Enemy Invasion
Page 34
“I thought we were going to the city,” Alex said.
Octavio sniffed and added, “This place looks…educational.”
Colonel Rachel Andersen emerged from the other limo and walked towards them, smiling at the confused looks on their faces.
“What is this?” Hack asked, leaning against the car.
“This is your new home,” Rachel said. “I thought you could all use a little more space to run around in.”
“It looks ancient,” Louise said and beside her Wei nodded sceptically.
Rachel grinned. “Just on the outside. We’ve added some modern features for all of you.” She reached inside her pocket and produced a set of keys. “Why don’t you go and check it out?”
She tossed the keys and Nestor was the fastest, snatching them from the air. He looked round at Sarah, who shrugged.
“Race you,” Nestor said and started running across the grass, closely followed by the others – even Octavio, who hesitated just a moment for show. By the car, Robert looked at his sister and shook his head.
“When will they learn?”
He disappeared and in the distance Sarah saw him reappear instantly on the steps in front of the building. She smiled and turned to Rachel.
“What is this?” she asked.
“The leaks to the media have made it increasingly difficult for us to keep you at HIDRA,” Rachel continued, referring to the small army of reporters camped out around the perimeter of the base. “You’re not prisoners, but that’s how we’re having to keep you at the moment.”
“And that’s bad for publicity, right?” Sarah said wryly, thinking of some of the nastier news headlines she’d seen online. The world seemed torn between portraying them all as saviours or as dangerous forces that should be locked up underground.
“Something like that,” Rachel said. “Which is why we’ve decided to relocate all of you. With you and your parents’ agreement, of course.”
Your parents. It was something they were all having to get used to again – most of the kids in the team had lost their family to the fall virus, but now, with the antidote, they were all making slow but steady recoveries at the HIDRA UK base. And being back on the scene, their parents naturally wanted a say in what their kids were up to – even if those kids had changed a lot since they’d seen them last. A door on the other side of the limo opened and Daniel eased himself out, leaning on a stick for support (over a year in the sleeper casket had weakened his muscles).
“What do you think?” Rachel asked him as he cast his eyes over the mansion rising before them.
“Well, it’s not as nice as my flat in Melbourne,” he said wryly. “But I guess it will have to do. I’m just glad you picked somewhere discreet.”
Rachel laughed. “Trust me, this place is isolated enough not to attract attention. To the outside world it’s a school – a charitable organization set up by HIDRA to educate those children affected by the fall virus.”
“A school?” Sarah said.
“I’m putting Dr. Fincher in charge of the institution, but there’ll be proper teachers and everything else you and your friends need. And there are more like you out there, as you know. Kids who need help and guidance with their powers to make sure they don’t run off the rails.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Dr. Fincher running a school?”
“Okay, okay,” Rachel said. “So there’d also be the opportunity to engage in some…extra-curricular activities. If you want to.”
“The Entity is dead,” Sarah said. “So is Major Bright. What else is there for us to do?”
Rachel stopped walking. “The moment the fall virus came to earth, the genie was let out of the bottle, Sarah. We’re identifying increasing numbers of kids with virus-related powers every month, all over the world. Not all of them are intent on using their powers for good.”
She handed Sarah an iPhone showing a series of security pictures. They showed a military base of some kind with soldiers being blasted left and right by what appeared to be a pair of fourteen-year-old girls.
“That’s a US military facility in Kandahar Province,” Rachel explained as Sarah flipped through the pics. “A team of superhumans hit them last week – ripped through the defences and made off with over ten million dollars’ worth of equipment – equipment that showed up on the black market three days ago. The security footage suggests they had a teleporter, a psychic and two pyros.”
Sarah handed the phone back. “They’ve teamed up.”
“And they’re not the only ones,” Rachel said. “There’ll be more.” She paused for a moment, then said, “We’re only asking you to consult, not get involved in another fight or—”
“Rachel, it’s okay,” Sarah interrupted. “There’ll always be another fight – Commander Craig taught me that. I’m not afraid. And neither are my friends.”
