Barcode: Cavern of Youth (36 page)

“If you ever touch my owner like that again, I will kill you ahead of schedule.” She blushes once more when looking back at me. “Your touch activates the data, but it would be my personal preference if you kissed it.”

I grin to let Carmen know she deserves being forced to watch this after the Vincent incident. Then, I lean forward, grab Jamie by the waist, and listen to her release a sweet and gentle moan after I press my lips against her barcodes.

Once I pull away, a white material similar to Shiva’s gloves wraps Jamie’s entire body. The suit is snug and simple. The armor is mechanical like Seth’s arm with various compartments hiding barcodes between them. Unlike the revealing armor all the other women in my life wear, Jamie’s covers her entire body. The last piece that forms is a mask that conceals her nose and mouth. It may hide skin, but the tight suit shows off her curves and breasts so much that even I’m in awe.

Jamie interlocks her fingers with mine and drags me to the field to face off against Wesley and Selena. Malik’s not coming out to fight me. That’s annoying.

Thomas announces, “Well, the underdogs are on the rise and only six matches away from total victory. Who would’ve thought they’d pull this trick out of their sleeve? Coming to the field, we have Jamie Latu and Kay no last name. It’s the first time this pair has stepped out. They should be very rested. I’m sorry to tell them, the underdog effect has some nasty side effects because the next five matches are back-to-back for this group. And these are the toughest students from Colt Academy. Can they knock out the remaining warriors? Let’s find out. Go!”

Without moving an inch, I say, “Well weapon, how strong are you?”

The duo charges us, but end up falling and bleeding substantially at my feet. I try with all my might to figure out how they got there, but I can’t.

The crowd silences.

Even Thomas waits for the medics to remove the team before trying to describe the match. “Hey, uh. I’m looking at the tape and it seems that. Well, it honestly looks like they just fell and started bleeding. Either one of those two are really fast or,” he takes a long and awkward break, “I don’t even know the other option. Let’s hope they’re fast.”

“What did you do?” I inquire as the next set of god-level students exit the locker rooms.

“I defeated them as you requested.” Her voice is muffled by the mask and it sounds robotic. She’s a true killing machine. Awesome.

Without seeming out of breath or tired, Jamie puts the other eight opponents to sleep in the same fashion. The audience never cheers for us. Thomas asks for replays of every match, but not even the slow motion cameras can pick up more than a blur of white before the gladiators fall on their faces. After every match, Jamie returns to my side and holds my hand again.

“Well, that’s it folks,” Thomas says dryly. “Somehow, the underdogs have a spot in the finals.”

I hug Jamie and thank her for the support. I can feel and hear a faint wheezing sound omit from her lungs with each inhale. It isn’t bad or anything serious to worry about, but it is different for her.

“Kode. This is a personal request—not because I really need it—but because I’d like to piss Carmen off.” Her puppy dog eyes look innocent. “Can you carry me back to the room?” I squint and try my hardest to read her expression. She’s lying. Jamie’s really tired, but too prideful to admit it. “I’m crazy. I can’t ask my owner a request. Ignore me.”

I lift her into my arms. “Jamie. Are you technically human?”

“No and yes. My data projects me as a human, but I am Shiva’s spirit.”

“Can you project yourself as something else?”

“I think you are starting to catch on.” Once we’re inside, she robotically asks, “Can you place me right next to Seth?” Before I sit her down, she requests, “Closer.” I get her pretty close. “Closer.”

When Jamie’s finally situated, I stand next to Carmen at the gate. She thumps me on the arm. “I said no girls, but you go and pick the only other one on campus that hates me.”

“You think there are only two?”

With an evil grin she whispers, “Plus, you held her hand and carried her back? We have something to talk about when we get home.”

“It’s like I’m really married. I want a divorce too.”

“No.”

Monte and Angie walk onto the field. Neither of them have more than a scratch or two. Finally, Malik approaches the center with Selena. The better match up would be Malik and Wesley, but since Patrick was rushed to the hospital, Wesley had to take over. Malik offered no assistance in their matches and Wesley overexerted himself. I can’t believe Malik’s arrogant enough to think he could take on Angie and Monte alone. He must have something worked out with Vincent.

