Ice (39 page)

“We did it because we knew that if we exposed the police for who they really were, you would expose
us
!”

Tartok moved the gun closer to the officer’s head. “You’re the one that covered up my father’s murder! You were in charge of finding his killer, but you knew who it was all along! You were protecting him!”

Conner moved his hand from his arm and raised it. “You really have the guts to do it…” he said in fearful awe. “You’ll really kill me. You really are a monster, just like I thought.”

“Be sure to spread the word. I’ll do more than just torch the Factory next time. I’ll torch
the police station and your homes. I’ll hunt down each and every one of you, including your families, like you’ve killed mine. I’ll make sure there are none of you left to hunt us again. It’ll be easy since so many of us are free now.”

“You’re bluffing,” Conner said, suddenly looking very tense despite his calm voice.

“1582 East Ravine Street. All I have to do is call one of them.” Tartok pulled out his cell phone and held it in the air.

Connor’s jaw dropped in horror. It must have been his address Tartok had rattled off.

“I know you’ve been watching us. Do you really think we wouldn’t watch you, especially now that there are more of us? Now, you have two options: I kill you and your wife and your kids, or you help me get my brother to the hospital. Think fast.”

Conner immediately got to his feet and headed for his car. Tartok kept the pistol aimed at him. “One wrong move and your family’s
dead
!” Tartok hollered before he jumped back into the SUV. He had the same vicious tone he had used when he interrogated the hunter in the Factory. Tartok really could be ruthless. I couldn’t deny that he frightened me a little. He was talking about killing children. But, he was trying to save his brother’s life, and he had lost so much already.

Once Conner had shut his door, he started the engine and the sirens began to sound again. The red and blue lights flashed as he sped off down the road, making snow fly up from his tires. Tartok followed him, and we flew down the road again. In about five minutes, Conner had actually lead us to the hospital in Marsh.

Tartok gave me the pistol once he had stopped in front of the emergency entrance, saying, “You might need this in case Conner tries something.”

I nodded and Tartok dashed into the hospital, leaving his door open. I looked down at Kavick, surprised to see his eyes closed. I could still feel his heart beating, so I knew he was alive. I told myself this meant that he would be fine.

He’s just tired,
I told myself.
He’ll be okay.

A couple of seconds later, nurses rushed out with a gurney, Tartok leading them to us. I helped them move Kavick over to the gurney and they raced him inside. I followed behind Tartok, who was answering all of their questions about Kavick’s medical history. “He’s been shot before, in the side, a few weeks ago. He’s allergic to penicillin…” Tartok said in a rush, going on to give them additional information they hadn’t even asked for. For once, Tartok wasn’t carefully composed. It was strange to see him panicked and rattled.

After Kavick was rushed into the O.R., Tartok went out to move the SUV to a parking space, taking the gun back from me; I went into the women’s bathroom to wash the blood off of my hands. I cried the whole time I did, praying that Kavick wouldn’t die. Once all the blood had rushed down the drain, staining the white lavatory the faintest orange color, I washed my face and regained my calm.

When I exited the bathroom, I saw Tartok talking to Conner. He was pointing violently at him, whispering angrily. He was clearly threatening Conner again, earning a few worried glances from some people in the waiting room who looked like they had colds. As I moved closer, I was able to understand what Tartok was saying.

“…My brother dies in there, I’ll kill every last one of you! You can pass that on to the Mayor, too!” He pulled out his cell phone and started to dial a number. “Maybe I’ll just tell him to go ahead, end this once and for all.”

“Please!” Conner said, showing more fear than I had ever seen on his face before. “I’ll call them off, and I’m sure I won’t have any problems convincing the Manheim’s to let it go. They’ve already lost so much money…just, please, put the phone away. Please don’t hurt my family.” The middle-aged man was nearly in tears.

Tartok didn’t put his phone away, though. “I want to see you call them off first.”

Connor hesitated, but finally headed for the hallway to the exit. Tartok followed him out to his car.

I stayed inside. I went to the payphone next to the vending machines, surprised they actually had one. I searched my pockets for some change. I didn’t have any.

I looked around the machines and in the change slots. I found enough to make a call to Justin and walked back over to the phone to start dialing his number.

“Hey. Need a lift?” Justin said in his usual pleasant tone.

“Uh…not exactly,” I said nervously into the phone. “I’m at the hospital in Marsh. There’s been an accident.”

“Are you okay? What happened?” Justin asked quickly, concern suddenly flooding his voice.

“I’m okay. It’s Kevin. If it’s okay with you, I don’t want to leave until I’ve heard something. He’s in the operating room right now.”

“Yeah. I’m on my way. I’ll wait with you.”

