I can’t find it in me to laugh.
He squeezes my shoulder and shakes it roughly. “We’ll be okay,” he assures me. “Keeping each other alive is what we do best, right?”
“Right, but this is a bit different than the fight house.”
“Bad guys are bad guys,” he states.
The trucks stop rolling.
This is it.
I pull the synth mask down fully and follow Cooper out of the truck. We’re just fifty yards away from the fence, yet the men in the guard towers have no clue of our presence. The cloaking and illusion crew are pulling off quite a feat.
Wheeler stands beside me and exhales loudly, a plume of breath fogging the air. Crow is his buddy, but he’s busy consulting with Adam.
“Stand somewhere else, mate. The three of us together is a bad combo where the government is concerned,” Cooper jokes.
Wheeler laughs. “I think it’s kind of poetic.” He sticks his middle finger up at the detention centre. “I don’t know about you, but I feel right where I’m supposed to be. This has to happen. Those people need to know that someone is still on their side. If not us, then who?”
Crow calls Wheeler away, and Adam walks from group to group, arranging, ordering, and preparing us for the biggest fight we’ve ever undertaken.
“Wheeler’s right,” I tell Cooper. “We’re their last chance. We’re EVOs last chance. That scares me more than the thought of dying.”
“We better not screw this up, then,” he says.
Adam gestures for us to get into position. I know his gaze lingers on me despite the VIDI screen. “Stand by!” he hollers.
Cooper has one final check of his rifle and the tranq gun hanging from his belt. “You’re up, Cub.”
I step into line with Adam and two other Telekin.
“Now!”
I tear at the fencing, the guard towers, the closest buildings, whatever stands between us and the hangars, and launch everything into the air and clear of our people. The dust, the horrific, screeching noise, and the screams of the guards being tossed through the night sky almost drown out every other sense. The centre comes alive as a shrill alarm fills the air. Cooper dashes ahead of me, firing his rifle. Soldiers fire back at us, some dropping dead before my eyes, others jumping into vehicles.
“They’ve got mobile sprayers,” a man shouts, darting over a mound of rubble.
The rolling contraptions spray tags at any heat source. Adam’s body moves fluidly in my peripheral, and he launches one of the sprayers through the night sky. Another machine moves into its place. Adam drops to his knee as three tags imbed in his torso. He doesn’t let it stop him, though. Within a split second, he is up on his feet and firing. Yana races after him, sending barrels of water soaring through the air and taking out at least fifteen soldiers in the process.
A tag whistles by my cheek, the rush of air shocking me into motion. I copy Adam, launching the sprayer machine clear of the centre, and ensuring it crumples on impact.
More soldiers swarm out of the hangar, and I drop to my knees, dragging Cooper with me behind the mound of rubble.
Crow and Wheeler drop down behind us, sweating and out of breath.
“They’re moving another sprayer forward,” Crow shouts over the deafening noise. “We’ve already lost three quarters of our ability use.” He taps the tag in his calf. “We need to take our teams closer to hangar two. Adam’s securing hangar one. Cub and Cooper, remain here and provide cover fire. Also, get rid of that bloody sprayer.”
“On it,” I call back.
“Once we’re in, you aid the detainees in getting to the transport,” he adds.
Cooper nods and starts firing at the figures squatting in the distance. Crow gestures to the others in the team, and he and Wheeler lead them in a sprint across the open area between us and the hangar.
Cooper fires, they run, and I concentrate my efforts on the sprayer. It whips through the sky and crashes in a heap where the figures are returning fire.
“Nice one,” Cooper says, snorting in laughter.
I take position beside him, covering the team as they beeline for the hangar. I hope Adam is having some luck on the other side. We have less than eleven minutes, it must be about seven by now.
Crow ducks down behind the mangled sprayer. The team can’t move closer whilst still under fire at close range.
Cooper points toward the upturned vehicle to our left. “Cover me. I’ll have a better shot at that annoying asshole from over there.”
The head of the only remaining shooter outside the hangar pops up from behind some sand bags. I take a shot, missing him by inches. “Okay, on three.”
