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Chapter 18 – Bitter Justice

Smoke billowed heavily into the fading light sky as the van swerved to a deadly stop. It toppled over itself several times before landing upon its hood. Flickering lights of torrent flames engulfed the golden initials. Hisses and squeals of heating glass beckoned for rescue, but no one approached. A large cracking sound erupted into the stillness of the abandoned road. A shadow leapt into the twilight while the back door tumbled off. The figure stumbled to the ground. He coughed heavily, struggling to breathe deeply.

He glanced upward, listening to an approaching sound. He lay still, waiting for the sound to come near him. The darkness plunged against the backdrop, surrounding him in darkness. He groped for some kind of weapon to protect himself, finding a large piece of glass that had broken away from the van. One single beam poured into his eyes. He squinted, crouching deeply against the road.

“Kevin!” Jamelet called out as she gripped tightly to his back. The bitter winds scraped against her reddening cheeks. She watched in shock as the vehicle before them exploded. A tire went flying into the air amidst the toiling of flames. “KEVIN! WATCH OUT!” she screeched as Kevin’s eyes were preoccupied with the launched tire.

He never saw the figure lying upon the road. Jamelet smacked him squarely on the shoulder, drawing his attention downward. Kevin gasped as he swerved. A bolt of electricity surged past Kevin’s head as the bike fell. Jamelet instantly hit the road, sliding several feet upon the gravel as Kevin hit the embankment. His arm ached as the handle bar folded against it. Kevin cursed out as everything went silent.

“GET UP!” a voice screamed toward Jamelet. She moaned softly in agony, feeling her body for bruises. She was roughly seized upward by hands. She gasped in shock as she stared into a deadly pair of yellow illuminated eyes. She couldn’t form the words within her mouth as a trail of metallic blood trickled down the corner of her lips. She trembled as she heard the footsteps of another person.

“DON’T HURT HER!” Kevin’s voice shouted.

Suddenly, the shadow dropped her. Her body slammed to the ground with tremendous force. She gasped for a breath of air as the two shadows before her met. Both stared into each other’s eyes. Jamelet saw a faint glow of red burning in Kevin’s eyes. She covered her ears, waiting for a clash of murderous intent. “Kevin,” the shadow that had seized Jamelet whispered faintly. She craned her neck to get a better look at the figure. Something seemed familiar about him.

“Howie?” Kevin called out in complete shock.

Howie’s eyes adjusted quickly, seeing the faint lines of Kevin’s smile. The glowing emeralds of Kevin’s irises made Howie’s body flood with happiness instead of anger. Everything suddenly glowed with a newfound sight. Howie’s eyes burst with bright yellow illumination. He could see Kevin perfectly. His eyes formed runny tears as he leaned forward to embrace the older man in a tight hug. “I thought all of you were dead!” Howie exclaimed, his hands still tingling from the surges of electricity.

“We thought you were dead!” Kevin exclaimed, hugging Howie fiercely. “What happened to you?”

“That crazy man!” Howie blurted, his eyes still glowing.

“What man?” Kevin asked in confusion.

“Guys?” Jamelet called out weakly. Her head was spinning with confusion. Throbbing pain invaded her arms from the road rash. Howie and Kevin immediately bent down and scooped Jamelet up from the road. Howie immediately pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. “Howie, I’m glad to see you, too.”

“I’m so glad you’re all right!” Howie enthused.

“Me, too.”

“Were you with the girls?” Howie asked, glancing to see Kevin wince.

“They were taken away,” Jamelet whispered.

“Ana’s caught, too,” Howie replied with guilt.

Jamelet’s eyes grew wide in complete shock. Her throat went raw, knowing how difficult it was to maintain Ana’s behavior. The child was wild. She was hardly contained in the original building of CAPPA. She knew that Cyrus was like a serpent, and would bite Ana if she got out of control. Jamelet brought her hands to her mouth. “Is she okay?” she immediately asked.

“Pissed would be the better word,” Howie answered as Kevin retrieved the fallen bike. Kevin wheeled the bike slowly to the couple. He stared at Howie with confusion. Howie sighed. “She and I were taken away by this crazy man. He threw me into a dungeon and had me whipped. I passed out, but I woke up and found that I could cure my scars. My powers grew intensely! I can see in the dark, heal myself, and screw up any electrical current. I glow, and blind people… It’s amazing, so I had a chance to get out. I tried to get Ana out, but that son of a bitch, Mr. Steeles, locked her into—”

“Mr. Steeles?” Jamelet interrupted with complete horror.

“Yes, why?” Howie frowned.

“You were in Mr. Steeles’ house?”

“Yeah.”

“And Ana is there at this exact moment?”

“Yes,” Howie replied again, feeling lost.

“Jamelet, what does that have to do with anything?” Kevin urged.

“Ana is in serious trouble if she’s at that psycho’s house! He has always been seriously disturbed since he brought my father in to create CAPPA. We need to find Ana, we need to get the boys, we need to get the girls… But…” Jamelet felt tears begin to trickle down her cheeks. Her head pounded with fierce pain. She felt dizzy as she grabbed onto Howie’s upper arm, steadying herself. Kevin quickly looped his arms around Jamelet’s waist.

“We need to rest. C’mon, Howie. Let’s duck into the woods to hang out until daylight. Jamelet, hold onto me, sweetheart,” Kevin pulled Jamelet against his side. He stared at the burning embers left from the wreckage. He gave Howie a short glare, “And you’re going to tell me how the Hell you managed to toast all those CAPPA men.”