“Thanks.”

“Just hang tight ‘til I get there. Bye.”

I said goodbye and hung up the phone, looking toward the waiting room. Tartok came walking in alone. He no longer looked like he wanted to kill somebody, so I assumed Conner cooperated.

I walked over to him, and even though he seemed calm now, I was still intimidated by him after everything. I was afraid he would blame me for what happened to Kavick. I blamed myself, after all. Why else would Marcus be there? It seemed so drastic, even for Marcus, who had proved he could be a hot head at times.

“I’m so sorry,” I said again. It was all I could say. I wasn’t crying this time, though. I felt too lifeless to do that.

I was surprised he didn’t glare at me. “You didn’t make him pull the trigger,” he said, staring me squarely in the eyes. His amber eyes were still a little unnerving, but he didn’t seem mad at me.

I felt my jaw drop in shock. Was Tartok actually being nice? Maybe “understanding
” was the word, but even that was a bit of a stretch for him.

“I saw your friend Marcus back there,” he explained. “I don’t think he followed you, either, if that’s what you’re wondering. I think he was already there. The others and I showed up when Jonathan called us, saying he was following one of the police officers today and overheard them planning something about Kavick. They must have been watching him for a while.”

So, Tartok hadn’t been bluffing. Jonathan was probably the one waiting for a call from Tartok.

Tartok pulled his cell phone out of his pocket just then and said, “I better tell Jonathan what happened.”

I felt myself blink in disbelief as it registered that the war with the hunters might finally be over. “S-so, he called them off?” I asked. I couldn’t believe the chaos could end.

He nodded. “I don’t think they’ll be bothering us for a while. I’ll tell Jonathan to leave them a sign, just to make sure it sticks.”

Tartok walked past me and out of the waiting room as he dialed Jonathan’s number.

I stood there stunned as it soaked in that Kavick and the other Wolf-People might actually be safe for some time to come. They might have even earned their freedom back indefinitely.

Just then, several patients on gurneys were rushed in. All of them were in police uniforms, bloody and mauled. I stepped out of the way, watching the nurses race them past me. I vaguely recognized some of them as the policemen who had fired at the wolves earlier.

And then another patient was rushed in who wasn’t in a uniform. It was Marcus. The front of his coat and sleeves were torn and soaked scarlet. He stared at me blankly as he passed, but there was something in his eyes I couldn’t place until he was wheeled out of sight: sadness.

As I leaned my head against the wall, I wondered if Marcus regretted what he did, and if he did, was it just because of what I had said, or was it because he realized it was wrong? Did he realize the magnitude of what he had done, that he had tried to
murder
someone? He had
shot
a man, and Kavick was fighting for his life because of it.

I shut my eyes and hid my face in my hands.

Marcus could be a murderer by the end of the day.

“How is he?” Jonathan asked when he entered the waiting room. His eyes were wide and his short red hair was windswept. His hands were covered in mud.

“They haven’t brought him out yet,” Tartok explained from beside me.

“How bad is it?”

Tartok’s steely façade faltered for a second as he hesitated. “It’s bad,” he said quietly. “He was shot in the chest.”

Jonathan grabbed his head and cursed under his breath. “I never thought I’d miss his annoying rambling,” he murmured to himself. “He’s gotta be okay. He’s been shot before. He’s gonna make it.”

Jonathan’s words made me remember all the times Kavick had rambled on to me about different things and how I had been amused by
it.

Just as I was feeling myself start to tear up again, Justin walked in. Somehow, seeing him made me stronger. I guess it was because I was determined not to cry in front of him.

“How ya doin?” he asked me, giving me a hug.

“I don’t know,” I said.

There were no words for how I felt.

“I’m so sorry, Chris,” he said, rubbing my back.

I stayed close to his side, feeling lost and vulnerable like when I was a child. I wanted to feel strong, and being next to Justin helped.

“This is Tom,” I said, introducing them. “And this is Jonathan.”

Jonathan tipped his head in greeting. “Hi.”

Justin shook their hands, introducing himself and saying, “Nice to meet ya.” He then said to Tartok, “You’re Kevin’s brother, aren’t ya?”

This ignited a slight change in Tartok’s expression. He seemed a little less cold by the question. “Yes.”

“I can
see the resemblance. Are you twins?”

Tartok’s gaze fell to the floor as he hesitated once more. “Yes,” he said again.

Right when I thought I couldn’t feel worse, my spirits fell even more. My heart went out to Tartok.

“Excuse me,” he said before walking away.

I watched him wander aimlessly around the vending machines. I couldn’t imagine what he must be feeling. He had lost three of his brothers. All he had was Kavick. He must have felt like they were twins since they were the only two remaining from quintuplets. He was probably wondering if he was going to be the only one left.

