“Here we go!” she managed between breaths. “This is just what I need.”
With the buildings obscuring her from Zolyn’s view, Mae flew up with the capsules and landed on the third level of the garage. While there were lines of cars at first, when she made her way to the back of the level there was a stretch with no cars parked — only empty space.
And the garage protects the hostages and myself from being seen, she thought, thanking her lucky stars. This solution was much better than an open parking lot without a ceiling.
“Okay…” she muttered as she parked herself in the corner of the empty space. The concrete walls with the metal tubular railings gave her a sense of security as she lined the capsules up in front of her. There were five of them to get through.
When she touched the first one, picking it up individually, she slipped into her mental powers to see if there was anything that she could learn from simply holding the device.
To her surprise, she was actually able to see the device working in her mind. It was as simple as pressing the button, but with the added bit of channeling a certain amount of energy into the button. It was this combination that unlocked the capsule and created the glowing doorway. The more energy she would use, the larger the doorway would become. That explained how Zolyn and even Xara, when she captured Shaun to speak to him, had been able to extend the doorway between their spread-out bodies like a fishing net. It would scoop up everything around it.
Then, when she was finished, she would cut off the energy, lift the button, and the door would close itself until she opened it again. Only a creature with such powerful energy could unlock the doorways from within, since they were the ones who had initially opened it. Their energy was linked to the outside world somehow.
I don’t have time to really investigate this, Mae scolded herself. She was slipping into her typical routine of learning everything she could straight away. There would be time to look at these capsules more closely when Zolyn was trapped and they weren’t at risk of being captured and enslaved by her.
There was one final thing she reached out for with her mind, and that was trying to get an estimate of how many prisoners were in this first capsule. She could sense life forces, and as her eyes lit up in a brilliant white with her ability, she got a head count.
“Thirty people,” she said at last. And the space was pretty crammed. Hopefully the other rooms were similar. Thirty people was a small crowd, but there was enough space that she could instruct them as they emerged that they needed to get out of here as quickly as possible and find cover.
Okay. Here goes nothing!
She pressed the button down until it gave a pleasing click and channeled her super energy into her hand, where it was absorbed by the capsule.
Immediately, starting from the space in front of the capsule, a square of glowing light appeared, growing rapidly with her energy output.
She continued to channel the doorway larger and larger until it was big enough to fit two or three people through it at a time. Then she held her energy there and stepped around, still holding the capsule, to address the people within.
The hostages were various people of all ages. Some were children, and a few were much older. They all looked either scared, furious, or were sobbing. One woman pointed to the open doorway as Mae stepped into it.
“It’s open!” the woman announced. There were shocked gasps, but Mae tried to comfort them.
“Don’t be afraid! I’m here to rescue you. Please, exit quickly and calmly, then find some cover. I have plenty more people to free.”
She had been worried that there would be a mad rush to escape, with a lot of trampling, but these people started to work together. Some helped take the arm of an elderly person, and the kids were scooped up by relatives and friends. It was actually encouraging to witness, and Mae was thankful that the evacuation only took a minute or so. Nobody was jostling their neighbors, and they all continued down the ramp of the parking garage, seeking out the safety of the many buildings around.
On to the next one.
The process continued, this time with only a small handful of people dashing out before Mae could speak. She let them go. If she had been trapped in an alien prison, she wouldn’t exactly be calm and collected either. She was just glad that they were all able to leave in a swift fashion. The same thing happened for the third capsule.
The fourth one was already empty, and the fifth only had ten people in it. Mae waved the last of them out, and then the doorway closed with a snikt. Her heart rate was going a mile a minute from all the strain of holding open the doorways. Now that everyone was out and free, she allowed herself a few minutes to rest and regain her energy.
“Now, to figure out what Shaun is doing…”
She hoped that he hadn’t already been pummeled by Zolyn. It was kind of like fighting a bag of marbles. No matter which way you struck, there was always another wave of spheres to batter you.
With all of the capsules scooped up and placed safely in her pocket, Mae went to the top floor of the parking garage. From this vantage point she could get a clear overview of the town without having to fly up into the clear sky. Fighting in the daylight had its own unique challenges as opposed to all the night missions that she and Shaun had done in the past. There was nowhere to hide. This meant there needed to be real strategy, and all of that fell on her shoulders.
Shaun, can you hear me?
She reached out with her mind, searching for him.
Please don’t be injured…or captured…
With a start, Shaun’s thoughts caught up to her over the airwaves.
I’m here! Not captured yet, but man, this is terrible.
Mae leaned over the side of the railing and scanned their surroundings. There was a small park with a fountain, with trees and benches surrounding it. A bunch of shops with cars parked out front. Nothing out of the ordinary — that is, until she spotted the group of people fleeing from the roadway out front of a small bank.
I think I see you, she said.
If you don’t see me now, you certainly will in a few seconds!
