Barcode: Legend of Apollo (43 page)

He slowly follows me.

At least twenty people are sitting on brown couches and a bar.

Voices converse and faces lean around corners to see what’s going on. As we exchange a few blows, men and women rush out, screaming at the top of their lungs. The evacuation alarm sounds, and I sense others leaving the building as well. I’m worried about Hayley, but I can’t sense her presence or aura while battling Kode.

I knock him over a couch and step away as he stands up. He approaches me. Once I stop moving, he begins bouncing up and down with his fist held high. I finally recognize his fighting style as Muay Thai. That’s an ancient martial art that hasn’t been taught for centuries. How’d he learn it?

I punch him in the chest with a straight followed by a casting punch. He accepts all of my hits without countering, but doesn’t allow me to scrape him with the whips again. Eventually, I kick him hard enough to send him smashing through the bar. Water sprays everywhere.

When I charge Kode, he disappears into a pile of smoke. Knowing how Michelle’s technique works, I sense his direction and reach for the air. When I close my hand, I grab his foot and throw him into a pillar, which crumbles as he smashes into it. He struggles to stand, and I use that time to apply my boot to his face. The tall man flips backwards and lands on his head. When he rolls over, I press my knee into his chest and try punching him in the face.

Kode catches my hand and his eyes flash a violent green. With a scream, a shock wave releases from his face. It’s strong enough to cause me to stumble back. Kode lunges towards me with his knee. While I’m flying back, I notice him charging once more. Everything in my body begs me to stop his hand. Tartarus screams for me to move out of the way, but I can’t. My body won’t comply. His kick practically paralyzed my body.

Kode punches me right over my heart and I stop falling backwards.

We both look down at his fist. He tries to pull it away, but it doesn’t work. His eyes flash brightly. When he finally removes his hand, I see a small trishula attached to his glove. Shiva released her blades to kill me.

Kode quickly grabs me and I feel a black poison seeping into my heart. My skin darkens as black ink pumps through my veins. Tartarus whispers,
How disappointing Spencer. Of all my hosts, you’re the first to go down so easily. Then again, we were up against the demon of all gods and the city of murderers. All my plans go to waste.

I stare up at Kode, both of us amazed at what has transpired. Millions of thoughts swarm as death reaches from the walls to comfort me. The ghost aren’t as bad as I thought they were.

I try saying a million things, but the only words that leave my lips are, “Sorry Kode.”

Tears swarm my eyes, but I see more clearly than ever. He was also my friend.

We were meant to make each other stronger. Without him, I’d still be that kid avoiding responsibility, and making everyone around me weaker. Because of him, I’m stronger. My friends benefited as well.

I just wish he, of all people, didn’t have to watch me die. I also wish I reminded him to save Michelle, but I can’t speak. I sense my heart deleting.

That’s some poison Shiva. You really hated Tartarus, huh?

Before my eyes close, I try my best to communicate with Kode through my senses. Did I at least save the school? He doesn’t respond.

Hey Writer! This is one of your faithful servants, Spencer. I have a request. I’d like to go to Mount Olympus with Arnold.

No.

You don’t seem to respond well to my requests. You never gave me the strength I needed to stop Kode from killing Gi Young. I’m not asking this time. I demand it!

That’s more like it.

Forty Three

A sensation burns in my face. The tingling is more painful than wearing Tartarus. Why was he able to bond so well with the mask that tormented me every day of my life? The only person that’s ever spoken with me rests in my arms as I scream frantically for him to live, but I know not even I could bring him back. His data’s deleting, something that only happens hours after you’ve passed on.

How many times did he say sorry? And why?

I’ve never done more for him than torment his life. From the very first day I overheard my mother’s plan to kill the only real threat to Helios, I made up my mind to use him to my advantage. I convinced everyone that I’d kill him.

My first lie became a reality.

I hold Spencer for a second or two more. His voice echoes in my head, begging me to save Michelle. Leaving him on the waiting room floor, I bolt back into the office and pull myself up to the roof. I’ve already thrown Hannah’s body into the sixty-eighth floor with the Moreno laboratory. Now, there’s only Michelle.

