Part 33 (1/2)

”What? No, I thought you-”

”No. I have to Cure him. He knows things...help me over there.”

A frown crossed John's face but he didn't hesitate or question her. He half lifted, half slid her to the dead soldier and then stood back as she placed a shaking hand on his cheek.

She wasn't prepared for the tremendous shock when her flesh touched his. The p.r.o.ne body spasmed and her hand flew back. A searing pain erupted in her face and scalp, worse even than the sharp bite of the bullet wound he'd suffered.

”Turn him on his back,” she gasped, fighting not to cry from the scalding fire digging into her skin. She prayed she never experienced burns like his, not if this was even half of what it felt like.

John s.h.i.+fted the soldier whose head wound was healed and his face unmarked.

The man's eyes opened.

”Who do you work for?” she asked him. ”Who told you about me?”

The man stared blankly at her. His mouth opened. A trickle of drool ran over his lip and down his neck.

”Uh-uh-uh...” He stopped and then smiled. At the same time, he let go a loud fart. His smile grew wider, but there was no humor in it. Only satisfied pleasure.

”Dammit!” Leah backed away. She wanted to slap the man, kick him, punch him until he spoke.

Except she knew he never would.

Chapter Seven.

Leah stared at the man she'd Cured and silently cursed the G.o.ds who'd given her an imperfect Power.

”What the h.e.l.l's wrong with him?” John asked.

It took her a moment to regain her composure before she could answer.

”His brain. I Cured the bullet wound, and everything else that was wrong with him. Brought him back from the G.o.dd.a.m.ned dead. But his brain...even though the cells were healed, they weren't the originals, the ones with his memories, his personality. He's alive, but he's...”

”A vegetable,” John finished.

”Yeah. I guess repairing a brain isn't like repairing other organs, even for me.”

She started to get to her knees, almost losing her balance in the process. John held out his hand to her but she pulled away.

”Don't touch me. I've still got his injuries inside me, and I don't know how long I can hold them in check.”

”So give them back.” John poked the man with his foot and the soldier stared at the spot for a second before returning his gaze to the ceiling. More drool had puddled on his neck and the floor beneath him.

”No.” Lea pushed herself to her feet, using one of the consoles for support. ”I won't kill an innocent man. And he's about as innocent as they come.”

Keeping one hand on the countertop to steady herself, she placed her other hand against the center of the equipment, felt the muted hum of the electronics through her palm.

”Energy comes in many forms, but in the end it's all just energy.” A professor had said that many years ago, during one of her college physics cla.s.ses.

Oh my G.o.d. Could it be that simple?

She let the death and pain flow out, the same as if she were pa.s.sing on a terminal illness to an already doomed animal.

Sparks exploded from the console and the video screens shattered. There was a series of m.u.f.fled pops! from the computer drives. At the same time, all the lights in the room and the hallway went dark.

Somewhere deeper in the building, alarms began to sound.

”d.a.m.n!” came John's voice from the darkness. ”Did you do that?”

”I think so.”

Leah felt inside herself. No trace of pain in her head, no acid fire on her skin. She'd done it! More than anything she'd learned about herself, more than any of the new Powers she had gained, this one ability was the greatest thing that could have ever happened to her.

”John, do you know what this means?” She reached for him in the dark, felt his doing the same. They clasped hands. ”I pa.s.sed those wounds into the computer system. From now on, when I Cure an animal, I don't have to kill something else!”

”That's great,” he said, and she could tell he meant it. But there was something else in his voice, an urgency. ”Right now we have to get the h.e.l.l out of here.”

She nodded and let him lead her out of the room, but her mind was still on the major transformation in her life. She'd always felt so guilty every time she killed something, even though the sacrifices were animals that were too old, too sick for her to Cure without raising suspicion. But she'd had to; there'd been no other options, not if she wanted to Cure at all.

For all those years she'd consoled herself by rationalizing it as the circle of life: animals lived and died, it was the natural order of things. She wasn't playing G.o.d by Curing her patients, she was merely making that circle of life last longer. The same thing doctors and people had been trying to do since the dawn of civilization.

And now? It was a question with as many possibilities as the branching corridors John was guiding them through, and filled with just as many dangers.

Her first thought was that she'd be able to Cure every animal that came to her, regardless of its diagnosis. Except that would quickly lead to complications. People wondering how their dying pets suddenly had completely recovered. Dogs and cats that were healthy and young well beyond the time they should have died from old age. Complications like that would bring more unwanted attention, which, in turn, would lead to situations just like the one she was in.

And you're not unstoppable, she reminded herself. Look at what that soldier did, paralyzed you with a single shot.

Of course, he hadn't used an ordinary weapon, The flash of light and strange sound told her the gun had to use some kind of laser or sonic disruption-or maybe a combination of both-to temporarily jumble a person's synapses. And who knew what other weapons the military might have developed? After all, it was what they did for a living.

John broke her train of thought by roughly pulling her into a doorway.

”Ssshhh.” It came out as a whispered hiss.

Leah pressed her back against the door and listened for whatever he'd heard. Scattered red emergency lights set in the ceiling turned the hallway into a corridor to h.e.l.l, their dim glow ensuring a potential enemy could be dangerously close before you could see them.

Then, over the thump of her own pulse in her ears, she heard the sound of footsteps.

Someone was coming!

Leah let go of John's hand, prepared to defend herself-defend both of them-if she had to.

And then froze.

Because she had no idea what she would do or how she would do it. Would her Power still work at a distance? Did she have to Cure before she could Kill? Would her previous supernatural form manifest itself if needed?

In that moment, she realized her biggest weakness was her own mind. A simple hesitation was all an enemy would need to put her down the way that soldier had.