by A J Donovan
More birds fly at the helicopter and two of them get into the cockpit and cause chaos. The whole helicopter starts veering wildly and it turns and hurtles back towards the lake, completely out of control.
The birds escape just before the helicopter collides with the surface of the water at the edge of the lake. Water softens the impact slightly but the helicopter is ruined.
“There are more coming,” Betty says. “From the trees.”
I look around, glaring at the treeline. “Run. Get away from here and hide. I’ll find you both afterwards.”
“Jake, be careful,” Betty says. “Please.”
“The ones in the helicopter are getting out,” Molly says. I turn again and see the first of the crew jumping into the waves.
“Go,” I say. I force a smile for Betty’s sake and Molly leads her away.
“Be safe,” she says.
“I will.”
I step over to the lake and touch the water. Ice shoots forward and spreads across the surface, freezing it solid and trapping the people from the helicopter. They are shouting commands at each other and scrambling for weapons. They don’t panic, which is an impressive feat, considering everything. One of them manages to get her handgun out and points it at my face. I freeze the blood in her fingers and she screams.
The centre of the lake is pulsing with huge waves, and I’m suddenly eager for them to reach us. The water is speaking to me, opening my mind to new possibilities. Ice and water. They aren’t different. They’re just two forms of the same thing.
I push out my senses to the waves and the water and it responds with violent enthusiasm. Waves suddenly form around the crew, rising and crashing down around them. I lift my eyes to the clouds above us and reach out to them too.
These people will see my power. They will see what happens when they try to hurt the people I care about. The sky reflects my rage and storm clouds gather and darken above us. Water molecules shift against each other and I feel the friction in my mind. I encourage it, forcing the water together and building up the electric charge between the molecules.
Lightning splits the sky.
It seems impossible but the crew are not afraid or surprised. Somehow, they must know what to expect. As if they know who I am. What I am.
I almost lose myself in the rush of power filling my mind and scattering my thoughts. Then Betty reaches out to me and I feel her fear.
Anger rushes through me. She says something to me but I don’t hear it. Power and anger are consuming my thoughts and I can’t think straight.
I whirl around. There are more people dressed in military clothes surrounding my friends. My power responds to my rising anger and they both fill me. The power blurs my thoughts and pushes down anything that isn’t pure emotion. It wants to be set free. It wants to be let loose on this world and destroy everything in its path. It wants-
A sharp gunshot pierces the noise of my storm.
Pain explodes in my chest. A gasp rips itself out my throat and my hand clutches at the red spreading across my chest.
Another gunshot.
I stagger but I don’t feel the pain this time. A second patch of crimson blossoms. My shirt is soaked.
I look up and see Betty and Molly. They’ve stopped struggling, watching me with disbelief. This can’t be happening.
My powers frizzle and pulse, echoed by the storm. Lightning strikes, again and again and again. My eyes find the sniper perched in the trees. He is slim, with cold eyes and a satisfied smirk. I can rip the water out of his body or freeze the blood in his veins.
I know I can, but for some reason it isn’t working. I can’t use my power. My body feels strange, like it’s not connected to me anymore. It feels separate, somehow. I don’t know if my power is in my body or my mind but wherever it is, I can’t reach it.
I stumble backwards, towards the water. The lake is growing more violent with each passing moment. So is the storm. I can’t reach my power but it is still the source of the storm and it keeps making it stronger. I have no control.
I think I’m dying.
The storm howls and a twister rises out of the middle of the lake as I slip and fall into it. It reaches into the sky and I drop to my knees. My body is shutting down. The storm loses any semblance of restraint it has left.
I look around for my friends but the rain is lashing against my face and I can barely see. Finally I spot them. Molly is pulling Betty into the trees. I don’t know what happened to the people trying to capture them. All that matters is that they are running, I hope they get as far from this place as possible.
I hope that someone can protect them from me. I don’t think I can stop this storm.
I start to feel cold for the first time since the Outbreak began. The rain turns to ice and a blizzard descends on us. Before it completely blinds me, I look at the sniper again. I look into the eyes of the man who killed me.
Then my body collapses into the water. My heart keeps beating for a few final moments and, with my last heartbeat, the power inside me explodes and releases a wave of devastating ice and frost that tears up the earth and destroys everything in its path.
The waves take me away into the depths of the lake.
Chapter 31 – The Storm
Kim
“Dad?”
My father stares at me with huge eyes. “Kim?”
“You’re alive?” I ask.
He grins and rushes to pull me into a hug.
I hug him back. When he releases me I smile up at him. “Is Jake here?”
His face falls. “No. I hoped he was with you.”
“Have you heard anything?”
He shakes his head. “No. You should come in, we can discuss...” He trails off, frowning up at the sky. I look up and finally notice the storm clouds gathering above us.
“There were clear skies a minute ago,” I say.
“Something’s wrong,” Dad says.
