Page 15

15

TREY

Brehh! Brehh! Brehh!

The siren is maddening. At least the words intruder alert have stopped repeating. The red lights are still flashing though.

I sense a mass of people racing toward us. There’s so many, I can’t count them all. They’re running from the community room and jumping down the stairs with a ready to kill energy that erases all the assurance Arella just instilled in me.

I grip her hand tighter in mine. “Don’t let go, ’kay?”

She nods, then we step over Craig’s unmoving body and sprint out of the room. The red lights are brighter out here, making it hard for me to see. Halfway down the hall, I stop and turn around, jerking Arella with me.

“What are you doing?” she shouts over the siren.

I tug her with me back toward the bedroom. Then I point a finger at the one shot of perrizo sticking out of the wall. It flies toward me and stops a breath away from my nose. The tiny cylinder is still full of green liquid. Perfect! I pluck it from the air and shove it into my pocket. I’m gonna need every dose I can get.

Hand in hand, we run again. I pull one of the perrizo guns out of my jeans and throw it into the air. It hovers in front of us while I pull out the other gun and hold it up. We’re about to turn the corner when I get an idea. Arella’s body slams into mine as I stop.

“Ow!” She rubs her forehead.

“Sorry.” Never letting go of her hand, I kneel and slide a gun down the hall. The weapon skates across the floor past a few closed bedroom doors before coming to a halt. I snatch the weapon hovering in the air and slide it down the hallway too. Then I pin my back against the wall and close my eyes.

The crowd of people darting toward us is turning the corner.

Now they’re halfway down the hall. Suddenly, the lead person stops.

“Where’d these guns come from?” a woman asks.

I peek one eye around the corner and lift my hand. The guns swoop into the air. As I pull an imaginary trigger with my finger, the guns go Ssspt! Ssspt! Ssspt!

One by one, the agents’ lightning balls fizzle out and the flames in their hands turn into smoke. The agents grip their necks and shout profanities.

“It’s a perrizo gun!”

“Who’s controlling it?”

A man punches the air behind the gun. “Not a Vanisher.”

A woman toward the back points at me. “There! It’s him! The spy!”

Fuck. I keep pulling the imaginary trigger. The lead woman goes down first. Then the guy behind her. Then the guy behind him. One after another, they fall with thuds, until everyone’s lying on the floor.

I feel bad. It’s likely that half these people are the good guys. I don’t have time to dwell on it, though, because more people ready to kill me are on their way.

I tug on Arella’s arm. “Come on!”

We rush over the sea of limp bodies, trying our hardest not to step on anyone. There’s between twelve to fifteen of them, which means I don’t have many perrizo shots left.

“Are they dead?” Arella asks.

“No, just sedated.” It amazes me how she can be so concerned about these people after what’s happened to her.

I wave a hand at the floating guns. They fly ahead of us as I scan the walls for any shots that missed. One, two, three. I point at each spot of green sticking out of the wall. They flutter down the hall, after the guns. I pluck the dose out of my pocket and toss it into the air. With a zip! it goes flying too.

Arella and I freeze mid-step when a man dashes around the corner. He aims a rock ball at us and releases. I aim one of my floating doses of perrizo at him.

Ssspt!

Halfway to me, the rock ball explodes, and the debris falls to the floor. The man plucks the tiny green cylinder off his arm.

Ssspt! He collapses to his knees.

One of the bedroom doors opens. A young woman in pajamas comes stumbling out. The red lights flash across her sleepy features. “What’s with all the noise?”

You shoulda stayed in bed, lady. I point at two floating doses, then point at her. Ssspt! Ssspt! She collapses too.

From around the corner, a fireball rockets toward my face. The floating guns clank against the floor as I grab Arella and drag her down with me, covering her with my body. The fireball whizzes over my head. Heat singes the top of my hair, and I pat my head to put out the sparks.

Another burst of red-hot flames shoot at us. I open my palm. A fireball appears in it, and I toss it at the one threatening to burn us. The flames collide in the air with a blistering explosion. Arella screams as I cover her with my body again. The sparks land all over my jacket, and some on the back of my neck.

“Ow.” I rub the speckles of pain away, then hoist Arella onto her feet. “You okay?”

