by Tonya Kuper
We stopped in the middle of nowhere. Reid pulled out a tablet with a map. “See this little ridge right here on the map? That’s right up there in front of us.” He pointed out the windshield. “The ghost town is on the other side of the ridge. It would be best to wait a few minutes for Dad to catch up with his team from the Hub. In the meantime, we need to prepare.”
We got out of the vehicle, stepping onto dry, cracked dirt. Dust covered my boots. The warmth felt good, but I knew it wasn’t going to help any of us in the long run.
Reid grabbed my hand as he guided me to the back of the SUV. There was something comforting about the sensation of his fingers enveloping mine.
He paused and stared at me, something behind his eyes. I wasn’t sure exactly what Reid saw when he looked at me, but I knew he saw beyond the sci-fi nerd, my weirdness, and my defense mechanisms. He recognized my vulnerabilities and flaws. And still, he liked me. He cared for me. Despite all that, he wanted me.
He let go of my hand and leaned to my ear. “Stay safe. Please.” His voice was soft, but he didn’t whisper.
That one little moment was enough to make my heart explode like the Death Star—a happy blast.
Tipping his head toward the open tailgate that revealed organized tiers of weapons, he indicated our little moment was up. Time to get to work.
Reid
If we weren’t about to go start some serious shit, I would’ve told Josie so much. But now wasn’t the time. I had a feeling she understood, though.
Cohen was already handing equipment out among the five of us. “If a good wind comes up, we might want to cover our mouths and noses.” He pointed to a stack of bandanas. “Otherwise, dress yourselves with the safety gear and weapons you want. Don’t forget a water pack. There are various kinds to choose from.”
Kat was the first with grabby hands, pulling a safety vest from the bottom of the SUV. Josie snatched a dagger and slid it into the side of her boot.
We all chose the weapons and equipment that suited each of us best. As we got our safety gear in place, most of us going for the bulletproof vests, and weapons stashed, I thought I should say something. Like, give a pep talk of sorts.
“Guys,” I yelled, waving everyone closer. “We are about to lead a group of Resistance Oculi to fight against the Consortium, the very people who want to exterminate Anomalies.” That was, besides Josie’s family who had unprecedented abilities or the knowledge to create tools to aid Oculi abilities. “Our first priority is to take out Max and as many Consortium soldiers as possible before the President and Secretary of Defense arrive for the demonstration. We have to do this before they get here. Our safety and freedom as Oculi is preserved by being kept secret.”
“Agreed,” Josie said, slinging a crossbow over her shoulder.
Cohen smiled. “Now who’s going all Captain America on us, all inspirational.”
“Hey,” I said, “Some chicks dig Captain America.” Josie’s cheeks flushed pink.
Coe hit my shoulder then pulled the binoculars up to his face. “Just giving you shit, man.”
Zac shook his head and tucked a HK45C piston, the gun Santos preferred, into the waistband of his jeans. “I’m going to get the enhancing serum from my dad. By force if I have to.”
Cohen, looking through binoculars over the ridge into the abandoned village, whistled over his shoulder to us. “I don’t see soldiers anywhere. I only see two Secret Service guys outside of one of the shacks. That has to be where the VP is, but no VP.”
He handed the binoculars to Zac. “Yep. One of them is my dad’s closest security—wait! There’s my dad,” Zac said. “I don’t see the troops anywhere, either.” He passed the binoculars back to Cohen. He turned around as his eyes flittered sporadically like a hummingbird. He looked nervous. Or maybe he was thinking. “Think I can go try to reason with him?” he finally asked.
The five of us exchanged looks. I pulled my phone out and texted Zac’s question to Dad. My phone rang immediately. Dad.
Everyone stared at me as I listened to my father. “Got it. Thank you,” I said, then shoved my phone back in my pocket. Turning to Zac, I said, “If anyone will be able to appeal to him before this situation elevates, that’d be you. Dad said they’ll be here in under five, but if you think you can connect to him, or appeal to him in a different way, it’s worth a try.”
