EVO Nation Series Trilogy Box Set

by K. J. Chapman

  “I can do this. I can do this,” I repeat, forgetting we are still linked.

  “You have to do this. Don’t waste time- go.”

  The EVO look at me in bewilderment, awaiting my instruction. Darcy growls, his ears pinned flat against this head. I need to get him up-top and give him a good looking over.

  “I have a telepathic link with Adam Lovick. The lift is a no go. There is only one way up.”

  “And that is?”

  “The way I escaped the first time.” I urge Darcy on ahead of me, but he continues to growl at the empty corridor to our right. “What is it, Boy?”

  “Oh, my God,” someone shouts behind me, making me start. “Where is Towley?”

  I desperately scan the rubble and the faces around me. He’s gone. Shit! He’s bloody gone. I was distracted with the grenade. Oh, shit, shit, shit. Just knowing that the man is running around free makes my breath hitch. If we can’t get up, he can’t get up. He has to be down here still.

  “Did anyone see him?” I scream at them. “Did anyone see him?”

  Not a single person out of the seventeen saw the man escape. Darcy barks at the empty corridor, nudging me in the other direction as he does. The way he stands in between me and the blackness makes my hairs stand on end. Darcy knows.

  “Towley’s headed toward his office.” Adam’s voice shocks me out of my panic.

  “He must have made a run for it when we were disoriented from the blast, “I say, feeling guilty for letting the monster get away.

  “Don’t worry about him. Just get out of there,” he replies. “We’ll deal with him later. He can’t go far.”

  I know he speaks sense. “Come on, let’s move!” I say, clapping my hands in encouragement. Darcy is happy that I’m doing what he wants for a change. He keeps looking back over his shoulder, whining under his breath. “I know, Boy. The bad man is down there.”

  We briefly stop at the Therapy Suite to weapon up. I need to be prepared for the possibility of combat up top.

  “If you know how to shoot, grab a gun,” I say to the EVO. “Some up front. Some bring up the rear.”

  Two men and one woman follow my lead. The rest allow us to move into position, relief evident in their eyes. I take the rear. Knowing Towley is back that way makes me increasingly edgy. If he’s planning something, I want to see him coming.

  “It’s a dead end,” a voice from the front calls back. “What’s with the weird door?”

  “It’s the hatch. It leads up-top. Everyone in single file and careful with your footing. Keep quiet, my people are still fighting up there, so we don’t want to draw unwanted attention.”

  The hatch clunks open, and there are some protests at the smell, but they don’t need encouraging to get out of this dungeon. The line filters down slowly, and I brace myself for my second stint inside the suffocating tunnel. Levitating Darcy beside me, I step across the draughty, bonfire-smelling tunnel and position myself on the metal ladder fixed to the concrete. It vibrates through my body as the others climb above. To be on the safe side, I pull the hatch closed with my telekinesis, spinning the wheel-like handle as I do so and casting us into darkness.

  “I’m coming up,” I warn, and levitate myself up the shaft, careful to not dislodge anyone as I pass.

  Darcy hovers below me, whimpering a little. This isn’t quite the same as being lifted up the hatch at The Hive. I know he can feel our fear, and his hair pricking on end tells me that he is just as scared. The higher up I travel, the louder the gunshots, shouts, and banging becomes.

  “Adam, what hatch? I think we’re up-top. There’s another two hatches above us.”

  “You’re on my level now, so do not open that hatch! There are about nine un-friendlies between us and you. The next one up is Roscoe’s old office. We believe that side of the structure is relatively sound. Just go careful and hole up there until we can extract you.”

  “Next floor up,” I whisper to the EVO man beside me. “Be ready with your weapon.”

  I levitate myself up to the hatch whilst trying to reassure Darcy telepathically. He’s not an idiot, and he whines in response, calling my bluff. I wait for the armed EVO to reach me before opening the door. We might need all the fire power we can get.

  The wheel like handle of the hatch starts spinning of its own accord. Both of us raise our weapons instinctively.

  “Adam, who’s in the office?”

  “No one. Why?”

