The Starborn Ascension: Books 1, 2, and 3 (The Starborn Saga)

by Jason D. Morrow

  I shake my head at her. “You can do better than that,” I say, trying to laugh, but feeling a stream of sweat fall down the side of my face. “A soldier should have a stronger handshake.”

  Her eyes narrow at me, but I don’t give her a chance to ignore me. I grab her hand and the light flashes in front of my eyes.

  The vision is different. I can see Ashley stumbling down a hallway as the floor shakes beneath her feet. She holds her rifle close to her chest as she tries to run. Someone is calling out her name. The voice is a man’s.

  “Mitch where are you?” she yells.

  Cracks form in the walls and loud gunfire echoes outside the building. Elkhorn is under attack. Ashley can barely keep her footing as she makes a turn into the large conference room where all of us held a meeting more than a week ago.

  When she enters, she sees Mitch alone, firing his gun out the window. He ducks and shoots, ducks and shoots, never noticing that Ashley has entered. She holds her rifle up in her hands and points it in Mitch’s direction, but she hesitates. It’s almost as if she doesn’t want to shoot him. But it’s too late for her to shoot when the sound of a pistol fires just behind her.

  She instantly drops the gun to the floor as she feels for the exit wound at her stomach. Mitch’s head pops up to see Ashley fall to the ground. Behind her is Waverly, my future self, holding the smoking pistol.

  Waverly stands there in shock, her face pale and sweaty. Mitch’s eyes are wide as he stands frozen. Ashley falls to the floor and closes her eyes, while Waverly turns and runs away.

  The white light ends the vision.

  I let go of Ashley’s hand, knowing now what this is all about. She stares at me curiously, but I pay her no mind. I simply take a step backward and turn around. I run up to my room only find Ethan waiting for me.

  “Where have you been?” he asks.

  “I understand everything now,” I say.

  “What do you mean?”

  “All the visions,” I say. “Some of them will happen and some of them will not. It all depends on a single choice that I make.”

  “And what’s that?” he asks.

  “I’ve got to kill Ashley.”

  “What? Why?”

  “She’s working for Shadowface,” I whisper. “There’s a dividing line. If I don’t kill her, everyone I know will die. If I do, everyone will live. At least, in the immediate future they will.”

  “Even me?” he asks.

  “That’s the thing,” I say, biting my lip. “I’m not sure. In one line of futures, she takes a few of us hostage, steals the Starborn blood, and takes us to Samuel. She tells Samuel that she killed everyone, including Mitch and Jeremiah, but says that you got away somehow. Of course, Samuel then kills her, Lydia, and maybe me.” I take a deep breath before I continue. “On the other hand, another line of futures show that I kill Ashley just before she tries to kill Mitch. So I assume that those she claims she killed won’t happened, because I will stop it.”

  Ethan shakes his head. “This is so confusing.”

  “The point is, I don’t know if the decisions I make now affect your future. I don’t know if you being shot in the street will happen at all.”

  “It could happen much later,” Ethan says. “There’s no way to know, and there’s no reason to fret about it. The choice is obvious.”

  “I don’t want to kill her,” I say. “Not if that means you’re going to die.”

  Ethan shakes his head at me. “If you are confident in what you saw, then you must kill her. Besides, if I escaped, then there is still a chance that I won’t be shot.”

  I let out a sigh, thinking to myself, but I’m interrupted by the thunder in the distance. Only, I’m not so sure it’s thunder. The table next to my cot starts to shake uncontrollably and the windows rattle. I look up at Ethan and his eyes are wide.

  Echoing gunshots outside the walls confirm our thoughts.

  We are under attack.

  Chapter 12 - Remi

  Obscenities pass by my lips when I fall to the floor; glass and chunks of ceiling shatter around me. Clouds of dust engulf my room and I start to cough uncontrollably. I crawl to the bed and reach for my rifle and knife. I can hear people barking orders outside the window.

  This is it, I think. Shadowface is going to blow us to bits.