True enough, Shaun came hurtling through the air like a streak, zipping around the park, the trees and lamp posts, to put something between himself and Zolyn. She was hot on his heels, screaming through the air as a cloud of tiny pieces. They almost looked like a group of tiny electric wasps from this distance.
Did you get the capsules cleared out? asked Shaun, his thoughts sounding tired. He was running out of steam.
Got them! she replied. Where do you want them? I’m up on the parking garage.
Shaun zipped around the tiny town square once, putting a good few seconds between himself and Zolyn.
Toss me two of them when I say! he ordered. Straight up!
She watched him, her eyes watering, with the capsules removed from the safety of her pocket.
“I hope this works,” she muttered. Then it was time to act.
Shaun zoomed overhead, going for a path directly above her.
Now!
She tossed the capsules straight up in the air and watched as Shaun streaked above, using his super speed to practical disappear — and the capsules disappeared along with him.
29
Zolyn’s Bargain
With his speed working as it should, Shaun watched the capsules float through the air in slow-motion. This made it easy to reach out and grab the things before they fell back to the parking garage.
His fingers closed around them, and once that was done, he used his speed to loop around a few of the buildings. Anything to keep objects between himself and Zolyn. She was fast and able to spread out, moving through various objects all at once. It was like dealing with a million tiny versions of her, creeping everywhere.
As she had up until now, she matched his speed. It was a split second off, so he still had the lead, but she was able to keep up.
Shaun made a circle around another building, then took the chance to slow back to his n
ormal speed so that he could communicate with Mae.
How do these work?
She was still at her spot up against the railing.
Channel you energy into the button, and the doorway will appear!
It sounded simple enough. He hoped that this worked on the first try...but then again, he had asked for two capsules for a reason. He tucked the spare into his pocket.
Turning in the air so that he faced Zolyn, he held out the first capsule, pressed the button, and channeled as much of his remaining energy into the thing as he could.
The effect was instantaneous. A massive square opening stretched into view between him and Zolyn. It was roughly the size of a two-story building when she came around the corner at lightning speed.
Come on, he thought as she continued on a crash course. Keep going!
The problem this time was that with him being in normal speed, and Zolyn being in super, she was able to see what was happening as if it were in slow motion. There hadn’t been enough time between him activating the doorway and her barreling forward.
With a great screech as the air moved in between her many pieces, Zolyn arced around and came to a stop ten or so feet away.
“Trying to use my own technology against me?” she asked. “You’re daring!”
Shaun groaned.
Why wasn’t the capsule working the way it had when it was used on him? The one that Xara had trapped him with didn’t do anything fancy. It just sucked him in once he was close enough.
Maybe that’s the trick, he thought. I just need to get close enough to her in order for the magnetic attraction to draw her into the trap.
This was easier said than done because Zolyn was fast.
Before Shaun could do anything, the villain zoomed away at top speed. It was so quick that to the uninitiated eye it would have appeared that the alien teleported away. Shaun knew better, but he didn’t have much hope that he could catch up to her.
He was still going to try.
Slipping into his super speed he raced after her. The time elapsed between them was only a few seconds, but with super speed that distance was great. Everything blurred around Shaun, stretching to infinity. Then he got acclimated and focused on the only thing that was moving as fast as him — and that was Zolyn.
How ridiculous that the chase has switched sides, he thought. At first he was trying to get away from her, now she was trying to get away from him! She was doing a good job of fleeing, too.
No matter how much energy he used, he couldn’t both channel that energy into the portal and also use it to catch up to the alien. She was just too fast, and he didn’t have enough energy on hand.
Zolyn glanced over her shoulder at him and laughed.
“You might as well give up!” she said. “You’re not going to catch me. You’re simply going to use up everything you’ve got and make it easier for me to take you back.”
Shaun scowled. He knew she was right. This was only his first attempt to get her into the portal, and it was useless to spend all of his energy on a failed try.
Turning around, he attempted to lure Zolyn back over to where Mae was. He remained high enough in the air that it was hard to distinguish what was going on below.
Coming to a stop just above the parking garage, Shaun returned to normal speed and felt his stomach lurch at the sudden halt. He barely had a chance to get his bearings when an invisible force ripped the capsule from his hand and drew it away in a flash.
Zolyn reappeared in the air in front of him. The capsule was now held in her hand and she held up a finger as if to scold him.
“You should know that it’s impossible to use my technology against me,” she said. “I’m faster, and I’ve been around these things for longer than you’ve been alive.” She spread her core out into a million pieces and tucked the capsule within. Once it was there, she returned to her solid figure. “You won’t be trying that again.”
That’s what you think.
Shaun knew it was time for another tactic. The first one would be chalked up to just a simple distraction. There was still a lot more distracting that Shaun needed to do — and he wasn’t the only one now.
