Fury of the Six (The Preston Six Book 5)

by Matt Ryan

  He stepped into the room and watched as the liquid vials spilled over the metal cube. It melted the sides and created a hole right through the middle, dripping into the stone floor. In under a minute, the entire cube melted into a black pool on the floor.

  “She’s gone,” Harris said. For him, this was the second to last part of their plan and for the most part, it had gone better than he ever could have hoped for.

  Now onto the last stage. However, Marcus wasn’t going to go down easily, and from the sound of it, he’d taken to psychological warfare with the kids. He hoped they had the will strong enough to ignore the man’s words until he got there.

  Harris rushed back down the stone hall and up the stairs.

  “I have an idea,” Travis said as he stopped, halting their progress. “He’s formed a wall that I imagine only Julie can get through.”

  “Yes, that’s safe to assume.”

  “What if we find a workaround? You have another one of those vial set ups?”

  Harris smiled and pulled the vial from his jacket. “I like the way you think, Denail.”

  MINTER GRIPPED HIS GUN AND fired into an oncoming Arrack. The building seethed with them and he felt around his jacket for more clips. They protected this part of the building more than any other they’d encountered so far. “Rick, to the left!”

  Rick shot an Arrack only a few feet from plunging its dagger into Karen’s back.

  “Thanks,” Karen said, holding a gun of her own. Minter tried with all his might to get her to stay behind but she’d insisted.

  “Harris gave you the okay, Beth?” Minter called.

  “Yeah.”

  “You ready?”

  Beth walked forward, holding her Panavice. She nodded and placed it on the desk. She pulled out a cord and plugged it into a wall full of panels. A green light lit above the cord. She picked up her Panavice and typed into it. “The download’s going to take ten minutes. Why don’t you guys go help the kids while it’s—”

  Minter fired three quick shots into a group of Arracks rounding the corner. Rick fired two more and finished them off.

  “We stick together,” Minter said. “If we don’t kill everything this man has, another might take his place. It ends here.”

  JOEY PACED NEAR THE CLEAR wall holding him back from his daughter.

  Marcus hadn’t said anything in the last few minutes, but the expression on his face said all Joey needed to know. The creases between his eyes grew deep and his lips went razor thin. Something bad was happening and it made Joey smile. His parents and Harris were doing their part and at the very least, they silenced Marcus.

  Poly tried to get Evelyn to talk to her, but she seemed to be giving her mom the silent treatment.

  “Fine,” Joey said to Marcus. “We’ll go with you if you can guarantee you won’t harm any of us here, and we have control of Evelyn.”

  Poly faced him, stunned.

  Marcus looked up. “No harm will come to any of you, but I have to be in control of what Evelyn is taught and the way she is taught. I cannot have any interference in this.”

  “No,” Poly said, shaking her head at Joey.

  “Agreed.”

  “I’m glad you’ve come around. I really feel she needs her parents.”

  Evelyn jumped from the couch and walked close to the wall. Joey watched her prying eyes and felt a tingling in his head. He squinted and pushed his thoughts down. He wasn’t sure why, but it felt as if she could actually read his thoughts and might even pick up on his lie.

  “I’m so happy,” Evelyn said. “We can be a family again.”

  Poly sobbed and covered her face with her hands. “How can you do this?” she mumbled.

  “This is how it has to be, Poly.”

  “No!” She stood up and attacked him. “You don’t have the right to make this decision.” She peppered his chest with punches.

  He wrapped her up in a hug, squishing her arms against his chest. He kissed the side of her head and whispered, “Trust me.”

  “How do you feel about this, Hank?” Marcus asked.

  “I still want to kill you.”

  “He’s telling the truth,” Evelyn said and laughed. “I can’t wait to get to know you, Hank.”

  “Joey, place your weapons and Pana on the floor and I’ll allow you alone to enter the room.”

  “Let me in there!” Poly yelled, pounding against the wall.

  Joey set his guns on the floor and stared at the Colt with its party pack in it. One of those bullets was supposed to be the end of Marcus, and now he needed to find another way. He set his Panavice, and a multi-material dagger Poly had made for him, on the floor.

