Barcode: Cavern of Youth (37 page)

“What?”

“Monte. I was angry enough to kill him in Gardezi’s and Casey’s classrooms. If I could have, I would have by now. He’s too cute to hurt.”

Monte takes four steps away from her and returns with his hands in the air. “You can’t kill him because he looks like a kid? All this time, that was it?”

The gladiator princess shifts and shakes her head. “It’s not that.” After taking a huge breath, she stammers, “I feel like such a pedophile.”

“Please tell me what you’re talking about.”

“He’s sexy, okay? I swear if he were five years older I’d rape him. I’m not going to lie, if I were alone with him in a room, I probably would. He’s so damn cute I’m disgusted with myself.”

Turning back towards me, Monte grumbles, “I don’t want to hear anymore.”

“Too bad because I’ve had this trapped inside of me all year and I’m letting it out. I always dream about him. I try killing him, but we end up having sex in the kitchen, in my dad’s car, and—oh Writer—the best was in the center of the battlefield. I keep thinking about that one.”

Thomas begins the fight and Monte mouths the words, “Thank you,” to the announcer’s booth. Then, he rushes me and attempts to land a solid right. I try moving my feet, but I’m not fast enough.

Before he can connect, Carmen clotheslines the brute. Only, she places her leg behind his to make sure he falls. Angie sneaks up behind her, but Carmen ducks under the punch and rolls on the ground.

You can use my styles. Great, but don’t use the Muay Thai against Angie. She’ll kill you.

I know. I’m shifting to Krav Maga.

Angie attacks me with a roundhouse kick. I allow it to connect with my arm to move me out of the way. I tumble on the ground and stand up to see Carmen taking on both Monte and Angie at once. She’s holding her own, landing several knees and elbows on very vital areas including temples, ribs, and kidneys.

Both of her opponents underestimated her new strength and didn’t prepare to come after her. Monte tries collecting air for his tattoos occasionally, but it doesn’t work. Carmen chokes him from behind or punches him in the neck. He can’t collect if he can’t breathe.

The duo backs away and Carmen tiptoes towards me to provide me with protection.

“She’s fighting like Kode,” Monte whispers, sounding confused.

“I know. It’s weird,” Angie replies with her eyes focused on me.

Don’t let them talk. They’ll figure out your techniques.

Carmen reveals a transparent staff that’s now a grayish color. It extends and knocks the air out of Monte. She lifts the staff with him attached to the end. In one strong whipping motion, she smashes him into the ground.

Angie runs on top of the weapon and plows her foot into Carmen’s face.

I back away in the opposite direction of the others. While Carmen recovers, I focus all of my energy to the space right before me. When fighting, it’s best to only pay attention to my immediate surroundings and not the entire world.

Color rushes to my eyes. Though it’s not as vibrant as it would be with them open, I can see the world more clearly. There are details as fine as the hairs on the back of Monte’s neck.

Still supplying my eyes with energy, a red cape flashes in front of me. Monte’s ax is in Carmen’s hands.

“Pay attention, papi.” I didn’t even notice him throw it. She slams it into the ground. It’s buried deeply. He’ll have to spend a few costly seconds to remove it.

Carmen approaches Monte as he collects energy. She doesn’t make it in time and he releases a gust of wind that knocks her back.

His objective is me.

Monte sprints with all his might as he jumps in the air to land a punch on my head, Angie yells, “No!”

Defenseless in the air, Carmen slaps her staff on his back and he plummets to the ground. After converting it to a mallet, she crushes him with it relentlessly until he coughs up blood. Then, she spins it in a circle and slowly approaches Angie.

The two women face off and battle it out with their fists. They engage in an Eskrima fight without sticks. With Eskrima, their punches are more of a whipping motion that allows them to set each other up or throw the other over their shoulder. Both women learned the technique from me, but it’s Angie’s second best fighting style. The one I learned from her, Muay Thai, is my second best.

Carmen’s taking too many hits because of Angie’s advanced speed. Quickly, I instruct,
Extend your reach by bringing out two thin staffs. Allow them to act as additional limbs. Think of it as another joint to whip her with.

