Chapter 28

  I have been waiting for him all night, the sun is rising. I sit there, kneeling, with the katana he had his man stab me with years ago.

  He's on his way. Every bone in my body can feel it. The sky is dark, the clouds rolling in. It makes no sense but I can feel Carl, feel his lover, his brother.

  The twangy country music, the Emu farm, the laughter, the dancing, the love.

  The crashing thunder, the knife, the screaming, the falling to my knees, the pain.

  The rain starts, sporadic, large drops fall, then multiply until its a heavy down pouring

  In a blur he appears in front of me.

  “Well Goliath? You could run again, I could chase again, I'm the Lion, brother, you're the fleeing Gazelle. Goliath; such an inappropriate name for a coward that always runs. I almost caught up with you in Chiba. But you ran, again.” He says with an arrogant tone.

  His fused black suit that's like a second skin from toe to neck, that's almost impenetrable, that they infused on us, a suit he's worn for 20 years, shimmers in the early days light.

  Now, I stand in a white cotton shirt and leather duster, I can actually feel the cloths hang from my body, the suffocating constricting suit that can't be taken off like regular cloths, that treats and removes bodily fluids through the soles is no longer a part of me. The suits fusion process causes a sickness. We managed to find someone to reverse the fusion, but the man who would be my brother did not want this. We were like brothers; in his mind, we still are and I broke the family trust.

  “We're free from them now, you took everything I had, can you not see the sickness in you? I have even forgiven you.”

  “I don't want your pity! I don't have all that I need yet! I've broken you, now I need to rid the world of you, betrayer. When I defeat you I will hunt them down as well. Oh, Raven will be a tough one to get to, but your Daughter, well, I know the Collectives little secret now; I know she's alive. Believe it or not I just stumbled upon her one day, she was fighting for her classes taekwondo team, such a sweet girl, she looks much like our Raven. And I have you to thank, she has your golden amber eyes, if not for that I would not have even noticed her.”

  “I can't plead with you any longer, the suit has made you sick, you should have removed it when Raven and I did. Your mind is sick. Do you even know why you hunt me so?”

  “What the three of us had was perfect, don't you see? We were better then them, the suit made us better. The genome fusion they did on us wasn't enough, the suit is the missing piece. You and only you destroyed what the three of us had.”

  “The edge of my blade is the only cure I have for your sickness, brother.”

  “So be it.”

  We move at the same tempo as one another, while the world around us grinds to a slow pace like walking through knee high mud in shin high boots. Adrenaline is an peculiar thing; it speeds up your thought process and reaction time, it feels like time is going slow. This is where him and I are, only they have given us control over it, to push the human mind and body further then what it's normally capable of. They did this to us, they made us the same. They called it 'the gift'. No, we're the survivors.

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  A trickle of blood starts running from my nose, like a thick, red pudding barely moving.

  As if suspended midair, a bush fly hangs by my right eye, its wings almost frozen.

  Almost.

  They beat at a pace hardly discernible to us.

  A trickle of blood can be seen under his nose as well, he throws his cigar stub, it hangs almost frozen in place midair.

  Almost.

  It's rotating at a rate hardly discernible to us.

  The smoke from his cigar is still a cloud around him that barely moves, like the clouds in the sky, like the fly, like the slight trickle of blood running down both our noses.

  My right hand is on the handle of my katana, firmly grasping the red and white cotton cord wrapping I myself crafted, my left hand on the saya. I'm waiting for when it's time to draw. The time is nigh, him and I both know this can end with at least one of us dead.

  In his right hand a battle scared machete. Blunt, heavy but solid, unwavering.

  He hunted me down, after getting all he wanted, after forcing me and her apart it wasn't enough, it wasn't enough that I had to leave my daughter behind, he forced me away, to the other side of the globe. Yet I still couldn't escape. What was the point of that sacrifice? Even with him gone things have progressed too far; my life before this moment is nothing, I can not go back to it, I can not go back to her for she is not who she once was. Going back to my daughter is not an option either, because of what they did to her, me going back would break her mind.

  Over the last few years I have learned to live as a broken man, learned to let go of all I had, to let go of the woman I loved because she became something else, to let my daughter go, to forgive the man who was like a brother to me when he destroyed my life. I have found a home here, who I am has helped my people in the fight against The Others iron grip on the world.

  He charges at me, a distorted maniacal look on his face. I wait, patiently.

  He's halfway to me, I draw my katana.

  His blow crashes into my counter swing as I swing back to block his attack, my katana is shattered by the much heavier and cruder machete he wields, the shards and blade too fast and too close to dodge, even with the gift. Shards continue through towards his neck as I fall on the flat of my back attempting to dodging his blade, but I still feel the cold steal of his machete slice my neck.

  Time returns to normal, my head looking to the side as I watch his cigar butt land and bounce to a halt.

  Time returns to normal, my head in the dust, looking to the side as I watch his cigar butt land and bounce to a halt. I feel the air escape my throat; then it doesn't, the wound has healed over. MOVE ARTHUR! A familiar voice calls.

  It's Carl.

  I am standing over Stinger, my shattered sword has sliced through a major artery in his neck. He's pale, but healing fast. He needs more time to bounce back and recover; I don't. Time is almost standing still, the suits are fighting with each other; two of them pull at the third, the third covers his face. Strike when there is an opening.

  Twisting and turning, pulling and stretching, the suit fights itself. Suddenly I see the middle of Stingers bare chest.

  “Arthur... he controls us... please ... end this....” Stinger says with a look of anguish in his eyes.

  I plunge the shard into his heart. He looks up at me and shakes his head.

  “It's not enough...” He says.

  I have to do it, for them, for my family to be safe.

  I put my hand on his face, “I'm sorry.” I say. My hands shaking, I have to end the cycle. With a primal scream I plunge my hand into his chest and rip out his heart in one smooth motion. The four of them stop moving.

  I lost two brothers that day.

  But they no longer suffer from their sickness.

  I buried Stinger at in the village cemetery. He deserved the dignity of a proper burial.

  Lana was the only one there as I laid him to rest.

  “I will do what I must to see Jennifer again. If that won't do, tell me.” I say.

  “I would think less of you if that wasn't the case.”

  “I want to get married.”

  She smiles, “Yes, lets.” We embrace, I feel like I've finally found a home.

  “And I want to start an Emu farm.” I say.

  “What on earth? But they're all over the place, and you can get them fast.”

  I smile, “It's not the same."