Broken: (Ignite, Book 2)

by Fleur Camacho

  “My information was good last time, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, and you led me right into a trap.”

  “That’s where Laura was, wasn’t it? That’s what you asked me to find out.”

  Jace paused, thinking.

  Alexander rolled his eyes. “It’s about Cherry.”

  Jace rose in the air, his wings spread out. “What is it?”

  “I heard that Cherry wasn’t working with you guys in the caves, so I did some investigating into where he was working.”

  “Just tell me where he is, Alex.”

  “He’s been working with Reece, to entrance him. Apparently he’d been working on him since you landed in Laura’s yard.”

  Anger boiled through Jace. “And he’s with him today?”

  Alexander nodded. “As far as I can tell.”

  Jace’s face went white. “Laura.” He sped off, with Alexander following.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  As soon as Laura reached the school, she jumped out of the car and ran towards the front doors. It was eerily quiet. School had already begun, so maybe everyone was in class. Something told her that this wasn’t right.

  She tried to open the front door, but it wouldn’t open. It was chained shut.

  Panic bore down on her. Reece!

  She ran to the windows and peeked inside. The room was empty. She went to the next one, it was empty also.

  She ran around the building to the side entrance and opened the door. Silence permeated the hallways. What is going on? No, no. Where is Reece?

  And then she heard it. A noise she would never forget. It was like an explosion in her ears; the sound of a gun going off.

  Instincts took over and she fell to the floor, covering her head.

  POW POW POW

  She squealed. She breathed shallow breaths and could feel her heart bursting in her chest. She crawled towards an open room, still covering her head. When she reached the room she peeked inside; it, too, was empty. Where is everyone? She quietly shut the door behind her and locked it. Then she turned off the light and squatted in the corner nearest the door in case she needed to jump on the shooter if he entered the room.

  Should she call Jace? Wait, he didn’t have a phone. Besides, he had to figure out a way to get in touch with Michael. There was a nuclear facility to save. She grit her teeth in anger, stupid man, thinking he could outsmart Jezzie. Damnit if she didn’t love him.

  Laura jumped at the sound of another round of gunshots. Did the shooter have an automatic? She tried to remember the line of guns in the cavern and saw, in her mind, a row of semi-automatics.

  Oh my God. I’m going to die today. Please don’t let me die today.

  She’d had too many close calls lately; death had to catch up to her sometime. She froze in fear; her mind wouldn’t function. I’m going to die. She put her hand over her heart and closed her eyes, trying to think of what to do. She had to find Reece. If he was here, she would find him and get him out.

  She grit her teeth. No. Death can go screw itself.

  Her stomach felt sick and her adrenaline surged. Sweat poured down her face.

  She had to go in, she had to save Reece. She may be stupid, maybe Reece had already gotten out. Or maybe he’d skipped school today. She thought of the note he’d left their mom and something nagged at her brain, but she refused to consider the thought. She pushed it aside and studied the room, looking for anything that could offer her protection. She scrambled through the backpacks and desks, looking for something, anything to protect her.

  There was nothing. Never in her life had she ever wanted a gun in her hands like now. Even if it didn’t have any bullets loaded, just holding it would be comforting. Instead, she grabbed a chair and slowly opened the door. She heard screams and then there was quiet.

  She grabbed the chair and shoved it out into the hallway. If the shooter was anywhere near, she hoped he’d be startled and shoot the chair. Then she’d know if there was any danger nearby.

  The hallway was quiet.

  Nervous, Laura threw a backpack out, just to make sure.

  Nothing.

  Breathing heavily, Laura steeled herself and popped her head out, then back in. She couldn’t see anything but an empty hallway. Her hair moved and she jumped out of her skin. It was just the air conditioner starting up; she was right under a vent. She closed her eyes and whispered something she hadn’t had the guts to do since Jace died. A prayer.

  Then she fell to her knees and slowly crawled out into the wide open space.

