Embers & Ice (Rouge) (9 page)

PART 3

THE NOIR HERO

SEVENTEEN

A
wise man once said–” came the monotone voice of Dr. Wolfe over an intercom
system and both she and Will whipped around and searched for the source, “–that
when the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the
people are filled with schemes to do wrong. Hunter Harrison. William Evans. You
have both broken a very important rule we follow here at ICE Institution;
respect all authoritative figures. Your punishment… is to fight. I will decide
when it is over. And please–” He chuckled low and it sent shivers down Hunter’s
spine. “–Fight fair.”

The
glass wall rose very slowly, severing the boundary between them. Hunter
straightened up and stared around at the glass, the figures so far off and so
foggy that she couldn’t make out any faces at all. Her heart rate accelerated
and she clenched her fists tight as she turned and faced her opponent.

They
stared at each other for a long time. She could feel the anger radiating from
Will’s taut body. He squinted soulfully at her, his doe eyes shadowed by brown
hair messy around his face and neck. She couldn’t look at him without
remembering what he’d done for her in the bathroom. Why would he risk it
knowing this was their punishment?

Hunter
remained still, waiting. She knew that Will couldn’t beat her with his own
power, but even the thought of burning him made her stomach curl. Not even if
Dr. Wolfe commanded it, she would not attack with fire.

“Might
I remind you,” the doctor’s voice resonated, “that this is the only time you
will have to use your powers, Miss Harrison. I suggest you have at it.”

Hunter
looked down at her fists and let the flames creep through her skin. The
sensation was… heavenly. The tingling warmth felt like rubbing her skin with
soft soap after being dirty for a very long time. It was soothing and velvety
and the flames danced around her fingers and up her wrists and arms. For a moment,
she smiled at the bliss.

And
then the fire started to get really angry.

For
all the times Dr. Wolfe had prodded her with needles or sucked out her blood or
shot her with X-rays, Hunter drew the fire out of the cage it had been trapped
in for weeks and unleashed it. Like fire from the mouth of a dragon, flames
burst from Hunter’s hands. They were so strong that they kept going, twisting
in the air like giant snakes, surprising even Hunter herself with their
magnitude. The flames were beautiful, woven and intertwined with each other
like dancing eels, bright and angry. The snakes twisted high into the air,
brushing the glass ceiling that didn’t burn or break. She launched them again
and again at the glass, but it could not be penetrated.

“Please,
Miss Harrison,” said Dr. Wolfe over the raucous noise, “not on the impermeable
glass. You are both in the wrong, and this is how we treat misbehavior. I’m
afraid you must suffer the consequences, and if you do not comply, I will make
things interesting.”

As
he spoke, a strange grinding sound erupted in the Orb. Hunter felt her heart
pound against her chest and she stepped subconsciously closer to Will. Holes
started appearing in the walls, spaced at intervals, all around the exterior.
Hunter knew it would be something horrible, and she had no time to prepare
before there was a sound like water from a hose. Then, fire appeared.

It
shot straight at them, a ball of flames with so much power that it looked like
a planet, like the sun. Hunter spread herself in front of Will just in time for
the fire to hit her in the chest. She stumbled backwards against him.

“Are
you o-”

Will
did not get to finish his sentence before another fireball blasted from the
rockets in the walls, this time from behind them. Hunter deflected it, but only
just. And then another appeared, and she was too slow to protect Will. The
fireball slammed into his back and he collapsed on the floor.

Hunter
dropped to his side and sucked the fire into her arms, feeling another fireball
shoot over her head. The contents of her stomach crawled up into her throat at
the sight of the burns appearing on his skin. His flesh bubbled and blistered
and his jumpsuit was scorched. Only his brown eyes remained rich and unscathed.
They gazed up at her in agony.

“Let
it burn me,” Will rasped. “Again.”

“What?
No!”

“Do
it.” With immense effort, he managed to raise his quivering hand and clasp
hers. As she watched, she saw that his skin was already reattaching itself,
closing over the burns on his back. “I’ll heal, just let me up… so they can see
it.”

A
fireball blasted into her, but it was nothing but a breath of air. Another hit
Will’s legs and he screamed. Hunter diminished the fire quicker that time.

“No,”
she said firmly. “I will
not
be that sick bastard’s entertainment.”

Will
looked defeated. “You’ll just make things worse. Please, get it over with.”

“I…
I can’t!”

“Just
do it, Hunter, or I swear I’ll-”

“I
hate to do this,” said Dr. Wolfe over the speaker system, and both of them
froze. “But I can see the repetitive nature of this battle and I’m finding it
rather dull. Let’s try something different.”