The clouds grow bigger and darker with unnatural speed. The people in the cars closest to us start to get out. They know something is wrong. The soldiers behind my father start muttering anxiously. I look over his shoulder, into the compound. The people inside are looking to him for guidance.
“That storm looks bad, sir. We should get everyone inside.”
“Yes,” Dad says. “We should. This storm doesn’t make sense but nothing does these days. Everyone, get moving. Kim, get your people out of their vehicles and inside our walls. We can get your belongings after the storm passes. There isn’t time right now.”
My friends hear him and hurry to spread the word to the cars out of earshot. Soon all the vehicles are abandoned and everyone runs towards the compound gates. The wind and rain are getting stronger and both the cars and the people are battered by them. I wonder how much worse this storm is going to get.
I turn and look across the lake. Something is happening on the opposite side of the water. I have no idea what it is but it feels... familiar. Like somehow I should know what it is but I don't. I squint against the wind and rain but the opposite shore is too far away to see anything.
“There was a helicopter!”
I look at the soldier who shouted. Most of the others have gone inside but there are a handful of them still waiting for the stragglers. The soldier looks to my father for an explanation.
“Where is it?” Dad asks.
“It was on the other side of the lake, flying close to the ground. It’s gone now.”
My father looks at him sharply. “Gone? Did you see it crash?”
“No. It was there one second and then the next second, there was some kind of mist or something. I couldn’t see through it. When it cleared, the helicopter was gone.”
Dad nods. “Alright. It must have been the storm. We can’t help them now. Let’s get everyone inside.”
The last few people still outside are ushered through the gates.
My father hesitates before he follows them and looks across the lake, searching for a helicopter in the sk
y.
Lightning splits the sky and I jump.
“We need to get inside!” Dad yells to be heard over the impossible storm. It almost reminds me of my storm. Right after I lost him. The first time I lost control. The only time I unleashed my full power.
A storm from nowhere.
Dad takes my arm and starts pulling me towards the gates.
“Bring them all in!” he shouts. I can barely hear him even though he is right beside me.
I pull my arm back. “Something’s wrong!” I yell.
“Not now, Kim!”
I dodge his hand when he tries to grab me again and run to the water’s edge. There are rough waves forming right in front of me and there are even bigger ones growing out in the middle of the lake.
This must be the work of an Unturned. I prepare to reach out with my power but then a gunshot echoes over the howling winds.
I cry out when I feel the sharp pain in my chest. I look down, pulling my shirt away so I can see. The right side of my chest is in agony but there’s no mark. I’m not injured. But it feels-
Another gunshot pierces the sound of the storm and I scream as the bullet tears through me and buries itself in my chest. My breath is coming hard and fast. I’m gasping for air but I can’t get enough of it. Something’s wrong with me. I look down again but there’s no damage. My skin isn’t even bruised.
Realisation hits me.
“Jake,” I whisper. My voice is lost in the deafening noise of his storm.
Lightning cracks again and again. It’s so loud that it sends spikes of pain through my head. We are too close. Nothing could survive this storm and we are stuck right in the middle of it.
My mind races as I try to figure out what I can do. Before I come up with anything, I watch as a huge twister rises from the very centre of the lake. It reaches towards the storm clouds like a god reaching up from the depths of the lake.
The rain is almost blinding me and I’m soaked to the bone but I can’t stop watching. I can’t look away. I can’t leave him.
I reach out with my mind, like I would with Rex, to connect with Jake.
I can’t link with him. His mind is blocked off by power and pain. His pain breaks my heart and I use that to add to my power. It gives me just enough to finally break through his barriers, into his mind. Immediately I am bombarded with chaos and pain and terrifying, unbridled power. All I can do is grab the first thing I find.
Someone protect them.
I push through the chaos and find the minds he is focused on. My head is in agony and some distant part of my mind notices blood dripping from my nose. I wrap those people in a protective shield of air. I’ve never used my power across such a long distance before but I have to grant my brother’s dying wish.
His mind fades in his last moments. Then, there is nothing left but his heartbeat and his power.
His power rises and pulses with each final heartbeat. It grows and builds and I feel it reach its highest peak. When it reaches its full devastating potential, it is unleashed. My mind is sent hurtling back to my body by the explosion of power and it takes all my focus to keep the shield around Jake’s friends.
A wave of ice, frost and glacial air is unleashed from his body as the water takes it away. I watch in terror and awe as the wave rolls across the land and the water and destroys everything in its path. It spreads in every direction.
Including towards us.
After a moment I realise it is starting to lose strength. It crosses over half of the massive lake before there is any noticeable change but it gradually loses size and speed. It doesn’t matter, it’s too close. Even if it keeps losing power it will wipe out this settlement and everyone in it before it stops.
I release the shield I formed around Jake’s friends. They will have to survive on their own now.
