“Don’t!” Agent Barnes voice rasped, and his bloody eyes looked like someone had thrown salt in them.
“This is wrong. You know it is. Zoey needs our protection. We can’t let them have her.”
“Time’s up!” declared Mrs. Dupont with a smile. The Alphas prepared to attack.
Directors Campbell and Martin grabbed Zoey and pushed her towards Mrs. Dupont and Nazar. It took her a few seconds to realize what they were doing, and then she kicked and screamed as hard as she could.
Tristan’s skin suddenly shone blue, and he hurled both the astonished directors to the ground.
“Thanks,” said Zoey.
“No problem.” Tristan’s dark eyes met hers for a second, and Zoey felt her face burn.
“You do realize that you might get expelled for this?” she said, a little out of breath.
“It was worth it. They were getting on my nerves.”
Zoey suddenly looked concerned. “Tristan - where’s Simon?”
Tristan glanced over his shoulder. “He was standing next to me a second ago—”
“KILL THEM ALL!” roared Mrs. Dupont, “And get the girl!”
With a wild chorus of war cries, and then the clash of metal against metal and fists against flesh, the Alpha army attacked.
The onslaught exploded onto the grounds with such ferocity and speed that Zoey was stunned. The Alphas fought like machines, as if they were powered by some invisible force. They looked like they would never tire.
She saw Director Hicks go down under a wave of Alphas. Agent Vargas looked like a medieval warrior as he swung a giant club and sent three Alphas flying across the grounds. Even Agent Ward fought like a champion as he thrust his long silver sword into the gut of an Alpha man with two heads. For a second Zoey thought she saw Aria swinging two large pots, but she disappeared in the chaos, too. Even though the agents and directors were fighting two or three opponents at the same time and doing their best to stay alive, Zoey could see that the Alphas were going to overpower them quickly. Could they beat such foes?
Zoey tried not to show her panic.
Agent Lee shot an Alpha man that looked like a human refrigerator. But just as he was reloading his gun, another Alpha with giant bat wings launched itself onto his back and began tearing at his flesh. He spun and hit it repeatedly with the end of his gun, but the Alpha clung on, biting and slashing.
“Zoey, Agent Lee needs help,” said Tristan as he brandished two daggers. “Stay close, and be careful.”
“I will.” Zoey watched Tristan charge at the giant bat, slash its wings, and finally pull it off Agent Lee. Then they stood together, back-to-back, and deflected more attacks, just like she and Tristan used to do.
Zoey saw Agent Barnes try to get up, falter and fall back down. His face was riddled with pain. Zoey rushed over to his aid.
“Stay down,” she said and looked over her shoulder to see if any Alphas were coming their way. “You’re not well enough to fight.”
“They need my help,” rasped Agent Barnes.
“You can’t do anything to help them like this. You’ll get killed. Here, lean on me.”
Zoey pulled Agent Barnes to his feet. “I’ll get you to a safe place for now, until your strength returns.”
With strength she didn’t know she possessed, she hauled Agent Barnes over to the side of the Hive.
Agent Barnes slipped to the ground. “Thank you, Zoey. I wish…I wish I could help. I feel so useless.”
“Just stay here,” she ordered, “and don’t try to get up. Not yet. I’ll see you later.”
“Be careful, Little Red.”
Zoey turned and faced the battle. She could see Mrs. Dupont and Nazar watching the battle eagerly. She decided to deal with the cat-lady later.
With adrenaline filling her with savage fearlessness, she grabbed her boomerang and then charged into the mayhem.
Tristan was fighting the bear-man in hand-to-hand combat. They were perfectly matched, and Zoey wasn’t sure who would win. She ran across the blood-covered snow of the central yard.
Crack!
Something latched itself around her neck.
Zoey flew backwards into the air and landed hard on the ground. Something was choking her. She tried to pull it off her windpipe and winced as it burned her fingers. Green energy from the whip danced around her head. She used her boomerang to pry off the burning rope, took in a shaky breath, and rose to her feet again.