Instead of answering me, she screams and tackles me to the floor. I wrap my arms around her as we fall onto my back, and she lands on my chest. Pain erupts up my spine as a glint of green flies through the air where I was just standing.

“Another!” Arella shouts.

I spot it coming at us and close my fist. The needle pauses in midair, then darts back toward the woman who shot at me—with my own damn gun. She tries to avoid it, but I swerve the needle to follow her. The needle lands in her collarbone. She groans as she plucks it off and flicks it to the floor.

Arella pushes herself off me. We get back onto our feet just as the woman with both my guns in her hands points them at me and fires. I close my fists again, forcing the needles to stop and drop to the ground. Then I wave my hand at the guns and they soar out of the woman’s grasp, then twist to face her.

Ssspt! She falls onto her side.

Heavy footsteps thunder around the corner. A group of agents appears with their hands armed with element balls. Flames, lightning, rocks, and spiky ice fly through the air. I wiggle my fingers at both guns.

Ssspt! Ssspt! Ssspt! The element balls tumble to the floor in midair.

A female agent stares at her empty hands. “It’s perrizo! Avoid the shots!”

Yelling, the agents charge at us. There’s too many of them. I can’t shoot fast enough. Arella and I retreat backward as we dodge fireballs. The flames land around us, then smoke out on the floor.

Ssspt! Ssspt! Two men in the front tumble to the floor, tripping the others. I keep my focus on my floating guns and continue pulling the triggers. One by one, the agents fall down, except one guy who ducks and aims a fireball at my guns. It hits one gun, which explodes with a deafening BOOM!

Pieces of metal firework through the air. I throw my hands up just in time. Barely a finger from my cheeks, the shrapnel stops. As I drop my hands, the pieces tumble to the floor. Arella gapes at me, wide-eyed.

I pull her behind me as I spot a perrizo dose on the floor. It’s still green. As I wave my hand at it, it flies into the air and straight into the neck of the guy who blew up my gun. He grunts as he plucks it out. I aim my remaining gun at him.

Ssspt! He face-plants against the floor.

A middle-age woman appears from around the corner and points at me. I let out a wail as my skin burns with searing heat. The woman keeps her fingers aimed at me as I fall to my knees.

“No!” Arella slaps her palms against my face, holding them there.

Within seconds, the pain stops. Thank fuck.

Brehh! Brehh! Brehh! The siren seems to have gotten louder. I push back onto my feet and take Arella’s hand in mine.

A flash of green whizzes toward me. I sidestep it just in time. Skin Burning Lady has my last gun in her hands. She pulls the trigger again. I clench my fist. The needle stops in the air, turns, then flies right back at her. She dodges it and shoots at me again. Twice. I halt both needles in the air and spin them around.

Ssspt! Ssspt! They hit her at the same time. She plummets, landing over the guy at her feet. I point a finger at my gun. It flies out of her grasp, toward the ceiling, and hovers there.

I scan the walls and spot several perrizo shots sticking out, still green. I point at them, then they zip down the hall at the five agents sprinting at us. Four of the doses hit, making the two biggest guys collapse to the floor. The other three agents open their hands. I wave a hand, making the last of my floating perrizo shots rocket toward them. Their shock consumes me when their element balls disappear in their grasps. With deep frowns, they charge at us.

I point a hand at my gun hovering near the ceiling. The weapon clicks, but nothing shoots out. Fuck. The gun drops to the floor as I drag Arella behind me, then arm my hands with fireballs. I launch them into the air. The first one hits the female agent right in the head. She wails at the top of her lungs as the smell of burnt hair stings my nose.

The two men behind her dodge my other fireballs, so I throw more. And I keep throwing them until both men are on fire. I’m about to tell Arella we’ll run past them when a woman appears from around the corner and gasps. She raises her arms into the air. A giant water ball bubbles over the three agents’ heads. Then another and another. More keep coming until the agents are drenched and their clothes aren’t flaming anymore. Wet and angrier than before, they put their fists up and sprint toward me.

“Arella, get back!”

She races down the hall behind me as one of the drenched men smashes his fist against my face. Miserable pain explodes through my cheek. The man aims his fist again. This time, I duck and hurl a punch right back. I make contact with his nose with a loud crunch!

