by Angela White
Fire had been her last evolution, and based on that, Adrian thought the next one would be just as revealing and volatile. His own powers had peaked during the lab tests, but Angela wasn’t being given drugs for control or being used up before the demon inside could evolve. Her gifts would grow unchecked.
“Something’s wired,” Kyle panted, gratefully taking his Glock from Adrian as the team reached him. “A bomb.”
“What about the other kids inside the complex?” Kyle asked. “The ones like Conner?”
Adrian looked to Angela, who shook her head. “Any survivors took off the second we escaped.”
Neither of them said that would be how the government bunker found out what happened. They didn’t need to.
Angela motioned toward the Major’s parking area, where bodies were already being consumed by Nature’s tiniest armies. “Can we go home now?”
Adrian was still staring gratefully at Kyle. “Yes, we–”
Bam! Pop! boom!
The ground pulsed under them, and everyone ducked, expecting to be blasted into the afterlife. Instead, wind howled around the city, across the deserted streets and decaying bodies in an eerie chill.
“Look!”
A twister of smoke was rising into the sky east of them like a pillar sent from hell.
“It’s the dam,” Conner said in shock. “That’s miles from here. Why would he–”
Crraacckkk! Wooossshhhh!
Adrian understood the danger and their odds of surviving. “Cut the lock. Let’s go!”
The gates swung open to reveal the Major’s personal protection vehicles.
Wooosshhh...crunch!
Adrian took the first UPV, waving Angela into the passenger side. Conner instinctively went toward the rear with the Eagles, and Kyle stayed with his boss.
Unlike their falsely modified vehicles, Garret’s vehicles were the real deal and fully stocked. Adrian had assumed they would lose their vehicles and only let Marc and Kenn change them enough to keep up appearances. And add the explosives to take out Garret’s compound if they were parked close enough.
The Major’s transportation even had a working radio that hummed constantly as Kyle flipped through the channels, trying to reach their camp.
Keys weren’t needed with the automatic start buttons, and Adrian rolled them through the gate seconds later.
Crunch! Crack! Bam!
“What is that?” Kyle demanded, but really, he knew. He’d been there the night the tank was washed away. He knew that sound.
“Hey! And, who is that?” Angela asked wearily.
“Damn it,” Adrian groaned as he spotted the line of shadows running to get into formation outside the gate. “Garret’s personal guard was on a long patrol. We were waiting out here to greet them when you called.”
Snap! Woosh!
The water came flying down the streets and alleys, crushing its own path through the months of debris.
Angela had no energy left to gather, but wasn’t sure a shield would hold anyway as she stared at the water lunging for them. Death, made visible.
Adrian pushed the pedal harder, resenting the bulky handling UPV.
“Down!”
Angela and Kyle ducked as he came in range of the line of firing bounty hunters.
Bang! Pop!
Slugs pinged into the reinforced steel body, but came straight through the thin glass windows.
Adrian yanked the wheel hard, manhandling the UPV toward a narrow alley. He didn’t slow, just rammed into the side of the crumbling brick as he struggled to make the turn.
Parts of the wall fell on top of the UPV and then it was back under control.
Kenn did the same in the UPV on their heels, and they barreled deeper into the alley.
The hunters followed on foot, firing at the tires with a tunnel-vision focus that missed the danger. They had their prey trapped. It was time to kill and in that instant, nothing else mattered.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Your Ship
1
“Here it comes,” Angela warned, rolling up her window, but not all the way.
The ground under them changed, no longer solid, and the hum vibrated through the floorboard as the whole alley began to shake.
Piles of debris began rattling, shaking, sliding, falling and crashing into the ground and each other, creating new piles and fresh dust plumes. Standing structures collapsed, and loud thuds and bangs came from all parts of the city around them.
Thick clouds of dust began to rise, carried on the wind...and then the rumbling stopped.
An unnatural silence fell, and Angela started to ask if maybe the water had missed them when the pounding under their feet resumed. It was dull, hollow, and thick as it rose up the walls, their legs, and their bodies, pounding through bones.
A horrendous crack split the air, drowning out everything else, and then another noise, this one more dangerous. It was the sound of rushing water.
The walls of liquid rushed through the broken underground, washing away unsuspecting hunters and survivors alike. It crashed mercilessly through their hiding places and dragged them away, doing its own type of cleansing.
Drawn by the sounds of the water behind them, the men Hudson had sent halted their steady march along the convoy’s back trail. From where they stood, they had a perfect view of the Major’s UPVs and the very man they’d been sent to destroy. The neat roads they’d made in their months here were gone, and a debris minefield now lay before them, if they wanted to go back.
They didn’t. If by some miracle, the Major or Hudson had survived, they were on their own now.
Behind this group, another large team of men also kept on their path. The reward for Mitchel was exorbitant, and it would increase when the bunker found out about this defeat. The hunters needed a way to get Adrian to surrender or for his own camp to turn him out. That would honor their fallen Major.
