CHAPTER FOUR: CHECKPOINT

  Firestorm:

  Jackie was in over her head. Fight as she may, Life Rite’s assassin could easily turn that knife against her. No one would notice if he threw her out with the trash, except for me and Baxter.

  “Hello? Anyone there?” As Jackie slipped into the alley, her voice broke, brittle and unsure.

  I’d been secretly watching Jackie her whole life. I’ve got a knack for seeing what others miss, thanks to being the type of ugly no one wants to admit they saw.

  Life Rite’s hitman had tailed Jackie home, oblivious to the fact that I was stalking him. Lurking in the bushes, the idiot knocked the garbage can over to get a better look into her scrappy life.

  Jackie crept deeper into the darkness, heading toward the predator lying in wait.

  She couldn’t possibly protect herself against him, so from my hiding place down the alley, I let out a guttural, animalistic groan to distract the assassin.

  They both looked in my direction, searching for its source.

  “Damn raccoons,” Jackie said, taking any excuse to rush inside.

  Good girl. The ruined flesh covering my hideous face relaxed.

  Somehow, after all these years, they discovered her. But how?

  Why their sudden interest?

  Life Rite’s goon seemed to be on a fact-finding mission, otherwise he would’ve snatched her in the alley. Instead, when the coast was clear, he emerged to stalk Jackie’s mundane existence once more.

  Giving me a chance to even the score.

  “Hey, mind your own business,” I growled.

  Swooping from the shadows, I grabbed him from behind and spun him around to face me.

  He almost died of shock when he saw me. My unfortunate appearance gave me the upper hand.

  I drove my knuckles into his jaw and snapped his neck before he grabbed his pistol. He’d report to Life Rite’s evil warlord over my dead body.

  Whistling while I worked, I dragged his corpse down the street and dropped him into a fly-infested dumpster where he belonged.

  I neutralized the immediate threat, but the victory was temporary. The war hadn’t even begun.

  Working the perimeter, I surveyed every decayed street surrounding Wright Road. Rusted metal gates hung crooked, guarding empty lots where children once played. Weeds swallowed the cracked pavement, so I jumped onto a dying tree.

  Leaping from the rough bark, my freakish muscles propelled me upward, slicing through the air before landing on a nearby rooftop. Despite my disgusting size, I’m shockingly aerodynamic. Having eyes in the sky is handy, but comes with a heavy price.

  From my new vantage point, I discovered Life Rite’s minions setting up their yearly checkpoints by the subway entrance.

  Seems early. Has another year gone by already?

  Time was like a snake eating its own tail.

  Jackie had to avoid getting scanned by Life Rite no matter the cost, so I dropped heavy cement construction barricades to block her path. My strength never meant much to me. Anyone can break things. I’m just better than most.

  “That ‘oughtta deter her or at least slow ‘em down,” I said to myself on my way back to Jackie’s.

  Turns out, being the perfect spy means you’re also perfectly alone. Guarding Jackie’s place, I spent the rest of the night overthinking my half-baked plan.

  I didn’t sleep a wink as the moon rose and fell behind the crimson Grid, casting bruised purples across the sky. The air reeked of metal and rot, thick with silence that came not from peace, but exhaustion. Surveillance drones buzzed overhead, dew clinging to their surface like a cold sweat.

  When the rising sun bled through the Grid in dull streaks, Jackie and Baxter emerged wearing their matching janitor jumpsuits on their daily pilgrimage to Life Rite. They looked identical except for the blood splatter on Jackie’s knee.

  I followed them, prowling between trees, rooftops, and the shadows cast from crumbling buildings with boarded-up windows.

  They walked through the filthy streets, hit my barricade, and stopped in their tracks. Jackie scratched her head, examining the unexpected obstacle.

  “Take the hint, Jackie,” I said under my breath.

  Stubborn as she is, she ignored my warning sign and climbed over.

  I groaned, heartburn attacking my ulcers.

  “Come on, Pops. We don’t want to be late.” Jackie bent down from atop the blockade, extending her hand to help Baxter over.

  The old man struggled to find his footing. “You’re in a hurry today. Aren’t you, pumpkin?”

  “What’s wrong with wanting to be on time?” She pulled him up and over despite the old man’s fragile frame.

  Why is she so determined?

