Uprising

by Gareth Otton

  Lizzie glared at her captor with naked fury, but that turned to confusion and then interest as she saw the herded guests huddled together. Her professional interest was engaged and Norman moved his attention back off her, more interested in the man holding her arm and staring at him.

  “I take it you’re the mastermind behind this?” Norman asked. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but this won’t work. All you will achieve by this is—”

  “You have no idea what we want, so shut up and you might learn something.”

  The man’s voice was deeper than expected, and Norman had the sudden impression of talking to a radio DJ. It was surprising that such a small man could have such a commanding presence.

  “I’ve always found that you learn answers by asking questions, and staying quiet has never been something I’ve excelled at. So why don’t you start at the beginning? Who are you? What do you want, and what is all this about?”

  The man ignored him, turning to Brad and asking, “Is everyone secure and the building locked down?”

  Brad nodded while staring at the reporter with a confused frown like he didn’t expect her to be here.

  “Don’t worry, she’s here to record this. We need someone to let the world know what’s happening and who better than the woman who broke the story of the Merging?”

  “If you think I’m going to do a puff piece for a criminal holding people hostage, you’ve got another thing coming.”

  Norman would be impressed by her attitude, except that it got her nowhere. These men would do what they wanted whether she liked it or not.

  The young man with thick glasses smiled.

  “You’re here because you have the perfect audience to take advantage of this and nothing more, no puff pieces are necessary. Besides, are you telling me you would turn down the chance to live stream the event of the century? You don’t have a choice in the matter, Miss Bradley.”

  He turned to the Prime Minister and said, “In answer to your question, this is about that bill you’re trying to pass tomorrow, the dreamwalkers you’re holding down, getting justice for the people who have been mistreated over the last year, and deciding the future of my people and the world. We are here today to establish Cardiff as a dreamwalker safe haven. The Borderlands by its very nature belongs to us, but we’ll start with Cardiff and turning that into a place where dreamwalkers don’t have to fear the oppression of idiots like you who are trying to hold on to power they no longer have.”

  “You’re mad if you think kidnapping me will help you achieve that,” Norman said.

  “No, we’re taking Cardiff, regardless. As I speak I have people moving throughout the city, securing what we need so you can’t stand against us. You’re here today for a single reason.” He turned to Lizzie and said, “And the same goes for you. I have a message, and you’re both here to ensure that message is heard and honoured.”

  He turned to dreamwalkers, who had finished rounding up the guests. “Take them into the smaller chambers and secure them. We need to get Miss Bradley everything she needs to talk to the world. As soon as we hear from Simon’s people, it will be time the world learned what we have to say.”

  With that he walked away, leaving Norman and Lizzie looking at each other, helpless in the face of what was coming next.

  All Norman could think as he was being led away was how the hell had they let this happen? Where was the Dream Team right now? And more importantly, where was Tad?

  26

  Wednesday, 30th November 2016

  08:00

  “And I’m telling you I need to know who these men are right now,” Trevors snapped, hammering the table with his finger as he glared across her desk.

  This was the fifth time they had been over this and he wasn’t backing down. Stella needed time to think about her answer, and it wasn’t helping that there were places she had to be right now. They were late, and she was fed up of arguing about this. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of telling him she would fill him in later, and now he cornered her in her office, refusing to wait that long.

  It was her turn to slam her hand on the desk, only she did it harder than he had. In her frustration she forgot how strong she was and a crack ran down the centre of the desk. Trevors jumped back in surprise, staring at the desk, then at her like he was seeing her for the first time. That surprise turned to suspicion, then anger. He was about to ask another question when the office door banged open and Denise barged in.

  Stella’s usually unflappable assistant looked wild-eyed as she ushered Chakikra inside. The teenager started talking in a panicked rush.

  “I don’t know what’s happening, but I just felt a load of ghosts turn up outside.”

  Stella glanced at Trevors, sure this couldn’t be good.

  “How many ghosts are we talking about?” she asked.

  Chakikra only said one word. “Lots.”

  Stella was about to ask more when Gary barged in, a stunned expression on his face, and Stella knew there was trouble.

  She surged to her feet and looked at Trevors. “Get your men and activate your ghost sight dreamcatchers. I don’t know why we have so many ghosts coming at us, but I have a bad feeling about this. For them to come here on Merging day…” She let her words trail off as she had already made her point. “Trevors, lock this place down.”

  “Lock it down?” he questioned, still confrontational. “If there’s that many ghosts, we need to hit them hard and fast before they hit us.”

  “We don’t even know why they’re here. Just make sure the building is locked down and we’ll deal with this.”

  He glared at her before pushing his way past Gary and Chakikra, rushing out the office. She didn’t like his expression and wondered if today was the day he would cross that line and ignore a direct command. She couldn’t worry about that right now as she had to keep moving.

  To Gary and Chakikra she added, “You two come with me. Let’s see what this is about.”