  Walking to the wall, he nodded to Marcus.

  “You are allowed to move through it now,” Marcus said.

  Joey put up his hand and felt nothing but air where the shield had been. Poly rushed to his spot and tried to get through, but the wall held for her. Joey sidestepped her and entered the room with Evelyn and Marcus. Poly grabbed his hand before it crossed through the wall, and he turned around to stare at her. Tears formed in her eyes as she shook her head.

  “I love you, Poly. You have to let me go now,” he said, squeezing her hand.

  She squeezed back before letting go, turning away to compose herself. Hank pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear.

  Evelyn ran up to him and he knelt down, hugging her. Her body felt so big now. Just days ago, he’d held her as a baby, and now she was the size of a two-year-old. He wanted to cry at what Marcus had done to her, but held it back and gave her a smile.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing, just missed a few milestones with you is all.”

  “Don’t feel bad, I like it this way. Being in that tiny body, my muscles wouldn’t work properly, my throat couldn’t form words in the right way. This is better.”

  “You’re so smart.”

  She smiled. “The smartest.”

  “Telling jokes already?” Joey brushed her hair back. It had grown several inches as well.

  “I learned from Lucas.”

  “Another joke?”

  She laughed. It was the first time he heard her new laugh and he hugged her again, wanting to spend every last second he had with his daughter.

  “I love you so much, Evelyn.”

  “I love you too, Daddy.”

  “Can you go over to the corner of the room and take a seat, facing the wall?”

  She stuck out her bottom lip and looked to Marcus. “You have to try, I know that now. But, Daddy, you might not do it, and even if you do . . . I may not be able to save you all in the end.”

  “In time, you’ll know.”

  Evelyn nodded her head.

  “Now go on, get to the corner and don’t look back.”

  He held her hand for a moment and then she pulled away, taking a seat, facing the wall in the corner of the room.

  “This is a mistake, Joey,” Marcus said and put his Panavice in his jacket pocket. “All I want is for you to raise your daughter in the safety of my protection. If you end me, then all is lost for your world. They will come and they will take everyone you’ve ever cared about, including Evelyn.”

  Joey glanced at Poly, her hands pounded against the glass again, screaming, “No!”

  Past her, he spotted Kris entering the room with Maggie.

  “The more the merrier,” Marcus said.

  Kris touched the invisible barrier. “Maggie, do your thing.”

  Maggie’s red-hot hand touched the barrier. The clear wall shimmered under the extreme heat.

  “She might actually get through,” Marcus said in admiration. “I’ve always loved the mutants.”

  “Don’t do anything, Joey, we’ll be in there soon,” Poly pleaded.

  Behind her, Hank looked distraught. Joey met his gaze. Sharing a heavy look, Hank nodded his understanding, a tear rolling down his cheek.

  “Yeah, Joey, don’t do anything,” Marcus mocked and tossed a si
lver ball onto the floor.

  Joey turned to stare at the device, the same ball that kept him from saving Samantha. He took a deep breath and looked back to Poly; he had to end it before she came through. And from the looks of Maggie, it might not be long. The clear wall had an orange tint to it now and some of it sagged around her hands.

  Joey rushed to Marcus who took his approach with an amused smile. Within a few feet of Marcus, Joey swung for the man’s stupid face, but he shifted a few inches and dodged it.

  “No need to get violent,” Marcus said.

  He swung again and missed. Swinging for his stomach next, Marcus blocked his hit with a hit of his own. He gave up the punches and jumped onto Marcus, but the bastard grabbed Joey’s arm and slammed him onto the ground.

  “Don’t hurt him!” Evelyn said from her chair, still looking at the wall.

  Marcus sighed and took a step back from Joey, holding out his hands.

  Joey rolled over and struggled to get to his feet. Not just from the fall to the ground, but from the punishment his body went through the night before. The cream had worn off, his muscles were aching and telling him to lie down and sleep for days.

