The arm shifted to my hand, pulling me to my wobbly feet. I tilted my head back.
Alex.
He looped one arm around my waist, supporting me, then swung around and shot the two Fires standing closest to Bee. They both fell, one still with the radio to his mouth. Before I could even take my first non-constrictive breath, he turned and shot the man looming over Susan. The lot of them had the awesome power of Fire within them; theirs to wield at will. Yet they died just as easily as the common man; each with a gun holstered to their hip – unused.
Natasha and her onslaught were nowhere to be seen. I finally breathed, hacking and sputtering. "Alex…"
He looked at me, eyes wide. "My commute here was a nightmare. I'm done playing."
I nodded, swallowing hard and rubbing my throat. "Thank God for that."
Chapter 67
More Lists
"Natasha?" I started into the woods after her. There were no sounds and no trail of her or her attackers. I picked up the iPad she left behind, when a searing blast of heat caused us all to stumble back.
I recovered, my eyes darting around for Bee. Alex already had her in the backpack and was adjusting the straps to fit his own back. The entire atmosphere, even where we stood a half a mile or so from the blast, crackled with energy and heat.
"To the caves!" Alex shouted.
"Hold up Batman," I threw the computer to him. "We need to go there."
He looked at the screen.
"Can you find it?"
He nodded and without hesitation, began running.
Already heaving with exertion, I put everything I had into keeping up with Alex, hoping Susan was able to do the same behind me. My legs felt like lead, and the heat made me want to bury my head in the cool dirt below. I concentrated on Bee’s fat little legs hanging from the backpack in front of me, bouncing and jiggling with each of Alex's leaps.
We angled in toward the blast, closing the parallel distance little by little. We weren't on a trail, and I had lost all sense of bearing. Hopefully the Boy Scout knew where he was going.
Alex came to a sliding halt in front of me so quickly that I ran straight into my daughter's padded butt.
A familiar, stern female voice shouted above the commotion, "Put the baby down!"
I watched Alex's hand go to his holstered weapon, but stopped him.
"Ahi?" I poked my head out from around Alex and Bee.
Behind a cold, black barrel, her eyes widened in surprise. "Kaitlyn?"
I stepped out from behind Alex as I heard Susan approach us from behind.
Ahi's barrel moved, aiming at Susan now. "Her! She's the one who attacked you!"
"Ahi! She's with me – they both are. We're here to stop Shawn."
Ahi's gun wavered. "He said you might be with them now – that they might use Bee as leverage." She glanced back at Alex and I silently wished it had been me that grabbed the backpack.
The consistent fiery blast increased in strength, shooting even further up into the sky.
We don't have time for this. Besides, Bee needed a diaper change. I risked a step toward Ahi. "Andrés is dead."
She froze.
"Did you hear me? Andrés is dead!" I screamed at her. "Shawn is the enemy! That—" I pointed to the spindle of flame in the distance. "Is the enemy."
Her gaze flickered to the flame as she lowered her gun. "So they have killed all my people." She shook her head. "I thought maybe the blonde was just jealous…but that must be why he split us up. To kill us."
The rest of us stayed still, afraid to set her off. She wiped her eyes, then held the gun out to me, handle first. "Here, Chica. I don't want the damn thing."
I walked forward, wrapping her in a hug and replacing the gun back in her holster. "Keep it. This isn't over."
"Right," she said. "Because now I have a list of my own."
Chapter 68
On our Way
"Okay," Alex said as the four of us crouched in a huddle. "Supply check."
We all emptied our pockets of gadgets; two iPads, two of Shawn's radios, a bottle of baby formula, and a chalice.
"A stockpile that will win the war," I mumbled.
I wiped beading sweat from my forehead, glancing back at the flame. I felt the plasma begin to form; soon it would be raised into the sky and released as an EMP. I also knew how to stop it. Deprived of energy, it would reform into gas. I had done it plenty back in the Chakra's lab with Brandt.
