Shocked (11 page)

Once my stomach finds a place to rest comfortably inside me (after the flying has stabilized somewhat) it’s actually kind of nice. The view is incredible: this otherwise unattainable bird’s eye vision of the hills and valley’s below. It starts getting colder as we go. When we cross the line into Carch’s territory no one says anything. It becomes obvious enough when everyone’s suddenly on edge. Their demeanor set changes to fully anxious. Their eyes look out in every direction around us. All of them except for Lucas. He catches my eye and winks.

The helicopters start their descent and once again my stomach hits my toes. We land and our team moves quickly to the edge of the clearing.

“We go about two clicks east. There will be a guarded refugee camp according to our intel and satellite images. We’re unsure of the conditions we may find—just so you’re all prepared. Any survivors that can be moved safely will be brought to the helicopters. Everyone ready?”

We nod in unison and begin to move. Lucas tries to hand me a pistol but I shake my head. It’s safer for all of us this way.
Sort of
.

The lights and fences come into view first. The smell is putrid: sour and filthy, death and sickness, human waste and who knows what else. The place looks like a broken down prison. It’s certainly not fit for people to live in.

Rage for Carch fills me. She’s the reason I know I’ll kill again. One day I will find her. When I do, for myself and the good of mankind I’ll ensure she can never hurt anyone again.

Two team members move to cut holes in the fence. They wear gloves, but when the touch the metal of their tool to the wire of the fence sparks jump like a bug in a zapper. They reach to try again and I stop them with a hand to their shoulders. I haven’t the need to charge up like this since I was struck by lightning—but that doesn’t mean I can’t. Heck, the extra juice may come in handy. The other’s watch in fascination while I raise my palms a foot away from the wire and suck all of the energy into me. It’s beyond exhilarating. I stumble when I back away and let them cut the wire. We have to be quick before someone resets the fuse or whatever to fix it. Lucas grabs my arm to steady me. He doesn’t let go until we’re through the fence.

The place gets a solid twelve on the creep-o-meter scale. Seriously, if this place isn’t cursed, it will be surprising. The evil here is palpable.

Stains cover the concrete blocks of the building in every hue. I stare at the building and it seems impossible to breach. The doors appear made of solid steel and the windows are all covered with metal grates.

Everyone around me stops when an arm shoots up and I don’t have a chance to wonder further. They crouch to the ground. Lucas tugs me down with the rest of them and puts a finger to his lips telling me to keep quiet. Something moves up ahead and I crane my neck for a better look. The figure moves away and more hand gestures are made. I look at Lucas, unsure as to what’s going on.

Lucas moves his head close to mine. “It’s going to be bad up ahead. Be ready.”

I nod my understanding and take a deep breath. I move. Control’s the key here. Blasting an enemy’s one thing, blasting a refugee’s something that can’t happen. The fighting can be heard before I even round the corner of the building.

It’s been a while, but once you have been through some form of battle, you don’t really ever forget it. The glow from the enemy’s weapons ignites around us. The infectious fog looks different from the original form it’s based off of. The fog surrounds us while the enemy soldiers relax—obviously having done this before successfully. I smile and yell. “Get down!” My team complies.

The energy that courses through me itches to get out. Control is a little harder because of it, but not impossible. I start with a soft stream and face my palms out to coax the energy into the fog. It disintegrates quickly. I carefully look beyond the fog to the enemies who stare in wonder and memorize their positions. I use the energy from their fence to my advantage and crank the power up a few notches. I send a stream of energy to each of them.

This is a little new for me. I’ve streamed the energy before, but not like this. It’s completely in my control. It’s the first time I’ve let loose a stream and contained it. Throwing the spheres is too risky here. Two more enemy men charge through the door of the building and I zap them too. It’s easier every time. I wonder what else I can do if I try.

My team moves to their feet and we push forward together. Two of our men move to the sides of the door. One moves to open it when bullets rip through it. The fog seeps through the crack. How can they be so careless with the lives inside?

A quick zap dissipates the fog. I create a sphere with just enough force to stun someone for a short while and hold it lightly in my palms. My team member catches onto my plan quickly and cracks the door open once more for me to roll it inside. There’s a rumble and burst of light. We move.

Inside is dimly lit. Maybe eight men lay unconscious on the floor. A few members of our team move to secure them while the rest of us move forward. Adrenaline courses through me while as secure room after room. By the last one the enemy men all surrender.

I look at Lucas in confusion. “I thought there were people here?”

Lucas turns to one of the now captive soldiers. “Where are they?”

The man looks warily at the others in the room but doesn’t say anything. Lucas nods and another member of our swiftly hits the man in the stomach. He drops to his knees and gasps for air.

“I’ll ask again, where are they?” Lucas repeats.

Still nothing. Lucas nods again and just before the man can be hit another of the captives shouts out. “Downstairs. They’re all downstairs. It’ll be easier to get to them if you take those keys.” He says and juts his chin towards the door where a ring of keys hang.

I don’t stick around to see any more of their violent question and answer session. The keys from the door jingle when I shove them in my jacket pocket and move towards a door with a picture of a stairway next to it. Lucas and a few other team members are right behind me.

The door creaks open into darkness. The others hit their flashlights, spattering the darkness with constantly moving light. It makes it hard to focus so I create a glowing orb like the one we found so useful in the cave. This one is slightly larger. Everyone’s lights click off and to their credit they only stare for a moment.

There’s nothing other than darkness and dirt down at least four flights of stairs. No one stands guard at the bottom: only the large, heavy looking metal door and the padlock chaining it shut. I dig the keys out from my pocket and hand them to Lucas, who begins to try keys out until we hear the click of the lock opening. The chains rattle and echo loudly throughout the empty stairwell above us.