  There is a whoosh of fresh air as the door swings open fully, and I bash my gun into the face of whoever is on the other side. They stumble back into the room, groaning as they do so. I effortlessly manoeuvre myself and Darcy through the hatch, pinning the person to the ground with my boot on their back. The daylight is fading, but it still aches at my eyes after being below.

  I know that baggy jumper and faded jeans.

  “Teddie, it’s me,” says Shana, pushing my foot off of her back.

  “Mum? What the hell are you doing?” The bodies of two soldiers lie face down in pools of blood. “Did you do this?”

  “I was sent to chaperone you all out of here, but these two showed up.” She waves her handgun like it’s a toy.

  “Sent by who?”

  “Adam,” she replies.

  Now, I know she’s lying. “Bullshit. I’m linked with Adam. What are you really doing here?”

  “Must have been Dad, then.” She shrugs, not meeting my eyes.

  “The truth- now,” I say. “My mother is in the office.”

  I can feel Adam’s confusion as soon as I link. “What? How?”

  “They wouldn’t let me help. Am I supposed to sit back and do nothing? I climbed up to the roof and it’s a good job I did. These two would have been waiting for you.”

  “Jesus, Mother!” I don’t know whether to feel grateful that she was desperate to help me, or angry that she put herself at risk. “The roof has been secured.” I tell Adam. “Should we make our way up?”

  “I need confirmation from Lorrell,” he replies.

  “Come on!” Shana urges, dragging me toward the door. “There’s another stairwell to the roof. It’s safe. The fire mustn’t have spread this far. We can go up, we just can’t go down to the lower levels.”

  “Adam?”

  “Go with Shana. The TORO know you’re coming. Just be careful.”

  Shana and I usher the EVO out into the hallway. She leads the troop up a stairwell that smells of acrid smoke.

  “Rafe is going to be pissed at you,” I warn her.

  She shrugs. “It’s not the first time. At least this time, I’m breaking the rules for you.”

  I smile at her. She returns it, clearly feeling accomplished. “How did you climb up to the roof?” I ask.

  “I shimmied up the drain pipe. It’s easy when you’re pretty much invisible.”

  “The drain pipe?” I ask, laughing. “Where did you learn how to do that?”

  “I was a wayward teen,” she replies, raising an eyebrow. “Come on, let’s get you out of this bloody place. I couldn’t do this the first time, but I can now.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  My first breath of fresh air is a welcome one. The rain pelts the gravel roof, and our scrubs blow tight around our bodies. The air supply fans whir continuously, the metal caging has been replaced with some heavy-duty stuff. Watching the fast spin of the blades makes my legs wobble. It feels like a lifetime ago that we crawled through there, despite the threat of being crushed. I half expect to see Boyd flying a chopper over the trees. The last time I set foot on this roof, Golding and Haydn were still alive. Hell, the last time I was up here, so many people were still alive.

  Keeping to the safer portion of the building, we wave down to the TORO and soldiers below. Rafe’s face clouds over like a thunderstorm upon sight of Shana What I first thought were our people sat on the floor, are in fact, the Non-EVO soldiers. They kneel in the dirt with their hands restrained behind their backs. Adam kept his promise to them. None have been hurt.
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br />   The force of Rafe’s telekinesis wraps around me. It’s a reassuring, steadying force that allows me to relax a little. Submitting myself to his ability is easy, considering I want nothing more than a hug and to feel distanced from this place. In the past few months that I have known Rafe, it seems I do look to him for security. He’s stepped into Dad’s place, not that it has been easy for either of us.

  An explosion from below rocks the foundations of the building. All nineteen of us sprawl on the gravel.

  “Adam?”

  “Are you out?” he replies. “Did you make it to the roof?”

  “What was that?”

  “Are you on the roof?”

  “Adam, answer me, damn it!”

  “You answer me!” he snaps back.

  “I’m on the roof.”

  He sighs with relief. “There’s been an explosion and the stairwell has been compromised. We’re fairly sure it’s Towley’s doing. I can’t risk telekinesis because the structure is too unstable. Stay where you are. We’re working on a way out.”

  “You’re trapped?”