Nobody argued with me and we trekked in silence toward the shack where they saw the VP. The quietness was almost eerie. The only sounds were our feet shuffling through low brush and dirt and the wind whistling.
Josie scrunched low beside me, her determined eyes squinting. Peeking over the ridge, the abandoned town lay before us, if it could even be considered a town. Five or so skeletons of buildings were tossed alongside the paved two-lane road. Three of them were close in proximity to each other, with an ancient water tower looming behind them.
In the distance, several twentieth-century buildings were clumped together away from the older ones. I Pushed binoculars into my hands to check for movement. The newer buildings were surrounded by a fence that was adorned with no trespassing signs. It appeared abandoned, too.
Scurrying low to the ground and behind the closest dilapidated building, we watched the shack where Brown had to be. Only one man, dressed like Secret Service, stood guard.
Zac, the first in the row of us pressed against the building, waved to the three of us to get our attention. “I want to approach my dad by myself first,” he whispered.
I understood that. And right now, it only seemed to be his dad and low security, though I was hoping the element of surprise would be on our side.
I nodded and he ran across to the old building. The door, barely hanging on at the hinges, squeaked open. “Thank you for meeting,” Vice President Brown said to someone inside the building. He stepped out of the doorway, into the sun. “I imagine things—” Brown froze, his eyes wide in disbelief. “Zac!” I chanced a peek. He moved to greet his son, revealing his visitor—Max.
Max, standing in the doorway of the shack, glared at Zac, his mouth in a tight line. The rigid stance, the raised chin. He was a cobra, poised to spit venom.
My heart rocketed into my head, the erratic beat thumping inside my skull.
Josie, standing behind me, slowly twisted her body away from the Vice President and Max. She whispered to Cohen and Kat.
“Dad,” Zac said, standing sure with his head high and shoulders back. “I need to talk to you in private. Now. It’s critical.” If the words weren’t enough to persuade his father, the urgency in his unwavering voice had to be.
I interlocked my pinky with Josie’s. She curled her finger around mine, pulling it into her hand. We listened, not looking at one another.
The Vice President’s plan to militarize the Consortium would end badly—badly meaning genocide of Anomalies, when inevitably the Oculi were deemed too powerful. If Oculi or even just Anomalies were outed to the public, things would go south fast. I would have liked to give humans the benefit of the doubt, but people often didn’t like what they didn’t understand. Those who preached acceptance did so until it was something they didn’t agree with. Hypocrisy was just another human condition.
The VP stepped toward Zac with a pointed finger. “You had instructions to follow Max’s orders, Zac. To say I’m disappointed in your choices is an understatement. How’d you get here? How’d you know where to find me?” Brown’s gaze pinballed around the collection of buildings in ruins as he stepped to the ground from the step.
Zac, unflinching, closed the space between him and his dad. He was a good two inches taller than the Vice President. “What are you really doing, Dad? Using the Consortium in the military isn’t safe for anyone, especially for Anomalies like me, like your own son.”
“It’s more complicated than that,” the VP shot back. “Max was going to keep you safe. I’ve had special arrangements made for you.”
Zac shook his head. “No, it’s not complicated at all. You and Max want power, and
this is the biggest power play there is. You don’t care who you hurt along the way, including me.” Max glared at Zac, crossing his arms and still standing in the doorway.
The Vice President let out a hefty, fake laugh. “That is an oversimplistic view of the situation.”
Another Secret Service officer rounded the corner and reached for his firearms. The VP held his hand up to them. “It’s just Zac. We’re fine. Please leave us.” The security retreated with no questions asked.
Josie and I glanced at each other. This wasn’t going in the best direction. With Max here and Zac’s emotions running high, we needed to actually see, be able to view, what was going on to Push and Retract if need be.
Zac’s eyes narrowed as he took a step away from his father. “I don’t believe the situation is complicated; it’s pretty straightforward.”
Brown stepped again toward Zac. “You weren’t supposed to be a part of it, Zac. You were supposed to stay at the Hub, then go with Max to safety.”
Max hadn’t moved. He simply watched Zac.