  Laura had never felt more vulnerable.

  There was no one in the hallway. She scrambled to the next room and ran inside it. She heard noises from the far side of the room. A girl was scrunched up, crying in the corner. Laura was torn. Every second counted. But she couldn’t just leave this girl.

  She crawled over and touched her arm. The girl screamed and Laura jumped back, shushing her. “Shhh. Or you’ll get us killed.”

  The girls eyes were red and snot ran down her nose and into her mouth.

  “Go out the window.” She needed to get this girl out.

  The girl shook her head. “I can’t. It’s lo — it’s stuck.”

  Laura frowned, considering the risks of breaking a window. She decided it was worth the noise to get the girl out. She grabbed a chair and slammed it against the window. It shattered and glass flew everywhere.

  There was silence down the hallway and Laura froze. Did the shooter hear her? Was he coming this way?

  She grabbed the girl, who was staring at her, frozen, and pulled her up. “You gotta get out of here.”

  The girl nodded her head and, as if her brain finally kicked in, she scrambled out the window. She turned to Laura and pulled on her. “Aren’t you coming with me?”

  Laura shook her head. “I can’t. I have to find my brother.”

  The girl took a step back and started to cry. “My sister’s in there, too.” She tried to crawl back in.

  Laura pushed her back out. “No, go call the police. Here.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and held it towards her. “Get away as fast as possible and call the police.”

  The girl, eyes wide, nodded and turned around, running. Laura hoped the girl’s brain worked enough to call 9-1-1 when she was far enough away.

  ❦

  Laura waited next to the door and counted to three. Then she peeked out the door and, seeing nothing, began the long crawl towards the next room. She weaved in and out of rooms until she was in the last room before the large common area. She realized that the noises were getting louder the closer she crawled. She was crazy. She wished she’d kept her phone so she could call Reece again. If only she knew if he was safe or not!

  She breathed in and out, counting to three again. She tried to move towards the door but her feet wouldn’t budge. So she closed her eyes and thought of Reece. For some reason, his sixth birthday came to her mind.

  Earlier that day, her dad had gotten mad and trashed all of the decorations and even threw the cake on the floor. When he left, Laura had cleaned everything up and made a new cake. She’d barely had any time to throw up the Happy Birthday sign before the guests arrived.

  Reese had opened all his presents and was playing with his friends, when suddenly he came running to her. His small arms wrapped around her in the biggest hug and smile. His eyes showed the total and utter trust he had in her.

  “Thanks, big sis,” he’d said. “You’re the best sister ever.” Then he ran off.

  Laura swallowed hard. She couldn’t let him down. Not now, not when he needed her the most. She closed her eyes, counted to three, and crawled into hell.

  ❦

  The first thing that Laura saw was the dead body of her neighbor. She lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Her eyes were vacant and body so still. The smell of smoke and death permeated the room. Her hands were clammy and her whole body shook. So cold. She was so cold and sweaty. She just wanted to lay down to rest. She grit her teeth. I have
to do this.

  She crawled forward, trying not to look at the girl. She reached the first table and cowered under it, her back to the room.

  She could hear the shooter yelling. There were two of them, and they both were yelling. Laura couldn’t understand what they were saying, but every once in a while a gun went off and Laura jumped. Sitting in the middle of this horrible scene, Laura felt an odd sense of relief. The shooters were down the hall in the cafeteria. Reece never went to the cafeteria in the morning, he always had a huge breakfast at home.

  A realization dawned over her that he could’ve been in the common room. Or the shooters could’ve made everyone move to the cafeteria. It would make sense since the rooms were empty.

  Her body stilled as another realization dawned on her. She would have to check for Reece here first. She would have to look at every face. She had to.

  Panic washed over her and she began shaking. She couldn’t do it.

  Where were the police? It seemed like forever since she’d got here. There were a million people with cell phones. Surely someone had called them a long time ago. What was taking them so long?

