Shine (The Infected: Mirror Man Book 1) Read online

  The Infected: Mirror Man- Book One

  Shine

  P. S. Power

  Orange Cat Publishing

  Copyright 2017

  Chapter one

  When he rolled over, Howard knew that something was wrong. The bed wasn’t the best that he’d ever had, sure, but it wasn’t just that. Part of the aching he felt was just down to being old. Sleep, at least the good kind, was a game for the young. His back ached constantly now. His legs as well. It was all he could manage most days to get his tired and wrinkled husk up to get to the bathroom.

  Which, apparently, he’d failed at. At least the bed was wet. Again. It had been a few months since he’d let that happen though.

  On his chest was a weight. It pinned him in place enough that it felt like he couldn’t breathe. That wasn’t all that easy most of the time anyway, so it getting even a little harder meant more to him than it would have once. Back when he was young and strong.

  “Tabby? That you?”

  Weakly he moved his right hand over. The small cat, who was pretty old herself, was directly on his chest in the dark room. She was wet as well, which didn't make any sense. Normally she only fell asleep on people’s chests when they were about to die, but even a cat was smart enough to not let itself be pissed on.

  “Meow.” The single cry was plaintive, rather than disgruntled.

  “Sorry there, kid.” There was a raspy darkness to the words. It was breathy, and more than a little bit tired, even if he’d had plenty of sleep in the last days. Most of the time, in fact. Twenty odd hours a day.

  Maybe more than that. Other than getting up to eat a few bites of soup or a protein drink, then hitting the head, Howard had kept to his bed. For a long while.

  “I hate being old.” It sounded a little pissy and whiny, which he also hated. That wasn’t the kind of person he wanted to die as.

  A wimp.

  Fighting to rise, to sit up, he rolled a bit. That showed him something very new. Not only was he weaker than seemed right, but when he finally got halfway over, he found the bed soaked. The whole thing. Not just a little, either. It was cold, and, when he paid attention for a bit, barely able to hear anything, there were moans in the background. From the other inmates at Shady Lane. The old folks home for people that no one loved.

  “Well, that doesn’t sound good.”

  It was a lot of work to get himself out of the small bed. There was no railing on it, even though that had been considered more than once. He’d resisted the idea. Old and ready to die he might be, but Howard was getting his behind up to go to the bathroom for as long as he could. It meant, that as his eyes adjusted to the dim light coming through the window, his legs fell into water.

  Cold water.

  “Argh!” He grinned then, even if that wasn’t sane of him. “Got it. That storm that was coming, came, and Noah forgot to put you on the boat, eh, girl?” Tabby was in his arms, but he didn’t drop her. That was down to habit that predated being in his nineties.

  You didn't drop the package. Not if you were stealing it and had a good plan. The issue there was that he didn't have anything of the sort.

  “You know this one though. Survival. Get with it, buddy.” Talking to himself might be a bad habit, but no one was going to get after him for it at the moment. They weren’t there, after all. Nary a nurse, orderly or doctor in sight.

  “What the fudge am I paying all that money for then? Hey! Anyone out there?”

  When he listened carefully there was that faint moaning in the background and it was hard for him to be very loud, since his lungs just didn't have the power they once did any longer. Rather than let that bother him, knowing he might miss someone calling back anyway, he looked around.

  There was dirty, murky water all over the place. A cold and shivering tabby cat in the crook of his left arm and no apparent help coming. It didn’t take a genius to work out what had happened. The building had been evacuated, but certain residents had been left behind. To die, most likely. Howard got that one right off. He wasn’t a pain in the ass, personally, but evacing him would have meant literally carrying him out. That would take two strong people to get done. It made sense to get those that could still make it out first.

  “I can’t believe the bastards left the cat.” Tabby was old, but a favorite. She’d been in the papers even, what with her super power of being able to tell who was about to die. That she’d picked him instead of the other person that was moaning in the distance was probably happenstance. After all, he was sitting up and everything. This would probably kill him, but it was going to be a fight.

  A thing that he planned to take back from death.

  Stealing things was his gig, after all. It had been for decades. There was no need to stop now.

  Looking around he worked out what was needed. Going into the filthy water wasn’t the best plan, but he wasn’t hopping easily from one piece of furniture to another. There had been a time when that might have worked for him. Even ten years before, it could have been possible. At eighty-five he’d been what the kids politely called spry. For an old guy.

  Now he didn’t have that going on at all. So it was into the water, not dropping the cat.

  The air itself looked funny to him. It was strangely silver in color. A thing that either meant he was blacking out, or that something else was wrong. What that was, he had no clue. That didn't stop him from dropping into the water. Which, because he was just a lucky person most days, meant slipping on something under the surface. A bedpan that was on the floor, not floating like a little boat. It kicked out from under him. That led to flailing and struggling as the water tried to soak him totally.

  He wasn’t a tall man and never had been. About five-six, back in the day. Now, being as old as he was, thin and ancient, he was about two inches shorter than that. Not that it normally mattered. At the moment, he kind of wished for the extra bit of size. After all, it probably would have let him get all the way to the table next to him without getting half submerged.

