“Project Seven?” I asked, bewildered.
“Yes, there are seven of you total; your four half-sister’s, Asia, you, and little Madison, make seven. Project Seven…well, I guess he didn’t call it that, my father referred to it as Project Spitfire. It was the creation and harnessing of elemental powers in human beings. He spent years trying to solve the equation of creating the next level human specimen. Hell, he even drove the family to bankruptcy before a lucky lawsuit made my family rich beyond our wildest dreams. Anyways, he was obsessed with finding someone like you, Max.”
“I guess I should be flattered.”
“Not exactly. You see, he couldn’t find anyone like you, so he created…you,” Avery stopped talking abruptly.
“What?” I spit. Asia watched me hard.
“My father used all his research, all his manpower, to create the next evolutionary human level. And one of those men he used was your father.”
“That’s not possible…” I gasped.
“He never told you about his job before you were born, did he? Your dad was employed by my old man, and when he heard that the Valentine’s were expecting their first born, my genius of a father offered your dad an ultimatum…test his latest elemental serum on his expecting wife’s unborn child or lose his job, his house, his way of life. Great guy, my father, wasn’t he?” Avery slapped his leg with a hearty snort.
“That’s not true!” I shouted.
“It was hard times back then, Max, a young father couldn’t lose such a stable job, especially when he was about to bring a bouncing baby boy into this world.”
“I don’t believe you…” I growled. Even though all of it was starting to make sense, my father’s distant attitude, his refusal to discuss the past. He wasn’t punishing me all these years after Mia’s tragic death, he was punishing himself…because it was his fault. My curse was his fault. I almost fell over with my lungs grasping for air.
“Yes you do. You have to believe me because it’s one hundred and ten percent, true.” He relaxed his stance a bit and continued. “Well, my old man died before he had proof that his serum worked and you and your powers kind of went unnoticed for about a decade. Your dad flew under the radar by keeping you moving and such. New town, new job, new life…that sound about right? That is, until that fateful day on the snow-covered mountainside in California when a drunk driver decided to make your…ahem…special talents, public for the world.”
I thought I was going to throw up, and took a small step backwards. I almost tripped over Madi who was still using Asia and I as a shield. When I looked down at her I saw my little sister’s face. Mia and her pigtails stared back at me and I was sure I would pass out. Avery continued his monologue as the world started spinning.
“Your secret was out, Max. Except for the added bonus that you could heal living things with that fiery touch of yours, but I guess that didn’t materialize until later,” he shrugged, smug and despicable.
“You sure do know a lot about Max’s youth, but how?” Asia stepped in and asked.
“Easily, Ms. Michaels. When Max’s secret became public information that afternoon my company, or what was still left at the time, came to collect him. When they tried to take Max from the hospital his father was able to strike a deal with them. His families freedom for Max’s blood.” Avery found my painful eyes, quickly.
“Oh God, I remember that…I remember them taking way too many blood tests…it didn’t make sense to me, but my dad told me it was normal.” I swallowed hard, and continued. “My father tried to do the right thing at the worst possible moment in our families history and I never understood. Instead of saving his family, it tore us apart. Mia died, my mother left us, and I was an uncontrollable monster…” With a stream of hot air, I fell to my knees and the world went black.
In the blackness came a comforting voice.
“Get up, Son.”
“Dad?” I cried, immediately.
“Yes, Max, it’s me.” He smiled. His face was exactly how it looked when I was a kid. He shared so many of the features of his older brother, Frank. Same color hair, same wrinkles around their eyes, same smile.“I need you to get up, Max.”
“What? I can’t. I’m done.”
“That’s not true. You have so much more to do. Now, reach down deep and find the strength you’ve always had inside of you. Trust the pain, Max,” he whispered.
“What did you say?” I couldn’t believe he used the same phrase Uncle Frank had been haunting me with all these years.
“You heard me.” He winked, and suddenly his face changed into Frank’s, and with another quick smile, it returned to my father’s face.
