“Five minutes out,” the pilot announced.
“Okay, men,” the sergeant spoke up. “We will fly overhead and assess the situation. Everyone keep an eye out and tell me if you see any survivors.”
I waited anxiously, and the closer we got, the more my head throbbed. Arvies were near. In another minute, I could barely hear myself think. Screams and growls echoed over and over, like a war drum inside my head, making it throb with their mindless chanting.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
“What’s wrong with her?” someone asked.
I felt Keanu’s hand wrap around my wrist. “Hey, are you okay?”
I could only shake my head.
“What’s wrong?”
I pushed out one word. “Arvies.”
“Holy shit! Look outside,” one of the soldiers yelled.
“Hell in a handbasket,” the sergeant muttered. “There is no way we’ll be able to rescue survivors in this mess. If there are any left, that is.”
“Abi, can you tell if there are survivors?” Finn asked. His voice sounded like he was far away.
“I don’t know. All I hear are the monsters screaming in my head.”
“You can hear them?” the boy asked.
“Of course she can. She’s a telepath.”
The next voice was the sergeant’s. “Is there any way you can tell us if there are any survivors out there?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. “I’ve never done that before.”
“Try, Abi,” Finn urged. “See if you can hear them.”
I wasn’t so sure if I could get past the screams of the Arvies. They were so loud in my head, I felt like it was going to explode. I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Find voices crying for help, I told myself.
At first, there was nothing. But the more I thought about the survivors trapped down there, the more I pushed beyond the monsters. In my mind, I could picture them, like an ocean standing before me, snapping their infected teeth, screaming and growling. Without fear, I walked forward, commanding them to part. They backed away, parting like the Red Sea.
Their pale, scabrous faces were filled with hate. Their milky white eyes glared, and I knew they wanted to rip me apart. But I kept my arms to my sides without fear, walking deeper. I knew if I gave way to my fear, they would devour me. And I wasn’t sure what would happen to my real body if they attacked me in my vision. No one had ever done something like this.
“Are there any survivors here?” I called out into the sea of mutants. I waited, but heard nothing but Arvies. “Hello? Are there any survivors here?” I yelled again.
Then, beyond the growling, and gnashing of teeth, I heard a faint, but desperate cry. It was soft and weeping, sounding almost as if it were a prayer.
“Please help us,” the voice pleaded. “God, help us.”
I could hear them! They were alive. But I didn’t know where they were.
“Abi,” Keanu said, shaking me from my trance.
“They’re alive,” I exhaled. “I can hear them. They’re praying for help.”
“Do you know where they are?” the sergeant asked.
“No,” I replied. “I can only hear them.”
“Do a full circle around the area,” the sergeant ordered the pilot. “The rest of you keep your eyes peeled for survivors.”
“What is this place?” Keanu asked.
“It was a steel mill the Government converted into a bunker, strictly used for their second-hand scientists.”
“Second hand?” Keanu questioned.
“Yes. Their top scientists were taken into the main bunkers. And those who showed potential, but didn’t make the cut, were sent to this facility. Who knows what the hell kind of scientific experiments they were doing for the thirteen years they were here. I can only imagine.”
“How many scientists were housed here?”
“Twenty-five. This is a rescue and retrieval. Our orders are first and foremost to secure their files.”
I felt Keanu move, probably facing the sergeant. “Files? What about the scientists?”
“They are secondary.”
“So the research is more important than their lives?”
“Apparently, yes.”
“Bullshit,” Keanu spat.
“We will rescue as many as we can, but by the looks of things out there, we will need a whole lot more manpower.”
“There,” one of the guys shouted. “There are people on the roof!”
“Everyone, lock and load, we will need to pick off the mutants closest to them.”
“There are hundreds. Just concentrate on the ones who are the greatest threat. Keanu, can you man the machine gun?”
“Yes, sir,” he replied, moving away from me.
