Watching from a balcony two levels above, Gage stood shaking a useless gun in his hand. Fandrin stood next him, a controlling grip on the boy’s shoulder. They were fenced by a collection of the smallest cadets imaginable. Each child held a handgun. I was ticking through the math. The EMP surge would be obsolete soon and the kids would be able to fire. A few more minutes and they would become a threat we would have to subdue. We expected this, that Fandrin would use them as a buffer. Tribes, rebels and Subversive members had all agreed to hurt as few children as possible, but there would be casualties. The instinct of kill or be killed doesn’t always take into consideration the age of the shooter. I avoided thinking about it. There was only one boy I would kill without hesitation. And he was standing across the room.
Shaking off Triven’s hand, I sprang into the fighting mob to get a clearer shot. My bullets were gone, but there were still two Sanctuary guns strapped to my back. Please, I thought as I yanked them loose and rounded on the exposed balcony. The crowd parted and I took aim. Fandrin saw me then. Our eyes connected and a rush of rage burned, swelling in my heart, more painful than ever before. I wanted him dead. I pulled the trigger. Once. Nothing. I fired again and the gun came to life. Bullets exploded from the muzzle straight toward Fandrin’s face. I pulled the trigger again and again, but the bullets stopped before reaching him. A perfectly translucent shield quivered with each shot, but it did not give. Pock marks studded the surface, distorting the people standing behind it. The old man’s lips pulled back as he smiled wickedly down from his behind his bullet proof glass, tipping his cane in salute.
The gun faltered in my hand as I realized my mistake, too late.
The Sanctuary weapons were working again, and I had just alerted his entire army.
42. END GAME
“W
EAPONS ARE UP!” Ryker shouted over the coms. I hadn’t seen him, but he had seen me. Both sides scrambled to extract guns, to pull amplified knives free.
Fandrin waved a limp hand mockingly. The sharp lines of his suit accentuated his broad shoulders as he turned away. The children soldiers moved with him, his living shields. Only one boy remained behind. Darkness consumed Gage’s expression as he watched the massacre below.
“Fandrin!” I screamed and unleashed another round of bullets. They were useless at this range. But if I got closer… maybe then they would penetrate the barrier. I began shoving people out of my way as I searched the walls, looking for any surface that could provide some kind of purchase. There was a ledge tracing the third story. It wasn’t wide, but I could run it. I just needed a way up. Fandrin’s head disappeared from view and desperation gripped me. He was so close. Both he and Gage within reach yet untouchable. If they left our sight, if we lost them… “Zeek? Cameras!?”
“Working on it!” He responded.
“Work faster!” Archer screamed back. It was a relief to hear her voice.
Someone seized me from behind and I was wrenched backward into a broad chest as a machete swung down where I had been standing. Triven’s cheek brushed mine and he shot the Ravager wielding the blade.
“GO!” He shouted, shoving me.
I dove forward, continuing to search.
“Baxter,” Triven bellowed over the escalating gunfire. “Glass!”
“A little busy right now!” Baxter growled over the coms.
A woman came out of nowhere, and I lurched backward. The tip of her knife slid past my nose. I could hear it crackling with electricity. Grabbing a fist-full of her red mohawk, I twisted around, yanking her with me. I spun and then released the woman into a waiting Wraith’s knife. The Wraith roared victoriously and then tossed her body aside, creating a gap in the crowd.
My heart jumped. Then stopped.
I threw an arm wide, digging my nails into Triven’s bicep.
On the far side of the room, pipes rose from the floor, crisscrossed, forming mismatched geometric shapes. They varied in size, but they were definitely climbable, a proven fact since someone was already scaling the feature. A slight-framed girl was working her way up the angled pipelines with ease. She slid from rafter to rafter, walking the lines with grace and sure feet, pulling herself up with surprising strength. Her eyes were watching the ledge I too had spotted. Like so many others tonight, the girl wore my face, but I knew who was under the mask.
“Mouse…” I breathed her name at first. “MOUSE!!!”
