Enigma

by Tonya Kuper

  I smiled. I wasn’t sure what it said about either one of us, but I appreciated the wink while facing a possible bloodbath.

  Dust floated through the air, diffusing the sun. It looked as if a gauzy curtain hung between us and our enemies. I tugged my bandana up over my mouth and nose.

  The muted colors and muffled noises made the world seem like a warped reality. Or at least like I had sunglasses and headphones on.

  As our soldiers reorganized behind the cluster of ancient buildings, the Consortium troops approached from the foothills, an open, arid expanse separating us. They moved uphill toward us.

  Cohen had his binoculars up to his face again. “Brown, Max, Zac, and Kat leading in an UTV.” The veins in his neck stuck out as he shouted.

  Harrison pivoted, shouting orders to the Resistance members behind us. I only caught “Don’t injure” and “Resistance.” Probably warning everyone that two of our own where being held.

  For the first time, I really looked at the people behind us, the Resistance. There were at least twenty people in green jackets, underground Resistance soldiers, all armed as I would’ve expected an Army solider to be. They were all ages, genders, and ethnicities. A few had to be about my age. The rest of the people, maybe thirty of them, were dressed in regular clothing, just ordinary Oculi, most likely from the Hub. Some of us weren’t extensively trained for battle. They were simply fighting to keep us, the Resistance, many of whom were Anomalies like myself, alive.

  The soldiers stood at attention, listening to Harrison with sober expressions. Most of the other Resistance faces looked focused and ready. I was new to this battle, stepping in only at the last minute. Some of these people had stood against the Consortium for more than half of their lives, like my and Reid’s parents. Some of them, like the Davises who disappeared, had silently fought the Consortium their entire lives, before the Resistance was ever formed. This war had been building for decades and decades, and now finally came to a head. Here and now.

  Reid stepped to my side. “Don’t forget to watch what each person does. Most of them will only be able to Push or Retract. A lot of them will rely on weapons and physical contact. They obviously outnumber us and they’ll be ready to kill.”

  I was ready to fight, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t scared. A terror, real and deep, thrived inside me. I whirled around to face Reid. His brows furrowed and his mouth pressed into a hard line.

  I had so much to say. But what could I say when we were about to test our mortality and we were out of time? “If something happens to me, can you check on Eli every once in a while?”

  Reid pulled me closer and his eyes softened. “Nothing will happen. We’re going to fight for the Resistance and for humanity and for us. You and me.”

  My heart stuttered and I nodded. He was right. We were fighting for others but also for us, for a chance to be together. “It’s just the beginning for us.”

  It was a romantic sentiment and I was being positive, but I knew the real stakes. Reid and I both knew our lives, and thus our relationship, was at risk.

  Everyone around us yelled in unison, responding to whatever Harrison was saying. Cohen appeared next to us, clasping Reid on the shoulder. His eyes met mine first, then moved to Reid. “It’s time.”

  The next thing I knew, Reid tugged me against him, his lips collided with mine, and he pressed my mouth open. I wrapped my hands around his neck. With his arms still around me, he pulled his face away to take in my reaction. He just kissed me, like, really kissed me, in front of everyone.

  We didn’t have stupid trainer-trainee rules to follow anymore. Dear Loki, not hiding our feelings felt good. I couldn’t not smile. I just wished we could’ve experienced this, being a normal-ish couple, a little sooner.

  Resistance members had started moving in the direction of the Consortium. Reid slid his hands off my waist and one corner of his mouth curved upward. “Time to kick ass.”

  I nodded. Reid tipped his head in the direction of the Consortium. Shoving my fear to the side, Reid and I fell in step with the Resistance, running toward our enemy. With him beside me, I felt invincible.

  Guns fired even though we were still a good distance out. But the distance gave me an idea. “Missile launchers will work from here,” I yelled to Reid.

  Reid halted those behind us. “Soldiers with experience in midrange missile launchers.” Most of our people continued running, but five people stayed behind. Four of them were male, one female, all dressed in green. Which meant they most likely had “real” training. “We’re going to make it rain down on them,” Reid yelled.

