by R. D. Brady
Jen fumbled with the keypad, punching the numbers in. The call went unanswered.
Jen’s voice trembled when she spoke. “Drive faster, Laney.”
CHAPTER 85
Rolly and Lou quickly descended the stairs and started to creep along the side of the nursery opposite the loading dock. “Okay, so what’s the plan?” Rolly asked.
“Um…”
“You don’t have a plan?” Rolly whispered furiously.
“Yes, of course I do. We sneak in, you get the people out. And I’ll distract anyone who happens to swing by.”
Rolly glared at her. “That is a lousy plan.”
Lou sighed. “Yeah, but it’s the only one I’ve got.”
“Hey!” a voice yelled out behind them.
Lou whirled around just as bullets blasted the ground next to them. Rolly grabbed her arm and yanked her forward. They sprinted around the side of the building. But another armed man was waiting for them there.
“Shit,” Lou yelled. She grabbed Rolly and dove with him through the nearest window.
“Pretty sure they heard that,” Rolly groaned.
“Just stick to the plan. You get the humans. I’ll distract the gunmen.”
Running footsteps approached. “Hide,” Lou said to Rolly. He gave her a glare and ducked behind some crates.
Lou stood where she was, her fists clenched. As soon as the first face came into view, she took off at a run—a human-paced run.
“Stop!” a man yelled, and bullets chewed the ground behind her.
Who would stop? she wondered as she anxiously scanned the room for something she could use to fight them off. Up ahead, she saw a rack loaded with tall canisters of oxygen. She smiled and sprinted toward them—this time at Fallen speed. She turned one canister on its side with the nozzle aimed away from the gunmen. Then she grabbed a wrench from a bench behind her and waited.
As soon as the first man came into view, she slammed the wrench down on the nozzle. The nozzle clanged to the ground and the container took off like a torpedo, with Lou right behind it. The first gunman got slammed in the leg. He went down with a cry. Lou kicked him in the head as she passed. The second one stumbled and took a shot to the groin. Lou landed a solid uppercut.
The third gunman managed to leap out of the tank’s way. But before he could bring his weapon up, Lou was on him. She grabbed his gun and slammed it against the wall. He cried out. She kneed him in the groin and brought her other elbow across his jaw. He eyes rolled back in his head and he dropped.
Lou stepped back, breathing hard. She looked around but saw no one else. She smiled. One for the good guys.
A bullet slammed into her side. She cried out and dove for the ground as more bullets struck the wall behind her. She army-crawled for the stairs, leaving a trail of blood. She pulled herself up, risking a look behind her. A woman with dark hair strode toward her. Lou ran up the stairs, her wound already healing.
Another man sprinted along the catwalk toward her. Lou jumped onto the long metal bar spanning the entire room balancing like a tightrope walker. Down below, she saw Rolly hustling the lab coats out of the building. Two gunmen lay sprawled behind him.
Bullets hit the catwalk. Lou jumped and lost her balance.
“No!” she yelled, her arms spinning. But it was no use. With a scream, she fell from the catwalk. She managed to roll as she hit and distribute the force as she hit the floor, but it wasn’t pretty.
She got to her knees. Four gunmen surrounded her. Oh shit.
CHAPTER 86
Lou tensed, ready to run.
“Hey!” Rolly yelled. He appeared from off to the side and flew at one of the men, landing an elbow on the man’s jaw. The man did a complete three-sixty with the hit.
Lou reacted quickly; she dove for the knees of the man nearest her. He let out a yell, pulling the trigger, but his gun was trained upward. Lou punched him in the groin, and followed that with a punch to the throat.
Gunfire burst out behind her and Lou whirled around. Rolly shook like he was having a seizure, and bright spots of red burst out across his chest and legs.
“No!” Lou yelled. The dark-haired woman was striding forward, firing non-stop at Lou.
A bullet slammed into Lou’s leg, and she stumbled back and dove out of the line of fire. Every time she tried to stick her head out, someone opened fire, forcing her back. The vision of Rolly left her numb.
