by R. D. Brady
Danny had seen Noriko looking at Gerard, then looking away when he turned toward her. He knew there was some sort of connection between them. Noriko had had some sort of vision involving Gerard that convinced her he could be trusted. “I don’t know what to say to that.”
Rolly sighed. “Yeah, me, either. Anyway, she’s a big girl, I guess.”
Danny hoped Rolly was right. Ahead, Zach and company reached the path that led to the apex. Rolly tugged on Danny’s sleeve. “Come on. Let’s catch up.”
Danny jogged next to him, spying his all-black chow-shepherd mix Moxy dart out from the trees, her tongue hanging out her mouth. She ran over to Danny, who ran a hand through her fur before she darted away again. He grinned. She really loved being out here.
It was a pretty steep five-minute climb to the top, but as always, when Danny reached it, he knew it was well worth it.
The ground stretched out, undeveloped for acres in each direction. The walls of the preserve had been colored so they blended seamlessly into the background. Here and there, cats dotted the landscape, appearing and disappearing from view as they made their way through the trees. It truly was like they were completely out of contact with civilization.
Lou stepped next to him. “I love it up here.”
“Me, too,” Danny said.
Dov let out a laugh as Tiger nuzzled his cheek. Zach grabbed him, tossed him in the air, then caught him. Dov grabbed Zach tight, a giant grin on his face.
“What is that?” Rolly asked from behind him. Danny turned around, following Rolly’s gaze. A small object flew over the fence.
Danny peered at it, dread coiling in his stomach. “That looks like a—”
The object landed and exploded. Danny stumbled back. Three more grenades flew over different spots on the wall, each one creating a crater and setting the trees nearby on fire.
Gunfire sounded from the front gate behind them, causing Danny to whirl around. More objects dropped over the main gate entrance and exploded.
“What’s going on?” Sascha asked, her eyes wide.
Danny stared at the fire that was quickly spreading from tree to tree, growing in strength and size along with his horror. “We’re under attack.”
Chapter 25
Galeton, Pennsylvania
Laney had dozed off during the chopper ride from Baltimore back to the cabin. The vibration of the chopper, the safety she felt knowing Yoni was at the stick, made for a perfect combination. She blinked at the bright sunlight as her eyes opened.
Yoni grinned over at her. “I thought you were going to sleep the whole way.”
“Hey. Sorry. I didn’t realize I was so tired.” She rubbed her eyes.
“No problem. I even dozed off a little myself.”
“Oh, that’s—what?”
He winked. “Just kidding. But it was close.”
Smiling, she shook her head. “How much longer?”
“Maybe five. I should probably give them a heads-up so they don’t shoot us out of the air.” He grabbed the mic, adjusting the channel. “Attention, Ground, this is Yoni. I’m bringing in Little Bo Peep.”
“Little Bo Peep?”
“You know, because for a while you’d lost all your sheep.”
“I didn’t lose them. I was staying away intentionally.”
He shrugged. “Tomayto, tomahto.”
They waited, but the radio was silent. Yoni clicked the mic again. “Ground, this is Yoni. You guys asleep down there?”
Laney frowned, peering out the window. She saw a flash in the distance. Then another one. Her heart began to pound. The chopper was too loud to hear anything, but she knew a gunfight when she saw one. “Yoni, the cabin’s under attack.”
Yoni cursed, starting to turn the chopper. “We’re out of here, Laney.”
“What? What are you doing? We have to help.”
“I am under strict orders to keep you alive.”
“My uncle is down there, Yoni.”
Yoni’s eyes were full of pain. “I know, Laney.”
“And—and there’s a girl. She’s not even two. Her name’s Nyssa.”
“Laney, I can’t. I promised Henry, Jake, even Drake.”
Laney narrowed her eyes. “Turn the chopper back, Yoni, or I will jump.”
“Jump? Are you crazy, you’d probably”—he closed his eyes for a moment, shaking his head—“float down like a little angel.” He turned the chopper back toward the cabin. “Friggin’ superheroes.”