2
The water roared into the alley from both sides, trapping everyone. Men on foot were washed into the flood and shoved against the walls and trucks.
The two waves crashed together over the top of the team and filled the alley, submerging both vehicles. The pressure shoved the trucks together with a muffled bang and then backwards as the stronger wave overpowered the weaker.
All that kept the UPVs from washing out into the chaos was two fully cocked steering wheels that encouraged the vehicles to hit walls and be jammed. For the two men holding both their breath and the wheels, it seemed to take months for the force to ease.
For the rest of the team, it was less than a minute.
Water slowly drained from the vehicles and the shorter and injured people were lowered in relief.
Unlocking his arm, Adrian pushed on the pedal and was pleasantly surprised to get a response. He hadn’t expected the modifications to extend to the engine, since they hadn’t to the windows.
Adrian watched Kenn pull forward to hover on his bumper, then swept the area. The hunters that had survived were on the ground, coughing or already stumbling away, and the leader let them go. They had other problems.
The piles of debris and barely visible paths were gone, along with the bodies and bones. Everything light had been swept to a new location, covering the old layers of rubble with new ones. These moved fossils were entrenched in mud that would eventually harden and encase the city in perfect preservation.
As they drove, Angela searched the watery debris for other survivors. More than once, there was a fleeing shadow, but without a bigger distraction than just surviving the damn explosion, she couldn’t get their attention. She had no energy to spare.
Adrian grimaced as he reached out and adjusted the radio. “Eagle to base.”
Silence...
Pain, thick and moist, slid into his side, and Adrian’s hands clenched. Not yet! I have to make it back. I have to...
Adrian’s foot eased off the gas, mind going fuzzy.
“Adrian?”
Angela’s words came d
own a loud, distorted tunnel, and he pulled himself together enough to bring the UPV to an ungainly stop. He closed his eyes, slumping.
“Where were you hit?”
Adrian jerked as she pried away his jacket, revealing a damp red stain that ran thick and wide into his waistband.
“Oh, Adrian.”
Kyle came to the window. “What’s the...Oh, shit.”
“Drive.” Adrian began to force himself over, and Angela helped him.
“Shouldn’t we let her–”
“Drive.”
“Drive.”
Kyle did as they both ordered, and Angela went to work, heart a fast tremor of fear. They’d gotten his son. What would they sacrifice for it?
“I was trimmed, that’s it!”
Angela was frowning as she agreed. Adrian was assuming they had a camp to return to, an experienced doctor there to help. What if he was wrong?
He’s in no position to choose, the witch spoke up reluctantly. Maybe you should think of something.
I don’t want his job! Angela protested.
Who says you do? If you’re wrong, it’s a plan that can go into a file and never be used.
Angela swallowed. But what if I’m right?
Then it’s up to you to keep everyone alive, the witch cackled fearfully. That’s what he’s been training you for. Not to make female teams, or further camp goals. He chose you for moments exactly like this one. If you can’t do it, tell him now while he can give that chore to someone else.
Angela’s heart protested every word, but her mind fell into planning their salvation against an unknown threat. Not sure if she could carry the weight for long, Angela forced her mental doors to open wide as she considered all the options. This was indeed what he’d chosen her for, and she would do it.
Adrian’s hand went out to Kyle’s arm. “Code Raven is a go.”
“You got it, boss.”
Angela looked over with bloodshot blue eyes. “You’ve honored me.”
Adrian waited, holding onto consciousness to be sent out with her coming remark in his thoughts instead of fear.
“And fuck you very much for it!”
Adrian chuckled, cramping up.
He slowly fell over against her arm, and Angela adjusted him, as she talked to Kyle in short, urgent tones that questioned, schemed, planned, and prayed to be wrong.
3
“Here they come! Where’s Hudson?!”
Teddy thought fast. Hudson and the Major had to be dead, that’s the only way Mitchel had gotten by them. Which meant...
“I claim leadership!” one of the rear men called. None of the Major’s crew was stupid.
Teddy waved at the two UPVs they hadn’t finished modifying. “The windows are weak, and so are the gas tanks.”
“And leadership?” another man asked.
“The man who captures or kills Mitchel Sr. will lead us,” Teddy answered.
“What about the Major’s son?” another man asked.
Teddy raised the launcher as the vehicles started up the small hill toward them. “Whoever darts him gets to be Lt, mine if I make this shot. Mitchel Sr. is in the front of the first UPV.”
Satisfied, the twenty-nine other men also raised their weapons. It was how things worked now. Men needed a leader, and that had to be covered before the slugs flew.
“Fire!”
Angela and Kyle spotted the distant outline of the road they needed to take, and an instant later, the trouble standing between them and home.
“Look out!”
Kyle swerved to miss the incoming grenade, and it flew by to hit the UPV full of Eagles behind them.
It lifted the front end into the air and then slammed it down. The UPV rolled onto its side, flames shooting outward.