I don’t even get to three. Cooper is up and running for the vehicle. I fire at the shooter, drawing his attention to me. Cooper gestures for me to hold fire, and as soon as the shooter risks a glance over the sand bags at me, Cooper puts him down.
Crow and the others spring into action, prizing open the large hangar doors. More gunfire sounds from inside, and then there are people: skinny, raggedy, half-dead people. They run away from the hangar in all directions.
“Over here!” I shout, waving my arms to draw their attention.
Cooper follows my lead. “Hey, this way!” He strikes a flare from his belt and waves the blazing stick in the air.
TORO appear beside me to help get the detainees out. The dirty, crying souls grip our clothing like we’re life jackets keeping them afloat.
“Follow the others,” I instruct them through my synth mask. “We’ll get you away from here. Hurry, keep moving.”
Crow forces some restrained soldiers out of the hangar and onto their stomachs.
“Those are your guys,” Cooper says, dragging me toward the hangar. “Do your ‘I am Theyda Leason’ bit, and then we can get the hell out of here.”
Wheeler slams the butt of his gun into the rowdiest of the bunch, but Crow grabs his arm and wrestles him away.
“What the hell is Crow doing?” asks Cooper.
Crow drags Wheeler toward Cooper and I. He holds up his hands to halt us approaching, total shock and fear paralyse the expression on his face. “Run!” he yells, holding his ear piece in a little tighter. “Abort mission!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Crow screams orders as he runs, forgetting all about the soldiers in his custody. The team sprint after him. Something is seriously wrong.
“Get back!” he shouts again. “We’re compromised!”
There is a tremendous bang and my ears scream in pain. I’m launched into the air like a rag doll. The colour orange fills my vision, my ears ring and sound as if I’m under water. Have I been knocked out? I don’t remember getting here. Sitting up, all I see is rubble, smoke, fire, blood, terror. The centre has been destroyed, both hangars gone. People are moving rubble, others are just sat on the ground screaming, crying, bleeding. Everything seems off kilter and my vision is distorted.
The government have put an end to our winning streak.
Scrambling to my feet, I tear off my synth mask and stumble my way toward the screams. People need help. Coco is attempting to shift rubble, providing a bright source of light from her body. The sight of her calms me a little. Coco is alive.
“Chief, I have eyes on Cub,” Coco says into a head set. “She’s on her feet.”
I touch the tender spot on my forehead. I’m bleeding heavily.
Kid’s face fills my vision. He says something, his lips move, but I can barely hear him. “You good?” he shouts louder. I think I nod. His top is covered in blood and his face is dusty. Taking my face in his hands, he shakes me a little.
Over his shoulder, I see two men carrying a third between them. A woman, head to toe in blood, limps along behind them. Suddenly, Kid’s voice comes back into focus.
“Cub! Can you hear me?” he shouts.
“Where’s Cooper? He was right beside me.” Pushing myself out of his hold, I half walk, half fall whilst desperately scouring the rubble.
&n
bsp; “Cooper!” I scream, even though my voice is tiny over the screams and crackle of fire.
A wall creaks and groans before falling just metres ahead of me.
Kid grabs me around the waist, dragging me away from the dust cloud. “We need you to lift,” he orders, nodding to where a group of people are trying to help Coco move the debris. “Stand back,” he hollers to those around us. “Cub is going to lift. Retrieve survivors. Just grab and run. We need to get our asses out of here.”
Everyone who can help makes their way to the mass of rubble. What are we going to find underneath?
“Where are the others?” I shout, desperately scanning the devastation around us.
“They could be under there for all I know!” Kid snaps. “Now, lift that bloody rubble!”
TORO 94 rushes forward, shouting into his head piece. “Multiple casualties. I repeat, multiple casualties on the north side.”
Then, Adam’s in my head. “Teddie? Are you alright? Help who you can, and then get back to the transport.”
“I can’t find them…” I lift the mass of debris, straining to hold it all whilst bodies are pulled from underneath. Please, don’t let me see their faces.
“Find who?” Adam presses.
