The Hazing Tower (22 page)

Nikki jumped out of her chair just as she heard the gun fire. She shut her eyes and focused as hard as she could.
CRACK!
The gun fired again, or maybe it was an echo. She opened her eyes to a vivid red scene of rippling colors. She saw the bullet. It was moving fast. She didn’t have time to grab anything. She just ran, jumping over a table in the center of the room and grabbing the bullet with her right hand.

She hit the floor and more red splashed against her face. She looked down and part of her hand was gone. The bullet had gone right through her; it had torn a hole through her hand.

She felt stunned as she jumped back up. The bullet was so close to Jinny now, she needed something solid — the watch! She had dropped it when she jumped out of the chair. She was feeling dizzy now and started to stumble as she picked up the watch. She wasn’t going to make it; Jinny was going to die. She felt a wave of panic shake through her. She ran directly to Jinny and stood in front of her. The bullet was maybe two feet away now, headed directly for her chest. She held the watch as firmly as she could; her right arm was totally numb now.

SNAP!

She was staring up at the ceiling. It had paintings all over it.
Almost looked like a church,
she thought to herself.

“Nikki! Are you OK? What did you do to her, Logan!” Jinny screamed.

“Bravo! Bravo! Now wasn’t that fun, everyone!” the masked man said gleefully. He walked slowly over to Nikki and stood over her. He shook his head. “I told you not to lie. Now look at your hand. I hope you didn’t plan to learn the piano, such a pity. And tell your little friend about our name rule.”

Nikki looked up. “Jinny, are you OK?”

She nodded. “Your hand, Nikki, you’re hurt.”

Nikki pulled her arm up and blood soaked her shirt. Her hand was torn to shreds.

The masked man talked to his men again, and one of them roughly picked up Nikki. “We will get that wrapped up for you. Wouldn’t want to have our special gift die on us so soon. Let’s try this again tomorrow! I haven’t had this much fun in decades!”

“Nikki! Wake up!”

She slowly opened her eyes. “Jinny, what happened?” She started to remember. She pulled her arm up and saw the bandaged hand. Blood was seeping through.

“Nikki, I’m so sorry. He’s insane, Nikki, totally insane.”

She nodded. “I know. Don’t be sorry. Jinny. And he isn’t Logan.”

“What?”

“I don’t know who he is. Rebecca was wrong. Logan is not at the top of all this.”

Jinny held Nikki’s left hand and squeezed tightly.

“We’re in some kind of bedroom. I looked around a bit. There are two men at the door, we can forget trying to run.”

Nikki thought about it. He had two reasons for that stunt. One was just for his sadistic own fun, the other was to weaken her. She was totally spent by that; she was no threat to him for now. He had clearly thought this through for a very long time.”

Jinny was rubbing Nikki’s hair, and softly crying.

“Jinny.”

“You don’t need to say it. I know. We have no choice now.”

Nikki put her finger over her lips, the international don’t talk symbol. She tried to sit up, which was very hard. She pointed in the direction of what looked like a shower.

They found the shower and turned it up all the way. Steam filled the entire room; hopefully it would obscure any cameras.

She whispered into Jinny’s ear. “I think this is the safest place. They probably have cameras everywhere. Jinny, up to now, I was thinking I could reason with him, make some kind of deal. Clearly that won’t happen. As you said, he’s insane. He will kill anyone that gets in his way; actually I think he will kill just for fun. Whoever he is, he probably killed Logan already.”

“Do it,” Jinny said. “I’m not scared anymore.” Jinny looked again like she did on the train — strong, ready to fight, or die in this case.

“Get in the shower. Give me a second. I need to do something.”

She pulled her shoes close to her and lifted off the top of the leather. She broke the glass separating the first two chemicals in both shoes. They were ready.

Nikki got in the shower. Jinny was crying, she could tell even with all the steam. Nikki held her face softly. “I’m sorry it ended up this way, Jinny.”

“I know. I am so stupid, but I don’t regret this.”

“You are so brave.”