  “Joey!” Karen yelled.

  He turned to his mom and dad as they ran into the room with the rest of the parents.

  “My, oh my. You even brought the originals out to play? Well, this is a treat. I’ve never been able to meet you. Hello.” Marcus waved and Joey used the distraction to rush him.

  Marcus side stepped the attack and sent Joey face first to the floor, right next to the steel ball. Completely ignoring him, Marcus walked closer to the wall. “I recognize you all from the videos. Who would think, after all these years . . . here we are, together in one room?”

  Joey picked up the ball and gripped it tight in his hands as he got to his feet.

  Marcus glanced over his shoulder, sensing his approach, but Joey walked wide, getting closer to Maggie. The wall had turned as red as Maggie’s hands and sagged in heavy clumps around her two hands.

  “As I was telling dear Joey here, this doesn’t have to be violent. Evelyn is in agreement. You all don’t have to die in some attempt to take me out.”

  A pop sound came from above, sounding like a single shot from a gun. Lucas had a gun, but he should have been on his way to Julie. That meant Harris or Emmett. No one had seen Emmett yet, but knowing Marcus, he was somewhere creating the most trouble possible.

  “We can’t let you have our queen,” Kris said.

  The room felt like a warming furnace and sweat beaded on Joey’s forehead. He kept near Maggie, taking the heat and waiting for the moment the wall would come down.

  A crack sound drew Joey’s attention to the ceiling again and something dripped down from above. The liquid fell to the rug on the floor and hissed, dissolving a section. More drops fell from above, splatting on the ground and destroying the rug. A hole formed in the ceiling from the drip and it grew each second.

  “What the hell?” Marcus said, looking at the ceiling.

  Joey glanced back at Maggie. The wall shimmered and her hand plunged into the room.

  “Catch this.” He tossed the ball and Maggie caught it with her fiery hand, the ball melting between her fingers.

  “Wait!” Marcus held out his hands and froze in place.

  Joey gritted his teeth and shivered. He didn’t know how long he had to kill Marcus, but he wasn’t going to waste it.

  The ceiling hole had enlarged to the size of a person and as he rushed by, he spotted Harris getting ready to jump in. Joey couldn’t have timed it better, he’d be rid of Marcus before the rest of his friends and family were killed. And maybe if he did it fast enough, he’d live through it as well.

  The sounds of the room dulled to a low hum, and he glanced back at the people he loved, watching him with frozen expressions.

  He threw a punch at Marcus and this time it landed, but Joey screamed out in pain as the shield blocked his blow. Wringing his hand, he grabbed Marcus by the jacket and pushed his body to the floor, face up. He picked up the wooden chair and smashed it over his face, but it didn’t cause damage like it should have. He tossed the broken chair to the floor and picked up a glass vase, breaking it into a sharp piece. Getting on top of Marcus, he pressed the blade against his eye; the makeshift blade doing nothing but slicing through his own skin. He dropped it and looked at his bloody hands.

  The stretch on his mind started, not as bad as last time but he felt the pull, felt his body melting from the inside. He didn’t have much longer before he damaged himself again. His legs and hands shook and he fought the growing urge to release. “There has to be a way!”

  “Daddy,” Evelyn stood in the corner, facing him.

  He darted his attention to Marcus, but he stood there, still, and the sounds were dull; they were both in slow motion together. “You shouldn’t be here, Evelyn.”

  “I can’t watch you die, you have to let go before it’s too late. I had to come here to tell you that.” Tears built in her eyes.

  “Tell me how to kill him then,” Joey pleaded, feeling the pull of time so much his vision distorted and Evelyn shifted into three people before consolidating.

  “It’s too late.” She cried and shook her head. “You’re not going to make it now.” She ran up to Joey and hugged him. “I’m sorry, I should have known you’d not let him live. I should have ended this long ago and now I’m going to lose you.”

  “I’m still right here,” he strained to stay holding onto his daughter. “I’ll never leave you.”