  “We’re reassessing the situation—”

  “Oh, shut up,” I say. “Reassessing my ass!”

  Rafe, Jude, and Fernan have their heads together, worry making their postures rigid. Fernan bites at her already short nails. Reassess all you want. Rafe’s eyes flick to me again, and I back away from the lip of the roof.

  “Don’t you dare, Kiddo!”

  “This is what you’ve trained me for,” I call down. “I should be fighting, not running.”

  “You can’t go back in there alone,” he shouts up.

  “Then, come with me.”

  I place Darcy in the arms of the strongest EVO and head back toward the hatch, ignoring Darcy’s whines. “Levitate yourself and the others off of this roof,” I tell him.

  “Teddie, don’t do anything stupid,” Adam says, telepathically.

  “Nothing you wouldn’t do.”

  “Damn it, Teddie!”

  Exactly. That hypocrite would be down that tunnel like a rat down a sewer pipe if it was me stuck down there. That’s why I love the man.

  “Teddie!” Shana shouts after me.

  I glance at her over my shoulder. “Mum, stay here. I mean it. Let me do what I’ve got to do. I’m a different person now to who I was then.”

  I don’t relish the idea of going back into the fire escape tunnel, but I welcome the chance to aid Adam and the team. Feet land on the gravel behind me, and Rafe swings a gun over his shoulder.

  “What’s the plan?” he asks, pushing his wet hair out of his face.

  I never thought I’d see the day when Rafe Lloyd was handing control over to me. It’s a confidence boost and affirmation of his faith in my abilities; abilities he has taught me to master.

  “How many un-friendlies will be between us and them?” I ask.

  “Seven that we know of, and Towley is running about like a rodent. He must have a way to travel between floors.”

  That’s new information, but I can only concentrate on one problem at a time right now. Methodical, logical, and calm. I jump into the shaft, followed by Rafe. “We could do with more guns,” I muse.

  “And cue Uncle Jude,” says Jude, leaping feet first into the shaft above Rafe.

  “Apparently, stupid runs in the family,” Rafe jokes.

  The three of us hover in the dark, fire escape tunnel like a trio of vampires.

  “What now, Princess?” Jude whispers, picking up where Rafe left off.

  I raise my hand to summon them to a stop beside the open hatch that leads into Roscoe’s office.

  “Next one down?” I say, telepathically, not wanting to alert anyone to our presence.

  “What?” Adam replies. I guess he’s constantly linked in. He’s on alert, keeping the connection with me, waiting for me to use my telepathy.

  “Get out of my damn head, Lovick,” Jude responds. “Bad enough with my little Telekin in here.” I’m thankful for his banter, especially when we’re about to go full Rambo.

  “This is a crowded affair,” Rafe joins in. I can feel the power of his own telepathy reducing the effort I have to put in. I’m grateful. “Adam, remain quiet. We’re busy.”

  I take the momentary silence as cue to continue. “We need the element of surprise if three of us are to overpower seven of them. Turning the hatch wheel will take too long, so I suggest blasting the door off.”

  “This isn’t The Italian Job, Princess,” Jude adds.

  I ignore him. “I’ll follow the door in, and you two straight after. If they’re still hostile, we’ll be hostile. If they surrender, we secure them. Then, we extract Adam and the team.”

  Adam makes a groaning noise in our heads. “Just be careful.”

  “Time is of the essence, Kiddo,” says Rafe, gesturing toward the hatch. “Get it done.”

  Taking a reassuring breath, gripping my gun like a life buoy, and clicking out my neck, I discharge a concentrated, powerful force against the door. The resistance from the door shoves me back into the ladder, but the door breaks loose of the wall and shoots into the room in a shower of rubble. Flying into the room after it, desperately trying to see through the debris and dust, I come face to face with one of Towley’s men. He staggers away, falling over his comrade cowering on the floor.

  The room is lit by light batons that produce a stark almost ultraviolet light. Every soldier has one hanging from his waist and looks like something out of a Star Wars movie.

  “Surrender and you will not be harmed,” I shout, both verbally and in their heads.

