Shadow of the Coalition

by Jamie A. Waters

  A guard was rummaging through cabinets in Carl’s private quarters. If it weren’t for the soundproofing in the bathroom, she would have already been caught. She bit her lip, wondering what they were looking for, and then her gaze fell on her commlink. She’d have to sneak past the guard in order to get it from the nightstand.

  It’s risky, but I’ve already gone this far.

  The guard’s back was turned, and Kayla quietly slipped out of the bathroom. Keeping her footsteps light, she moved cautiously behind him. The stolen weapon seemed to grow heavier with each step and her grip around it tightened. As she approached, his commlink beeped.

  Kayla’s instincts kicked in. She quickly dove behind the bed. Her heart pounded as the guard answered the device. She risked peeking over the bed and saw his back was still turned toward her. He was silent for a long moment as he listened to whoever was speaking on the other end. When the voice fell silent, the guard snapped the commlink shut and headed for the door to Carl’s office.

  Kayla breathed a sigh of relief at her lucky break. Snatching her commlink off the nightstand, she quickly slipped out the back door and into the main hallway. Another guard stood at the end of the hall with his back facing her. She swallowed and ducked into a storage closet. Time was running out. Someone would come to check on her any minute, if they weren’t already on their way. Flipping open her communication device, she hunched down amongst the boxes to call Alec.

  Alec’s face appeared on the screen almost immediately. “Kayla? Seara and I have been worried about you. I wanted to apologize about what happened in the café with Carl. Are you all right?”

  She blinked. How did he not know about the attack? Brant said OmniLab had been notified about the aircraft sighting. She shook her head. Something wasn’t adding up. “Shut up, Alec. That’s not important. We’ve got a problem over at Carl’s camp.” She quickly relayed the details about the attack and originally meeting their captives at Leo’s camp.

  Alec’s expression was grave. “Is there any way you can get out of there? Where’s Brant?”

  “I haven’t seen him since he told us you’d been notified about the aircraft. They’re not keeping him with the rest of us.” She paused to listen for any sounds outside the door. So far, it was still silent. She turned back to the video screen. “Look, Alec, they already killed Zane. If there’s a way you can help get everyone out of here, we need to do it fast.”

  “Kayla, listen to me very closely,” Alec said urgently. “Brant never notified me, and this is the first I’ve heard about this. I’ll do what I can to rescue your friends, but we’ve been digging into the archives to get more information about this group. They’ve been active in our territory longer than we realized. The Coalition was originally a multi-government-funded organization, but they’ve shifted into something worse over the years. OmniLab is one of the largest facilities on the planet, and up until now, they’ve avoided any conflicts with us. Something must have changed for them to launch an attack on one of our camps. If there’s any way you can get out of there safely, I need you to do it. You have my word we’ll make every effort to rescue your friends. But if they have access to Carl’s system, there’s a good chance they’ll learn about your parents and your connection to OmniLab. They’re going to focus on you.”

  Kayla frowned, considering the possibilities. “If they’re focused on me, they’ll leave everyone else alone.”

  Alec’s expression became thunderous. “Dammit, Kayla, don’t make yourself a target. This is not a game. Don’t you understand? I would do just about anything to get you back safely.”

  A shout echoed from outside, and Kayla winced. The dead guard had apparently been discovered. She didn’t have time to argue. “Look, I stole a guard’s commlink, but I can’t read it. It’s in some strange language. I’m going to upload the information to you so you can sort through it.”

  Alec paused, and his brow creased with concern. “How did you manage to steal a commlink?”

  Kayla connected the guard’s commlink to hers and uploaded the information. “Stop asking stupid questions. I killed him while he was trying to grope me.”

  Alec stared at her with a combination of shock and horror. She sighed and rubbed her temples. They really did come from two different worlds.

  “You’ve got the information. Go through it and see what you can learn. I’m going to see if I can figure out what these guys are doing.”

