I look at the edge of my bed, I see a large man in an expensive Tony Piaget gray suit on a cellphone speaking with such a powerful voice that I feel as though I’m being crushed by the ocean.

“Yeah. No-no, I saw him with my own eyes. Z’s pissed, huh?” He laughs as I grunt, hoping to grab his attention. Every word makes my flesh feel as though it were being torn apart. “Asleep, I think.”

I continue whimpering for him to notice me. Then, I wonder if Dennis hired someone to have me killed. Desperately, I struggle to hear the world around me. For the first time in my life, I can see no further than a few feet away.

Finally, I whimper loud enough for him to notice me.

“Call you back.” Now he’s standing over me. I can’t roll my head to see his face, but his hands are the size of my head and he’s possibly taller than my monstrous father.

“So you’re up. That’s rare. It takes some serious strength to wake up and see me.”

Big-Man sits next to my head and the entire bed sounds as though it’ll cave in.

“I’m sorry to disturb your sleep little one, but I had to come see you myself. Normally my brother comes through with me, but he’s too upset. He had all his money riding on Apollo’s host. Your power came out of nowhere though.” I hear him scratching his head and the flakes fall near my face. “If it weren’t for you, I’d still be on a losing streak. You’re my first win in eighty years.”

I think I’m blacking out from the sound of his voice, but with each word, I’m able to tolerate his trampling tone a bit more. By the end of his last sentence, I’m blinking my eyes and seeing things a bit more clearly.

“Who?” Yeah. That’s all I can get out of my mouth. My jaws weigh a ton and nerves are pinching in my neck.

“Who am I? You’re not ready for that yet, with all of your spiritual hatred. If I said I were Hades you’d think I meant the host. Maybe we’ll talk in a few years and get to know each other better. Until then, just try to remember my face.” He stands up and dusts the flakes from his shoulders. I still can’t see above his waist. “Anyway, thanks for the win. You’ve got a lot more trouble ahead of you Okodemah, and my brother will make sure you don’t end this war. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do.”

I believe the large man waves before grabbing a hat from the counter next to my bed. It’s known as a Stitched-Helm, the most expensive Fedora made to date. Seconds after the hat is out of my sight, he disappears.

The paralysis releases me and I grit my teeth as I slowly lift my body from the bed. Everything hurts.

It’s not just the amount of bullets I dodged and the fists that pounded into my face, but fighting against that brute’s voice took some energy as well.

My sight returns and I hear Dennis in the next room. Helios is out on a morning jog near China Town, and my father’s still managing things at Yang Arena for Dennis. Eve had helicopters fly her far away, so she shouldn’t be a threat anytime soon. For now, it’s on to my new life.

I’m in Dennis’ penthouse suite. His room is at the far end of the hall, but he slept in the waiting room where Spencer was killed. We removed the body ourselves last night and placed it in the dungeon at the school before returning to the house.

I slept in Dennis’ guest room right next to a mini-kitchen and small dining area. It connects to a long hallway that leads down to his dressing room. From there, he can secretly exit into his office.

When I walk into the kitchen, Dennis sits a plate of food on the table. He looks a bit distraught.

Tilting my head, I ask, “What’s wrong?”

“I burned the food. Spencer learned how to cook in a week from the chefs, and I haven’t learned after forty-two years of life.” I flop down at my seat, staring at the atrocity. After taking a bite, I accidentally smile, “Are you laughing at it?”

“No,” I say, looking away embarrassed. “I’ve never eaten real food. This disgusting looking crap tastes good to me.”

Dennis breaks into laughter, and sits down with a plate. After he takes a bite, he pushes it away. I continue digging in to his amazement. “How can you eat that?”

“Shut up,” I snap with a mouth full of food. “You don’t know what it’s like eating through a mask.”

“No clue. Hey. You can still call me dad.”

I continue scarfing down the horribly good food, enjoying a sense that’s never been active to me. Taste.

With a mouth full of food, I scoff, “That sounds a bit vain. Spencer didn’t call you that and you want your fake son to?”

“You couldn’t speak to anyone for years and you’re worried about my psychological stability? If I want to be called dad, I’ll say so,” he asserts while punching me in the arm.

I finish off the plate and say, “Do you want me to clean the dishes, dad?”

“Whoa.” Dennis leans back in his chair, “You did it so easily.”

“Make up your mind man.”

Dennis cracks up. He laughs himself to tears, though I know it’s just an excuse to cry. He’s wanted Spencer to acknowledge him as a father all of his life. We’re not too different.

While he continues releasing his joy and pain, I place the dishes in the dishwasher and walk back to the table.

“I’m going to introduce you to Hayley later. I’m sure you know her.”

I shake my head, “I can’t meet her.”

“Why not?”

“She loved Spencer like a son, and I killed him. I can’t live with that. I’m pretty bad at lying as you can tell.”

Dennis agrees by shaking his head. “You’ll learn,” he says, sipping coffee that he doesn’t seem to like too much.

“You don’t understand. I can’t just lie to a woman about the boy she loves. Right now, she’s crying in her room on the tenth floor. She’s trying to find the strength to get out of bed, but can’t. She’s just curled up, all alone. Crying. I can’t torture her.”

Dennis takes another sip, but isn’t as affected by the coffee. He also doesn’t seem to care much about my words. “I understand…I killed her husband. My best friend.” I flinch once I hear his words. “I’ve broken her world more than you ever could. There’s nothing we can do about the past, but I put every effort into the future to—”

“Is that why you wouldn’t kill me?” I ask staring coldly in his eyes, “You’re still suffering from killing your best friend?”

“I made the wrong decision then, and I won’t make it again.”

“What if I deserve to die?”

“Me first,” he says casually.

After we finish breakfast, I help my new dad clean his office and patch the hole I tore through the penthouse roof. He’s removed all the staff from the building in case they recognize me. Dennis promised that he’d be able to change my appearance with his brother’s help, though it may come at a cost.

At the end of the day, we have a long discussion about the future. Dennis figures that there’s a possibility we’ll have anywhere from a few days to a few years until the next host of Apollo's barcode is announced to the world. He doesn’t want me to pretend to be Spencer, but thinks I shouldn’t use my real name either. For now, he suggests I introduce myself as Kay, as though Kode wasn’t short enough.

Dennis gives me a hooded jacket that has an interesting ability. By pulling it over my head and zipping it up, sensors on the inside of the hood can remove light like Blake’s barcode. Thus, the inside of the jacket will look pitch black. It seems that the only light that can’t be removed are my eyes, but I can see clearly without them.

That night, I visit Antonio to check on Leonardo. Antonio promised that he didn’t tell him anything about what happened, though it doesn’t seem like he’d care much. Leonardo’s so drunk he can hardly stand on his own two feet. I use the nanobots to remove some of the toxins from his blood.

When Leonardo sobers up, I tell him the amount of X-Eyes he needs to take per hour to remain functional. Though he’ll still be smarter than the average person, Leonardo will never be the genius that he once was.

“Antonio, it looks like you’ll have to figure out a way to make the nerd smart again.”

The hologram shakes his head and says, “That’s too far beyond me. I absorb knowledge and spit it out. I can’t innovate.”

“Well, do something. Contact his parents and see if they’ll help.”

“They’ve already changed his name. Leonardo Moreno is now, Seth Pena.”

“Seriously? He can’t even stay the same person?”

Leonardo stumbles to his feet. I expect the drunken idiot to put up a fight, but he smiles, “I chose the name actually. They wanted to name me Felix. Sounds like a bitch to me.”