Jonathan glared at me, saying nothing. He strained again against my hold.
“Burn it down.” I pulled Jonathan onto his feet. He cried out. “Walk,” I said. He fought, but he couldn’t help but comply. As we passed the guard dog, Sarah knelt and spoke to it gently. It followed her out.
“Why didn’t you kill me?” I had to ask. “You tried once. Why didn’t you finish the job?”
“Elliot gave you guys something. I had to find out what it was.”
Once outside, we waited. The rush of cool air was soothing. We were alive. A mixture of emotions emanated from my team: worry, relief, and a sense of urgency. Thick smoke billowed from the back of the building.
Tyler emerged casually, followed by Dee, the growing flicker of flames behind them. Jonathan moaned and tears ran down his face. His expression was contorted with anger.
We’d won.
We’d annihilated his bridge and the building that might house another one in the future. My arms were on his, but his presence flared in my mind. I’d forgotten he would be reading me.
“You think we won’t build another one? The other side of the bridge is still there. There are others like me, who’ll finish what I started. They’re not going to quit just because you destroyed this one. After we kill you, before your bodies are cold in the ground, we’ll rebuild. There will be nobody to stop us.”
The flames rose, an orange inferno blending into the late afternoon horizon. Jonathan was right. They’d just build another bridge. Whether or not they killed us first was irrelevant. If we didn’t stop them, humanity didn’t stand a chance.
The fire spread quickly. Despite the cool weather, the air was dry. There hadn’t been rain since the night I was shot.
I recalled the weight in my backpack. “Sarah.” I signaled her to take Jonathan from me.
As she did, he struggled again, violently, but she held him tight. She shoved him facedown into the dirt and knelt on his back, pulling his arms together behind him.
“Stay down,” she growled.
As I swung my backpack down, he turned his head toward me. His eyes widened as he saw the light radiating from it. He intensified his struggles, but Sarah hauled hard on his arms and his head smacked the ground.
I pulled out the orb. The light pulsated. As soon as I touched it, a pinpoint of light opened ahead of me. I glanced at the others. “We’re supposed to take the fight to them.”
“I’m in.” Tyler didn’t hesitate, his eyes trained on the burning building.
“Obviously,” Dee said, her voice quiet. Her fear wasn’t hidden from us, but neither was her control over it.
“What do we do with Jonathan?” Sarah asked.
He hadn’t taken his eyes off the orb. I looked at him.
“I guess if we go, he goes. You’ll have to fight with us, Jonathan.” I told him. “Those things—they won’t care whose side you’re on.”
“He won’t fight them,” Sarah said. She was connected to him, seeing his thoughts and gauging his intentions.
“He’ll have to. But maybe it won’t come to that.” I looked at the burning structure in front of us. “When we get there, we’ll be at the bridge in their dimension. Maybe we can get in and destroy it without a fight.”
I grabbed my cylindrical weapon from the bag, still holding the orb with the other hand.
We were ready to go through. In my mind, the army from my vision prepared to pour through the opening. Why wouldn’t they be waiting for us? Would they already realize this side of the bridge had been destroyed?
“Hey!” Jonathan called, pulling my attention back. His stupid grin was back on his face, and he met my eyes. “Sarah thinks you’re going to lose.” He grinned wider as she pressed him harder against the ground. “She thinks you’re all going to die.”
I shrugged, holding the orb closer to my body. “So?” I looked at my friends. Nobody felt disturbed with Jonathan’s pronouncement. We knew it was possible. But it didn’t change anything. With a final nod, I widened the opening and pulled everyone inside.
Chapter Seventeen
We entered their dimension.
Two things were instantly clear.
The first: we were in the right place. A large, narrow, silver building loomed up less than a quarter of a mile in front of us. It stood where the burning building in our dimension was located.
The second: their army was assembled and waiting, gathered in the distance behind us. For a moment, we weren’t sure if they’d seen us. Then a cry of fury rose into the air, and the black mass launched toward us.