Then at last everything went quiet. The sound of running footsteps approached, and Lou reared back, ready to attack.
But it was only Danny who appeared around the corner, a gun in his hand. “Lou.”
The gun made her eyes go wide, but she didn’t take time to ask. “Rolly.”
“They put him in a truck,” Danny said. “I couldn’t get to them.”
Lou ran to the loading dock with Danny right behind her. As they arrived at the doorway, the trucks were already pulling away.
“Which truck is Rolly on?” Lou asked.
“I—I don’t know. They all look alike.”
Just then Lou spotted a familiar black shape sprinting through the darkness outside. Cleo. The great cat raced toward one of the trucks, and with a single graceful leap, she cleared the tailgate and landed in the back of the truck. Lou nearly cried with relief.
Until gunfire blared from inside.
The truck stopped.
Lou held her breath, but Cleo didn’t reappear. And after a few seconds, the truck started to move again.
Lou took a step forward and Danny latched on to her arm. “Lou, you can’t.”
“They have Cleo and Rolly.”
“You’ll be killed.”
“I’m not that easy to kill.”
“If you go, I go.”
Lou looked at Danny; she saw the determination in his eyes. He wouldn’t let her go alone. And he would get killed. I’ll get him killed.
Her heart in her throat, Lou reached up and hugged him. Then she slipped around his back and wrapped her forearm around his throat, cutting off his air. “I’m sorry, Danny. But I need to do this. And I need you to find us.”
Danny struggled against her, grabbing at her arm, but she refused to let go. When he stopped struggling, Lou lowered him to the ground. She put her ear to his chest. His heartbeat was strong.
She pulled his watch from his wrist. “I’m sorry,” she said. And then she ran after the truck.
CHAPTER 87
The truck was already close to a mile away. Even with all Lou’s abilities, it took time to catch up to it. She prayed with every step she took. Please let them be all right. Please let them be alive.
Finally, she was close enough. She put on a burst of speed and snagged the tailgate. She pulled her legs up onto the bumper and hung on, listening for any noises inside. It sounded quiet, but with the air rushing by her and the rattling of the truck it was tough to be sure.
Okay. Time to go. Carefully, she peeked over the tailgate. And nearly lost her grip. Rolly and Cleo lay on the floor of the truck bed, both bleeding heavily. Two darts stuck out of each of them. But there was no one else in view.
Lou pulled herself over the tailgate and dropped down next to Rolly. She swallowed down the bile that rose in her throat at the sight of him, and quickly pulled the darts out of his arm and chest. Judging by his wounds, the darts had contained some form of sedative; otherwise he would have healed more by now.
“Rolly,” she said quietly. “Rolly, wake up.”
“Oh, he’s not waking up.” A man stepped from behind the crates at the front of the truck. She hadn’t seen him. He’d been crouched down. Waiting for me.
Lou heaved Rolly to his feet, holding him upright as the man opened fire. Pain rolled through her as she shielded Rolly. Bullets slammed into her back. She cried out with pain. Her vision danced, and she knew she was going to lose consciousness.
With the last of her strength, she pushed Rolly to the tailgate. With bullets raking her back and legs, she pushed him over. Good-bye, Rolly. He h
it the ground with a sickening thump.
And then Lou’s legs gave out and she collapsed. Blood bubbled up her throat and into her mouth. The gunman strode toward her. She couldn’t move away. It was all she could do to keep breathing.
He stood over her. “Say goodbye.” He pulled the trigger over and over again.
Lou tried to scream, but the pain was too much and it was everywhere, all at once. She felt like she was drowning. She tried to grasp her throat, but her arms wouldn’t work.
Her vision dimmed. She felt her heart stutter, and then stutter again.
And then she felt it stop.
CHAPTER 88
The ground beneath Rolly felt hard and rocky. He opened his eyes and stared at the star-filled sky.
Pretty, he thought, closing his eyes again. The memories cascaded over him. He cringed as he remembered the onslaught of bullets.