She’s crawling towards the hole, trying to stop Spencer and I from fighting. He’s the only thing on her mind. Even when I dripped my blood on her skin to ease her pain, she continued talking about Spencer, whispering how much she loved him.

I hold the fragile girl in my arms. Her head bobs back and forth as I rush down the stairs, into the lab. I try to leave her there, but she won’t release me.

“Take me with you please,” she says softly.

“No need to use the baby voice request with me. It may be the blurred vision or the fact that you’re bleeding to death, but I need you to focus your eyes for a second. I’m not Spencer.” Wow. My voice still sounds amazing. I was always confused if Tartarus was speaking or me.

“I know. I know. You’re an angel. I don’t want the demons on the walls to take me.” She looks around and trembles in my arms.

Where’s this strength coming from? Whenever I heard her hurt by Spencer, tears were always leaking down her cheek. Now, there’s a fight in her spirit. This power only came after her two best friends and father died. Stupid. She would’ve been much more appealing if she had this confidence before. “I’ve been fighting them off for hours, and I can’t anymore. Please take me,” she cries as she looks over at Hannah lying motionlessly on the ground with the wind blowing her hair and the broken glass.

There’s little to no chance I’ll make it to the fourteenth floor and back in time with her in my arms, but I’ll have to try. I need her to fight the grips of death for as long as possible. I listened as Hannah did it when she was thirteen, bleeding out from her stomach. It was strange how she opposed death, but the moment I asked her if she wanted to live, she said no. Women.

I scramble through the empty floor. Michelle holds on tightly as I dash around corners. In the elevator, I feel her body losing heat. She’s dying quickly.

“Hey, you’re doing just fine so don’t pussy out on me now. I’m going to show you what I do to stay awake when I’m on the verge of death.”

“What’s that?” she asks, breathing cold air onto my neck.

“Cause more pain.”

“Cool,” she snickers. I bite her neck until she screams. Michelle punches me weakly in the chest. “Sorry. Natural habit.”

“As long as you’ve got some fight, I’ll stay turned on. If you quit on me, I’m going to leave you in the hallway and wash your blood off my clothes in that tub you’re so fond of.”

After kicking in Leonardo’s door, I shout, “Antonio!” There’s no response. “I know I don’t need to do that stupid swiping thing. I have Michelle and she’s dying. Command the remaining nanobots to follow me and I need you to come along as well.” Still nothing. I hold out Michelle to drop the blood that gathered on her stomach. Once a few blots fall on the floor, Antonio appears in hologram form.

“How’d you know about me?”

“I see dead people. Let’s go.” I back up towards the elevator and bump into the button. He isn’t following. Rushing back in, I notice Leonardo curled into a corner. He’s drunk. “I can help him later, that’s not a promise or guarantee but let’s say I will for the sake of argument. Now, you could stay here and comfort the self-pitying idiot that drunk himself to his brain-death or you could make something of your meaningless life. Now grow some balls, digital ones of course, and follow me.”

Antonio reluctantly nods and rushes onto the elevator with us. So many nanobots fill the space, I could nearly sit on them. Once we’re at the floor, I hold the door open while the swarm buzzes past and Antonio calibrates.

“Really? He’s that smart, but your calibration sucks.”

“How many holograms do you know that can walk?” he replies angrily in a strong Spanish accent.

“None. Does that mean you won the argument because…you still can’t walk.”

We make our way into the laboratory and I throw Michelle on a chair that the Gonzales family uses to dissect various creatures. I’ll make sure to avoid telling her that.

“Are you a surgeon?” Antonio asks with a distrustful tone. “Because you’ll need to be one to keep her alive.”

Michelle gasps, “Seriously? I’m that bad?”

“Antonio, shut the hell up while she’s still alive. Thanks.” I reach into a cabinet for several syringes and begin drawing my blood. “Stupid me.” I stop after filling three syringes and concentrate on what I should have done first, seal Michelle’s more serious wounds.

I search the cabinets for stitches until I remember how Leo and Spencer held the axis of the wheels together.

“Antonio, command the nanobots to stitch her wounds together using their webbing. I know that steel can be toxic, but I need to stop the bleeding for now. When I complete the transplant, my blood cells will see it as a foreign object and reject it from her skin. Have them start with the cuts on her legs.”

