Blood soaks the front of her shirt and her breath comes out in wheezes. One close look at her wounds and I know that she isn’t long for this world no matter what I do. She may not even be lucid enough to talk, but that doesn’t stop me from questioning her.
“Who did this to you?”
She swallows slowly. She’s trying to speak, to say something to give me information about her attackers, but we got here too late. Her strength has failed her. Her lips move to speak, and she probably thinks that she is telling me something, but no words come out. With one last breath, she tilts her head downward and dies.
My hands start to shake and I have this uncontrollable urge to vomit. Who could have done this? My first thought is Jeremiah, but that would make no sense. He has nothing to gain by killing his own people does he? Could Rob and Krindle be acting on their own? I saw them with guns, but were they just hiding from whoever has attacked the others?
Could it be Heinrich? Could he be trying to take his colony back from the Screven guards? Has his revolution begun? But the greyskins are here. The greyskins Jeremiah created.
The sirens cut through the silence like an explosion and I instantly have to cover my ears. Flashes of light burst through the room and corridors. All of Salem will be awake now, but they will only wake to find death at their doorsteps.
Loud footsteps echo through the hallway as Aaron runs back toward me. He grabs me by the arms and tries to lift me up.
“We’ve got to go!”
I hear him, but I don’t respond immediately.
“Mora!”
I look him in the eyes.
“You’ve got a gift. I’ve got a gift. It’s time to use them like we were meant to. We’ve got to save the colony.”
He’s right. I’ve never seen Aaron speak with such passion. For the first time I see him in the way that I’ve always hoped him to be. Now I know he’s not just wearing a mask. He truly does believe that the power he has been given is a gift to be used for the greater good. For that reason, I’m willing to follow him back out into the herd of greyskins.
I close my eyes, searching for the others. Heather, Danny, Evelyn; all of them are near the fighting. Others are out, guns ready. Opening my eyes, I return Aaron’s gaze, reach up for his neck and pull his lips to mine. He kisses me back tightly, and when we let go, we both know that it’s time to leave.
We bolt out of the room and through the corridor until we’re finally out of the Vault. Even though we’ve only been in there for a few minutes, the first rays of light have begun to cut through the night, ushering in a new day of chaos, but also revealing the overwhelming number of greyskins throughout the colony.
Aaron and I duck behind one of the vehicles to survey what exactly we’re up against. Hundreds of greyskins with rotting flesh and ripped clothes push their way thr th2emough the front gate with ravenous hunger. Their jaws snap open and closed, ready to sink their teeth into the next victim. The sound of groaning and hissing from their dry throats nearly drowns out the alarms set off by Aaron. Some of the greyskins are rotten to the point that they are missing limbs, jawbones, or in the rarest of cases, even much of their bodies. Others are more fresh, strong and agile. All of them are hungry.
Gunfire sounds to our left, as colonists are now taking up the fight. I think that surely the herd is almost finished coming through the front gate. I’ve never really seen one this big before. I wish there was a way I could get to Connor’s crow’s nest, but when I look up at it, I realize that I do have the ability to see from here.
Connor points his rifle down into the charging herd, taking them out one at a time. I close my eyes and find my consciousness just over his shoulder. But I’m not looking at him, or his target. The first thing that catches my eye is what lies beyond the wall of the colony.
The herd isn’t anywhere near finished coming through the gate. There aren’t hundreds still coming in, but thousands. They’re pushing each other to squeeze into the small opening of the gate.
I open my eyes and grab Aaron by the shoulder.
“We’ve got a problem,” I say.
“I know!”
“No, you don’t.”
“What do you mean then?”
“There’s a lot more than this,” I say. “Beyond the wall, there are thousands.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do.”
“Then we need you now more than ever, Mora!”
“What?”
“My abilities, the other Starborns’ abilities are not as powerful as yours. You can move them around, smash them. Do everything you can!”
The sight in front of me is sickening. Colonists charge out with any kind of weapon available to them, but it’s not enough for the overwhelming amount of greyskins. The creatures flail into their victims, biting, clawing, trying to eat their flesh. More colonists run out of their homes to protect their families. Those that hide away will be dead within minutes if we don’t do something.
The sight alone is enough to make me step forward. Beside me, I can feel the heat of Aaron sucking the blue, electric energy from the vehicles in front of us into his body, preparing to fight off the greyskins with every bit of power he has. When the vehicles near us are completely drained, it’s my turn to use my abilities.
I focus my attention on the tons of metal and they instantly shift. I stand to face the moving herd and send the vehicles sailing into the mass of them. They flatten to the ground, smash into walls, fly through the air. Scraps of metal scream into a whirlwind of disarray as they rip shreds into the greyskins, sending so many of them lifeless to the ground.
I don’t stop. I can’t stop.
The morning sky bursts brighter than the noonday sun when Aaron chars the greyskins, setting many of them on fire and knocking their smoldering carcasses to the ground. The smell of burnt, rotten flesh fills the air.