“Give me a weapon,” Finn said. “I can help.”
“Sir, I counted eleven survivors on the roof,” the younger voice hollered. “There is no way we can take them all.”
I heard the sergeant on the radio, calling the second chopper. They were more than a half-hour away.
“They won’t survive,” the youngest voice stressed. “The Arvies are scaling the sides of the building. Holy shit, there are hundreds of them.”
The machine fired rounds, making my ears ring.
“Fire on those closest to the survivors,” the sergeant yelled..
Chaos was all around me—the gunfire, screams, and growls from the Arvies, the cries for help from the survivors, and now the soldiers inside the chopper yelling—it was too much, driving me to the brink of insanity. Meanwhile, Venge stirred inside.
“Sergeant,” I yelled. “I can help.”
He didn’t respond.
“Fly above them, and drop the ladder,” the sergeant ordered.
The gunfire continued. “Ladder’s down,” another soldier shouted.
“We have orders to pick up the files,” the sergeant yelled through some kind of loudspeaker.
The cries of the survivors pierced my heart. The data was more important than their lives.
“Is Dr. Talbert with you?” the sergeant hollered.
The chaos in my head kept me from hearing the answer. Then I felt the chopper rock.
“Sarge, they are all jumping on.”
“We can’t take the weight, Sergeant,” the pilot yelled. “If they don’t get off, we’ll crash.”
“Sergeant, I can help!” I screamed again.
“Let her,” Keanu urged. “I know she can help us.”
I could feel Venge’s power bubbling under my skin, and knew she was dying to come out and play. I just needed to find a way to control her.
The chopper rocked again, throwing everyone around.
“Sergeant, get them off!” The pilot was trying to keep the bird stable.
“Cut the ladder,” he yelled.
“No,” I begged. “Let me help!”
“SERGEANT, YOU CAN’T CUT THE ladder,” Keanu said, his voice stressed. “Those are survivors down there.”
“And we will save them,” the Sargeant answered. “If it doesn’t put our own lives at risk. If you want to help them, fire that goddam weapon!”
Keanu must have turned and began shooting.
“Where are the files?” the Sergeant yelled down.
“On our backs. Each of us has a part of the records,” the man closest to the top hollered.
The sergeant cursed under his breath. “Those smart bastards spread them out so we’d have to take all of them.”
“What are we going to do?” the younger soldier asked.
“I have strict orders to return with the files. The only way I’ll be able to, is to switch out bodies.”
The soldiers on board panicked. “Sarge, you can’t leave us,” the kid begged. “My mom needs me. Why don’t we just take their packs and leave them here?”
“I’m afraid we can’t do that son.”
“So what does that mean?” Keanu asked.
I felt hands on my shoulders lifting me to my feet.
“If you try anything, I will not hesitate to shoot you.” The sergeant twisted me around and released my cuffs. Then my blindfold was released. “These scientists need to make it back to the bunker, alive. Do you understand?”
I nodded.
Sweat clung to me, my vision was blurred. I blinked a few times and found Finn near the front with Keanu, with a rifle in his hand. The sergeant stumbled toward the pilot, and grabbed the radio, calling for help.
“Abi, tie yourself in,” Finn shouted, making his way toward me.
There was nothing to tie myself in with.
The chopper rocked again, throwing everyone off balance. I held on to the seat beside me and shuffled my way toward the opening.
Below me, was a scene painted from pure horror.
“Move out of the way,” Keanu said, grabbing a few of the guys next to him and shoving them back to make room for me.
I looked at Finn. “I need you to stop me. Put the blindfold back on when you know I can’t take anymore.”
“Abi, don’t risk it.” He handed me my backpack.
“Hellfire won’t be enough. These people will die if I don’t help.”
“What happens if you get hurt?”
“I won’t, if you help me.”
Finn handed off the rifle to another soldier and moved toward me. He was secured to the chopper with a rope. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I leaned back into him for strength.