  Her nervous energy put me on high alert. I swallowed hard, praying it wasn’t the day I’d finally have to reveal myself to Jackie.

  I’m not ready.

  Jackie and Baxter carried onward and hit a thick mob waiting to get into the subway station.

  I perched in a tree and surveyed the scene. Police cars, Life Rite vans, and armed troopers sealed the entrance.

  “What’s the holdup?” Jackie threw her hands in the air. “Just my luck. I cannot under any circumstances be late today.”

  “Is this a Wellness Check? Already?” Baxter’s eyes darted around. “There was no heads-up. They usually warn us…”

  Unalarmed, Jackie pushed closer to the checkpoint, skipping people in front of her.

  “That’s what this is? My first Wellness Check. I always wondered what they were like.” She stretched her neck to get a better look.

  Ahead, a patrolman pricked the next sucker in line with Life Rite’s wellness wand.

  It flashed green.

  The line inched forward.

  “This is gonna take forever,” Jackie whined.

  “Why surprise us this year? Maybe we should go another way.” Baxter looked back, more Climbers filling the space behind him.

  “This is the direct route to work.” Jackie ran her hand through the red streak in her hair. She always did that when her nerves kicked in.

  “I have to report for duty today as if nothing happened,” she said with an edge in her voice.

  “As if nothing happened? What do you mean?” Baxter asked.

  I strained to hear her answer, but Jackie ignored his question, anyway.

  The crowd pushed closer to the subway checkpoint, moving together like an ocean wave.

  A woman with frizzy hair got pricked, and the device turned red.

  She gasped. “What does that mean? Do I have the PX virus?”

  “Please come with me, ma’am.” Life Rite’s goon grabbed her arm.

  She pulled away. “No. I've done nothing wrong. I feel fine. Not sick at all.”

  The woman turned to escape, but throngs of Climbers waiting to get through their Wellness Check created an impenetrable barrier. Every man for himself. No one wanted to have their pay docked for being late, let alone marked Incapable.

  An officer grabbed the lady’s wrist and forced her toward the Life Rite van.

  “Let me go!” She sat on the ground to stall, but two officers dragged her away kicking and screaming. They shoved her violently into a van, never to be seen again.

  Commotion consumed the restless mob. It was hard to ignore the daily reminders of how disposable they all were.

  Baxter grabbed Jackie’s arm. “I don’t like this. Let’s get out of here.”

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “My first Wellness Check… No big deal, right?” She gulped. “I'm sure I don’t have the PX virus. I feel… normal.”

  “Not sick at all,” I whispered, repeating the words from the kidnapped woman that fell on deaf ears.

  Baxter searched for an escape.

  I watched and waited from the treeline, my well-rehearsed plan scrambling in my brain.

  Alpha flew past, scanning the masses with its DNA Identifier and facial recognition laser.

  No more waiting. The timing will never be right.

  I closed my eyes and paused my breathing. With all my focus, I tried to tune into Jackie’s wavelength to connect telepathically.

  I wasn’t ready to reveal myself in the flesh. This wasn’t how I wanted us to meet, but Life Rite forced my hand again.

  “Jackie, can you hear me?” I asked mentally.

  She didn’t get the message.

  “Get out of here…” I urged her telepathically from the shadows.

  “Come on. Let’s go.” Baxter pulled Jackie away from the checkpoint.

  “Pops, I cannot be late today,” she insisted.

  “Trust is the glue that holds families together.” Baxter had a slew of catchphrases. That was one of them.

  Jackie nodded. “I know.”

  “So trust me.”

  Jackie softened. She didn’t understand, but she didn’t resist. “I’m with you, Pops.”

  He led her through the swell of the crowd. Shoulder after shoulder knocked ‘em around as they fought their way through the desperate horde.

  I released some of the built-up tension in my mangled body. Maybe everything would work out, thanks to Baxter.

  Down the street, there was a welcome break filling with more Climbers awaiting their fate from the surprise Wellness Check.

  I sailed behind them, watching, listening, protecting.

  Baxter paused to tell Jackie, “Whatever you do, don’t go through one of those checkpoints.”

  “Pops, why?”

  “Promise me.”

  “Yeah. Okay. I promise, but how will we get to work?”

  Baxter shook his head. “We’ll call in sick.”

