Rise Of The Six (The Preston Six Book 1)

by Matt Ryan

  “She’s blocking you, isn’t she?” Julie said with a triumphant smile.

  “Doesn’t matter.” Simon took a deep breath and pressed on the screen of his Panavice.

  It hummed and the air around Simon shimmered. He pulled out a second gun and pointed at the door, hiding behind the two wheelchairs and their occupants.

  “Whoever is on the other side of these doors will die.”

  “I can save you the wonder. That person blocking you out of your Panavice is Almadon and if she is down there, I can all but guarantee she brought her friends with her,” Julie said.

  “Shut up,” Simon said and slapped the side of her head.

  “Don’t touch her!” Joey jumped up in his chair, staring at Julie. He shook up and down, trying to get free and the Arrack moved his knife further away to keep from mangling him but he didn’t care. The rage built as he saw tears in Julie’s eyes and her cheek redden.

  The elevator stopped and the door dinged. He stopped his frantic hopping and stared at the line between the two doors, waiting for them to part. That was when Joey felt the tip of Simon’s gun pressing against the back of his head.

  THE DOORS PARTED.

  On the ground in front of the elevator sat a pile of Arracks mixed in with MM guards in black uniforms. Black and red blood smeared the floor and scents of gunfire filled the air. Beyond that were rows and rows of parked cars in the massive underground parking garage.

  “Yoo-hoo. . . .” Simon called out. “I have your two pretties in here with guns pointed at the back of their heads. I suggest you put your guns on the floor and kick them toward the elevator or I will kill them.”

  The gun pressed against his head as if to prove the point, he had them. Joey stared into the blank parking garage, looking for signs of life from his friends. They were out there. They could be just on the other side of the wall, waiting for the moment to strike.

  “I will give you three seconds before I shoot Julie, and don’t think I won’t. She isn’t a critical person to him.”

  Joey looked at Julie.

  She shook with fear and more tears fell down her face. “No, don’t do this,” she pleaded.

  “One.”

  Julie jerked at the number and slammed her eyes shut. Joey needed to do something. He had to take control of the situation and slow things down. He didn’t care if it took him a year to figure it out, there was no way he could watch his friend get shot and do nothing about it.

  The Arrack kept his blade away from his neck and it gave him an idea.

  “Two.”

  Julie whimpered and shook her head back and forth, saying no repeatedly.

  This was it, the last second he would have any chance of stopping what was about to happen. He had no doubt Simon was about to do the unthinkable. Simon’s finger tapped the trigger of the gun and Joey felt the familiar chill rush down his neck. The sounds of the room dulled and stillness crept into the air. The Arrack’s blade stayed a few inches away from his neck, just far enough for his idea to work. He crunched down and bit the blade, being careful to only use his teeth. With a tug, he pulled the knife free of its hand.

  Half way there. Don’t drop it.

  He crunched down to his awaiting hand and grasped the hilt of the dagger. Flipping the dagger around, he sliced through the fabric and breathed a sigh of relief at his freed hand. A few more seconds and he had the rest of his body free.

  Julie’s face froze with her eyes slammed shut and a tear hanging off the edge of her cheek. He shifted her head away from Simon’s gun and cut the straps from her chair. He wasted a second looking at Simon and thinking of taking the dagger he had in his hand and stabbing it through him, but he didn’t know how long the slow-mo would last, or if it would make it past his shield.

  Stuffing the dagger in his back pocket, he picked up Julie in a fireman’s carry and stepped out into the ramp. Just past the elevator, he saw them all waiting. The sight shocked him even though he expected to see them. He stumbled back, almost dropping Julie.

  On each side of the door stood Harris, Almadon, Nathen and Hank on one side, and Compry, Poly, and Lucas on the other. Black blood covered Compry’s hands, one holding a gun, and in the other, a short sword.

  He placed Julie behind Poly and next to the elevator wall. The white exit sign pointed to a ramp leading into the daylight. Somehow, he needed to get all of them out of the garage. He’d moved them all in the museum . . . he could do this.

  The sounds around him crashed into him and he fell to his knees.