Hunter
prepared herself for a lion to be unleashed into the pit or something horrible
like that, but instead large funnels sprouted from the roof, and then it began
to rain.

She
dragged Will to his feet and they stared around, wondering if this was some
kind of trick. Hunter supposed Dr. Wolfe was only doing this to see whether her
fire would still burn even if she was soaked through to her skin. She lit her
palms and angry, white-hot flames burned through the rain, sparking like fire
crackers. That was how powerful her rage had become. She imagined Dr. Wolfe was
impressed, and the scientists who were watching would be scribbling furiously
on their notepads. As much as she hated that this was all just a presentation
to them, she almost liked the challenge.

And
then Will cried out through the rain.

She
spun and stared. He stood there in his tattered, wet jumpsuit. The drops of
rain on his skin were starting to burn through. Hunter lifted her palm up and
watched as the water trickled over her skin. It didn’t harm her, but Will’s
flesh was sizzling. As if the rain wasn’t water, but-

“Acid
rain,” said Dr. Wolfe, a smile in his tone. “Of course, it isn’t powerful
enough to burn you, Miss Harrison, but poor William doesn’t have the wonderful
immunity your skin possesses. Though he will heal in time… he still feels the
pain.”

Will
collapsed again, writhing, the rain burning gashes in his skin right through to
the bone. He curled up in a ball and the acid poured over his back. A moment
more and his screams almost drowned the sound of Dr. Wolfe’s voice.

“Stop!”
Hunter shrieked. She fell beside Will again.

“I
told you how to play the game, Miss Harrison, but you had to be stubborn.
Someone must suffer the consequences.”

He
can’t do this to people,
she panicked, covering Will’s body but
only managing to shield his upper half. He was so tall. The flesh on his legs
was almost on fire. He was fading away.
This isn’t fair, Will was only
trying to save me from Jamison! Why are we being punished for defending
ourselves? Why is he being punished at all?

So
great was her rage and so strong was the fire inside her, that in a moment of
clarity, Hunter had an idea. With her body shielding Will’s upper half, she
lifted her hands and formed a wall of fire around them, dome-shaped and strong.
An orb within an orb.
The acid rain hit the dome and dissipated into gas
around them. It didn’t burn through, and Hunter grinned in relief.

“Ha!
Who’s laughing now, Dr. Wolfe?” she shouted.

Will
stirred beneath her, his skin fusing back together. It was incredible. She
understood now why the doctors were so fascinated by Will’s biology. His skin
was slowly reforming and within the space of a few minutes – though it felt
like an hour – he was right again.

“It’s
not going to end,” he said through gritted teeth. He looked more exhausted than
he had the day the guards carried him into the breakfast hall. “He’ll keep
going until he’s satisfied. Until we’ve both learnt our lesson.”

Hunter
held her dome, sweat pouring down her brow from the effort. Gazing into his
eyes helped distract her. She couldn’t read his thoughts at all. The defeat,
however, was gaunt and sullen in his pleading gaze.

“So
we just give up then?” She shook her head firmly. “No. He’s seen what you can
do, he’s seen what I can do, that should be enough for him.”

“That’s
not the point of this arena. The point is to teach discipline, to maintain
order and to keep fear alive in us. It won’t be over until we’re both out.” He
pushed himself up on his elbows, his face inches from hers. The long scar on
his right cheek went from the corner of his eyebrow to the joint at the back of
his jaw. She had no time to puzzle over it then. “You know I can’t beat you;
there’s nothing offensive about my powers. You’re just going to have to put me
out.”

“What?
Why the hell would I do that?”

“Because
it’s what he wants. Just do it.”

“No,
I-”

The
fire dome dissolved in her panic, but fortunately the rain had ceased. Silence
loomed around them. Hunter looked up at the roof and around the Orb, hoping to
catch a glimpse of Dr. Wolfe standing behind the glass, his expression one of
malice and authority.

I
won’t let him win,
she decided.
Not today. Not with Will. In
fact, never again.

Hunter
turned back to Will and – on impulse – shoved him in the shoulder. He fell back
on the floor hard and stared up at her with wide eyes.

“Why
did you-”

“Hit
me,” she hissed.

“What?”

“Come
on, they’ve had their show of fire and water, and they know you can heal. Just
knock me out and we both win.”

“I
can’t-”

“You
afraid to hit a girl? Come on, DO IT!”

Will
grit his teeth, pushed himself up and shifted his weight from foot to foot.
With a look in his eyes that read ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this’, Will raised
his right arm and drew back. The balled fist collided with the left side of
Hunter’s face, sending her spinning backwards. Despite his size and incredible
muscle capacity, the punch itself wasn’t powerful enough to knock her to the
ground let alone knock her out. But it did hurt like hell. Spots danced in her
vision and then a red-hot pain throbbed in her jaw. 

