She had, in fact, been a mercenary herself. She worked in the morally gray zone and hired herself out to the highest bidder, in her case Lazarus Pharmaceuticals.
She shook her head free from the thoughts of the past. In her experience one could get lost in the regrets of actions long since gone. She had a job to do in the present.
She moved fast and low, always staying in the shadows. Her mind worked on overdrive adding every small piece of information she had to the events unfolding around her. The guards Lu killed had been well dressed in dark blue uniforms and varying pieces of body armor. They carried assault rifles and handguns strapped to their sides. All signs were pointing toward a midsize militia with adequate equipment.
The fact that neither soldier carried a radio meant they couldn’t check in at pre-established intervals. How long before they were missed was anyone’s guess. One thing remained certain, Taylor had to move fast.
Traveling from shadow to shadow she worked her way through the town, always toward the beam of glowing light, cautious to listen for any other moving patrol. Her path led her through the heart of the city. Either by sheer luck or fate she was spared from running into any other guards.
Cold sweat on her brow, Taylor knelt against the cold exterior of a large brick building. Peeking around the corner she finally got a glimpse of what was causing the light.
The glow was coming from multiple spotlights mounted on guard towers that spanned around a four-story wall. More lights acted like a beacon in the dark city and came from the inside of the fence where it appeared some kind of community had taken root.
Taylor’s mind went back to the conversation the guards were having before Lu intervened. They were talking about watching a vault. She didn’t believe in coincidence. They had to be talking about the same vault Taylor and her friends had been searching for.
If that was the case, then Taylor had to find a way inside their fortifications. Surprise was her greatest asset now and she didn’t plan on wasting the edge. Her eyes roved around the outside of the divider searching for a weakness in its construction. The defensive structure itself was far from intimidating. It looked as though vehicles tacked on top of one another gave the wall its foundation. Layers of mismatched sheet steel provided a rough outer surface.
The watchtowers were placed strategically to ensure maximum visibility to anything coming from outside the barricade. Cover would be sparse the last leg of her journey to the wall. Any building immediately surrounding the fortification had been leveled. Rubble lay strewn in small piles too low to provide concealment when approaching.
Taylor was torn. The sun was still hours away from rising but the missing guards could come into play at any moment. She could scout the wall and hope to find a better way in or she could try the section in front of her.
A spot on the fortification between two guard towers was her best bet. The section of the barricade was twenty yards across. The roving spotlights were pointed down toward the ground. Neither one of them moved. The guards on duty didn’t seem eager to continually sweep their light through the dark.
Ten seconds, Taylor thought to herself. I can make it over the wall in ten seconds. Why couldn’t speed have been one of my new abilities?
Although it was a risky move, riskier still was taking more time to scout the wall for a better entrance point that may not exist. Taylor visualized her movements. She would sprint through the rubble, staying as low as she could. As soon as she reached base of the wall she would levitate up and over it. The idea that she had never lifted herself up that high crossed her mind, but it was quickly dismissed. She would be able to do it if for no other reason than she had to.
Her nose and ears tingled with the night’s chill. She waited a moment longer, listening for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing, not so much as the rustle of the wind or an echo of words from the wall.
Taylor burst from her hiding spot at a sprint. Eyes only on the area of the barrier she would ascend, Taylor’s boots crossed the rubble at breakneck speed.
Almost there, a few more seconds.
Chest heaving, she reached the barrier and threw her mental will toward lifting off the ground and over the wall. On command she began to rise, slower than she would have liked.
Thus far she had managed to make her trip without raising the alarm. The spotlights remained in their downward pose, no shouts came from the guards presumably inside the towers.
As Taylor lifted higher and higher she strained to see any sign of soldiers manning the lights. Whether it was too dark in the square watchtowers or there was no one inside a tremor of worry swept through her mind.
The possibility that a trap was in play ate at her morale not for the first time. Was this too easy? Taylor didn’t have time to think. She was over the wall. What she saw next took her breath away.
***
She didn’t really know what she expected to see; a military encampment, some kind of factory, a hole in the ground? Whatever it was, it had not prepared her eyes to take in the reality of life inside the barrier.
A neighborhood of pristine houses sat side by side. As though a silent miracle occurred and the Dread had not touched this small portion of the world, manicured lawns and paved streets greeted her. Working streetlamps burned away the darkness. A false sense of security began to ooze over her razor sharp focus.
Taylor lowered herself down over the wall. A pair of guards must have just passed her position. Their backs were to her now. Both wore the same dark blue uniform as the two Lu had killed earlier that night.
Shaking herself from the feeling of déjà vu, Taylor ran to the first house and crouched beside the wall. The guards continued on their patrol.
She took a moment to gather herself. Everything around her was like living in some kind of twisted reality, as if a time warp had sent her back two years ago to a time all of this was possible. It was the ominous steel wall on her right that reminded her of the truth.
For the first time Taylor caught the sound of a dull murmur. The sound was comforting in a way. It was the first noise other than her own breathing she had heard since leaving Lu.