  We couldn’t see where the missiles were landing from where we stood. It would give us some advantage, since they couldn’t see us, but our effectiveness would be low. So I blinked, Pushed, and the seven of us stood on a twelve-foot-high metal ballistic deck. Only one guy seemed fazed by instantaneously standing on a different surface in the air.

  “Can you Push the weapons?” I asked Reid. He knew the weapons better than I. He nodded.

  Facing the five volunteers, I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Consortium will see us easier when we’re elevated,” I yelled.

  Surface-to-surface missile launches appeared along the deck behind what I guessed was a ballistic shield.

  I yelled over the gunfire getting increasingly closer and louder, “Get off as many shots as you can before someone sets their sights on us.”

  “And,” Reid yelled, “these are not infrared guided. You aim and shoot. They’re preloaded with the first rocket. Go!” He gave a thumbs up then sat behind a mounted launcher.

  The seven of us blasted as many shots off as we were able. Since the weapons were mounted, they were easy to use. The missiles took out groups of random Consortium soldiers dressed in blue uniforms. We were leaving giant holes in their army.

  With the bird’s-eye view, though, we could see that even with a handful of rocket launchers, our impact was minimal. We could see over the ridge and another wave of Consortium soldiers followed what we faced now. From this perspective, it wasn’t difficult to assess how much we were outnumbered. Like, big time. A bolus of adrenaline hit my bloodstream, pulling me out of my momentarily paused freak-out.

  “Reid!” I screamed. He followed my shaking, pointing finger and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

  I only heard a few complete words. “Enormous.” “Divide.” “Send backup behind them.”

  Reid’s launcher changed before my eyes—it was larger. He shot the weapon and it flew farther, detonating deeper into the Consortium army. We got several more rounds off before our front line got too close to Consortium troops. At this point, we could end up taking out too many of our own.

  “Let’s move out,” Reid yelled down the line of volunteers.

  An explosion rocked our ballistic deck from behind. As the seven of us stood, we were hit again, the structure shaking under us. Two of the volunteers had already made it to the ground. Tink, tink. Reid and I were looking at each other. We both heard the sound but neither of us saw what was thrown or where. If we didn’t see it, or know what was thrown, we couldn’t Retract it. We had to get the hell out of our temporary perch. “Jump! Jump!” Reid screamed, at those helping man the launchers.

  I jumped to the ground moments before something exploded, turning parts of our deck into flying shards, potentially lethal. I Pushed a huge trampoline before I struck the ground, and tucked and rolled, trying to take the pressure off my shins. Bouncing to the side, I jumped off the backyard toy and Retracted it.

  I stood, wiping my hands on my pants, and took in the utter chaos around me. The platform where I’d stood moments before was obliterated. In front of me, Oculi fought with guns, knives, and various other weapons. I’d never witnessed such mayhem as the Pushing and Retracting happening before me. People all around me were falling to the ground. Dead.

  “Josie,” Reid said, grabbing my arm. He tugged and we ran toward the Consortium, bringing up the back of the Resistance.

/>   We moved past people fighting and weaved around fallen and bloody bodies on the ground. Some in black Consortium uniforms, some Resistance. I ran past a young woman not much older than me, face up with her eyes open, lying in a pool of blood that looked black on the soil. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead—proof of her being alive just moments earlier. My stomach heaved, forcing me to gag.

  Something caught me from behind and yanked my arm nearly out of the socket. I whirled around and a beautiful brunette smiled. Her hand went for the gun tucked into her side. I pointed my empty right hand at her, Pushed my Glock in my hand, and pulled the trigger. I hit her shoulder and she pressed her hand to it. Red covered her fingers quickly and she collapsed to the ground. I ran, leaving her behind and not knowing if she was going to live or not. Guilt chomped at my conscience. I might’ve killed another person, face-to-face. As I tried to thrust the overwhelming emotions of possibly taking a stranger’s life to the dark corners of my mind, I ran. I pumped my arms and propelled forward, trying not to look too closely at the random bodies lying on the ground. At the same time, I had to pay close attention to the swinging appendages of those fighting.