  I sling the rifle over my shoulder and grab a few clips of ammunition, stuffing them into pockets and behind my belt. A loud explosion near the parking lot below me rocks me off my feet again and I land on my side. I crawl back up to look out the window and what I see makes my stomach drop.

  On the other side of Elkhorn’s first makeshift barrier there are lines and lines of trucks. Men hang out the sides carrying rifles and grenade launchers. I know I shouldn’t just stand here and watch, but I can’t tear my eyes away. There are many more soldiers than I thought there would be. I’m glad that Jeremiah and the others had the foresight to create four different perimeters around our central location, but with this kind of manpower, it won’t take Shadowface long.

  In the middle of the enemy fighters stands a man that I recognize instantly. He’s wearing a thick scarf around his neck, and his jacket is puffed out, no doubt filled with weapons and ammunition.

  Samuel.

  He brings a radio up to his mouth and says something. He then clips it to his belt and stretches an arm out. With his single motion, five or more soldiers aim their rocket launchers at the barrier and unload.

  I hold onto the window sill to keep my balance. I watch as the barrier across the parking lot crumbles in on itself. Samuel brings his arms down and reaches for his radio again. This time, I turn my head, focusing my hearing toward him.

  At first, the gunshots and explosions are so loud, but the more I focus, the more I’m able to hone in on Samuel’s voice. “The barricades are stronger than we anticipated,” he says.

  “Proceed with caution,” the voice says from the other end. “Do not take down any buildings that are suspect. I don’t want the canister damaged. This must be done slowly and carefully.”

  It’s a woman’s voice, I think. The woman I saw in Sealy. The woman I saw at the university that time I was hidden away in the closet.

  “Shadowface,” I whisper to myself.

  It has to be her. I can’t think of who else it might be. I only wish that I would have seen the man’s face that she was with three years ago. The man who had actually developed the greyskin virus.

  “Well, you’re not going to get the canister if I have anything to do with it,” I say as I reach out for the window and let it swing open. I pull the rifle into my grip and take aim at Samuel. His caravan is moving pretty quickly, but if I can cut off the snake’s head, the body will eventually die.

  I’m about to pull the trigger when the window next to me shatters into a thousand pieces. I jump back and land on the floor. I hear a noise behind me and I snap my head and point the rifle in that direction.

  “Whoa there!” Gabe yells, throwing his hands up in the air.

  I curse when I notice that its him, and bring the rifle down. I wipe sweat off my brow and crawl up to my knees.

  “They’ve got soldiers watching the windows,” Gabe says. “Believe me, I’ve tried.”

  “What do we need to do?” I ask.

  “Get to a safe hiding place,” he says.

  I shake my head at him. “I need to find Waverly. I’m not just going to leave her to die.”

  He looks at me and nods. “Her room is on the floor below us, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Let’s go.”

  I follow him into the hallway as the building rattles again and we both stumble into the wall. He grabs onto me to help me stay on my feet and we keep moving. The stairs are even more difficult to hurry down. We’re lucky neither of us breaks an ankle as we take them three at a time.

  The hallway below us has been hit harder than the floor above. Pieces of wood jut out from the walls and glass is sprinkled in every direction. When w
e get to Waverly’s room, I’m not surprised to see that she’s not here. Gabe looks at me, waiting for me to make a move.

  I stand for a moment, holding onto my rifle with a white-knuckled grip. I wish I knew where she was. Gabe walks to the window and looks out.

  “They’ve broken through the first barrier,” he says, shaking his head. “The settlement just doesn’t have the manpower to resist this many soldiers. At least they still have a few more barricades to get through.” His eyes linger on the advancing trucks and his face turns white.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “Greyskins,” he says. “All the noise is drawing them here.”

  I rush to the window and look out. He’s right. There are hundreds of them coming toward us from behind Samuel and his trucks. Some of them trudge along slowly while others seem to be sprinting.

  Gabe turns to me and grabs both of my shoulders. “We’ve got to get out of here and go to Crestwood.”

  “What?”

