Nick James - Crimson rising

Cassius steps forward. I stand and grab his shoulder.

“Don’t go out there. You saw what he did to Morse and the others.”

“I’m not gonna let him.” He yanks from my grip and steps outside.

“Cassius!”

He ignores me. I glance back at the others before deciding to follow him into the darkness.

Theo’s eyes continue to pierce the moonlit Fringe landscape-pinpricks of red. He moves backward faster now, but never once looks away.

Cassius kicks up dirt in his relentless pace toward the boy. I stay a few steps behind.

Cassius’s left arm flies into the air. At first I think he’s giving me some sort of signal. I open my mouth to call out, but before I can say a word, something lifts his entire body from the ground and flings him to the side like a piece of trash. He hits the dirt several yards away. I back up as Theo’s eyes lock onto mine. My bracelet trembles. I reach over and pull it down to my side, right next to the cube of metal in my pocket.

Theo freezes. His arms lay limp at his sides. He takes short, repeated breaths. “I am already here,” he says. His eyes pulse against a backdrop of stars. “You… your brother, your friends. Everyone. They’re too late.”

I pull my bracelet behind my back. “Who are you?”

His lip trembles. “That Ridium around your arm. Your parents thought they were saving you. They were only buying you time.”

I lean in, trying to get a better look at his expression.

“Are you… are you Matigo?”

“No.”

“Then what-”

He closes his eyes. When they open again, the red flashes away. His mouth falls open. “Help me.”

I stare at him, fighting to understand what it is that I’m seeing. It’s like a switch flipped and he’s a different person again. He’s a twelve-year-old. A kid.

I take a step forward. “What do you mean?” Before he can respond, Cassius pulls himself to his feet.

Theo turns and notices him. His eyes widen. He pushes the hair from his face and balls his fists. Cassius does the same, coupled with torrents of fire that burst from his hands in bright explosions before the Fringe air swallows them up. Theo nearly loses his footing at the sight of it. He looks up to the stars, then back at Cassius. “How did you-”

Rather than finish his question, he turns and sprints away. I move forward but Cassius darts in front of me, blocking my way. “He’s mine,” he whispers. “Wait here. I’ll be back.”

“But-”

He takes off without another word. In seconds, he’s almost out of sight.

To hell with waiting. I take a deep breath and head after him.

Cassius watched Theo disappear into the darkness. The kid ran with incredible speed and endurance for someone who, moments before, had been staggering around.

He didn’t look back to see if Fisher had followed. He couldn’t lose Theo. If the stunners weren’t having effect any longer, Cassius needed to end this. Nobody could run for long in the Fringes without passing out, even at night. The kid would eventually run out of steam. He had to.

The ground sloped until it became a gentle hill of dry vegetation and boulders-hundreds of hiding places for nasty critters. Cassius remembered struggling through this same landscape in search for Fisher. Only back then, he’d been on his last legs. It was amazing what an old can of fruit could do.

He whipped through a row of prickly bushes, scraping his ankle but refusing to let it slow him down. All the time, he kept his eye on the small figure below him. Then he had an idea.

He spotted a rock, about the size of his fist, and scooped it into his hand as he continued down the hill. His line of vision was perfect. Theo wasn’t thinking strategy.

He coughed. His lungs were already parched, and filling with dust every time he took a breath. But he had a clear shot. He concentrated.

Winding up, he chucked the rock forward and watched as it connected with Theo’s shoulder. The force sent the kid crashing to the ground. Cassius knew it wouldn’t be enough to stop him cold, but it’d slow him down. He bounded to a sprint, almost tripping several times down the hill.

Theo rolled to the side and pushed up with his legs to flip to a standing position. His dirt-stained face tensed as he watched Cassius approach. He raised his fists.

Cassius tackled him. The two toppled to the ground, bashing against the warm dirt. Cassius went for Theo’s neck. Before he could reach it, the boy bit down on the side of his hand, hard enough to rip flesh. Cassius kneed him in the gut and rolled away, grabbing his bleeding hand. He staggered to a standing position, breathing heavy.

Theo lay still for a moment before recovering and pushing to his feet. “I’ll kill you, Stevenson.”

Cassius believed him. There was something insane- feral-hidden behind those eyes. It’d been there the entire time, forcing its way out in glimpses.

Theo tossed a fistful of dirt in Cassius’s eyes and lunged forward, punching the side of his face while he was blinded. Cassius slumped sideways before bending forward to catch himself.

Theo didn’t give him time. The moment Cassius was most vulnerable, he balled his fists together and brought them down on Cassius’s spine.

Cassius fell, face forward, to the earth. He could hear Theo’s breathing above him. Then he felt the boy’s boot connect with his side, clobbering his already injured torso. Again. Again.

“You’re an idiot!” Theo cried. “You’re stupid. Worthless. You’re a joke compared to me.”

He’d kick until he couldn’t move his leg anymore. Cassius knew it without even looking at the boy. He’d attack until the wound from earlier had reopened and Cassius bled to death. He was Madame’s boy. He was a killer.

Cassius hadn’t been all that different himself, before Seattle.

So he knew what he was fighting against. His instincts were right. Nothing but death would stop this kid.

He closed his eyes and focused. Each blow weakened him further. Hand to hand was pointless in the heat. Cassius only had one trick that Theo didn’t.

He clenched his fingers at his side. He tried to ignore the kicking, forget the physical pain and focus on what was happening internally. He summoned anger. Anger had worked in the past. And with everything that had happened, it wasn’t difficult to find inspiration.

After several false starts, he felt the warmth rise inside of him. It wasn’t like the heat of the Fringes. Instead of slowing him down, it gave him energy.

The flood built up-reserves strengthened by hours without a decent episode. He felt it come to the surface, ignite the veins down his arms, and teeter at the tips of his fingers.

He rolled to the side, exposing his stomach, and extended his fingers before Theo could kick again. A burst of fire streamed from his arms, so thick that it formed a wall between them. Cassius grit his teeth, expecting to hear howls of pain as the flames consumed the boy. His Unified Party training kicked in. He knew what he had to do. For himself, and for his friends.

Theo backed off. Fire engulfed him. Cassius watched the boy’s hands flail, but he didn’t scream.

Cassius pulled up to a crouching position, his entire body bruised and throbbing. Billows of smoke engulfed the air above Theo’s head. The fire dissipated. Theo swat at his face as if there were a hive of bees buzzing around him. He dropped to the ground and rolled in the dirt, smothering his flame-eaten clothes until the fire was put out. All the while, he stayed silent. Not even a little shriek.

Cassius stood and gripped his midsection, breathing hard. He watched Theo brush the dust from his clothes and jump to a standing position. He was unburned. Not even a mark.