Though the gates have been lowered, I hack into the system with my phone in order to raise the one before me. Hearing the metal slam to the top catches all of their attention.

I never speak a word, but point directly at Angie. Malik is taken back. He’s even bold enough to boast, “What does he want? For you to fight me? Doesn’t he know that your father would never let you take me on? Even I know that. This is in the bag. It’s pretty much Monte and me.”

“Alright fighters, you surely know the rules by now. This one is for the finals. Go!”

Monte folds his arms while Angie screams and runs in front of him. With no barcode or powers, no special tricks or swift movement, she charges right for Malik and lunges her fist into his left eye.

Oh!

He tried blocking it, but wasn’t nearly strong enough to impede her momentum. As he falls back, Angie converts Kongō into a staff and smashes the golden rod against Selena’s temple.

Thomas stands from his seat and holds his microphone against his lips. “Lights out!” Though he turns off the mic, I listen as he speaks to the sound engineer, “I don’t understand what’s going on this year. Did they put something new in the cafeteria food?”

Angie smirks at me before returning to her gate. Monte keeps his eyes glued to me for most of his walk as well.

Carmen rests her hands over her chest. The breathing techniques aren’t working. She’s scared. With her head lowered, she asks, “You and Jamie are going against that?”

“Jamie’s too tired. It’s you and me.”

Twenty Six

Carmen inspects my face speechlessly. I want her to look into my data to understand how much I believe in her. Her eyes waver and her confidence does too.

“Lick me.”

She doesn’t respond for some time. Without warning, she quickly leans in and wets my lips enough to share a connection.

“There was no love behind that one. Try it again,” I flirt with a smirk.

Carmen laces her arms around my small frame and attempts to hide her smile. She kisses me three times and spiritedly licks my lips for a few seconds.

Clearing my thoughts I concentrate on her perfectly structured eyebrows. Seeing such beauty almost makes me believe in a god. But it’s her mother and father that deserve the credit for this art. A tear of joy trickles down her face as she senses how much I care about her.

Nod if you can clearly understand my thoughts.

She complies and adds,
When you’re this open, you should be able to hear mine.

Great. Tell the truth. You look up to Angie, don’t you? From the first time you met her, you thought she was more beautiful and skilled than you. Since then, you’ve worked hard to be like her.

If your barcodes can only hear what’s in the present, how do you know that?
Carmen holds her arms tensely. I reach up and move the wild strands of hair from her eyes and brush dirt from her nose.

Too many people spend all their time trying to find new ways to communicate and understand each other. Not enough actually invest in the best gift we have, common sense.

Okay. Yes. I’ve always wanted to be as powerful as her. Since I met you, I’ve almost wanted to be her.

It’s time to get on her level. If you want her to acknowledge your strength, and to stop being the girl that cries about her problems and searches for excuses, bite me.

What?

You said that everyone starts off weak, but what are you willing to do to be strong?

I fold my arms to match her stance and wait patiently for the words to register. Carmen’s trained the hardest of our team over the past few months. She’s also shown the greatest improvement, but it’s not enough to catch up with our level of skill. The problem isn’t her dedication or determination. She has the will. Her greatest obstacle is Aphrodite. Carmen’s barcodes are holding back a monster inside of her that’s dying to get out.

I don’t know what you mean. I’ve worked really hard—

Use your fangs to bite my neck. And when you’re done, make sure to smear a small amount of the blood on your lips.

You want me to drink your blood? That’s nasty.

Our names are announced.

You know what it’ll do. It’s now or never.

Carmen’s hands tremble and she scrunches her eyebrows. She glances back at Jamie and up to Angie.

With closed eyes, she chooses the quick and dirty method instead of drawing out the pain any longer. She swoops in vampire style and pierces into my flesh. Though the initial pain is horrendous, the feeling of my life connecting with hers isn’t bad.

Jamie and Richard stare, seemingly disgusted. I can’t blame them. Bits of my black blood trickle down my neck. My body shivers and I’m starting to feel weaker. She’s holding on for too long and taking in too much.