An Alpha man advanced slowly towards her. An electrical green whip dangled at his side like a twelve-foot snake. He curled his lip. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Even though blood roared in Zoey’s ears, she waved her boomerang at him.
“You know, Indiana Jones already did the whip thing. You just look stupid. Come on, cowboy,” she said.
The man gritted his teeth. “We’re not supposed to kill you, but no one said we couldn’t hurt you. I’m going to whip you real good, girl.”
With a crack like thunder, he swung the whip at her.
The tip of the whip grazed her cheek, and she felt it burn. The man lashed three more times. She avoided the first two and parried the third with the end of her boomerang. She flinched at the sting of electricity that twisted around the boomerang’s metal surface.
“You’re good,” said the man.
“You’re too kind,” responded Zoey.
“Anyone who hasn’t got a little bit of talent is not worth killing.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
He raised his eyebrows and pulled another whip from the folds of his red uniform. Only this one shone with red energy. He lashed the two whips like a circus performer about to discipline a tiger.
“You’re not really playing fair,” remarked Zoey. “You’re already twice my size. I’m just a fourteen-and-a-half-year-old girl. Give a kid a break.”
“Life’s not fair, kid,” sneered the man. “Get used to it.”
“Right.” Zoey backed away. It would be a challenge to anticipate the movements of two whips.
The man raised his arms, and shot his whips forward. With a thunderous crack, the whips flashed towards Zoey like green and red lightning bolts.
“Crap.”
She ducked and spun, and the green whip lashed beside her. She jerked away and stumbled—and the red one got her. White-hot pain exploded around her waist and she flew into the air, hovered for a second, and then came crashing down into a snow bank. The red whip was worse. Its electricity burned through her clothes and attacked her skin like acid. She hacked at the whip with the end of her boomerang. But it was too thick, and she couldn’t break it loose.
Crack!
A flash of green caught her eye, and the second whip wound around her like a twister. It pinned her arms to her sides. She dropped her boomerang, and toppled over.
“You’re mine now, kid.”
The man raised his arms, and Zoey flew up in the air like a kite on the end of a string. The whips squeezed, and she felt her last breath escape. She couldn’t even cry out for help as she gasped for air. She could hear his laughter until she hit the snow again.
And then two Alphas fighting an agent crashed into them.
It was the distraction she needed.
The whips’ hold slackened just enough for her to grab her boomerang and hurl it at the man with the whips. The golden boomerang spun like a golden Frisbee and whacked him in the neck with such force that it sliced his neck like a sword. His hands went to his throat, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he toppled over like a dead tree.
Zoey wiggled free from the hot whips, but felt a presence behind her. She whirled around.
Deathray smiled at her. “You’re a killer, I see. I was wrong about you. Maybe you should be a part of our team after all.”
“I’ll never be part of your team.” Zoey threw her boomerang and it spun straight towards Deathray’s head. But she caught it easily and threw the boomerang into the snow.
She grinned at Z
oey again.
“Lasher was an idiot and lacked the key elements of self-control. He was cocky, and that was his weakness. But I’m not so easily defeated.”
Deathray slammed into Zoey like a bull, and Zoey slipped in the snow and rolled over, just as Deathray’s boot landed an inch from her face. She scrambled to her feet and backhanded the woman right across the jaw.
Blood flew from Deathray’s mouth, and she spat onto the snow.
“Not bad, not bad for a beginner,” said Deathray, protecting her red globe like a newborn child.
“Not bad for a freak show,” growled Zoey.
Deathray moved so fast that Zoey didn’t have time to react. She kicked Zoey in the face, and she fell to her knees.
“It’s time to teach you a lesson, little girl,” said Deathray. A beam of red light shot towards Zoey.
Zoey dodged the beam, rolled on the ground, and came up fighting. She hit Deathray’s cheek with her fist, but was caught with a boot in the ribs. She staggered back and managed to avoid another shot of red light. She swung a punch but missed, and Deathray’s boot crunched against her ribcage again. Zoey screamed in pain and went sprawling on the ground.