“Fuck!” He clutches his face as he collapses to the floor.

Someone jerks me back by the collar of my jacket. A large fist slams right into my temple. My vision goes blurry as the man slugs me in the gut. I bend over, clutching myself as I cough.

“Grab the girl!” the man shouts.

The woman with pieces of hair sticking out of her almost-bald head darts toward Arella. Screaming, Arella runs back the way we came. I throw a fireball at the woman, but it misses and hits the wall, then smokes out.

The man’s fist thumps against the side of my head again. Two more men rush out from down the hall and join him. I block a punch. They land a kick. I throw a fireball at one. He ducks it. From down the hall, another woman appears and aims a lightning ball at me. It lands on my chest, and my body convulses.

The men punch me again.

And again.

And again.

A second lightning ball hits my arm, sending burning waves of hell through my bones. Another kick in the face. Another punch in the stomach.

One of them drags me up by the front of my shirt. Somehow, I find the strength to put my hands on his head. Flames come rushing out of my palms. The man stumbles back, grasping his face.

Another lightning ball whirls at me. I duck just in time. More fire lights up my palms, and I launch it into the air. One after another, flames blast out of my hands until I can hear every single agent screaming. I keep chucking fireballs as I run backward toward Arella.

Brehh! Brehh! Brehh!

When I turn the corner, I find my girl on the other end of the hallway, being dragged across the floor.

“Let me go!” Arella shouts as she punches at the almost-bald lady.

The lady keeps her grip on Arella’s hair, then stops at a door and stabs the keypad with her finger. She gets the door open just as a fireball lights up my palm. I’m about to throw it when I stop. What if I miss and hit Arella? I can’t risk it. Instead, I wave a hand at the door. It shuts in the lady’s face.

“What the?—”

“Let her go!” I yell.

The lady shoves Arella down, then sprints toward me. Big mistake. I have a clear shot now, and I take it. My fireball spins through the air until it lands on her, but she doesn’t catch on fire. My fireball simply rolls off her wet clothes and falls to the floor.

“You traitor!” The lady heaves a fist at my face. I duck and trip her with my leg. She falls, and I climb on top of her, straddling her hips. My fists collide with her face, one after another. Once her head falls limply to the side, I stop.

Shooting back up, I rush to Arella. She’s already back on her feet and meets me halfway.

“Did she hurt you?” I ask, scanning her body for any blood.

Arella clutches her cheek. “She punched me a few times, but I’ll be okay.”

I’ll take a better look at her later. For now, I grip her hand, and we run back down the hall. As we go, I scan the walls for any last doses of that precious green liquid. I find none.

After we get past the sea of unconscious bodies on the floor, we turn the corner.

“Give me a fucking break,” I mutter as three men from the other end dash toward us.

The biggest guy points his fingers at the floor, making it vibrate beneath my shoes. I lose my balance and fall backward into the hard wall. Arella is torn from me as she falls onto her knees. Over the trembling floor, I crawl toward her.

“Are you o—” I don’t get to finish my sentence because I catch a glimpse of red-hot flames flying toward us.

Arella shrieks as she throws her hands up over her head. I crouch over her and brace myself for the fiery impact, but it never comes. The fireball stops just before hitting my cheek. It tumbles to the floor, then smokes out.

A second fireball whirls through the air. Arella screams again with her hands up. This time, the flames stop an arm’s length away.

My mouth falls open. “How are you doing that?”

Her arms tremble. “I have no idea.”

I help her onto her feet. “Well, keep doing it, ’cause it’s working!”

Brehh! Brehh! Brehh!

I grab Arella’s hand as we dash toward the three men coming at us. With my free hand, I throw fireballs at them. One after another, after another. The men do the same at me, but none of their fireballs reach me. Each one hits the invisible wall that’s always two steps ahead of me. Their balls roll to the floor and disappear in puffs of smoke. I’ve never been more impressed by Arella. She’s doing the impossible.

Feeling safe behind Arella’s immunity shield, I pull the leg of my jeans up and grab the knife from my sock. I aim it at the biggest dude, then throw. It’s about to hit the guy’s chest when he throws his arms up and the knife stops in midair. The man twists his wrists, then the knife comes rocketing back toward us.