Sarah let go of Jonathan and stepped back.
“Go,” I called to her. “Find the bridge and disable it. It’ll be dark in there…” I trailed off, looking down at her hip. Elliot’s weapon glowed in her pocket.
“You’ll need that.” I nodded at it.
She looked down, following my gaze, then yanked it out. “Elliot’s full of surprises.”
The weapons connected to the orb.
“Tyler and I will try to slow them down. Go,” I told her again. Her frustration lashed back at me—she wanted to fight. “There’ll be resistance inside.”
It was the prod she needed. “Dee!” she yelled and bolted toward the building. Dee sprinted after her.
Tyler and I faced the mob, backing slowly as they descended, but Jonathan ran to meet them.
“Jonathan, no!”
Jonathan stepped forward, his arms wide in welcome.
Three creatures pounced on him, tearing at his face and neck and arms. He cried out in surprise, then in pain, but they were quick. In moments, nothing was left of him.
Tyler’s grief fused with my own, and then Sarah’s and Dee’s as they joined our anguish and knew the reason for it. But nobody had time to mourn him.
The creatures were almost upon us. The same kind had almost killed me. They stood twice as large as the others; they must be the soldiers. I held out the orb. It glowed but nothing changed. Not inside me, not in the air around me, not in the creatures. I dropped it, watching it roll a few feet from Tyler. Whatever its purpose, it was no use to me now. My body tense, I sucked in a breath, held it, and raised the weapon.
Tyler had already leveled his weapon toward the horde bearing down on us. I’d thought the weapons might be keys to fighting the creatures successfully. I hoped I was right.
They flew at me. At us.
The first creature landed directly in front of me and swiped at my face. I stepped back quickly. Its claws swept the air between us. As I swung the otherworldly weapon, it was as if I were no longer made of flesh. I was steel. Not just steel—electrified steel. The weapon’s current coursed through my body. Almost without effort, I connected solidly with the creature’s jaw. Its body crumpled and ignited with the contact. The pungent odor of burnt flesh filled the air. This was nothing at all like we’d trained for, nothing like I’d experienced in my last foray into this world. I was empowered in a way that was scarcely human.
No time to figure out what was happening, only act and react as fast as possible. A second and third creature touched down as the first one fell. They were easy enough to dispatch, but others rapidly descended upon us, surrounding us in the air and on the ground. They sought to isolate us, the easier to tear us apart. Literally.
But we were in synch. I narrowed the gap between us, and Tyler shifted nearer to me as more creatures arrived. We faced their onslaught together.
Suddenly, a strangled grunt alerted me, and I glanced at him. His face had gone pale, and blood spread down the leg of his jeans. One of the creatures got through his defense. I moved beside him, offering my body for support. He reached up, perhaps to slip an arm over my shoulders, to use me as a crutch. He swayed, then crumpled to the ground.
They closed in on us, their attacks undivided. I clenched my teeth and focused on the strength in my arm. And on the hand holding the weapon--its power wouldn’t help if I dropped it.
“We have to take shelter.” I’d fight them
off, but I was only one person. The sheer numbers were overwhelming us.
Tyler moaned in response.
My forearms ached, my grip on the weapon weakened. I missed one creature, and its nails raked along my arm. I ignored the sharp pain and welling blood, willing myself to not feel, to keep moving, keep fighting. If I stopped now, Tyler would die. Not an option.
Another one drew blood. I backed up through the dark, striking out at the creatures around us. Tyler pushed himself almost crab-like alongside my feet. A few more steps. The smooth wall of the building stopped us, and within a couple of sidesteps, I felt the doorframe’s edge against my back. I kicked the door open with my heel. I grabbed Tyler’s collar and pulled him through with me, then slammed the door shut.
The weapon flared hot in my hand, and though I nearly dropped it in surprise, I reached out with it. Where it touched, the metal door melted. I traced the frame quickly, including hinged areas, sealing the door shut. It groaned as the creatures surged against it from outside, but the weld held firm despite the building’s decay.