He sat up and looked around. Where am I? Way in the distance he could see the lights of the nursery. He frowned. How’d I get this far out?
But then his concerns for his friends crowded out his curiosity and he struggled to his feet. He ran back to the facility, gaining strength and speed as he went.
He called into his mike. “Lou? Danny? Where are you guys?”
He got no answer.
He’d told Lou this was a bad plan. What had she been thinking? They weren’t a friggin’ team of commandos. They were teenagers.
The fence to the nursery was up ahead, and all was quiet. Way too quiet. Rolly’s heart began to pound as he crept forward. He scanned the grounds but didn’t see anyone. He paused, listening again, but still there was nothing. He walked through the destroyed front gate, made his way to the side of the building, and peered in. Nothing moved.
He hurried on, knowing he needed to find Danny and Lou before the cops arrived. One of the lab coats must have called them by now.
He turned the corner and came across another body—a security guard. The man eyes stared straight up, and his mouth was open in a silent scream. Blood covered his once pale blue shirt.
Rolly swallowed. Poor man. He’d never stood a chance.
Rolly passed three more security guards as he hurried around the building, but what he didn’t see was Lou or Danny.
Okay. This is good. Lou got them out of here. They’re probably back at the car. I should—
He stopped suddenly, his breath catching as he caught sight of a familiar red jacket on a body sprawled on the ground ahead. “Danny?” he whispered, tears springing to his eyes.
He ran forward and fell to the ground next to an unmoving Danny. “No, Danny, no.”
He pulled back Danny’s jacket, ran his hands along Danny’s legs, and carefully turned him over, but he found no wounds. He sat back with a frown, trying to figure out why Danny wasn’t awake.
Danny let out a small groan.
Rolly lunged forward, crouching over him. “Wake up, Danny.”
Danny groaned again. His eyelids flicked open and then closed again.
“That’s it. Come on, Danny, wake up.”
Danny opened his eyes, looking confused before his gaze was able to focus on Rolly. “Rolly?”
Relief poured through Rolly as he helped Danny sit up. “Yup, that’s me. All day, every day. You okay? Where are you hurt?”
“I’m not—” Danny grabbed Rolly’s shirt. “Lou. She went after Cleo. She went after you. You were in the truck too.”
“Truck? What truck?” Rolly asked.
Danny looked down the road. Then he looked at his wrist. He smiled. “Thank God. She stole my watch.” He scrambled to his feet. “Let’s go.”
Rolly watched Danny for a moment. “Oh God, Danny’s got a head injury.”
CHAPTER 89
The last twenty minutes had been excruciating. Laney had tried each of the kids’ phones over and over again, with no luck. Finally, Laney’s phone beeped. “Danny, we’re almost—”
Danny’s words were rushed. “You need to head east. They’re heading that way. They have Lou and Cleo.”
“Lou and Cleo? How—? No, you know what? Never mind.” Laney yanked the steering wheel to the left.
Jen was thrown against the door, but she didn’t complain as she grabbed Laney’s phone and switched it to speaker. “Danny, do you know where they’re heading?”
“There’s an old highway. It was never completed. They’ve landed planes there.”
Jen grabbed her iPad and quickly brought up a map of the area. “I’ve got it. We need to tell Jordan and—”
Danny cut her off. “I already called him. They made the turn. They’re almost there.”
“How do you know where they’re heading?” Laney asked.
“Lou stole my watch. I put a tracker in it in case I ever got grabbed. She activated it.”
Laney closed her eyes. Thank you, Lou.
“And I’ve got a satellite feed on them. They’ve loaded at least half the crates,” Danny said.
“What can you see?” Jen asked.
“There’s a group of people moving the cages from the truck to the—” Danny gave a sharp intake of breath.
“Danny?” Jen asked.
Danny’s voice shook. “They—they’re carrying a body to the plane as well. I think it’s Lou.”