“I don’t suppose you brought any toys?”
“That hurts, Laney, it really does.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “Black duffel.”
Laney undid her seatbelt and climbed into the back. She hauled the duffel from the floor onto one of the seats. Unzipping it, she smiled. “Yoni, I love you.”
“That’s what all the girls say. We’re coming up fast.”
Laney grabbed a shotgun, looping it over her shoulder and pocketing the shells. She also grabbed a Glock, making sure the safety was on. She leaned forward. “Fly over the cabin as low as you can.”
“I thought I was doing this so you wouldn’t jump?”
“Well, it’s the fastest way down.”
He groaned. “If I had any hair, I’d be pulling it out right now.”
“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing you don’t.” She moved to the edge of her seat, her hand on the door.
Yoni glanced back at her. “I’ll set down and find you. Be careful.”
“You, too.”
She opened the door and stepped out onto the skids underneath the chopper. It never mattered how many times she did this, her stomach always flipped like it was the first time. Holding on to the door with one hand, she took one last look at the trees below and stepped off into nothing.
Chapter 26
Baltimore, Maryland
The fire spread quickly through the preserve. It had been so dry that most of the trees were practically kindling. No one’s phones were working. Danny was pretty sure someone outside the fence had a jammer. They wanted to make sure no one could call for help.
Lou had taken charge, hustling everyone to a spot out of the wind, but the smoke was beginning to reach them.
The cats encircled them, almost like a protective shield, but Danny knew there was little they would be able to do against the fire.
“What do we do?” Zach asked, Dov clutched in his arms.
“Can you guys get over the fence?” Danny asked.
Lou looked over at the fence. It was thirty feet high. “Maybe, but we wouldn’t be able to take anyone with us.”
“And we are not leaving anyone behind,” Rolly said.
“What about the creek? Should we head there?” Sascha asked, her eyes red from the smoke or maybe unshed tears.
Danny shook his head. “The water’s not deep enough. The fire will evaporate it quickly.”
“We need an exit big enough for all of us but that’s also not in flames,” Zach said.
“And we need to remember, someone set this. And that was gunfire at the main gate. Whoever did it is probably still outside,” Lou said.
“We need to create an exit,” Rolly said.
Everyone turned to look at Danny. He didn’t meet their gazes, turning instead to study the walls of the preserve. They’d added the opaque walls when Laney had become the target of the media. But they had also made them incredibly strong, strong enough to withstand a Fallen attack. They were made of reinforced concrete poured over rebar thirty feet high and sunk another ten feet into the ground. They were not going to be able to punch through it, and they certainly didn’t have any equipment in the preserve that would help them dig under it.
“What weapons do the guards have?” Sascha asked
“Just sidearms,” Danny said.
Lou looked toward the house. “And tranq guns.”
“Does that help us get out?” Sascha asked.
“No, but it might help up once we get out,” Rolly said.
D
anny’s mind had been scrambling, trying to figure out any way they could get over the walls, under the walls, through the walls. But without equipment, it was impossible. “The only option is the front gate. We can’t blow or power our way through these walls. Once we get there, we can open the main gate.”
“That’s where the gunfire was,” Rolly pointed out.
Danny watched a tall oak erupt in flames by the base of the hill. Some limbs crashed to the ground, setting the bushes below them on fire. “I know. But there’s no other way. This fire’s moving too fast.”
Rolly and Lou exchanged a look. “We’ll go over the wall and meet you there. Hopefully we can take out anyone who’s still there.”
Sascha gripped Lou’s hand. “That’s too dangerous.”
Lou patted her hand. “Everything is too dangerous, but this is our best hope.”
As a group, they made their way to the front gate. No one spoke. The smoke was too thick for that. By unspoken agreement, one enhanced individual stayed with each unenhanced individual. Rolly took Sascha’s hand and helped her. Zach carried Dov, and Lou stayed with Danny. Moxy stayed glued to his side as well. The cats spread out around them. A few had singed fur, but so far, according to Danny’s head count, they still had all of them. They stopped at the creek to soak their shirts, pulling them over their mouths. But even with that small aid, the smoke was making it tough to see and breathe. They crouched as low as they could while still moving forward, but it did little to help.
