This story is protected under international and Pan-American copyright conventions.
Author's Note: On my website, I have included a picture of Jordan in the gif image. Please validate me with an email if you agree that he's cute :). You'll also find a link to a blog post I wrote on Kolin and killsuits right under the blurb. This blog post includes a sexy picture of Kolin modeling in his armor. :)
"Wraith" uses the main characters featured in the science-fiction novel "Slipstream", but is its own story that I will post in its entirety on Nifty. Both of these tales are based on the events established in the short story, "The Insanity of Zero." If you like Jordan, Kathy, and Kolin, please consider giving "Slipstream" a read. I promise, the plot is a whole lot better than "Wraith." If you are a reviewer for Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Fictionwise, or would just like to talk about my stories on your blog, please contact me for a complimentary e-copy of "Slipstream" in .pdf format.
Here is my author information: Website: http://slckismet.blogspot.com/p/books.html Email: kavrik@hotmail.com Twitter: @MichaelOffutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Slipstream/164452693676933
Chapter Twelve
Jordan took a look around, trying to adjust to the cool darkness he now found himself in. One blinking emergency light lit the hallway halfway down its length. He counted several doors on the left side of the corridor, and double doors capped the far end. They had small square windows in them through which he saw flickering fluorescent light. Ceiling debris covered the linoleum tile floor. Black streaks on the wall suggested that a fire had burned here some time ago.
"If there's a spa somewhere in here, chances are I might be able to find some clean towels in one of these rooms," Kathy said.
She strode forward and checked the first door on the left. Kathy opened it, flipped the switch next to the door, but no light came on. A moment later, she pulled out the flashlight they'd carried from the mine, flicked it on with her thumb, and shone it around the room. Then she went inside.
Too tired to worry, Jordan rested his head against the wall. The sniffing and pawing at the door grew more insistent. He stared at it over the bridge of his nose, watched it rattle, and felt a drop of sweat slide down his neck.
Kathy reappeared holding a terry cloth towel and a bowl of water.
"There's a water dispenser in that office that has maybe a gallon still left in it," she said, setting the supplies down on the floor of the hall.
Jordan watched her cut free the bonds around Kolin's hands, knees, and feet. She grabbed hold of Kolin's boots and straightened his legs out while Jordan held onto him from the back, arms inserted under Kolin's armpits and clasped over his chest. Then she wet the towel in the bowl and applied it to the young man's skin, carefully cleaning away the dried blood. She soaked one end of the towel in clean water and placed it between Kolin's lips, pressing the water onto his tongue. Meanwhile, Jordan moved Kolin's arms back and forth in an attempt to get some circulation going.
Kathy wiped Kolin's face clean and tugged at the rusty metal collar tightened around Kolin's neck.
"He's still bleeding where Ashley cut him on the Adam's apple," she whispered. "I need to get this collar off as he's probably going to get blood poisoning from the rust on this thing. But for now, I can't do anything about it."
Kathy turned and rummaged through the supplies she'd pilfered from the frozen food storage and chose one of the loaves of bread. She broke off a piece and held it in her hand so that the warmth of her flesh would melt it. Then she stuffed a small piece of it between Kolin's slightly parted lips.
This act created a spark of life.
The Brit's eyes fluttered and the nostrils on his narrow, aquiline nose flared. Jordan peered over Kolin's shoulder, and he discerned a hint of blue staring back. Additionally, Kolin's fingers jumped spasmodically, and he reached down and squeezed Jordan's hand reassuringly.
"You're safe now," Jordan whispered into his ear. "Just, don't try to talk." Then he gently kissed Kolin on the forehead.
Kathy tipped the bowl over on the floor, emptying the bloody water out on the linoleum where it spread to the wall. She wiped the bowl clean, refilled it with water, and returned to Kolin's side. Then she spooned some of it into his mouth using a tablespoon, and he sucked it down. So she gave him more. Then she stuffed more bread in his mouth, and Kolin started chewing.
Jordan watched Kolin's pained expression that resulted from each swallow. Nourishing him this way took ages.
They lay together for the better part of an hour before Kolin tried to claw at the metal collar around his neck. Jordan pushed his hand away.
"We don't have a lock for it," he said to him.
Kolin stared back with teary eyes. "It hurts," he mouthed but made little actual sound.
"I know," Jordan said. He stroked him gently on the head, smoothing Kolin's dirty hair out.
Kathy broke off a piece of the loaf of bread that she'd been feeding to Kolin and handed Jordan some. "It's thawed out pretty good by now-there might be some ice in the center, but overall it's pretty tasty."
Without question, Jordan snatched it from her hands and wolfed it down. Then he went into the room and drank some of the water from the office cooler she'd been using to bring water to Kolin. He refilled the plastic bottle he'd taken from the service station outside Denver and put it in his backpack. Finally, he inspected the rifle. If he had to use it, he had one bullet in the chamber and no spare ammunition with which to reload. The pistol had four bullets in it, so altogether, five shots between the two weapons.
I suppose that's better than nothing, he thought.
He walked back into the hall and Kolin had moved up against the wall. The Brit ran his hands over his legs. He looked too weak to stand so Jordan scooped him up again while Kathy refilled her water bottle and stored the remaining food. At the last moment, she stuffed the bowl in with the other things she carried inside the nylon bag.
With her free hand, she pointed the Colt .44 forward and took lead.
They reached the end of the hall, and she peered through the windows set in the doors.
"Looks clear," she declared.
Kathy nudged the door open with her shoulder revealing a corridor that ran east and west. Heavy damage in numerous places made the hall almost impassable. Live cables sparked brightly and promised electrocution.
To the east, part of the hall had collapsed and large pieces of cinderblock and brick littered the corridor. The view west seemed clearer, and a single flickering fluorescent bulb in a heavily damaged ballast illuminated the way. The corridor ended in a door adorned with a palm tree and gold letters. They spelled 'DAY SPA.'
"This way," she said, leading her brother.
She lunged at it with her shoulder and nudged it open but then stopped motionless. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."
"What?" Jordan asked. He stepped up and peered inside but then wished that he hadn't. The smell hit him a moment later. Putrefaction.
Four rows of tables held up human bodies and each appeared to be in a different phase of decomposition ranging from one that still looked fresh to another that had all but decayed away. They were men and boys whose skin boiled and erupted with bloody pustules. Each one had plastic tubes carrying some kind of gray matter inserted into their abdomens. All of the bodies were naked, bore terrible wounds upon the skin, as well as huge purple bruises. Some of them had body parts missing. Teeth marks hinted at something having gnawed them off. Bleeding had been stopped with a smartly placed tourniquet.
One of the most badly decomposed bodies had nearly transparent skin. It reminded Jordan of a jellyfish. He could see shapes moving beneath the surface, they looked like worms. Sallow flesh around the eyes had sunken so deeply that the eyeballs lay in their sockets naked, dried, and puffy with bloody veins. Lidless things, they just stared upward at the ceiling, mouth agape.
Then the most wretched thing occurred.
Jordan saw that one take a breath.
It was still alive.
Jordan had never felt more horrified.
I hope to post Chapter Thirteen sometime this weekend.