by Elodie Colt
“Should I make a quick check upstairs?” Jared whispered, pointing to a metal staircase leading to the upper floor.
“Okay, but be quick, yeah?” Jared nodded and sprinted away. I doubted any danger would await him up there.
I huffed. This was getting us nowhere. We were at a dead end. I’d hoped to find any clue about this building being the Hunters’ last operating location, but I had yet to find anything useful.
“All clear,” Chris said when coming up from behind the tanks with Jimmy in tow.
“We need to check every corner,” Jimmy insisted, motioning for Chris to follow him further down the hall.
“I’ll have a quick look at the truck,” I informed Jimmy, jogging back to where Josh stood guard.
Opening the flap on the back, I climbed in. The inside was littered with old chunks of metal and garbage. I sorted through demolished desk lamps, cartons that once held copy paper, ruined light bulbs, laptops, cables, and many more useless things.
I pulled out a knife from my boot to cut open a sealed cardboard box. Ripping it open, I only found shattered glass and loose bottle caps. I retrieved the largest shard where the remains of a label were printed on the surface. The only writing left was the name of an unfamiliar pharmacy company along with the letters ‘Hydrochlorid—’ of what was probably the name of whatever chemical stuff had been the bottle’s content.
Frustrated, I let the shard fall back into the box, turning to leave. “Josh, can you—”
Boom!
An ear-shattering sound erupted, cutting off my hearing in a heartbeat. My body was thrown forcefully against the truck’s side wall as it flipped on its roof, the junk inside flying in every direction and turning to deadly ammunition. Something hard collided with my head, knocking me to the ground and burying me under the interior of the truck. It took me a few seconds to get over the initial shock, and I forced my limbs to move, blood trickling down my eyebrow.
I tried to make out any sound, but the ringing in my ears was too loud to hear anything other than a high-pitched beep. My knees buckled as I scrambled up in an attempt to wriggle out of the junk, but my body refused to operate, so I crawled on all fours to the end of the vehicle, letting myself tumble over the edge and onto the ground. I hissed as I hit the dry earth hard, rough stones poking my skin.
Josh lay next to me slumped against the truck’s bodywork, one sleeve seared and revealing burned skin underneath. Gathering from his heaving chest, he was alive, thank God.
Heaving myself up, I coughed through the dust clouding the air. The ringing in my ears started to ebb off as I scrambled over to Josh, allowing me to hear distant cries and shouts coming from the inside of the building.
Jimmy, Chris, and Jared were still in there!
Terror filled me as I thought about what condition I’d find them in. I quickly checked Josh’s pulse to make sure he was stable and hurried inside through a gaping hole the explosion had created. One of the tanks on the left side was all bent metal and licking flames. Those assholes had blown up a tank!
“Ji… Jimmy?” I shouted on the second try, my throat constricting from inhaling the soiled air. “Chris?”
“Dylan, I’m— Watch out!” Chris warned as he hobbled my way, a hand on his bleeding knee, and I turned just in time as something came down on my head.
I quickly ducked low as I realized a Hunter wanted to crush me with a rusty pipe, and I swiped my foot under his. The blow took him off balance, and it bought me enough time to rip the pipe from his hand and make the same move he’d attempted on me. His jaw cracked as the metal hit him, and he fell limply to the ground. I could have left him like that, but I knew from experience it was better to finish the job rather than waiting for the opponent to regain consciousness and stab you in the back, so I pulled out the knife from my boot and jabbed it into his heart.
“Shit, Dylan! Are you okay?” Chris yelled as I removed the knife, wiping it on my pants.
“I’m fine, what about you?” I shouted, probably louder than necessary, but my ears still felt as if they were stuffed with balls of cotton.
“Nothing serious, but Jimmy, he’s…” He choked. “It’s bad…”
“Where?” I asked, quickly on high alert, and followed Chris to the middle of the area where the staircase had collapsed. “What about Jared?” I asked in horror, remembering he’d been up there only minutes before.