The colonists that had rushed to the fight are suddenly retreating to a safer spot, watching as the two of us lay waste to the deadly herd. But the greyskins keep coming in through the opening of the gate, and there are so many that it’s impossible to kill them all. Even with my immense power to move things with my mind, it’s not enough to take down what’s on the other side of that wall. And I know Aaron is limited to the amount of electricity within the colony itself. Unfortunately, the sky is clear and there are no storre e com clouds above us.
I send another vehicle toward a group of greyskins that narrow their hungered focus on me. Bones and decomposed skin flies through the air in a congealed, bloodied crash.
“Mora!” Aaron yells to me.
I look over my shoulder, temporarily dropping everything in my mind’s grip.
“Shut the gate! Plug it up!”
I turn back to see hundreds more piling through. The greyskins are swarming in the narrow opening of the gate like maggots, squeezing through until they are finally free to devour within the colony.
Shots continue to ring out from behind us, but each one can only take down a single greyskin at a time, and that is only if the shot rang true. With every bit of mental strength that I can muster
, I grab all the greyskins that I can, along with every scrap of metal, vehicle or inanimate object near me, and send them flying toward the gate. The undead attempt to claw their way through the mound of junk I’m piling up. Even when all of the greyskins from within the colony are slammed against the gate, pinned by the unseen force radiating from me, I keep moving forward, pressing harder.
Like some kind of trash compactor, their bodies crumble under the invisible wall pressing against them. Heads and bodies squeeze like decaying fruit, metal crinkles and twists and the gate begins to dent outward until finally, the opening is plugged completely with unmoving greyskins and metal.
When I release my hold on everything, I open my eyes and suddenly my legs give out from under me and I fall to the ground. I hear Aaron call out my name, but it’s like an echo from afar. I feel him grab my shoulders and scoop me up into his
arms, but it feels like I’m floating through space. All goes dark.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I don’t know how long I’m out, but when I come to there is a rather large group of people standing over me in wonder. Aaron is nearest. His lips are moving, but I don’t hear him. Then there is Evelyn, Heather, Danny, and even Heinrich along with other colonists.
The sound comes rushing to my consciousness like a raging river and I bolt up immediately.
“Easy,” Aaron says.
“Is it over?” I ask. “Are they all dead?”
“Just the ones that came into the colony,” Evelyn says. “You’ve given us some time.”
Her words are confirmed by the sound of hungry greyskins on the outside of the wall doing everything in their power to break back into the colony. They know there is food to be had within these walls. They won’t ever give up unless they are dead or their bodies have decomposed so much that they can’t move anymore.
“How long was I out?” I ask.
“Just a couple of minutes,” Aaron says. “I thought you were dead.”
“You exerted too much power,” Evelyn said. “You’ve found your breaking point.”
That’s not good to hear. I didn’t know that there was a breaking point. I guess looking at it now, it’s sort of silly to think that my abilities were unlimited. Now that I think about it, all of our gifts are probably limited. Aaron is limited by the amount of electricity around him. Heather can probably only move at extreme speeds for so long, and Danny probably can’t lift just anything with his enormous strength. Wdorharichy should I be without limits of the mind?
But what about Evelyn? What could her limit be?
“We’ve got to come up with a plan,” Heather says.
“Can you stand?” Aaron asks me.
I nod and take his hand as he helps me to my feet. I’m not sure what plan there is to make. The colonists fear the greyskins too much to fight, and we Starborns are too few for the sheer number of enemies there are. Then there is Krindle and Rob with their detonator. Were they planning to blow the wall in the event we were able to plug it? If that’s the case then we’re all dead. With the little power that I have left, I know what my next responsibility is. I’ve got a plan.
“Heinrich,” he snaps to attention at the sound of my voice. “Get everyone in the colony ready to fight whether they want to or not. If they don’t have a gun, tell them to use a knife, a shovel, a stick, whatever can stab or bash the brains out of a greyskin. We don’t have the power to fight them off by ourselves. We need everyone to fight.” He nods at me and instantly turns to leave. I look at Evelyn and my head swims. I reach out to Aaron to steady myself so I don’t fall back onto the ground. “The Starborns have to give everything we’ve got to fight off the rest of the greyskins.”
“We’re ready for that,” Danny shouts out.
I try to smile, but my head swims again and this time my vision blacks out for a brief second. Did I wield so much energy that it’s sucking my life away? Will I gain my strength back?
“I’ve got to get into that tower,” I nod to where Krindle and I held our meeting just the day before yesterday. It’s also where he’s hiding under a desk like a coward, fully aware that we are all meant to die here. Fully aware that he has the power to let the greyskins in at any moment. With my strength gone, my presence in the fight will be useless. I’ll only get in the way or get killed. I can at least try to stop Krindle from blowing the entrance.
“What’s in the tower?” Aaron asks.
My eyes dart from him to Evelyn and she instantly recognizes that I’ve seen something.
“She’s going to see if there’s anything we can use against the greyskins,” Evelyn says. “It’s a good idea. You need to take all the time you can to gather your strength, dear.”
My eyes thank her for the support.
“Let me go with you,” Aaron says.
