The Havoc Chronicles (Book II): Unbound (19 page)

“So what happened?” I asked, turning my attention back to Amy. I was trying to be a good, supportive friend and be excited for her, but it was hard to match Amy’s level of excitement about Prom. Especially since I hadn’t been asked yet. 

“OK, so I don’t know what happened between you and Josh, but after the play, I could totally tell he was on the rebound. So I made plans with him to spend time together during Spring Break. We went down to Riverside Trail – I know total make out spot, right? – and we talked for the longest time and he asked me to Prom! Then we kissed and it was the most amazing...”

Amy continued on for several more minutes. I was honestly happy for her. Having Josh date Amy made my life much less awkward with Rhys. Of course, just as Josh is finally out of the picture, Eric comes back, but I didn’t even want to think about him right now.

A flash of red caught my attention as Amy continued on about Prom. Ginger Johnson pushed her way through the crowd and stood right by Amy and me, clearly within the conversation perimeter.

“What do you want?” Amy asked. The look of hate between the two of them was palpable. Which, given that Amy was going to Prom with Josh, made perfect sense.

“For you to get lost,” said Ginger. “I want to talk with Madison. Alone.” She fixed Amy with her well-used nasty glare.

“Listen, Ginger, I–” Amy began.

I put a hand on Amy’s shoulder. Given that Ginger had seen me ‘zerk and had been attacked by a monster, I figured I should at least listen to what she had to say.

“I’ve got this Amy,” I said. “It’s OK.”

Amy gave me a long, searching look before shrugging her shoulders. “If that’s what you want.” She threw one last glare at Ginger before flipping her hair back and strutting down the hall.

Ginger watched her walk down the hall for a moment before rolling her eyes and turning to me.

“She’s going to Prom with Josh?” she asked.

Well, this wasn’t exactly how I thought the conversation would start. “That’s what she told me.”

“Whatever,” Ginger said, and she folded her arms across her chest. “I’m
so
over him. He had his chance and blew it. If he wants to commit social seppuku by dating her that’s his business.”

“Seppuku?”

Ginger waved a dismissive hand. “I’m not your dictionary. Look it up if your vocabulary isn’t up to the challenge.”

I was so shocked that for a moment I didn’t say anything at all. Ginger was insulting my vocabulary? I bit back a slew of nasty retorts and focused on repressing my urge to pummel her. 

“Did you come here to do something besides insult me?” I asked. “Because you usually don’t seem too fussy about doing that in public.”

“True,” she said, looking around furtively to see that no one was listening in. “I just wanted to tell you–” she paused and took a deep breath. “I just wanted to say thanks for saving me from that monster.”

Who was this girl? She wasn’t acting like the Ginger I knew. I was so used to dealing with her insults and threats that I was completely at a loss how to respond to a simple thank-you.

“Look,” she said, “that Scottish girl, Kara, told me what you’ve been doing to protect us from those creatures. I have several uncles in the military, so I can respect the way you put your life on the line to defend others.” She reached out and shook my hand. “Don’t worry; I’ll keep your secret.”

***

That night after Berserker training, Rhys and I went out to the back deck to cool off and look at the stars. We sat together on the porch swing, me leaning back with Rhys’ arms wrapped around me. The swing was set up against the back of the house and wasn’t visible from any of the windows, so we had decided to enjoy the privacy and take a few minutes to be together.

“This feels great,” I said, enjoying the sensation of him holding me close. “I could stay here forever.”

“You might get hungry,” Rhys said. “Forever is a pretty long time.”

I reached back and playfully smacked him on the back of the head. “You know what I mean.”

“I do. Believe me, I do.”

“I still can’t believe Amy and Josh are going to Prom together,” I said. I’d had the entire day to process through the news, but it still seemed incredible to me. Just over a week ago, Josh had kissed me in the middle of the play and now he was going to Prom with my best friend.

“Does it bother you?” Rhys asked.

I thought about it for a minute. It had been several months since Josh and I had broken up, so it was past the statute of limitations on how long you should wait before dating your best friend’s ex. Technically, it hadn’t been that long since Josh was trying to get me back, but in a way I was grateful that Amy was there to remove some of the awkwardness. There may have been a teeny tiny part of me that was secretly jealous, but that was mostly because she would be going to Prom and I wouldn’t.

“I’m not jealous that she’s going out with Josh,” I said, “but I am a little envious that she gets to go to Prom while we have to hide our relationship from my dad and the other Berserkers. It just kind of sucks, you know?”

Rhys inhaled deeply. “Yeah, it does.”

“I just wish we could be together,” I said, “and not have to hide this from my family like some twisted Romeo and Juliet and superhero mash-up story.”

Rhys laughed. “Their powers brought them together, but their families keep them apart,” he intoned in a passable imitation of an announcer’s voice.

“Exactly,” I said and leaned my head back for a kiss.

Rhys gently pressed his lips to mine. Everything else faded away as I simply enjoyed the feel of his lips on mine and pretended that we were just two teenagers stealing kisses away from prying eyes – no powers, no Havocs, no saving the world.

Until I felt someone ‘zerk.

Instantly we both broke off the kiss. The person ‘zerking had been close by. It only took a second to find the source.

Eric stood on the grass just off the deck, a look of mingled horror and despair flashing across his face. He had apparently come into the back yard through the gate at the side of the house.