“Unconscious. He got buried under the staircase, but I got him out,” Chris explained, pointing to a figure lying on the ground.
Suddenly, a shot echoed through the area, forcing us to the ground as glass shattered behind us. The next thing I knew, six Hunters advanced on us.
“Run!” I screamed at Chris as soon as I saw four of them with guns in their hands pointed straight at us.
Chris ducked away to hide behind a pile of junk. I was just about to draw my gun, but another bullet was shot at me, forcing me to drop my knife and roll out of the way. The bullet struck a metal plate on the ground, missing me by inches. The next shots came from Chris’ gun, who had my back, giving me time to find a hiding spot. I stumbled over to what was left of the tank still licking with flames and ducked low behind it.
That’s when I saw Jimmy on the ground, his face contorted in pain and blood splattered everywhere.
“Shit, Jimmy!” I yelled, hurrying to his side. His jacket was seared through with burns covering his torso, but that wasn’t the worst part.
A huge piece of metal protruded from his upper thigh, tearing open a slash at least six inches long, and gathering from the blood gushing out like water from a faucet, deep enough to bleed him out in a matter of minutes. Quickly shrugging off my jacket, I pressed it around the metal in a feeble attempt to stop the blood loss.
That’s when I noticed it wasn’t just any metal. It was a broken half of a saw blade from a buzz saw, its ragged edges embedded deeply in Jimmy’s leg.
Our Racer was down.
“Jared? Josh?” Jimmy rasped through clenched teeth.
“Both fine. We need to get you out of here, Jimmy. This doesn’t look good.” But I knew chances of escaping were slim as long as the Hunters cornered us. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”
“Go,” Jimmy said with determination, and I returned to the open field where Chris was still caught in the exchange of fire.
Jared woke up just in time to ram into a Racer who was in the process of stabbing Chris with a wicked curved dagger. I quickly pulled out the Glock from my belt, the movement swift and smooth from countless times internalizing the motion, unlocked the safety, and fired at the opponents with guns in their hands.
My bullets hit two of them directly in the head, eliminating them instantly, but just as I was about to shoot another, I saw Jared caught in a chokehold by a Hunter, making me switch my aim. I shot him in the foot, giving Jared time to dispose of the guy.
Three left, two with guns. None of them was Dorian or Aitana or anyone else I knew. Had they hired these Hunters to do their dirty work, or were we dealing with new players?
My thoughts were interrupted by a Racer rushing toward me with a gun pointed at my head. I recoiled at the last second, two bullets buzzing out the window behind me. As soon as the Hunter was in attacking range, he dropped his gun and advanced on me with fists held high.
Stupid move. Never drop a loaded gun. The only thing you accomplish is handing your opponent another weapon. Wouldn’t help me now anyway. Fighting a Racer with a distance weapon was as useful as trying to catch a fly with chopsticks.
Several consecutive punches smacked into my stomach with enough speed to nearly knock me over. I quickly regained my composure and drove my knee upward, but the Racer was faster than me, parrying my blow and sending me sailing through the air with a firm strike of his palm aimed at my chest.
I absorbed the impact by dropping into a backward roll, but just as I lifted my head, his knee smacked my chin, snapping my head back. Stars appeared in front of my vision as blood flowed into my
mouth from my teeth nearly cutting my tongue in two. A familiar shiver crept along my spine, and a red haze settled over my vision, indicating the Bluster was near. The additional strength would be helpful, but I needed to hold it back, or I’d risk hurting Jimmy and the rest of our crew.
The Racer pounced on me, straddling my hips and ramming his elbow into my rib cage. I quickly grabbed his hand before he could strike another blow and twisted four fingers backward until his knuckles broke. The Racer howled in pain, and I took the opportunity to push him off me. He growled in anger, the pain slowing him down, and I used the moment to my advantage.
Kicking from the side, the metal cap of my boot connected with his jaw causing a bloody tooth to swirl past me. Not hesitating, I quickly jumped him, grabbed his head and snapped his neck in one swift motion. I spit on his face just to show him who’d gotten the upper hand in the end. Asshole.