“And leave every other Oculi to fend for themselves,” Zac said, not shrinking away from his dad. “How kind, you self-righteous bastard. Who are you to make that decision?”
The VP’s eyes widened as if he were surprised. “How dare you talk to me like that.”
“Do you hear yourself?” Zac asked. “How dare I talk to you a certain way when you are knowingly putting an entire community in danger?”
VP Brown’s face softened. “You’re young, Zac. You don’t fully understand the way of the world yet.”
“Stop. I understand more than you think. Don’t insult me.”
Max stepped forward. “How’d you get here, Zac?”
Zac could’ve leveled Max with his glare. “I don’t speak to murderers. Nothing personal.” Brown’s collected demeanor fell away, the corners of his mouth curling down into a scowl. “Go. Now. I don’t have time for this.”
Brown tried to walk past Zac, but Zac blocked his way. “Give me the vial of serum, Dad.”
Brown let out an exaggerated laugh in his son’s face. The next second, thick, braided rope appeared around the Vice President, holding his arms to his sides. “Give me the vial,” Zac yelled, as he went for his dad’s jacket pocket.
Kat walked up behind Zac from the other side of the building where we were hiding.
Shit. I hadn’t seen her sneak away. I glanced back to Josie and Cohen, who both shrugged and shook their heads. Neither of them apparently had seen her leave us, either. This wasn’t part of the plan. I knew she was just trying to help, giving the VP more incentive to cooperate, but she didn’t know how dangerous Max was. He still hadn’t used up his reserve of Oculi powers. We had no idea what he had left in him. Anxiety prickled up my spine.
I glanced over my shoulder to Josie and Cohen, who stared at me in confusion.
“Don’t make him say it again,” Kat said, stepping closer to Zac.
Max shook his head. “Silly girl.”
The ropes disappeared from around Brown. It had to have been Max who Retracted them, unless Brown had abilities we didn’t know about.
Not wanting to give away our location, I held a hand up to Josie and Cohen, indicating to stay put.
The Vice President grabbed one of Zac’s arms. Zac threw a punch at his dad’s jaw with the opposite fist.
Behind me, Josie gasped. “He just punched his dad!”
Brown stumbled back a step, stunned. Zac pulled his dad’s suit coat open, still looking for the enhancing serum. This wasn’t going as I’d hoped.
Max, now out of the doorway, had worked his way to the opposite side of Zac and his dad. He was fixated on the family fighting, like the rest of us. Neither he nor Brown fit the scene with their business attire and shiny shoes—not that any of us probably really looked like we belonged in the middle of a ghost town.
The VP bent forward, clutched one knee to stabilize himself, and rubbed his jaw. We couldn’t see his face. Zac stood at the ready, his stance wide, hands loose, and focused on his father.
Max squinted as the wind swirled dust between the buildings. He took off toward Kat, maybe twenty feet between them. Kat Pushed a stone wall, at least ten feet tall and just as wide, inches in front of Max. The wall appeared so quickly he didn’t have time stop or even slow. He ran into the wall and fell backward onto his backside.
Without warning, Josie sprinted past me toward Kat. She was out of arm’s reach before I realized what was happening. I didn’t think when I shoved away from the splintered wood siding and ran after Josie. I forced my legs to work harder than they ever had. Two more steps to Josie, ten to Kat.
The wall Kat had Pushed vanished and Max moved. As if in slow motion, Josie decelerated.
Max raised his hand and something metal reflected the afternoon sun. Panic flashed through me and my heart faltered. It could’ve been a gun or a knife. Regardless, I couldn’t take any chances. I jumped in front of Josie, simultaneously Retracting the reflective object in Max’s hand.
My body hit the hard ground, but I tucked my head, trying to prevent injury. My eyes still on Max, I Retracted the dirt from under his feet and his body fell below my line of vision.
That was close.
As far as we knew, Max was a Retractor, and that six-foot-deep pit wouldn’t keep him contained for too long. I shoved off the ground, tiny bits of rock and dirt sticking to my palms. Nausea rolled through me as a vicious pain streaked down my leg.
