“Seri…please. You know you can’t keep this up,” he stated, trying to plead to his rational side.
A water droplet hit his face, and then another, until the rain was pouring down, soaking them both almost instantly.
Holding his arms out to his sides, Seri met his gaze. “I can try.”
Severo’s eyes widened as blue mist spread out from the Nymph’s hands, the rain suddenly freezing, and beginning to glow a cyan blue. Severo eyed the droplets floating around him with trepidation.
He had a brief moment to realize that he was in deep shit before the shit was upon him. One minute he could breathe, and the next, he was drowning.
The droplets shot into his airways. Choking, he clawed at his throat. Black spots danced in his vision as he took a step towards Seri. But, unsure if he could bring himself to hurt the man…he hesitated.
And then the choice was gone. Knees going out from under him, Severo collapsed face first to the ground, vision going completely black.
Standing there holding tightlyto his control, Seri stared down at the unmoving man while his skin buzzed with power. If he held just a little longer…
“GAH!”
He flinched at Skya’s happy squeal, followed by her arms reaching upwards towards the rain coming down.
In an instant, Seri released his hold over the water. His eyes widening in horror at the realization of what he’d just been contemplating. Taking a shuddered breath, his heart began to thud loudly in ears when nothing happened. As panic flooded his mind, Seri reached out again. Grasping hold of the water inside the man’s lungs, he yanked it out.
Severo's eyes snapped open, and he began to cough. Seri sagged, knees almost giving out as a wave of relief washed over him.
What he’d been thinking… Tears welled up in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around his child, silently thanking her for making a noise. How could he even consider… He was not a murderer… He was not Preston. He’d almost… In front of his child.
This man, for all he was following him…was just doing his job. He didn’t deserve death for that.
“Seri…” Severo’s voice came out soft and hoarse. No more was said, because the man started to cough again.
Tears running down his face, Seri begged, “Stop following me.”
Giving him one last look…he walked away.
Severo’s eyessnapped back open as water surged from his lungs. He coughed, gasping for air. While the darkness had receded, black spots remained.
“Seri…” He coughed again, not even having the strength to look up all the way. The man’s boots and the grass were the only things in his line of vision.
“Stop following me,” Seri rasped.
He laid there unmoving on the ground, watching Seri walk away until the man finally disappeared out of view.
“Fuck,” he croaked, the minute the Nymph was out of sight.
Flipping over onto his back, he took a few more deep breaths as he stared up at the dark red cloud-filled sky. Further up, high above the clouds, was a dome, covering the entirety of Mars. It was how they could breathe at all, the system created a livable atmosphere…with the plus of an artificial climate generator… Meaning each and every storm, snowflake, or otherwise, was planned. He probably should have checked the weather before heading out today.
Severo continued to lay there gathering his strength. He felt slightly disoriented after almost drowning on land. As rain splattered on his face, Severo made a mental note to never, ever chase a creature who could control water in the rain again. And to always check the weather…
One would think such notes wouldn’t be needed. But apparently, he hadn’t decided to use his brain today.
Yet…this proved something, hadn’t it? Seri wasn’t a coldblooded killer. Which wasn’t something he could say about any of the others he’d chased. But the man could have easily killed him, and he hadn’t. Giving more weight to the idea that he was telling the truth. Not that Severo didn’t already believe him.
Seri sat there in his new car, trying to embody his third new name in weeks as he destroyed his left thumbnail between his teeth. His right one was already long chewed down to a stub, though this one wasn’t much better.
“Damn agent…” he muttered to himself.
How long would it take for Severo to catch up? Was the guy already here? He’d been in Aritine, Mars for three days. Aritine was a Canadian settlement on Mars. As big as Canada, it was comprised of over six thousand cities. Even with all that space, Severo had still managed to find him twice already, and would likely do so again. It had to be the cameras…it was the only way…
That day in the rain flashed into his mind—Severo on the ground, unmoving. A shudder of fear made its way through him before he was able to push the memory away.