*~*~*

Ana paced back and forth within her large room like a caged lion that had just been thrown out of the African lands. Her eyes burned with fury as she waited for a visitation from Mr. Steeles. He had just chipped away her icy protective cage, and thrown her immediately into her room. He would not visit her until he calmed himself. Ana let her mind draw backward to the window, staring out at the icy blizzard she had created. Huge amounts of snow hugged the swaying trees. Some trees had completely cracked in two from the huge boulders of hail. Snow still stuck against the freezing ground. Her anger had not subsided.

Her mind drifted toward Howie. Her anger boiled within her soul as she sat perched in her bay window. He had left her to survive. He had left without her. Nothing mattered anymore, because she knew how life would treat her. She would remain in this frozen prison with only the psychotic old man to tend to her heart. Howie would go off and live his life in full contented bliss, and she would starve without love or nurturing.

“Son of a bitch,” Ana hissed in complete disturbance. She pulled away from the window, tripping against the long lavender skirt Mr. Steeles had placed her in. She muttered another curse, loathing the elegant dresses she was to wear. She wished for her favorite faded jeans with the ripped knees. She had met Howie in those jeans.

Her mind surged and conjured a soft picture of Howie. He smiled at her through the misty haze of her memory. Ana frowned, tugging at her skirt. She began to pray that God would take Howie’s life. She wanted him to be caught within her turbulent storm. She looked for something to trash to control her rage. She bent down, grasping the book she had kept from Mr. Steeles’ library. She was about to hurl it against her large window, hoping for some minor salvation, but stopped when a small piece of paper fluttered from its dirty pages.

Curiously, Ana bent down and scooped the small piece of paper from the soft white carpet. She peeled it away from itself, exposing a small clip of text. She hurried to her white desk, sitting down. Carefully she began to scan the reading. She furrowed her flaxen eyebrows together in confusion. Softly, she read aloud from the book: “Guardian of Ice can often become vicious and tenacious. She will never bow to the powers of those stronger than her, because she will often overcome. Her mind is superior, and crafted with the hands of her Loving Father. She was made to follow the Divine Guide. She will always prevail against Evil, unless Evil succumbs to the wickedness of below. The Guardian of Sun will be her only weakness, because he owns her heart. He has been given her heart since the very existence of time. He was made to guide her along with their Heavenly Father. He will melt her cold heart, weakening her mind’s strength. The only way to tame the Ice Guardian is to expose the Guardian of the Sun to danger. He of the sun will guide her, manipulate her, and might cause the destruction of Earth.”

Ana’s mind throbbed with new knowledge. Many words became smudged from the olden state of the paper. She peered at the last words. Her eyes grew wide in surprise when the text became clear: ‘The Guardian of Sun will not have all the powers of the sun. Remember, he is the guardian. He will expose the night with his eyes, light up the world, and control the electric powers of each division.’

“Howie…Howie has the electricity, and I…I have ice?” Ana asked herself in confusion. Her hands began to tremble with the revelations before her. She prepared to stand up, but found a force of power lying heavily on her shoulders, forcing her to the ground. The old paper was snatched away from her hands as she stared at the ceiling. A silver pistol pointed at her face, Mr. Steeles laughing menacingly as he picked up the book.

“Child, why must you fight me?” Mr. Steeles sighed heavily. Ana grunted as a large leather boot was pressed tightly against her throat. She stared into Mr. Steeles’ cold eyes. He had brought in a guard to subdue her. She looked longingly at the book, craving the knowledge it contained. Mr. Steeles frowned when he noted she was not looking at him. “Princess, I am speaking to you!”

“And I’m listening,” she growled.

“You are quite feisty.”

“I am quite pissed!”

“Why did you take my book, Anastacia?”

“You told me I could go to the library, that’s what you do in the library, isn’t it, Master? Look at books?” she growled, fed up with the cruelty. She reached up and clamped her hands tightly against the guard’s leg. It didn’t take long for the man’s leg to turn dark blue. He screamed in agony as the ice seeped into his blood stream, covering his leg. He fell backward, clawing at his leg like a rabid beast. The leg began to seep with pus as he screamed for the pain to stop.

Ana jumped upward, holding her hands out threateningly to Mr. Steeles. He recoiled in utter shock. He backed up instantly, clutching the ancient book to his chest. His eyes grew wide with surprise. “You know better, Anastacia. If you kill me, this entire home will fill with gas. You will die before you know the touch of that blasted man that escaped. You will never see him again, Anastacia!” Mr. Steeles warned.

“Why should I care?” she asked, her body tingling from the thrill of the screaming man. Her heart ached for more destruction, and for a means of escape. Her lips curved into a wry smile, knowing that she had finally gained the upper hand. She reached out to grasp Mr. Steeles by the throat, but her heart jerked. She gasped as an overwhelming essence draped into her soul. The power began to stroke her heart, beckoning her to do something else.

“You know very well, Anastacia—”

“SHUT UP!” Ana screamed, icy clouds of smoke billowing from her mouth. Her eyes began to glitter like cold white diamonds in the northern skies. As her eyes glowed, she focused upon the sensation of her heart. Her arms prickled with knowingness.

‘God. He’s calling upon me,’ Ana thought as the power continued to plead for an escape. She curled her hands into tight fists. Her lavender dress billowed against the cold temperatures as the man’s deafening screams were silenced. She imagined the temperatures dropping. Her mind wove against the idea as the clouds were summoned back from the sky. The lights within the room flickered as Ana recalled the large electricity lines that circled about the mansion. She conjured up the mental plans of the generators and series of electronics circling the cold estate. She brought her chin upward, as if she were looking to the sky. Instantly, a cold ice began to coil about the large power-lines. The lights flickered as the winds of the icy north howled for justice, and Ana’s world was quickly plunged into midnight darkness.