I’d been hit. Crap. I didn’t have time for that.
Josie’s face appeared over me. “Oh. Oh, Reid. No. You shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’ll be okay. Just a graze. Guess he got that shot off.” I hadn’t even heard it. “Where are Brown and Zac? The others?”
Josie’s head swiveled around, worry etched into her features. “They took off behind the shed, Zac chasing his dad. Kat’s with him.”
“Max?” I grunted.
“Cohen just disappeared around the opposite side of the building. I think he’s going after him.” She looked the other direction. “Your dad is running this way with Resistance soldiers. Thank Thor.”
Dad’s face appeared over me. “Looks like a graze. We’ll get you fixed up.” He waved someone over. “We have to act now if we want to take Max and the Consortium before the POTUS and Secretary of Defense get here.” Someone ripped my jeans to expose my wound.
“The rest of the underground Resistance fighters are on their way, but we can’t wait for them,” Dad said. “It’s now or never. We’re going to have to make do with who we have here.”
Josie and I both nodded. A cool liquid hit my leg, then a tormenting sting radiated through my thigh. I sucked in a deep breath, balled a fist, and dug my fingernails into my palm.
I heard Cohen’s voice near. He must’ve circled back.
“Josie,” Dad whispered. She met his stare. “You don’t have to do this. You understand this is severely dangerous and the consequences are—”
“Yes. I know I’m risking my life. But I have the greatest probability of killing Max and the Consortium Oculi.” She stumbled over the word killing, like it stuck in her throat. “I can do this.”
The thought of Josie putting her life on the line split me into pieces. Part of me, the part that respected her decision to do this and knew she was capable of making her own decisions, ballooned with pride. But the other part of me, the part that wanted a future with her, the selfish part of me, ached from the terror of possibly losing her.
20.
Josie
Whatever that medic guy did to fix Reid’s leg did the trick, because Reid ran beside me like he hadn’t just been grazed by a bullet. That or Reid was freaking Wolverine and had healed already.
Harrison and Cohen jogged ten feet behind us, leading about twenty men and women ready to fight.
“They ran behind that building,” Cohen yelled, pointing to the largest structure in the abandoned town. Half of the rectangular building’s roof n
o longer existed. Parts of the collapsing walls had been patched with scrap metal, which made a low, hollow shuttering sound in the desert wind. An entire corner of the building had crumbled into the ground like a trampled sandcastle.
We approached the structure and sweat trickled down the middle of my back as the sun fried me. The hair on my neck stuck to my skin.
We approached the building, but there were no signs of Brown, Max, Zac, or Kat. Rounding the corner, Reid peeked into the structure. “Empty.”
Shading my eyes with my hand, I scanned the horizon. Mountains, desert, a few shells of buildings. The waves from the heat swayed above the ground, almost hypnotizing me. “Maybe they went over there,” I said. “That’s a large building, isn’t it? Or is it an optical illusion?” I gestured to the dark mass on the other side of a ridge.
Reid squinted in the direction I pointed. Cohen pulled binoculars up to his eyes. “We have a problem,” Cohen whispered. “That’s not a building.”
Reid leaned close to Cohen to look through the binoculars. “Shit. Dad, army of Consortium approaching.”
“Sir,” someone from behind us yelled. “Advise shelter.”
Something detonated about twenty feet in front of us before Harrison had a chance to reply or give an order. The blast reverberated in my chest. Soil and rocks flew everywhere, showering us. I turned away, squeezed my eyes closed, and covered my head, Pushing my personal shield over me, Reid, Cohen, and Harrison.
I glanced to Reid, who was already looking at me. A low hum rang in my ears. Reid’s mouth moved, but I couldn’t make out the words. I shook my head and pointed to my ears.
Reid pulled me up and leaned to my ear. “The ringing will pass. I said that we’re lucky the Consortium is made up of mostly Pushers and Retractors. Very few Anomalies. We have better aim.” He winked then twisted to his dad, motioning to the approaching Consortium horde.