Cogent

NINETEEN

Noah thought he was having another nightmare. His shirt felt sticky and warm, his skin wet with something dark. Pressing the heel of his hand to his jaw, he wiped across his mouth, smearing the slick warmth. Opening his eyes, Noah unwittingly observed the carnage. What was left of Leon covered the bedroom walls. The stench of blood filled his nostrils and sent him reeling down the hall. He fell to his knees, gagging. This was a nightmare. But he wasn't asleep.

Noah dry-heaved; nothing in his stomach to purge. When he could breathe again, he wiped at his face. His hand came away slick with blood and partially solid fragments of bone. Most of Leon's body had liquefied, but some pieces of him had resisted.

"Kaleb!" Noah cried, twisting around to look at the bedroom door. Jen leaned with her back against the doorframe, her expression blank. She was staring straight ahead with empty eyes. "Mom?" Jen kept looking at the wall, unmoving as Noah called to her.

Groaning painfully, Noah got to his feet and limped over to his mother. He took her arm and squeezed it, trying to get her to look at him. Tears ran down her cheeks, tracking through the spray of blood across her face. Noah pulled off his shirt inside-out and used what few dry sections there were to gently wipe the blood staining his mother's pale skin. "It's okay mom," he said quietly, removing the more solid fragments of Leon from her hair. He spoke softly to her, comforting her.

"Again...he did it again..." she moaned. Noah placed his hands under her arms, pulling her up and helping her to the sofa. She immediately laid down, wrapping her arms around the pillows. Noah covered her with a blanket. She was shaking by then, in shock. "Don't leave me," she whimpered, grabbing his wrist.

"I have to find Kaleb," Noah said, hesitating. "He shouldn't be alone right now—"

"You love him more than you love me," Jen's sharp, accusatory glare hit him hard. "Even after everything he's done to us..."

Noah watched her. She was staring at him, her mouth hanging open. He didn't need to find Kaleb. He needed to get away from her, to think. Noah said nothing and eventually, her hand slipped from his wrist. As he limped passed his bedroom, he was careful to keep his eyes averted. He didn't want to see more blood or any bits of Leon that might still resemble a human mass.

There was a throbbing in the back of Noah's skull and he pressed his hand against it, wincing. A bump lay beneath his fingertips just above is neck and he realized the force of Leon's...death...must have thrown him back against the wall. He didn't remember what happened after Kaleb entered the house, merely bits and pieces.

Bits and pieces...

His stomach turned, threatening. Don't think about it.

He'd sensed more than seen his brother come in. Noah had felt him drawing closer, smelled him. The last thing he could remember was Kaleb's voice before a surge of energy shot through him. Noah couldn't recall what his brother said; only that Kaleb had reached out to Leon with the touch of his mind and forced his will. It was the same thing Noah had done many times before, but for a reason unknown to him or to his brother, the results were much different.

"Kaleb!" Noah called, shoving open the back door. He looked down at the porch steps with distaste, dreading having to descend them on his throbbing knee. The impact of his fall had worsened his injuries. For the first few minutes after he'd gained consciousness, the adrenaline rushing through his veins had numbed him to the pain. But as the shock wore off, Noah began to grow weak. He couldn't afford to waste any energy looking for his brother. Noah had to save his strength for the task ahead. He hesitated at the top of the stairs, fearing that if he went down them to look for Kaleb in the shed he might not be able to hobble back up into the house. But he needed Kaleb's help. He had to find him.