Impact: Regenesis Part 7

The officer apologized. He mentioned that the body was at their morgue and that they wanted his permission to perform an autopsy. Paul told the officer it would be fine. The officer nodded and told him that they would be in touch shortly.

Paul shut the door after the man left. He remained silent for a moment before he finally yelled, "Get in here!"

Nick hastily wiped his tears away and walked into the room. He tried to control himself but knew Paul could see the redness in his eyes. Paul told him to walk with him as he headed to the kitchen for the beer Paul failed to get earlier. He offered Nick one but Nick refused.

Paul drank the first one quickly, opened the second bottle, drank half of it and stopped. He looked at Nick, who stood trembling. He muttered, "You heard then?"

Nick only nodded.

Paul glanced away and cursed to himself. He wiped off the lip of the bottle and offered it to his stepson, though Nick didn't move. Paul set it on their faded canary countertop while he took another beer from the fridge and helped himself.

"It's s.h.i.t," he continued. "Just s.h.i.t..."

Nick watched his stepfather finish another bottle and dash it on their laminate floor.

"Paul, wh-what the"

"Who thewhat kind of b.a.s.t.a.r.d off's a d.a.m.n English teacher?"

"I-I don't kn-kn-know P-Paul. I'm s-sorry."

Paul took the rest of the drink he set aside for Nick while he pressed his wide back against the yellowed refrigerator door and slid to the floor. He wouldn't stop shaking his head and he stared despondently at the floor. "What the h.e.l.l are we supposed to do now? What in the h.e.l.l..." he muttered quietly. "No money. No d.a.m.n money kid. What are we gonna do kid?"

Nick stood halted. Paul murmured the words over and over and over with what Nick thought were diminutive tears in his eyes. Paul shook and spilled his drink across the shattered amber fragments on the ground.

4:03 PM.

Both.e.l.l, Washington Ian sat out on the front steps of Drake's house. He trembled and hardly noticed Drake drive back up and into the driveway. The storm whipped rain into his face, but Ian hardly cared at that point since he was soaked to the bone. Thunder boomed overhead as Drake got out of his car and ran up to Ian.

He shouted through the storm, "Ian, what's wrong?" He walked over to him and looked at his friend. "You're soaked," he said, "Come on, let's get inside and"

"Victor's dead."

Drake stopped. He looked at Ian, "What are you talking about?"

He took a wavering breath and repeated his words. "Victor's dead."

Drake took a seat on the steps with him. "What happened?"

Ian slowly shook his head, "I'm not sure...We were talking, everything was normal, and then Nick..." he shook his head, "It looked like Nick, I'm sure it was..."

Drake questioned him, "What about Nick?"

"He shot him."

"Nick shot Victor?" Ian nodded. Drake looked away from him. He gave the situation a moment of thought and asked, "He looked like Nick?"

"Yes."

"Did he stutter?"

Ian shook his head, "He never said a word."

"Did he have his helmet or jacket?"

"No."

Drake let out a breath and said, "It wasn't Nick then."

Ian looked at him, "I saw him there Drake, I know"

"You don't know anything," Drake stopped him. "You're in shock Ian, you need to calm down."

"I know what I saw Drake," Ian barked, "He shot Victor and killed princ.i.p.al Summers as well."

"Then why are you alive?"

"I ran," he shouted. Ian stood up and took a few steps away from Drake, "I was terrified I mean Nick had a gun with him and killed two people!"

Lightning followed immediately by thunder shook both Drake and Ian. Ian nearly screamed, but maintained what little control he had over himself. Drake remained on the steps and tried to calm Ian down. "Ian, whatever you think you saw is wrong. Nick wouldn't kill his brother; he wouldn't kill anyone for that matter. He isn't capable of something like that."

Ian scowled, "How do you know that? What if he's been"

"Ian!" he yelled, "Nick didn't kill them."

"Why are you defending him?"

"Because I've known him almost as long as we've known each other and even though Nick's got a boat load of troubles, he'd never take it out on his brother."