  “You’ve got to tell Paxton about his granddaughter. If he knows about her, he’ll come to help us, surely.”

  I shake my head. “We can’t do that.”

  “It’s that or be killed.”

  “There’s no time.”

  “If we can leave safely, Paxton can have men in here by tomorrow morning.”

  “If he decides to help at all,” I argue.

  “It’s the only choice we have. Shadowface is going to have this place overtaken too quickly. Then there will be no chance of getting out. At least now, we have the opportunity to try.”

  I look out the window, watching as the trucks crash through the first barrier. People die on both sides as gunfire and rockets echo through the city streets. When I look back at Gabe, I can’t help but nod. I’m sure the main reason he wants to get out of here is to protect me. He loves me. He’s told me as much. But I feel horrible leaving Waverly behind.

  Wherever she is.

  “I’ll follow you,” I say.

  Gabe lets go of me and charges out the door. I start to run after him, but something catches my eye in the corner of the room.

  A notebook.

  I don’t know what makes me do it, but I bend down and pick it up off the floor. I open it for just a second and I see a list of names. I flip through the lined pages and under a few people there are paragraphs written. Waverly has been keeping record of something.

  I jump when Gabe pops his head back into the room. “Remi,” he says. “We’ve got to go.”

  I slap the notebook shut and tuck it in the back of my pants. I know it’s none of my business, but curiosity has gotten the best of me.

  I suppose I’ll have something to read on the way to Crestwood.

  Chapter 13 - Waverly

  “I’m going after Ashley alone,” I tell Ethan.

  “No way I’m letting that happen,” he comes back.

  I spin on him. “You don’t have the luxury of running out in the open with gunfire all around us. This is the perfect scenario for you to get yourself killed.”

  “But if I’m by your side, that won’t happen,” he says.

  “Do you remember Hank?” I ask. The well of frustration within me is overflowing. “We made the determination to stay by him so he wouldn’t get bitten. Well, he was anyway. Just listen to me, please.”

  He looks at me almost like he’s hurt. He swallows and nods his head. “Okay. I’ll stay back.”

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “I just don’t want you to get yourself killed.”

  “I don’t like that you haven’t seen your future yet,” he says. “What if you’re the one that’s about to be killed?”

  He could be right. Out of all the visions I’ve seen of others, I’m not able to see my own future specifically. But at least I know that I won’t be dead before the visions end, right? I know that if I don’t kill Ashley now, Samuel might gun me down later after he’s finished with Ashley and Lydia.

  “I know I’m safe for now,” I tell him. “I can’t tell much about tomorrow, but today, I’m fine.”

  “But how do you know?”

  I shake my head at him. “I’ve got to go.” I turn away and run out into the hallway. I barely notice the blasts of explosions and the echo of ricocheting bullets outside as I charge down the stairs and through the hallways. The maze of office building corridors doesn’t confuse me because I know exactly where I’m going—the building that houses the conference room we met in a week ago. We leave this building and cross an empty street to the next.

  As I stumble forward into the building, I can’t help but think about the two lines of futures that I’ve seen. Part of me doesn’t like that there are options, but that seems to be exactly what is happening. When I touch someone the first time, I see what happens if I do nothing. Now, the second time I touch someone, I see what happens if I decide to take action. At least, I think that’s what’s going on.

  The second time I touched Ashley, I knew what I had to do. But what does this do for everything else? Does this change the vision I saw of my sister? Does this change the vision I saw of Ethan? Does the choice I make determine if I find myself kissing Ethan on the rooftop, or if he’s shot in the middle of the street? How much does each choice affect another?

  The questions leave my head the second I see a shadow in front of me. A glimpse of black clothing catches my eye as it whips around the corner. I try to ignore the explosions in the streets outside. I try to focus each step carefully. I don’t want to make too much noise, but I need to keep up. When I reach the corner, I can see her at the end of another hallway.

  “Ashley!” Mitch’s voice calls out. “Ashley!”