She
turned back to Will and spat blood on the clean floor. He grimaced, perhaps at
her face or at the fact that he’d just punched her.

“You
can’t hit a little
harder
?” she groaned, trying to make it sound like
she was teasing him. He only shrugged.

“Hey,
I may look strong but it’s kind of exhausting having to regenerate your own
skin over and over. Cut me some slack.”

Smiling
only slightly, Hunter twisted her shoulder and kinked her neck as though she
were preparing for a fight.

“They
just want a show,” she said.

Will
nodded.

Hunter
threw herself at him and they both went sprawling to the floor. As much as she
didn’t want to hurt Will – especially after what he’d been through to get
thrown in there with her – hitting him was better than burning him.

Will
rolled out from under her before she could get a good swipe at his face. She
swung her knee and thrust it into his stomach. Will blew out a gasp of air and
doubled over. As she pushed herself to her feet, she pretended not to see
Will’s leg as it whipped around and knocked her ankles out from under her,
sending her to the ground. She hit her elbow hard but managed to roll back onto
her feet. She took her time straightening, lighting her hands on fire for good
measure, and met his gaze. With one last apologetic look, he clenched his teeth
hard and threw his fist against her jaw. Hunter’s entire head jarred and then
she was out.

EIGHTEEN

Will
wanted to catch Hunter before she hit the floor, but his reflexes were slower
than they used to be. Her head made a terrible crack and her red hair spilled
out around her like rose petals. He dropped down beside her, scooped her head
up in his hands and tapped her lightly on the cheek.

She
was completely out. Only her chest rose up and down. It was over.

A
heavy sigh of relief fell out of Will’s mouth. Never, in all his sixteen years
imprisoned in the institution, had he ever been forced to fight in the Orb.
He’d seen countless kills and witnessed horrible fights. It always made him
that much more determined to stay away from trouble. But Will knew what he was getting
himself into when he burst into the girl’s bathroom. He knew that the justice
system Dr. Wolfe enforced would have him punished for his heroic act.

But
Will couldn’t walk away. Even though every fiber of his being begged him to put
his head down and go back to his cell, Will was drawn to the sound of Hunter’s
scream. And the sight of Jamison pressed against her squirming body still made
his skin crawl with fury. Perhaps it was just in his nature to be protective
over complete strangers.

Only,
Hunter was no stranger. Will gazed down at her soft eyelashes that fluttered as
she breathed, at her full lips and the already sunken shape of her cheeks.
Asleep, she looked somewhat peaceful, but Will had been around enough pain and
grief to know that she was hurting from something. He’d seen it in her
amber-gold eyes the very first time he caught her gaze across the breakfast
hall. Will could still remember when Hunter was free of pain and young and
innocent. When she was his first and only friend in the nursery all those years
ago, until one night the tall man with the pale eyes took her away and she
never came back.

Hunter
deserved to know why he defended her against Jamison. She didn’t know how many
other girls that filthy man had taken advantage of. But… why her? The question
was one even Will himself could not answer. He only knew that he could not stop
himself from entering the bathroom.

Crouching
over Hunter, Will didn’t see where the guards came from, but he heard their
footsteps behind him. They took him roughly by each arm and dragged him away.
After the guards escorted him through a door that had appeared in the Orb,
which led to a dark corridor and a glass exit, he was taken in stiff silence to
a room on the right. He’d never been in this part of the institution before.
Inside the room, there was nothing but blackness. Black walls, dark mahogany
furniture, several chairs with padded armrests made of leather and a single
lamp on the desk that cast eerie shadows all over the room. The guards left,
locked the door and Will sat in darkness for only a few seconds before the door
opened again and Dr. Wolfe himself strode inside. His hollow cheeks were
flushed from the excitement of the Orb. He undid the button of his white lab
coat and sat opposite Will with his hands on the desk. A small puff of dust
blew around his arms.

“Hello
William,” he smiled. “How are you?”

“Fine,”
he replied. He’d long ago become used to the doctor’s sick optimism and sense
of humor.

“You
healed rather quickly after the acid rain. I presume you were trying to show
off for your childhood friend.”

“Your
acid rain must not be as poisonous as you think, Doctor.” Will wriggled on the
chair and became aware of how shredded his jumpsuit was. He put his hands
between his legs to cover any holes. “What will you do to punish Jamison?”