  Jackie’s face turned ashen, and she begged with her eyes. “But… I can’t be late. I have to report for duty today. On time.”

  Baxter gasped and grabbed Jackie’s hand.

  An armed guard followed them from the sidelines. “Hey, you two. Get back in line.” He drew his gun. “Time to comply.”

  “Pops, we’ve got to fall in line,” Jackie said. “We have to comply. Don’t we?”

  Baxter whipped around and burst into a sprint, taking her with him.

  I tensed my talons, springing into action. My heart beat triple time as I scaled the side of a building and perched on a deteriorating rooftop.

  “Stop, or else.” Life Rite’s goon lined up his shot. “I’m not messing around!”

  Baxter bumped Jackie out of the way as the gun fired with a deafening bang.

  I shuddered at the blast.

  The crowd scattered. Screams came from all sides. Jackie’s was the loudest.

  “Run.” Baxter fell to his knees and grabbed his stomach. Blood poured from his fresh wound and gushed down his jumpsuit.

  Tears spilled from Jackie’s eyes as she went to his side.

  My eyes watered, but I pushed the emotion away, wary of the devastation still to come.

  Should I reveal myself?

  “Keep going. Never look back,” Baxter told Jackie with a cough.

  The trooper wove his way through the crowd to finish the job, moving with steadfast determination.

  I had to get through to Jackie telepathically. Physically revealing myself was too dangerous.

  “Run, Jackie.” I screamed in my mind.

  “I love you, Jackie.” Baxter bled out in the street.

  “I love you, too, Pops.” Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, losing the only thing of value she had left. The stain on her knee was nothing compared to the bloodbath all over her jumpsuit now.

  My body ached to comfort Jackie, but I held back. Unfortunately, trauma was part of her birthright.

  “Jackie, move or die.” I yelled at her telepathically, my thoughts tangling with hers, our minds weaving together in an electric dance.

  She stood and gasped, searching for the source of the strange voice in her head.

  A homemade grenade flew into a nearby storefront. Discontent was so high that any disturbance brought out the riffraff.

  The bomb exploded, sending flames and debris into the street.

  The force of the blast knocked Jackie and the trooper off their feet.

  Project One Life flyers flew like confetti, taking ownership of their violent handiwork.

  Jackie sat up and stared into the fire. Flames always captivated her. The flickering blaze took her into the reservoir of her psyche.

  This was my chance to ride her stream. I closed my eyes, exhaled, and focused on our deep-rooted connection, which was both a gift and a curse. Her fragmented thoughts flooded into my mind.

  Our minds linked like a lock and key. Goosebumps covered my scaly skin as we melded together mentally. The stone walls around my heart vanished, my desire for connection fulfilled.

  “Jackie, the road ahead will be bumpy, but I’m here to help.”

  Now connected, a difficult memory that we both suppressed for all these years resurfaced.

  At four years-old, her mother fled and left Jackie with Baxter.

  My head drooped, and my eyes stung as the moment crushed me all over again.

  Jackie refused to let in any details. In her mind, her mother’s face was fuzzy.

  My vision blurred between seeing through Jackie’s eyes and my own.

  “You’ve got to run,” I told her telepathically.

  Another homemade bomb went off, shaking her back to her physical reality.

  “Get out of here, Jackie. Go!”

  Thankfully, she listened to my advice despite not knowing where my voice was coming from. She bolted to her feet and ran like hell.

  The officer stumbled through the smoke and searched for Jackie amongst the wreckage.

  He spotted her and aimed his gun like a sniper. “Freeze.”

  She raced into a nearby alley, smart enough not to look back.

  He squeezed the trigger, and I winced from the safety of my rooftop perch.

  Luckily, the gunshot ricocheted off the wall in front of her.

  The chase was on.

  Jackie didn’t know what she did to deserve his attention, but also understood innocence didn’t matter. Justification replaced justice long ago.

  Her feet pounded the pavement. She jumped onto a fire escape ladder and climbed the side of an apartment building, ignoring her trembling body.

  The trooper turned the corner, out of breath. “Comply or die.”

  Jackie ducked into an open window seconds before he took another shot.

  “Turn left up ahead,” I instructed, forcing myself to stay calm to maintain our telepathic connection.

  Jackie flew through a corridor and turned up the inner stairwell, jumping two stairs at a time.