Justin and I took a seat, and after several minutes of switching between watching TV and watching the people around us, Suka, Anana, and their father came walking in. Anana was in front, walking much faster than the others. Her lips had an unusual red stain to them. She looked pale and panic-stricken. “Where’s Kavick? Tartok called me….”

Tartok walked over to them, giving them the details of what had happened. I could see tears form in Anana’s eyes. Suka’s face changed as she heard the news, becoming increasingly worried. Adrik stayed steely and serious, not showing any change. I noticed Suka had one arm out of her coat, holding it close to herself. It was tightly wrapped an inch thick in gauze. I wondered if the other Wolves had tended to their own wounds to avoid the hospital.

Anana turned to her older sister and silently cried into her shoulder. For the first time since I met Suka, she actually looked gentle as she stroked her younger sister’s short grayish-tan hair.

A man in blue scrubs stepped out of the retractable doors and approached Tartok. He introduced himself as the surgeon that had operated on Kavick. “He’s got a couple of broken ribs. The lung was punctured by the bullet, but luckily it hadn’t collapsed. We were able to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding. He’s resting right now. You shouldn’t wake him. He needs all the rest he can get. Only family members should see him right now, and one at a time.”

Everyone was overcome with relief. Anana’s tears stopped, but suddenly mine returned. I barely managed to hold them back, feeling so stupid for nearly crying because I felt so happy and relieved by the news.

We all thanked the surgeon and waited for Tartok to leave. Instead, he just stood there for a moment. Just as Jonathan was about to say something, Tartok turned, looking at Jonathan, the Miller sisters, and me. “You all can see him, too.”

Nobody said anything for a few seconds.
I think all of them were speechless.

Finally, Jonathan
spoke first. “But the doc said—”

“Do you not want to see my brother?” Tartok snapped, narrowing his eyes at Jonathan. He was back to his old self.

Jonathan immediately turned defensive, raising his hands in surrender. “I-I do! Forget what I said!”

I was afraid to speak, perhaps fearing I may have misunderstood Tartok. Surely, he wouldn’t let me see him. He had fought against Kavick and me seeing each other ever since he found out about our friendship.

“Thank you,” Anana said quietly.

I decided not to say anything, assuming I was wrong.

Tartok stepped away, saying, “I’m going to stay with him for a while first.”

He turned and walked away

An hour passed. Tartok still hadn’t come back to the waiting room. Jonathan had left, saying to the Millers in a hushed tone that he needed to check o
n his dad and brother, and the Wolves that had fought with them. Justin hadn’t heard any of it, watching the news on the TV in the waiting room.

Justin whispered to me that “Tom” might not want to leave his brother
’s side until tomorrow, and asked if I wanted to think about going home soon. He then asked me if I would be able to go to school tomorrow.

“I understand if it’s too much for you,” he said, still whispering, thinking the Millers couldn’t hear him.

I shook my head, rubbing my face. I needed to be strong…but then again, what was one day? My attendance was perfect and I wanted to see Kavick as soon as I could.

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t know yet,” I said, whispering, too
. I knew Justin would think it was strange if I were talking normally around them.

“I understand. We can stay as long as you want.”

Tartok finally returned to the waiting room then. He looked to all of us and said, “If you all want to see him one at a time, you can. He’s still asleep, though. They’re giving him another blood transfusion right now.”

Adrik encouraged Anana to go first. She did so in a timid kind of way, as if she felt she should have let someone else go ahead. Tartok led her to the room and then came back.

She came back only a few minutes later, though, saying that it was hard not to talk to him and that she didn’t want to wake him.

“It’s so strange,” she said, wiping a tear away as Suka held her close, “I expect him to wake up and start talking to me, but he just keeps sleeping. It’s hard being in there and wondering if—if he’s not going to…
.”

Anana couldn’t finish her sentence. I could imagine that was exactly how I would feel if I were in her shoes, but all I wanted to do was see him. Knowing that he was still there, that I could hold his hand, would mean the world to me.

“He’ll be alright,” Suka reassured her. “He’ll wake up soon.”

“I can’t help but wonder if—if…
.” Anana broke out into sobs, hiding her face in her oversized sleeves.

I sniffed, keeping my calm
as best as I could. Suka told Tartok that she wanted to stay with Anana.

Tartok stared at me, as if he were waiting for me to do something.

“Me?” I finally said, shocked. “You’ll let me see him?”

He nodded for me to follow him. I got up from my seat, feeling stiff from sitting for so long, and followed him down to ICU. After a couple of minutes of walking, he stopped at a door. “He’s in there.”

