26. There’s a Light That Never Goes Out
There's a Light That Never Goes Out
“Sorry I keep asking… but I’m about to ask again,” Bailey said softly, keeping her eyes on the empty stretch of road ahead, “are we getting any closer? We’re still heading in the right direction, right?”
“Yeah, at least I think so,” Dustin replied, still psychically reaching for that prickly sensation, “the feeling isn’t getting stronger yet, but not weaker either so… that’s something I guess,”
Bailey didn’t have time to respond before Chloe knocked on the window behind them. Dustin turned and slid it open.
“I’m so sorry to derail this rescue mission, but your boyfriend seriously needs to pee. I’ve had to talk him out of whipping it out and pissing all over the highway like three times,”
“I can pull off at the next exit,” Bailey said softly, “we could all probably use a little break… and some shitty gas station coffee,”
She did as she said she would, turning off the highway and ending up at some unnamed gas station in the undeveloped expanse of nothingness between Pacific Cove and Seattle.
The moment they parked, James hopped out of the truck bed and sprinted into the store, while Chloe followed to get coffee and snacks for everyone.
Dustin leaned against the truck, sighing heavily.
“So… what else is eating you?” Bailey asked, slumping against the truck bed next to Dustin, “obviously your missing twin is the number one problem, but I feel like there’s more that you’re keeping to yourself,”
Dustin wanted to resist giving an answer, but he knew Bailey far too well. She’d just persist until he cracked, and he didn’t have the energy to be evasive anyway.
“I guess I’m just… frustrated with myself. For even caring this much. Chris literally tried to burn me alive, and yet here I am serving as TwinkGPS so we can save him,”
Bailey stifled a snort.
“Sorry, that’s a new one. But to the point; I know how it feels to always find yourself back in the same place over and over again, no matter how many times that place has hurt you.
I can’t defend Chris for what he almost did to you, and I won’t try…
but I’ll say that when we find him, the two of you need to have a long and serious talk and hash this shit out once and for all,”
“And you really think talking it out will work? Have you met my brother?”
“I’ve done a lot more with him than just meeting,”
“Okay, gross,” Dustin chuckled, shaking his head, “but seriously, you know just talking to him isn’t gonna work,”
“I find your lack of faith disturbing,” Bailey said, deepening her voice into a Darth Vader impression as best she could, before immediately abandoning it with a cough, “what I’m saying is, I think this whole ordeal might leave him a little more open to communication than usual,”
“Sorry I forced everyone to take a detour,” James cut in before Dustin could reply, looking visibly relieved as he and Chloe rejoined the group, “we got coffee! Plus Starburst for Bailey, and Tropical Berry Gummy Bears for you Baobei,”
“Thank you,” Dustin said, accepting the small pouch from James and kissing his cheek, “but wait, what’s that? Are those Mega-sour Atomic Warheads? You hate sour candy though.”
James’s cheeks reddened slightly.
“Yeah, they’re not for me. It’s for if… when we find Chris. Chloe told me they’re his favorite,”
Dustin’s heart thumped a bit harder in his chest. In that moment, the truth finally settled into his bones.
If the others were holding onto hope that Chris could be saved, and that they could be a cohesive unit once again, Dustin had to do the same.
Regardless of the past, in spite of everything in his brain screaming against the notion. He couldn’t assume the worst. Not this time.
It wasn’t long before the group was back on the road, settled into the now familiar rhythm of Dustin squeezing his eyes shut and tuning into the static.
But suddenly, something shifted.
Instead of droning buzzing nothingness, there was suddenly a flash of heat, a spark of light on the periphery. Something brief, fleeting, but intense.
It wasn’t just the energy though, there was also… an image? Not entirely clear, almost like the fading imprint you’d get if you’d focused on something before snapping your eyes shut…
But it was enough to give Dustin a concrete sense of direction for the first time.
“A warehouse!” he blurted out, turning to Bailey and grabbing her shoulder. The suddenness of his gesture was enough to make her squeal, but he couldn’t contain himself, “I think Chris is at a warehouse somewhere! Maybe just outside of Seattle? I could sort of see the skyline in the background!”