  She plugged her ears. She needed silence for just a minute to gather the courage to do what she knew she needed to do. In the muted silence, she could only hear a ringing. The ringing got louder and just irritated her more. So she unplugged her ears, took a deep breath and counted to three.

  On three, she stood up and faced the room.

  The site before her made her sick to her stomach. After everything she’d seen, nothing could’ve prepared her for this. Laura forced herself to look at the faces. Each and every single one of them. Some were hard to see and Laura had to walk closer to see them. The last one held her phone to her ear. Like she was telling her family goodbye.

  Laura avoided looking them in the eyes. It was all too much. She thought slowly, moved slowly, and a part of her knew she probably was in shock. Relief poured over her, none of them were Reece. She felt guilty for feeling relief, but she couldn’t help it. She had hope that he was still alive.

  Then she felt sick again and knew what she would have to do next. She would have to go in the cafeteria.

  ❦

  The closer she got, the slower she moved. Her body shook, her teeth rattled, but she still forced her feet to move silently towards the cafeteria, hugging the wall. At every sound, she jumped. Every movement made her dive to the floor, her hands covering her head.

  She stopped right outside the doors to the cafeteria. It was silent.

  What if they’d moved on? What if they weren’t in the cafeteria? Was Laura prepared to see what was in that room?

  Her breathing increased and she was full blown freaking out. She knew that the shooters had been in this room, what would she see once she walked in there?

  Once again, she closed her eyes, dropped to her hands and knees and counted to three.

  One… two… three.

  Laura crept around the corner and into the room. A quick glance at the room showed dead bodies mixed with terrified alive ones. Most of them were under the cafeteria tables. Some of them were alone, rocking back and forth, their hands over their mouths, trying to keep from crying out. Others were in pairs, or groups, arms around each other.

  One girl knelt out in the open at the body of a dead one. She began weeping, not caring that she was making noise, and her cries were so loud, so loud in the silent room.

  Laura froze. What would happen to her?

  A burst of sound rang out and the room moved. The energy from the gun rattled the windows and tables. People yelped, putting their hands over their ears. The sound reverberated through the floor and shook Laura to her very bones.

  The girl wasn’t crying anymore and Laura didn’t have the nerve to see if she was alive or not. She tried to move again, she was in open space again and was extremely vulnerable. Finally, she convinced herself to move towards a spot under a table.

  A movement caught her attention, a guy was frantically waving towards her. His eyes were wide and his skin was clammy and pale. He was trying to motion to her to stop. Go back. She ignored him and scrambled for the spot next to him under the table.

  “Are you crazy?” he whispered. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m looking for my brother. Have you seen Reece?”

  The guy turned more pale, if that was possible, made a strangling noise, and pointed upwards.

  Laura froze. Her heart beat erratically in her chest. That nagging little voice in her head was back again except now it was screaming at her. It overcame every emotion, every thought in her head, but still she tried to block it.

  It couldn’t be, it wasn’t.

  An image pushed her way into her head. Kayla, eyes glazed over, grabbing Laura to keep her from running inside that building to help Jace.

  Laura couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t breathe. And yet, her feet and arms moved of their own and they pulled her out from under the table.

  She stood up.

  She smelled the burnt spent bullets.

  She heard a scream.

  She recognized the back of the t-shirt her brother always wore. A sword was strapped to his back. And in his hands, was a semi-automatic rifle.

  Cherry stepped into view, staring at her with a huge grin on his face.

  The words flew from her mouth before she could stop them. They flew into the air and Laura couldn’t take them back.

  “Reece!”

  She heard the gun before she saw it. Light flashed from the muzzle as he turned towards her. She saw his face before it hit her. His eyes glazed over, his mouth determined. A movement to her right.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Jace did something he thought he would never, ever do. He pummeled Laura, cradling her protectively as he rammed into her. He landed and rolled onto the ground, his arms clasped tight around her.

  Alexander held his sword high, swinging it towards Cherry.