“I see they’ve trained you well,” Deathray smiled. “I’m enjoying this fight, but it won’t last long. I’m going to enjoy seeing your death-face before you die.” Her globe glowed red in her hand.
Zoey sprang to her feet and closed her eyes as Deathray fired her globe. She could feel the beam of red light on her eyelids, feel it trying to get in—but she held on. She heard the crunch of snow nearing her and fired her boomerang in the direction of the noise.
She heard a scream, and the heat left her face. She opened her eyes.
Deathray lay on the snow with her globe in the snow next to her.
Zoey leaped on top of her, but Deathray rolled over, kicked Zoey in the stomach and punched her in the face. As Zoey staggered back, Deathray’s boot came at her again, but Zoey blocked it with her forearm and hit Deathray with a sidekick.
Deathray staggered back and laughed. She clapped her hands excitedly.
Zoey’s breath tore at her ribs. “This isn’t a game,” she spat angrily.
“It is to me, little girl. It’s a game that I intend to win.” She raised her red globe again.
Zoey ducked to protect herself, but she wasn’t fast enough.
When the red beam first hit her it was like she’d stuck her finger in an electrical socket and her body jerked with the shock. But then an absolute horror spread through her. Images of torture, madness, and horror took over her mind, until she thought she might go mad. She saw people she cared about die horrible deaths.
Zoey screamed like she’d never screamed before and saw death staring right at her. Zoey toppled over into the snow. She rolled over and tried to get up, but she collapsed. She could hear laughter, and hot tears rolled down her icy cheeks. Was this what dying was like? She could hear screams in the distance, but then she realized that they were her own.
She was cold, so cold. She thought she heard the sound of hooves. Her madness was tricking her. Suddenly, relief washed over her like a hot bath, and the pain and the visions ended abruptly. She felt life return to her body. She opened her eyes.
A flaming horse stood in the snow in front of her.
Chapter 20
Heroes and Villains
“Get back, you miserable beast,” roared Deathray, “I’ll show you pain you’ve never experienced, you filthy monster. Die!”
She shot her hand forward, and a red beam sped towards the horse.
“No!” screamed Zoey.
The red light struck the animal in the face. The horse staggered back, swinging its mane from side to side. Zoey thought the horse would die, but it planted its feet and turned its head. Its eyes blazed red, and they fixed on Deathray. With a wild neigh, the horse’s orange flames turned white-hot, and it charged the woman with terrifying power.
Deathray screamed as the flaming horse ploughed into her. Zoey heard a horrible snap, and the woman flew in the air and tumbled into the snow. Zoey pushed herself to her feet and moved towards the woman. Deathray’s head was twisted around backwards so that her face looked out over her back, and her chest was in the snow.
The horse whinnied loudly. Zoey turned around. She could see the death beam of the red globe glowing beneath the snow. The horse flared its nostrils and smashed the globe into a powdered mess with its front hooves.
Zoey moved towards the horse. It stood still and waited for her. She raised her hand and gently stroked the animal’s neck.
“Thank you, my friend. You saved my life.”
Gradually, the horse’s white-hot flames subsided to orange. The horse rested its great head on Zoey’s shoulder, and she wrapped her hands around the beast’s neck and buried her face in its fiery mane. She was surprised that its flames tickled her like warm fur.
“I was wondering if I’d ever see you again. I guess you heard me cry out, didn’t you?”
The horse whinnied.
“Good boy. I wish I knew your name—”
Battle cries interrupted her. In the distance Zoey could see that the Alphas were gaining ground from the agents. Most of the bodies in the snow were agents. Her family was in trouble, and she had to help them. Zoey picked up her boomerang, and when she turned around, the horse lowered itself to its knees. Zoey understood.
“I have to warn you, I’ve only ridden on a pony, once - at the village fair. And I fell.”
She hesitated. There was no saddle, no bridle, and no reins.
“This is going to be interesting.”
She wrapped her hands around the long orange mane, swung her right leg over the horse’s back, and hauled herself up.