Chloe and James huddled around the open rear window.
“A warehouse outside of Seattle huh? I think I might have an idea of the general area,” Chloe began, “my mom has used storage spaces outside the city for big showcases before, and I know museums in the area use them too before new exhibits open up,”
Suddenly, everything clicked into place in Dustin’s mind. Like all the bricks that had been laid were finally creating the visible structure of a house.
“Oh shit. A while back, my mom said that she’d managed to secure some recently discovered Qin Dynasty artifacts for an exhibit she’s working on. If they’re being stored there… Qin Shi Huang must be looking for something,”
“Something that might let him fully control Chris,” James finished Dustin’s thought, “we gotta hurry,”
With that, Bailey slammed the gas pedal and the truck’s tires screamed as they tore off down the road. Now more fiercely determined than ever.
As the group got closer to the city, all their rings started to heat up and surge with power. Now that they were approaching the remote warehouse, it was at the point where the rings were glowing brightly in their respective colors, like they were responding to… something.
Something that was clearly on the other side of the metal security gate that should’ve been blocking them from reaching the warehouse’s entrance.
It should’ve, and it probably would’ve… if there wasn’t a massive hole melted straight through the center of it.
The little security box next to the gate was empty, but the singed glass windows gave Dustin a pretty clear idea of where the guard went.
“We need to get in there fast. A place with artifacts this valuable is gonna have more security than just a gate and a single guard. If he causes a big enough scene or trips a silent alarm or something, we’re fucked,” Chloe said as the group hopped out of the truck, dashing for the gate before things spiraled even further out of control.
Nothing could’ve prepared Dustin for what was on the other side.
What hit him first, was the smell.
Thick, pungent… sickeningly sweet but with a metallic and sulfurous undercurrent unlike anything he’d ever encountered.
He immediately covered his nose and fought the gag rising in his throat… but then his eyes settled on the bodies.
If they could even be called that.
In reality, they were blackened husks in vaguely human shape, sprawled all over the lot in various positions, making it abundantly clear that most of them had been incinerated in motion.
“They’re all dead… he really… oh my god, he really killed them all,” James’s voice trembled and his knees shook, while all the color drained from his face.
“This… this isn’t. Chris couldn’t… I mean, it can’t be…” Dustin stammered, but Bailey stepped in and rubbed his back before he could finish.
“Chris is not responsible for this. He might be a hothead but he’s not… whatever this is. This is the emperor, and we’re going to end this here and now,”
“Chris might not be fully in control, but the truth we can’t deny is that this is still his power, and now we all see the limits of what it can do,” Chloe said, stepping ahead of the group and subtly activating her own powers, her veins flashing white as she did so, “we need to be prepared for anything. Clearly he’s not going to hold anything back,”
Dustin could see her skin shifting as she spoke; not changing overtly, but just… tightening. As if she’d turned her body into a metallic shell.
Hardly a second passed before a scorching ball of blue flame struck the pavement just in front of them, causing the entire group to scramble backwards to avoid its searing heat.
Dustin’s eyes immediately darted to the rooftop above them.
His heart nearly stopped in his chest.
Chris was sitting right there. Tangible. Solid. Real…
But oh so wrong.
He was still shirtless, just like when he left Bailey’s house, but he was…
thinner. Like his muscle mass was rapidly fading.
Dark circles hung heavy under his eyes, and his hair, which had been freshly trimmed and bleached barely a day before, was already hanging shaggily in front of his eyes, dark roots visible like a stain.
“He knew you would arrive,” the emperor spoke through Chris’s voice. Fuck crawling: Dustin’s skin wanted to uproot itself and bolt in the opposite direction, “I hoped he was right. Crushing hope is always more satisfying than a more standard defeat,”
“You’re not gonna defeat SHIT! We’re stopping this!” Bailey screamed, the earth trembling beneath them as she did.
Chris shook his head dismissively, as if a toddler had just challenged him to arm wrestle. He dropped down from the roof and landed ahead of them, the skies darkening with clouds overhead as he did so.
“Now is the chance for this new generation of Sages to impress me. Here’s hoping you make it count,”