“I’ve got you,” he breathed into my ear.
“I know you do,” I said, preparing myself.
Six of the survivors, five male, and one female were halfway up the ladder, clinging to it for dear life. The other five were trying to jump on, their weight making the chopper unstable.
“How many survivors can we take?” one of the soldiers asked.
“Four more, max,” the sergeant said, kneeling down, looking over the edge. “Shit, they’re gonna take us down.” He pulled a knife from his back pocket.
Four could come, which meant seven of these scientists would be left to die.
The Arvies were climbing over the barriers now, and onto the roof. There was one small tower to the far left, which looked like some kind of chimney. Other than that, there was no other place for them to hide. Why they’d chosen this rooftop from the others was a mystery to me.
“If we don’t leave in five minutes, we won’t make it back to the bunker,” the pilot urged.
The Arvies on the roof ran toward the scientists. Keanu fired, but for every one he dropped, two more took its place. There was no way they had enough firepower to take them all out. Not in five minutes.
I turned toward the Arvies nearing the scientists and focused my fears and rage at them. The first one grabbed the sides of its head and dropped. I could feel the fire inside growing, wanting to take over. I wasn’t sure I wanted to give Venge full control. I needed to see if I could manage it.
Focusing on my breath, I looked toward the next one, picturing it dropping into a lifeless heap. In a split second, it collapsed, and I moved on to the next. They were coming too fast. The soldiers were firing their guns, and Finn’s arms tightened around me. His touch kept me grounded, letting me know he was there and that I had to remain in control to keep him safe.
The first scientist made it up, and crawled into the back of the chopper, taking a seat. The sergeant helped the next four, and had a hand on the last scientist.
“We have to leave now,” the pilot yelled, “or we aren’t going to make it.”
The chopper rocked so hard, it nearly turned to its side. I lost focus and looked down to witness at least fifteen Arvies grabbing hold of the ladder, yanking us down. There were two scientists attempting to make their way up, while the other two weren’t so lucky. I could make out a foot and an arm of the other two as they were being eaten alive.
The sergeant was cutting the ladder with his knife as more Arvies gathered below. They were crazed, yanking and jumping, trying to climb up. The chopper rocked back and forth like a toy, throwing everyone inside off balance.
“Cut the rope!” one of the scientists yelled frantically. “They’re going to kill us.”
With a final slice of the rope, the ladder went crashing into a pile of Arvies, causing the chopper to shake violently. I lost my footing, and Finn’s grip slipped from around my waist as he fell backward. Keanu grabbed my arm, but we—along with two other soldiers and one scientist— fell out of the chopper and onto the roof below.
The Arvies charged forward, and I screamed, “Stop!”
All of the power inside of me exited with that one word. As I looked up, the Arvies around us had frozen in place, much like they had in the bunker, when I’d stopped them from attacking Chase and Chloe.
“Abi!” Finn shouted, untying himself. In seconds, he jumped from the chopper and landed next to me.
“Shoot them,” I said firmly, keeping my eyes focused on the Arvies only feet from us.
Finn grabbed a gun on the ground and began firing, shooting the Arvies in the head, killing them one by one. Keanu and the other two soldiers followed suit, and in no time, the Arvies around us were dead.
When I looked up at the chopper, all eyes were glued to me, wide open, like their jaws. They thought I was some kind of freak. And they were right. I was.
“What about Abigail,” one of the soldiers shouted, pointing at me. “Wasn’t she, our most urgent priority?”
The sergeant shook his head, curse words flying from his lips.
He threw down a bag of weapons and ammo, along with my backpack.
“Stay alive,” he hollered, looking at me as the chopper moved away. “Keanu, keep her alive!”
Keanu shot him a thumb’s up.
There were five of us left. Three soldiers, me, Finn, and one of the scientists.
“We’re going to die. We’re going to die.” The scientist trembled with tears in his eyes. He was an older man with tanned skin, white hair, and a strong accent.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Dr. Chopra.”