"Why not?"

"Victor was the only thing in Nick's life that was able to help him deal with life at home," Drake explained. "Killing Victor wouldn't make sense. If Nick was going to kill anyone, which he wouldn't, he would have killed his stepfather Paul."

Ian glared at him, "How do you know that?"

"I've seen the way Paul treats Nick," Drake told him. "If my own father treated me that way I'd harbor ill will as well, but Nick somehow bears with all of the constant grief Paul gives him. Besides, I truly don't believe Nick is capable of killing anyone." Drake wiped the hair out of his face and continued, "Remember all the times we'd go out camping? He wouldn't even fish with us because he didn't want to have to kill the fish he'd catch. It was the same reason he'd never go hunting with us. Nick isn't capable of that level of harm on any living thing."

Ian looked away from Drake. He sighed, and asked, "Then who the h.e.l.l was that?"

Ian hardly spoke his last word when a bolt of lightning struck him in Drake's front yard. The incident happened in a fraction of a second, and once it was over, Drake hardly believed it happened.

Ian fell to the ground and Drake sprinted to his side. Drake tried to wake him but after a few seconds realized he needed to get Ian to a hospital. He picked Ian up and got him into his car. Drake didn't buckle in, check as he rapidly backed out of his driveway, or make a single stop as he drove to the nearest hospital he could immediately think of.

7:10 PM.

Kirkland, Washington Drake sat hunched forward in a chair in the lobby of the Evergreen Hospital. His father brought Ian's mother and sat with her on a sofa opposite Drake, who sat alongside Jordan. Jordan had only arrived minutes earlier and he reeked of something Drake recognized as marijuana. He was at the very least coherent, which relieved Drake. Jordan was the only drug user of their circle of friends and although none of them rejected him, Drake felt it didn't reflect well among their group or for them.

It'd been hours since Drake brought Ian into the emergency room. Ian seemed hardly alive at that point, but one of the doctors had informed them that he was stable and that he was breathing, however the doctor also said that Ian had slipped into a coma.

"He's going to be alright," Jordan said. Drake looked at him and saw the slight smirk on his face. "Ian's gonna walk right out of here as if nothing ever happened, like we always do whenever something bad happens. It'll be just like old times, nothing's changed. He'll be fine."

Drake nodded and tried to rea.s.sure himself of the same feeling. He clutched his phone in his hand and prayed silently for the display to illuminate and for Nick to call him. Drake couldn't get a hold of him. Nick's phone was off and a part of Drake believed that he didn't want to be reached. His brother was dead, and discovering one of his good friends was comatose on the same day wouldn't make matters any better.

Tony looked over at him and tried to ease his mind. "I'm sure he'll be here soon."

Drake shook his head, "No...no he won't."

Jordan looked puzzled, "Why wouldn't he?"

Drake glared at him, "Why do you think?"

Jordan's smile faded. He apologized, "I'm sorry. I keep forgetting that he's...that Victor's dead."

Tony took a breath and asked Drake if he'd left Nick any messages about what had happened.

"Yes, but that was about two hours ago after I called all of you."

"He's most likely grieving Drake," Tony told him. "We just need to give him some time and I'm sure he'll come in a few days."

"I know," he muttered. Drake looked at the doors he felt Ian was beyond and mumbled, "This all couldn't have come at a worse time."

Jordan got up out of his seat and walked around the room a bit. He briefly glanced at the magazines the hospital offered on the table, completely ignoring the children's magazines and the People and Time magazines, and selected an outdated one about foreign cars. He reclaimed his seat and thumbed through it. Ian's mother sat a seat away from Tony with her set of scriptures in hand. She read out of them to keep her mind off the incident and stopped only to listen to the doctor when he did bring them news, or to pray. Drake's father sat with them and had his phone off, which was a rarity. Drake knew his father needed to remain in contact with Jonathan Vane and others in his company at a moment's notice, but to see his dad completely remove himself from his work and to focus and sacrifice his time for something so personal; it only reminded Drake of how self-sacrificing his father could be.