  “Three.” A gunshot blasted from inside of the elevator.

  Joey might have had a chance to imagine the shocked look on Simon’s face but his stomach sent him into a deep nausea. He hunched to the ground and heaved. The garage spun and all his senses felt numb. The screams and gunshot barely registered to his weak ears.

  “Joey,” Poly said, shaking him. The sounds cleared and he felt her pulling him to his feet.

  “You won’t get out of here alive,” Simon laughed from inside the elevator.

  Harris spoke up. “We have the kids. We have you surrounded. You lost Simon. Just take a ride back up with the elevator and we’ll be on our way.”

  Simon laughed and an Arrack came skidding out of the elevator as if it had been thrown. The thing scurried on its feet and lunged for Harris. “I’ve spent too long searching for them to let them slip from my fingers once more. I will not yield an inch.”

  Compry shot the Arrack dead, while Harris kept his focus on the elevator door. Gritting his teeth, he stuffed his gun into his holster. They had to get past the open elevator door to get to the ramp on Joey’s side.

  “He got a message through,” Almadon reported, staring at her Panavice.

  Joey staggered to the wall next to Poly. She held his hand but kept glancing back at the elevator.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  Joey nodded and did quick self-assessment. He felt better with each passing second.

  Harris pulled a small canister out of his jacket and showed Compry, She nodded and pushed her back against the wall. Harris kneeled down and bowled the canister into the elevator. Joey braced for the explosion.

  An Arrack jumped out but only made it to the door when the canister exploded. The shockwave blasted the Arrack back, sending it sliding along the concrete floor, into the parking garage. Its body stopped at the foot of the ramp.

  Joey’s ears rang and smoke poured from the elevator. The first few breaths didn’t come easy after the impact of the explosion. Harris didn’t waste any time and rushed everyone across. Joey kept waiting for Simon to take a shot at the runners but nothing came out of the elevator but more smoke.

  Could the blast have killed him? The thought sent chills down his spine and he hoped the man was dead on the smoke. He wanted it over. He wanted his friends to be free from the run and the pain and the near death. He wanted to step into the elevator and see the man’s mutilated body.

  Harris placed a hand on his chest.

  “Can you run?” he said with a voice full of urgency that snapped Joey out of his fantasy.

  “Yes.”

  Harris grabbed Compry’s gun and thrust it into his hand. “Good.” He glanced back at the elevator.

  Nathen took lead and darted toward the ramp. Joey kept next to Poly and found his legs worked better than expected, even the hint of pain in his knee didn’t slow him down. Glancing back, he saw Simon lumbering out from the thinning smoke cloud. With a shaky hand, Simon pointed his gun at them, but they were at the bottom of the ramp now and a good distance away. The flash from the muzzle shined for a split second before the crack sound of the shot. Compry, at the back to the pack, screamed and clutched her side.

  Harris slid to a stop and returned fire. The shots hit Simon but bounced off his shield, sending only sparks around his face. He shifted his feet and hid behind a column.

  “Compry,” Harris called out, shaking his head.

  “Run, you fool.” Compry pushed Harris towa
rd the ramp. Near her stomach, her shirt reddened with blood

  “We’ve got a van incoming.” Nathen yelled from the top of the ramp. “I got it.”

  “Faster, they’ll try to pin us in here,” Harris said.

  Joey glanced back at Simon. He was making good ground, even though he staggered along. The shield must not have protected him completely. It was hard to tell, but he appeared to have blood dripping down his face.

  The sound of the squealing van tires made its way down the ramp. Nathen stood with an arrow cocked, and then let it fly.

  “Get to the side!” Nathen motioned everyone to hug the far wall.

  They ran up the ramp, angling toward the wall just as the van screeched sideways and flipped on its side, skidding into the underground parking garage and halfway down the ramp. Moving forward, the group made their way into the light of day at the top of the ramp, as stayed back and Harris shot the driver through the windshield. He kept firing as he walked backward toward the group.

  Joey raised his own gun at the vehicle and waited for something to appear. With the van lying on its side, one tire still spinning, the back door flung open, unleashing a small army of Arracks. Harris fired into the melee and ran sideways away from them.

  Joey’s heart raced at the sheer numbers stuffed into the Van. Too many. He raised his gun and fired into the lot. Some fell, but most made it closer and closer to them.

  “Keep them in the ramp. If they get out, we’ll lose this in a hurry,” Harris instructed.

  Joey fired to the front line but more seemed to be coming from the van as they kept moving sideways, away from the fray. Too many, they were going to lose the ramp. Joey searched the nearby city, looking for an escape path.

  “I don’t have many bullets left.” Joey kept his gun pointed at the ramp. He glanced back at Harris hunched over Compry. Almadon had a white box next to her and put something on her wound with one hand, holding her Panavice with the other. “We need to get out of here,” Joey called to Harris.

  “Just a second, if we move her, she dies.” Almadon said. Joey hadn’t noticed that Compry had collapsed on the ground with Almadon treating her wound.

  Small glimmers of silver moved around in the darkness on the ramp. He fired a random shot into the ramp, hoping to keep them from running out. A man in black walked near the Van. He whistled and the Arracks moved close to him.

  “Yoo-hoo,” Simon called. He stuck his face into the light, squinting in their direction. “Where are you guys going? We own this city. There’s nowhere to hide.” He pointed to the sky. A black aircraft hovered far above.

  There had to be a way out of there. Joey scanned the high-rise buildings flanking them in every direction. Any number of them would have to do. He took a few steps back when he heard the screeching of tires. He glanced back to witness a car veering off the main road and onto the hospital sidewalks. It bounced over two curbs and over a grassy area. Its tires screeched as it made a hard right, coming straight for them. The car’s driver, an old man, nodded to Joey as he passed. In the back seat, he had two large containers. Joey turned, following the cars path toward Simon.

  THE CAR CAREENED WILDLY TOWARD Simon. At that speed, there would be no turning back. Simon stopped laughing and shot into the oncoming car. The windshield exploded and the old man slumped on the steering wheel. The front tires wobbled but kept course. Simon jumped back into the darkness a second before the car slammed into the back of the vans. The car exploded into a large fireball, sending a black cloud up the side of the building, over the parking garage.

  “No,” Almadon cried, running toward the parking garage, holding out a hand.

  The flames engulfed the entire ramp with black smoke trailing high into the sky. The car melted in with the two vans, popping and cracking under the extreme heat. There was no way a person or Arrack could make it past the blaze. Whoever the old man was, he thanked him for his sacrifice.

  Joey didn’t move at first and something tugged hard at his arm. Glancing down, he saw Poly’s hand pulling him away. He tore his eyes from the carnage and moved with her, and everyone else, to the edge of the parking lot.

  Harris stood, shaking his head. He held out a hand and pulled Compry to her feet. She brushed the bits of asphalt off her clothes as she stared at the parking garage. Whatever Almadon did, it appeared to be working.

  “We need to get away from here. That fire won’t hold back Simon for long,” Harris said as a black aircraft flew by, high overhead. Joey made out the MM logo on its wing.

  Across the street, people stepped out of the stores and offices to witness the chaos at the hospital garage. They pointed at the strange group of people in the parking lot and the fire. A shift in the wind brought the rancid smell of burning rubber and they grabbed for their noses.

  “Where do we go?” Joey looked into the surrounding area of tall buildings.

  “There’s a safe house not far,” Harris said. “Hank, can you help Compry?”

  “Just give me a shoulder to lean on, honey,” Compry said.

  Hank obliged and put his arm around her back. They all ran past the parked cars in the street. People stood next to their cars with Panavices in their hands, taking pictures or videos. Joey ran by a man with an orange suit saying this was going to get him in the top ten on Glow Net tonight. Joey tried to keep his head down and his face covered as he ran. He rounded the corner behind Poly, and looked to the sky—no sign of the aircraft.

  Julie and Almadon huddled next to each other as they ran. Joey caught parts of their conversation, mostly bits and pieces about breaking down Simon’s shield. Almadon pointed to her Panavice, but as the conversation turned to technical jargon, Joey stopped trying to follow. He only hoped they were finding a way to get the bastards shield down so he could get one good shot on him.

  Fewer cars filled the next street. Harris kept the pace at a run, ignoring any protests. They shuffled into a small alleyway between two buildings, wide enough for them all, single file. Joey jogged behind Lucas through the alley, pushing Lucas through to the next street over.

  Harris made several more turns and the bright, clean buildings turned into run-down, rusty-orange buildings with broken windows. Harris stopped next to a pair of large steel doors, opened them and motioned them to enter. Joey glanced to the sky—no aircraft.

  They all went into the building and Harris pulled the doors closed behind him. The steel doors clanged as he closed the latch. The building looked like an abandoned warehouse. Joey felt the dirt under his feet and smelled oil. Yellow light filtered through the grimy windows.

  Julie poured over her Panavice, while Lucas and Poly breathed hard but stayed alert, looking around with weapons in hand. It appeared Harris brought toys for each for them.

  Hank came through the door last, dragging Compry along.

  “Let’s get her on this table.” Almadon motioned to Hank. He carried her to the steel table and laid her down gently.

  “She’s losing blood. I can do a few more things now, but it won’t be a fix.” Almadon reached into her bag and pulled out a small white kit. Harris paced near the table. Joey studied his worried face, trying to think of what to ask or what to say.

  “Was that your plan?” Nathen said with his hand on his head, pacing.

  Harris stopped walking and looked at Nathen. There was no emotion in the look, but Nathen looked away first. Compry moaned as Almadon touched her. Harris rushed to her side, his face contorted with anger and guilt.

  “We should take her to Sanct. Her dad can take her in,” Harris pleaded with Almadon.

  “That’s hours away, even by flight, but I think she can make it—if we hurry.”

  “I know of a place we can get a craft.”

  The second-story window smashed into the warehouse and Simon floated through the space, holding a gun. Joey stumbled back, grabbed his gun, and shot, but the bullets bounced off his personal shield. Simon fired a single shot and Almadon screamed, dropping her Panavice to the floor. Julie rus
hed to Almadon and grabbed her shoulders.

  “You bastard!” Julie screamed as she held Almadon’s motionless body. Joey stared at Almadon and rage filled him.

  Poly threw knives at Simon, and they too flew off his shield. Hank moved forward, but Simon flicked his wrist to send an electrical bolt at him. It hit Hank in the chest, sending him flying ten feet back. He rolled on the ground, grabbing at his chest.

  “Are we done with this?” Simon said before jumping off the rope at the last couple of feet.

  “I’m going to—” Poly said.

  “Kill me?” Simon interjected, throwing up his arms. “I know. You all want to kill me. But that’s not going to happen, even with your shepherd here.”

  “You’re not leaving this room alive,” Lucas threatened.

  “I’ll skip the banter and get to the point. I need these kids, Harris. The bounty on you is so huge it’s tempting, but I’ll let you and your friends go if you walk away now.”

  “So they can live in suspended animation for centuries, feeding your demented boss?”

  Simon laughed. “I don’t care what he does, as long as I can stop looking for them.”

  Joey saw Julie using Almadon’s Panavice, pretending to hunch over Almadon. What was she doing? He looked away, not wanting to draw any attention to her. He kept his gaze on Hank, who moved to a sitting position.

  “If you want me, then take me and let them go,” Joey said. He stepped forward, offering himself. Simon smiled and pulled out his second gun.

  “Joey, you could’ve made R7. I would’ve taken on a kid like you, to see you become great, like myself,” Simon said. “But no deal. You all have given me too much trouble. There’s a craft above us and it has room for everyone. If you refuse, I’ll see to it personally that each of your parents are dead. Your town and all the people in it, dead. If you come now, willing, I’ll spare their lives.”

  Joey heard Hank stirring behind him and fidgeted with his feet on the dusty floor. He never thought of his actions hurting his parents, or Preston. He looked to Poly for a reaction. She looked at the ground, knife lowered. Joey knew he saw the answers to his question across all their faces.