“Carmen,” I mutter. “Carmen!”

Pushing her head away, I notice the exact second the beast within me enters her. She appears lost and confused. Dazed.

Her eyes search for an answer to some question before she bursts into laughter. Tears are soon to follow.

I scrape the excess blood from her lips.

My data spreads like a virus through her anatomy, escaping from her esophagus and spreading through her bloodstream.

Concentrating my energy and thoughts, I begin converting all my blood into barcodes. To do this, I first have to cancel her current flow of data and force her body to accept me.

She giggles from the pleasure oozing through her. She’s entered the state of euphoria that everyone suffers from with my blood, but she exits much faster. Carmen shows an incredible strength. It’s almost like she expels the drug clouding her thoughts and focuses on accepting the beast.

Carmen’s eyes turn green with traces of her old hazel still lingering near the center. The blood dries and her lips flicker with all the colors of the rainbow. She pokes out her lips and attempts to see them.

Eventually she settles on two colors. Most of her bottom lip and half of her top are pink. The other half is a light green.

“I never told you, but I love watermelon,” she exclaims before marching to the battlefield.

I rush to catch up. “Here’s the deal.”

“Kick ass?”

“Indeed, but I need you to take out Monte first.”

The beautiful goddess narrows her eyebrows and hurries to the center of the field, but we still have a few seconds to talk. Angie and Monte observe her with enlarged eyes. Carmen seems very different. I didn’t expect this either.

“I can access your thoughts clearly, Kode.”

“So you know my name now. You seemed shocked when you heard it last night.”

“That’s because I had no clue Monte was your brother, and your family’s an abomination—not that mine is any better.”

“Now you can understand why I’m hell bent on killing them.”

“Have you gotten any closer to finding Eve?” I shake my head. Carmen changes the subject when she notices the painful expression I’m wearing. “By the way, I hate Kay. Kode’s sexier.”

“I’m happy to turn you on. I can tell by what’s happening between your legs. But can we focus on the threat before us?”

Carmen widens her eyes. “Damn your eyes really are intrusive.” I slap my legs and release a frustrated grunt. “Right.
The threats
. You want me to take out Monte so you can get some one-on-one time with Angie.”

“Something like that.”

“You don’t think I could take them both? Your mind is showing me all of Monte’s weaknesses, but why not Angie’s? What are you protecting her from?”

“In all honestly,” I whisper, “she has three goddesses trapped in her that come out when her arrows are shifted certain ways. She won’t release the strongest because that chick loves blood and will kill anyone in sight. If she did, neither of us would have a chance.”

Carmen places her hands on her hips and her muscles tighten more than ever. “With all you have flowing through me, you still don’t think I can beat her.” Her eyes irately stalk Angie.

“You misunderstand. I never beat her with my bandages off.”

That’s because you love her too much and hold back.
I don’t think Carmen knows she relayed those thoughts to me. She mildly activates her barcodes.

“Just give me an idea. Are you sticking with the plan or going rogue?”

Carmen shifts her weight to her back leg. “I’ll stick with the plan and win, if you promise to kiss me.”

“Back to that, huh?”

“Swear.”

“I swear, so kick ass.”

“For a kiss, I’ll do more than that,” she flirts.

Thomas announces the match with his booming voice. I really don’t care what he has to say about the four warriors on the field. I’m focused on Angie and Monte’s argument.

Angie turns away from us and closes her eyes. Her right hand is trembling. Monte follows her, apparently concerned. As he tenderly places his hand on her back, I think of all the ways I want to rip his heart out, but I’m regrettably too weak.

His voice lacks concern when he asks, “What? What now?”

“I can’t do it.”

“Do what?”

“Kill Kay. I can’t.”

“All because you saw Kode? You said it yourself, he’s dead and that midget killed him. You can avenge my brother.”

“No. No. No.” She repeats the series two more times. “It’s not that.”

“Then what?”

Angie squints and makes an adorable twisted expression. She loudly whispers, “He’s so cute.”