Meticulously, she made her way down the block of houses and toward the noise. Trying to find cover was practically useless. The best she could hope for was pausing between each house to reassess her situation. No cars lined the streets, nor did any shadows offer havens from prying eyes.
Taylor moved quickly, head on a swivel, always searching for signs of the enemy. All the while the dull noise grew in volume. It was a sound she knew she remembered, except in that moment couldn’t quite place. Then, as she dodged from yet another house toward the next building she turned a corner and witnessed a scene that made her so furious her hands tightened to fists.
Chapter 12
The sound she knew she recognized was the white noise of a crowd of people. However, this gathering was unlike any she had ever witnessed. Seeing hundreds of human beings corralled together and penned in a cage for the night was something Taylor didn’t know how to process. Her hands shook with a combination of anger, sadness, and shock.
She knew what the Reckoners were doing. She never thought Lu was lying to her when he spoke of humans selling other humans as slaves, but to see it herself was entirely different.
The cage was made up of black steel bars like a prison cell. The pen was enormous, perhaps the size of three houses. People of all ages lay on the icy ground visibly shivering against the cold.
Taylor’s eyes watered, while rage built in her chest. She chided herself for not being more careful. As she took in the scene a pair of guards standing near the cell doors noticed her.
Already, rifles were pointed to her direction. Yells of warning were cutting through the night air. All hopes at a stealthy entrance were over. Taylor knew she wouldn’t, couldn’t leave without freeing these people. In a world that had abandoned them to slavery, she would set them free or die trying.
More shouts were tearing through the nighttim
e silence. Boots were echoing up and down the street behind Taylor.
All right, this is it, she thought to herself. Unbreakable skin, don’t fail me now.
A rush of energy pulsated through her body, bringing a white glow to her clenched fists.
“Stop!” one of the two guards standing in front of the prison cage bellowed. She was a bulky female holding a pump action shotgun. “On your knees!”
“Not today,” Taylor said, walking toward her without the slightest hint of hesitation in her gait. “I’m giving you one warning to stand aside. One warning is more than you deserve.”
By now Taylor had gained an audience. More and more guards were joining the others, creating a circle around her. A dozen guns ranging from rifles, to pistols, to shotguns were aimed at her chest and head. Red dots played across her body like tiny heralds of death ready to pounce.
Along with the contingent of soldiers, the slaves inside the pen were rousing from sleeping nightmares to their waking one. They peered out from between the breaks in the cell bars, men, women, and children, all malnourished, all skeleton thin, all void of hope.
Taylor couldn’t give them her attention now. She had to stay focused.
“I said stop!” the woman screamed again. She looked to Taylor’s glowing hands with large eyes. “What are you?”
Walking forward, Taylor knew there was nothing the woman could say that would make her hesitate even the slightest bit. She was on a mission.
“Fire!” the woman ordered.
A moment later the world lit up with the roar of firearms. Taylor said a silent prayer as she felt the bullets strike her skin and bounce off. The feeling was like being flicked in a hundred different places. No pain came with the bullets. It was annoying more than anything else.
As the rounds shredded her clothes Taylor thought back to the conversation she had had with Lu earlier that night. If she killed these guards now she would be a hypocrite. She had an opportunity to end the cycle of death.
Instead of aiming directly at her targets she aimed at the ground in front of them, sending explosive white beams of energy at their feet. Her attacks exploded on impact, propelling guards into the air.
If they landed without breaking their necks was anyone’s guess. It was as far as Taylor could concern herself at the moment.
In this way she exchanged fire with the guards. The looks on their faces turned from resolve to fear as they witnessed more and more of their number rocket backward to land on roofs, on lawns, even blown back through windows of the houses. One guard flew straight back into the pen of slaves itself. Back pressed against the cell rods he struggled to regain his breath. A handful of angry arms grabbed him and held him in place.
Anger spurred her on when fatigue would have set in. Taylor felt the hot energy of her power as she called forth the ability from her glowing white hands. She lost track of how many guards she sent rocketing back on the heels of an explosion. They seemed to never stop. More and more came from the houses, from down the street, from everywhere. It was like they had expected her.
The bullets that hit her body in a constant beat soon became a second thought. The cries of the wounded mixed with the cheers from the slaves created a confusing cacophony of sound.
The guards that stood around her, those still able to walk, began to retreat.
Could it have been that easy? Taylor thought to herself. No, don’t be stupid.
As if to punctuate her last thought two soldiers ran forward holding heavy equipment. They wore full suits of Kevlar body armor. One carried an RPG, the other a grenade launcher.
Taylor had a moment to strike first while they aimed. She refused the opportunity. If bullets felt like flicks of fingers, grenades and rockets couldn’t be that much worse, right?
Wrong.
Like in some kind of western standoff, Taylor stared down the man holding the grenade launcher as he pulled the trigger. She crossed her arms over her chest. She leaned forward into the grenade. The impact of the explosion sent white dots across her vision. What should have obliterated bone and muscle felt like a blow to her arms. The force pushed her back, echoing into her sternum and ribcage. Taylor grimaced and staggered.