  Rafe and Jude emerge behind me. Five men lower their guns to the floor, admitting defeat. Rafe whips the weapons down the shaft using his telekinesis. A sixth man growls in pure hatred, raising his gun toward the closest of us- Jude. I fire first. He hits the floor beside a screaming seventh man. The heavy door has landed on the man’s leg, pinning him to the spot. He cries and writhes, ignoring the face of his dead comrade who has fallen within inches of him.

  I point my gun at him. He throws his own over the door and it scatters across the floor toward Jude, who following Rafe’s lead, chucks it through the gaping hole.

  “I surrender! I surrender!” he wails.

  “How many more of you are there?” I ask him. The man groans in agony. “How many?” I press.

  “Just us,” another soldier answers for him.

  Rafe steps up to him, and he withdraws closer to his pal, curling his legs up to his chest.

  “Who is in charge?” Rafe asks.

  The man nods to the dead soldier on the floor. “We wanted to leave with the rest of them. We wanted to surrender, but he said we’d be court-martialled. Please, we only fought back because they were attacking us.”

  “They were attacking you because you refused to surrender. You were told resistance would be met with resistance,” I state.

  The man looks to the floor. “Please, I have a family. I was fighting because my superior told me to.”

  “We’re in,” I tell Adam. “Un-friendlies secure. Perhaps not so unfriendly. Just misguided.”

  “Tell that to Cooper. One guy blew another finger off of his other hand.”

  “My leg,” the stricken soldier gasps.

  Relieving his leg of the door, I squat down beside the man, applying pressure above his crushed knee. Bone pieces protrude and a puddle of blood spreads across the floor. I turn to Rafe. “He needs this seeing to or he’s going to bleed out. Give me your belt,” I shout at the other soldier.

  He removes his belt quick smart, and I make a tourniquet.

  “This is going to hurt,” I tell the sweating man, pulling it tight. He screams out, tears spilling down his cheeks, and he grasps for my hand. “We’re going to help you,” I tell him. “What’s your name?”

  “Harry. I’m Harry,” he manages to say through gritted teeth.

  “Harry, I’m Teddie. I’m sorry for squishing you with a door.” I squeeze his hand back, trying
to reassure him with humour and kindness. “Sincerely, I am.”

  “I’m sorry for shooting at your boyfriend,” he replies, offering a raspy laugh. “Dawes is telling the truth. We wanted to leave with the rest.”

  “Jude, you need to take him to the roof and get him medical help.”

  “Why me?” Jude asks, eyeing the soldier warily.

  “Because I’m telling you to.” I wipe my bloody hands on my trousers.

  He glares at me, yet doesn’t question further. Instead, he lifts the soldier with his telekinesis and makes his way back to the shaft. “Power changes a person,” he mutters to Harry, throwing me a comical look over his shoulder. “It’s not like I’m her uncle of anything You stick with me, Harry. I think we could both do with this day being over…” His voice trails off as he climbs inside the hole and they disappear up the shaft.

  “Okay, you lot, you’re coming with us,” says Rafe, gesturing for them to stand with the barrel of his gun.

  “Out there? But there was an explosion.”

  Rafe glowers at the man. “No shit. Towley took out the only remaining stairwell up-top. Doubt he gave much thought as to where his men were. Luckily, you’re this side of the mess.”

  The soldiers look to each other in bewilderment. “We thought you had Towley?”

  “We did,” I say, rubbing a hand over my hair. “Some idiot blew himself up and took the stairs and Mangard with him. Towley escaped in the chaos. Our guys think it was him who set the second bomb. They just have no clue how he got up from the lower levels without being seen on the cameras or using the hatch.”

  The men get to their feet, still confused, and perhaps a little shell shocked from the last five minutes.

  “Mangard is dead?” a shaking soldier asks.

  “He was playing a bluff. It appears that Mangard was on our side. He sacrificed himself for us.”

  Dawes steps forward, hands open in a show of honesty. “If you can promise us that we have nothing to fear from you, then I will tell you what I know.”

  Rafe raises an eyebrow at me. “Have we not already told you that surrendering will ensure you won’t be harmed?”