Shots still rang out all around me, and I sprinted back to where Chris and Jared fought against the last two remaining Hunters, picking up the gun I’d lost earlier. Jared was fist-fighting his opponent, and Chris was just in the process of firing, but an empty click signaled that he’d run out of ammunition.
I came to his aid and shot for him, the Hunter dropping limply to the ground with two bullets in his stomach and one in his chest. Chris sprinted toward Jared to help him out, shouting in my direction, “I’ve got this. Go and help Jimmy and Josh!”
When I reached Jimmy, he was in worse shape than before. Despite his dark skin, he was awfully pale, sweat running down his face, his fingers trembling where he was pressing the jacket against his wound. That was when I realized what horror we were stuck in.
“This… this is my fault,” I mumbled in desperation.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jimmy rasped.
It had been my idea to leave the Regenerators at the compound. I’d known a fight was a possibility, but I hadn’t counted on it to get this disastrous. Now, here I was with half of my crew badly injured while I’d wished for a battle only hours before. Well, my wish had been granted. I’d gotten the bloodbath I’d wanted.
“But Sarah could have—”
“No, she couldn’t have,” Jimmy interrupted me.
He had a point. We would need to remove the blade first and then disinfect the wound before starting the healing procedure. Chances were high of Jimmy bleeding to death by then. Still, Sarah could have stopped the blood flow or at least eased the pain from his burns.
Jimmy’s fingers grasped my wrist. “The compound is… your responsibility now,” he croaked through clenched teeth.
“Don’t worry about it now,” I muttered back, realizing what burden lay on my shoulders. As Jimmy’s second-in-command, I was the leader in his absence. Under other circumstances, I would have seized the opportunity without question, but now I wished I could hand over the task.
I let my gaze swerve over the dead bodies littering the ground. The enemy was defeated, but still, they could have prepared another surprise for us. We needed to get out of here as quickly as possible.
Chris and Jared rushed to my side. “Are you all right?” I directed at Jared who nodded.
“Just two crumpled fingers.”
“Hang on, we need to be careful,” Chris advised, lifting Jimmy’s legs while I took him by his shoulders. Chris hissed in pain as he limped with his injured knee, but he kept a firm hold on Jimmy.
“Argh!” Jimmy cried out when we heaved him up.
“I’m sorry, man,” I apologized, guilty for adding to his pain. I was glad we had a big opening to walk through now, caused by the explosion. Getting him through the tiny window would have been an impossible feat.
“Put him down here,” I instructed as soon as we were outside. Chris rushed to Josh’s side, who slowly regained consciousness.
“Josh,” Chris tried to get his attention and repeated his name when he only got grunts for an answer.
“I’ll call the ambulance,” Jared offered, but Chris was already shaking his head.
“Would you be able to give them directions? We’re in the middle of nowhere. It’s faster to take the car.” I agreed. Chris put a hand in Josh’s jeans pocket and fished out the car keys. He tossed them to Jared who caught them midair. “Go, get the car, kid. Hurry.” Jared raced off without another word.
“Hey, Josh, time to wake up,” Chris yelled, slapping his cheek. Josh’s eyes finally opened.
“What—”
“Explosion. They blew up a tank. You’ve got burns on your arm. Jared, Dylan, and I are fine, but Jimmy’s badly hurt,” Chris filled him in.
Josh was suddenly on high alert, visibly paling as he noticed the saw blade decorating Jimmy’s thigh.
“We need to hurry, he’s losing consciousness,” I urged when I saw Jimmy’s eyes drop shut.
“We need two hours back to the compound, probably less if we break every speed limit. Will he make it?” Josh asked in a panicked voice.
“No, time’s running out. A Regenerator can’t heal him. Jimmy might need surgery. We need to get him to a hospital,” Chris answered just as Jared sped with the van in our direction, spitting up gravel under the wheels. We quickly heaved Jimmy in the back seat.