The nanobots begin their work.

Luckily, the tattoos on her legs are intact, but all the skin from her arm was ripped apart. For some strange reason, she wasn’t bleeding that badly. I think she rolled around in a fire to seal her wounds because they looked burned. Then again, it could be from the explosion.

“For your next magic trick, I need you to have the nanobots combine with a television, radio, and walkie talkie. Tell them to create a cardiac monitor and an electronic IV that constantly undergoes MIBS-squared.”

Antonio folds his arms and the nanobots race around the room, carrying a small paper screen TV and other materials they use to concoct my devices. I set up the IV for them to pump. Then, I add my blood into a bag.

Once I’m done, I rush over to Hannah and withdraw her remaining blood without fully depleting the little life-stream in her body. Finally, I combine all of it into one bag.

“That’s not safe. What the hell are you doing?” Antonio asks and the nanobots stop functioning.

“Dude…nothing I do is safe. But if you must know, my blood isn’t normal, especially after combining with Shiva. Data flows through my entire bloodstream and can be manipulated with MIBS-squared. If your nanobots connect with the monitor and display the blood type in the bag, I can continue changing it until it matches with Michelle’s type. So, all you have to do is get one bot to measure her blood and I’ll do the rest. But understand, I only have a split second to get it right. Once my blood matches on the inside, it’ll corrupt her system and create an irregular blood type, so don’t mess up.”

“The Writer. You really are Okodemah.”

“Hmm. That’s an Aeoy word right?” Michelle says, puffing air in her cheeks. “I don’t know the language that well, but The Writer is definitely in there. Okodemah. That’s you?”

“Hey you digital monster, keep the spiritual babel in church. We don’t speak tongue in here. Now, have the nanobot determine her type. I guessed with Hannah, and got it wrong. It was a bit fun to watch her flop around like a fish, but it obviously caused some mental damage seeing how she fell in love with Spencer.” Turning to Michelle I whisper, “No offense.”

“None taken.”

Antonio has one nanobot sample her blood before saying, “AB.”

I hold the bag and watch the blood swim around until nanobots confirm the blood type. Without hesitation, I inject the needle into her arm because my blood will only stay AB for a few seconds. Michelle loosens her clutch on the bed as my blood enters her veins.

“What’s going on?”

“Do you really need a play-by-play of everything I do? Pay attention you inquisitive geek. Unlike barcode ink, my blood isn’t painful. It causes a state of euphoria, that's why she seems so happy. I gave her a small dose of my blood before fighting Spencer. If I hadn’t, she wouldn’t let me touch her. Listen to her. She’s not talking or thinking like herself. And she doesn't know me without the veil. If she were aware of all the pain I’ve caused...Believe me, she won’t ever need drugs after this has entered her system. Morphine’s got nothing on me.”

“What are you?”

“The hologram asks the man,” I reply sarcastically.

I begin stripping Michelle’s armor, which held up pretty well against the explosion. If her arms had been covered, she would’ve been able to keep them.

“I don’t even know you,” she says playfully. Her voice remains fragile. “Already you’re undressing me?”

Turning to Antonio, I say, “She obviously used her arms to cover her beautiful face.”

“And you’re flirting with me? I really am on my way to heaven.”

“There is no heaven,” I say, staring her in the face. “No Mount Olympus. No gods. You’ve got me though.” I smile and she returns the friendly gesture. “No. That’s the part where you scream.”

Michelle tries to lift her arm, but it barely twitches. Then, she chuckles and says, “I’m supposed to be taken by a pretty nice guy, but this angel’s tempting. I’d like to see you when your face isn’t so bruised.”

“Why is she calling you an angel?” Antonio asks, watching me inspect Michelle’s arms.

I shrug my shoulders and say, “Beats the hell out of me.”

“He flew onto the rooftop to rescue me, and look at him.”

Antonio nods, “You are damn sexy.”

“Will you two cut it out? I’m about to chop off your arms and you’re joking around? No, I’m just kidding. Please continue the flattery, I never received a compliment before, though I did catch Angie staring at my butt a few times.” I squeeze the bag to make sure its empty before finding a surgical knife. “But if I screw this up, you’re not going to have any arms. Think you can manage?”