“Dad? It was you this whole time, wasn’t it?” I asked, in a fit of tears and sobs. He reached out and embraced me tightly.
“Yes, my son. I’m always here for you…”
My body began to shake violently, and I couldn’t see my father anymore. It sent me into a panic.
“Dad!” I called out into the black of my dream. His voice rumbled back to me with one last insight.
“I never ever left. I love you, my son.”
With a shot of adrenaline to my chest, I sat up from the wet and dirty ground. Asia was standing above me with her hands on my chest and electricity still spiderwebbed between her fingers.
“Max, wake up, we need you!” she pleaded. Asia had Madi right next to her and she was crying uncontrollably with her big green eyes.
Standing up in a mild fog, I grumbled, “He’s here.”
“Who?” Asia asked. looking at me like I was still dreaming.
“My father…”
Asia caressed my face, not sure what to say, when Avery butted back in. “Ahh…great! You’re back! Sheesh, you had us all worried there for a moment,” he joked. Asia shot him a deadly look and the sky rumbled with fresh thunder.
Looking at his watch again, Avery mumbled, “I really need to speed this up, Max.”
Asia came alive with hate. “The girls! How do they fit into all of this?”
“That blood they collected from Max, well, they spliced it with other compatible donors and fertilized willing patients.” A smile plastered onto his evil face as he reveled in his words.
“Donors?” I mumbled, still fuzzy.
“You know, they fused your DNA with some baby making materials from other test subjects and impregnated blank embryos and inserted them into a host mother. The first year they created the twin girls, the next year another baby girl, and the following year, one last girl.” He shook his head, and said, “Apparently, your DNA doesn’t make boys. We haven’t figured that out yet.”
“Impossible,” I said.
“The proof is right there.” Avery pointed behind him again with the remote detonator still glued to his hand. “You’ve seen it for yourself, they each carry a unique gift. But not as unique as your flesh and blood daughter.” His mouth carved into a frightening grin.
“I’ll die before I let you take her!” I promised. Asia slid next to me and we shared a glance of courage. Our bodies became a wall of protection around my Madi.
“Yeah…probably.” Avery snapped his fingers and his cronies adjusted their guns and pulled their triggers.
THIRTY-THREE: SHATTERED
~ Shatter Me: Lindsey Sterling (featuring Lzzy Hale) ~
Fire. It was all I’ve known for too long. A deadly gift, but tonight, it would become so much more. It would become my shield. I spun my arms in a giant circle in front of Asia and I, and it enclosed with intense flames. The many rounds shot from the firearms before us, melted within my protective sphere of fire. Bullet after bullet sunk into the bubbling fire until their guns were empty. With a shove of my hands, the umbrella of fire launched forward, and slammed into the men. They fell backwards in charred heaps of ash and bone. Avery dove out of the way just in time, and smacked his head on the ground. The small trigger to his bomb fell into the mud and he cussed with ferocity.
Asia ran off, heading directly for the pa
rked helicopter and her unconscious girls. I would have joined her, but Madi decided to play the hero and jumped in front of me. Her little fists were alive again with fire that dripped a trail back to me. With all her strength, she leapt into the air and smashed her burning hands into the puddle in front of Avery’s muddy face.
“Take that!” she cheered, as the remote exploded into a dozen pieces across the ground.
“No!” Avery called out. He found his way to his feet swiftly, and rushed Madi. She turned and ran uphill for Asia and the chopper. He caught her by the ankle and she slammed into the mud.
“Madi!” I screamed. My legs pushed me up the hill with my head in flames. Before I could reach them both, Avery dragged Madi back to him and slapped her across her face. Madi fell back onto her butt, and I saw red. With all my might I barreled into his stomach, and let my flames go. The sizzle of his flesh falling away was sick in my ears.
“I’ll kill you!” I declared. Avery wilted under my wrath. I pulled one burning fist into the air above him and targeted his heart in his chest. With gritted teeth, I brought my arm down with all my strength, but with one sentence, I stopped my attack.