"I have to go, but…" I swallowed hard. "I can't bring Bee."
"We can't leave her alone," Ahi stated the obvious. "Who stays with her?"
"Susan," Alex and I spoke at the same time.
"Yes but I can help," Susan stammered. "I can—"
I cut her short by handing her the bottle of formula. "We need Ahi's intel on Shawn and we need Alex's, well…guns."
His steady trigger finger might just give us the advantage.
"Besides, who better to look after a Fire." I glanced at Bee. "Than a Water?"
Susan snatched the bottle from me. "She is a Gaia." The corner of her mouth tipped up in a smile. "As is her mother. And one of the best I've ever seen, at that." Susan laid her hand on my shoulder as we stood. "Your daughter will be safe. Just make sure you come back to her."
Alex unbuckled the backpack and repositioned it on Susan. "Take an iPad. Contact as many teams as you can and get them in place around Shawn. I'll let you know when we get there."
"What about the group you came with?" she asked. "Where are they?"
He swallowed, hard – like stomaching an unpleasant memory. "It was just me and one other Air. We flew."
We all looked at him, confused.
He put his arms out to his side. "I mean, we literally flew. The Air collapsed with exhaustion as soon as we landed, about two miles from here."
"All the way from Indonesia?" Susan asked, eyes wide.
He finished tightening the straps and placed Bee in the backpack. Alex came around to the front of Susan. He didn't answer her question, but cupped his palm around her cheek. She leaned into his hand.
Ahi cleared her throat, and put one of Shawn's radios in Susan's hands. "Stay on channel four, and stay underground – but not too far. These things work best near the cave entrances." Ahi pointed her finger at Susan. "And no water globes."
Susan straightened and smiled. "I promise."
Ahi nodded once and stepped back as I approached. Susan started to turn sideways so I could see Bee.
"No!" I stopped her. "If I see her, I might not be able to leave." Instead I took Susan's hands in mine. "Be careful. Trust no one."
Susan nodded.
I turned toward the spout of flame, raising my voice, "And if you see Micah, tell him he's late."
Chapter 69
Balance
We started off again. Alex first, then me, followed by Ahi. At first, each step took momentous effort; like dragging heavy chains with me – chains that led back to Bee. I told myself I'd be closer to her than I'd been several times at the Chakra. But this was no Chakra. Shawn's men crawled the forests and caves below like an army of ants. I put faith in Susan because I could do nothing else.
I sent a silent prayer to her and Bee, then focused on what was ahead.
Alex picked up the pace, dodging tree roots and low branches like he knew the terrain by heart. Suddenly, I was thankful for all our running at the Chakra. Had I not been training, I would have fallen back.
Ahi's steps were steady behind me, reverberating on the ground in time to the beat of my heart. Finally, everything was falling in place. This was where it felt right – beside Alex and Ahi, two people with which I'd already seen battle. Bee and Susan were left safely behind. Perhaps it was even better Micah wasn't here. I needed to be strong – no distractions.
We approached the fire spindle, and Alex slowed, pulling out his iPad to communicate to Susan. "They're ok – she found a good hiding spot just inside the cave. There are two of our circles just on the other side of Shawn
, and another on the way."
"Just three circles?" I asked. "That's not enough – not by a long shot."
"It'll have to be," he said. "No word from anyone else. We'll have to assume they’re dead."
Ahi turned on her radio, keeping it low and listening for chatter.
Nothing, she mouthed.
Alex motioned us forward, and we positioned ourselves behind a grove of thicker trees. I peered out. A huge group of Fires were focused on their work. Only a few kept outside their circle, scanning the forest to intercept party crashers.
Damn was it hot. I took off my jacket. The entire inside of my shirt was soaked through with sweat. Alex whistled at me, catching my attention. A few short hand signals told me the third circle was in place.
