The Next Chronicle (Book 2): Damage (22 page)

She met Kit's eyes. “There's a chance you can force your body to adapt to my powers. If you keep using the Surge, it's possible you'll get a weaker version of what I can do. No one is sure what that would mean for your own powers. It could be really, really bad.”

Kit had no response to that, didn't trust herself to speak. She was a creature of habit and routine, comfortable with things changing slowly if at all. Her training and practice over the years had yielded a control of her abilities not often matched among Next. She took pride in not leaning solely on her powers as a crutch.

A deeper part of her, however, remembered the dream all children harbored at one time or another, and she wondered what it would be like to fly.

Archer showed up the next day to check in on her, the pair of them taking a walk to speak privately. The garage was filled to capacity, every cot containing a patient, so they ambled together outside. The weather was mild, the sun warming their shoulders.

“You're still benched,” Archer said before Kit could even ask. “Robinson put his foot down. He made it pretty clear you're to stay in medical until the doctors clear you or he'll break a foot off in your ass.”

Kit rolled her eyes but didn't argue. “I hate sitting in there with nothing to do,” she griped. “Especially when so many people out there need help.”

Archer laughed. “Have a high opinion of yourself, don't you?” he teased. “You're one person, Kit. You're one hell of a person, but still. You staying inactive for a few days so you can heal won't make a huge difference.” His expression sobered. “Besides, this isn't going to be over soon. The rescue effort is going well—better than we expected, actually—but the cleanup and rebuilding will take a long time. A lot of people will be homeless or without utilities for the foreseeable future. Nunez definitely knew how to hamstring us.”

Kit nodded. “That's the point. He wants us too busy to come after him. This won't be the last disaster he causes, you realize.”

“Yeah, given what he told you, we're thinking the same thing,” Archer agreed. “Robinson isn't about to sit back and let this bastard have his way, though. He's lobbying pretty hard to put together a task force to hunt down Nunez or at least limit the damage he can do. It's a slam dunk, really. At this point the only question is how large the budget will be.”

“Good,” Kit said, though her heart wasn't in it. A unit aimed at Nunez like an arrow, and she was stuck here.

“Ray was right, you
are
predictable,” Archer mused. “You get that storm cloud expression any time you're holding back your anger. I probably should have mentioned that Robinson wants you to lead the task force, which is why he wants to be sure you don't aggravate your injuries.”

Kit glared at him, then punched him in the shoulder. She decided against her usual gentle tap, slugging him hard enough to do damage.

“Ahhhh!” he shouted, laughing at the same time. “You tore something.”

“You'll heal,” Kit said with a smirk. “You fucker. Letting me get all worked up...”

Archer grinned as he worked the shoulder, the injury probably already gone. She'd seen him heal from being impaled in a matter of seconds. This didn't even rate.

“Couldn't help it,” he said. “Messing with you is one of the last joys I have in life.”

Kit looked out over the vast field where Fairmont once stood, past the distant form of the office building. She couldn't see Louisville from here, but it didn't stop her from looking.

“We're gonna get him,” Archer said, and Kit thought he was trying to convince himself as much as reassure her. “You'll stop him. I know it.”

Archer put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, an unusual gesture from the man. Kit put her hand on his, returning the gentle pressure. He left, returning to the mountain of work no doubt waiting at his desk, but Kit remained.

The sun burned low in the sky, blazing above the trees but nearly touching them. Kit let the light warm her face as she closed her eyes. She pushed away the worry. She forced the fear from her mind. The dark cloud hanging over the future wasn't so easy to forget, but Kit had never been one to shy away from grim possibilities.

Nunez might have been telling the truth, but had certainly been right about one thing; it didn't matter if he was. Everything Kit believed—everything she was—told her to fight. To prevent him from accomplishing his goals at any cost.

She took a deep breath and made her mind still, empty. The flow of energy she drew was thin but strong.

Kit rose into the air.

Man, what a year.

I published Next on April 1
st
of 2014. Right now it's early in the morning of April 6
th
, 2015. Just a shade over a year later, and the sequel is done. Not that I've been completely lazy since I did manage to publish the third volume of The Fall in that time.

Still, thanks so much for sticking around. I know it has been annoying for some of you.

As you may or may not know, I had surgery on my spine in October. Herniated disc, yadda yadda yadda. Recovery took a long time, and longer still to be able to sit and work comfortably.

Back, leg, and hip pain had been nagging me nonstop for 18 months. That's part of why I couldn't write as fast as I wanted. I didn't realize just how pervasive that pain was until it was (mostly) gone, but the proof is in the fact that I wrote about 70% of Damage in the last two months, my output increasing constantly.

As I've healed and been able to sit and work without pain, my productivity improved. Go figure.

I'm excited to continue writing in this world and in The Fall, my zombie series, not to mention the other books I'm planning down the road. I just wanted to use this space to show my gratitude. You're the best.

Joshua Guess (but you can call me Josh)

April 6
th
, 2015