Down below there was a small crowd forming. Some of these were hostages that Mae released, but not all of them were fleeing the area completely. A few people stuck around, unable to help themselves as they looked up at the floating entities. Many of them had only seen images this fantastical on the news. Now there was action happening right in front of them. Even being captured once wasn’t enough to get them to override their sense of awe.
Shaun wanted to shout at them to go away and run to safety, but he also appreciated that these people were going to add another layer of distraction to Zolyn.
Anything to get her to keep talking and not notice Mae...
He glanced down with just his eyes at the parking garage below him. Mae was standing at the ready. If he could maneuver around…
He started to shift himself through the air, ever so slowly, so that it was nearly imperceptible to Zolyn. It may have been just the wind blowing against them. Inch by inch he moved through the air, turning so that Zolyn matched him until her back was facing Mae.
What is your plan? asked Mae.
Shaun kept his eyes on Zolyn when he replied.
Get one of those capsules ready to open. Give it everything you’ve got. You’ll know when.
Will I?
Trust me. You’ll know. I’ll keep her occupied.
“A deal?” he answered Zolyn, raising an eyebrow. “What kind of a deal can you offer me that would get me to give this technological marvel up?” He waved the capsule in the air beside him.
Zolyn smiled condescendingly.
“I’ve already struck a deal with Austin Spencer,” she said. “He agreed to help me if I would spare him. I’m willing to do the same for you and your friend, Mae. All you have to do is help me in the hunt for more channelers of the starlight. Think of it. You will be safe. Rulers of this world along with me. We don’t have to fight over this.”
“I’ve heard bargains like that before,” said Shaun. “And you know what? They’re never held up. You will just get me to agree, then you will do whatever you want.”
Zolyn rolled through the air, spreading her lower half out so that it became more intimidating.
“I’ll give you one thing,” she said. “You’re not foolish like I expected. You reason things out. This is why I need you on my side. Can’t you see that there’s no way you will win? Your species has so much energy at its disposal. All the bombs in the world won’t hurt me. I’ll just absorb it and continue to grow. You will lose. No matter what you do.”
She’s trying to weaken my mind, Shaun thought. He had been through this before when he fought Austin Spencer. The Cloak’s power had been suggestion, breaking through people’s minds to enslave them. Yet he had beaten The Cloak, and he would beat Zolyn.
His eyes registered the parking garage down below. Mae was standing in one of the corners, tucked between two concrete railings. She would have blended right in with the scenery if he hadn’t known she was there. Her heat signature also lit up in his cracked visor. He initiated a zoom and saw that she was holding up one of the capsules, ready to go.
I knew I could count on her!
It took every bit of willpower for him to not grin and give everything away. Zolyn still had her back to Mae, and all he needed to do was get her to back down.
“You keep telling me that,” he said, continuing to distract her. “But, I escaped your clutches once before. I can do it again. We humans are resourceful.”
“Of course!” Zolyn laughed. “That’s why I’m using you all as a resource to recharge me! I will not be weakened into oblivion like the others from my planet. We were made to consume. So were humans. I’m offering you this chance one more time. Join me and I will spare those closest to you. I won’t give you the chance again.”
Shaun pretended that he was reasoning with her. He needed to mak
e sure that she believed he was going to give up.
“I’m not stupid,” he said. “You’re clearly a very powerful being. Maybe you’re right. I should join you. After all, you took down Xara. What hope do I have against an alien as powerful as you?”
It was so cheesy that Shaun wanted to vomit, but the over-the-top statement got him the desired effect. Zolyn started to let her guard down. Her floating pieces came towards each other, constricting back beneath her solidified upper half. She smiled.
“I knew that you would see reason,” she said. “Together we will be unstoppable. You can have anything you want. This planet will be ours to rule. Anything you want to consume. It will be a paradise!”
“And for the ones that aren’t strong enough?” Shaun asked as he floated closer to her.
“Don’t even trouble yourself with them!” Zolyn answered. “They will be like tiny creatures crushed under your feet. A mere snack for me. It’s not a coincidence that you happened to gain these powers, Shaun. It was destiny. You are destined to rule this planet beside me.”
Shaun continued to float closer to her, his hand reaching into his pocket slowly. He closed his fingers over one of the capsules. Drew it out without Zolyn noticing.
“You’re right,” he said. “I was meant to rule, and what better partner to rule with than you? After all, who else can bring me to such new heights? Once we’re done with this planet we will move on to the next.”
“Exactly!” Zolyn was completely absorbed by what she was hearing. “New vistas you never even dreamed of! Places with colors you’ve never seen. It will be a dream come true, Shaun. You will help me to get you there. With your help, I will never die.”
Shaun did grin this time. He had Zolyn right where he wanted her.
“Yes,” he said. “You’ll never die. But, you won’t be free, either.”
With a snap of his wrist he brought the capsule up between them and clicked it on.
30
The Aberrant Series (Book 4): Super Invasion Page 18
