After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) (20 page)

The bullets clattered to the floor, losing all force as they hit the shield. Christian could hear the soldier to his right exhale shakily. And then he squeezed the trigger on his rifle, spraying bullets at the offenders.

“Hold tight everyone,” Sterling shouted over the din of gunfire. The trainees stayed connected to Sterling and Christian, and each other, by one hand. The energy they generated crackled in the air around them.

The entrance hallway to the military prison was wide. A reception desk stood to the right of the doorway. Brown office chairs were upended on the opposite side of the room. Doors to the right and left were closed.

Christian focused on them, reaching through the walls with his mind. “We’ve got two in the room to the right. Both ATC.”

“On it.” Sterling waved his hand toward the door and it flew open. “Come out, come out. If you come quietly you might just survive.”

Bullets answered him, flying at the open doorway. Sterling swatted a hand in their direction and the bullets swung around before continuing their motion. Screams echoed out the door.

“I told you to play nice,” Sterling shouted.

The soldiers in front of them ran in to clear the room and a crowd of U.S. soldiers streamed in through the open door, securing the lobby around them.

“Clear in here.” A voice echoed through the doorway. “Call the medics for these two. If they’re lucky, they’ll live.”

There was a dull thud and the walls shook.

Christian closed his eyes for a moment. “Okay, they’re in on the other side.”

“Seamus just said as much in my earpiece, but thanks,” Sterling said.

Lieutenant Mirkovic rallied the group in the hallway. “Christian says they’re mostly on the second floor. And we know we’re only looking for eighteen more agents if we’ve bagged two over there.” He nodded to Christian. “How many are still left on this floor?”

Christian reached out again with his mind. It was getting more difficult to isolate them from all the active minds in the room. He pushed harder, drawing off the group’s energy, pushing past the soldiers and the concrete walls. Before Nepal, he’d only been able to read someone’s mind if they were in the room. But now, even concrete wasn’t much of a barrier. He could feel them in the distance.

Fear oozed from their minds.

And not excited fear, like in the minds of those all around him. Fear that this was it, that life as they knew it was over.

“Down that hallway, there are two in the first room on the right and two more in the room at the end.” Christian pointed to a corridor behind the registration desk.

“You heard the man. Flashbangs at the ready.” Lieutenant Mirkovic waved them over.

Soldiers at the front of the group pulled the black metal canisters from their belts.

“You ten go with Sterling’s group. Your job is to find the main targets. The rest of you, follow me up the main staircase. It’s our job to clear the way. The boys in the back will double around and cover our tracks down here.” Lieutenant Mirkovic waved the soldiers forward. He paused at the doors to the stairwell. “Is the stairwell clear?”

“Yep, but they’re waiting for us at the top.” Christian could feel their nervous energy.

“Care to join us?” Lieutenant Mirkovic raised an eyebrow at Sterling.

“Of course. Their ambush won’t be much good to us. Besides, I’ve been wanting to try freezing them, like Paivi did.” Sterling smiled under his helmet and walked to the front of the group. The trainees and Christian shuffled awkwardly through the crowd of soldiers.

They climbed the stairs slowly, inching forward as the soldiers cleared the landing. They crept up the open staircase to the second floor landing.

“I got this,” Sterling said.

Christian felt a surge of energy as he drew on them. It burned in his veins as it exited through his hand that rested on Sterling’s shoulder. The door flew off its hinges and beyond their site. The soldiers in front of them threw a flashbang and the air exploded around them in sound and light. The protective glasses attached to their helmets shielded them from the bright light.

Shadows emerged behind the light of the flashbang as the ATC agents coughed and cried out.

Sterling threw a ball of energy in their direction and they froze into grotesque statues, stuck in mid-cough.

“You’re clear behind them,” Christian said.

Two soldiers ran forward to secure the ATC guards.

Christian smirked at their still-glowing silver ATC badges. The agents he had witnessed had always been so proud of them. Now, they were nothing more than a beacon, giving them away to the enemy.

The group shifted upstairs to the second floor. The halls were dark and Christian knew Mrs. Anderson and Peter Farmington were up here somewhere. They had to go for them first. He sent out feelers, looking into the minds for the memories he knew would belong to them.

He pictured Paivi’s face. It floated in his mind for a moment. It was as he had first known her back at St. Andrew High. Her hair was long and blond, her green eyes sparkled, and the dimple on her right cheek that he liked so much crinkled at her smile. He so hoped he’d get the opportunity to see her face again, although he was confident it would never look that young and innocent again. But he didn’t care.

“Mrs. Anderson is down the hall to the left. Peter is with her,” Christian said.

The soldiers pushed forward, allowing Sterling to blow every doorway open so they could clear the rooms with a flashbang. Some of the ATC agents attempted to fight back but were no match for Sterling’s favorite new freezing trick.

One door stood at the end of the dark corridor. Christian could sense the people inside. “Four ATC, plus our targets. This is delicate, guys. Be careful.”

