by J Gaines
Kaden screamed at him. “You fool. You’re pathetic. You’re like an insect to me. I’ll find your base in the end anyway.”
Amias strained at his bonds and felt them weaken. Adrenaline was flowing through his body and he closed his eyes to concentrate on the control that fuelled his abilities. He felt the bonds move again and opened his eyes. “Let him go, Kaden,” he shouted commandingly. Lucas was struggling for air and Kaden turned to Amias whilst still holding Lucas aloft with one arm. His eyebrows were arched, and his eyes were wide with anger. Andre moved aside, and he noticed the other men with weapons push themselves back against the wall in fear.
“Tell me what I want to know, Amias. Or I’ll kill him now,” Kaden growled. Lucas’s eyes were on him and Amias looked into them. Lucas shook his head slightly and Amias clenched his fists behind his back. He felt an overwhelming power eliminate his fatigue and pain. He needed a few more seconds and he would have the strength to break free. He looked at Kaden defiantly.
“Too late.” Kaden squeezed against Lucas’s throat and he didn’t even have time to shout out in pain. Amias heard a crack and saw Lucas’s eyes close before Kaden opened his hand and let him fall lifeless to the floor. It took a few moments for Amias to realise Lucas was dead. He looked at his body lying motionless on the blood-soiled floor. As the impact of what Kaden had done hit Amias he screamed in rage and several things happened at once.
Amias suddenly ripped free of his bonds and pulled his arms from behind him. Almost instantaneously the door of the room blew open, causing it to fly off its hinges and strike one of Kaden’s men close by. Kaden turned in surprise as smoke filled the room and gunfire rang out. Amias jumped to his feet and he moved towards Kaden to take advantage of his distraction. He was almost within his reach when somebody tackled him from the side and he crashed into the wall, taking the full force of Andre against him. Using all of his strength, he threw him aside and turned again to Kaden. This time a guard and an automatic rifle stood between them, and as a shot rang out, Amias felt a sudden pain in his right shoulder. He ignored it and ripped the gun away, throwing a punch into the man’s chest that hurled him backwards and into the far wall. Through the gathering smoke he saw Kaden watching; it seemed for a moment as if he were about to engage him, but in an instant he turned and, with Andre following, disappeared through another door that had been hidden. It closed behind them and Amias rammed himself into it with a cry. The plaster broke and Amias felt the iron beneath it stand firm. He heard more gunfire as he slid down the wall, feeling suddenly drained of his strength. He looked down and saw blood coming from a hole in his shoulder caused by the gunshot. His head fell back against the wall as the smoke cleared slightly and he heard more shots. Lucas’s body was still lying where it had fallen, alone and in an awkward position. He dragged himself forward and placed his hand on his face. He heard somebody say his name and looked up to see Sophia.
“Amias! We have to get out of here. It won’t be long before more of Kaden’s men arrive and we’re trapped.” She reached out for his hand and he allowed her to pull him to his feet. He grimaced as he felt the pain emanating from his wound.
“You’re hurt.” Sophia was looking at his shoulder with concern.
“I’m okay.” He gritted his teeth and bent down, using all the strength left in him to pull Lucas onto his shoulders.
“He’s gone, Amias. We have to leave him.” Sophia’s eyes filled with tears and she reached out and put her hand on Lucas’s face. More gunshots rang out and there was another explosion close by. Two of John’s team were waiting by the door and beckoned them forward.
“He’s coming,” replied Amias with a steely determination.
Sophia looked into his eyes for a moment and then relented. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 14
They made their way through the smoke to the doorway, which was now missing a door. Outside there was more smoke, and Amias heard gunfire. He ducked his head closer to the entrance and saw a large hallway with a high ceiling directly outside. A man and woman carrying automatic weapons awaited them on either side of their only escape route.
“We’re here to get you out, Amias. Stay back or you’ll get a hole in your head to match the one in your shoulder,” ordered Sophia. “You should really let me try and bandage it at least.” She moved closer to examine his wound. “I think you’re lucky, though, and the bullet’s gone straight through.”
“I’m fine.” He shrugged her off. “How many of our people are here… and where are we?”
