The Death Series: A Dark Dystopian Fantasy Box Set: (Books 1-3) (58 page)

She died... surrounded by rage, death and decay.

CHAPTER 21

Someone was shaking me. “Caleb! Caleb!”

Panic, someone was panicking.

I opened my eyes and Smith was above me, naked relief standing on his face.

“You had me scared. You and Tiff, both.”

I looked at the sky above me, the clouds rolled and the dead-techs were in a loose circle, looking down at where I lay, on my back, which was not where I started.

I asked the obvious, “What happened?”

Garcia pushed his way through the techs. “What did you see?”

Gale frowned at him. “Just a sec, Raul. Let's see if he's okay first.”

Smith looked at Garcia. “Yeah.”

Garcia crossed his arms. “He and the Weller girl are fine. Obviously, Smith was able to contain the corpse.”

“It was a near thing, Raul. You know, that nut-job teacher was right. With the two AFTDs at work, well,” he tore a hand through his hair, “it was very close.”

The dead-techs looked at the three cops, shifting their weight from foot to foot.

“Take the body,” Garcia said.

They swooped in, loading the corpse into a black vinyl sheeting- type bag that zipped from top to bottom.

Gale saw me looking. “Body bag.”

Right.
Great
. I'd sleep better knowing that.

She gave me a weak smile. Guess things had gotten kinda tense when Tiff and I were doing our fugue together. I looked to my left and  met Tiff's eyes. She was flat on her back too.

“Do you know her?” she asked.

I shook my head.

Smith sharpened right up. “Who?”

“There's a girl that's helping the killer.”

Smith squatted down beside me. “Can you tell us something about her?”

I told them everything. How the victim had known the accomplice, had
trusted
her. That somehow, she had led the victim to the masked man. His ending comment got Gale's full attention.

“So we have some guy that... what? Thinks that getting rid of Nulls will do...”

Tiff and I looked at each other. “I got the feeling...” she paused, staring at me, I knew what she was going to say, I'd been with the dead girl too, “that he thought that if the Nulls were gone, then it would somehow, take away the paranormals.”

The dead-techs looked up at that, then got busy carrying the girl's body out, its singing presence getting fainter as she floated under the hands of the living to the hearse that waited to swallow her forever.

****

I was propping a heavy head up in both hands when Mom said, “Elbows, mister.”

I sighed, never a break on etiquette, I thought. I slid them on my lap and resisted the urge to put my head against the wall. It just felt too heavy to sit on my neck right now.

Mom put the plate of pot roast and mashed potatoes in front of me and for a second I thought I'd gotten away with No Vegetable. Then she plopped a spoonful of sick peas on the side. I looked at them sitting there looking disgusting and sighed again.

Dad steepled his fingers, pressing his chin into the nest of them. “Okay, obviously something's bothering you. What can you tell us?”

He smiled as Mom put his plate in front of him, fully laden with artery-clogging butter and sour cream stuffed into the center of the taters.

Mom sat down and watched me work through spinning the condiments into a froth of deliciousness in my mashed potatoes.

“Spill it, Pal,” she said.

“Well. I didn't raise anything.”

“Thank God,” Dad muttered and Mom frowned.

“You still smell...” she wafted her hand around, “...vaguely like grave.”

Close proximity to dead bodies will do that to a person.

“I'll get stuff off later, Mom. Right now, I'm digesting my own spine.”

Mom wrinkled her nose and Dad laughed. He could relate.

I stuffed a hunk of meat (full of ketchup) into my craw and chased it with milk. I did that about three more times and when the gnawing in my belly was a dull roar, I told the Parents what the deal was.

The Hunger was abated but not satiated. I shoveled food as I spoke until Dad asked, “So, you were able to clearly identify who was assisting this murderer, but not the killer himself.”

I nodded, it was so frustrating. Neither Tiff or I knew the female that had lured the victim. The guy was a mystery too.

“He was a nobody. Dark hair, tall, voice was just like everyone's...” I trailed off, my frustration obvious in my tone, the set of my shoulders, the way my fork stabbed the peas.

“His voice? Was there a regional diction that you could ascertain?” he asked.

I stared at Dad.

“Does he speak like people from our area?”

I thought about it. Yeah, he was from here.

“I think so. He hardly said anything, he whispered, like he was trying to disguise his voice. We know he's got it in for the Nulls. He's got some lame idea that if he kills all the Nulls, that somehow it will make it tough on the paranormals.”

Mom's hand flew to her mouth and Dad and she exchanged a charged look.

“What?” I asked, setting my fork down on my plate, my huger temporarily forgotten.

Dad pushed his plate away. “I think we're talking about anarchy.”

Okay. Whatever the hell that means? “What does it mean?”

Mom answered, “Essentially, Caleb, if you do away with all Nulls, then who would protect us from the paranormals?”

Gotcha
. All the paranormal criminals would have no reason to worry, no end result. They could run around, doing all kinds of immoral shit and there would be no one to stop them.

Sounded like John's idea.

“That's sorta big! I mean, he can't kill all the Nulls!”

Dad stared at me. “Actually, maybe there's a huge group of these...killers. After all, there isn't an inordinate amount of Nulls. Maybe the police should be looking into missing children's cases,
nationwide.
Possibly, this is not a local trend.”

Wow,
just
wow.

“We couldn't be figuring this out on our own, Kyle. They have people working on all this constantly,
experts
.”

