Grim Resentment Read online

  Or just kill him.

  Soon.

  Not quite yet.

  The night is dark, my headlights alone on the road.

  And then I felt it.

  I could sense an Evo when I drove past Martini Blues.

  My palms tingled fiercely, and the closer I got to the bar, the further the sensation spread, until it nearly made me dizzy.

  I’d never had such a reaction to anyone with powers before; there was no way I could pass this one up.

  The second I saw her I wanted her.

  The second I touched her and felt her power, I needed her.

  In all my searching, I’ve encountered numerous Evos.

  Some had pointless abilities, and were eliminated with ease.

  Others had wonderful powers.

  I took my time with those.

  But Emma.

  Emma.

  Beautiful, sensuous Emma.

  Queen of persuasion.

  I need her power.

  Can you imagine?

  It took every effort to keep conversation normal in that shitty bar.

  All I could think about was how I could keep her locked up, use her power against her.

  Use it against other victims to lure them to me.

  Then when I have successfully forced Duncan to figure out how to strengthen my own ability, how to make the powers of others mine permanently, I’d drain her dry and have it all to myself.

  But she fought.

  Oh, did she fight.

  Not like it mattered. When she left the nearly empty bar, I followed behind her, throwing a wink at the female bartender and shrugging. “No worries. We’ll work it out at home.” The woman nodded at me with understanding in her eyes.

  Outside, I caught up with Emma and forced her behind the building.

  She smelled like lavender. A rare stirring in my groin bothered me. The feeling grew as I pushed her against the back wall near a dumpster.

  She fought.

  It was easy to get her on the ground.

  And that’s when I started to use her power.

  I stared into her eyes.

  “I’ve got control now.”

  The urge grew and grew.

  “You can’t do shit.”

  She continued to fight, but I could see her eyes glaze over slightly.

  “You want this. Admit it.”

  It took constant persuading, but soon I fully turned her power on her.

  And that’s when the bartender intervened.

  “Get the hell off of her.”

  She had a gun.

  I made eye contact with her. “You’re not going to shoot me.” Emma’s power flowed through me.

  “I said get off of her. Now. Cops are already on their way.”

  I tried again. “You’re not going to shoot me.”

  “I will if you don’t—”

  With a surge of Emma’s power, I repeated, “You’re not going to shoot me.”

  She blinked rapidly, and the gun lowered. “No. Of course I am. Am not.”

  I had won. Emma was mine.

  Emma screamed. She struggled. And broke free. Her elbow caught me good in the side of the head.

  Moments later, pain lanced through the back of my skull. The damn bartender had hit me with her pistol. Looking back, that was my own fault. I didn’t say she wasn’t going to hurt me, just not shoot me.

  Never going to make that mistake again.

  I ran, escaping back to my car with a still snoring Bill in the back.

  As I sped away from Martini Blues, I heard shots being fired. One hit the car’s bumper. Another blasted through the back window.

  But I got away.

  Of course I did.

  Everything happens for a reason.

  I was meant to find Emma. I just need a better way of obtaining her. So I couldn’t have her, not quite yet.

  But I have Bill’s power. I know her name, and her face. No matter how far she gets from me, I’ll find her again.

  So I left her.

  For now.

  JANUARY 28, 2016

  The Evos - my Evos - are gone. I could tell from miles away. The more that are in a concentrated area, the stronger the sensation is for me. And it’s gone, only radiating off of bill snoring next to me.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  Stupid.

  STUPID.

  They couldn’t have gotten away. They were set free. By a passerby? No. The police? Maybe. Probably.

  I can’t go home.

  It doesn’t matter.

  I have plenty of sedative left.

  I have Bill. And soon I’ll have Jaxon and Emma.

  Idling on the side of a country road, I hit Bill with another dose and headed toward Albany.

  JANUARY 31, 2016

  Eliminating Max should have been easy.

  It was not.

  In the years that I’d done this, I had obtained much knowledge, gained plenty of experience. I could hide in crowds, knew how to follow people in a car without being spotted, stalk someone from a distance for miles. I could stake anyone out. I had patience. Determination.

  And now I have the drive of revenge.

  Yes, Max wasn’t Shawn.

  But he looked like Shawn. And until I could get my hands around that fucker’s throat, using his own power against him, Max would have to do.

  However, Max never left his damn apartment.

  Once I’d found his location, I had rented a hotel nearby.

  And I waited.

  Sipped on coffee at a cafe adjacent to his building.

  Browsed a bookstore.

  Sat in a library half a block away.

  I constantly kept where he lived within sight. I didn’t need Bill’s ability, as I knew exactly what Max looked like. Well, his eleven-year-old self, at least. But I knew I’d spot him the moment he stepped outside.

  He just never did.

  So I decided to try and lure him out.

  First I stepped up to the entrance of his building. Only those with keycards were admitted.

  I bought a pack of cigarettes and positioned myself outside. Drawing smoke into my mouth, holding it a moment, then puffing it out in a long line, I waited.

  Less than ten minutes passed before a young woman opened the front door, two dogs on leashes circling her ankles.