“It’s an old brewery, and it’s huge.” She pressed herself against the wall as the sound of another explosion travelled down the corridor. “There were thirty of us. John’s outside somewhere and caught in a crossfire. We got in here okay, but as soon as we gave ourselves away by blowing the door off, things got crazy. I think they never expected us to know about this place.” She nodded at the man and woman. “This is Brandon and Maria. Take this.” She handed him a handgun, which he slipped into his trousers.
“How did you find us?” Amias asked, straining slightly under the weight of Lucas.
“We followed you. Lucas told us to get back to the van, but we couldn’t leave you both. When we saw the vans leave, we hoped you were both still alive, and in them. Luckily for us, you were. We stole a car and trailed them here–”
Maria interrupted. “We need to go now.” Amias heard a break in the gunfire and immediately followed her out as she fired repeatedly across the corridor. He kept low and they’d almost made it to another doorway when Maria dropped heavily as she was shot in the chest. Amias threw himself into the cover of another corridor and turned to see Sophia and Brandon throw themselves in after him. Brandon stayed by the door and replaced the clip in his weapon. He looked back at Maria’s lifeless body.
“You go, I’ll hold them off here if they follow,” Brandon growled.
Sophia nodded and pulled at Amias’s t-shirt roughly. “Let’s go.”
Amias hesitated, but Brandon turned to him and shouted as more gunfire rang out and bullets buried themselves into the wall. “Go.” He turned and followed Sophia who was already sprinting along the corridor, paying little heed to possible threats. Lucas was becoming increasingly harder to carry and was slipping from his shoulders. He heaved him back on and hurried after her. They turned and ran down a further two passageways until Sophia stopped and crouched, pulling him down after her.
“Let me see your shoulder.” Amias pulled away but Sophia pushed him against the wall and helped him place Lucas carefully on the floor. She pulled off her shirt and quickly ripped it into two long strips. She then began wrapping it around his shoulder to stop the bleeding.
“You’re no good to me if you bleed to death.”
Amias let her finish and then got back to his feet, pulling Lucas back onto his shoulders whilst Sophia watched him. “We won’t be able to take everyone who dies here. Leave him,” she said softly.
“I know. But he’s coming,” replied Amias as sternly as he could manage.
There was another explosion, followed by more gunfire, and Sophia nodded. “Come on.” They reached a stairway and she signalled for him to stop as she opened the door cautiously and peered downwards to check it was clear. “This isn’t the way we came, but we need to start going down now and get out of here.” She held her gun in front of her as she cautiously made her way down the steps. It was dimly lit and Amias assumed it must be an emergency stairway. They made it down a couple of flights before they came across seven dead bodies. Sophia recognised three of them as part of the rescue team. They kept going downwards and Sophia counted the floors as they passed each door.
“Two more to go.”
Suddenly they heard a door burst open above them, followed by gunshots. Shouting travelled down the stairs and a body dropped past them and crashed onto the floor below. Sophia pulled Amias by the t-shirt and they leapt down the remainin
g steps as more gunfire followed. They reached the bottom floor, jumped over the broken body and smashed through the doors, forgetting any caution. The moment they were through the doors they immediately bumped into ten heavily armed guards about to enter the door they’d emerged from. He heard Sophia gasp before she turned instantly and shot two of the men nearest to her.
Amias dropped Lucas, spun around and swept the legs of the person closest to him. Shots whistled above his head and he got up quickly and grabbed the barrel of the nearest rifle. He moved it away from his chest and towards a woman who was taking aim at him. The shots meant for him buried themselves into her leg and side and then Amias turned and threw his elbow into the face of the man whose gun he held. The man dropped to the floor, unconscious, as Amias ripped his gun from him and used the butt of it to strike another man who was running towards them.
He looked up and saw Sophia desperately fighting with a large man as he was instantly engaged again. Using his weapon like a boomerang he launched it at his attacker’s head and it hit him in the face. He followed his throw and leapt into the air, kicking him in the head and sending him head over heels into the door. As soon as he landed, he was engaged again by a woman who threw a kick at him. He blocked it using both hands, catching her shin and using her leg to swing her around and into the wall. He turned but suddenly felt the cold barrel of a gun rest against the back of his head. A shot rang out and he turned in surprise to see the carrier of the weapon drop to the floor.