“Dr. Chopra, do you see that chimney behind us?
“Yes,” he replied.
“We are going to run as fast as we can to get there, okay?” I held out my hand.
“Okay,” he responded, taking hold of it.
The others were still firing as we ran. Finn stayed to my side, catching the strays, coming over from other areas. Keanu moved ahead of us, pulling a rope from the duffle bag. Quickly tying off the end of the rope to a nearby post, he threw the other end down the brick chimney. I noticed it had small knots in it, which would make it easier to grip.
“Everyone down,” he ordered, turning and firing. The other two soldiers and Finn stood around the chimney as we climbed down.
“What if the rope doesn’t go down far enough?” Dr. Chopra asked.
“Go down and jump from the end of the rope, or stay here. The choice is yours.” Keanu shot off a few more rounds.
“I’ll go first,” I said, nodding at him. “Just follow me.”
Dr. Chopra stared down the dark chimney. “They could already be inside.”
“Here,” Keanu said, holding out a handgun. “Shoot them. Aim for the head and don’t get bitten.”
Finn pulled Hellfire from my backpack, racked her slide, then handed her to me. “Thanks,” I said, tucking her into my jeans.
“Go, go, go!” Keanu urged.
I climbed down and felt when Dr. Chopra grabbed the rope and started his descent. It was dark, and I had no idea what to expect. If the line ran out, we’d have to use our legs and back to shuffle down the rest of the way.
Nearing the end of the rope, I saw light hitting the floor about five feet from where the rope ended. I quickly climbed down and jumped, grabbing Hellfire as I exited the chimney. It emptied out into a small room, filled with old, rusty tools and scrap metal.
“Clear!” I shouted up as Dr. Chopra dropped down. “How far is it to your bunker?”
“It’s at the bo
ttom of this building.” The doctor looked vexed as he shook his head. “I just exited from there, thinking I was going to be free. And now I’m back here. It’s quite depressing.”
Within seconds, Finn dropped down, followed by the other two soldiers, then Keanu.
“Grab as much shit as you can and stuff it in the hole,” Finn urged looking around the room. “We don’t want to make it easy for them to get in here.”
They quickly pulled out large, sharp scraps of metal from the nearby room and shoved them in the chimney, creating a barrier, and a trap.
The mutant’s screams echoed down the chimney; their murderous thoughts throbbing in my head. I dropped to my knees, covering my ears, knowing the screams would continue—nothing would stop them now.
Finn gathered me into his arms and carried me to a far corner of the next room. “Does anyone have water?” he yelled.
One of the soldiers brought over a canteen, and Finn forced me to drink.
“What’s wrong with her?” Dr. Chopra asked coming to the doorway.
“Telepathy. She can hear them in her head. Their presence weakens her.”
Dr. Chopra came to a stop in front of us. “I saw what she did outside. That is not telepathy. That was some kind of supernatural power.” He knelt and laid his hand on mine. “What are you, dear child?”
Finn’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, ‘what is she?’ She’s human.” His arms wrapped around me in a protective manner. “Your bullshit government found out she had telepathy and forced her into a Reader program, where they injected her with untested enhancement drugs. They didn’t care what it would do to her, only what she would do for them.”
The doctor’s brow furrowed. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“Don’t be sorry. You couldn’t have known.” I glanced at Finn, giving him a slight nod, and he loosened his arms.
“Do you know what kind of drug they gave you? Was it oral or injected?”
“Injected,” I replied.
“What were they trying to accomplish with this drug?”
“They said it was supposed to strengthen our telepathy.” I sat up and brushed my hands on my pants. “As Finn said, it was some kind of enhancement drug, but we have no idea what they were shooting into us. All I know is that it was strong, and it did some weird crap to my mind. Their ultimate goal was to use us to enter the minds of the Arvies and stop them.”