  “Kayla, don’t,” Alec urged. “Stay hidden. I’m sending out a team to your location right now.”

  She shook her head. She didn’t have time to keep bickering. “I’ll do what I have to do. They’re already searching for me. Just hurry up and get here as quickly as you can. Preferably before I get my ass killed.”

  Kayla disconnected from the call and cleared the transmission history from her commlink. If they learned about her connection to Alec or anything about the underground river, it wouldn’t be from her end. Unfortunately, it would only be a matter of time before they discovered the information on Carl’s system.

  There were thousands of files stored on their servers. There might be a chance they hadn’t accessed them yet. If she could get to one of the main terminals, she could tap into the system and destroy them. The trick was getting access to a console.

  Determined to give it a shot, Kayla shoved both commlinks into her back pockets. Gripping the guard’s weapon tightly, she cracked open the door. The need for speed outweighed the need for subterfuge, especially since her escape had already been discovered. Carl’s office was the closest terminal with server access, but it was swarming with men. She’d have to make it to the maintenance room and hope the fire hadn’t damaged the console.

  The guard in the hallway spotted her. With a shout, he rushed toward her. Reminding herself this was necessary, she squared her shoulders, pointed the weapon, and fired.

  Just like Zane, he staggered and clutched his chest, struggling to breathe. She watched in horror as the world seemed to move in slow motion as the guard fell to the ground. Her body count was just racking up. More guards were approaching fast.

  “Shit!” She darted down the opposite hallway and ran straight into another guard.

  The guard shouted something in his language and lunged for her. Kayla pointed the weapon at him and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Crap. It’s a one-hit wonder.

  He tackled her, knocking the wind out of her. The weapon went sprawling down the hall. She struggled for breath and rolled over, trying to get out of his reach. He grabbed her ankle and hauled her back toward him. She had a brief moment where she wondered what they fed these guys. He was huge. She tried to claw at him, but he grabbed her wrists. Panic set in and she delivered a swift kick to the groin. The guard howled in pain and released her hands, cupping himself protectively. Kayla scrambled to her feet and ran.

  She flew down the hall and into the crew’s quarters. As far as she could tell, the room was empty, but voices and running footsteps were rapidly approaching. Kayla dove under Veridian’s bed. His dirty clothes were shoved underneath it, and she silently gave thanks for poor housekeeping habits. Kayla curled into a ball and moved the clothing in front of her to better hide her from view. It was a temporary solution though. She had to get out of there as soon as possible.

  Kayla held her breath when she heard someone run into Veridian’s private quarters. She stared at their boots for several seconds as they supposedly looked over the room and disappeared. Kayla assumed they’d gone to check the next private area.

  There was a small grate in each of the private areas that tied into the main ventilation system for the entire camp. If she could crawl inside, it might be possible to get to the maintenance room without being spotted. It was times like this that her small stature came in handy.

  Kayla pushed the clothing aside and climbed out from under the bed. She crept over to Veridian’s desk and shuffled through the disorganized mess. There were a handful of spare parts he’d been rehabbing to send to L
eo’s camp. She grabbed a small tool that could work as a makeshift screwdriver but was really designed for more detailed work.

  Kayla knelt next to the grate and quickly unscrewed it. She pulled off the cover and cringed at the metallic scraping noise. Crap. It was no use. She just hoped the guards were far enough away they hadn’t heard it.

  It was going to be a tight fit, but she didn’t have much of a choice. She bent down and climbed into the ventilation system. The tunnel was too narrow for her to turn around, and Kayla swore silently at the realization she couldn’t replace the cover. If the guards went back to check Veridian’s room, they’d figure out where she’d gone. She needed to move quickly.

  Crawling on her stomach, she used her elbows to pull herself along. The ventilation duct was narrow and circular in shape, limiting her range of motion. At least she didn’t have to worry about one of those giants coming in after her.