  Reece’s eyes closed and he dropped the gun. When he opened his eyes, they were alert, bright. His face had Cherry’s oily blood splattered all over it. He looked around in shock.

  People were running towards the doors, crying and calling their loved ones.

  Jace lay Laura gently on the floor. There was a blooming spray of red, right across her chest. He put his hands over her and warmth shot out of his hands and into her body. She didn’t move.

  Jace heard a ringing in his ears and suddenly Reece pulled Jace off her. Reece knelt by Laura, shaking her. He was screaming and Jace couldn’t understand what he was saying. He pushed Reece back and tried again, closing his eyes and forcing his strongest healing powers into Laura. He shook his head.

  No.

  NO.

  This wasn’t happening. He could heal her. He would heal her. He tried again, and again. She remained motionless.

  Reece leaned in and began doing CPR on her. “Laura, wake up. Laura, please.” Tears streamed down his face. “Laura wake up.” He breathed air into her mouth.

  Jace’s eyes glossed over with tears and a pain ripped through his chest. This was not happening. Not Laura, not his Laura. He cried out, the pain too big to contain. The sound reverberated through the cafeteria; its eerie noise echoed off the walls and ceiling.

  Alexander stood in shock, watching over them. Jace jumped up. “This is your fault.” He pummeled into Alexander, and they fell to the floor. Jace sat on him, pounding his face. “This is all your fault. Your fault.”

  Alexander refused to raise his hands in defense and that seemed to blow the steam out of Jace’s attack. He got up, hearing the SWAT enter the main entrance of the school.

  He put his hand down; Alexander grasped it and pulled himself up.

  “Grab Reece, he’ll need our protection now.”

  Alexander rubbed his jaw. “Our protection?”

  “We don’t have time for this. We’ll work out logistics later. Although technically, it’s your side that created this.”

  “And you know full well th
at my side doesn’t care about the repercussions of our actions. We don’t protect the victims of our influence.”

  Jace growled. “And your side broke the rules twice by entrancing someone against their principals. You have to pay for that.”

  “I’ve paid for that. Now you know how I felt, kneeling over the body of Camilla.” Tears sprung to his eyes and they narrowed. “Now you understand my pain.”

  “Camilla wasn’t innocent, Alex. She killed and hurt a lot of humans. Laura was innocent and loving. And so was—is—Reece.”

  “Camilla loved me. And that was enough.”

  The SWAT team was getting closer.

  Jace pulled on Alexander, shaking him. “Please, brother.”

  Alexander sighed. “Fine. But on one condition.”

  “Anything.”

  “You testify at my hearing. On my behalf.”

  Jace hesitated.

  “Or it’s a no-go.”

  “Fine, yes.”

  The SWAT were in the common area now and would be there any second. He didn’t wait for Alexander to respond but knelt next to Laura, gathering her gently in his arms. Alex grabbed a protesting Reece, and they shot into the air, punching a hole in the ceiling just before the SWAT swarmed the room.

  ❦

  Jace led them back to the cave and, gritting his teeth, he entered. To hell with the repercussions. “Jezzie!”

  He landed in the cavern, kicking empty tables and chairs out of his way. It was mostly empty now, although some of the Fallen were packing their things. They’d failed to do anything significant to the nuclear facility. The facility was on High Alert and ready for them; some Fallen had even been shot out of the sky. Some of the humans the Fallen had influenced succeeded, although Jace’s team had managed to stop most of them.

  When they saw Jace, a pair of Fallen pulled out their swords and advanced towards him. He growled, clasping Laura’s body to him with one arm and pulled his sword from its scabbard on Reece’s back. The familiar feel of it was comforting. Man, he’d missed it. He held it towards the men.

  “I want to talk to Jezzie.”

  Alexander pulled out his sword, still gleaming with Cherry’s blood. “See that? That dripping blood belonged to Cherry. Would any of you like to join him in hell?”