  It was Stella’s turn to push past the dreamwalkers, rushing out the door and headed towards the stairs. Footsteps behind her told her she was being followed, but she didn’t wait before rushing down the stairs to see what was happening. She was just in time to catch the first ghost step through the closed entrance like the door wasn’t there. Stella recognised the hole in her security as the ghosts faced no resistance.

  “Stop,” Stella shouted, making the ghosts jump in surprise. However, they didn’t stop as she hadn’t dared risk using her Authority after what happened last time. They continued to rush through the doors and when they saw her looking they turned to each other in panic.

  “She can see us,” one man said in surprise.

  “So what if she can? We have a job to do and—”

  Stella ignored the ghost as she put the clues together. If they thought they were invisible, the only reason she could see them was if one of the dreamwalkers were making them visible. That reminded Stella of who she had at her back and that dreamwalkers were also Proxies. Ghosts were very much in their domain.

  Turning to Chakikra and Gary she said, “Freeze them.”

  The six ghosts who were filling up the reception froze like they had been turned to statues, but the effect didn’t last. Just as suddenly, each one jerked free and escaped deeper into the downstairs part of the building.

  “I said to freeze them,” Stella shouted.

  “We can’t. They’re fighting us,” Gary answered, out of breath.

  “The ghosts?” Stella asked, incredulous. Tad told her that since the Merging, the powers of a Proxy had increased and holding ghosts in place should be easy for her dreamwalkers.

  “No, them,” Chakikra answered, pointing out the glass doors at the carpark beyond.

  Stella spun and found herself looking at more ghosts stepping through the glass like it was nothing, and a group of men and women standing in the car park staring in, their expressions set and focused. It only took a second to realise that they were dreamwalkers, a
s who else would have the power to override Chakikra and Gary. What worried her was how many there were.

  Stella saw five with just one glance, but judging by the number of ghosts who flooded through the door and others who came through the walls, she suspected there were many more. More than enough to overcome her defences.

  She suddenly realised what this was. The DTHQ was under attack. There could be no other reason they were here. However, that begged the question of why they waited outside and sent their ghosts in. When she figured out the answer, she spun to face her dreamwalkers.

  “The ghosts are here to disable the dreamcatchers.”

  Chakikra and Gary’s eyes widened as they understood what Stella was saying, and suddenly Chakikra started panting.

  “Oh my god. This isn’t good. There’s so many of them, Stella. There’s no way we can stop them all on our own and—”

  “You don’t need to,” Stella interrupted, trying to cut through the panic before it could take hold. “Remember, we have Trevors guys to help. All I need is for you to head back upstairs and deal with any ghosts that come for the dreamcatchers up there. I’ll fill Trevors in on what’s happening down here.”

  She was about to issue orders to Gary when a flash of light caught her attention and she spun to face the door to the tactical rooms. It may be overcast, but even so there was only one thing that created a light so bright she could see it so strongly in daylight.

  “Oh my god, not again,” Stella groaned. She spun back to her dreamwalkers who looked equally horrified. “You two, do what I asked. I’ll deal with this.”

  “They’re destroying—” Gary started, working himself into a rage, but Stella spoke over him.

  “I said I’d deal with it. Do what I asked.”

  She waited only for crisp nods from both of them before she descended the last stairs and rushed to the door that blocked her from where her Dream Team were once again committing an unforgivable act. She pressed her thumb against the reader beside the door, then tapped out the combination on the keypad as quick as possible. In her panic she went too fast and the code never registered, however on the second try she got the lock disengaged and had the door open.

  Beyond the door was nothing short of chaos. There must have been thirty ghosts in the hallway running in every direction with panicked expressions as twelve of Trevor’s men chased them with their dreamcatchers enabled.

  Stella was just in time to see Harry grab another ghost, a woman who looked tiny against his giant frame, and he wrapped his hand around her throat. Before Stella could shout for him to stop, there was a bright light, and the ghost was no more.

  That same sense of horror washed over Stella as yet again she witnessed the most terrible crime she could think of being committed in front of her face. However, the ghosts were still on the loose and some were even attacking the dreamcatchers on the wall.

  “Trevors,” she shouted. “Stop this. Just secure the ghosts and—”

  That was all she got to say before there was another explosion of light as yet another member of his team crossed that line.

  Only one good thing came from that unspeakable act; the rest of the ghosts took notice. Suddenly their movement was unified as those trying to dismantle the dreamcatchers stopped what they were doing and fled with the others.

  Every ghost sprinted for the nearest wall to exit this building and save their existence. In seconds, the hallway emptied and all that remained were Trevors’ men who were panting hard and staring at Stella like she was an alien.

  Shaking with rage, her eyes travelled from face to face, searching for a particular one. She hesitated on Harry, wanting to punch that face just to feel a little better and get justice for the ghost he destroyed. However, then she saw Trevors and knew she needed to stop this from the top.

  Trevors’ eyes were so wide she could see the whites all around his irises. He breathed hard and scowled at the same time as he watched her approach. The aggression from the conversation earlier had intensified into a battle hardened rage that left her questioning what might happen next. He had already ignored her orders once.