“Here,” Chris said, peeling out of his jacket and pressing it into Josh’s hands. Josh didn’t ask any questions and got in next to Jimmy, removing my already blood-soaked jacket and switching it with Chris’. Chris got in next, heaving Jimmy’s head up to rest it on his lap.
“Get in the passenger seat,” I instructed, taking Jared’s place in front of the wheel. He couldn't handle the van with two broken fingers.
“Where’s the next hospital?”
“About two miles from here.”
“Fuck!” I shouted, punching the dashboard hard enough to leave a dent after I finally found the time to get out some of my aggression. It seemed everything we did was turning into a nightmare lately. “How the fuck did this happen?”
“They must have followed us,” Jared mumbled while I hit the interstate, racing from one lane to the next.
“But how did they blow up the tank without us noticing? I swear, I didn’t notice anything out of place the entire time,” Josh interjected.
“Unless they prepared for it before we arrived and hid out of hearing range,” Chris mused, his voice turning darker.
“You think they lured us out here on purpose?”
“Most likely. There was only junk in the truck, and we didn’t find anything in the building, either,” I said grimly. “They threw us a hook, and we swallowed it.”
“But that would mean they knew we were picking up their trace,” Josh said in disbelief, and everyone kept silent as we all thought the same.
They knew about us scanning the traffic areas with cameras. They knew we’d follow them, and there was only one way this information had leaked through—with help from someone from the inside.
Dammit. How high were the chances of really having a mole inside the compound? I refused to believe one of us deceived us all. I would have liked to pass the buck to Cole, but we’d already had suspicions before he arrived. And, as much as I hated to admit it, I trusted him on this. He cared about Haylie, and everyone who did deserved my trust.
Before the car came to a full stop in front of the hospital, Jared jumped out whistling to two nurses who were having a smoke outside the entrance doors.
“We have an emergency!” he yelled. One nurse immediately hurried inside to call for help, while the other took in Jimmy’s condition. She gasped when she saw the metal protruding from his skin.
“Work accident,” I explained quickly. Jimmy was already unconscious. After checking his pulse, the nurse took out a flashlight inspecting his pupillary reflex.
“Shallow breathing and tachycardia. Hypovolemic shock. He needs a blood transfusion,” she mumbled just as the second nurse appeared with two medics wheeling a stretcher. “Take him to ER-3,” she ordered while they heaved Jimmy onto the stretcher, and everyone shuffled inside.
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The nurse hooked him up for a transfusion while shouting instructions to the medics. They jogged with Jimmy on the stretcher through wide double doors at the end of the hallway, the nurse lifting a hand to stop us from following. “No visitors allowed inside. You need to wait here.”
“Will he make it?” Chris wanted to know.
The nurse gave us a sad smile. “The blade could have harmed his femoral artery. He lost a lot of blood. Please wait here, and I’ll inform you as soon as possible.”
Before she hurried inside the ER, her eyes flew over the rest of us. Chris was limping, and his jeans were bloodstained where he’d hurt his knee. Jared held his injured hand where two fingers bent at an awkward angle. Josh’s left arm was burned from elbow to shoulder, and my face was splotched with blood. I could only guess what I looked like—probably like somebody had beaten the hell out of me—which wasn’t far from the truth.
“What kind of work accident was it?” She scrutinized us with raised eyebrows, her voice thick with disbelief.
“A tank blew up in an industrial building not far from here,” Chris spoke.
“How did that happen?”
“We don’t know.”
“Are there any other casualties?”
“No, it’s just us.”
The nurse nodded. “I’ll call a doctor to check you out. This one looks nasty,” she added, pointing to Josh’s burns. With that, she hurried inside the ER, which left Chris and me with nothing to do but wait while Jared and Josh received a thorough examination. Chris and I declined their offer to get checked.
We propped down on the uncomfortable plastic chairs. Heaving a deep sigh, I rested my elbows on my knees and buried my face in my hands, making a tent with my fingers around my nose and chin. Needless to say, this wasn’t the outcome I’d hoped for this mission.
