Chapter 91
Axiom
Chris lay still.
Skin pale, fingertips blackened, his chest rattled with shallow gasps.
“That… looked cool right?”
Dan’s surprised chuckle broke free of the pull of his raging Core.
It turned, pulling and cracking, desperately searching for an outlet.
The moisture glistening in Dan’s eyes froze, falling away in small flakes.
“Yeah bro… you looked cool as hell...”
“Move.”
Dan surged to his feet, the harsh command snapping him into motion before even registering the word.
George pushed him to the side, falling to his knees, hard stare taking in his son's burned skin.
Lying, close to death, white from a disturbing lack of blood.
Not again.
Smoke poured from his nose and mouth.
The humorous glint behind his eyes fading.
Didn't lose him then.
Not going to now.
Relaxing with a quiet breath, he placed his palms over Chris’ stomach.
Start with the burned organs around the Core.
Then work my way out through the pathways.
George's hands hovered, trembling.
His reserves were already dust, he'd burned through everything keeping the group upright during the fight.
I’m running on fumes.
Memories flickered: Chris in a growing pool of blood.
Four wheeler flipped over.
Leg mangled.
And later, sitting beside him in the dark while machines beeped.
"Not again."
The words were a mantra, a prayer.
He pushed.
Green light flared from his palms, weak at first, then steady.
Chris was shivering, teeth clattering, black char flaking where flesh should be.
Particles of life sped down his pathways, knitting burned tissue, forcing blood back into veins.
Make it through, little guy.
The bodybuilder was frozen, watching helplessly.
Jaime placed her head on his shoulder, warm hand lacing through his fingers, squeezing tight.
Belle sat on the ground beside them, arms wrapped around her knees, tears staining her face.
Luna whined, shaking against Kim’s side.
“Little girl… there is nothing we can do.”
When will we stop feeling helpless?
Chris’ recovery slowed, stalling.
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George's vision blurred.
His own heart stuttered, a sharp pain lancing through his chest.
The Seed inside him groaned, golden light surging like an exploding sun.
"I need more…"
He gritted his teeth, biting his lip until blood welled.
"GIVE. ME. MORE!"
Jimmy’s mind raced, calculating the decaying rate of the Qi running through his channels.
The math does not add up.
There is nothing left to give… George is trying to spend a currency he does not have.
He analyzed the flickering Seed with great curiosity.
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to balance on a knife’s edge.
Jimmy recoiled, as a brutal golden-green flare of light burned into his mind.
Like an arc flash.
The Seed filled with golden light, flaring.
And cracking.
No…
Jimmy’s pupils dilated, tracking the erratic pulse of the golden fractals.
In any other situation, he would have marveled at the complexity, but his mind was running a simulation that only ended in zeros.
He is not drawing from a reservoir.
He is cannibalizing the foundation.
Like watching a man burn the support beams of his own house to keep a fireplace going.
Every spark of gold that jumped from George's fingers to Chris's chest was a day, a month, a year being erased from the old man's future.
Jimmy wanted to shout, but the serene smile on the weathered face showed no trace of hesitation.
Chris gasped, eye whites glowing green-gold.
The healing wasn't a gentle growth, it was a forceful reconstruction.
His body arched off the ground, his spine popping as the green-gold rivers forced his anatomy back into alignment.
Charred ash was pushed off by the rapid growth of new, pink flesh underneath.
The sickening squelch of shifting tissue sealing back together cemented itself firmly into their minds.
Color returned in a wave, pale cheeks flushing, lips parting in a ragged breath.
The golden-green rivers under Chris’s skin settled, humming with a frequency that made the air feel heavy, like the moments before a massive thunderstorm.
An intense burning ripped Dan’s attention from his sagging father.
The numerous jagged slashes covering his limbs knit back together, his light headedness fading away.
Nearby brown scrub plants twitched, turning green, blooming to life.
As the light receded, the once silent wilds became alive with bird calls and the discordant chittering of insects.
George stood, but the man who rose was subtly different from the one who had knelt.
His movements were stiff.
Slow.
A body that had regained its vigor and stubborn strength seemed to have lost its luster.
Jimmy watched a single drop of blood fall from George’s bitten lip.
It didn't fall to the budding sprouts of new growth, it evaporated into a tiny puff of golden steam before it could touch the ground.
He could almost hear the tally being taken.
The subtraction of vitality, the shearing of potential, the quiet clicking of a life-clock being wound backward.
The group remained frozen, the echoes of the flashing light still dancing in their vision.
Dan took a step forward, his own Core finally quieting, but the relief he expected was replaced by a hollow stone in his gut.
He looked at his fathers’ hair.
A little more salt.
"George?" Jaime’s voice was a whisper, her hand dropping from Dan’s shoulder.
She saw the way the old biker’s shoulders slumped, the way he seemed to occupy just a little less space than he had a few minutes ago.
Jimmy couldn't look away.
Could barely blink.
Too consumed by the grim reality that he had just witnessed.
Entirely occupied on memorizing every minute detail of the fundamental underpinnings of the universe that was just laid bare before him.
Chris sat up coughing, confused, eyes focusing on George's face.
"Dad…?"
The tired biker smiled softly down at his son.
Congratulations!
Axiom discovered!
“Don't do that again, kid.”
Chris coughed again, eyes focusing. "Dad… what did you do?"
George swayed slightly, hand on his achingly empty stomach.
"Just what I had to.”
Wow.
That’s kind of a bummer.
This has been pretty light hearted for a while, and then some shit like that happens!
Poor George…
I really liked his city/roadway/vehicle visualization he had going on there…
At least Chris will continue to burn his way into our hearts!
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So… quick heads up.
I'm heading out of state for 7-10 days for work (maybe shorter) which might mess things up a bit.
I likely won't have a release tomorrow, but I'm going to try like hell this weekend to pre-schedule as much as possible.
I'll also see what I can do from my phone in the trenches…
So, if my releases are fucked next week, just know: I tried, and I failed like a loser.
But I'll be back to fix it as soon as this BS universe lets me go.
Thanks for sticking with me!
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Another note!?
If you are bored, check out the start of the other book I have.
The Dragons in Space event sparked me to write it, and I think the world is kind of interesting.
I plan on working on it slowly in between this series.
Also, there is some AI concept art on my X/Twitter I try to do for each chapter:
