CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
Chaz:
Orange tombs swayed and tossed, an angry sea, a melancholy parade. The wind blew, cold, the sky hung low, and the ground sparkled with flecks of red. My blood, I think. One of my teeth was missing, but I wasna€?t sure, underneath the pain.
One punch followed another, a rapid downbeat rhythm of knuckle against flesha€”Nevillea€?s fists, my flesh, the tempo fueled by his gen-spike madness. At some point I thought that he would go on like this all day, until his halo high dissipated and I was a pile of brain-dead hamburger, ready for full VR life support.
But then, for some reason he stopped. Maybe because he realized that if he continued, hea€?d never get what he wanted. If I was dead or unconscious, his deal wouldna€?t go through. Therea€?d be nobody at the counter to take his order.
One serving of immortality, ready and waiting. Yes, sir.
I pushed myself back into a sitting position. I needed some semblance of life, had to make him see that I wasna€?t broken. Not really. Damaged, yes. Defeated, no.
I thought I saw something move in the shadows between the crypts. Something black, watching me. I blinked. It was a dog, I think, but it pulled back into the darkness and disappeared. Just as well.
One mongrel was enough to fight right now.
The door to the Hummer breezed open. Both Isabelle and Angelique stepped out.
They looked okay, they both looked fine. Angelique seemed a bit weaker, she stumbled as she moved forward and Neville watched her with a sly, crooked grin.
But Isabelle broke away and ran. Still wearing the black-and-white diamonds, her face smeared with rouge, she ran toward me, her arms out, tears on her cheeks.
a€?Uncle Chaz! Uncle Chaz!a€? She flew into my arms like a baby bird and I held her close, felt her tremble and heard her weep. She was safe, my little girl was safe. Now that Russ and her mom were gone she was mine to protect, love and shelter.
And I wasna€?t going to make any of the same mistakes my brother had.
a€?Shea€?s leaving now,a€? I said, my voice coming out like a growl. a€?Did you hear me?a€?
Skellara€?s voice echoed in my ear. a€?On my way. Immediately.a€?
The lieutenanta€?s car screamed down from a nearby rooftop, hovered a few feet over the tombs to my left. The passenger door opened and a stairway slid down to the ground.
Neville didna€?t react. He just watched. Almost as if he had expected this.
a€?I keeps my part of the bargain,a€? he said.
a€?Go up the stairs,a€? I told Isabelle. She didna€?t want to leave, she cried and argued for a moment, then realized that she had to go, that I wasna€?t going to change my mind. a€?Ia€?ll see you soon, sweetheart.a€?
She paused halfway up the stairs and looked back at me. a€?You promise?a€?
a€?I promise.a€?
Skellar reached out and took her by the arm, helped her inside the car. Then they took off, zipped out of sight. Almost like neither one of them had really been here. It was just us now, Neville, Angelique and me. And that dog, somewhere in the shadows. He was watching Angelique.
It had to be Omega. That dog she had experimented on. The one she and Russ had killed over and over again.
I just prayed that he wasna€?t here looking for revenge.