Free Mania and the Executioner by A. L. Bridges Page B

barrel and the officer’s arm is red where Cheza touched it, even on his elbow which Cheza’s arm had only brushed against. She runs forward and grabs the two officers’ handguns; frost forms on the guns and the officers’ hands recoil from them. Her body is somehow expelling some kind of cold energy and it is causing frost burns to any skin she touches. Cheza kneels down by my side and assesses my condition as I notice that her irises have a frosty white encroaching from the outer edges, over their natural ice blue color. Suddenly her eyes narrow and I know what’s going to happen next because it’s the same thing my Drive would have done: She’s going to destroy anyone and anything that is a threat to my safety.
    I can’t allow that to happen.
    I know what I have to do…and it’s going to really hurt. I grab Cheza and bring her down towards the ground, onto my chest. My skin gets severe frost burns wherever I touch her, which is basically both of my arms and my entire chest. I consider knocking her out by blocking the blood flow to her brain, but what if that doesn’t snap her out of her Drive? I call to my blood to have it rush forward and warm her skin, but it is responding too slowly.
    “A H! POLICE, LEAVE THIS BUILDING NOW! AAAUGO! AHHH!” I scream. The police officers all vacate the building, my screaming snapping them from the shock of their frost bite.
    “AAUGHHH!” I scream as I try bashing my way into our connection. I feel it connect and my head immediately feels like I have brain freeze. That is so not fair…she gets ‘orgasm’ when she forces our connection open and I get ‘snow cone’.
    “CHEZA! WAKE UP BEFORE MY BLOOD STARTS TO FREEZE!” I scream in her mind. I feel my blood quickening in her body and I know she has snapped out of it. I drag my blood to the surface of her skin to warm it faster because I can’t stop shivering.
    “Th-th-th-ank-k y-y-you.” I say aloud with my teeth chattering. Her body has warmed completely now.
    “Cole!” Cheza exclaims as she tries to push herself off of my chest. I hold her down, not wanting her to see what her body has accidentally done.
    “Airi! Focus all of my blood on healing the burn wounds; we can deal with the buckshot later. I want this done immediately; burn my blood if you have to just heal them before Cheza finds out!”
    (It is a little too late for that)
    I see tears start to stream from Cheza’s eyes.
    “The order still stands.”
    “Oh, Cole…I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Cheza cries.
    “Shhh, it’s alright Cheza. I know that you were just trying to protect me.” I say to her while trying to sound soothing.
    “COLE! WHAT DId you—” Tia shouts when storming into the building, but stops after taking an assessment of the situation.
    “So, I’m guessing that the vampires came in and you killed them, getting blood everywhere , and then first officers came in and one started firing causing all of them to fire, and then Chezarei felt you take the shotgun shell to the chest and neck, and ran in.” Tia says.
    “Close enough.” I tell her while stroking the left side of Cheza’s head as she quietly continues to cry on my chest.
    “Okay, first question, why were the vampires here?” Tia asks.
    “I interrogated that vampire,” I say while pointing to the flayed and bisected vampire corpse. “and he said that their master had told them to kill whoever opened the locker and take the package.”
    “What package?” Tia asks.
    “I assume it is the thing that Jason had us come to Honolulu for.” I tell her as I point to the open locker that still held the package. She walks over and takes it out.
    “We’ll open this up back at the room. Let’s finish the story back there too. Cole, can you walk?” Tia asks.
    “Yeah no problem!” I say as get to my feet while gritting my teeth as my burned skin protests with every bend while I pull Cheza to her feet.
    “I’m sorry Cole.” Cheza says and starts a new round of crying.