I stepped out from behind my tree, approaching the Fire circle with deliberate footsteps. Out of the corner of my eye, one of the patrols spotted me and aimed his weapon. A hole in his head appeared before his finger ever made it to the trigger. The same happened to the next patrol that spotted me.
As soon as I was close enough, I turned and nodded at Alex. He lowered his smoking gun, and began typing away on the computer, signaling the other teams to call their elements. Immediately, the atmosphere crackled with a different kind of energy. Through the woods, I could see three pure, bright balls of light rising into the air.
The group of Fires must have felt the same. Their element wavered, searing off several nearby treetops.
"Hold!" one of them shouted. Their collective concentration was focused. When creating something so volatile with magic, no one could spare a glance to identify the disturbance.
I closed my eyes, trusting Alex and Ahi behind me to protect the lot of us from more patrols. Tapping into fire was easy – easier than the other elements. Controlling it was the hard part. And now I was aiming to control someone else's fire. I tuned into the atmosphere and it slowed, revealing itself to me. Individual atoms were leaving electrons quickly. The plasma had almost taken solid shape – or at least as solid as plasma got.
Careful not to disturb the circles’ flows, I pulled at Akasha, willing the balls of light toward the beam of fire. As soon as they entered the clearing, electricity bounced from the fire to the balls and back again. The entire valley charged, on the verge of explosion. Bolts of lightning shot out in the chaos, zapping a few unfortunate souls.
I moved Akasha closer, condensing the balls of light with the escaping electrons. Merging Akasha with the fire would reverse the plasma-making process – or so said our lab experiments.
Those wielding the fire noticed the approaching spheres. Their streams wavered further, making a fine mess of the sky above us.
"Easy there, Princess." The words were so low, I wasn't sure if they were spoken aloud or if they were a thought in my head.
I turned, halting the forward momentum of Akasha but keeping it steady in place. Shawn's cold blue eyes greeted me. Chills ran down the length of my spine, despite the fire at my back.
Ahi was on her knees in front of him – he held her own pistol to her head. Behind them, further back into the woods, Alex was face down on the ground, held by three larger men.
"Where's the baby?" he asked.
Ahi flinched but froze in place as Shawn shoved the tip of his gun against the back of her head.
He peered at me, unblinking. "With Susan," he surmised, and turned to two of his men standing by his side. "Find them."
My eyes followed them, and panic filled my thoughts. I felt Akasha weaken.
"Release them." Shawn gestured to the spheres.
I didn't move, but my gaze flickered to his gun. There would be no beating him to the punch. His finger was on the trigger, already squeezing. Just a little bit more, and Ahi would be reunited with her mother.
"Release. Your. Akasha," Shawn said again, this time through gritted teeth.
I altered the matter of my Akasha, causing it to decrease in power. Its light sputtered out, even though it was still there. I lowered my hands, and forced my shoulders to sag in defeat.
Shawn believed my bluff. "Continue!" He shouted to his people behind me.
"But, Sir—"
"Just get it done!" Shawn cut him off.
"Do unto others, Shawn," I said. It was Galapagos all over again.
"Shut up. I'm done playing games."
"Funny – so are we." I smiled.
He switched his pistol to his other hand. Behind me, the plasma was complete. I cocked my head back and up – it was rising into the sky.
"Kaitlyn," my name on his lips, my real name, sounded foreign. "Is the baby mine?"
He still didn't know. I looked down at Ahi, then over at Alex, desperate for a distraction to keep the truth off my face. They were no help.
Shawn's shoulders sagged. Suddenly, he looked much older than I remembered him being. Dark circles hung under his eyes and the lines in his forehead were more prominent. "It doesn't matter. But I know what she is, and you have to know it won't be long now before it is too dangerous for you and her to be together. Why do think I'm obtaining powers myself? The need to kill off all our Gaias is crazy. If I can replace a Gaia we won't have to do that anymore."
Above us, the plasma crested the treetops.