I knelt beside Tyler. His face was white, shiny with sweat. “Where?”
His glance flicked to his hands, clutched tight against his shredded upper leg. I moved them aside carefully to assess the damage. Blood oozed steadily from the open vein, soaking his jeans, pooling on the floor. I laid my hands on his leg; his skin was cool and slippery.
A ragged gasp burst from him at the pressure. His eyelids fluttered as though he were about to pass out.
The others were somewhere in the facility, fighting their own battles. I looked away from the wound and focused on Tyler, on his faltering energy, on his eyes. “Stay with me, Tyler,” I murmured.
He gave a single nod. Through the panic and pain shone an underpinning of calm. He trusted me.
I focused on our energies, and the din of creatures clamoring to break in disappeared. All that existed was the two of us. The light of our energies blended, becoming one constant light, our heartbeats steady and synchronous. The connection deepened, and his energy brightened, cleared. His vein closed, sealed like the metal door beside us.
His hand touched mine. The world came sharply back into focus. I carefully removed my hand from his leg, then wiped away as much blood as possible, smearing it thin. I exhaled slowly. We’d done it—the wound was closed.
A mental image of me leaned over and softly pressed my lips against his.
“Was that you or me?” Tyler asked.
I reddened slightly at the shared apparition. I didn’t know. “Does it matter?”
“Not right now,” he said with finality, sitting. I moved out of the way as he slowly stretched his leg. “Nice work, by the way.”
“We’re getting stronger.” I rose to my feet and extended my hand. He took it and allowed me to pull him up.
“Clearly.” He held his glowing weapon out toward the sealed door, still flexing inward with the weight of the creatures. It was the only entrance, and there were no windows.
The building was designed to keep the destructive environment out, but I had to assume there would be openings somewhere in the crumbling structure. Nothing in this world stayed intact for long. They would make it through this door or find another way in. Either way, we had to move.
“Let’s go save the world.” He held out his hand to me.
I took it and we hurried down the hall, deeper into the building, though he walked with a slight limp. I felt his mind reach out, looking for the other two. I joined him and, soon enough, we found their energies. They were excited and focused, no longer fighting. They must have found the bridge.
Their energies intensified as we followed them up the winding staircase, past the scorched bodies of creatures, to the upper room closest to the roof. We burst in to find them well on their way to dismantling the machine—pulling out wires and what seemed to be fuses.
“We need to go,” Tyler insisted. “Now.”
I listened. The cries of the creatures came from inside the building, and they were heading toward us.
“This thing needs to be irreparable, first.” Sarah barely glanced up at us.
“I’ll lead them away then,” I said. It was a no-brainer. Someone had to and, since I wasn’t doing anything at the moment, it might as well be me.
“I’m coming with you,” Tyler said.
I shook my head. The memory of his gashed leg and, blood pooling on the ground was too recent, too fresh. I wouldn’t risk watching him die again. “You stay here. Help them destroy this place. Use your weapons. I’ll come back for you.”
“Don’t die,” Dee said. “You’re the only one who can get us home.”
“Promise,” I said as I headed out.
Tyler followed me.
Maybe a leader command would work on him. “Stay with them.” I kept walking briskly. I had to head the creatures off before they discovered what was happening and who was making it happen. I had to lead them away.
“No way I’m leaving you alone.” He limped right on my heels.
I resisted the urge to remind him about our latest run-in with these things. He’d made up his mind.
As we turned the corner toward the stairs, Tyler’s fingers dug into my arm.
Creatures poured in from the stairway. The first one shrieked an alarm as it spotted us. We turned and ran full speed to the end of the hallway. We had a good head start, but we would run out of corridor, and they knew it. As we neared the end of its length, the hall’s darkness paled to gray from an opening in the ceiling. We pushed harder. I reached the spot first, and Tyler, right behind me, grabbed me around the waist and thrust me upward toward the hole. I caught the ledge and pulled myself through, then leaned back down for him. He jumped and clasped my hands, and I hoisted him up.