  Kayla climbed through the feeder pipe until she reached the main system. Here, it was slightly larger, and she was able to get up on her hands and knees. Unfortunately, she was now above the main portion of the camp. Too much noise would alert them to her location. She gave a silent thought to Carl and hoped he was okay. If they both made it out of this, he would probably end up strangling her himself. Putting aside these thoughts, she moved slowly and tried to stay as silent as possible. When she reached the next set of feeder tubes, Kayla paused.

  Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine the camp’s floorplan. The maintenance room was her best bet to get to a console without running into more of Sergei’s men. She headed down one of the smaller tubes, hoping she’d chosen the right direction. As she approached the grate, Kayla peered down and realized she was overlooking the communications room.

  Damn twisting tubes. This was definitely not where she wanted to be. There were three men in the communications room standing over a figure strapped to a chair. Kayla looked closer and barely recognized Brant. His head slumped down against his chest and his shirt was soaked in blood. He wasn’t moving.

  Panic gripped her. This didn’t make sense. Alec had said Brant never notified him about the attack. Was Brant a traitor? But if so, why was he being tortured? Was he even still alive? Kayla bit her lip, hoping Alec’s promise of help would arrive soon. She was no longer sure any of them would make it out alive.

  She scooted backward away from the grate. A metallic clang sounded, and she froze as her foot hit one of the supporting metal bands and knocked it loose. Kayla winced as her foot throbbed in pain, but she didn’t dare move. If she crawled backward, the ventilation system might collapse under her weight. She was stuck.

  The men below looked up in her direction and started talking excitedly in their language. Brant stirred in the chair, and she felt a moment of relief he was still alive.

  Kayla silently cursed her predicament. Alec’s ability to manipulate people’s thoughts would come in handy right about now. She’d love to be able to wave her hand in front of them and say, ”These are not the ruin rats you’re looking for.”

  One of them called out, and a moment later, Kayla heard another voice. Through the tiny slats in the grate, she recognized Lars. She hung her head. Great. This day just keeps getting worse and worse.

  Lars looked directly at the grate and held up a small device. “Kayla, we know you’re in the ventilation system. My finger is on a button right now which will instruct my men to execute one of your companions. If you come out in the next minute, I won’t press the button. If I have to wait one second more, someone will die. Every minute thereafter you stay hidden, another will be executed until they are all dead. In the meantime, I’ve ordered them to begin tearing apart the ventilation system to find you.”

  Brant lifted his head. His nose was bloody and one of his eyes was swollen shut. It wasn’t a good look for him. He struggled against his bonds, and shouted, “Don’t do it, Kayla. Get out of here!”

  Lars spoke sharply to one of the guards and they struck Brant again, knocking his chair over from the force. Brant hit the floor with a grunt. Kayla squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t let anyone else get hurt.

  “Fine, you puke-inducing piece of crap. Just leave him alone,” Kayla relented and climbed toward the grate. Lars spoke to the guards and one of them unscrewed the cover. The guard reached forward and helped pull her out of the vent. Once she was standing, Kayla jerked away from him and glared at Lars.

  Lars motioned for the guard to search her. “A wise, if sentimental decision, even if your choice of words was not.”

  The guard confiscated the two commlinks and handed them to Lars. He flipped them open and quickly scrolled through them, irritation crossing his features. “Who did you contact?”

  Kayla shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Lars stepped closer and narrowed his eyes. He grabbed her arm, jerking her upright, and sent a powerful rush of energy through her. She gasped in shock, and the energy suddenly cut off.

  Crap. He’s an Omni.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kayla gaped at Lars. “You’re another one of those freaky, zap-happy, woo-woo guys?”

  He quickly released her. She stumbled backward, pressing against the wall. It wasn’t as far away from him as she’d like, but it was a start.

  He was pissed. He clenched his fists, and his piercing blue eyes reminded her of the sky before a storm erupted. She swallowed. This situation just went from bad to apocalyptic.

