Barcode: Cavern of Youth (28 page)

The wet area of my face continues healing as she approaches my opponent. Holding his hand up, he articulates, “Spare me.”

She shrugs her shoulders. I hear the water boil in her mouth as her barcode flickers. Carmen returns to me and blows an intense steam on my face. Naturally, I breathe in the fog. It’s more powerful than the water in the cave because my body relaxes and the soreness under my bandages vanishes.

As the pain in my body erases, the mental torture returns. The physical damage was enough to distract me from wondering how Carmen’s using me and what plans Vincent has for her. She completely ruined the entire purpose of the brawl. I wonder if that’s the real reason the beast turned down the water.

As though he were answering my thought, the ape nods his head gently, right out of Carmen’s sight.

I fold my arms. “What are you and where’d you come from?”

“
Who
am I would be the proper question. You think I’m a savage animal, don’t you?”

“If it looks like a duck.”

“Says the midget screaming at me to hit him harder. Don’t blame me because you’re unable to deal with your real issues verbally.”

“You’re avoiding the question. Let’s start general. Your name.”

“Hame.”

“Strange and interesting. Why are there so many of your kind here?”

“Spirits?”

“Is that what you call yourselves nowadays?”

“Yes. And let me guess, your inquiring mind wants to know all about them.”

“It would be nice.”

“Spirits are large families condensed into a body.”

“Oh damn. This sounds like the bull Angie tries to feed me. Nevermind. If you’re not taking this seriously, we could talk about the galactic weather in your eyes. What’s it really like on Pluto?”

“I’m serious. Think of us as all of your data compressed into one body. There aren’t as many of us as humans because each of us represents one family. You’ve met Nevaeh, right? Sensitive little girl. Cries about everything.”

“Seriously, what’s up with that?”

“She’s the Moreno-Colt family.” His eyes sparkle as he scrutinizes Carmen. “You can see the similarity of the last generation.”

“Okay. Now I’m interested. Who else?”

“Leah’s the representation of the Colt family, but she’s been commanded to keep away from you until brother returns. She can be aggressive and bold, but stays reserved for the most part. At home, she opens up and has tons of personality.”

“What are you?”

“I have no family.”

“Why not?”

“I’m you.” The words fall on my ears like a ton of bricks. “Shiva even has a family. Don’t force her to tell you, yet. When she’s ready, you’ll meet her sister.”

“Sister. Brother. Father. What’s all of that? Wait! Why aren’t I a part of the Payne family?”

“Which one? I know we can listen to multiple things, but I only have one mouth.”

“Payne.”

“You’re definitely a pain,” he jeers while stretching his shoulders, “but it seems you’re a separate entity. Let’s say, you’re a different beast all together.”

“I’m the beast?”

“From my perspective.”

We both chuckle. A few seconds of silence pass between us. During that time, I scan the entire building to find something else that’s near his size.

“Where’s your partner? I heard there were two as big as you.”

“He was connected to only one person, like I am. My best friend died just last year.”

“Giving me any details on that?” Hame shakes his head painfully. That’s definitely a touchy subject that he doesn’t want to discuss. Leaning back on my left hand, I try changing subjects, “Why’d you attack Seth?”

“The doctors needed time to sneak into a laboratory to free some of our family. I wanted him to have something to concentrate on so he wouldn’t have time to go back and check that footage. He spent so much energy focusing on how I slipped through security, that he forgot about the others.”

“I guess you pay off the doctors with nice fur.” I point to his armored flesh.

“We are the doctors.”

Carmen quickly leans forward. “What?”

Hame transforms into Carmen and echoes, “What?” He immediately returns to normal.

I bursts into laughter when I realize that the very people saving Seth’s life are the ones he’s in fear of. “All of you can shape-shift?”

“No. Only the most advanced. But the longer we’re in human form, the more we become like them. This is my first time. I only did it because Carmen’s heart is gentle. If I were to have mimicked you, I’d become as corrupt as some of the animal kings.”

“I guess that makes you Buddha.”

“We are much more peaceful than humans and the gods.”

“Peaceful? You and I nearly killed each other.”

