by Jon Gerrard
* * *
At the front of the warehouse Shay and Magda were still managing to keep the forces in the middle aisle pinned down. Matt was crouching behind Shay, his eyes closed in concentration while he listened to the thoughts of the guards as they tried to advance on their position.
“Now,” he whispered.
Shay leaned around the edge of the shelf and fired off several bursts, forcing the guards to drop to the floor.
Nearby, Reed was crouching out of the line of fire as he stared intently at the roll down car door in the middle of the front wall. Shay unleashed a final burst into the aisle then ducked back around the corner as return fire peppered the edge of the shelf near her.
“Well?” Shay said to Reed.
“Vanessa’s on her way.”
Shay pressed her back against the shelf, taking several deep breaths to calm her nerves as she waited for Matt to signal her.
On the other side of the aisle Magda was waiting for Shay to open fire again. With Matt telling them when to shoot they had been able to fight the advancing guards to a standstill. Above her, their other secret weapon, James, lay stretched out on his stomach on one of the upper shelves as he peered through a gap between two boxes. Whenever he saw one of the guards start to raise up he would focus on his weapon, heating it until the guard screamed and dropped it. He was still weak from all of the energy he had poured into super heating the window frame and was having trouble generating enough energy to heat even a single gun. Every time he used his ability now he felt himself get lightheaded. But he was not going to sit on the sidelines while his friends risked their lives and he kept himself going through sheer force of will.
Across the aisle Matt tapped Shay’s arm and she spun around the corner to fire down the aisle again. As she did so Danny climbed down from the top of the shelf behind her. He had been too exposed up there and had nearly gotten shot when the guards he hadn’t zapped opened fire on his position. After seeing how he had taken out almost half of their number in one blow, the rest of the guards had halted their advance, giving Danny the opportunity to change his position.
Danny crawled to the edge of the shelf and peered carefully around the corner into the first row. The guards were cautiously advancing, but this time the men in front were concentrating on their footing while the ones in the rear kept aim at the top of the shelves where Danny had originally positioned himself. Danny watched them as they approached, noting how they avoided contact with the slowly spreading puddle. They obviously thought it was the water itself that had been booby-trapped. Although the water had helped to conduct the electrical charge he had sent at them, he didn’t need it.
Danny watched the guards, waiting for them to get closer. He saw the leader hesitate when he realized that the puddle had spread across the entire width of the aisle. Then the guard looked at the shelf beside him. Stepping up onto the bottom level he began shuffling sideways along the shelf to keep his feet out of the water. If Danny had been safe sitting on top of the shelves, then climbing along the shelves should protect them from the electrical surge as well. The reasoning seemed sound. Unfortunately, it was wrong.
As the rest of the guards began lining up to follow him, Danny looked over his shoulder and whispered for Shay and the others to move away from the shelves. When they were clear, he grabbed one of the support legs with one hand and extended his free hand toward the door and its EM field. He waited, listening as the guards drew closer to the end of the aisle. When it sounded like the closest man was no more than a few yards away he sent his consciousness out to connect with the current feeding the EM barrier. Lightning leapt from the door to Danny’s outstretched hand, passed through his body, and surged into the metal shelving. Down the aisle the guards who were climbing along the shelves froze as their muscles locked, holding them clamped in place. Once again the aisle was bathed in an eerie bluish light as lightning danced along the men clinging to the metal structure.
Only about half of the remaining guards had actually started climbing along the shelves when Danny sent the electrical charge into the metal structure. The others had thrown themselves back when the lightning flared to life around their comrades. Moments later, as the lightning disappeared, the men who had been scaling the shelves dropped senselessly to the floor alongside the others Danny had taken out earlier. The ones who were still standing backed away.
Danny released the shelf and sagged to his knees. Channeling that much power through his body had left him weak.
“Danny!” Shay called out when she saw him sag down.
Danny looked back, gave her a weak smile and a thumbs up to tell her that he was okay.
Just then Matt tapped her and whispered, “Now!”
Shay leaned around the edge of the shelf and opened up with another burst, forcing the guards who had tried to advance on their position to drop to the floor again.