The creatures were right behind him.
We ran to the edge of the roof. Below us, more creatures gathered—hundreds of them. The cargo pocket of Tyler’s vest glowed, pulsating bright white. We both looked at it, then he pulled the orb from his pocket.
“You left this down there.” He handed it to me. “I grabbed it before you dragged me in. Thought you might need it.”
“Uh-huh.” It was definitely doing something now. Some of the creatures on the ground looked up and launched into the air. Behind us, the hole in the decayed roof broke away. Creatures were coming onto the roof now, some flying up, some using their powerful arms to pull themselves through the hole. We were surrounded. I clutched the orb in one hand and my metallic weapon in the other. This was it.
The orb pulsated faster, more intensely. The creatures closed in. I lifted the orb over my head to throw it at them, but a wave of heat shot through my body.
Tyler gasped. He felt it, too.
The screeching and movement stopped instantly. All eyes—black, expressionless eyes—fixed on us and the orb. Nothing moved. Then with a shriek, they launched, flying as one at us. Tyler’s hands shot up to defend himself.
The mass of bodies slammed against an invisible wall surrounding us. Clambering to their feet, they clawed and snapped at us, but we were untouchable.
“Hope that thing doesn’t run out of batteries.” Tyler’s voice sounded shaky.
Thousands of creatures hovered above us, pressing in. Waves of gray crashed against our cover. The world around us became a surging sea of blackness. I leaned against Tyler’s back. We drew them in like a magnet. I wondered if we would be suffocated by the mass of bodies, enthralled by the pull of the orb and intent on breaking through.
Then, one slipped and sunk its teeth into the creature beside it. Blood gushed, and others around it, attracted by the smell, began eating the injured one. Another nick, and it was a frenzy. The orb had us trapped, surrounded by these things, and they were eating each other. What would happen when our light gave out?
“What are we supposed to do?” Tyler whispered.
“No idea.”
“We can’t stay here forever, can we?”
As if in answer, the orb be
gan to pulsate, sending out quick beats of light. The rhythm, steady at first, increased, becoming faster as the orb grew brighter. I clutched it tightly as a burst of light and energy shot out from its center. It fell from my hand and shattered.
The creatures froze, then their bodies went slack. They dropped.
Tyler threw himself on top of me, shielding me from the tumbling bodies. The breath rushed out of my lungs as they fell on and around us.
The world became silent. All that was left was the pressure on top of me. Then Tyler began pushing his way through the lifeless creatures, pulling me free with him. I gulped air, but my breath caught. I looked around, wide-eyed, at the death surrounding us.
Creatures sprawled lifeless, grotesque, covering the surface of the buildings and their world. In the distance below, a single figure walked toward us through the carnage. Tyler hadn’t seen him yet. Instead, he was looking down at the bodies beneath our feet, and, if I had to guess, thinking about the nearly translucent, shattered pieces of the orb beneath them.
“It was a bomb.” He raised his equally wide eyes, to mine. “It shielded us while it drew them in. And then ...”
I followed his gaze, momentarily distracted from the approaching man. Should I feel grief for the fallen creatures? After all, they were living things. I thought of their nails raking my skin, of Tyler’s blood pouring from his body, of the image of them pouring into my world.
And Jonathan—no one should die like that, no one should die unmourned, but his betrayal took the sting from my sadness. Maybe the rest of us would talk about it later. Maybe we wouldn't.
As we watched, the creatures’ bodies crumbled—disintegrated—leaving only fine dirt beneath and around us.
I shifted my gaze and pointed to the approaching figure. “It’s Elliot.” I recognized him as he came nearer the building. I walked to the ledge of the roof and carefully jumped. Tyler landed softly beside me. A distance like this was easy for us now.
“You were dead!” Tyler called out as we walked toward Elliot. It sounded like an accusation.
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