  “Let me get that for you.” I stepped forward and held the glass door for her. She thanked me without a smile and walked away, dogs yipping at something in the street.

  I tossed the lit butt from my fingers and went inside.

  There were two people named Max that lived in the building according to the mailboxes.

  Max Faber.

  Max Cupla.

  I pulled my cell phone from my pocket, fingers sliding against its sleekness.

  The lab loved to play with words.

  And a quick Internet search showed me they made no exception with the name of the clones.

  For future reference, Cúpla is the Italian word for twin.

  Cute.

  Max lived in apartment 703.

  I rode the sleek silver elevator up to the seventh floor.

  Passing a couple with their arms full of brown paper bags, I nodded, but didn’t make eye contact.

  Soon, apartment 703 was before me.

  I knocked. Waited. And waited.

  Knocking again, I ground my teeth. He had to be in there. He never left. His damn fuchsia dot hadn’t moved each time I checked the map.

  Knocking again, louder this time, I used my fist in place of my knuckles.

  Still no answer. Not a sound from inside.

  “Who’re you?”

  A neighbor was poking her head out into the hall, the one from 701.

  “I’m looking for Max. Do you know if he’s home?”

  I didn’t worry about her seeing my face. One, she had to have been pushing eighty. And two, perhaps a familiar face is just what Max needed to leave his apartment.

  “He rarely comes out of th
ere.” Her milky blue eyes crinkled at the edges as she smiled. The wrinkles on her face deepened. “Are you his friend?”

  “Yes,” I lied. “I knew him a long time ago. We grew up together, and I was in the area. Would love to see him.”

  “Oh. I wish I could help, but Max keeps to himself. Maybe come back a little later?”

  She shut the door without another word.

  People here are dickbags, no matter how old.

  I knocked once more, waited a few moments, then left.

  When I got back to my hotel room where I had stored a heavily sedated Bill - not the safest, I know, but it had to make do for now - I grabbed the map and put my hand on his arm.

  Max’s dot hadn’t moved.

  With a sigh, I pinched the bridge of my nose.

  I’m patient, determined, but I’m not stubborn.

  I studied the map.

  I thought of Mari’s power to freeze time. I thought of Aaron’s mind reading. Shawn and Lucas’ strength and quick healing. Jaxon’s telekinesis and destructive pet wraiths.

  With Emma’s ability I can take what I want from her, from anyone else who gets in my way.

  But first, I need the power of someone so strong, I will be unstoppable.

  I need my friend.

  I need Jaxon.

  Concentrating on the Synths and their hero Duncan brought me a pleasant surprise.

  They were split up.

  Duncan and Lucas were still in Colorado. Jaxon’s location was more North, and on his own, in Illinois. I couldn’t get a fix on Naomi, but Shawn, Aaron, and Mari were together, near Indianapolis.

  Waiting didn’t bother me.

  I waited for Max to move, waited to see where the Synths ended up.

  Finally, after three hours had passed, I checked on them again.

  The map now showed me they were somewhere in Ohio.

  They’re coming this way, coming to the East coast.

  FEBRUARY 1, 2016

  Bill snored unevenly in the backseat. His breathing had become disturbing.

  I ignored him and instead used his power to first get close to, then follow the white van that held Mari, Lucas, and Shawn.

  My prisoner stopped breathing. I drove on, not losing sight of the Synths.

  Eventually, Bill snorted, then resumed the constant yet unsteady in and out breaths through his mouth.

  FEBRUARY 3, 2016

  Boston.

  Less than two hours from my home.

  I was on edge, but focused nonetheless.

  Finally, the universe was smiling on me. Helping me. Just as I knew it would.

  It all works out in the end.

  Everything happens for a reason.

  I am meant to wipe the world clean of Evos. And I am meant to kill the Synths.

  FEBRUARY 4, 2016

  They were right there, right in front of me.

  Aaron, Mari, and Shawn, all grown up. Mari was pretty, but nothing to make me stop and stare. Aaron had turned into a buff blond man that caught the attention of many passing women.

  And then there was Shawn. That prick. The boy who had left me to die under the rubble those many years ago, the one who had heard my cries for help and chose to run. He had grown into a scruffy yet handsome man with a crooked grin that flashed often.

  I want to punch the fuck out of him. Knock him senseless.

  And I could. I could steal his superhuman strength and beat him bloody.

  But the moment I’d try, Mari would stop time.

  Stop me.

  They didn’t recognize me, didn’t see me.

  I wore a baseball cap low over my brow and kept my face turned downward, watching them from my periphery.

  I’d left Bill heavily sedated in yet another hotel room I hurriedly acquired. It was risky, but I had to move fast.

  Wipe out the Synths, wipe out Shawn.

  Find Emma again.

  Then on to Duncan, who will only have one Synth, Lucas, to protect him.

  He doesn’t stand a chance. None of them do.

  FEBRUARY 4, 2016 - cont’d

  I followed Shawn, Aaron, and Mari at a distance. I wasn’t worried about losing them, as my ability to sense those nearby with powers would easily bring me back, wherever they went.

  They all seemed tense as they walked at a fast pace down the sidewalk.

  Worried.