An audible gasp came from the prisoners as they witnessed their savior take her first damaging strike. Taylor shook her head to clear the cobwebs from her brain. Smoke rose from her body in steaming wisps. If it wasn’t for the amount of heat radiating from deep within her core Taylor would have felt frozen. Her clothes were hanging off her in shreds. The area of her arms where the grenade had struck was completely bare. Her jacket and shirt were torn from bullet holes, even her pants looked like they had been through a shredder.
I’m going to have to invest in some kind of bulletproof outfit, Taylor thought idly.
Pushing the idea that she would be naked if the fight continued on any longer from her mind, Taylor shot a blast forward. Her aim was slightly off. Instead of exploding in front of the guard with the grenade launcher it met his left foot and severed his limb from the ankle down. He screamed as he was bullied backward by the force.
“Sorry,” Taylor said with a grimace. “No, wait, I’m not actually. You’re trying to kill me.”
The female soldier holding the RPG was already on one knee. She took aim and fired her weapon. Less willing to see how she stood up against an RPG after the grenade, Taylor met the attack head on. A beam of white light raced forward and intercepted the RPG. The explosion echoed through the night air. Taylor blinked against the brilliant detonation of light. When the gray twisting smoke cleared the female soldier who had fired the weapon was lying on the pavement struggling to breathe.
Another cheer from the prisoners in the pen rose heavenward. The ovations died in the mouths of the slaves as another wave of soldiers moved to encircle Taylor.
They were less willing to engage this time. Many of the facility guards wore masks of terror on their faces.
They stood there for a moment without anything happening. Taylor could feel the muscle in her jaw line tighten and relax as she waited for the next attack. It never came.
“Come on then,” Taylor said as she pivoted in a circle. “What are you waiting for?”
“They’re waiting for my command,” an unfamiliar male voice said from somewhere behind a group of guards.
Taylor searched for the person speaking. A man separated himself from the grouping of soldiers. He wore an expensive looking suit, a smile across his thin lips as he walked toward her.
“I wanted to see what you could do before I stopped you. And I can honestly say the cost of men was worth it. You are extraordinary, Taylor Hart. I hope you understand and believe that.”
“How do you know my name?” Taylor asked. A sinking feeling began at her throat. It worked its way down to her stomach as the possibility of this all being a trap was confirmed. “Who are you?”
“I told him.”
Unlike the stranger in front of her, Taylor recognized the second voice. Her thoughts were confirmed when Dr. Valery Spear joined the man.
“I told him everything about you, Taylor,” Valery said with a smile that showed her newly pointed teeth. “We’ve monitored you since you entered the city. We followed you inside the wall and allowed you to showcase your abilities. I have to say it was very amusing.”
Taylor still had a hard time understanding how the Dread could corrupt someone, change them so totally. Dr. Spear had never been her favorite person. Although they had disagreed on how best to aid the Ark in the past, Taylor knew the doctor was always doing what she thought was genuinely right.
“How did you know?” Taylor asked, her mind working on overdrive for the correct answer. “How did you know I would come here?”
“You haven’t figured it out yet?” Valery tsked with her tongue as she would if she were scolding a small child. “I’m disappointed in you, Taylor. You traveled with him almost the entire way and didn’t realize?”
Taylor tried swallowing, her mouth was dry
.
Valery waved her hand behind her and motioned someone forward. Jason entered Taylor’s line of sight. Eyes red and half his hair gone, he grinned.
***
“W-when…” Taylor said, feeling sick when she realized she had failed since the escape from the Ark. “How?”
“I was turned when Valery attacked me inside the Ark,” Jason said, scratching his head. Another clump of hair fell at his feet. “The night we camped in the Reckoners site, I managed to get away without anyone seeing. I told her everything, your evolving powers, your journey to the Vault, even the latest addition to our team. Where is the Iron Wolf by the way?”
“What did you do with the others?” Taylor stepped forward, preparing to take on all three Dread along with the soldiers. “If you hurt them, so help me God I—”
“There’s no need for empty threats,” the man in the suit said. “Your friends are useless to us dead. As you might have noticed our slave force is a bit…thin at the moment. They’ll serve a purpose.”
Images of Cidney, Frank and Melissa forced to live their lives in a cage sent Taylor over the edge. She pushed both her hands forward, taking aim at the man in the suit and Valery at the same time. A rush of heat and white energy should have left her hands, nothing happened.
Taylor repeated the motion with the same effect.
“I can probably clear this up for you,” the man in the suit said, taking a few more steps forward, placing him within striking distance of Taylor. “My name is Cole Kinshu. I’m a Dread Lieutenant. I’m able to dampen, even completely negate the powers of other gifted beings. You’re helpless, Taylor, surrender peacefully.”
The entire time Cole was speaking Taylor was trying again and again to call forth the white energy inside of her. It was gone. The well of power deep in her core, the heat that would gather and glow in her hands, was dried up like a puddle of water in the Sahara Desert.
“Surrender and then what?” Taylor asked, meeting Cole’s dark eyes as she hoped to buy herself some time until an opportunity presented itself. “I’ll be one of your slaves along with the others?”
All The Broken People (The Dread Series Book 2) Page 12