"You'll see, Kaitlyn. But by the time you realize – it may be too late. For Earth and the people on it. Give her to me. I'll keep you separated long enough so you can live out your life. With Micah. She'll be safe."
Higher still, the plasma was reaching its target altitude.
"You're wrong, Shawn. It doesn't have to be her or me. And it doesn't have to be the population or the Earth. There can be a balance. I will find it. Even if it kills me!"
Shawn bore through me again with his eyes. "It will kill you, Kaitlyn. Please! Just give in."
"No!" My shout was drowned out by the roar of a distant engine. All eyes turned to the sky to see a large commercial airplane spinning out of control and dropping straight to the ground.
"Yes!" Shawn shouted. "The plasma is working!"
I dove to the ground, covering my head as the earth shook with the crash. The forest exploded into even more flame as bits of metal flew over our clearing. I heard a grunt, and looked up in time to see Ahi bucking Shawn off of her. One of her braids wacked him in the face as she tried spinning out of his grip.
He growled, pointed the gun at her forehead and pulled the trigger.
My heart caught in my throat.
Ahi flinched, but there was no bang. Just a hallow click. Her eyes went wide, then she smiled. "Alexia loaded that gun for me."
Shawn snarled, raised his hand back, then slammed the butt of the pistol into the side of her head. She fell to ground and curled up into a ball as blood dripped from her temple.
Another explosion rang out from the crash site.
Akasha was still near, ready to be called into action. I looked over at Alex. Pinned to the ground, he met my eyes and nodded, giving me permission for what I needed to do. Ahi stirred, lifting her head slightly from the ground, and nodded as well.
The plane crash had infused the surrounding forest with new energy. I used it, forcing more electrons into Akasha. The three separate spheres shone with light once again. Ionized, they drew together like magnets, straight into the stream of fire. I lifted Akasha into the air, racing toward the sphere of plasma in the sky.
My eyes never left Shawn's.
"Now!" he screamed at his men. Then he turned, breaking eye contact with me, and withdrawing his black-handled Athame.
His arm shot out toward Ahi. The knife spun, end over end, straight toward her. With the Akasha I was riding, the world was moving in slow motion. The sharpened, curved blade of the knife reflected flames surrounding the clearing. Alex struggled, letting out a strangled cry. In the distance, from the direction we came, I felt Susan invoke her power against the men sent for her and Bee.
Akasha wasn't high enough to completely destroy the plasma, but there was no time. I spun my shield around Akasha, th
en released the energy. Bone-shaking thumps went off, one on top of another as the sphere burst. My shield went out with it, clearing the path for Akasha to defuse the atmosphere. All of us were thrown off our feet. The knife changed trajectory just in time, only skimming Ahi's cheek.
Above us, an electronic pulse screeched through the sky. Akasha didn't make it. I was too late. I tumbled, end over end, until my body cracked against a tree. I slumped to the ground, right before I blacked out.
Chapter 70
State of the Union Presidential Address
"Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans." The President paused, staring directly into the one camera in front of him. "Tonight I want to begin with a moment of silence, while we take the time to remember and honor the many victims of disasters throughout the world in the past year."
The president bowed his head, feigning a reverent mood. This was the most difficult State of the Union address he'd done during his term. Instead of a large auditorium of politicians, he stood in a room that consisted of only a handful of people. His assistant, the cameraman, the director, and a few Secret Service men. There would be no long lapses for applause this night.
"The earthquake in New York, the mass asphyxiation in Rwanda, the drought in India, and the coal fires in China. All of these major natural events, combined with the recent worldwide flu epidemic, have led to the loss of almost one-tenth of the world's population." The president shook his head and wiped his brow. The lighting unit was glaring hot. It was hard to fathom that in the last-minute decision to sequester the President and other heads of state in separate underground bunkers, they had the foresight to bring cameras, extension cords, generators, and lights.
"These recent events have the world's best scientists stumped. Many have speculated that this is humanity's own doing. This is what we deserve for polluting our home. I have those very same fears myself.
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