  Scared.

  What could they possibly be afraid of, with powers such as theirs?

  I stayed at a distance.

  They halted often, with Shawn and Mari shooting questioning glances at Aaron.

  I stopped, pretending to window shop, staring at countless, pointless items I would never need.

  When they started up again, so did I. The crowd of passersby was a constant flow that hid me, kept me from being too obvious.

  Nearly twenty minutes passed.

  I began to get frustrated.

  Thinking about the map, which I had checked prior to leaving the hotel, I knew Jaxon was nearby.

  At first, I had thought of waiting until they were reunited before making my move. Appearing, grabbing Mari and freezing time with her. Convince her to join my cause, kill her if she refuses. Once time resumed, I could deal with Shawn easily. Aaron was a joke; he had no offensive powers.

  But Jaxon...

  Why were they meeting up here, when Duncan was elsewhere? Did they not know about each other? No. Duncan rescued some of them, but someone else saved Shawn and Jaxon. Who was it? Were they present, here in the city as well? How did they find each other? Did some of the Synths have a falling out with Duncan? If they were living in such a large city, how did they keep their powers to themselves? Especially Shawn and Jax?

  Question upon question roiled through my mind.

  This all happened so fast, and the thrill of new powers and new ways to continue my personal mission had clouded my judgment. I should have thought this through more, let them go about their business, hunted from afar for a longer time.

  But it was too late now.

  There they were, right in front of me, stopping again.

  I made my move.

  Walking forward, I aimed toward Mari. A mere brush of the arm, and her power would be mine.

  I was getting closer.

  She was a little less than a yard away.

  Closer.

  Closer.

  Shawn ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair and glanced around, stepping between Mari and me.

  I dipped my face down, looking away, hiding beneath my cap.

  Closer.

  Shit.

  I didn’t break my stride. My mind flew. I was right behind them.

  Then Aaron grunted. “Left. Left!”

  The trio spun and I collided with the mind reader.

  Using my power was second nature, and when we made contact, I instantly sapped some of his ability.

  And oh, the things I learned.

  I discovered Duncan had sent them to Boston to find two people, to protect them.

  That they were to get to them before Jaxon did.

  That Jaxon had gone cuckoo and was currently on a murderous rampage.

  I learned about a dangerous kingpin, Ivan Vance, who had ruined Jaxon’s life, and who was a priority in Shawn’s mind.

  I found out the location of a little cabin in the woods in Salt Lake City, where they were to meet up after their current mission.

  I learned the names of those they were looking for. They ran through my mind, over and over.

  Isaac.

  Emma.

  Isaac.

  Emma.

  It has to be the same Emma. There are no coincidences.

  I wanted her power. I wanted to kill Shawn and the Synths. I could get Jaxon on my side to do so. And here they all were, less than two weeks after my run in with that beautiful Evo that was to be my greatest gift.

  FEBRUARY 4, 2016 - cont’d

  They weren’t kidding about Jaxon. About his vengeance.

  He was a
fter Isaac and Emma.

  I couldn’t let that happen, but there was nothing I could do without a power to mimic. So I chased after them as they broke into a run.

  We flew down street after street, Aaron shouting short random instructions.

  I made sure I slowed when they did, and sped up if they increased their speed.

  They never looked back, not once.

  Something more sinister held their attention.

  Finally, finally, they stopped.

  Aaron was listening.

  I stood, partially concealed by the corner of a building nearby, watching them.

  “I hear them!” Aaron muttered something else I couldn’t make out and the Synths started to jog.

  I couldn’t do anything until I knew where Emma was, and Bill was back at the hotel. I couldn’t find her before they did, not without my pet Evo, or a vial of his blood. But I had neither.

  Cursing my stupidity I followed behind Aaron, Mari, and Shawn.

  Soon, they crossed an intersection, but I was too slow. I watched them disappear as cars flowed past me.

  I ran forward.

  Someone shouted, and brakes screeched. But this wasn’t where I failed. I wasn’t going to be hit, because I wasn’t supposed to die. Not now, not for a long time. I just knew it in my gut.

  And I was right. I made it across and continued to run after the Synths, ignoring the jeers and protests.

  I saw them standing halfway down the block and slowed my sprint to a half-jog.

  Someone screamed. It brought goosebumps to my arms and the back of my neck.

  Aaron pointed at the mouth of an alley across the street.

  That’s when shit got weird.

  The Synths, one after the other, bolted into the road just as I had, jumping side to side to avoid being struck by cars.

  As I neared, watching them, the ground rippled and bucked beneath my feet.

  I stumbled. So did they.

  My mind flew. Earthquake?

  Moments after I righted myself, another, stronger surge flew through the ground. I steadied myself with one hand on a lamp post. The Synths had fallen, but were eager to scramble to their feet.

  A loud grating sound caught my attention. A building was collapsing into the alley they were heading toward.

  Before I could even think, Shawn grabbed Mari by the arm and shouted, “Mari, now!”

  And then they were gone.

  Gone.

  I thought I still saw Aaron out of the corner of my eye, but by the time I shifted my gaze to him, he, too, had disappeared.