  “Meow.” Tabby didn’t sound thrilled with the move.

  Howard wasn’t either, gasping a bit. Everything hurt, but that was just life, now.

  Thrusting forward, he fell, reaching out toward the silver glass of the small mirror that was on the table. He never used it, hating his wrinkled face but it had come with the room. Whoever got the space next might like that kind of thing better.

  As his fingers grazed the shine, there was a protest from the cat, and a very nice flash of light. That was off of course. There was a glow coming through the window, but it got dim, after that. It took more than a second for him to work out what was going on.

  Parts of it. For one thing, he was dry. It was sudden. Everything was better that way. From where he stood in the water, to the cat in his arms. All… Better that way.

  “Um…” He nodded then, took a deep breath, which felt distinctly odd, being easy now. “Well, Tabby… I don’t think were in Kansas anymore.” Then, because when weird matters happened in life, it was best to collect as much information as possible, he turned around.

  That was a mistake. At least he felt like it at first.

  Behind him, where there should be a wall, was only blackness. That and a few pinpoints of light, off in the distance. Around him, things were… Off. Half his bed was there, for instance. The rest was a blur, in the right color to match the blue blanket that had been on the thing. Part of the tan wall over to the left was there, also blurring and fading to black off to the side.

  “Ah. Got it. I just drowned. Well… This isn’t the bevy of angels that I was expecting. How about you Tabitha?” He didn't know that the cat would be called that, since she was a tab
by and old people often stopped giving a care about things like names after a while. It made sense to be polite though, since she’d apparently passed on as well.

  “Sorry about that, kid. It was my job to get you out alive. Well… This is a bit screwy. Let’s see what’s what here.” His voice was a little stronger seeming at least. Smoother and closer to what he was used to. What he expected to hear when he spoke. Like it had been when he was young. More in that zone at least. It was still a bit rough.

  Looking down, he could see the water, which moved a bit. That part, when he paid attention, was different, really. There was a faint shimmering of silver on the top of it, showing where it was. Streamers of light and blackness existed at the edges of the room, which he headed for. After all, there were lights in the distance. That could be where he was supposed to head out to.

  “Find the tunnel and all that.” Once again, he noticed that he sounded better than before. Stronger. As he moved… Well, that part was fine. He didn’t hurt anymore. Which made sense, if he wasn’t among the living any longer. There had to be some perks or the whole thing wouldn’t be worth it.

  Not setting the little cat down, he walked. His bare feet, thin and cold still, felt odd as the floor hit them. Like it was made of soft clay, without being cloying and sticking. When he was away from the room, or the half-moon of glowing that it made at least, everything changed. Getting a little clearer in the distance, he realized. At first it didn't make a lot of sense to him, until he got closer to the nearest puddle of illumination. Then he saw Gary, the man who had the room next door. Across the hall, to be exact.

  The perspective was a bit off. The brightest bit of light was on the far wall. Not the window though. It faced the other way, toward where Howard was coming from.

  “His mirror, stupid. Look at it. That’s next to his bed.” The man could be made out as well. There was no sound, but the half form that was there moved a bit. He was in full color, but had a silver aspect at the same time. Not like it was real, or anything like that.

  Moving in, since it was Gary and frankly he didn't care if the man drowned there or not, as the water moved up, he grinned. After all, the douche was annoying as all hell. Everything was a constant problem or issue for him. Everything. Even the Jell-O was always wrong for the whining piece of human waste. Even when the orderlies got him hooked up with his favorite kind.

  Howard didn't complain about things like that. He just got his own. Or used to.

  Touching the image of Gary didn’t work at all. Not that he was totally there. Parts of the man showed and looked real enough, but other pieces of him just vanished into blackness.

  That got a solid nod.

  “Got it. Anything that doesn’t show in the mirror is black. So… The points of light are all things being reflected?” That was a thing to test anyway.

  Looking down, he didn’t really see himself. Not in more than a faint outline. There just wasn’t enough light for that kind of thing. Still, he could feel that he had the cloth hospital gown on. The kind that didn't close in the back, since it was either the dignity of his ass not showing, or having the ability to pee on the toilet. He couldn’t have both.

  Gary was abandoned, since that seemed about right anyway. They weren’t friends and the man didn't seem to have anything worth stealing at the moment. Not that Howard would do that, even though he felt like it acutely, for some reason. Really badly, once he considered the idea. If he couldn’t touch him, that would be too hard to make happen. Good stealing required getting something, after all.

  Plus, he had rules, when it came to theft. Solid ones, that had kept him out of prison over a sixty-year long career. The first one was simple. No unplanned crimes. If it was worth doing, then doing it right, every time, just made sense.

  Even if Gary annoyed him enough that he didn't fit the second rule. Not hurting innocent people more than they could take. The whining waste of humanity didn’t get to be called that. Innocent. He had to know he made others’ lives just a little worse each day he lived.

