A Hero In The Dark

Chapter 121: Tire and Pain

I lead Einar down to the beach where Five and I left Drac tied to a palm tree. He is awake and appearing to be well, compared to when he lost consciousness.

"This is him?" Einar asks for confirmation. "He is the one that took your legacies from you?"

"Yeah," I answer, staring at Drac with the same hate as earlier.

Einar walks up to him; inspects the man we captured. I don't even know what he is searching for. It doesn't appear he is looking for anything in particular; only having an intense stare down with the man.

Until he states, "Yes, I think I can work with him."

"Can you find a solution that will get Emily back her legacies?" Five asks on my behalf.

Einar nods; says as he stands, "It's up to him to decide if he wants to tell us the truth though. I can only do so much."

"Let's do it," I say.

Normally, I'd be against Einar using his legacy on anyone when it isn't necessary or wanted. I am still upset that he manipulated me and Five earlier. But this is different.

It isn't unwanted. I want it.

It isn't unnecessary. I need it.

If I'm going to get any information out of Drac on how to get my legacies back, I need Einar to do it.

I'll do anything to not feel this way anymore.

Drac keeps his gaze locked on me and resembles a nervous expression. Then shifts his eyes to Five and then Einar and then Pixie and then back to me.

He sits and stares. Stares up at us like a helpless child suffering from internal wounds. Sits and stares. That is all. Just sits and stares.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have the stomach for this. But these are not normal circumstances at all. I am broken and helpless and defeated and vulnerable.

I hate being this way. Hate it with all I have. And I am willing to do anything to make it go away.

I step closer toward the man that rests at my feet; kneel down to get right in his face so his eyes are on mine and mine alone.

"I am going to ask you once and only once," I start firmly. "How do I get my legacies back?"

Drac only smiles. A smile that angers me so.

I take a step towards him. Then, with a renewed vengeance that I have never felt before, I pick him up by the front of his shirt and hold him up against the trunk of the tree. Usually, I wouldn't be able to lift this much weight – not on my own at least, but I realize that I'm not alone. Five and Einar are here, and I'm vaguely aware of an outside force of telekinesis to help me hold up his weight, since I'm not capable of doing so on my own.

I look Drac dead in the eyes and speak without fear or doubt, "I don't need my legacies to get information out of you. I've still got my strength."

Then I drop him to the ground and step back, where he rests at my feet, breathing heavily on his knees with his wrists still bound with rope.

"Start talking," I demand with my fists clenched.

He stares. Stares at me in silence.

For a second, I worry that he won't even talk. Though when Einar approaches my side with a look of concentration on his face, the thought leaves just as quickly as it came.

Drac's expression goes still and calm and his eyes adapt from a scared child to a comfortable friend.

And he begins.

"I don't know how to get your legacies back," he says first, and at that, the anger heightens. I take another step toward him with a fist cocked back, but Einar takes hold of my forearm, motioning me to stay back and to let him focus.

"What do you mean?" Einar asks in a sort of mystifying tone.

"Bray wanted a serum that could give him a legacy. Either a way to create one and inject it into his body or transfer one from someone that already had one. I told him a transfer would be easiest and more efficient. I needed a subject to run the experiments and he chose Emily," he explains. "I deeply apologize for what I had to do to you Miss. It wasn't right but it was all I could do to save my own life."

That takes me by surprise, though only for a few seconds. I am quickly reminded that this is all happening under the effects of Einar's legacy.

"And then what happened?" asks Five.

"We've all seen clips online of the extent of Emily's power," he resumes. "Bray wanted that power himself. He sent out a team to collect you and bring you to us before a deadline. At which point I was tasked in extracting a sample of your DNA and figuring a way to match it to Bray's for the transfusion."

"But you ran out of time and couldn't do the preferred number of tests and the experiment failed, yadda yadda yadda. Is there any way I can reverse whatever you did? Is there an antiserum or something?" I ask.

Drac shakes his head. "No antiserum as far as I know," he says. "But you could make one."

"How?" Five asks, stepping forward.

"Part of the serum I injected into Emily is what the Loric would call 'corrupted Loralite' or 'black ooze'. Though there is another element I have added in my attempt to enhance the effects. A drop of liquid plutonium. A highly toxic and reactive compound that is immune to almost all other elements but one."

"Toxic? As in deadly?" Five questions with all concern. "Are you saying that if we don't find a cure in time, Emily will die?"

Drac looks down to avert anyone's gaze, as if in shame.

"I am sorry," he says then after a pause. "I truly didn't mean to hurt you."

I want to look away, but I can't. I can only stare at this man with nothing but pure hatred in my eyes. I don't care for this man. I wish we didn't save him from that hellhole. I wish we had left him there to die.

I remember the gun I took from Bray's dead corpse. It is still in the waistband of my sweatpants. Unknowingly, I put a hand on it, without taking my hurting, angered eyes off of the entranced scientist.

Again, Einar puts a hand on my arm; shakes his head.

Before turning to Drac again and continuing, "You mentioned this toxin, it is immune to almost all elements but one. Which one?"

"Astatine," Drac answers. "Originates once Thorium or Uranium decay."

"Which takes how long?" Einar follows, still strangely hopeful. "Can we find some?"

Drac shakes his head again, this time seemingly even more apologetic than before. "It takes 14 billion years for Thorium to decay. Otherwise you won't find an ounce of it."

Only then does Einar drop his hands to his thighs and take a few deep breaths, appearing to abandon his concentration on his legacy. Drac shows his same old devilish smirk that I last saw in the lab and I feel that renewed dread and fear and hopelessness hit me all at once like it never has before.

I take a couple steps back from them all, even Pixie, my gaze never leaving the scientist. I don't notice any of them watch me nor do I hear what any of them say.

I only turn and run. I run so fast that I can't go any faster, my legs sprinting regardless of my tire and pain.

Tire and pain.
Tire and pain.
Tire and pain.

That is all there is. That is all I have left.

Run. Just run. Run away.