Finally they reached the road leading to the main gate. The road itself was clear of fire, although the smoke was extremely heavy. Lou and Rolly went over the wall without a word as soon as they got everyone on the road. Zach led everyone forward, Dov still carefully clutched in his arms.
Gunfire ripped through the air. Everyone stopped, gazes darting to the wall. Zach and Danny exchanged a look, but neither spoke. Sascha squeezed Danny’s arm with a trembling hand. He gave her a nod, trying to look like he wasn’t concerned while he silently prayed that Lou and Rolly were all right.
The gate came into view. It didn’t look damaged. Danny stumbled to the small box on the left of the gate—the gate release controls. He flipped open the cover and punched the release button. Nothing happened. He hit it again. Nothing.
He stepped back, studying the gate. This part of the gate was only chain-link, held in place by a few metal binders. Then there was a twenty-foot space and the concrete wall. They needed to get past this gate. Hopefully Lou and Rolly would then be able to open the heavier gate from the other side.
Danny coughed, struggling to speak through the smoke. He waved Zach toward the gate. “Zach, can you—”
Zach didn’t even need him to finish. He ripped through the bindings holding the chain-link in place, then yanked the fencing back. He held it there as everyone, human and animal, scurried through. They all hunched low to the ground.
Danny stared back into the preserve. The road was keeping the fire at bay from where they were, but it raged on either side. And none of them was going to last much longer in the smoke.
Come on, guys, Danny prayed.
All of them were lying flat on the ground, trying to keep out of the smoke as much as possible. Dov was crying. Tears tracked through the soot on his face. Sascha was trying to comfort him, but she was shaking so hard, he wasn’t sure it would ever be possible. He met Zach’s gaze. Danny nodded to Dov. “If it comes to it, can you jump with Dov?”
Zach looked back at him, his jaw tight, and gave an abrupt nod.
Danny didn’t say anything else. After all, what was there to say?
“Guys?” Lou yelled through the gate.
Danny opened his mouth, but the wind blew smoke right at him. A coughing fit seized him. “We’re here,” Danny choked out.
“The gate controls are broken. We can’t open the gate.”
Chapter 27
Galeton, Pennsylvania
Drake’s eyelids felt heavy. He struggled to open them, knowing there was something he needed to be doing. His hand drifted up his side, coming in contact with a small metal object.
What is this?
He pulled it out, and his thoughts cleared. He bolted up, his eyes flying open. Cleo lay only a few feet away, two darts in her. He yanked them out. “Wake up, Cleo!”
Gunfire sounded to his right—from the cabin. In a blur, Drake was racing through the woods. He saw Nyssa scramble away as Cain fell to his side, blood soaking his shirt and pants. A gunman leaned from around a tree.
Drake vaulted across a ten-foot space, knocking the man’s weapon up just as he pulled the trigger. Grabbing the man by the throat, he slammed him into a tree. With a roar, Cleo’s jaw locked onto the arm of his friend ten feet away. Drake sprinted to her, and with a quick snap, broke the man’s neck. He went still, glancing around but sensed no other dangers. The only sound was Nyssa’s cries.
“Cleo?”
The fur on her back lay flat. But then her head snapped up, and she bolted away.
“I think it’s okay, Patrick. We’re—” He turned around and went still. Patrick lay on the ground, Nyssa trapped underneath him. Blood spread beneath him from a gunshot wound in his back.
The air was quiet as Laney used the wind to lower herself down. Then a gunshot shattered the air. Laney’s control fumbled. She smacked into a branch, scratching her arm before reestablishing control. She landed next to the house, trying to sense where the danger was. Nyssa’s cries cut through the air, followed by Cleo’s call.