“No,” I tell him sharply. “If the greyskins break through, the others will need you.”
I can tell that he wants to protest, but my argument is sound. He simply nods and places a strong hand on my shoulder.
“Be safe,” he says.
His eyes look deeply into mine. It’s a look he would give me if we were both about to reach in for a kiss, but for some reason, I know that we aren’t about to do that. It’s as if his eyes are telling me something deeper, that he means more than what a kiss could tell me. It’s a look that says to me that he truly cares for me and will do anything to protect me. It’s a look that says he loves me.
I reach for his head and bring it to my cheek and rest it there for a moment. I wish I could just sit in his embrace all day. I wish there was no such thing as a greyskin or the everyday fear of death. I wish there was hope for a future of peace. A future without the need for Starborns.
I lightly kiss his palm and turn from the group to make my way toward the tower. I look back over my shoulder and call out. “Stay away from the wall. You never know when it might come crashing down.”
Or blow up.
The door at the bottom of the tower is locked. With deep concentration I’m able to break the tiny lock, but even this small gesture is enough to send my head swimming again. Perhaps I shouldn’t have used my powers so recklessly. Maybe then I would be more of an asset right now. Or maybe the others and I would be dead. There’s no way to know.
I open the door and walk into the room with the stairwells leading up to four different floors. I close my eyes to search for Krindle again, but I think twice about it. Should I try? Would it use too much of my strength? This would be a really bad place to pass out again. Rob might find me and kill me. Or worse. I might wake up with a greyskin chewing on my legs. I decide to go up blindly, but I’m not sure which option is safer.
I know both of them carry guns. I know Krindle is weak, but probably trigger-happy too. Rob is a trained soldier. With Krindle having a hold on the detonator, it makes the two of them equally dangerous.
Either of them could take me out with a single shot. Krindle could let loose the greyskins with a push of a button. I’m sure that’s what the detonator is for. I don’t know what else it could be.
I do my best to be as quiet as possible as I take the dark stairway upwards. The entire tower is eerily quiet, but based on what I saw earlier in the morning, Rob might very well be standing guard in front of Krindle’s office door.
I reach down to my thigh and pull out my knife. The blade catches a glint of light as I look at it. Rarely have I had to use the weapon, and even then it was only on greyskins. The thought of killing a human sickens me, but I also know that this is a very real possibility in the coming seconds. I also know that in my weakened state, I might not survive a scuffle with Rob or Krindle, but this is the best I can do right now.
At the third flight of stairs, I slow my pace as I try to remain as silent as possible. Krindle’s office is at the top and down the hall maybe twenty feet. The silence in the building means Rob will be able to hear me if he is where I think he is.
I take a deep breath as my soft steps move up slowly. I wish I didn’t feel so drained of energy. My confidence soared earlier when I knew that I could use my gifts to keep me alive. But here in this dark tower, climbing the steps to what could be my last few moments of life, I am humbled. I know a stray bullet can end me in a moment.
I freeze at the sound of a voice that blares out through the intercom. At first I think it might be Rob shouting at me to stop what I’m doing. Maybe he sees me on some sort of hidden camera, but my mind is eased when I recognize the voice as Heinrich’s.
“Attention! Attention all colonists! This is your elected leader, Heinrich.” He takes a deep breath over the intercom, almost as if he’s unsure of what to say next. “It has been my pleasure to serve as your leader for the time we have shared. I have rarely asked anything of you over the years, but now I am asking all of you one very important thing. I’m asking you to fight.”
This is my chance to move
if I’m going to try and sneak up to Krindle’s door. The sound of Heinrich’s voice is deafening inside the tower with its speaker system, and that’s perfect. My reluctant feet take more steps upward to the very top.
“A large herd of greyskins is waiting outside the colony walls. The few of us that have begun to fight now need your help if we are to survive.”
At the top of the stairs, I’m able to sneak a look at Krindle’s door without being noticed. Just as predicted, Rob stands with a rifle in his hands. Th hireyskankfully though, he is looking out through one of the small windows in the hallway to get a good look at the commotion outside. I’m not entirely sure of what his view is, but I’m betting he probably saw me use my abilities to keep the greyskins outside. Then again, maybe he didn’t. If he had, wouldn’t he have told Krindle? Wouldn’t Krindle have blown the gate away already?
But if Rob doesn’t have a good view of what is happening outside, then perhaps he hasn’t known to tell Krindle yet. Krindle is probably still cowering away under his desk. I wish I had the strength to check without passing out again.
“We need all of you. Man, woman, and child. If you can carry a weapon, you need to fight. Use anything you can. If you have a gun, bring it. Use anything you can to keep a stick’s length between you and a greyskin.”
If I can stay quiet, Rob might not even notice me until I’m right up on him. But I can’t just sneak up behind him and kill him can I? I can’t just murder the man.
“And remember, go for its head.”
Rob turns toward the door and knocks loudly. Krindle yells out some sort of muffled answer and Rob opens the door.
The Starborn Saga (Books 1, 2, & 3) Page 21