“Then you’ll stay?”
Sarah glanced at the house up ahead. “I’ll want a say in how things are run.”
“You’ve got it.”
“And we don’t get involved in anything we don’t like. No taking on people over oil wells or a border on a map.”
“Fine.”
“And no more weekly meetings with counsellors.”
Rachel smiled. “So you’re in?”
Sarah looked at Daniel, who held up his hands. “It’s your decision, Sarah. How could I presume to tell the saviour of the known universe what to do?”
She rolled her eyes and looked back at Rachel. “Let me take a look at the place first.”
The interior of the house was exactly as you’d imagine based on the outside: wood-panelled walls, an elaborate staircase in the hall, plush carpets all round. Sarah expected to hear her friends running around, arguing and generally tearing the place up as she entered – but the building was silent.
Searching with her mind, she sensed they were together and close by – although almost thirty metres below her feet.
It didn’t take long to find the concealed panel on the wall and the lift doors behind it. HIDRA must have a deal with a bunch of underground builders, she thought as she looked over the sub-level names:
Private Suites
Swimming Pool and Gym
IMAX Cinema
Games and Recreation
Training Zone
She smiled to herself and pressed the button for Training Zone. The lift descended smoothly and a few seconds later the doors opened onto a massive, circular chamber. It seemed that the others had been drawn there first as well, because they were scattered around the floor, engaged in various activities.
Wei was throwing fireballs at targets on a range…
Louise was levitating various different-sized blocks and interlocking pieces and arranging them into shapes in the air…
Hack was tinkering with the remains of their battlesuits, which were laid out in a lab area…
Octavio and Nestor were looking over a row of motorbikes, arguing over who got to ride what first…
And Alex was just standing in the middle of the area with a big, stupid grin on his face. Sensing her enter, he looked round and his grin only widened.
“So what do you think of this?” he said.
“It’s okay,” she replied, playing it cool.
Seeing that she’d arrived, the others temporarily left whatever they were doing and walked over. They all looked at her expectantly. She sensed they had made up their minds, but were waiting for her cue. You’re their leader, she reminded herself.
“Okay, it’s better than all right,” she admitted, then turned and started walking back to the lift.
“Hey!” Robert called after her. “Where are you going?”
She turned to face their concerned faces as she stepped into the lift.
“Well, if we’re staying, I thought I’d better grab the biggest bedroom.”
The others exchanged glances and then scrambled madly for the doors as they closed… Sarah laughed and then closed her eyes in relief as the lift r
ose…
Looks like we’re home, she thought.
A meteorite has struck earth without warning, unleashing a deadly alien virus. Thousands fall victim…but not Sarah and Robert.
Instead they develop strange side effects – psychic abilities. And that makes them a target for HIDRA, a rogue international agency determined to turn them into lab rats, just like the other kids they’ve already captured – kids who can control fire, create storms and tear steel with their minds.
If they work together, these kids might just stand a chance against HIDRA…
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONE’S CHILDREN’S BOOK PRIZE
“A heart-racing, breath-stopping thriller.”
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Deadly meteorites are heading to earth, but mysterious Russian billionaire Nikolai Makarov seems gleeful. What is his secret and can the group of friends thwart his master plan?
“Takes the reader on a nerve-wracking ride filled with…more moments of nail-biting tension than you will find in many a Hollywood action film…”
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“Brilliantly stunning sci-fi from beginning to end... A definite must-read.”
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About the Author
A.G. TAYLOR was born in New Zealand and grew up in East Anglia. He studied English Literature at Sheffield University and teaching at Cambridge. For the last ten years he has worked as a teacher in England, South Korea, Poland and Australia. He currently lives in Melbourne with his partner, her whippet, his Italian greyhound and numerous computer games consoles.