“Do you believe in heaven?” Jinny asked so quietly.

Nikki paused.

“You know, if you would have asked me that a year ago, I probably would have said no. Now, after all this. Eternal life, everything. Who am I to say there isn’t more out there than I can understand? I do believe, Jinny. I think we will all be together again. I really do.”

“Thanks,” Jinny said. “I never was religious, I guess it’s true what they say.” Nikki thought she saw Jinny smile. “There are no atheists when you’re on your deathbed. Or something like that. I forget the exact quote, but it never made sense until now.”

Nikki smiled. “I have a strong feeling we will see Alex and Josh again.”

“And you, Nikki. I love you, too, you know.”

“Same here, you crazy kid.” She shook her head. “Oh, you are trouble.”

“OK, let’s go over the plan. We have only one shot at making this work.”

They used the cover of the shower to discuss the next steps, then quietly went back to bed.

They both faked sleeping for about six hours. Nikki’s heart was racing as she walked back into the bathroom. Jinny had already asked to get breakfast early, as they had planned.

Nikki took a shower again and tried to envision her plan while the steam provided a world of white. Why was she so sad? She was destined to die. She already had been given a second chance. Maybe it was short, but most people don’t even get that. She wanted to feel brave, to feel like she was a hero. She didn’t for some reason. She missed Alex so much it was beyond anything she had ever felt. The only reason she wanted to die now was that the pain of missing him would be over. Jinny was so brave. If she could be so brave then that was the answer. Nikki had been trained for this. This was her job. She needed to be her old self again now, putting the bigger picture above her life. But she wished more than anything that Jinny wasn’t here.

She dressed herself and carefully put her shoes back on.
Distractions, Nikki!
she said to herself.

Her heart was pounding as she walked out of her room. She had to calm down; he was going to read her like a book.

“You’re up! Just in time for the family gathering!” He pulled a chair out for her. “Your friends have already joined us; are you feeling ready for another game today?” He smiled. “Too bad about your hand. Maybe this time you will be smarter.”

Nikki almost fell down as she scanned the table. There was Rebecca, sitting next to her a handsome man she had never seen before. She realized in a flash that it must be Logan.

Nikki looked over to Jinny. She looked calm and was sipping tea. The china cup looked like it was worth millions itself.

“I heard you like tea. Wait until you taste this. All the way from southern China. And older than any of us, even me.”

Someone filled her cup with tea. Her hand started to shake.

“I think I know your favorite drink already,” he smiled; it was like he was looking right into her mind.

She looked across the table. Did she see Rebecca slightly shake her head? She stared at her eyes. Was she telling her to end it now?

She let go of the cup and it shattered at her feet. “Sorry! That must be expensive!”

She bent down and pressed the toe of her shoe, a tear rolled down her face and dropped into the air; she could see it in slow motion as it fell to the ground.

CRACK!
The pain was excruciating. She felt like she was being electrocuted. She closed her eyes and tried to use her gift. She focused as hard as she could. She opened her eyes and saw the familiar red.
SNAP!
It went back to white, then nothing. All she saw was black.

Was she dead? It was dark, beyond dark. She couldn’t see a thing. Not even her hand in front of her face. She reached down to feel for her shoes. She was barefoot.

She had lost. It was over.

• • •

Nikki looked down and realized she had been shot with some type of taser; electric barbs were all over her, pulsing. From the corner of her eye she could see a man holding the taser gun. She could hardly even move her head, and she could feel the electricity from the taser device shooting through every part of her.

“Brilliant, isn’t it! I designed this electric net, as I call it; I guess I really am a genius.” He laughed insanely.

She felt him grab her head and twist it.

“Look at him! Look at your lover!”

It was Alex. He was against the wall. He was alive. He looked completely broken; she could see it in his eyes. Next to him was Rebecca. Her face was bruised. One of her eyes was swollen shut. Logan was next to Rebecca; he looked like he was already dead, or unconscious.