  Womp, womp. A chopper approached from behind the Consortium and it was blue. It wasn’t the Resistance backup. And it was armed.

  I’d lost Reid and didn’t have a real direction. I ducked, dove, and jumped to avoid being hurt by ground soldiers. And now, I had to be cognizant of the flying weapon.

  Dust floated in the air, sticking to the layer of sweat covering me. Everyone around me fought individual battles for their lives. I wasn’t stopping for just anyone, though. I didn’t want to fight some random Consortium jerk, I wanted one person. Max.

  After sidestepping several people and shooting a man running toward me, who had to be part ogre, I spotted Max and Brown on their little four-wheeled ride. Zac and Kat stood next to Brown, handcuffed. Four Consortium soldiers guarded them, automatic weapons ready.

  The sound of the Consortium helicopter blades stopped and was replaced by a high-pitched whine. All eyes turned to the chopper as it fell out of the sky.

  I focused on Max and his entourage. I Retracted the ground under the UTV, the guns from the soldiers, and the handcuffs from Zac and Kat. The VP and Max were in a hole ten feet deep. I blinked and both pairs of soldiers stood handcuffed in quicksand. “Get out of there,” I yelled to Zac and Kat.

  Zac and Kat ran together, but the UTV was back on solid ground already, having driven up a ramp out of the hole. Reid told me Max could still Retract. One set of soldiers in the quicksand had sunk to their shoulders. The other pair of soldiers ran toward me, but one fell after a gun sounded. Kat had shot him. Zac barreled the other soldier down to the ground and pummeled him.

  I chased after Max and Brown, who drove toward a deteriorated building. I Pushed a giant boulder in front of their UTV. The UTV flipped and both bodies flew through the air.

  I sprinted to Max and Brown, dirt spitting from under my boots. Reid approached them from the other direction. I slid across the dirt to Max as he shoved himself up to a seated position. Blood trickled down the side of his face. I Pushed my Glock into my hand and pressed the barrel to his forehead. My hand shook, anger almost taking on a life of its own inside me.

  Max casually looked to me and smiled. Reid jogged to my side and pulled a gun to cover me. To my left, Zac and Cohen had guns pointed at Vice President Brown.

  Max faced both of his palms to me. “Josie, I believe we need to talk.”

  “We have nothing to talk about.”

  “Quite the contrary, my dear.” Dust, blood, and sweat mixed on his face. “I have eyes and ears everywhere. I have the means to get to your mom and brother. Right now. I will kill them both unless you give yourself up.”

  My heart stalled. “Your empty threats mean nothing.”

  “Oh, not true. I have a little plastic bag in my inner pocket just for you. It proves that I mean what I say. If you kill me, I’ve already given the orders for Meg and Eli. I die, they die.”

  Reid moved closer and Harrison approached behind Reid, his gun drawn as well.

  I placed my gun in my waistband and pulled his coat open, his cheap cologne assaulting me as I snagged the bag sticking out of the top of the pocket. I turned the clear, plastic bag over, something metal stuck in one of the corners. Bringing the bag closer to my face, I could tell the metal was a ring, as in a piece of jewelry. Was this a trick?

  With his hands still raised, Max twisted to look at my face. “Take a closer look. It won’t hurt you.”

  I opened the bag and pulled the ring out to look closer. Then I saw the inside of the silver band. My mom and dad’s initials. It was my dad’s wedding ring.

  The world faded away in a blurry mess then tilted. My stomach pitched and mouth watered. I tried not to puke.

  “Guess who I finally found this week at Science Industries, the Consortium headquarters, in Los Angeles?” He turned to Harrison. “I found Harrison’s secret informant, the Resistance inside man. But I don’t have to worry about him anymore.” Max pulled his focus back to me. “I had him executed.”

  I withered to the ground like one of the parched plants that was barely alive out here in the desert. My arms and head were heavy, drooping to the dry soil. I opened my mouth to let out a cry, but nothing happened, no sound left me.

  Max hadn’t pulled the trigger, but he murdered my father. And now he was threatening to do the same to my remaining family.