The horse straightened up and walked around. Zoey was surprised at how easily she stayed on. It was almost as though the horse was doing the balancing for her, and keeping her safe on its back.
“Well, I don’t know what else to say but—giddy up!”
Together, Zoey and the horse galloped towards the battle. With her left hand wrapped in the horse’s mane, she held her boomerang in her right hand like a sword.
She spotted Tristan. Four Alphas were attacking him with gleaming black swords. Tristan had backed away and was countering and blocking, but Zoey could see that he was tiring. An Alpha slashed his sword towards Tristan’s neck, faster than her eye could follow, but he batted it away with his blade.
“Hurry! Tristan needs our help!” cried Zoey. Somehow she knew that the horse knew exactly who she meant.
Snow lifted on either side of them like great waves of white, and Zoey thought for sure they were flying. They reached Tristan in seconds. The Alphas backed away when they saw the great horse, but then they closed in and jabbed and slashed at them.
The horse didn’t appreciate their attack. It twisted around and struck the two Alphas in the chest with its hind legs. They rocketed backwards and collapsed into the snow like broken dolls.
Zoey used the distraction to hurl her boomerang at the two remaining Alphas. It hit them on their foreheads and knocked them to the ground. They stayed down.
She caught her returning boomerang and looked down at Tristan.
“Impressive,” said Tristan, a little out of breath. Blood stained his body from his many cuts, but they didn’t seem to bother him. He examined the horse with admiration.
“Firesteeds are considered wild and untamable. I’m surprised he let you ride him. He’s a rare and beautiful animal.”
Zoey patted the horse’s neck and felt an immediate connection with her fiery friend.
“Well, he’s my friend. And I’m his. He saved my life. I wish I knew what to call him—”
“He has a name,” said Tristan.
Zoey stared at him. “I won’t bother asking how you know, but what is it?”
“Firefax,” said Tristan. The horse raised its great head and neighed, almost as though it was nodding.
Zoey grinned. “Firefax - so
that’s your name, eh? It’s beautiful, and it really suits you, too.” She patted the horse’s neck gently.
“Zoey, listen,” said Tristan worriedly. “I can’t find Simon anywhere. I don’t want to think the worst—”
“Then don’t,” said Zoey.
“We’ll find him, he’s gotta be here somewhere. Maybe he needs our help. Come on, Firefax!”
Zoey and the Firesteed galloped into the nearest battle, and Tristan ran behind them.
The horse knocked down approaching Alphas like bowling pins, and Zoey whacked them with her boomerang. She saw Agent Barnes punch an Alpha woman with white eyes and yellow claws. He then gave Agent Lee a high-five, pushed him sideways, and hit another Alpha with his gun.
She spotted Director Hicks waving a large sword like a skilled swordsmen. He moved swiftly and with grace—no small feat, considering his large girth. He thrust and lashed out at his enemies strongly. Zoey was impressed.
For a moment, she felt that they might actually win the fight.
But then her hopes were destroyed as she saw that the red uniforms were really overwhelming the tired agents and their mystic counterparts. One by one, they started to collapse.
She searched the battle and spotted Mrs. Dupont. She hadn’t moved since the start of the battle, and her expression was triumphant. Zoey realized in horror that they were losing.
Suddenly, people shouted and pointed to the sky.
Zoey followed their gaze…
Three large spaceships hovered over the Hive.
For a second, Zoey thought these were more of Mrs. Dupont’s supporters coming to finish them off. But then she realized that she had seen these craft before—she had even ridden in one of them.
Their yellow cab lights flashed with the words: Don’t mess with the Aleeans! The circular, smoky-green craft soared down close to the ground and started firing precise green lasers at the Alphas. Once the agents and directors had recovered from their shock, they backed away and gave the cabs room to do their jobs.
Mrs. Dupont shouted orders, and then a helicopter was in the air. But two of the spacecraft raced towards it and shot it down. Then they fired upon the rest of the stationary helicopters until most of them were smoking and broken.
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