They crept quietly closer.

“Can you freeze them from here?” Christian whispered to Sterling.

“Not here. I need to get closer. I need to see them.” His mouth was pressed into a firm line.

“Blow the door,” Lieutenant Mirkovic’s voice echoed in their earpieces. “No bullets! We can’t risk casualties. Let the boys do their magic.”

Christian and Sterling flung their hands toward the door, their energy zinging past five soldiers. The door flew in. The room was dark. Christian couldn’t make out the glow of any ATC buttons. He wondered if they’d chucked them.

A soldier at the front threw a handful of glowsticks into the room. It brightened slightly and Christian could make out people against the back wall.

“Let’s hit them.” Sterling raised his hand.

Christian summoned all the energy he had and pushed it through his hands and into Sterling, along with the collective energy of the trainees. They were breathing heavily. This operation had taxed them all.

The energy flew from Sterling’s fingertips and roared into the room.

Christian’s heart thudded in his chest as silence settled around them. He was desperate to get into the room and make sure Paivi’s mom was okay. He knew it meant everything to her.

“Lights, get some lights.” Whispers went up and down the hallway as soldiers and the trainees fumbled for their flashlights.

The soldiers entered the room first and shouts of “Clear” echoed through the room and out into the corridor.

A soldier waved Sterling and Christian in.

Sterling turned to the trainees. “You guys were amazing. We’ll be right back.”

They relaxed and released their grip on each other.

Christian followed Sterling into the room. Two soldiers pulled down sheets, which had been crudely attached to the wall with duct tape to cover the windows. The windows themselves were small and covered with the familiar iron bars. This was meant to be a prison cell. Not a hotel.

There were figures frozen in a pile on the floor. The soldiers carefully separated them. Two men and a woman wearing the ATC standard black uniforms were shoved to the side and lashed together with plastic handcuffs. Their faces were streaked with dirt and frozen in horror. Two other soldiers carefully rolled one of the bodies over and lifted it gently onto one of the two metal cots in the room.

The woman’s face was gaunt and skeleton-like. Thin blond hair clung to her head. She was frozen in the fetal position. Filthy rags hung on her thin frame. The man next to her was dressed in similar rags, his arms frozen in front of his face. Sterling reached out and touched his hand. Christian placed his hand on Sterling’s shoulder, adding a little burst of energy. The man melted into a less frightening position.

“You made it. But there’s still…” his weak voice was drowned out by Christian.

“Wait, there were four ATC agents in here. Where’s the fourth?” Christian looked wildly around the room and inched closer to Mrs. Anderson’s still form on the bed.

A door in the opposite corner burst open and a hail of gunfire ripped through the room. Christian dove toward the cot containing Mrs. Anderson and pain ripped through his arms and legs as bullets passed through flesh and bone. Blood spattered all around him as he landed on the floor next to the cot. 

The soldiers opened fire, cutting down the ATC agent where he stood. His body dropped with a heavy thud.

“Secure this room! Man down, man down.” Shouts echoed through the room and the corridor.

The smell of blood hung in the air around him.

Voices floated around Christian’s ears. Sterling ran over and he could feel the surge of energy as he placed his hand on him. “Hang in there, man. Torsten is on his way.”

“Is she okay?” Christian tried to nod to Mrs. Anderson. “Check.”

Sterling leaned forward and his arm disappeared from Christian’s sight. Blood pooled around him, making his arms and legs feel heavy. His brain felt thick.

“She’s okay. She’s fine.” Sterling’s voice echoed in his ears, sounding miles away.

Christian tried to move his arm to his neck. He had to let her know.

“Whoa, Christian, don’t move!” Sterling’s hands were on him once again.

“The medallion,” Christian whispered. “Get it out.”

Sterling reached underneath the collar of Christian’s bulletproof vest and pulled on the chain. The medallion popped out.

“Hold it out.” His voice was fading fast. All he could see was red all around him. The room began to blur.

Sterling held the medallion to Christian’s lips.

Christian drew all the energy he had left. His body was light, floating in the air.

“Safe, Paivi. Safe, Paivi. Safe, Paivi.”

Chapter 25

“Kill them all,” Stevens demanded. He grabbed Paivi’s arm. His eyes blazed with hate.

The ATC agents trained their guns on the Senators and moved down the aisle toward Stevens, forming a circle around Stevens, Paivi, and Martin.

Paivi almost laughed to herself. Did he realize that if she destroyed the Senate chamber that they would all die as well?

She could live, or die, with that.

Paivi pulled the energy from her deepest core. Her skin grew brighter and burned like fire. She was more than fire. She was the very essence of the sun. Energy sailed from her fingertips and out through the soles of her feet through the building around them. The shaking increased in violence. Seats and tables bounced violently from side to side. Shrieking people fled for the main door and attempted to open it, but Paivi sealed it shut with a wave of her hand.