  So, he moved away, heading toward the other bits of light. That was instructive, really. Most of them were mirrors. Things that, when he paid attention, looked into the other rooms of the old folks’ home.

  “Oh, I better not be left haunting this shit hole forever. Right, Tabs?” There was no answer, though for some reason the cat didn’t struggle to get down, just purring instead.

  Probably because the situation was screwed up, big time.

  The world was empty, for the most part, but not wanting to be stuck there forever, Howard pointed at what seemed to be a star in the sky, away in the distance, and started walking. It felt strange to him and took a very long time to make happen. After a while, he noticed there were little pools of light along the way. It felt like his eyes were adjusting a bit to the dark.

  The light he’d picked though was big, compared to the smaller points of glowing silver around him. Those were like fireflies, compared to the brilliant shine he was trying for.

  It was in front of him, but when Howard got to it, he understood the idea.

  “The gym. Up on the hill.” He’d never gone inside, but knew it was a twenty-four hour a day place. The sign on the outside had claimed that anyway.

  The glow that he saw showed a large room when he got there. One filled with exercise equipment. Stationary bikes, treadmills and some interesting looking weight machines. Things with bands instead of metal plates, like he was used to. Or had been, earlier in his life. The mirror there was huge though, with lines in it, showing that it was a series of four by eight sections that took up an entire wall. The floor inside looked dry at least. No one was inside, either.

  “Which makes sense. I wouldn’t have stayed, if I hadn’t been sleeping through the evacuation like that.” It was tempting to say that he couldn’t believe that he’d be left like that, but there had probably been others. Gary was the only one that deserved it though, at a guess.

  Moving to the large expanse of glass, which clearly showed a large room on the other side, with red carpet and white walls, he sighed. Then, reaching his right hand up, he tapped the glass. At least he tried to. The instant he made contact, or should have, things flashed again.

  That got a bit of an upset meow from the kitten in his arms. The room got brighter as well, instead of dimming. Also, more complete. Totally, in fact. The feeling under his feet shifted at the same time.

  “Holy fudge. Holy mother of fudge.”

  They were in the gym. It felt solid as well. The floor did. There was noise in the room. That was… It took him a moment to work it out, having to remember the sound. It was wind. A whistling of it from outside.

  There was no electricity on in the building, so no hum from it. The light through the window was bright enough at least.

  Looking into the mirror, he nearly jumped.

  It was him. Standing there, in a stupid light blue hospital gown. Holding a rather youthful looking cat.

  “Ah.” He sounded different as well. Young, for one thing. Then, that matched his face.

  It wasn’t perfect, of course. The vision was skinny. At least as much as he had been when he was working as a second story man. There were no lines though. If he needed to put a number on it, he would have figured the kid in the mirror as being about seventeen. Give or take a year. Short, but taller than he had been. He thought. There were no lines. The ears were a little big. Sticking out like they always had. His nose was crooked. Not a lot, but enough that he didn’t look like a dandy or girly man. Like he’d taken a shot or two over the years and it had marked him.

  Like it always had been.

  His teeth… That part got him to open his mouth and actually stare. They were all there. He’d been missing most of them, but sticking a finger in his mouth, they seemed real. Freakishly white, as well. Like a movie star.

  The room around him seemed concrete. Now at least.

  Then it hit him.

  “That infection thing. The powers? It’s
not exactly new… Just not a thing I was expecting.”

  Reaching out, he touched the mirror again. The room flashed and dimmed, leaving him there, on the other side, with darkness in the distance. Another tap put him back. He didn't look four years old or anything, so took it to mean that he wasn’t going to get constantly younger or anything every time he used this new power.

  That part was different, he had to admit. The Infection was a known thing, and had been for a long time.

  Since nineteen sixty-eight. Howard remembered when people had first shown up with that kind of thing. Powers. Super strength or moving things with their minds. Magic, basically. It wasn’t everyone. Really, it wasn’t even common. Most people barely knew anyone that was infected. He’d met some, but thieves traveled in different circles than most people. Tapping the mirror again, he started to work out what was going on.

  “Okay, so, moving through the mirrors made me younger. Each time I touch one, I can do that? Go inside of it. I can take other things.” At least he could grab a cat and carry it with him.

  Setting the girl down, and she did look a lot younger now, like a very young adult cat, or possibly a big kitten, he checked the place out. Without moving first. After all, being close to a mirror gave him a possible escape route, if anyone came. Not that him being there was that big of a deal. Except that his I.D. which he didn’t have on him, wouldn’t have worked now. He just didn’t look like himself anymore.

  “Not that it was real, anyway.” Most of his life had been lived with fake papers. That was a thing he could work out again, with a bit of effort.

  Stealing was his way of life, after all. Which got him to nod.

  Clothing was the first thing he needed. That and some cash. Though, working out what he could do, power wise, was kind of up there as well. Moving carefully, ready to run to the expansive silver pathway along the wall, since it was his best escape route, he found a room that was filled with free weights.

  “Testing time then. Let’s steal some dumbbells!” He sounded happy, which hadn’t been a thing in his life for a while. Not since he’d retired.