  “I won’t forget you. If you can last a few more seconds, I can show you how to kill him before everyone else I love dies.” Evelyn turned his head up and pointed at the ceiling. A drop of the liquid was falling from the hole above, only a few feet above the floor.

  “Of course.” Joey struggled to get his aching body moving again and pulled Marcus, dragging him underneath the floating drop, positioning him just right. Joey lay on him, putting as much weight on the man as he could. “Evelyn?”

  “Yes?”

  “Take care of your mom, you’re going to need each other.”

  “She’s not going to do well without you.”

  “I know.” A lump formed in his throat, making it hard to get the rest out. “Tell her I love her and I love you as well. I’m so sorry, Evelyn. I wish it could be different, but I had to protect you both.”

  “I will, I’ll tell her. And Daddy . . . I love you too, so much.”

  Seeing her teary face, he released from the void and saw the horrible realization in Marcus’s eyes as the drop struck him in the head, dissolving a tiny hole through his skull in an instant. A blood trail streaked over his forehead and the blank stare from Marcus told Joey everything he needed to know.

  Marcus was dead.

  He collapsed on his body, no longer able to move and saw Poly screaming and running up to him. He tried to mouth a few words, but they wouldn’t come out. His whole body felt liquefied, and the bands holding his mind together, erupted.

  THE SECOND MAGGIE CAUGHT THE ball and destroyed it, Poly knew she’d lost Joey. Seeing the room destroyed in an instant did little to console her. Even when the blur ended with Joey on top of Marcus and Marcus dead, it did nothing to stop her agony.

  She pushed past Maggie and felt the burning heat scorching her arms and legs, getting to Joey. He looked at her in his last moment. She captured his gaze and slid to the floor, pulling Joey off Marcus. “Help!” She rolled him on his back and screamed as her heart broke, holding him to her chest. “We need to get him to the machine! Marcus has to have one here.”

  Harris dropped into the room from above, with Travis right behind him.

  “Travis, help me,” she pleaded.

  Travis rushed down and picked Joey up off the floor.

  “He’s gone,” Evelyn said.

  “Oh, Evelyn,” Poly ran and picked up her little girl. Tears ran down the sides of her little face and she quivered, looking at her dad in Travis
’s arms. “We’re going to fix him. We’ve done it before.”

  “Not this time,” Evelyn sobbed.

  “I know where the medical wing is,” Hank said.

  “Go. I’ll take care of this,” Harris said, gesturing to Marcus.

  Poly didn’t need an okay from Harris, she pushed Travis along to follow Hank. The parents cried as Joey was carried by, and Karen held onto Minter, both running right behind Poly.

  Hank took them through multiple corridors before finally getting to the same wing where Edith lay dead. Poly held Evelyn’s head against her chest, blocking the view of her godmother as they moved by. They entered a small room with the makings machine. Travis lay Joey down gently, before closing it and turning it on.

  “Come on.” He pressed on Poly and ushered her out of the room. He closed the door and looked through the small window on it.

  “Is he going to make it?” Poly asked.

  “I don’t know, he was getting cold . . . there are limits to what our technology can do.”

  Poly didn’t like the answer and hugged Evelyn tighter. Putting her daughter down, she collapsed in front of the door and leaned her head against it.

  Evelyn got up and looked back to where Edith lay. “I knew when Edith died. It called out to me like a faint scream. I think it was her soul releasing.”

  Poly perked up. “Did you hear your dad?”

  “No. He’s holding on. He’s holding on for you. Mom, you have to let him go.”

  “No, I need him, I can’t live without him. We’ve been through too much to end like this.” Poly lost control and sobbed against the door.

  “It’s not for you, but for him. He needs to move on. He needs to go to the place beyond and wait for us. We will see him again,” Evelyn said.

  Poly wiped the tears from her face and looked up to her daughter standing over her. She barely recognized her face. “How do you know?”

  “I feel things. And I feel him screaming in pain.”

  Poly stood and looked through the window. He’d pulled through last time, and she had faith he’d make it again. She put her hand on the door. “I’m sorry, I can’t let him go.”