Drake couldn't sit and wait anymore. He left his chair and walked out of the waiting room and into the main foyer to call Nick once more. He called him, let it ring five times, and it went to voicemail again. Drake sighed. "Nick, it's Drake again," he paused and let out a strained breath, "I'm sorry about your brother."

August 17th, 2029 5:30 AM.

Gaza, Palestine The morning never came easily for Hariz Shaheen. He lay in his bed alone, tired, and parched. His stomach felt as if it rubbed against itself, as it had ever since he was a much younger man, before he met the woman he eventually wed. She always liked to jest with him about his morning sickness and now that he was alone he missed those quips.

Hariz rubbed his dry eyes and once he mustered what little strength he had he removed the blanket and pulled himself to the edge of his small bed. He rubbed his rough face with his equally worn and calloused hands. It was quiet through his home as well as outside. None of his daughters were awake yet from what he could tell.

He stood and walked across the cold floor toward the front of his home. Once he reached his kitchen he found his eldest daughter awake at their kitchen table. Hariz claimed a drink from his refrigerator and after a moment asked his daughter why she was awake.

""

He frowned and asked if it was her headaches again. "

His daughter, Afifa, nodded, ""

Hariz took a heavy breath and suggested she see a doctor. ""

She shook her head. Hariz looked at her; she winced and beads of sweat perspired on her forehead. Afifa was suddenly very pale and began to tremble.

"

Her breathing raced and she kept her eyes shut tight. Hariz noticed sweat trickle down her face and just as he moved to help her Afifa jumped up and backed away from the table.

"

Afifa cried out and was suddenly enveloped in a flash of light that permeated the walls and fibers of their home. It lingered for a moment before it dissipated. Hariz found his sight was lost, as was his daughter. He called out for her but she never gave a reply.

Chapter 4.

August 17th, 2029 4:37 AM.

Paris, France Streetlamps illuminated the Pont Neuf, which Lauren felt was a lovely sight and had she been slightly more sober, and not felt a twinge of anxiety about being out at that hour, she would have enjoyed it that much more. She knew her parents would kill her if they found out she'd been gone so late, especially since she never told them of the party or the boy she was with.

Lauren's not-quite boyfriend David walked her home, though both of them were slightly tipsy and not exactly in the mood for the evening to end. David was a young man with curly brown hair he chose to wear down to his ears. He wore rather expensive designer clothes Lauren never believed she'd be able to own, a confident smile that endeared him to many, and he kept a kind demeanor that hid his excellent skills of both fighting and fencing, something both she and David excelled in.

That was how the two of them met, in a fencing cla.s.s three years prior to their walk across Pont Neuf. Both of them had quite a few non-educational quarrels with various citizens throughout Paris and over time a mutual respect and intimate friendship bloomed. And even though Lauren believed she'd be fine against anyone who tried to mess with her, David made her feel safe, that if anyone tried to hurt her they'd have to fight him first, and in all the years they'd known each other she'd never seen him so much as take a single hit. The same couldn't be said of any of his opponents.

They walked with a slight gap between the two of them; something Lauren wished to close yet didn't want to startle him by taking his hand or anything so forward. She wanted his arm around her, their fingers laced together...all in all she wanted nothing more than to be with him.

She slowed their walk and looked out over the bridge and asked David, ""

He looked at her and smiled, ""

She agreed. ""

"" He looked at her, "

Her eyes lit up, her heart raced, and just as she was about to reply a light behind them illuminated the area so intensely that neither of them could keep their eyes open. Once it began to fade away they turned to find that light fading around the silhouette of a young girl. The young woman collapsed on the bridge once the light disappeared.

Lauren and David stood immobile. Neither of them was sure what they'd just witnessed but after a moment Lauren cautiously approached the young girl and tried to wake her.

David slowly joined her and asked Lauren, "

The girl regained consciousness and immediately panicked. She frantically spoke to both Lauren and David, but neither understood her.

Lauren looked at David and asked, ""

Alarmed, he replied, ""