Although he was ‘zerking and his glow obscured his features, his eyes fixed on mine and for a moment I could feel his sense of betrayal. The utter despair and hopelessness that radiated from him was enough to make me nauseated.

“Eric, I...” I began, but I had no words of comfort to give him.

Eric made a strange, strangled noise and then ran. In an instant he was gone, leaving nothing but the bright afterimage of his glow burned into my eyes.

“I’m going after him,” said Rhys, and in a heartbeat he had ‘zerked and gone.

I sat alone on the porch swing, waiting for Rhys to return and wishing that I had never gotten out of bed today. What was I supposed to do?

I loved Rhys, not Eric.

The problem was that I had seen the other side of Eric. He had let me see past the jokes and bravado to the man who hated himself for the horrible things he had done, who had loved a woman so deeply that her death had scarred him forever.

He had trusted me, confided in me. Now that trust was gone, and I had a feeling that nothing would ever make it whole again. Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I felt as if I had somehow betrayed him and violated his confidence. Intellectually, I knew it was a stupid thought born out of empathy and sorrow for his pain, but it was a hard feeling to repress.

Minutes passed, then an hour, and still Rhys hadn’t returned. I was about to go back inside when I felt a Berserker approaching.

Rhys came around the side of the house and turned off the ‘zerk. He shook his head in answer to my unasked question.

“I couldn’t find him,” he said. “He’s gone.”

***

For the next several days the Berserkers searched for Eric. His disappearance wasn’t something we could keep hidden, although we didn’t tell them why he had run off. I was pretty sure Mallika and Kara suspected, but thankfully they didn’t ask or tell.

On Thursday after school, Rhys and I went to the Berserker house for my Binder training. The house was unnaturally subdued, and the atmosphere felt extremely tense, as if we were all holding our breath and waiting.

Kara and I went into the mirrored room, but once we got in there I could see that something was wrong. She looked tired and even more pale than usual. Red blotches covered her neck and she seemed to be having difficulty breathing.

I helped her over to a chair and made her sit down. She looked like she was about to pass out.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

At first she didn’t respond, and her head lolled on her shoulders as if she had just lost consciousness. I gently patted her cheeks until she opened her eyes.

“Are you ok?” I asked. “What’s going on?”

“Eric. Something is really wrong with him.”

“What do you mean? What kind of wrong? Is he in danger?”

Kara shook her head. “I don’t think so, at least not yet.” She seemed to gather her strength and sat up straighter. “I can feel him through our connection. I always could when he was close, but not like this. He’s in pain, Madison. I’ve never felt him upset like this.” She reached out a hand and touched my arm. “I think he’s looking for Osadyn.”

My insides suddenly went cold. The moment she said it, I knew it was true. This is how he dealt with pain – drowning it out by seeking danger.

“But he won’t be able to find Osadyn, right?” I asked. “They’ve been searching for months without any luck, so there’s no way he could find him by himself.”

But I could tell from the frightened expression on Kara’s face that my theory was flawed.

“It doesn’t work that way,” she said. “When Berserkers are in a group the Havocs are more likely to run than fight. Three or more Berserkers together are too much of a threat. A single Berserker half out of his mind would be too tempting to pass up.”

The ride back to my house with Rhys was pretty quiet. I didn’t want to talk about Eric, but right now everything else felt trivial and superficial.

The lights were on and my dad was sitting on a rocking chair on the front porch when we pulled into the driveway. When I saw the look on Dad’s face, I knew something was wrong. My mind raced through all the possibilities as I jumped out of the Rover and ran up the driveway.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

But Dad hardly seemed to notice me. His eyes were fixed on something behind me, and he strode past me to Rhys.

Then Dad pulled back his fist and punched Rhys in the face.

I heard a crack. Rhys staggered backwards, clearly taken off guard.

For a moment I was too stunned to do anything but watch, but when Dad pulled back his fist for another hit, I moved in to pull him away.

“I trusted you!” Dad shouted at Rhys. I pulled him back, easily slipping into a pre-zerk. “And this is how you repay me, by seducing my daughter?”

Cold fear enveloped me. Dad knew.

Almost immediately, the fear was replaced by anger. I never had been very good at letting people tell me what to do, and this was no exception.

“What are you talking about?” I shouted. “No one seduced me.”

“This.”

From out of his pocket Dad pulled a photograph showing Rhys and I kissing beside my locker. We hadn’t kissed very much at school – both of us were rather private – but clearly someone had photographed one of our rare public moments and sent the evidence to my dad.

“You disgust me,” Dad said, and I had to tighten my grip to keep him from lunging at Rhys. “You may look like a teenager, but we both know you’re really an old man.”

Rhys recoiled as Dad hurled accusations, each one seeming to cause him physical pain. His eyes had widened and I could see that this was exactly the kind of reaction he had feared.

“Scottie, I...”

“You’re what? Sorry? Sorry doesn’t cut it. You crossed a boundary, and we both know it.” Dad shuddered with barely contained rage. “You know, I can still remember all the talks we had back in the day about how you had lost your soulmate and would never love again. Too bad I didn’t know what kind of sleaze you would turn into; I wouldn’t have bothered to listen to your lies.”

“Stop it!” I shouted. “Stop saying these awful things that just aren’t true. You have no idea what’s going on and you have no right to judge.”