“What a love triangle! On one side we have Logan, so in love with Rebecca.” He let out a loud sigh. “Ah, but then Rebecca is forever in love with Alex, such a tragic tale. And we all know who Alex loves — sweet Nikki!”

Nikki closed her eyes and tried to focus, nothing happened. She couldn’t get it to start.

“I love games!” Richter laughed hysterically.

The sound of a gunshot echoed from the hills in the distance.

“That was fast! So much for your backup plan!” He laughed again. “You didn’t think I would find your man? I have guards watching this place for miles in every direction.”

Nikki saw the life drain out of Rebecca’s eyes. It must have been Hunter who was just killed. She could see Rebecca’s pain. A tear rolled down Rebecca’s face.

“I’m bored!” Richter pulled out his pistol and shot Alex directly in the chest. It happened so fast that Nikki didn’t even realize what had happened. She stared, completely stunned. Nikki tried to scream out. Tears filled her eyes. She tried as hard as she could to move. Nikki thought she saw him say—
I am sorry
.

“No!” She heard Jinny scream. From the corner of her eye she could see Jinny and Josh, guns to their heads.

“He’s dead, Nikki. Do you understand now? Are you ready to join me? There is no one left. Just you and me now. All the power in the world is ours. Everything! It’s your choice. My men will kill your other friends next. You have no one now — no one left, Nikki. I think I know what your answer will be. It took me time to realize. As long as Alex was alive, you would never join me. I understand the power of love, Nikki. You will feel love again; it will just take time. It’s still your choice. I can use your DNA; I don’t need you alive for long. I really want you to join me; we could be a magical couple together.”

Nikki felt something building inside her; she was shaking more and more. It was uncontrollable.

“While you’re thinking about it.” Richter turned the gun on Rebecca. “Time to say goodbye. You have betrayed me for the last time.”

He pulled the trigger. Nikki saw her say something. She said . . .  “Now —”

Thud! She felt the electric pulses stop. She saw a look of confusion on Richter’s face as the man holding the taser fell to the ground. Nikki felt something spray against her. It was the man’s blood. His head was gone. Rebecca fell to the ground behind her. Nikki could move again. She was free!

Nikki closed her eyes and let go completely. She released the rage, the unimaginable sorrow. She could actually see it. “No!!!!” She heard herself scream out. Then complete silence.

She opened her eyes. It looked like a soft snow. Flakes of white and grey filled the air. She stood up and pulled the electrical barbs out of her one by one. She ran over to Alex and knelt down next to him. She looked at the blood on his shirt and focused every thought on him. Her love, the life they were going to have together. The world they were going to see together.

She heard thunder as a tear rolled down her cheek. Slowly at first, very slowly, she saw the blood stain on his shirt shrinking in size. His shirt flickered with the colors of the rainbow. The thunder was louder now. She stared in complete shock. The single bullet slowly reversed itself from his body.

Nikki jumped up and realized the snow was much thicker now. She could barely see 10 feet in front of her. She grabbed out and touched it. It wasn’t snow. It was ash. It — Oh, my God. It must be a bomb, she realized. A bomb had gone off. It was ash, debris; the air was thick with it.

The bullet! Where was it.? She lost track of it as her mind felt so heavy and tired. Nikki, please. Please don’t give up, she told herself. The pain felt like a knife sticking into her head now. She remembered pain like that. She had been through that pain. She had lost the bullet. It didn’t matter. Focus!

The storm, or explosion, she guessed, was growing in intensity. A strong wind picked up and blew the ash everywhere, like a blinding blizzard. She ran toward the focus of the wind and her legs gave way. She tried to stand up again and couldn’t do it. She crawled across the ground, seeing only inches in front of her now. The thunder became so loud it was all she could hear.

Her hand felt it first — a metal box. She pulled her whole body over it and put her face right on it. Wires everywhere. It was a bomb. It was glowing red and blue. She grabbed every wire she could find and ripped them out of the box. The white heat burned the skin off her fingers. She tried to scream from the pain but nothing came out.