“Olivia!” Sophia’s voice was full of relief. As Olivia strode past him, he noticed that blood stains covered her jacket. Sophia ran forward to meet her and grabbed her arm as Amias returned to Lucas and heaved him onto his shoulders again. He could feel his strength was leaving him and knew it wouldn’t return.
Olivia turned to him. “We don’t have much time. John has had to retreat to the vehicles. He’s waiting for us there, but he can’t wait long. Kaden won’t let you escape easily, Amias.” She stepped closer and glanced at Lucas’s body. “You’re hurt?”
He shook his head. “I’m fine. Take us to John.”
“If Lucas is dead, we should leave him here. We’ll be lucky to escape ourselves.” Somehow Olivia’s voice penetrated him in the same way John’s did and Virgil’s had, questioning his strength and reasoning. He looked at her for a few moments as she studied his face, before he turned away and walked past her. For the first time since exiting the stairway he realised they were in a carpark. There were no cars, however, and it was dimly lit with orange strip lights running along the low ceiling.
He stopped but didn’t turn around. “Which way?”
“Follow me.” Olivia broke into a run and Sophia followed. Amias re-positioned Lucas before pursuing them.
As they made their way across the carpark he checked they weren’t being followed. The news that Kaden was still in the building had not taken him by surprise. Somehow, he knew he hadn’t gone far, and he knew he wasn’t going to let him escape easily. He watched Olivia and Sophia running in front of him and wondered what chance they had. Olivia was shorter than him, but still reasonably tall for a woman. She was slim, but underneath her jacket he could see her strong and muscular frame. Her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail and it reminded him painfully of Jasmine. He found it difficult to gauge her age, and it still surprised him that she’d been Jasmine’s trainer, let alone John’s and Virgil’s. If she truly was one of the greatest fighters of all the altéré then they had a chance, no matter how small.
It was taking all of the strength he had left to keep Lucas positioned on his back and he knew Olivia suspected he was getting weaker by the minute. He was also feeling the familiar pain in his head and he tried to rub his temple. Sophia turned and looked at him with a worried expression, and then glanced quickly over his shoulder in the direction they’d come from. He knew their concerns were well-founded, but he’d made a promise to himself, and Lucas didn’t deserve to remain in this place. It’s my fault. Lucas’s body began to slip down his back and he almost tripped as the weight became too much for him. He managed to steady himself but received more anxious looks from Sophia and Olivia. Finally, they reached the other side of the carpark and another door.
“How big is this place?” Amias asked through laboured breaths.
“Big,” replied Olivia. “But if we can get down these stairs and through the level below, we’re free.”
“It’s guarded though, Amias.” Sophia looked at him pleadingly, and then at Lucas. “And unless John has somehow cleared the area, we can expect the guard to be doubled, or worse.”
“What’s the plan?” Amias ignored her worried glances.
“We don’t have one,” Olivia replied. “None of this was part of the plan. We were supposed to get you out at another entrance. This exit was on the surveillance report, but we can’t be sure what’s waiting for us down there.”
Amias laid Lucas down gently. “Give me a moment and I’ll be ready.”
Olivia looked at him sadly. “I know you’re blaming yourself, but Lucas wouldn’t want this. He’s gone, and we need all of your strength to help us get out of here. How will you feel if we were to die as well?”
Amias knelt by Lucas. “Nobody else is going to die… but he’s coming. If you’re not going to help me, I’ll get him out myself.”
Olivia sighed. “If we’re all going to make it out of here you’re going to need to use your last strength. Which means you’ll need to focus your control. John told me you’ve shown strength and abilities he’s never seen before. We’re going to need that now.”
Amias looked at Olivia. “I’ll find it.” He was already desperately searching inside his body for any sign he might still have the strength to fight. Olivia watched him thoughtfully, as if she were looking for the same thing.