I still couldn’t believe it. I was suddenly overcome with gratitude for Tartok.

“I can’t tell you how much…I can’t thank you enough…thank you…” I said, grasping for the words to say, but they all felt insufficient. Finally I trailed off, just giving up.

I was surprised his expression actually softened a little. “I feel like I should thank you. If you hadn’t of kept pressure on his wound, he would have died. Twice now you’ve helped me save my brother’s life.” He cracked the door open and looked at Kavick for a moment, seeing if he was still asleep. He then looked back to me and said in a low voice, opening the door wider, “I know he would want you to be here with him, anyway.”

Suddenly, I had so much respect for Tartok.

I slowly walked in, careful to be quiet. The room was dim, lit only by a weak lamp on a small table beside the bed. There he was, sleeping silently, looking so peaceful. He had an oxygen mask on. He looked so young and innocent to me in that moment.

He
is
young,
I told myself as I sat down in the chair by his bed.
Eighteen is too young to die.

Even though Kavick would act like a complete teenager sometimes, there were moments when he would stare into my eyes with a knowing look, or hold my hand to comfort me. He would seem so mature then, as if he had all the answers.

Kavick always understood me.

“It’s like what you said,” I whispered as I reached out to hold his hand. “We’re alike.”

I felt the tears in my eyes return. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on the steady beeping from the monitor and the noise from the oxygen. Every time there was a beep, every time there was a hiss, it signaled that he was alive. I had to focus on that.

“You’re going to wake up. You’re going to be fine. And you’re going to tell me what you could never seem to say.”

I wrenched my eyes open, seeing through the soft blur. After a few seconds the tears subsided and I was able to see him clearly. He had an IV in one arm and a blood transfusion going in the other. His hair was lying flat underneath him. I wonder if it had been Tartok or Anana who had seen to it that he looked so neat. His arms rested on the sheet that had been smoothly pulled to his chest.

In that moment, I couldn’t stop the wave of tears. I cried into my free hand, still holding Kavick’s with my other.

“I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry, Kavick…it’s my fault. It’s all my fault. Nobody seems to blame me, but it is…I’m so sorry….”

I wished he could wake up and say something, say he didn’t blame me and that he was feeling fine. I wanted us to return to how we were and pick up where we left off.

It was exactly as Anana had said; it was hard to see him like that with the uncertainty weighing down with every passing second that he was asleep.

As I cried, clutching his hand, I wanted to tell him I loved him and that I wanted him to wake up. But, it seemed so useless, so I didn’t. Instead, I prayed.

I would have stayed there all night if I could, but I left after ten minutes so that Tartok could be with Kavick when he would wake up.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of him as I left. It was strange seeing the machines beside him, the mask on his face, and the needles in his arms; he seemed so fragile. I couldn’t help but feel like he would wake up at any second and start talking to me.

Just as I wondered what he would say, I shut the door.

When I reached the waiting room, I was shocked to see Marcus having words with Tartok. All of the Wolf-People looked furious, Tartok most of all. Justin looked confused as Tartok whispered angrily to Marcus. Marcus replied calmly, and somewhat uncomfortably.

As I neared them, I could hear Tartok hiss, “Get out of my sight before I kill you!”

Justin jumped up then. “Whoa, just wait a minute. Calm down, kid. Don’t do anything rash.”

Tartok ignored him. Suka was standing by Tartok’s side, ready to aid him. “You better get out of here if you know what’s good for you.”

Marcus held his hands out, as if he were trying to reason with them. “I just want to see Christine.”

“She’s with him right now,” Tartok said venomously. It almost seemed like he was happy to say that. He must have wanted to do damage to Marcus however he could, even if that meant using my connection to Kavick to his advantage, which he disliked so much.

When I was a few steps away from them, they stopped their argument. All eyes turned to me then. I looked at Marcus, feeling cold and dead. When he returned my gaze, he gave me that stunned look, like he was surprised to see the expression on my face. I probably looked as bad as I felt, and the longer I stared at him, the tiny feeling of hate and bitterness grew inside me like a poisonous flower blossoming in my chest.

“I have nothing to say to you.”

Marcus’ jaw dropped slowly at my words. He then gave me an awkward, pleading glance. “Please,” he said quietly. “Let me talk to you privately.”

I didn’t say anything. I felt my stare grow colder.

“If only to say goodbye,” he added. That sad look returned to his eyes.

Right then I knew I had to hear what he wanted to say, even though I didn’t want to.

I headed for the exit. I could feel his presence not far behind me. I stepped outside, stopping a few feet from the door. I turned around to face him, crossing my arms.

“What do you have to say?” I asked coldly.