  Without taking his eyes off Kayla, Lars held out both commlink units to one of the men in the room and issued some curt instructions. The man nodded and flipped open Kayla’s commlink before turning back to the system computer.

  The other two guards lifted Brant and his chair, setting him upright. Kayla glanced back at Lars and slowly pulled away from the wall, angling as far away from him as possible. Lars made no further movement toward her and simply watched as she knelt in front of Brant to inspect the damage.

  Brant’s expression was fierce, and he glanced at her briefly as though assessing her well-being before focusing on their captor. Lars’s tempestuous eyes were nothing compared to the fury and promise of retribution reflected in Brant’s gaze. In a low voice, Brant said to her, “You should have run.”

  Kayla frowned. They’d beaten him severely. It wasn’t just his face either. Brant’s arms were covered with bruises, and judging by the ripped and stained shirt, it extended to other parts of his body. Why would they have targeted him like this? They’d ignored everyone else in the camp except Zane. Kayla stood and turned to Lars, prepared to demand some answers. “Why are you doing this? Brant didn’t do anything to you. None of us did. Most of the people here are ruin rats just trying to survive. If you have an issue with OmniLab, take it up with the towers directly.”

  Lars looked surprised by her words but made no move to respond. Instead, he cocked his head and frowned as he continued to study her.

  She blew out a frustrated breath and turned back to Brant. Guilt flooded through her. It was impossible to escape the feeling she was responsible for not only his injuries but also for Zane’s death. There were too many coincidences, and they all seemed to circle back around to her. Life as a ruin rat wasn’t great, but it was much simpler than all of this.

  Kayla put her hands on her hips and glared at Lars. “He needs a first aid kit.”

  “I’m fine,” Brant snapped.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Seriously? You’re dripping blood all over the floor. If you think this is fine, I’d hate to see what you look like when you’re not.”

  Lars crossed his arms over his chest. “He’s not your concern.”

  Oh, really? Kayla resisted the urge to kick him. Instead, she stormed by him to get one herself. Lars grabbed her and shoved her against the wall.

  “Get your hands off of her!” Brant shouted as he jerked against his restraints.

  Lars didn’t even glance in his direction and kept Kayla pushed up against the wall. He grabbed her wrists and pinned the
m above her head. There wasn’t even enough room to try to lodge a cheap shot to his groin. He looked down at her expectantly, and she had the feeling he was waiting for something. Kayla stared back at him, refusing to let him intimidate her. She’d already killed one of their men, maybe two. So far, they’d gone out of their way not to hurt her, but they hadn’t blinked at killing Zane. They wanted something from her or they would have killed her by now.

  Brant bit out a harsh laugh. “You’re a fool. She’s untrained.”

  “I can see that,” Lars said quietly without taking his eyes off Kayla. “She knows enough to be extremely useful though. If you try to interfere again, I’ll kill you myself.”

  Kayla’s eyes widened, and she suddenly felt uncertain. They had to be talking about the energy stuff. Brant obviously knew Lars could channel energy. Had he tried to stop him? Was that why they’d beaten him? She was definitely out of her element here.

  A vibration filled the air—that was the only way to describe it. She glanced at Brant, but he wasn’t looking at either one of them. His eyes were clenched shut, and it appeared as though he was in an excruciating amount of pain. Lars pulled away from her and spun around, backhanding Brant.

  “I warned you. Do. Not. Interfere.” he bit out before reaching down and grabbing the restrained man by the throat.

  “Stop!” Kayla jumped at Lars, effectively distracting him from Brant. One of the other men in the room grabbed her and pulled her away. Using the heel of her hand, Kayla pushed upward with all her strength and heard the crunch of the guard’s nose breaking. She twisted out of his grasp, raking her nails across his arms in the process. The man cried out in pain, clutching his nose, and released her.

  Lars whirled and tackled her. She fought against him, kicking and punching. He shouted something in a foreign language and then two more men grabbed her. Her arms were yanked in front of her and quickly bound. One of the men bent down and tied her feet together.