“That's why I think that we may have a new idea. They
are
constantly chewing on this. Maybe, with different people working together toward a common goal but with different methodology, it hasn't been put together yet.”

“Never underestimate zealotry,” Mom said.

“Exactly my point. That's why when my research gets all bound up, I have a new pair of scientific eyes look at it. That fresh set can sometimes see things I did not. Maybe that's happened here.”

“They're looking for horses,” Mom said.

“And it's zebras,” I said.

Dad smiled. “Right.” He pointed his finger at me, and then did the thumbs up.

Huh, maybe it was a gang of weirdos together. Trying to exterminate the Nulls, and let the paranormals become a threat.

I had a question. “Okay, so they kill all Nulls. Paranormals are causing trouble. So what? What purpose does that serve?”

“Well, Caleb, who do you think would have to take care of the problem then? Do you think they would be discriminate about who was taken out of the equation or not?”

The government
. They would extinguish a threat... a national threat.

My face showed what I realized, a terrible reality where half the teens in the USA would be taken in the name of safety. Most of which would be innocent of any wrongdoing.

Mom paled. “How could the government get away with it? There are too many people who would never stand for the sanctioned murder of our children simply because they were paranormal. My God, it's like the holocaust, Kyle.”

He nodded. “Yes. Diabolically clever, really.”

“They'd never get away with it Dad,” I said.

He shrugged. “Maybe they wouldn't, 'get away with it',” Dad made airquotes, “but it would cause troubling questions to be raised and a negative spotlight to be cast on the paranormals. Even if that bright light was not warranted.”

We sat in silence. I picked up my fork and Onyx head-bumped my hand. He was begging for a morsel. I covertly slipped a small hunk of meat under the table as Mom was dishing up her bird portions.

Mom changed the subject, “So...I hear John's birthday is coming up.”

“Yes,” Dad clapped his hands together. “The big one-five.”

I looked at Dad. He was so lame sometimes.

“What?” He shrugged.

“Honey, I don't think Caleb is thinking it's an important birthday.”

She looked at me expectantly.

I nodded. “Yeah, what do I get out of mine? Big deal...no voting, no driving, no emancipation...”

The Parents heads' whipped up from their plates. “Gotcha,” I said, pointing a fork at them.

“Nice, son. I thought you liked living here...” Dad said, mock angry.

“I do. I just like jerking your chains.”

“Humph,” Mom said, unimpressed.

“What are you boys doing for John's birthday?” Dad asked.

“Definitely a combo-fest,” I said.

“Oh right. I forgot, Jonesy's is the next day,” Mom said.

I nodded. Actually, “Ah, that reminds me, I was going to ask...” I sat there awkwardly, which of course, made the Parents stare more.

I spit it out. “Jade's birthday is at the end of the month and I was going to get her something but...”

“You're not sure what?” Mom asked.

I sighed in relief. Geez. I was kinda stressed about what to get.

“Hmm, that's interesting that there's a gaggle of your friends that have these early fall birthdays.” Dad smiled, he'd thought of something that amused him.

Wonderful.

“So, that makes Jade an 'older woman'.” Dad laughed at his cleverness.

Mom didn't.

“Don't joke, Kyle, it's important to get just the right gift. She's an important part of Caleb's life and we want to get something that gives that the nod but doesn't give her the idea they're getting married next week.”

I felt a little light-headed when Mom said the “M” word.

Dad looked at me in alarm. “Are you okay son, you look pale.”

I put my head between my knees and said, my voice muffled, “Ah... I don't ...it's not...”
shit
, “...it's not
that
big of a deal. Can't I just get her a stuffed animal or something?”

“At fifteen, Son? Isn't that a trifle juvenile?” Dad asked.

I whipped my head up and it swam, the food undulating in my stomach in a slick lump. Geez.

“I don't know! It's not like I've had a harem before Jade.”

“Okay, calm down, we'll think of something,” Mom said.

“
I am calm
, you're the one talking about weddings.”

We sat there together as the cuckoo clock chirped six times in the background, shattering the silence.

Dad suddenly grinned. “I like that she's older than you, Caleb.”

Mom scowled.

Whatever, Dad's sense of humor was totally warped sometimes. My birthday was in October, I didn't think that was that big of a difference, one month.

“Okay.” Mom made the slice the neck gesture with her index finger and Dad raised his brows. “One thing at a time. What is happening?”

“Well, Gramps said he'd have a party thing at his place next Friday.”

“You know, honey. Your dad, sometimes things get a little dicey at his house,” Dad said.

I was thinking of Hamilton showing up, and the posse that flipped us off in the car. Yeah,
shit went down at Gramps
, no doubt.

Mom put her hands on her hips. Wonderful, looked like A Point would be made soon. “Pops couldn't help that horrible man showing up and threatening you.”

“Maybe he could have not broke his thumb though, Mom,” I said.

“He did?” Dad asked, making the crooked mouth.

I nodded. “Yeah, heard it in school.”

“He could have pressed charges,” Dad said, trying not to laugh.

I shook my head. “No,” I said through slurping the rest of my milk. “Too embarrassed.”

Dad nodded his head. “I can see that. It's not every day that a man twenty years your senior...”

“Hands you your ass,” I finished.

“Caleb Sebastian Hart!” Mom said.

Cripes on a Crutch.

“Sorry, Mom, but Gramps he's got it goin' on.”

She threw up her hands, totally in denial. “He was just defending his rights.”

Ah-huh, right.

Dad changed the subject, “How are your classes going?”

Translation:
are you flunking anything?