“Cooper!” I scream out loud. “Wheeler! Crow!”
“Leave the dead, for now,” I hear Kid ordering people. “Get the survivors back to the vehicles first.”
“Where’s Crow?” Coco asks, looking around.
“Teddie, answer me!”
“There is no sign of Wheeler, Cooper, or Crow,” I reply, only half paying attention to him. “Is Emi with you?”
“Yes, she’s fine.”
“Cub, get back here!” Kid’s shouts follow me as I skirt over the rubble. “Cub! We need to get back to the transport!”
I daren’t look toward the remnants of the hangars. There is no way that we got everyone out in time. I reckon half of the detainees were still inside. I lift debris to clear a path and spot Cooper on his knees, comforting someone trapped by the rubble. Crow’s pain-filled cries fill my heart with ice.
Cooper turns in my direction, desperation etched into his blood covered face. “He’s pinned. It’s straight through.”
Crow cranes his neck to see me. I’ve never seen Crow cry, and the tears streaking lines through his dusty cheeks sucks the air from my lungs. “Help me, Cub,” he sobs.
Suddenly, there is clarity. I have to help him. I’m the only one who can. Dropping to my knees, I try to get a better look at the metal rod that has penetrated his thigh. It goes right through with the weight of the bricks holding it in place.
“Okay, this is what is going to happen,” I say, turning to Cooper. “You need to keep an eye on that leg, and I’ll lift the wall. Guide the pole out as much as you can, and then pull Crow clear.”
“Are you okay with that?” I ask Crow, stroking his hair from his face.
He nods, scrunching his face against the pain.
“Good, because that’s what’s happening,” I say, forcing a smile. “Suck it up.”
It takes all of my concentration to lift and guide the rubble slowly off of Crow. He screams out, clawing at Cooper’s shirt as the pole slides out of this leg. Cooper pins him down, keeping a tight hand on his thigh.
“He’s clear!” Cooper shouts, pulling Crow from under the rubble and setting to use his belt to tie a tourniquet.
“Cauterise the wounds- anything to stop the bleeding,” I tell him.
“You got to do it, mate. I can’t,” Crow cries.
Cooper rips at Crow’s trousers and places glowing orange hands to the front and back of his thigh. Crow’s screams are agonising, and the smell of his burning skin catches in my throat. I think I might be sick.
I hunch over to vomit, and it is then that I see the hand. The rest of the body is hidden by the fallen wall. “Please, no,” I cry, lifting the rubble further into the air, revealing an outstretched arm and a face covered by a mass of dark, curly hair. I throw the rubble aside and brush Wheeler’s hair out of his face. His eyes are open, staring… dead. A wail erupts from my chest, and I drop to the ground beside him, curling over his lifeless corpse.
“Oh, God!” Cooper cries. “Is he…He’s not…”
I don’t reply, I just cry. He can’t stay in this horrid grave. I gently lift Wheeler clear of the rubble with telekinesis.
Adam’s aura fills my mind. He’s linking. I can’t let him find out like this. Slamming down my mind block on him is harder than I imagined it would be.
“Cub!” Crow shouts.
A searing pain bites at my leg, and then a gunshot rings out. The shock makes me drop Wheeler, and luckily for me, I did. A tag has embedded into my thigh, the little green light blinking ominously. A soldier slumps to the floor just metres away, his weapon clattering beside him. Crow has pulled himself to sitting and his own gun smokes from the round he fired into the man’s skull.
He slumps back down. “I feel funny,” he sighs, resting his head on the ground.
“He’s going to die if we don’t get him to a doctor!” Cooper shouts, slapping Crow on the face. He takes a final, agonising look at Wheeler, and then turns his head away, swallowing hard.
“You carry Crow, I’ll carry Wheeler,” I sob. “I’ve been tagged, but I think I can manage.”
Lifting Wheeler’s weight onto my shoulders, I stagger to standing. This isn’t happening again. My brain can’t fathom the magnitude of the situation.
Wheeler’s dead.
I release my mind block, and Adam’s voice screams into my head. “Baby, what’s wrong?” I know he can sense my feelings. “We’re at the gates. I’m coming to find you.”
