Chapter Thirty – Two
“You’re right,” Chad says. “That is a problem.”
The zeno emitters are suspended from the opposite walls like spot lights. Obviously they’re responsible for stripping us of our powers. Possibly we would only need to be a short distance from the cell and our powers would return to normal. I glare at the devices. It’s only a couple of feet, but it might as well be miles.
Chad glances down at Dan. “You’re pretty skinny.”
“Thanks,” he says. “I think.”
“No, I mean you might be able to fit your arm through the wire.”
He looks askance at the diamond gaps between the metal mesh. They’re very small. “And then what?”
I see what Chad is suggesting. “If you can reach far enough through the wire you might be able to get your powers to activate in your arm.”
“In my arm?” Dan is looking at us like we’ve grown extra heads. “So I’ll have a super-arm. Are you kidding?”
“It’s worth a try,” Brodie urges. “Come on. Stick your arm through.”
To Dan’s credit, he wrestles his fist through the gap and pushes his arm through as far as it will go.
“It won’t go any further,” he says.
“Try breaking the wire,” I suggest to him.
“With what? I don’t have any pliers.”
“With your mind, of course!”
“Don’t yell at me!”
“I’m not yelling,” I say, lowering my voice. “You’ve got to push your arm out further.”
He reaches out further.
“Now try to bend the mesh,” Chad suggests.
“I am trying. Nothing’s happening.”
“Try harder.”
“I am. My arm is stuck.”
“You need to go out further –” I start.
“Angle to the left –” Chad urges.
“I can’t reach it.” Dan is almost in tears. “My arm won’t reach far enough.”
“Wait a minute.” Brodie holds up the lock pick. “Try holding on to this.”
“Why?” Dan asks. “For good luck?”
“No! You might be able to use it like an antenna.”
“So now I’m a human antenna!” Dan groans, but grabs the piece of metal from her and pushes his arm back through the wire.
“Further,” Chad urges.
“Shut up,” he grunts.
“Just a bit further!”
“Shut up!” He says furiously.
He pushes his arm through the gap with all his might and I can see scratches all the way up his arm where it has rubbed against the wire. Tears of frustration fill his eyes. The piece of metal dangles precariously from the end of his fingertips.
A sound comes from the wall. I look up. One of the emitters on the wall is moving. It is shaking.
“It’s working,” I say quietly. “You’ve got to keep going.”
The emitter continues to jiggle as if an earthquake is shaking the room. I see perspiration break out on Dan’s forehead as his eyes focus on the emitter. A line of sweat seeps down his temple. Tears trickle across his cheeks. The emitter wobbles from side to side. It breaks free from the wall, a single wire holding it in position.
It snaps free and clatters to the floor.
The door to the room flies open and a guard races in. He raises his gun. At the same moment, Dan clenches his fist and the door to our cell flies off its hinges and slams into the guard, knocking him unconscious. We exit the enclosure and make our way into the hallway outside.
“Well done,” I slap Dan on the shoulder.
“Yeah,” Chad says grudgingly. “Pretty good for a kid.”
“For a –”
Chad ruffles his hair. “Stay cool, shorty.”
We hurry down the hallway. Before long we’ve arrived at another room. Chad pushes the door open and we all stop in the doorway. Ebony is chained to the table. Ravana is sitting across from her. He is motionless. And where his skin is showing through the bandages is white. Very white.
Ebony has turned him to salt.
She is not wearing one of her shoes. “I touched him with my foot,” Ebony says with anguish. “He was going to hurt me again.”
Chad embraces her as I remove her restraints with my mind. “It’s okay, sis,” he says. “You did what you had to do.”
He’ll get no argument from me.
We hasten from the building and race through the camp to the exit. Some sort of evacuation seems to be taking place, so the guards are hurrying in all directions. Now that the missile is ready for firing they must be preparing to withdraw from the island.
“We need to stop that weapon,” I say.
“We also need to dish out some payback,” Chad replies grimly.
Before I can say a word he releases Ebony and reaches out with clenched fists. A group of soldiers notice us for the first time. He sends balls of fire barreling toward them. As they are blasted backward, he turns to us.
“Find the missile,” he says. “I’ll keep the rest of them busy.”
We head through the gates of the camp. Other soldiers start firing at us, but I fling them aside and we continue down the road. I remember the turn in the path I noticed earlier. Behind us I can hear a multitude of explosions. The sound of fire fills the air. Chad is obviously having fun back there. I hope he’s okay.
The jungle embraces us. We are moving quickly down the path, but we still have to watch for traps.
Finally we reach a clearing. A concrete bunker is located to one side. I see a figure break from the jungle and race to it.
General Wolff.
“Stop!” I yell.
We hurry toward the bunker as he disappears inside. The building appears to be made from reinforced concrete. I struggle to break through, but it is too thick to tear apart.
“Dan, I need your help.”
Together we focus on the metal entry door. I find it almost impossible to budge. Slowly it starts to bend outwards from its hinges.
“It might be made of iridium,” Ebony says. “That’s one of the strongest metals known to man.”
Finally we tear the door from its housing. I expect to face a hail of bullets, but instead General Wolff steps confidently from the interior of the bunker. He looks like he could have just turned up for a garden party.
“You children are most resourceful,” he says. “Unfortunately, you are too late.”
The ground shudders under us. I turn to see the missile rising up from the jungle behind us.
“The missile is on its way,” Solomon Wolff says. “And nothing can stop it.”