“In sport. I had no intention of harming you. I sensed your desire to erase your sorrow and I helped. You’ve taken far worst beatings than that.”

Carmen pulls on my arm and asks, “What sorrow?”

Hame helps me out by distracting her, “We’re eager to join your world. I’ve waited nineteen years to see this day.”

“Seth said he created you seven years ago.”

“The science Seth stumbled upon gave us physical bodies to enter this realm. Since then, the doctors have worked on getting more of us. Though I’ve only been here since you’ve come to Los Angeles, your spirit lingered in your data the second you were born.”

“You’ve been waiting on the day to meet me face-to-face? I’m sorry your standards are set so low. You should work on bigger goals in life.” Hame reveals a beaming smile when I increase the intensity of my barcodes. “Judging from the conversation that the others are having on the above floor, I’m your savior. You really think I’d free you out of this prison?”

In a deeper voice, Hame declares, “He can hear all of you. Mind your manners around our brother.” His eyes glimmer as a shooting star passes from one eye to another. “We’re not looking for you to save us. If we wanted to battle the humans for their space, we would have taken over years ago. There are enough of us now.”

“So...” Carmen prods, dragging the vowel.

“We want you to be who you are naturally. Since the day you were born you hated this world, and it’s only a matter of time before they anger you enough to do something about their corruption.”

I stare at my “brother” in disbelief.

“What if I turn against all of you?”

“That is the balance. You’ll face me and we’ll die together.”

“Good. I like you guys better anyway.” Turning to Carmen, I say, “He’s getting out of surgery. Let’s go.”

As we step on the elevator, Hame approaches us looking desperate. He doesn’t say a word, but his stomach grumbles and I know what that means.

“How’d you get stuck on this floor anyway?”

“The stupid elevator worked for me last week and let me off here. I wanted to make this a playroom for us, but the bottom floor is the most reinforced so I couldn’t build a way to the top. The others have tried damn hard to get me out. Nothing worked.”

I drop him off one floor above. “I’m guessing I’ll see you before I die?”

“You’ll also see me when you die. If a family is completely removed from the world, the spirit leaves with them. Until you make babies, my existence is dependent on you.”

My eyes naturally gravitate to Carmen before I mumble, “You don’t have much hope then. Don’t expect kids from me. Ever.”

Twenty One

The drive home is silent. Surprisingly, Seth seems sober. I imagine he could make it a few days without drinking, but once we step out of the vehicle, he takes a sip.

As Carmen and I head to the elevator, Seth leans against the car. “Do you want to lose the finals?”

“I hate losing.” My words probably mean nothing to him, but my own level of honesty surprises me.

“Then why’d you choose the weakest classmates you could find?”

“Why do you work so hard at being weak?”

Seth takes another sip of his drink. He twists the cap back on the bottle and grips it sternly. He activates his barcodes. “No one believes you, you know.” He and I stare at each other as his words echo in my mind. “You may not have tats, but data flows through your blood. What are you?”

“An Ape, right?”

“Don’t feed me bullshit!” Spit spews from Seth’s mouth. His drunken demeanor slowly returns. “I need to be able to trust you if we’re going to make it through finals, but I don’t. You lied about being a new transfer student. You lied to me to get into my building. You’re probably lying about being blind. I don’t know who you are besides a liar.”

My heart’s beating fast. Why? This can’t bother me.

A few seconds pass with me listening to nothing but the sound of my own breath. There’s so much I want to say to Seth. I’d like to ask him questions about drinking more than he should and hiding under the excuse of his evolving brain, but I don’t. I’d just prove his point about my manipulation and lies.

“You can’t answer. Can you?” Seth slides down the car and opens the bottle again. “You don’t know who you are because you even lie to yourself.”

“Maybe.”

Carmen holds herself and looks away. I continue to the elevator and wait for it to open.

Seth scratches his head. Then, he covers his eyes with his hand. “Let’s just start practicing tomorrow. My grades are so bad that we’ll have to make it to the semifinals in order for me to pass.”

“Yeah. I’ll email Gonzales and see if she’ll let us use her class.”

