Asylum

Darker Than Death

Her eyes burst awake and it's like Kya's been reimbursed with a new life. She raises her hands high in the air, her fingers limp. Somewhere around me – around my aura; my very existence – icy fingers crawl around my energy. They pry at my power, as if trying to overrun them.

Kya's fingers suddenly straighten and she shifts her hands so they're in front of her abdomen – the core of energy for chi users – and she aligns the edges of her hands together, as if creating a vertical wall.

My bones feel frozen, my ambitions for chasing down Kya and her friends suddenly drain, and I feel empty; totally hollowed out. I suddenly feel as if there's no purpose in my life. As if I don't have a meaning. I don't possess the energy to press my leg to the gas pedal, or to look at Cerberus to see if he feels what I feel. I don't have any motivation or physical ability to move out of my current position. It's like I've been reset and am waiting to be programmed or directed. Oddly, I look to Kya as if to see what she wants me to do.

Elektra suddenly gets into the other lane, passing a slow car. In the next few seconds, I will collide with that passed vehicle. I know this and yet, I don't contain the ability the get out of the way or slam the brake pedal. I want to call for Cerberus to tell him to lift my foot off the gas pedal for me, or to veer the steering wheel, but I don't even have the ability to do that. I've lost all of my basic motions. I've been paralyzed.

Then, without my brain telling me to, my hands grip the wheel and jerk it to the side. My tires squeal as they trace black, rubber circles on the road. The world around me blurs together in one swift motion. My foot, without me making it, lifts off the gas medal and rides out the eternal spinning.

We seem to be moving for hours and hours before we come to a stop. The sunroof remains open, with rain pouring in. More police approach us in the distance. I've lost any sight of Elektra's vehicle at all. And for some reason, I lack the control to fix any of it.

At once and without warning, the icy fingers gripping my nerves and soul are ripped away, leaving me gasping for air – for anything to fill my body which felt so empty before. I haven't felt this powerless since my father killed Takumi Nightshade. But at least then, I was filled with discontent and exasperation – with a will to kill.

This instance, I felt nothing. I was incapable of feeling, doing, or sensing. My body moved as if being regulated by someone else. Undoubtedly, Kya found a way to do this. I don't know how her power gives her the ability to do this, but somehow, it does. The incredible coldness I endured felt far darker than the sources I tap into to engage in my own ability. Keep in mind: my source is the thrill I get off death. What the hell can be darker than the ending of a life?

I find myself – for the first time in a long time – underestimating my enemy. Kya is far more powerful and evil than I could have ever imagined. No...Kya's powers are far more evil. If Kya was a person that was conniving, then she wouldn't have forced me to evade a head-on collision, and when we spun out of control, she wouldn't have eased my foot off the gas pedal, and when we finally came to a safe stop, she would've made me do a lot more before releasing me from her grip.

"You felt that, right?" Cerberus asks, voice trembling. He holds himself, trying to feel warm after the ice that settled in our souls. I can't blame him.

"Yeah..."

"That was almost..." Cerberus pauses to catch his breath after being stripped of his body and mind. "That was almost worse than trying to harness your power."

"Not almost," I correct him. "It was..."

"That was terrifying," he whispers, almost inaudibly. I would've made fun of him for being such a wimp. I would've said something about the dog boy tucking his tail between his legs, or yelping and cowering in fear. But I can't because he's right. It was terrifying.

Police cars surround our vehicle, and slowly, Cerberus and I get out with our hands in the air and badges in our hands to show we're the good guys.

They lecture us about safety and procedure, but I can't seem to focus. All I can think about was the expression of pure, vile malevolence that plastered itself on Kya's face. I can't imagine the kind of lurking, destructive violence hidden in her power.

Cerberus and I get let off the hook. The two of us pack back into our car, silent as we pull back onto the highway. Cars behind us get towed away. Nobody was hurt in the series of accidents. The only thing that was hurt was my control.

Historically, the world around me was always changing. I was travelling country to country, dealing with wide ranges of the supernatural and bringing them in through a myriad of methods. The only constant has been myself; my consistent success, my strong will, my steely determination, my incredible capability. So, when all of this was stripped away from me, I felt completely incompetent. I felt like I was nothing more but a strong body incasing nothing more than the shattered pieces of a broken soul.

In the end, maybe that's all I really am.

"If we want to catch up..." Cerberus finally speaks, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "...we're going to have to go faster."

"We don't need to catch up," I respond, going the speed limit as my mind delves into thought. "There's a hell of a lot more about those five that we don't know about. If we want to conquer them, then we're going to have to take them by surprise."

"What are you saying?" Cerberus asks for clarification. I notice him sitting up a bit straighter, his attention more trained on the road ahead, his nerves on edge and focus sharpened. He isn't taking too well to the body-takeover, either.

"I hope your passport is in check," I notify. "We're going to Japan."

We'll get there, track down the delinquents, take our time getting to know the ins and outs on how they function, and strike when they're weak. It'll take time, but all good things come to those who wait. And it's not like there's much I'm itching to get back to. My bastard father? My dead mother? My lost love?

I have nothing but time.