The Death Clock: chapter 4

 

4

Cat had risen before me. She changed into a complete outfit. She had on a shoulder-less shirt and shorts. But washing up and changing were the only things she had done. She didn’t eat or have anything to drink. She just sat next to me making sure that I didn’t vanish. It was silly and childish, but that’s how Cat acted when she was worked up.

I woke up and she gave me another hug, this time just a quick one. Before she could get all worked up again, I put a finger over her lips. "Cat, you need to explain yourself. I need to know about this Death Clock. Also, I need to know if you have, any other secretes like it. Otherwise, I cannot stay here, no matter how much we both want me to. Understand," I felt guilty using leaving her to get information, but how could I feel safe with all this hidden knowledge. I had told her everything about myself. Well, almost everything. But it was one secret no one knew.

Cat nodded her pale pink haired head. She looked me in the eyes and waited for me to take my finger from her lips. She took a breath to get her thoughts in order.

"The Death Clock is the first of five secrets that I will tell you. When I tell you, you have to promise never to tell anyone. That is the first half of the deal. The second is that you stay here, and live with me, so that you can’t break the deal. Do you promise," She asked already knowing the answer. When I nodded she continued, "The Death Clock is a genetic weapon. It is passed from mother to daughter. Before today, I thought all it could do was kill. The hour hand points to how many people are targeted and the minute hand determines how close to death they become. Twelve is dead, six is near dead, and eleven is far from dead. They just become weakened. Now I know it can adjust how near and far from death a person is.

"The second secret is the idea I gave my dad. I told him that everyone should have their own personal Death Clocks. I was young and didn’t know what it did. My dad made trillions in his attempts to create personal Death Clocks. It eventually led to his death.

"The third secret is about my dad. Dad was driven insane trying to replicate the Clock. He realized that he needed DNA of someone who had it. He tried to take some of mine by force. I was so scared that the Death Clock appeared. Dad thought it came to help him and when he touched it, it killed him. In essence, I killed my father.

"The fourth secret is that I have two other abilities, similar to the Death Clock. Or, I’m supposed to. They haven’t manifested themselves yet for me. My Mum told me that we each had three special gifts. She had the powers longer than I have, so she must know what she’s talking about.

"Now the final secret. This one is in some ways the scariest part of all this. My father had an assistant. He was my friend but his loyalty to Dad blinded him to everything else. He was Keizer Doom. When he saw Dad die from the Death Clock, he tried to fight me. Keizer had a genetic weapon as well. His was called Emerald Shield. It protected him from the Clock’s attacks, but it left him wounded. It didn’t kill him only hurt him. He ran away swearing to destroy the Death Clock, and to do so, kill me. I still see him come after me in my dreams. I came to America to get farther away from him, but a man like Keizer always finds what he’s looking for."

"I’m sorry," I said lamely. What are you supposed to say when someone tells you it’s their fault their parents died? I didn’t know so all I said was ‘I’m sorry.’ I looked at her sadly, "I’ll do anything I can to help you. Consider it part of our deal. Anything you need, I’ll do it. No matter what you ask, I’ll do it."

"Thank you," Cat said quietly. Great, now she was more depressed than before. I took hold of one of her hands.

"Get your coat. I’m going to take you somewhere," I was going to pull in some old favors. It was going to be hard, but Cat deserved to be treated well. She should be happy.

I walked her down a total of more than twenty streets, nearly halfway across the city. The buildings were nice but the people weren’t coming into a lot of money anytime soon. I lived near here about three weeks ago, left when the cops started patrolling the streets. I walked her to a small ice cream and snack bar that stayed open all year. I asked Cat if she would wait outside while I go in to check if they’re open.

When I opened the door, a knife embedded itself into the wood between my fingers that were touching the walls. "Get out, you little brat. I said leave. Now!" shouted the man behind the counter. He was getting worse at throwing knives. He missed my fingers entirely.

"Now is that anyway to greet someone. Besides, you owe me for hiding your drugs while the police scoped the streets. Now I’ve come to collect." I said to Ernie, the knife-thrower.

"I don’t deal drugs. I never have. So leave."

"All I want is an ice cream. Everyone knows yours is the best in the city. That’s how you stay open. Just one ice cream. Give it to me and I don’t go to the cops. Better think Ernie, I have nothing to lose. Prisoner is better than homeless." I said to the fat man threateningly. It was all a bluff, now I had lots to lose.

"Fine, you b*****d. One free ice cream. But then I never see you again."

I nodded and went to get Cat. I brought her in and told her to choose whatever she wanted. Ernie was always polite to women, especially if they want ice cream. It was good for reviews.

Cat ordered a large vanilla-Sunday. In the desire to get me to leave, Ernie told her to take the cup and be on with her day.

I secretly called in old favors from shady people who made sure that nobody got in our way, no cars filled the streets. They emptied the park when they couldn’t keep back rush hour. So we spent the remainder of our walk home in the beautiful city park. I made sure that absolutely nothing was going to hurt Cat’s feelings, not after I went through all this trouble just to see a smile.

I heard some guys arguing just at the edge of earshot. If things escalated, it could come our way. So I told Cat that I dropped something and that she should wait at the next bench. I came back a few minutes later, slightly dirtier than when I left her, slight cuts on my sleeves hidden from her view. The drunken men would never argue in the park ever again. That is once they could regain enough feeling to argue.

I walked her back to her house without any more interruptions. We ate dinners that I had gotten us from the Oriental shop. At least those people gave us the food because I helped them with something legal. Without me, they wouldn’t have been able to grow anything in the empty lot near the restaurant.

I sat on the couch next to her and together we watched TV. When she started to feel tired, we both went upstairs. I was about to walk into my room when I heard her say my name.

"Isaac. Can you do that favor for me?"

"Of course. I told you I’d do anything you wanted."

"Um," she stared at the floor and spoke quietly, as if embarrassed about what she wanted to say. She asked looking at the tiles, "Can you sleep in my room? I’m scared. I keep seeing Keizer whenever I close my eyes. It is as if he’s in the shadows."

I nearly choked on my tongue at first. All I could really hear was the first two sentences. But she had reason to be scared. Someone was trying to kill her.

"Sure thing. Come get me after your changed," I said to her as I walked into my room. I put on a light tee shirt and soft pants to sleep in. Cat came in wearing her nightgown. I wasn’t as shocked as when I first saw her wearing it. So I followed the chest high woman to her room and watched over her until she was steadily breathing in her sleep. I fell asleep on the beanbag chair she had found in her closet and dragged next to the bed.