  “Mitch, where are you?” she answers. The way she holds the rifle closer to her chest makes me angry. I want to know what she feels. How can she go after the man she claims to love only to kill him?

  I hold a firm grip on my pistol and I charge forward. Ashley is already in the large conference room, probably pointing the rifle at Mitch’s back. I’m running as fast as I can now until I finally make it to the conference room. She’s holding the gun confidently, but from this perspective it doesn’t look like she’s aiming the gun at him. Is she aiming toward the window? There are greyskins out there. But no…she’s working with Shadowface. She’s going to kill everyone I care about. It’s time to end this now.

  I point my pistol at her and close my eyes as I squeeze the trigger. When I open them, Ashley is on the floor grabbing her torso. My pistol smokes from the single shot, but my eyes aren’t on the gun.

  I’m frozen in place as I stare at Mitch. His eyes are wide with surprise and fear. They travel from Ashley to me. Ashley’s eyes start to roll back and close. Mitch moves forward and I take off as fast as I can the way I came. I don’t turn back. I don’t stop to see if he is coming after me. When I reach the end of the hallway, my legs lock and I fall to the floor, gasping for breath as I choke back tears.

  I can’t believe I just did that. I just killed someone in cold blood.

  But it wasn’t cold blood. She was about to kill Mitch. She was going to kill the rest of us. No. I just made sure none of that could happen.

  “Hey!” The voice comes from behind me. I can feel my spine seize at his yell. The vicious anger in his tone makes me want to crawl in a hole forever. I start to get up to run away from him, but he’s already on top of me. He grabs me by the hair and yanks my head to the floor. I bring my gun up to point it at him, to threaten him, but he kicks it from my grip with ease. He grabs me by the shirt and slams me up against the wall. I can feel my scalp split and for a moment I see double. At first I can’t hear him because my head feels like he just broke it in two. He’s yelling in my face—something about having no idea what I just did. I would be able to concentrate on his words a lot better if he didn’t grab my throat and start choking me, bringing on a flash of white light.

  I see Mitch rushing in through a door. The figures on the other side of the room look up at him. The only ones in the room are Samuel a
nd my future self. Samuel stands over Waverly with a pistol pointed at her head. Lydia and Ashley lie dead beside her.

  Mitch walks toward them confidently and weaponless. Samuel shakes his head and points the gun at Mitch.

  “My, my,” Samuel smiles. “I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re here, but you’re a little late, I’m afraid.” He motions toward Ashley’s body. “Of course, you showing up only confirms that killing her was a good call on my part.”

  “Drop the gun,” Mitch tells him.

  Without hesitation, Samuel lets go of the pistol and it clanks to the floor.

  “Don’t make any movements unless I tell you to,” Mitch says, staring into Samuel’s eyes.

  Samuel stands over Waverly with a blank stare across his face. Waverly’s eyes are wet with tears as she looks down at the bodies of Lydia and Ashley. But Mitch’s eyes are full of tears as well. He commands Waverly and Samuel to stand silently against the wall. Both of them do as he orders without question as Mitch falls to his knees and scoops Ashley’s bloody head into his arms. He begins to weep uncontrollably, burying his head into her neck, her body limp and cold.

  “This was never supposed to happen!” Mitch screams. His eyes find Waverly. “This would have never happened if you hadn’t been so stupid!” He sets Ashley’s body down on the floor gently. He then stands and starts walking quickly toward Waverly. He reaches back far and slaps a wide palm against the side of her face. On the backswing, his knuckles catch her upper jaw and she falls to the ground.

  Waverly lets out silent tears mixed with blood as Mitch screams at her to get back up and stand against the wall. Again, she does so without question. He turns to Samuel, but is interrupted by a rush of someone clamoring through the door at the other end.

  Waverly’s eyes widen at the sight of Ethan, but her surprise is short-lived as Mitch commands him to stop, set his back against the wall, and do nothing without permission. He complies without a single questioning glare. Even the fact that Mitch is weaponless and Ethan holds a large rifle does nothing to affect Ethan’s unhesitating obedience.