Cries and gunfire swallowed my screams. The girl was nearly halfway to the ledge already. I glanced back at the balcony. Gage was watching her too. A sharp grin splitting his face. Mouse’s foot slipped and for a terrifying moment the girl dangled from her hands. I raced toward her, not watching my steps. My toe caught, throwing me down. The ground slammed into my chest, knocking the wind from my lungs. Triven was there, quickly pulling me up, but not before I caught sight of what had tripped me. Grenald’s body sprawled face up, his eyes wide and blank. Otto was laying across his body, caressing the giant man’s face. A knife protruded from Otto’s back, and still he clung to Grenald in his last moments. Otto’s lips were moving, saying something over and over again, but the words didn’t register until I was already running, eyes back on Mouse. And when they did, his words hit like a blow to the stomach.
I go where you go.
I swallowed back the agony. Focus.
Mouse was moving again. Her legs swung high, pulling her back to safety. At this pace, she would be on the ledge soon. Triven and I reached the perimeter of the huge room, and I finally had a clear lane. I increased my speed, eyes still on the girl.
Seventeen more steps and I would reach the structure. I could climb faster than Mouse. Overtake her—
A huge body exploded in our path. I hadn’t seen the corridor he emerged from, but the soldier was suddenly there. Chest heaving. Rifle pointed at my head. I tried to slow, but there was too much momentum. My feet slid on the polished floor. I freed a knife ready to throw it, but a hand stabbed out, grabbing the muzzle and shoving it upward just as the soldier pulled the trigger.
Blood sprayed the white wall—splattered my face. The soldier staggered and I wasted no time slitting his throat. I didn’t pause to watch him collapse. Instead, I turned to the man huddled against the wall. Triven twisted around and I let out a startled cry. He was cradling what remained of his hand. Blood poured down the front of his suit, dripping on the ground. At least two of his fingers were missing.
I stared, unsure what to do.
“Go.” He said, trying to tuck the mangled hand out of sight. “You have to get Mouse…” He winced.
I retreated a half step from him, but couldn’t move any farther. Triven’s face was going white.
“DAMN IT, GO!” He screamed, clutching his hand tighter. There was so much blood… “PREA, GO!”
Triven slammed his shoulder into mine, knocking me sideways.
I stumbled with the force of his blow, but kept moving. I cast one last pained look backward. Triven was slumping against the wall, his hand shaking as he held it to his chest. But I did what he told me, and I ran at Mouse.
She was at the ledge now. Her legs stretched as far as they could go, fingertips reaching for the lip of the outcropping.
I dodged chaotic violence around me, keeping watch on her. My hands snapped out when necessary, knives slicing at anything that got too close. The pipes were almost in reach when long limbs crashed into mine. I moved to attack, then stopped. The face was familiar. Arden was covered in sweat, but his expression was hard. Gone was the fearful young man.
Instantly, he fell to a knee offering me a step with interlaced fingers. I flipped the rifle behind my back, holstered my knives and stepped into his hands. Arden thrust as I jumped, launching me in the air and past the first three rungs. The metal pipes clanged as I slammed my hands on them. Sweat and blood made my grasp slip, but I held on. The toes of my boots landed hard, but barely touched the surface before I was climbing. Twice I screamed her name with no response. Mouse had hauled herself on the narro
w ledge. She balanced there finding her center, eyes on her brother. Gage was watching her with fascination. Mouse groped her ear and with a jerky movement, ripped the shield free. The deranged boy practically salivated as his sister’s face appeared. Deliberately, he threw aside the gun he had been holding and withdrew a large knife. Palm open, teeth showing, he beckoned her forward.
I yelled Mouse’s name again as I pulled myself recklessly upward.
I was almost to her.
Mouse’s toes straightened, aiming at her target, and then she was running. A knife glinted in one hand, the other was clenched in a fist. The structure vibrated and I knew people were climbing up after me.
I could only hope they were on our side.
