Chapter Thirty-One
Nate was almost blinded by the glowing white light consuming Gabriel. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he wasn’t going to just sit there. He groped along the floor as he crawled towards the source of the light. He forced his eyes open, and could just make out the outline of Gabriel’s limp arm on the floor.
“Gabriel!” He grabbed it, and yelled. Gabriel’s arm was like hot steel.
There was nothing he could do. He could only close his eyes and wait for it to stop. Something grabbed his leg and dragged him away from the burning light. The door outside was wide open.
“Come on! Get outside!” Riley pulled Nate onto his feet.
He stumbled down the steel steps away from the room. Riley slammed the door shut behind them and dragged Nate away from the entrance.
“Stop!” He pushed back against Riley, halting their retreat.
Riley’s eyes were wide and his face was nearly white. “No, we need to leave. He’s an ore user! He could blow this whole place up!”
“I can’t leave him! He’s my responsibility! I need to get back in there.” He stumbled towards the door, but Riley grabbed him by the shirt and twisted him around.
“He needs to burn out first – he could kill you if you stay there with him!”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve seen them lose control before. You can’t help him.” Riley let him go, ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “This is a problem, Nate! Damn it, I thought I recognized the kid.”
Nate pushed past Riley and sat on the metal steps. “You said he would burn out. How long?”
“A bit – I don’t time them.” Riley rubbed his hands together. “I hunt them.”
Nate glared at him. “You touch him and I kill you.”
“Don’t be an idiot.” Riley shook his head. “I’m not calling in a team, he’ll be safe.” Riley walked over and knelt down in front of him. “The Church is looking for him. Hard.”
“Why?”
“Because of what he is, and the fact that TERA wants him so badly. They’re putting a lot of resources into finding him – we aren't going to allow TERA to have him.” Riley cleared his throat. “Our top priority is to get him first.”
“Why would the Church want Gabriel?” Nate shook his head.
“To kill him, to exile him. I don’t know. Maybe just to stop TERA from getting their hands on him.” Riley took a deep breath. “He’s an ore user. They’re dangerous, Nate.”
Nate shook his head. “Gabriel isn’t a danger to anyone.”
“Maybe not yet, but they get stronger the more they learn to control the ore. Listen to me – no one should have that kind of power. I’ve seen a fire user ignite the air in your lungs, a water user suck all the moisture out of a soldier’s eyes! It’s not human – they can’t be allowed to have that kind of power.”
“Still conducting witch hunts for those that are different from what you define as normal?” Nate shook his head. “Same old Church.”
“I don’t make the rules, I just try to follow them.”
“So where’s that leave us?” Nate stood up and pointed over his shoulder. “He’s like my own son. I’m not going to let you take him.”
Riley stayed silent, his foot tapping against the concrete.
“You brought me back from hell once – that kind of debt you can’t ever repay. I’ll take you to Sarge. He can patch you up.” Riley stood up. “I’ll find out why they want with him so bad. It’s the best I can do, but you need to keep him hidden.”
“I appreciate it. I’ll get him back to the IP.” Nate held out his hand to Riley.
Riley shook his hand. “Be careful, Nate. As long as you stay with him, you’ll be hunted. Even the IP isn’t safe anymore – if you want to keep him alive, you need to get him out of the country.”