  “Stop this immediately,” she said, repeating her earlier words. “You’ve taken this too far and were done. The ghosts are gone and we need to lock this place down and—”

  She never got to say any more as suddenly Trevors was in her face, poking her in the chest hard enough that she had to step back.

  “I’m done listening to you. They don’t get to attack us without consequences.” Leaning around Stella, he shouted, “Harry, grab a team and your guns. Get your ass out there and deal with these bastards. I want their ghosts gone and the dreamwalkers in cells before—”

  “Are you insane?” Stella asked. “You just destroyed three ghosts that I know of and now you want to destroy more. What’s wrong with you?”

  Trevors shook his head, staring at her like she was something he found on the side of the road. After a long few seconds, he ignored her and shouted to Harry.

  “Do it. Now.”

  He stared at Stella all the while, as if daring her to contradict him.

  Stella looked around, suddenly aware that she was surrounded by people who hated her and had crossed the line of even pretending to listen to orders. For all her new strength she couldn’t win this and she had no choice but to stand back and watch this disaster unfold. She backed away from these men like they were dangerous animals.

  She had just stepped into the reception when she ran into Gary and was surprised to find Chakikra with him. Chakikra was talking before Stella could ask what they were doing here.

  “They all just left. I can sense there’s not a single ghost in the building. But whatever happened down here has driven this lot into an absolute rage.”

  She nodded toward the car park and Stella followed her gaze to find the dreamwalkers talking to the ghosts and wearing expressions that were a mix of horror and apoplectic rage. Stella knew there was nothing to be gained by going outside to face them when they were like this, so she could only watch as those dreamwalkers who were most angry turned their attention on the building itself, and suddenly one was moving.

  He was barely more than a boy with unruly dark hair and large ears that stood out like satellite dishes. His black eyes burned with hate as he stared at Stella and stamped his foot. The ground shook and split open in a devastating crack that coughed up dust and stone as it raced towards the building.

  Had the ghosts disabled her dreamcatchers, then the windows in the doors would have shattered from the violent shaking. However, less than a foot from the building there was a flare of light in her periphery, similar to that of a ghost being destroyed but less intense. Somewhere a dreamcatcher had come to life, absorbing the impact of the Dream that powered that destruction, stopping it progressing. The cracking floor stopped in a perfect line, and the building remained protected.

  Seeing his attack fizzle out angered the dreamwalker further, and it looked like he would try again when suddenly his head spun and he looked down the car park to a tactical team that had appeared from nothing.

  Harry’s men spread themselves in a semicircle surrounding the dreamwalkers, their guns raised and ready to fire. Harry himself stood in the centre of that semicircle, and it was he who shouted for the dreamwalkers to surrender. Stella knew they would do no such thing. Faced with the people who just destroyed three ghosts, probably friends of theirs, their anger raged out of control.

  The boy who attacked the building a moment earlier was the first to act. He lifted his foot like he would stamp it again, but there was a loud crack and his head exploded, making Chakikra scream. Stella could only watch in horror as the lifeless body of a boy who was barely older than a child fell to the ground in a heap.

  There was a moment of stunned stillness, then all hell broke loose.

  The raging fires of anger became full-blown infernos, and what happened next was carnage. Some dreamwalkers disappeared while others let their anger be known. A young
girl who couldn’t have been more than a teenager, lifted what looked like a laser pointer towards Harry’s men and Stella watched in horror as a beam of bright red light cut three of Harry’s people in half before someone got off a shot to stop her. The bullet never touched her. She was protected as another dreamwalker increased the density of the surrounding air, slowing the bullets so they fell to the ground.

  “Oh my god,” Chakikra gasped, her hand covering her mouth as she watched the top half of the three bodies slide away. She might have said more, but it was lost to the sound of more gunfire as Harry and his men continued their attack. There was a splash of blood as another dreamwalker crumpled into a heap, unable to stop the bullets. But the other dreamwalkers had taken cover, hiding behind cars and using their powers to stop the bullets.

  Suddenly the gunfire lessened, being replaced with screams. Stella turned horrified eyes to where one of Trevors’ men dropped his gun, screaming as smoke rose from beneath his tactical vest. One of the dreamwalkers who had fled earlier had returned behind the man and with just a touch overloaded one of his dreamcatchers. With a vindictive expression she touched the screaming man again and suddenly there was another explosion of light as yet another dreamcatcher was overloaded.

  Stella had to look away, not able to stomach the man’s screams. All the while, she wondered how the hell she could stop this. Harry had lost a third of his team already and from the corner of her eye she saw him lose someone else as yet again that laser pointer did its deadly work. Stella didn’t need to hear Chakikra’s sobs to know those men had died. She rushed back to the tactical rooms, hoping she could talk sense into Trevors now he had lost so many men, but she stopped as all gunfire ceased.

  She looked outside to see what happened and saw that all the Dream Team were down, either dead or incapacitated, and only one man stayed on his feet. However, Harry was hardly a threat anymore. His gun had been taken from him, there was smoke rising from beneath his clothes and a grey-haired dreamwalker held him by the throat while each arm was pinned back by three ghosts.