Seth doesn’t respond. I send the email to Gonzales and CC the others. She replies within a matter of seconds as though she were expecting the message. Not only are we allowed to use her classroom, but her pets too.

I revert to silence for the remainder of the night, wishing I could run away from my problems through alcohol like Seth. Carmen and I fall asleep on opposite ends of the bed.

In the morning, she wakes up first. She’s curled under a blanket with her eyes glued to me. I reach over to grab my phone off the counter and read a text from Seth telling me that training starts in an hour.

As I crawl out of the bed, Carmen asks, “Why do you block all of your thoughts from me? What’s so different now?”

“I enjoy my privacy,” I reply unenthusiastically while being covered with nothing more than bandages and neonball shorts.

“Does that mean you’ll stop listening in on me?”

“I don’t have to.” I close the bathroom door.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re always with me. You’d have to get a life of your own first.”

Though she’s trying to smile, her tears leave trails across the floor as she searches for something to wear. I bang my head on the wall a few times, listening as she attempts to wipe a few away.

I beg myself to step outside and apologize, but my legs don’t move. Anger seems to trump my better judgment. Either that or I may have a conscious desire to push people away. Check Carmen off the list and I’ll only need to hunt down Hayley. That way, I can be all alone in the world. Miserably happy.

In order to drown out the sound of her sobbing, I turn on the water and allow it to fall into my ears. It doesn’t help much, but if I slightly drown myself, the choking pain distracts me.

After finishing up, I put on my lightly armored black pants and pick up my shorts. Moments later, Carmen comes flying through the bathroom wearing no bottoms and a torn top. Why would she tear her pajamas? And why is she stumbling to her feet?

Carmen flies to the far end of the bathroom, crashing into the towel rack. The bathroom is huge, nearly the same size as my room. The tub takes up a large portion of the left side, but the rest is really meant to act as a spa. She’s near the wooden benches, trying to stand.

A strong gust of wind knocks me back near her. Only, I crash much harder than she did.

“You okay, papi?”

“I can’t see or hear it. What’s after you?”

“I don’t know; I can only sense it.”

I can sense something approaching as well. Why? Looking down at my clothes, I see bits of Carmen’s blood on me. To strengthen the connection, I quickly lick her lips. Her eyes flash with a green light.

“Activate your barcode and feel it out.” Carmen’s lips shine brightly. My face tingles as I’m connected with Carmen’s data.

With her senses doing the work for me, I feel an attack coming. A fist is aiming for her face.

I stand in front of her and take the punch. I hear a quick laugh, but all other sound fades away. I’m blacking out, but refuse to let something happen to her.

Grabbing the hand aimed at my stomach, I twist the arm and launch the attacker into a wall. I convert my left wristband into a dagger that slices into the assassin’s arm.

A knee connects between my ribs and I fall back. The sweet girl screams, “Kay,” as I skid across the ground.

Carmen senses a weapon, therefore I feel it too. But my saliva on her lips is drying so it’s faint. She licks her lips to prolong the connection and I feel an orgasmic pleasure across my body. It heals me slightly, but I can’t move my legs. Expelling a shock wave from my feet, I jet back towards them.

I slide in front of her just in time to take the knife to my gut. The dagger has to be two feet long.

“Shiva, blow something up!” It’s all I can think to say. My weapon forms a black spherical steel ball around my hands. Electricity erupts across the surface as the knife is removed from my stomach. He’s trying to attack again, but by that time, Shiva explodes. We all take some of the damage, but my glorious weapon pointed most of its energy in the proper direction.

Flesh rips from our faces as we’re shoved in the opposite direction of the window leading to the street.

Our attacker, on the other hand, goes flying out of the glass. I’m pretty sure.

“Papi. Papi!” Carmen shouts while still trying to gain control of her body.

“Stop screaming and heal me. The wound won’t close. Hurry, I’m losing a lot of blood.”

Carmen stands over my body with her lips blazing red. She analyzes my energy and injuries. Her eyes flash with a green almost as intense as mine. She dashes to the bathroom cabinets and searches through two. Towels, lotions, and shampoo are thrown everywhere.

“Calm down and breathe,” I murmur while fighting to stay alert.