Without breaking stride, Carmen creates two blue staffs and takes the advantage. Though Angie’s hits are much stronger, Carmen’s now connecting three times more. Within fifteen seconds, she hits every major area on Angie’s body. Angie tries to retreat, but is only struck more.

That’s when it happens.

Angie flashes her barcodes for the first time in front of a large group of people. Audience members dispel any rumors about her colorless tattoos when they shine a bright baby blue. That additional power is all Angie needs to place Carmen in a headlock. She malevolently flings Ms. Love over her hip, nearly breaking her neck, and slams her into the ground. Ten elbows to the face ends the race for Carmen.

Angie breathes heavily as she jumps to her feet. Carmen’s still awake, but isn’t moving.

Sorry, papi. I see what you mean now. What are you going to do?

Fight. You can relax.

Don’t be gentle!

I don’t even know what gentle means.

You say that, but you’re not as rough as you’d like to admit. There’s a soft spot in your heart for her. If you don’t acknowledge it, she’s going to win. Stop thinking about letting her kill you. Think destructively like you did when fighting Arnold.

Damn. How deep in my thoughts did you go?

Far enough to know you better not ever look at Jamie again.

Angie runs in the opposite direction until she’s next to Monte. She grabs his head and he stands up holding the back of his neck tightly. He’s still pretty hurt.

Thomas grabs the microphone and howls like a wolf in the moonlight. The crowd cheers as he blares, “Now this is a match! Finally, Angie Colt has returned. I’m sorry to say boo-boo, but I heard rumors about that match with Malik last year. I don’t know what changed your mind now, but I’m glad you’re fighting again.” Fans stand to their feet and pump their fists. Thomas’ face is projected on the spherical screen as he stands in the booth. “Somehow, Kay’s gotten through two days without throwing a single punch. It looks like you’ve finally run out of luck and you couldn’t be up against worse odds.”

Angie and Monte set their gazes in my direction. The odds are against me in every way, but it’s no fun to go out without fighting.

I take a step forward, but my legs are too heavy. I remove the pearls from Ra. Then, I begin twisting the necklace around my finger. Air rushes into my lungs and a great pain is lifted from my shoulders. These pearls were meant to act like Richard’s armor, but Ra had something special in mind. My power was too low to go against Angie. With these on my torso, my core was strengthened, enhancing my defense and punching power.

Releasing a force directed at their bodies, I make sure that what they’re seeing isn’t what’s in front of them at all. This is similar to the way I disappear into smoke.

Monte squints and says, “I can’t tell if that necklace weighs a ton or nothing at all.”

“A ton. Don’t let it hit you.”

Smiling, Monte warns, “But I can’t move my legs yet. Convert Kongō into a shield for me.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Where were you last night?”

“You’re asking now?”

“You said you’d meet me at the party, but you never showed up.”

“I got drunk after thinking about Kode and went to fight on some rooftops. I’m sorry I didn’t call. Does that mean we’re a real couple now? If so, can you protect me, babe?”

“Funny. Your friend Malik didn’t show up either. But a lot of gangsters—like the ones you hung out with in Louisiana—did.”

Monte becomes cement-like. He motionlessly watches her with a fearful expression. “...Angie.”

Coldly she declares, “You’ll have to get hit.”

Once they’re done, I twirl in a circle and launch the necklace. The pearls crush Monte’s armor on contact and send him flying through the stadium walls.

“Say you killed him.” Angie exhorts while marching towards me. “You’ve made me think I’m crazy because you’ve never said anything to me directly. Say it!” she screams and the crowd simmers down.

When she’s no more than a few feet away, I feel my heart pounding against its captivity, pushing away every ounce of blood inside of me. I hate myself for doing this to her, but if Angie kills me now, it’s more than worth it. I want her to understand that she’s not her father’s puppet. She’s already defeated Malik. This is just the additional push she needs to never turn back.

I gesture for her to bring her best. Angie swings with a wide punch that I could easily counter, but I want the pain, like always.