Dr.
Wolfe stroked a finger down the gray stubble of his chin. “You know what it’s
like to have urges, don’t you William? My guards are a bit like soldiers, you
see. Deprived of natural cravings and homesick and needing something to quench
that thirst.”

“He
was about to rape her,” Will said through gritted teeth. His nails dug into his
palms, the pain completely numb as anger swallowed him whole.
Who am I
kidding? This man doesn’t care what kind of abuse we take, especially when
given a chance to punish us.

“Yes,
well, I will deal with that small matter later.” He waved a hand and met Will’s
gaze with cold, heartless eyes. “I’m interested in you William.”

Will’s
eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t know you swung that way, Dr. Wolfe.”

The
doctor’s grin widened and he slapped his hand down on the wooden table with a
snap,
making Will jump and grip the armrests. “Ha ha!” he cried with glee. “Now
there’s something I haven’t seen in you in a very long time. Humor! You must
have the urge to laugh every once in a while. I can’t have cut it out of you
yet, have I?”

Will
had never seen the doctor so enthusiastic. Was it Hunter? Was he excited to
have her back, did it bring him closer to finding her guardian? Or was there
something else happening in secret that they had yet to discover?

“Now,”
the doctor continued. “As I said, you’ve made me curious. Your infatuation with
Hunter is reminiscent of your childhood, am I right?”

“I
suppose I was angry,” he admitted. “I didn’t want that filthy man taking
advantage of her in just her first month here.”

“The
world is a cruel place,” Dr. Wolfe replied flatly.

“I
wouldn’t know.”

“Oh,
but you remember your father don’t you?” 

At
the mention of his father, Will’s muscles tensed. “How could I forget? The man
beat me to death.”

“Not
quite. We brought you back, and as an added bonus you woke up with powers. You
should really be more grateful.”

“Grateful?”
Will snorted. “What kind of life am I living here? If given a choice, I’d
rather be dead.”

They
stared each other down for a very long time before Dr. Wolfe put his hands
together and leaned forward on the table.

“I
am curious,” he said, “about your connection with our little Fearne.”

“She’s
my friend,” was all he could say. It came out jagged and harsh.

“I’m
aware. I only wonder why she has warmed to you the most. Her mind is a
fascinating place, William, and when I explore her thoughts I often find you
there. She values you highly.”

“How
do you know this?”

The
doctor smiled, showing a straight row of yellowed teeth. “You don’t think we
haven’t made ways to chemicalize your powers and use them for our purposes? We
have produced salves using your DNA for healing, technology using Marcus’s
power and Fearne has become quite a wonderful tool in testing staff for-”

Will
stood to his feet, his chair toppling backwards, towering over the table and
Dr. Wolfe who was hidden by his shadow. Will’s body quivered in fury. He’d
never felt such rage for this sadistic man. How easy it would be to reach over
the table and snap his bony neck-

“William,”
Dr. Wolfe murmured in a low tone as though he were talking to a misbehaving
pet. “You’ve always been so good at controlling your anger and taking the
punishment. Don’t break your streak now.”

“Don’t
tempt me,” he growled.

“I
understand your need to protect your friends.” The doctor got to his feet,
buttoning his coat again, and walked slowly around the table. “It’s because you
know that you don’t have much time left, am I right?”

Will
felt the blood drain from his face as Dr. Wolfe reached up and placed a
skeleton-like hand on his shoulder. The grip raised the hairs on his neck. Over
the years he’d watched many deteriorate. People he learned to care about. Older
brothers and sisters, of such. One day they simply didn’t come down for
breakfast. He was smart enough to learn that Dr. Wolfe had disposed of them,
for they were so weak from experimentation and lack of nutrients that they
just… died. The others knew it too, and it terrified them all.

“What
will my power do to stall my death?” he asked.

“That,
not even I can tell you my boy.” He nodded sadly and urged Will to the door.
“Oh well, it’s been a wonderful journey we’ve had together.” Two guards were
waiting to escort Will back to the cell block. “I’m interested to see how it
ends. And please,” he added as Will was taken by the arms again, “I’d like no
more trouble from you. Remember, I know what – I’m sorry,
who
–
your
weaknesses are. Am I clear?”

“Yes
Sir,” Will muttered, and the door closed softly behind him.

Will
marched through the dark halls of the institution with men guarding his way.
His thoughts returned, as they always did, to a life he imagined outside. A
world where the sun was bright in a cloudy sky over the Thames, where little
black cabs and red buses zoomed around him, where Big Ben chimed through the
chilly air and there was a sense of possibility. A world in which he could
choose where to take his next step, breathe in freedom and simply… be.

It
was a wonderful fantasy world, and it was all he had.