“Don’t kill him!” Madi called to me, and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Madi?” I mumbled, and found her bruised and bloodied face. She wiped at her swollen skin and it quickly disappeared.
“You’re better than him,” she said, with tears in her eyes. She was right. I didn’t need to kill him to stop him. He was the scum of the Earth, but he deserved my mercy. From a over my shoulder Asia waved for me to hurry up. She had secured the helicopter and the girls, and wanted us to join her as fast as possible. The volcanic hillside was anything but stable.
My hand returned back to normal and I punched Avery across the face just like he had my daughter, and he looked as if he had passed out in the puddle beneath me. I gathered Madi and we both ran up to meet Asia at the door of the copter.
“Max,” she spoke, urgently. “The girls are okay but we need to get out of here, now.” I nodded in agreement and began to load Madi into a free seat. When I did, a red light flashed from the corner of my eye. Still attached to the side of the helicopter was the explosive. It was actually bolted on with a steel clamp and long screws. There was no way to remove it without the right tools.
“Oh no…” I exhaled, and looked back down the hill where we had left Avery in a pile of unconsciousness. He was now back on his feet and smiling aggressively. In his bloodied hand was a second remote. With a wave he pushed the trigger button and ducked down.
“No!” Asia hollered. There was no time to run, no time to save the girls… I had only one choice. As soon as the red light stopped blinking, I had powered up and ripped the chunk of melting metal from the side of the helicopter.
I turned and lunged back down the hill when it exploded inside my arms.
TWO HOURS LATER…
Midnight - 12:01 a.m. - June 19th
My sight was smeared with dirt and blood and I didn’t even recognize Madi’s voice as she screamed from above me in slow motion. Her eyes were pushing out of their sockets in fear and her arms yanked at my shoulders. I looked around to find a large chunk of the volcano was now gone. Orange and red lava peeked from the top, ready to spill its angry soup over the edge.
“Give me your hands!” Madi ordered, in complete panic. Madi’s face looked as if she had just woken from a long hangover, and I was now hanging over the edge of a fresh crevice in the side of the mountain. I searched the scene some more and noticed the helicopter was no longer there, and neither was Avery. From what I could tell he had escaped again. I didn’t see Asia or the girls, and it overwhelmed me with worry. Apparently the explosion had knocked Madi and I unconscious, and by the look of the black sky it had been a few hours ago. The explosion must have unearthed a massive sinkhole near the top of the volcano and I somehow found my way into it. Hole-in-one, I guess.
The dirt under my arms and belly were made up of volcanic rock and blood. That’s when I realized I had three large gashes in my neck and chest. I was a bloodied mess and my daughter was trying to pull me out of this dangerous pit.
“I can’t breathe…” I gasped and gulped, as the pain finally caught up with me. Madi started to shake in fear.
I kept slipping farther down, just as she’d get her hands on me.Damn it, I can’t give up.Not this time. I can’t let go. The torrential rain was back and it felt like knives on my burned skin. By the smell of the storm, Asia had to still be alive…and close. The wind scratched at my eyes, drying the leftover tears along my cheeks. The crispy ground I clung to was shaking with such force again, that it took all my strength to hold onto it. I was fading fast. If the tremors got any worse, then I would surely be thrown away from this mountain.
“Damn it!” I cursed. The sight of lava-soaked carnage was everywhere. Its sulfur stench started to turn my stomach. Madi choked on the putrid smell. I tried with all my might not to let her see the sickening feeling on my face. She reached for me again, but I was still too far for her skinny arms. I ground my teeth together and pushed myself upward. One arm forward, one leg higher. Step by painful step.
“I’m coming!” I screamed louder, only inches away again, but the monstrous mountain roared with new life. A rainbow painted streak of lightning rippled along the edge of the volcano sending smoke and ash into the sky. The devastation stabbed at the corner of my eyes, blinding me in the process. With a grunt, I pushed my body forward, and steadied my sight again. Smoke rolled from my shoulders like a locomotive. That was a good sign, I still had a little juice left in me.