The first strike doesn’t hurt enough. I duck several others before she connects a knee on my cheek. I tumble, flip up, and dodge the next set of kicks and punches without missing a beat. When she plants a straight on my jaw, I hold her fist firmly against my face. It’s not strong enough, and she needs to show me a lot more if she wants me to counter.

The monster in Angie emerges and she uses her left hand to strike me in the gut. I crumble to the ground, but feel her knees relentlessly pound against my forehead. I realize how close to the wall I am when she bashes my head into it seven times.

Three more, you know the rules.

Angie hesitates before slamming me into it three more times.

When I stand up, she backs away and turns her barcodes outward. She damn near flies away from me. When she gracefully lands on her feet, she says, “I can’t believe someone this weak has their blood covering his body.”

Angie splits into five copies. It’s a horrifying technique she can perform when her codes are angled this way. I’m not sure if each one is real, but from personal experience, they all feel very authentic.

They each beat the hell out of me, hitting me from various angles and sides. It’s painful, but I’m more focused on the crowd’s reaction. They’re amazed at her abilities and freakish power.

The beating ends with one of her clones holding me by my hood and the real girl analyzing my face, we’re almost nose-to-nose. The clone releases me and slowly fades away.

I try catching my balance, but fall to the ground. The crowd’s cheers rumble the stadium. As the blood leaks from my head, I realize I lost.

Thomas rests his hand on his cheek. “That’s it little guy? With the way you stood around confidently, I thought you were a lethal assassin or something. That’s disappointing. I guess that leaves Angie Colt and Monte Payne as our winners.”

I feel Carmen creeping through my mind. To think, she calls me the invasive one.
Kode.

What? What?

Are you done?

No. I doubt it.

Then why are you lying there for so long?

Angie towers over me. She kicks dirt on my body and slowly walks to Monte with half of the stadium chanting her name.

I don’t know. Maybe I like the feeling of blood oozing from my skull.

You probably think I’m not good enough to give you advice, but can you at least show me the determination you had last year? All this time, you’ve been holding yourself back from us. I don’t really know who you are. It’s fine if she’s stronger but—as I continue sneaking through your thoughts—I’ve seen you much more focused and willing to prove a point.

Electricity dances in the pool of blood directly next to me. I begin walking my fingers across it as it creeps back into my body.

You sure you want this? If I return to how I was before killing Spencer, you may hate me. I’m already bad enough. Think about it. I’ve been holding back all my hatred and anger. If I let it go, I can’t promise that I’ll feel the same way about you.

Though I can’t hear anything from Carmen, I still feel her data dwelling inside of me. Finally, she communicates,
Maybe it’s like Sekhmet, and I can bring you back.
She’s managed to hack through data that I’ve intentionally blocked from her.

No. There’s no return from this. I came here to find the strength I needed to kill Helios, the Colt Council, and my mother. It’s time I remember that.

All at once, the crowd silences. There are no traces of my blood on the ground and I’m standing up, looking much stronger.

Withdrawing the weapon I’ve only used once against the men in the cave, I convert Shiva into my special armored gloves that cover my entire arms and allow them to collect energy around them.

Thomas stammers, “Folks. Uhh, I take back those results. I’m sorry, but I thought he was bleeding from the head. Whatever that black ooze was is gone. I should’ve known it wasn’t blood.”

Looking up I shout, “I’m tired of you calling my fights early. When I’m dead, say I lost.” Angie jumps at the sound of my voice. “You want to talk?” I question while approaching her. “Let’s talk. You’re weak and pathetic. If you thought I killed Kode and Spencer, you should have done something about it. But you’d rather be pushed around by your father and that worthless mutt.”

She laughs at the sound of
mutt.
Angie radiates her barcodes and turns them outward once more.

“This is the only time I’ll tell you: kill me.”

With that, Angie lunges forward again. As she connects a serious combination of blows, I laugh. Once she’s too tired to hit me anymore, I give it to her.

Shiva charges with the sound of a nuke preparing to launch. The first explosion releases from my fist once it connects with Angie’s jaw. Several more erupt over her torso. The last punch throws her back. As she attempts to retreat, I pound her with an elbow to her chest. There’s another booming sound from Shiva.