It takes two of us to get the door to move. The light drifts inside to reveal an empty hallway. I swallow hard and hope that this isn’t a trap…a dark, underground trap.

We move cautiously down the hallway. The light from my orb plays shadows against the walls while we go. At the end of the hall is another door. The only difference between this one and the last is that once we open it noises come from inside.
Signs of life!
It makes me move to run inside to help whoever may be stuck inside. All that keeps me back is Lucas’ hand on my arm.

I hold back and wonder if anyone notices the surge of brightness in the sphere that flares in reaction to my emotions. If so nobody says anything. Two members of our team move first and we trail behind them. It takes only a moment before we lower all weapons and stand frozen.

People huddle in masses on the floor around us. They wear so much dirt that they’re almost unrecognizable. When we look at them they cower in fear and clutch their children tightly—as though we may rip them away. First an overall sadness engulfs me for the atrocities these poor people have been put through. Next, the anger sets in, the rage. It’s one more reason for me to take Carch down.

These poor people are scared to death of us. I motion to the others to stay put and take a few tentative steps forward.

“Hi, my name’s Kat.” I try to sound reassuring and not speak too loudly. “We’re here to take you someplace safe. You’ll have plenty of food and water, your own room and the freedom to move about the camp.”

Most of them avoid eye contact with me. One of them steps forward and sneers through the dirt smear on his face. “Right, because we’re supposed to believe you? We know what happens once you walk out of here.”

Something tells me that this area might be the tip of the iceberg. “We’re not affiliated with anyone at this camp. We’re from the south—here to rescue all of you.”

A female with wide eyes and a small voice steps forward. “You stopped them? Was that all the noise?”

I nod. “Yes, but I don’t know if they’ll send more. We need to hurry. We have helicopters ready to transport you.”

Everyone around me springs into action. They speak in excitement with soft words. They line up. Man, woman and child and await orders from our team.

All but one. The sneering man approaches me. “This’s for real, right? These people can’t survive another letdown.”

“It’s real, I promise.”

He nods. “It’ll go faster if you have someone that knows their way around. There’re others.”

“That’d be great.” I offer him my hand. “I’m Kat.”

“Nice to see you, Kat,” he grins. His teeth are a sharp white contrast against the dirt on his skin. He shakes my hand quickly. “I’m Ryan. I take it one of you has those keys, otherwise you’d never have made it this far.”

“Yeah,” I signal Lucas to come over and explain what’s going on. We divide the members of our team that came down here so that three of them assist the others to safety while three of them assist Lucas, Ryan and me in finding the other survivors.

We venture further into the bowels of the basement and a chill creeps over me that won’t go away. Something about the change of smell in the air disturbs me. With the chill every hair on my body stands on end. We follow as Ryan moves quickly through the hallways.

“You really know your way around.” I think aloud.

“That’s because I used to be one of them.” Ryan says. Lucas grabs my free hand and I feel him stiffen.

“What do you mean?” Lucas demands.

Ryan stops. “Back when this place first started I was a soldier.” He tells us. “It’s not like any of us had much of a choice. The politics of what was happening never reached us, not until it was too late. Some of us tried to run, but only one in four would make it out alive. Carch showed no mercy to deserters. Eventually most of us that were left became the monster she wanted. Only a few of us held out.

“I was down here one day doing a head count and I couldn’t ignore how hungry they were. The kids were crying because they’d only bring down one meager meal a day, just enough to keep them alive, never enough to satisfy them. So that night after my shift, I grabbed my bag and stuffed it with food and water from the mess hall. I took a lot of care not to get caught. I’d thought I was so slick.

“It was my supposed friend that did it. He was on duty—was supposed to let me in and out with none the wiser. Maybe he wanted the recognition or maybe he was just always a two-faced asshole and I never knew it, but he set me up. He let me in and a few minutes later, as I was handing out food, the door opened and there stood General Carch. She told me that since I’m so fond of our guests I can stay with them.”

Lucas relaxes. “You did the right thing.” He tells Ryan.

Ryan nods. “I know.” Then he looks at me. “You’re not squeamish are you?”

I shake my head no but butterflies start in my belly.
Exactly how not squeamish are we talking?

“What’s down here that it’s separate from the others?” Lucas asks.

Ryan’s face grows dark, angry. “This is where they did the tests.” He opens the door.

“Tests—“ The words die on my lips when I step through the door. The world tilts for a moment and I reach to Lucas for support. One of the other team members steps right back out into the hall. At least it’s not just me.

Different human body parts lie on the table in front of us. It’s a macabre scene straight out of a horror movie. I remove my gaze from the sickening sight before us and look to Ryan. There’s no one left alive in here.

Ryan moves to the back of the lab and into another hallway where he stops. “Some survivors here may be past the point of saving. It wouldn’t be right not to check, you know?”

The five of us murmur our agreement and begin the painstaking process of checking one room at a time. The first room holds a small bed and the sheet is over the head of its occupant. We are too late. The next two rooms are similar. The third room’s victim has also been lost, only this time the sheet is not yet covering the man’s misshapen face. It’s Ryan who moves further into the room to cover him—a last sign of respect for a lost soul whose body will now become entombed in this vile place. If ever given the chance maybe we can come back to give these bodies a proper burial.

When we reach the last room none of us expect to find anyone alive. So far there’ve been no survivors. Ryan opens the door and we all look in.

A boy looks back at us from the bed with eyes that appear too large for his face. He seems to be on the cusp of being a teenager. He clutches the blanket to his chest, fearful from our sudden appearance.