“We’re on our way.” How do I tell him that his best friend is dead? How do I tell Emi her fiancé is gone? I cry out both physically and telepathically.
This is so wrong.
This shouldn’t be happening.
“Is someone… has someone… Teds, who? Tell me who.”
Another wail rips from my throat. This isn’t real. This can’t be real. We sprint through the desolation until the transport comes into view. The scene before me is one of sheer horror. The red is so vivid. The screaming and crying is almost ambient. I lock eyes with Adam. Cooper’s running, Crow’s screaming in agony, I’m crying, and the only person silent is Wheeler.
Adam knows.
I allow Kid and Coco to take Wheeler from me and I kiss his bloodied face. Medics rush over. They take one look at lifeless Wheeler and give their sole attention to Crow, sticking him with needles and tubes.
Adam staggers forward, almost losing his footing. “What about him? Help him!”
“He’s gone, Baby. I’m so sorry,” I sob.
Adam grips his head in his hands. “No! He needs help! They have to help him!”
A piercing scream emits from the crowd, and Emiko races forward despite Cooper’s attempts to stop her. Before she even gets to Wheeler, she falls to her knees and faints into the dirt.
Adam cries out, then bends over and vomits. He screams as he punches a piece of metal sheeting. The two closest TORO try to restrain him, but he fights them off. I rush to him, and he crumples into my arms.
“I’m falling, Teds,” he whispers through tears.
I struggle under his weight, the threat of him collapsing to the ground. He is falling, both physically and emotionally.
“I know, but I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” I soothe, rubbing the tears from his cheeks. “I need you to walk now, Baby. Come on, let’s get you away from here.” I turn to TORO 94. “You’re next in command. Get us the hell away from here,” I tell him.
He nods. “We need to move out! Get all those with minor injuries into the buses. Seriously injured into the trucks with medics. We’ll have to leave the dead, we have no time. An air strike is on route.”
Adam drags me to a stop. “Not him!” he growls at TORO 94.
“Chief, your orders were that—”
“Not him!” Adam sho
ves TORO 94 aside, almost felling me in the process. He takes Wheeler’s lifeless form in a cradle hold and carries him toward the trucks.
A crying Crow finally succumbs to unconsciousness as the medics work to save him, and Cooper carries Emiko into the van.
Life as we know it has changed forever, yet again.
A pile of Lorrell’s teddy bear stickers scatter across the ground in front of me as the breeze blows them into the flames. That’s where they belong. How could I lead people into this? Who am I?
Isaac Woodman would be proud of me.
It takes a monster to know a monster.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Where do we go from here?
Only half the people in the detention centre survived our rescue attempt, so that means approximately one hundred and twenty died. Rafe and Fernan got all their detainees out of the hangars, but lost a quarter - about forty - in the explosions. We lost thirty-six members including Wheeler. Crow is in a bad way. Jonah is keeping him sedated for the time being. The decision will be made later as to whether he keeps his leg. Yana hasn’t left his side since we made it back to the check point. The operation, if it is going to happen, needs to be done at The Hive. The first convoy will move out in a few hours with the most severely injured members and medical staff.
Towley had buried bombs under the detention centres. How sick do you have to be? As soon as both teams made that first strike on the centres, none of us stood a chance. All Towley had to do was press a little button. A button that no decent human being would ever be able to press. He pressed it, and with ease, no doubt.
Everyone mills about in utter shock. Kid, Brick, and Cooper sit on the floor, leaning against one of the trucks in silence. Rio comforts a distraught Coco. He twiddles her hair in his fingers as she rests her head on his lap. His free hand is entwined with hers. It’s true that we finally see what we have in situations like this.
Another body is carried out of the med tent covered in a blanket.
Thirty-seven members.
Jonah steps out after them, head to toe in blood. After, taking a deep inhale, he squares his shoulders and heads back inside. The team of medics are amazing. I wonder who’d say that the Non-EVO was no longer welcome after everything he has done.
EVO Nation Series Trilogy Box Set Page 79