Kyle immediately began to circle their vehicle. His team was in that truck!
“Watch out!”
From the trees, armed men in full battle gear rushed toward the flaming vehicle, preparing to open fire.
Angela shoved at Adrian, getting him low enough to be protected by the steel plated-doors.
Kyle brought them to a dust-billowing stop by the rear of Kenn’s vehicle.
“Men down! We have men down!” Kenn blared through the sparking radio, before getting out ahead of the next shot.
He rolled to the ground and under the burning truck as bullets flew. He looked out and quickly began scrambling toward the rear.
Booommmm!
The second grenade rattled the UPV and sent Kenn’s knees and hands into high speed.
Eagles poured out of the destroyed vehicle, helping the wounded as they went.
Angela heard their door go up but didn’t get out to help. She wasn’t leaving Adrian.
She and Kyle opened fire on the men close enough to interfere with the transfer of passengers, leaning over Adrian as bullets slammed into the cab.
“Get down!” Kyle shouted.
The man with the grenade launcher had reloaded.
“Go!” Kenn shouted from the rear, slapping the metal.
Everyone held on as the truck rolled forward, leaving Kenn’s UPV exposed to another shot. It exploded in their mirrors and their hearts.
“Eat this!” Kyle hit the gas, leaning into the ride.
He plowed into the man who’d been about to fire again, and then swung wide to chase two others.
Angela leaned out the window, shooting them down as they fled.
Kyle turned the UPV again as more gunfire echoed from the rear. He charged the biggest part of the group, making sure that he and Angela had plenty of targets. He continued circling their fallen truck, keeping the enemy away while the Eagles jumped into the back on his wild passes and threw others inside.
The rear door slammed down, and Kyle rolled by the burning wreckage.
Bullets slammed into the truck as he brought the UPV around for another sweep of gunfire and crushing wheels, and, saw the second grenade launcher.
“Shoot him!” Kyle ordered.
“He’s too–”
“Your rifle!”
Angela grabbed it from behind the seat and tried to remember how to breathe and think as terror settled onto her shoulders.
“Push it back. Lock it down.” Adrian’s bleary voice from the floorboard gave comfort and more pressure.
When Angela fired, she made sure it was good.
Bang! Thump.
They ran over the body, taking bitter satisfaction.
“Straight to camp?”
“Might be more of them there already. We’ll finish these first,” Angela ordered.
The hatred was clear, and Kyle slowed them down a bit, now that they were out of range of the scavenging enemy. “You have a plan.”
Angela reloaded her gun and then did Kyle’s for him. She also made sure Adrian’s weapons were loaded, and put one in his chilly grip.
She motioned toward a thick grove of trees. “Pull us in there and find a place to hide. We’re going to treat them way we did the wolves in Nebraska. These animals deserve no less.” As he stopped, Angela keyed her radio. “If you can fight, we need you.”
Angela looked at Kyle. “I’m not leaving the vehicle.” Meaning Adrian.
Kyle reached over and locked his door, indicating he wasn’t, either. “What’s the plan?”
Angela gestured towards the wounded, furious Eagles coming up to surround the front of the truck. “We count on his army.”
4
Garret’s men had taken a hit. Only twenty of them walked into the woods, following the tracks of the truck.
The sight of the UPV wedged behind thick clusters of trees had each of the hunters rushing closer, eager to claim leadership.
They surrounded the vehicle, not picking out any movement. Edging closer, many of them started searching for tracks to determine which way their prey had fled on foot.
The Major’s men reached the trees.
“Now!”
The female shout was unexpected. It drew them to the cab, wh
ere Angela began pulling the trigger without mercy.
The Eagles opened fire from the trees above them a second later.
Angela and Kyle used the mirrors as they hunkered down. With their vests covering the windshield and sharp-eyed guards determined to take out those closest, it was a rough place to ride out the attack, guaranteed to take the most gunfire.
Angela hit the mike. “Kill them all! No mercy!”
5
“Do we help them?”
“Do you think it’s wise?”
“I’m not sure.”
The conversation came from a different group of men lurking nearby.
The top bounty hunter among the group shrugged. “Show of hands. Challenge them now or stick to the Major’s plan?”
Boyd offered a third option. “What if we fell back to make a new one? Maybe the Major missed a few things.”
Vince didn’t need to count to know what his men wanted. “Agreed. Fall back.”
The two dozen men slid quietly into the woods and resumed their march toward Mitchel’s home base. Behind them, bounty hunters screamed for help that wasn’t coming.
6
When the gunfire stopped, Angela started to rise, and Kyle put a hand on her arm. “Not until the call comes.”
Bang!
“All clear.”
Kyle let go of her wrist, staring at his idol’s slumped body. “Now, it’s your ship. Make him proud.”
Angela lowered the vest, very glad to find Eagles standing outside her door. She and Kyle had both run out of bullets. “We all will.”