I gather myself and look back over my shoulder when I feel someone standing behind me. I’m surprised to find my father still standing there. He’s watching the ice wave with wide eyes. Then he looks at me and I can see the fear in his face.
He doesn’t speak, just pulls me into a hug and buries my face in his chest. He thinks we’re about to die. He doesn’t know that we can survive this.
I meet Cole’s eyes over my father’s shoulder. I didn’t realise he was still out here with us but I’m not surprised. He isn’t afraid of the storm. As always, he has complete faith in me. He knows we can survive. He knows we will survive.
I pull back and turn towards the lake. I gather all of my strength and let the pain of losing Jake fill me. My grief for Matt is waiting just below the surface and I force myself to feel that too. They combine and grow and twist and thrash and consume my mind until there is nothing left but pure emotion.
I scream in pain and grief and let it grow until it feels like I’m going to rip myself apart. The ice wave is almost upon us now. I let it grow more and more until I can’t handle it. Finally, when it is impossible to hold it back anymore, I release all my grief in one massive burst of power.
A wall of air meets the wave of ice.
They collide with such extreme force that the ground beneath us shakes. We stumble backwards, barely managing to stay on our feet. The collision soaks the shore with water but it is nothing compared to what might have happened. The two waves struggle for a terrifying moment, but their power is equal and neither of them wins. The opposing forces cancel each other out.
Massive pieces of ice fall from the sky, landing in the lake with huge splashes. A chunk of ice the size of a small car lands less than ten feet from us and soaks us both. It isn’t the biggest piece of debris but most of the others fall into the water further away. They won’t hurt anyone.
It’s over.
Exhaustion finally catches up with me and my legs fold beneath me. My father catches me in his arms. He’s looking at me with wide, shocked eyes. It’s the same way he looked at the storm a few moments ago.
That’s when the strain of using so much power finally takes me and my vision turns to black.
***
I dream of the time Jake and I went ice skating.
I dream of an old woman and a girl, trudging through broken trees and frozen corpses.
I dream of my childhood and my family.
I dream of Matt and Jake laughing together in front of the TV at our old house.
I don’t want to wake up. Not yet.
***
When I can’t sleep any longer, I lie awake in bed for hours. People come to check on me but I pretend to sleep until they leave again.
After an eternity, I become restless. It’s easy to sneak out the back door of the cabin. The guards are barely paying attention. I don’t know who lives here or why they’re giving me their bed, but I also don’t care. My powers help me sneak through the camp without notice.
Finally, I arrive.
I stand at the edge of the lake and stare into the distance.
I spend hours standing there. I don’t know what to think or how to feel. I don’t know how to process what happened. This isolation is comforting but I know it’s not what I need. I have my friends and I have people who care about me. I need to go to them and let them help me through this. We can work together on moving forward and help everyone build a new future.
We have each other. That’s the most important thing.
I walk back to the settlement and let the soldiers lead me to my father.
I need to have a long talk with him.
***
Chapter 32 - Taking Action
Jennifer
“They caught up to him at the lake.”
Jennifer turns from the monitors to look at him. “And?”
The man hesitates. “There was violence,” he says. “We have mixed reports about what happened, but there has been no sign of him since.”
She had to sit down. “We were too late.”
“He could still be alive.”
“Don’t patronise me,” she snaps.
“I wasn’t. What I
mean is that we don’t know for sure what happened. It looks like the team was successful but we haven’t found a body. There could still be hope.”
She sighs. “I apologise. I shouldn’t have snapped.”
“You have every right to be upset,” he says. “He was your son.”
“Keep your voice down,” Jennifer says sharply, looking pointedly at the open door behind him.
“I’m sorry.” He watches her for a moment. “Jennifer, you need to take some time to deal with this-”
“I’m fine. Close the door.”
He closes the door. Minutes pass in silence.
Finally, she looks up at him. “Were there any spikes in psychic activity?”
“Yes,” he says. “Unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Even higher than the hurricane.”
Jennifer takes a deep breath. She tells herself that she doesn’t know what that means, not for definite. Their scientists predicted that emotional and physical injuries could magnify the strength of these Unturned. The more extreme the injury, the stronger the power outburst would be. They theorised that death could unleash power at its peak.
“How bad was the fallout?” she asks. “The hurricane decimated everything for miles around. This must have been worse. How many died?”
The man steps forward and hands her a piece of paper. “There were no deaths, as far as we know, apart from the strike team.”
Jennifer examines the graph. “There was a second spike. Not as powerful but still off the charts.” Understanding dawns on her. “There are only two people with that much power.”
“Yes.” He clearly already knows what this means but he is giving her a chance to figure it out.
“Kim must have been there, too,” she says. “It couldn’t have been Jake, not if...”
“Exactly.”
“They found each other,” she whispers.
“The locations of the two spikes in activity weren’t the same. They were nearby but not together.”
“Is that why there weren’t more deaths?” she asks. “Do you think Kim stopped the fallout from his death?”