The ledge caught under my fingertips and I pulled, swinging myself upward. I hit the mantel and as I stood, the wall next to me exploded into tiny pieces. Reflexively, I dove to my stomach, barely clinging on. Ahead, Mouse had done the same. We were both horribly exposed.
“I need cover!” I shut my eyes as another bullet hit.
“On it!” Archer yelled over the earpiece and instantly the bullets stopped. By the time I had my feet back under me, Mouse was already running again. When did she get so fast?
The girl was screaming as she ran, barreling at the glass wall. When she hit it, the shield would not give. It would toss her backwards and down a three-story drop.
Gage danced on the other side, his grin widening. I whipped my rifle around and jammed down the trigger. Bullets flew, spraying the glass as I ran. Spider webs burst on the surface, but the glass held. The rifle clicked and I tossed it aside, full out sprinting. Mouse was twenty steps away from the shield. Maybe, if she hit it hard enough, I might be able to snag her on the rebound.
In a sudden movement, Mouse’s closed fist reeled back then shot forward. A silver ball no bigger than an eyeball soared out and hit the glass partition. Unlike the bullets, this device stuck, clinging to the pitted surface. Gage stared at the orb, then began backing up. There was a pop and the glass shattered.
She had timed it perfectly.
Mouse launched herself through the breaking glass and directly onto a startled Gage. The boy soldier flinched away from the flying shards, his hands moving instinctively to shield his face. Mouse came down on him, her knife plunging into Gage’s chest.
Brother and sister fell, disappearing behind the balcony’s rail.
I vaulted the last six feet, throwing myself through the broken opening. Glass crunched as I crashed through, drawing my weapons.
I had jumped too far. I rolled the length of the narrow room, slamming to a halt against the opposite wall. Whipping around, I searched for immediate threats. There were two sets of doors, one at each end, and I eyed them both suspiciously. But the room was empty expect for the three of us.
A strangled cry escaped when I saw her.
Propped against the low wall we had broken through, covered in glass and cuts, Mouse sat staring down at the boy’s head resting in her lap. Gage was clawing at his sister’s arms, reaching for her throat with weak hands. Blood bubbled from his lips. And for the first time since I had encountered him, Gage looked scared. Mouse sat taller, keeping her face from his reach. In her hands, she held one of Xavier’s prized knives. She had hit the target perfectly. A river of red pulsed from the hole in Gage’s chest. Mouse had hit his heart, probably severed an artery. Each weak heartbeat pushed out more blood from Gage's wound. When she had pulled the knife out, Mouse had sealed her brother’s fate.
Tears were trailing down her cheeks. Mouse glanced up then, surprised to see me. The rage that had possessed her was gone, the only thing remaining was the void left behind. I knew that too well. Slowly, Mouse’s gaze fell. Dropping the knife, she grasped one of Gage’s hands. He clung desperately to her. Something passed between them. Something I would never understand. After everything, they were still brother and sister. Then with a last shudder, Gage died in her arms.
Mouse’s tears were turning into sobs. My heart splintered. This is what I had desperately wanted to keep her from. There was blood on her young hands now—and her life would never be the same.
Abruptly, three people flew through jagged opening in quick succession and I dove, snatching up the gun Gage had thrown aside. Arden’s landing was less than graceful, but he righted himself quickly. Like me, he swept the room, surprised to find it empty. Two Wraith warriors soared in behind him, both carrying Sanctuary assault rifles, the scarred markings on their face highlighted in blue.
Before I could react, the door to our right burst open. We turned in unison, but the Wraiths quickly held up their hands to call us off. Showing her true face, Teya charged into the room from a stairwell. Blood covered her white furs, making it look like she had just skinned the animal.
I was shocked at the sight of the two women following her. Archer and Arstid both looked worse for the wear. Their masks too were gone. Triven’s mother had a nasty gash across her forehead and looked equally surprised to see me alive.
“Secondary pathway clear.” Arstid said, obviously not speaking to us.