  Up six flights, then she burst through another door and spilled onto the roof of the building across the street from me.

  I slid out of her perspective and watched instead from mine.

  She stumbled through a clothesline, ran past a chicken coop, then stopped to look into the street.

  The fire raged from the storefront below.

  The flames drew Jackie in again, which helped me deepen our bond.

  Seeing through her eyes once more, I shared her aching heart and empty stomach.

  I sent her another memory of flying over a fiery, scorched landscape.

  “Jackie, do you remember?”

  “Who said that?” She grabbed her head, unsure where my voice was coming from.

  “I’m here to help,” I assured her. “Do what I say, and you’ll be okay.”

  “Who are you?” She looked around, alone on that rooftop, my raspy voice echoing in her mind.

  “You’ve got to move fast. They’re coming for you.”

  “I didn’t tell anyone their secret. What do they want from me?”

  “You don’t want to find out. Keep moving, Jackie.”

  “Where can I go?” she asked, panting. “It’s a dead end.”

  “Jump!”

  “Where to?” Jackie looked around, confused.

  “Jump to the next building. Trust me.”

  “Trust you? I don’t know who you are.”

  Sirens wailed, and helicopters circled.

  Jackie peered over the edge.

  There was nowhere to go. The next building was 15 feet away, too far to make the jump under normal conditions, but Jackie wasn’t a normal seventeen-year-old girl.

  “No way,” she whispered. Her throat ran dry.

  The trooper burst through the door and stumbled onto the roof. He leaned his hands on his knees, grasping for air.

  “Jackie, jump,” I insisted.

  The officer sucked air through his nostrils and trained his gun on Jackie’s back.

  “What do you choose? Getting shot or falling to your death?” I asked.

  Jackie looked at the next building. “Here goes nothing.”

  She ran at top speed toward the edge, closed her eyes, and jumped.

  My heart stopped. I braced myself, rooting for her success.

  Her body launched into the air. Arms outstretched, knees bent, she hung suspended in the gap before gravity’s invisible hand pulled her down.

  She landed on the roof of the next building, as I knew she could.

  “Atta girl.” My chest puffed, and I let out a chuckle.

  The guard was as shocked as Jackie was.

  Before he could line up his next shot, she zigged and zagged and ran for her life over the grimy rooftops of Twin Flames.

  The morning sun beat down on her through the Grid.

  I followed her from my side of the street, easily flying over gaps between rooftops.

  When there was no sign of Life Rite’s goon, Jackie stopped to calm both her racing lungs and fraying thoughts.

  Still connected, I felt her parched throat and aching legs. Adrenaline pumped through both our veins.

  I sent visual messages to her mind: her mother walking away, never to be seen again, fields of sacred, fire-blazed lands, and the ancient Merkaba symbol.

  “How much do you remember?” I asked.

  She shook her head and conjured her recent memory of the anguished look on Baxter’s face as she left him bleeding in the street.

  “Is Pops dead? Who… Where are you?”

  “I need your help. Your mother needs your help.”

  “My mom’s dead.” She squeezed her forehead in her hands.

  Her response was a dagger through my chest. “Jackie, you have a lot to learn.”

  “From my imaginary friend?” She waved the idea away. “I don’t think so.”

  “Trust is the glue that holds families together…”

  “Where’d you hear that? Don’t steal my Pops’ lines… I pray someone stopped to help him. He deserves better than that. He was just trying to protect me.”

  She whimpered, pacing on the empty rooftop across the street from me.

  “I’m trying to protect you too,” I said.

  The door behind Jackie squeaked as the roof entrance opened, revealing that damned trooper again, the persistent bastard.

  He gripped his gun with a sly grin. “Evading arrest is punishable by death. Plus, I get a bonus for every Duster I eliminate.”

  Jackie raised her hands to surrender. “I’m not a Duster. I’m a Climber.”

  “You wish.” He licked his lips and squeezed the trigger.

  Bang.

  He took his shot, savoring the thrill of the kill.

  Jackie and Baxter were a statistic to him. A slight bump in his paycheck. Barely a blip after taxes.

  The gunpowder in the air made me roar, my blood burning hotter than lava.

  Still connected, the bile in Jackie’s throat flowed through me as she died on that rooftop.