I raise a hand to stop it, but it doesn’t stop. And it’s aimed straight at Arella. Just as the metal slices through her invisible wall, I jerk her toward me, but it’s too late.

Her scream pierces my ears as the knife slashes the side of her arm. The blade somersaults onto the floor with a few clanks, leaving a trail of blood in its path.

All the air leaves my lungs as Arella rips her hand out of mine to cover the fresh wound on her upper arm. She falls to her knees, screwing her face together in misery.

I’ve barely got a second to catch my breath before the knife zips off the floor, straight at me. I clench my fist. The knife stops just in time. With a twist of my wrist, it flies back the other way.

“Fuck!” The big guy stumbles backward, clutching the weapon sticking out of his chest until he collapses onto the floor and goes limp.

I point at the knife again. It shoots out of his body and straight at the next guy. He swerves away, but I twist the knife around, and it hits him in the back. With a wail, he falls onto his front. The wailing stops as his head droops to the side.

“Mark!” The last guy stares at his friend in devastation before shooting me a killer glare. “You piece-of-shit Royal spy!” His fireballs whiz toward me, one after another.

“No!” Arella shouts as she raises a bloody hand into the air.

The flaming balls stop so close to my cheeks, their heat prickles my skin before they roll onto the floor and vanish.

“How the hell are you doing that?” the guy shouts.

The blaring siren suddenly stops, then everything goes quiet. A second later, the red lights stop flashing too. Why did they—two women with high energy sprint from around the corner. One has short black-and-blue hair. The other has long red curls.

“Oh, come on,” I say through a groan. “Anyone but them.” I brace myself for the stabbing in my ears and the bites on my skin, but they never come. I glance behind me. “You’re doing great!”

Arella, still kneeling and clutching her bloody arm, shakes her head. “I’m not doing anything.”

“Ah!” The guy with fireballs in his palms falls to the floor. His hands are smoky as he clutches his ears. He screams as his body jerks and shudders. It’s only seconds before he bends over and vomits. I almost feel bad for him because I know the feeling all too well.

Pixie stops blowing, then hooks her thumb at him. “I think he’s one of us.”

“How do you know?” Ruby asks.

“Look at him. You really think the Royals are gonna recruit someone as scrawny as this dude?”

“I’m not the Royal!” the guy shouts and shakes a finger at me. “He is!”

Two fireballs appear in my palms.

“Nah,” Ruby says. “Trey’s one of the good guys.”

My jaw drops. Whhhaaat?

“Sorry it took us so long,” Ruby says. “We got a little held up on the way down here.”

Pixie saunters past me and peers down the hall. A sharp whistle leaves her lips. “Damn. Homeboy was busy. You gotta see this, Roobs.”

Ruby dashes past me to glance down the hall. “Holy moo maker! Are they all dead?”

“No,” I say as my fireballs disappear into smoke between my fingers. “They’re all sedated, I think.”

“How did you do that?”

“Perrizo guns.”

The women glance at each other, then back at me.

“You got any more?”

I shake my head. “I used every shot.”

“Dammit,” Pixie says, snapping her fingers. “We might need?—”

“Trey?”

The little hairs on the back of my neck stand up as Arella’s frail voice calls my name. I hurry to her as she tips backward, and I catch her just before her head hits the floor.

“Arella?” I can’t breathe. “What’s wrong?”

Through half-closed eyes, she says, “I—I feel weak, and sleepy, and...”

Ruby steps up behind me in her clacky black boots. “What happened to her arm?”

“She was hurt by that knife.” Because my hands are busy holding Arella up, I nod my head toward the two guys lying limply on the floor. I swallow hard. That could have been Arella.

Pixie marches toward the guy with the knife sticking out of his back. She pulls it out and holds it up as blood drips from it. “I can’t tell for sure, but I think it’s laced with perrizo. There’s a bunch of these in the Weapons Tech lab on level three.” After wiping the knife off on the guy’s shirt, she sticks it into her back pocket.

“Got anything to tie her arm with?” Ruby asks me.

I shrug my jacket off, then drag my shirt over my head. Ruby helps me tie it around Arella’s limp arm, then I slip my jacket back on and zip it up.

“Okay,” Ruby says, “let’s get her outta here.”