Archer stood in the doorway, staring down at Mouse. Her expression mirrored my own. We all remembered our first kill. It haunted you the rest of your life. I moved to Mouse then, unsure of how to comfort her. I was nearly to her side when the doors opposite swung in and bullets began to spray the room.
43. DYNASTY
A RDEN TOOK ONE to the chest, laying him out flat, but he rolled to his side coughing in pain. Five inches higher and he would have been dead. I threw myself over Mouse, shielding her. Several ribs snapped as bullets hit my back. The suit absorbed most of the shock, saving my life, but the pain of the broken bones still blurred my vision. I kicked Gage’s body on its side to give us more cover.
Arstid, the smaller Wraith and Archer dropped, returning fire while the other warrior dove to protect his queen, taking the bullets meant for her. He knocked them both to the ground and without a suit like mine, he was dead before impact. Teya ducked behind his body while she too fired back.
Soldiers poured into the room. Silver cadet uniforms mixed with officer white. Fandrin had been holding out on us. The soldiers fighting below had been lower ranking. Pawns that could be sacrificed. These were his prized possessions, his strongest line of defense. A perfect balance of deadly and innocent—the highest-ranking officers in the Ministry and the children brainwashed into following orders.
We were dead.
We had walked into the hornets’ nest and now we were dead. As the morbid thought crossed my mind, suddenly the soldiers began to scatter. More people were filling the room, but this time they were wearing fur, rebel grey and tattoos. His limp more pronounced, the real Ryker James barreled into the room with his own army in tow. Their returning fire gave me enough cover to think clearly.
Mouse was completely still beneath me and for a moment I thought I had been too slow. But her warm breath tickled my ear. Not dead, in shock.
Scooping her up in my arms, I rose to my feet. The room was packed, battling figures pressing us back against the balcony. Children soldiers were being subdued where possible, but their own officers had begun to use them as shields. Some of the children surrendered, their small frames curling in on themselves, trying to disappear. Others fought harder than any of the adults, trying to prove themselves. These tiny soldiers were the perfect weapons. Trained to kill and yet monstrous to harm. The masks of my likeness had begun to disappear, the power sources finally dying and I realized how many faces I didn’t recognize. Mouse clung to my neck, eyes closed. I pushed us back against the broken partition and stole a glance down. War was still raging below us. I thought about jumping out, about trying to make it back to the ledge, but it was impossible with Mouse in my arms. I looked down, contemplating the fall, but the notion vanished immediately. A tall man with dark hair was crumbled directly below us. Doc… A Ravager stood over him, still swinging his club. I didn’t remember throwing the knife, but it flew from my han
d, embedding in the Ravager’s skull.
Unexpectedly, I was knocked against the wall as a white-haired woman was thrown into us. Both Ryker and Archer called for backup. The officers were overpowering us. I knew I had to get Mouse out. Arstid rose, heaving to catch her breath. I was about to force the child on her, to tell her to get out of here, when Arden’s yell emptied all other thoughts from my mind.
“Fandrin!” He roared.
I looked up through at the door the soldiers had come through, and there he was. White hair, copper cane, walking toward an elevator. No glass between us this time. Arden was barreling toward him. I shifted Mouse in my arms, nearly dropping her as I yanked my gun out of its holster. I fired. Two officers were hit as they stepped in my line of fire. I shot again. The bullet clipped Fandrin’s ear and he ducked away. For a glorious second, I thought Arden had him. His knife rose above the cringing man, but as he plunged downward, Fandrin was ready for him. His cane punched up, smashing into Arden’s nose. Blood spurted down his face and he staggered. With a speed I didn’t expect from an old man, Fandrin snatched Arden’s hand and spun him. Arden was whipped around and I took my finger off the trigger. His own knife was pulled against his throat as Fandrin hid, untouchable behind my friend. To kill him meant shooting them both. Forcing Arden to move, the two stepped backwards into one of the open elevators. I fired a shot, hitting the back wall of the metal box, and the doors slammed closed.
New World Inferno: Book Three in a Young Adult Dystopian Series Page 32