Laney’s stomach hollowed out. “Danny, she’s a Fallen. Even if it is her, she can recover from a lot. Okay? So let’s assume she’ll be fine until we know otherwise.”
Despite her words, all Laney could think of was how she’d found Sheila. She prayed she wouldn’t see Lou the same way.
Relief broke through Danny’s voice. “Jordan’s there! They’re there. I see them.” Then he went quiet.
“What’s happening?” Laney asked, trying to keep the impatience out of her voice.
“There’s gunfire. It’s hard to tell—”
The next two minutes were tense. Finally, Danny said quietly, “We’re too late.”
“No, we’ll be there any minute,” Laney said.
Danny’s voice was flat. “The planes took off. They’re gone.”
CHAPTER 90
Laney bumped over the curb as she pulled onto the unfinished highway. Ahead she could see a few bodies, but when she’d spoken with Jordan, he’d assured her none of their people had been hurt. Her anger began to build as she saw three men on the ground with two Chandler Operatives guarding them.
Laney hopped out of the car and had to keep herself from slamming the door shut behind her. She stormed toward Jordan. She was not losing Cleo or Lou. Loss was not an option. They were still tracking them, but the Katzes had a head start, so if they were going to catch up, they needed to know what their final destination was.
The captives all stared at the ground. Jordan stood with his arms across his chest, his face set. “You guys got this?” he asked Laney. “Because I need to get away from this filth and check on the plane.”
“The plane?” Laney asked.
“I called the pilot. He’s heading here from Show Low. If those guys can use this as a runway, so can we. It’ll be here in about fifteen minutes.
Laney nodded as Jordan walked away. Then she caught Jen’s eye. “We need them to tell us where the plane’s going.”
Jen reached down and yanked one of the prisoners up so that his feet barely touched the ground. “Where are they taking them?”
The man’s eyes bulged.
“He won’t tell you,” another prisoner said, his voice perfectly calm. “None of us will.”
With a shock, Laney recognized him: Abe Hanley. The meek bookkeeper had transformed. There was now a hard edge in his voice and a challenge in his eyes.
Laney bared her teeth. “Oh, you’ll tell us.”
Abe smiled. “No I won’t. But I will tell you this: they are the last sacrifice before it begins.”
Laney swallowed hard. Twenty leopards and one human—a large sacrifice for the ritual. “Where is the last sacrifice going to take place?” she demanded.
But Abe said no
thing. His eyes went wide, and a white foam began to spray from his mouth. His body shook and he fell onto his side. A second later, the other two demonstrated the same behaviors.
Jen dropped the man she was holding and stepping back. “What the hell?”
“No, no, no.” Laney yanked Abe’s jaw down and thrust her hand inside, yanking out the remnants of a capsule. It was empty. “Goddamn it.”
Horror crept over Laney as she stared at the three corpses. “They killed themselves rather than revealing what they knew.”
Jen’s eyes were large, her skin pale. Her gaze met Laney’s, and it was filled with terror and fear. “What are we going to do?”
Laney shook her head. “We wait for the plane. Danny’s tracker is still working. We can follow them.”
Jen shook her head. “You mean after they’ve had a forty-minute head start.”
Jen walked over to one of the trucks that had transported the cats. Laney followed as Jen flashed a light inside.
Laney gasped. The truck’s bed was coated in blood. Footprints had dragged the blood everywhere, but a giant pool still lay in the middle.
Laney put her arm around Jen. “We don’t know it’s her blood.”
“Don’t we?” Jen asked softly as she walked away.
Laney knew the Fallen could take a lot of damage. She’d seen it time and time again.
But she also knew that that was a lot of blood. In fact, it looked like an entire body’s worth.
Shoving her fears down, Laney looked around for something to do. She squinted and saw that six crates had been left behind. She walked toward them slowly, both awed and horrified at the young cats lying inside. As she approached, she read no aggression from them, only fear.
She knelt down at the first crate. The cat inside was beautiful—sleek, muscular but still small, with only his large paws indicating how big he would one day grow. A few seconds later, the cat began to stir.