  A part of my heart blackened and a deep ache ripped through the center of me.

  Max pulled a phone out, touched the screen, and said, “Now.”

  Consortium soldiers surrounded us, their weapons raised. They formed a full circle, moving other Resistance members toward us.

  “I do believe this is all that’s left of your sweet little Resistance group. Harrison, nice try. It was admirable.”

  There were maybe fifteen of us, tops. Cohen, Zac, Kat, Harrison, Reid, and me were part of that group.

  “Josie, you need to join me now. Demonstrate what you can do for the President.” A solider approached Max and helped him stand. Max brushed off his pants and looked down his nose at me. “If you come with no hostility, you’ll save your mom and brother’s lives. If not, you’ll all die and I’ll take your body for experimentation, so I’m offering you a good deal.”

  A good deal.

  Why didn’t I kill him right away? Why did I listen to him? This is my fault. I could’ve ended it, but I didn’t pull the trigger.

  This was it. We’d lost. I had lost. I let down my family. And Reid. The Resistance. I let down my entire race. Anomalies like Reid, and maybe in a few years Eli, would be extinct soon. I’d never see Reid again. Rage and hatred fused in my gut.

  I really didn’t have a choice, but if I willingly went with Max and he had me close, I could kill him when the time presented itself. It wouldn’t solve the immediate problem of Anomalies being murdered, but at least in the end I could take him down.

  I looked to Reid. He held his hands up and sweat dripped down the bridge of his nose. “Go,” he whispered.

  My eyes filled with tears, but not from sadness—from unbridled fury. I shook my head.

  He nodded.

  I stood facing Max. “I get to tell him goo-bye, then I’ll come.”

  Max rolled his eyes. “Fast.”

  I stepped into Reid and wrapped my arms around him, trying to hold back the tears, but it wasn’t working. They came anyway. His mouth was by my ear. “Kill him later.”

  I nodded against his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “Enough,” Max yelled. Reid squeezed me and a soldier wrenched me out of his arms.

  I was led to Max’s side, now a good distance from the UTV on higher terrain. The Vice President stood next to Max. My tears had already dried in the heat. I watched Max’s soldiers all move in front of the remaining Resistance members and organize them into two lines.

  Kat cried against Zac’s shoulder.
The Vice President was going to allow his own son to be killed. This was disgusting.

  Reid nodded to Cohen then reached for his dad’s hand. Harrison interlocked his hand with Reid’s and said something to his son. I was almost certain of those words. Something along the lines of I love you.

  My hands trembled at my sides. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how much I had been keeping my anger in check. It was as if I’d told myself it wasn’t okay, or justifiable, to be furious about what Max had done.

  He killed my dad. He tried to kill me. He was about to kill my boyfriend and friends.

  Pressure mounted in my head. Gutted sorrow and dark wrath erupted inside my brain. My arms and legs quaked as primal sobs wracked my body.

  Electricity nipped my skin, leaving my feet, hands, and lips numb.

  I wasn’t going to be able to wait until later. I had to do something about this mass murderer, this vile excuse of a human being next to me. I didn’t want to kill anyone, but this man was an embodiment of evil.

  The guard in front of Max talked into an ear piece and the soldiers aimed their weapons at the Resistance members. At good people. At my friends. At the guy I loved.

  A deafening noise came from behind the ridge. Everyone turned.

  Four helicopters flew overhead and opened fire on the Consortium troops. Reid Pushed weapons in his and the other prisoners’ hands.

  Resistance troops in green jackets poured over the ridge and two military trucks of Resistance members approached from the opposite direction.

  Max’s face flamed red. His lead military officer turned to him, waiting for instructions. “End this,” Max hissed. His words were as sharp as his tongue and wicked mind.

  Electricity sparked in my nervous system. Voltage ran over my skin and my body temperature rose as I unleased the rage within me.

  With barely a thought, I Force Pushed Vice President Brown backward, out of my way. I wanted this to be between me and Max. Max’s eyes followed the trajectory of the VP. Then his head whipped upward toward the sky because the sun had suddenly been blocked out by fast approaching storm clouds.