“It’s time, then.” She walked forward and helped Amias lift Lucas onto his back. “I hope you live up to what I’ve heard about you.” He nodded grimly. They checked their guns and loaded them with any ammunition they had left. Olivia led them, pushing the barrel of her gun slowly through the door and peering into the darkness of the stairway, just as Sophia had before. As she took a step forward, a sound echoed across the carpark and caused them to turn. They couldn’t see the door they had just come from, but they knew the sound was the door being slammed open. Sophia raised her rifle.
“Footsteps are coming this way, lots of them.”
Olivia pushed open the stairway door and Amias followed whilst Sophia backed her way into the doorway and stopped with her rifle still raised. The lights above the stairs didn’t turn on and it was completely dark. Olivia pulled a small torch from her belt as Sophia let the door close behind them. “We’ve got to move, they’re coming.”
They ran down the steps as quickly and quietly as they could. Olivia was still leading the way, with Amias coming next, carrying Lucas, and Sophia behind them. It surprised Amias how many flights of stairs there were; he’d expected them to have reached the ground level by now. Olivia must have guessed his thoughts and whispered, “The lower level goes underground. It’s accessed by a downwards ramp from the road outside. The carpark is then built into the main building. Two more flights and we’re there. Get ready.” As soon as she’d completed her sentence they heard the door open above them and what sounded like hundreds of pairs of feet enter the stairway. They leapt down the remaining stairs and reached a door, which Olivia immediately kicked open.
As they emerged from the darkness of the stairs it took a moment for their eyes to become accustomed to the light, and before Amias saw where they came from, he heard cries and shots ring out. He turned in their direction and saw Olivia running towards two guards. As she approached they raised their weapons. In an instant, she leapt to the side and took two steps against the wall before spinning and kicking one of them in the head. The other brought his handgun around and placed it to her head, but she was too quick
for him. Just as a bullet was discharged, she’d already sidestepped it and was throwing the guard over her hip, following up with a sickening punch to his face. Then she looked up. “Keep moving.”
Amias and Sophia ran forward and Olivia followed. The gunshot had alerted other guards; they heard shouts and the sound of people running towards them. They were in another carpark but this one had large concrete pillars between floor and ceiling. They ran behind one of the pillars just as the door behind them burst open and guards teemed out of the stairway. More shots rang out and bullets lodged into the concrete pillar they’d ducked behind. Sophia dropped to her knee and returned fire. Olivia ran to another pillar in front of them, peered out and beckoned to them before running further ahead. Amias and Sophia followed her. As Amias rounded the next pillar he found Olivia fighting with three guards. Still holding Lucas, he used their combined weight as a battering ram, knocking one of the men into the concrete. The other dropped as Sophia fired a single shot. Olivia finished the other guard by breaking his neck and then ran forward again. Sophia gestured for him to follow her but held back.
“Go!” She fired an array of shots.
Amias turned and dashed after Olivia, rounding another pillar only to find she wasn’t there. He ran on blindly as more shots echoed behind him. As he rushed around the rectangular concrete pillar he ran straight into more guards. They raised their weapons and he knew he only had one chance. He let Lucas slide from his back and felt two bullets hit his lifeless body. Amias reached the guards and pushed them backwards; they fell and he turned to the others, kicking the weapon from one’s hands and throwing the other against the pillar.
The man he’d disarmed instantly pulled a sword and charged at him, chopping madly with both hands as Amias desperately twisted and rolled away. He was being pushed backwards, away from the pillar; soon he would be exposed to the gunfire. As he moved away from the slashing blade he felt something strange, as he had with John in the gym; somehow he knew his attacker’s next move. Turning, he saw the concrete disappear as the guard screamed and jumped into the air, bringing the blade crashing towards his skull. Blindly, he raised his hands and clapped them together, using all his strength. He held the blade of the sword between his palms. The guard looked at him in surprise as he tried to drive the sword towards Amias’s head. The blade shook and he could feel the force pushing against his hands. He strained, expecting to see blood flowing from them at any moment. Just as he felt he couldn’t hold on any longer, Sophia appeared, targeting Amias’s attacker with her rifle and shooting him in the head. As he dropped to the floor Amias held the sword for a moment longer before also letting it fall.