“Max!” Madi wailed again, only this time her voice cracked into silence. It killed me to hear her like that. I had to try harder…for her. My one true love. My everything. My soul.
KABOOM!
Another eruption, another nail in the coffin. A wall of ruby fire cut its way between us, shooting themselves into the black and stormy sky. Madi’s terrified face was replaced by the bright red and black fiery blockade and it pulled toward me as if I was an extra-absorbent fire sponge. Chunky smoke slid into my throat, followed by the hottest of Mother Nature’s infernos. As the volcanic explosion ripped into me with absolute power, my skin instinctively absorbed the explosion before it sent me flying backwards over the hole I was once trapped in. I crashed into the dark rain soaked mud. I tried to get up quickly as the ground shifted under me. I looked for Madi in complete disarray. Suddenly, a giant crack appeared in front of me, revealing the throbbing veins of molten lava below. I glared in absolute shock.
“Oh, shit,” I coughed, as my body’s innate fires controlled the swirling flames around me. Brilliant fire twisted through the heavy air, zigzagging back and forth in a dizzying display. With a tight fist, I slammed the flames into the ground, making them disappear in a violent puff of smoke.
“Max!” Madi called again. My head whipped toward her scream. Her face fell white in horror as the trembling ground below her crumbled away. She fell from my view, over the edge of the fire breathing pit that now existed where she had been standing. My heart stopped and I lunged forward. Streaks of whitish-blue flame trailed from my head and shoulders. My hands ignited into burning gloves of fire.
“No!” I cursed, as my body shot forward like a missile. My fingers stretched outward, reaching for her…any part of her. I would not lose her again. I could not lose her again. I’d rather die.
In a hysteria, I demanded, “Hold on!”
“Help!” she begged, dangling from the tips of my fiery fingers. With a gulp of air I pull back the flames along my hands, trying not to burn her clothes. As my legs gave out, my body slammed to the harsh and charred dirt, and I got my first real look at nightmare we were now in.
“Oh no, not again,” I mumbled, as the familiar sight of my true love dangled from my weakening hand over the edge of this exploding mountain.
The drop was so far down I couldn’t make any sense of the actual distance. It was such a long fall that the
ground was blurry and dark. This new crater must go all the way down to the core of the volcano. Wind swept along Madi’s hair and face reminding me of the exact moment I lost my little sister years before. I would not let the same fate befall my daughter.
With a shake of my head, I chased the paralyzing memory away for a split-second. Digging my knees and elbows into the ground, I tried to pull her to me. It was no use though, my grip was too slippery from sweat and blood. Quickly, I slithered forward on my belly, biting the terror down in my throat. I couldn’t lose Madison, not like this.
“Look at me,” I called to her. “Look into my eyes. Don’t look down!” She twisted slowly in my hand, nodding up to me with her eyes half closed. “I got you. I promise.”
“Hurry!” she huffed, in a thick cough. The volcanic fumes were crowding both our lungs now. I felt a wretch building in the pit of my stomach.Damn it, focus, Max!
At that horrifying moment things became a whole lot worse.
In the distance the sound of the circling blades of Asia’s helicopter grew closer. My heart doubled in my chest. Was it Asia? Was it Avery? Could he have survived the explosion and retaken the helicopter? Had he found us? He would never let us go. From below me Madi panicked as the new sound found her as well.
“Help me!” Madi begged.
I ignored the incoming chopper and held my breath. With my strength fading I reached down with my free hand, locking it around both of hers. Her fingers were cooling themselves in shock and they barely locked around my other hand. My grip was tight but not tight enough to pull her up. Suddenly, the helicopter buzzed the air above me, sending a torrent of wind and debris into me. I managed to catch a glimpse of the pilot and inside was Avery at the controls.