Laney. Uncle hurt. Cleo rounded the house. She stopped for only a moment to make sure Laney saw her before bolting back the way she’d come. Laney sprinted after her, Nyssa’s screams growing louder.
Cleo ran past the entrance of the house and into the woods, traveling only a few dozen feet. Laney crashed to a stop as she took in the scene in front of her. Cain looked incredibly pale, lying on the ground on his side, trying to comfort a screaming Nyssa. Blood stained his arm and leg. Nyssa clung to him, her eyes wide, tears staining her red cheeks. Drake knelt over her uncle, a large pool of blood surrounding him.
Laney stepped forward on trembling legs. “Drake?”
His head whipped up, pain slashed across it. “It’s bad, Laney.”
Laney knelt down, everything seeming to slow down as she watched her uncle’s blood seep into the ground. She placed her hands over Drake’s, where they were pressing down on the wound on her uncle’s back.
“Yoni’s landing the chopper,” she said. “Get the stretcher from it.”
With a nod, Drake blurred away.
“I’m here, Uncle Patrick. I’m right here.” The catch at the back of her throat made it difficult to get the words out. She looked across her uncle to Cain. “Is she all right?”
“She wasn’t hurt. Thanks to your uncle.”
“And to you as well, I’m sure. Are you all right?”
His eyes were full of pain as he looked at the ever-expanding pool of blood around Patrick. Guilt laced his words. “I’ll live.”
Laney nodded, turning back to her uncle. The pool of his blood now soaked her jeans from the knees down.
And you better live, too.
Chapter 28
Baltimore, Maryland
We can’t open the gate.
Lou’s words were a death knell. The fire had run roughshod through the preserve. There was no safe place inside these walls. But it wasn’t the fire that was going to kill them. It was the smoke.
A hand touched Danny’s shoulder. Lou knelt down next to him. She’d jumped back over the wall. Rolly was leaning down near Sascha and Dov. He pushed her away. “Go. You can get out. Go.”
Lou wiped at tears in her eyes. “I am not leaving you.”
“Get Dov, Princess, and Moxy out. You can carry them,” Danny puffed out, his head pounding.
Zach bolted to his feet and ran to the gate.
Rolly stared after him. “What is he—”
Zach crouched down, slipping his hands under the gat
e. With a roar, he straightened. The gate lifted three inches.
Lou and Rolly sprinted for him, each of them grabbing the gate and pulling it up. They managed to get it to the top of their thighs.
Voice tight with strain, arms trembling, Lou yelled. “Go, go!”
Danny reached over and yanked Dov from Sascha’s arms while pulling her to her feet. “Come on, Sascha.”
Sascha needed little prodding. She ran for the gate, rolling underneath it and reaching back for Dov. Danny handed him through and clambered through on his own. He ran twenty feet away, but he could still feel the heat. The cats all streamed through behind them, Moxy and Princess in the middle of the pack. As soon as the cats made it through, they scattered, but Danny didn’t have time to worry about that. He kept count as each one crawled under. Twenty-four, twenty-five. “Guys, that’s everybody. Get out!”
The gate slammed down. Danny took a step back. His foot crashed into something. He looked down at a guard, his neck at an unnatural angle. Danny reached down and pulled the man’s sidearm free. The attackers were gone, but Danny felt too exposed and jittery to stand there defenseless. A coughing fit caused him to bend at the waist.
Sascha stood with Dov a few feet away, her eyes large, her mouth open as she stared at the flames that could been seen above the high walls. Down by the entrance, three figures leapt over the wall. Danny let out a breath.
Okay, that’s everyone.
Lou, Rolly, and Zach blurred over to them. Lou and Rolly stopped in front of Danny. He grinned. “Good to see you guys.”
“Good to see—” Lou’s gaze whipped past Danny, and she shoved him to the ground. Danny hit the ground, Lou covering him, while Rolly landed next to him with a yell.
Sascha let out a scream as a dozen bullets rang through the air. Lou blurred away in the direction the bullets had come from.
